Agility training
Resilience Training • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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National Academy of Sports Medicine. Agility refers to the ability to start, stop, and change direction quickly while maintaining proper posture (before God?). Therefore, agility training is a type of exercise training that incorporates short bursts of movement that involve changes of direction.
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
The word for “Peter,” Petros, means a small stone
Christ calls it “My church,” emphasizing that He alone is its Architect, Builder, Owner, and Lord.
Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and confesses Him as the Son and God and Saviour, is a “living stone” 1 Peter 2:5
5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The “Stable” Church Has Become An Endangered Species / https://i0.wp.com/careynieuwhof.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Blog_Graphic-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C696&ssl=1
The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. —
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
I can think of few examples of resilience as incredible as the first-century church. Consider the circumstances in which that body of believers existed. Leaders and preachers were imprisoned daily. Members were threatened with violence or worse. Stephen’s martyrdom remained a fresh memory. Paul had barely escaped with his life from the hostile Jews. A blood bath was inevitable.
Yet the church throughout the land “had peace” and “grew in numbers.” How?
Four characteristics of resilience marked those first-century believers. They were steadfast, immovable, abounding, and confident 1 Corinthians 15:58 . These same qualities are essential for any dynamic ministry—like four pistons in a smoothly running engine. Look how powerfully they progressed in the early church!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
No matter how often those followers of Jesus were ordered “never again to speak in the name of Jesus” Acts 5:40 , they fearlessly stayed at it. Steadfast.
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Regardless of threats, floggings, and other insidious methods of persecution, the believers remained pockets of peace and places of refuge. Immovable.
Just imagine how infectious their enthusiasm must have been . . . how genuinely joyful! Abounding.
Against all odds, they flourished. They could have shriveled into a camp of bitter, negative, and frightened people of rigid intensity. Instead, they remained winsome. Confident.
There’s more! The resilience of the early believers combined with a kind of charm that made the church irresistible. People couldn’t stay away!
Stern moralistic scowls have never attracted people to follow Jesus. It’s the charm of a consistent life of love that draws people. Reinhold Niebuhr’s insight on this point rings just as true today as the day he penned it in his notebook:
You may be able to compel people to maintain certain minimum standards by stressing duty, but the highest moral and spiritual achievements depend not upon a push but a pull. People must be charmed into righteousness. - Reinhold Niebuhr
How long before today’s church will learn this! What will it take to bring back the charm . . . that marvelous grace which draws righteousness out of us like a massive magnet?
Somehow, despite all odds, the early saints maintained such a loving atmosphere, such an authentic appeal of positive acceptance, that no amount of pressure from without disturbed the peace within. Consequently, people flocked to the church with their hearts in their hands. The early church community was a place to be yourself . . . to share your grief . . . to ask your questions . . . to admit your needs . . . to shed your tears.
We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
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