People of Grit: Week 1

Well, as we start this message today, I want to

tell you that today's message is gonna be a lot

like skiing. Uh So, these are a couple of skis

that I borrowed. These aren't mine, but I've used skis

like these before. I learned how to ski at a

young age. I grew up skiing, and when I was young,

I went to ski school. That's what they called it,

teach you how to ski. And in ski school we

learned some fundamentals. And first we learned that if you

want to go fast, point your skis straight like this.

That's how you go fast. Parallel skis. We called this

French fries. So you make French fries and you go

fast down down the hill. Now, if you want to

slow down, you make pizza. That's how you come to

a stop. Pizza goes slow, French fries go fast. Pizza

go slow, French fry goes fast. Now, today is gonna

be a little bit like a pair of skis, two

parallel skis, because on one hand, as we look at

Daniel Chapter one, one of those skis one of those themes,

our whole church today is gonna learn from Daniel how

to become people of grit. That's one of the skis.

On the other hand, that the second parallel here is

as I was preparing this message, I felt strongly to

speak directly to a particular audience here today group of people,

and that is our young people or young adults who

are coming out of high school, maybe going to college,

maybe starting into adulthood or a career, getting married. That

that young you know, seventeen eighteen, nineteen twenty, that age group.

That's that's one of these parallels today because if you're

in that age group, Daniel is a great example for

you to follow. One of my favorite places to ski

is called the Horseshoe Bowl. The Horseshoe bull sits on

top of a mountain out west in Colorado, and it's

kind of difficult to get to. You have to take

a couple of different ski lifts and then a t

bar and kind of trek over to where the bowl is,

and it's at the top of this mountain. Now, most

mountains or resorts that you might visit, they have maintenance

teams that keep the runs and the ski lanes clear.

They plow the snow, they groom the snow, they remove

rocks and trees and watch the ice. They keep it safe,

so it's good for everybody. The Horseshoe Bowl does not

have a maintenance crew. It is so remote. It is

wild and it is untamed, and so that means like

you just may not know what to expect when you

get up there. There may be rocks, there may be ice,

there may be trees. Like it's a little treacherous. So

the last time that I skied the Horseshoe Bull, I

was standing on the edge of the bowl with a

with a drop maybe taller than this stage I'm on

right now, just a little bit taller. My ski's over

the edge, and this was the point of no return

because the only way off the mountain was down, and

so I dropped into the bowl and that first drop

is exhilarating and exciting, and I had to deal with

whatever came my way, trees, snow, ice, I had to

face it because that was the only I was getting out,

and I was committed to that. When you enter adulthood,

come out of high school, you might start college, start

a career, move off on your own. It's kind of

like that, you're dropping into some new things. You're dropping

into something that's a little bit exciting, but also a

little bit nerve wracking. There's gonna be some new adventures,

new opportunities. There's also gonna be challenges, difficulty, disappointment. There

might be some things that you're super excited for in

this new part of your life, and there might be

some things that make you nervous or some decisions that

you feel unprepared for. If you're in that season of

your life, I want to tell you that Daniel can

help you. And if you're not in that season, if

if you're not going to college or or starting adulthood,

Daniel can still help you. Because Daniel was a person

of grit. So let's take a look at Daniel in

chapter one, starting in verse one. In the third year

of the reign of Jehoicam, King of Judah, Nebukinezer, King

of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it, and the

Lord delivered Jehoicam, King of Judah into his hand, along

with some of the articles from the Temple of God.

These he carried off to the temple of his God

in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God. Well,

here's the context the history God's people the Israelites they

had at this time in history, they'd kind of turned

their back on God, they kind of walked away. They

were disobeying God. They were going after foreign pagan gods.

And so the Lord removed his covering from his people.

He removed their protection, and he allowed foreign enemies to invade,

like Nebucinezer from Babylon and Nebkinzer invaded and destroyed the

Temple of God in Jerusalem, killed many people, and even worse,

those who were not killed got deported out of Jerusalem

and sent to work and served in Babylon. Let's keep

reading in verse three. Then the king ordered Ashpanaz, chief

of his court officials, to bring into the King's service

some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility,

young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for

every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and

qualified to serve in the King's palace. He was to

teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The

King assigned them a daily amount of food and wine

from the King's table, and they were to be trained

for three years, and after that they were to enter

the King's service. Now this sounds a lot like going

to college. You've got roommates, you've got a meal plan,

you've got a course schedule, and at the end of

these years you're gonna graduate and go into the workforce.

This sounds a lot like college. Here verse six. Among

those who were chosen were some from Judah Daniel Han

and Ayah, Michelle and Azariah. The chief official gave them

new names Daniel, he gave the name Belta Schzar to

Hannah and Ayah Shadrack, to Michiel Mishak, and to Azariah Abedanigo.

Now Daniel and his friends were probably somewhere in the

range of fifteen to eighteen or nineteen years old when

they entered into this situation, when they went to the

University of Babylon, living in the dorms of the king,

you know, eating the king's meal plan here. And so

he was a young man. And notice that Daniel's name

got changed. His original Hebrew name is a name that

means God is my judge. But the new name he

got was a Babylonian name, and that name means Bell

protect him. Now, Bell was a pagan god, a Babylonian

false god. And so In other words, Babylon was trying

to change Daniel's identity. Forget your hebrewright, and you belong

to Babylon. Now you belong to this God. Now they're

trying to force an ideology on to Daniel. There is

an ideology in this culture that will try to change

your identity. The culture that we live in wants to

influence your identity, wants to tell you who you are

and will it will corrupt you like Babylon tries to

do with Daniel. It will corrupt your morals. This ideology

will corupt your sexuality, will it will corrupt your faith.

But your identity is not based on this culture. Your

identity is based on Jesus. If your faith and your

trust is in Jesus, that is where you get your

identity from. Because Jesus calls you a child of God.

You are God's son, you are God's daughter. And there

is no name that this culture can put on you

that will change your identity. There is no name that

your family of origin puts on you that changes your identity.

Your identity is not found in your political voting party.

Your identity is not found in the college you go to,

the amount of money in your bank account. Your identity

is grounded in Jesus, and he redeems you from all

the things in your past that want to try and

corrupt your identity. He redeemed you from sin, he redeems

you from addiction, He redeems you from the brokenness, so

you can say I'm a child of God. Daniel founded

his identity and his faith in God. We want to

be a people who have our identity in Jesus. Church

at the Crossing wants to be a church with our

identity in Jesus. That's why recently we've been saying that

we want to become a better church, not just a

bigger church. That's something we've been saying. We want to

be a better church, not just a bigger church. What

does that mean. Well, being a better church means that

we are more like Jesus today than we were yesterday.

Being a better church means that we preach God's word,

obey God's word, and we make disciples who become more

like Jesus. Being a better church means that we don't

have to try and be something or not. We don't

have to try and impress a bunch of people or

to attract a big crowd. It means that we faithfully

live out the Gospel as God has called us. It

means that we share the gospel in our community. We

serve our community. That's why we started things like the

neighborhood Market so we can meet food needs in our

community in the name of Jesus. That's why we partnered

with a legal agency to offer free legal clinics to

people who have legal challenges that they can't afford to overcome.

You know. That's why we have ministry in the Arabic

language and Spanish language to help bring the Gospel to

non English speakers, to immigrants here in our community. And

there's so much more that God is calling us to do.

I'm really excited that we're beginning to make plans to

launch a ministry called Celebrate Recovery, which is a christ

centered twelve step program to help people get freedom from

addiction and from hurts and habits and hang ups in life.

And there's more for us to do. I still have

a desire that Church of the Crossing would have a

ministry specifically designed to serve the widows in our congregation,

to help them with things like like small home repair

or maintenance or or auto repair, things, things that we

can do practically, like, there's so much that God wants

us to do to live out the mission he's called

us to be, to be a better church, not just

a bigger church. And to fulfill that mission. It takes

people of grit to fulfill that mission. It takes people

like you, people like you who have grit. We've said

before that grit is doing what it takes to get

what matters done. You've heard Pastor James say this, grit

is doing what it takes to get what matters done.

Daniel was a person of grit. When I think about grit,

it makes me think about the greatest generation in America.

You know how I'm talking about. The greatest generation is

it's that generation that beat back the Great Depression, the

generation that built the interstate highways. It's the generation full

of rosy, the riveters, those women who stepped up, who

filled the manufacturing, the assembly line. It's the generation that

one World War Two, the great generation. It's the generation

of my grandparents. My Grandpa Miller was a part of

this generation. Grandpa Miller served in the Army. He lived

on the South side of Indy and After the military,

he worked at the railroad for a number of years

until his retirement. And Grandpa Miller was a person of grit.

He did what it takes to get what matters done.

I've heard the stories of him working second jobs to

make ends meet, to keep food on the table. I've

heard stories like this one. His house ran on oil

for heat, and there's a big oil tank in the

backyard that heated the house. And during the winter, on

some of those really really cold nights where the temperature

got really really low, there was a risk that the

oil would freeze and there'd be no heat in the house.

And so on those cold nights, Grandpa Miller would sometimes

build a little fire near or underneath that oil tank

to keep things warm. Now, I don't know how smart

or safe that, but yes, But the point is he

did what it takes to get what matters done. That's

what grit is, doing what it takes to get what

matters done. And so Daniel, he finds himself in a

disorienting situation. He's in a foreign land with foreign God's

foreign language. How's he going to be faithful to his God?

His temple has been destroyed, How's he going to obey God.

He's been deported out of his land. When Daniel moves

to Babylon, he faces a test that challenges his faith.

We read here in verse five, the king assigned them

a daily amount of food and wine from the King's table,

and then in verse eight, but Daniel was determined not

to defile himself by eating the food and wine given

to them by the king. He asks the chief of

staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. So

Daniel was Jewish, and according to the Old Testament laws,

Jewish people were forbidden to eat certain foods and including pork.

So poor Daniel probably never tasted bacon. But praise God

that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament laws so that we

can enjoy some bacon. But Daniel was under the Old

Covenant and so he followed those rituals in those dietary laws.

But it's also likely that Daniel wanted to set an

example that he trusted God for his well being, not

some foreign king. Notice the text says Daniel was determined

not to defile himself. People of Grit are determined people.

People of Grit are determined people. Daniel was determined not

to eat the unacceptable food. When you go to college

or move into adulthood in this new season of life,

there are many things for you to taste and try

in this world. It may not be like a king's

buffet table, but there are gonna be temptations and opportunities.

There's gonna be adventure, and there's gonna be some dangerous pitfalls.

You're gonna meet new friends, new relationships, and there's gonna

be some toxic people that you'll encounter. And you're gonna

face choices and decisions. Just like Daniel had to make

a decision. You're gonna have choices about your morals, decisions

about your faith, decisions about your mental health, decisions about

peer pressure and parties and politics and all these things.

Will you be determined like Daniel was. People of Grit

are determined people. Last month, I was on vacation and

I did some fly fishing, and I was determined to

catch a fish. I walked up the stream looking for

a fish, and I walked down the stream looking for

a fish, and then I crossed over to the other

side of the stream looking for a fish, and I

was determined not to give up. I walked through thickets

and tall grass, and I walked into a mudfield. It

felt like quicksand it was not quicksand, but it felt

like it was gonna suck me down. And in that

mudfield there was a lone Nike tennis shoe sticking out

out of the mud. Some poor fishermen went home with

only one shoe that day. I thankfully, I got out

and I kept both of my shoes with me. And

I was determined to catch a fish, and I did

catch something. Let me give you a magnifying glass so

you can see it. You know what we anglers call that,

We call that bait. People of grit are determined not

to give up, no matter how messy and sticky it gets.

They're determined, no matter how disappointed it gets, they don't

give up. People of grit are determined people. Daniel was

determined not to give up. Look at verse nine with me. Now,

God had given the chief of staff both respect and

affection for Daniel, but he responded, I am afraid of

my lord, the King, who has ordered that you eat

this food and wine. If you become pale and thin

compared to the other youths your age, I'm afraid the

King will have me be headed. So Daniel asked for

permission from his supervisor, but he got denied. The boss

turned him down. And so what does Daniel do next?

If he's determined not to give up? What does Daniel

do next? But what does the text say? The text

tells us what Daniel does. The text says Daniel logged

onto Facebook and posted, omg denied again, cancel the King.

I'm calling all the true Israelites to a protest. I

hope I don't have to tell you. That's not what

the text says. Here's what the text says. Daniel spoke

with the attendant who had been appointed by the Chief

of staff to look over Daniel, Hanna Andaya, Michelle and Azariah.

Please test us for ten days on a diet of

vegetables and water. At the end of the ten days,

see how we look compared to the other young men

who are eating the King's food. Then make your decision

in light of what you see. The attendant agreed to

Daniel's suggestion and tested them for ten days. When Daniel

got turned down by the first official, he went to

the next person in authority and he presented a strategy.

He presented a recommendation now, I want to be really

clear here. There are some in our culture, in our world,

who believe that it is the Christian's responsibility to wage

war against the culture, to force a non Christian culture

to become Christian. But when I look at the Bible,

when I look at Jesus, I do not see Jesus

waging a culture war. I see Jesus fighting a spiritual war.

I see Jesus declaring war against the forces of evil

and darkness, Jesus going to battle against the devil, against

hate and injustice and sin and death and disease. And

I see Jesus winning that spiritual fight. How did he win?

He won on the cross. Our victory comes from the

cross because Jesus humbled himself, he denied himself, he served,

he sacrificed. Jesus didn't pick up a sword, he didn't

rally an army or stage of protest. Jesus laid down

his life. And the sacrifice he made is so powerful

that he rose from the dead three days later. And

so whatever evil we encounter in this world, we walk

in resurrection power. The same power that raised Jesus from

the dead is the power that gives you victory. Over

injustice and evil gives you victory over sin and temptation

and addiction. That's the power that we walk in. And

so I want to be clear. Daniel got turned down,

but he didn't give up. He was determined, but he

was also humble. He didn't give up, but he was

also respectful. Daniel had grit, but he also showed respect

and honor and humility. When you look at the story

in the Life of Daniel, it's important to understand that

Daniel is not giving the church today a recipe for

how to force a non Christian culture to become Christian.

In fact, you'll read throughout the whole Book of Daniel

that Babylon stays pretty pagan. What Daniel does is he

provides an example for how Christians can remain faithful to

Jesus in a non Christian culture. The primary way that

Christians influenced the culture is by serving Jesus, honoring Jesus,

obeying Jesus. So we read in Daniel one verse eight

it says that Daniel was determined. He was determined people

of grit are determined. Another translation might say that Daniel

resolved in his heart not to defile himself That's why

I want to say people of grit determine their values.

See Daniel resolved in his heart. He had a value system,

he had a belief system that he was committed to.

People of grit determined their values. Earlier, I mentioned my

Grandpa Miller. He was a person of grit. Grandpa Miller

also loved John Wayne movies, those old Western movies. I

think Granpa Miller watched every single John Wayne movie multiple times.

I think he owned them all on VHS. He loved

John Wayne. And there's that one John Wayne movie called

True Grit where he plays Rooster Cogburn, the rough tough.

He's got a beard and an eye passion. He's hunting

down outlaws and bad guys like gritty tough guy. You know.

John Wayne had a lot of famous quotes, and John

Wayne once said a man's got to have a code,

a creed to live by. That's cowboy talk for determine

your values. People of grit determine their values. What are

your values? Your values are your beliefs, your convictions, and

your priorities that shape your decisions and actions. Your values

are your beliefs, your convictions, your priorities that shape your

decisions and your action. That's what your values are. Your

values influenced what you do with money. Your values shape

how you treat other people, your relationships. Your values influence

your career, your education. Every part of your life is

formed by your values. Let me share an example of

how your values play out in day to day average life.

I have a friend and we'll call his name Joe,

and Joe is in his twenties. Joe works in the

marketplace here in Indie, and he works in sales. And

so Joe's job is to sell new phone lines and

new accounts for his company. And recently, Joe's company changed

their incentive structure and how they do commissions for sales,

and so Joe has to sell something like twenty new

accounts each month to meet that commission. And he needs

that money. He counts on that money to pay his

bills and his expenses and all of that. In one month,

the sales period was coming to an end in just

a couple of days, and Joe had not met the requirement.

I think he needed like five more new sales. And

one day he was working with a client on their

account and Joe's co worker had a suggestion for Joe,

and he suggested that Joe add a couple of extra

lines to this one client's account, and then the client

wouldn't know about it, and it wouldn't cost them anything,

and if they ever found out about it, they could

just remove them. But it would help Joe get that

commission meet that goal. Well, Joe has some values based

on God's word, and those values told him that that

was wrong, that wasn't honest. And so in spite of

the peer pressure, in spite of the financial pressure, he

was determined to stick to his values, and so he

didn't do that. What do you think happened when the

sales period ended? Not only did Joe meet the minimum

for that commission, but he exceeded it. And I believe

he received the highest possible commission for that sales period

because God honored him for his integrity, honored him for

following and being determined his values. Your values shape your life.

People of grit determine their values, and so Daniel, he

was a person of grit, and he stuck to his values.

So he proposed this ten day trial of eating vegetables

and water. How did that work out? Keep reading in

verse fifteen At the end of the day. At the

ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and

better nourished than the young men who had been eating

the food assigned by the king. So after that the

attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and

wine provided for the others. God gave these four men

an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom,

and God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the

meanings of visions and dreams. So college students, if you

want to get good grades in college, eat vegetables and water.

I'm kidding, that's not what we're learning here. Daniel knew

what his values were. He was determined to stick to

his values, and he did not let his situation or

the pressure change his values. Hear me clearly what I'm

about to say. If you do not determine your values

for yourself, Babylon will do it for you. If you

do not define and determine your own values, somebody else

is going to decide your values for you. Because we

all have values, whether consciously or unconsciously. You've got values

that help you make decisions. Values in the way that

you treat others and conduct yourself. Author Mark Batterson wrote this,

for better or for worse, your destiny is the result

of your daily decisions and defining decisions. So college students,

young adults, if you don't know your values, somebody else

will decide them for you. They'll tell you what they are.

A professor will set your values. A boyfriend or a

girlfriend will set your values. If you don't determine your values,

a boss will do it for you. Your peers, or a

podcast or influencers, or a news network or a political

candidate will tell you what your values are. If you

don't determine your values, Babylon will do it for you.

Daniel determined his value. I love how the King James

version puts verse eight. It says Daniel purposed in his

heart that he would not defile himself. Daniel put his

values in his heart. They were purposed like concrete in

his heart. Long before he was tested, long before he

was deported, he had these values. You know, the Summer

Olympics are happening right now. Personally, I really enjoy the

Winter Olympics. I love anything with skiing, downhill skiing, slalom, moguls,

I love the ski jump, the biathlon, I love watching

anything with skis, and I learned that a professional ski

athlete averages eighty miles an hour downhill. Some of them

will reach speeds of over one hundred miles an hour. Now,

I told you earlier that I like to go fast.

I like French fries, not pizza. French fries keep me fast,

But that is scary fast. I don't want to go

that fast. Life comes at you fast, whether you're going

to college, raising a fam, getting married, whatever it is,

life comes at you fast, and you got to make decisions.

You got to make choices. When I'm skiing down a mountain,

I'm skiing the horseshoe bowl. I've got my fundamentals. I

remember what I learned as a kid in the ski school.

French fries go fast, pizza slows down. French fries go fast,

pizza slows down. Those fundamentals keep me safe and keep

me going in the right direction. Your values keep you

safe in life. Your values keep you headed in the

right direction. If you don't determine your values, somebody else,

Babylon will do it for you. So what happens at

the end of the story. How does this turn out

for Daniel? We read here in verse eighteen. At the

end of the time set by the king to bring

them into his service, the chief official presented them to

Nebu Knezer. The king talked with them, and he found

none equal to Daniel, Hananiyah, Michelle, and Azariah. So they

entered the King's service. In every matter of wisdom and

understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them

ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in

his whole kingdom. God gave Daniel favor because he determined

his values. God gave him favor even with non believers.

Remember Daniel, Daniel doesn't force Babylon or coerce Babylon to

become a Christian nation. He has given influence over the

King of Babylon because he lived out his values. And

it's important for us to note when we look at

Daniel's life, Daniel was not alone. He had friends. There

were three other friends who had the same values. It's

important to be in community. It's important to have like

minded people to support you and encourage you. I talk

often with high school students and college students, and many

Christian teenagers tell me that they're anxious about whether they

should go to a Christian private college, or if they

should go to a large public university and they just

don't know which one to go to. And you know,

this one might have a big party scene and this

one has good values. Let me tell you what I've

learned working with hundreds of students over all the years.

Here's what I've learned. You will find whatever you're looking

for wherever you find yourself. You're gonna find whatever you're

looking for, no matter what college, no matter what job,

no matter where you live, whatever you're looking for, you're

gonna find it. Man. I've met so many Christian students

who went to a private, conservative Christian college and they

found the party scene, they found the bad influences. And

I know many who went to a large public university

with a reputation to be in a party school, and

that's where they found Jesus. That's where their faith grew strong,

because they got into ministry, they got into a church.

That's where their faith blossomed. You will find whatever you're

looking for wherever you find yourself. That's why your values

inform who you spend time with, values inform your community.

You know, for those college students, those young adults going

into adulthood. I've been thinking about what to say to

you today as you many of you prepare to go

to school and off even this month, and I was

tempted to give you some very direct do this, don't

do that, watch out for this, like here's some dogma

for your values. But you know what, I realized, you

don't need me to tell you what your values are.

You need to hear from Jesus. Jesus is the one

who sets your values, not me. Because when you're in life,

when you're in challenges, when you're disappointed, when when you've

got questions or doubts, or you've got temptations, you don't

need to remember something that I said. You need to

remember what Jesus said, what Jesus has spoken into your heart.

And the best way to hear from Jesus is his word.

It's the Bible. Because the Bible has a lot to

say about your values. Young people, got you gotta look

at what does the Bible say about alcohol and drunkeness.

You gotta study that. You gotta see what does the

Bible say about honoring other people in authority? What does

the Bible say about stewarding managing your money? You know

the Bible, it doesn't talk a lot about dating, but man,

it's got a lot to say about sex, integrity, and

morality and marriage. Look at the Bible. What does Jesus

say about your values in a moment. But before we end,

we're going to have an opportunity just to respond and

hear from Jesus today too. Your values shape who you are.

And I want to close with this story. You know,

the Summer Olympics are happening in Paris right now. The

last time the Summer Olympics were in Paris was nineteen

twenty four, one hundred years ago, exactly last time they

were in Paris. And during those Olympics, there was a

young track athlete who competed in track and field for

the United Kingdom Great Britain. His name was Eric Little.

You may know his name or have seen a movie

about him. And Eric was a committed Christian and he

was competing for his country, and he was eager to

run in the one hundred meter race. Often the winner

of that race, the world record holder is known as

the fastest person on earth, and so he trained for

one hundred meters. He prepared for the one hundred meters

and he was favored to do well. But there's one problem.

The qualifying race for the one hundred meters was set

on a Sunday, and as a Christian, Eric had a

personal value that Sunday was the Sabbath, the Lord's Day,

and that he should not compete. That was his value.

His teammates tried to persuade him, his coaches tried to persuadehim,

but he was committed to his values. He was determined,

and so he did not run an one hundred meter race. Instead,

he registered for the four hundred meter race. Now, if

you're a runner, or if you talk to a runner,

they will tell you training for one hundred meter race

is a lot different than the four hundred meter race.

It's like night and day. You train different, you run different,

you breathe different, it's all different. This was not Eric's

primary event, but he signed up and when the race started,

he shot out of the blocks as fast as he could,

so fast that two other runners fell down trying to

keep up with him. He won the race, won the

gold medal, and he set the world record for the

four hundred that lasted for twelve years. Now you may

know that story because you've read it or seen it

in a movie. But what isn't often told about Eric

is what he did after the Olympics because Eric was

a person of grit, determined to stick to his values.

After winning the gold medal, Eric moved to China to

serve as a missionary with his family, and he served

there for the rest of his life, teaching Bible classes,

starting sports programs for young kids, showing them who Jesus was.

When World War Two broke out, Eric was serving in

China and China became dangerous, so he sent his wife

and his children out of the country, But Eric was

a person of grit and he stayed in country. During

the war, he served at a hospital with his brother,

taking care of the sick, sharing the gospel, helping people

meet Jesus. And then when the Japanese invaded China, they

put Eric and his team into an internment camp. But

he was a person of grit, and Eric continued to

share the gospel. He continue to make disciples, continue to

use sports as a mechanism for the gospel. Sadly, the

internment camp conditions were so poor that it affected Eric's

health and he died in camp at the a young age.

Of forty three years old, just five months before the

Allies liberated the camp. But Eric was a person of grit,

determined to fulfill the mission that God gave him. Now,

it's likely that you're not going to travel the globe

as a missionary. It's possible that God's not going to

give you a global platform like the Olympics, or you

probably won't find yourself in a prisoner of war camp.

But God has placed you in your context for his glory.

God's put you in your family, in your community, at

your job for his mission. And God has put you

here at church at the crossing for the mission that

God has given us. If we want to become a

better church, not just a bigger church, it takes people

of grit, people like you. That's why we need to

know our values and follow our values. Earlier I said

that Jesus has to speak to you. Jesus has to

form your values inside of you. And so I want

to invite you to respond right now to this message

we've heard from God's word. Just a moment of response,

Would you your head and close your eyes with me,

And as you open your heart in your mind, I

encourage you to pray to the Lord and ask him

to show you if there is a value that you

need to establish in your life. Perhaps you're a parent,

is there a value that you need to establish in

your home for your children. Perhaps God is revealing that

there's a false value or a misinterpreted value that you

need to change. Just ask him, is there a value

you need to establish