Go All Out!

Go all out! Don't be a copout, holdout, or dropout in your faith.

Michael Phelps went to Beijing China for the 08 Olympics and won 8 gold medals there… When someone wins something like that we need to realize that there is much more that has gone on than just in that moment in time.  It's also about the past and all the hours and hard work that have gotten them to that point that we are watching. Michael Phelps worked hard to go all out and win those medals; not just in the race but in all of the time that he invested. He earned every bit of those 8 gold medals.  He's going to be 24 years old but he began swimming when he was 7 years old and when he first started out he refused to even put his face in the water. To help him out in his fear, his instructors allowed him to first just float around on his back. Not surprisingly, he mastered the backstroke first; and over time he developed into the champion that he is now. He is described as having the perfect swimmer's body; he is 6'4" tall but he has an arm span of 6'7". He has a long thin torso and relatively short legs for his height; size 14 feet, large hands and hyper mobile ankles; all of which adds up to a great body for swimming but we must realize that it isn't all that it took. It took a lot of dedication and devotion to his sport to accomplish all that he has. Michael Phelps went all out to win those medals, and people who win and succeed are all out kind of people.

John C Maxwell who has written many books on Leadership; he says that there are 4 different types of people in this world. Let's take a look at them….First off there's: The copouts to cop out; is a saying meaning to avoid taking responsibility for an action or to avoid fulfilling a duty. These people don't have goals set for themselves and they refuse to commit to anything. They never have a plan. They don't put into place a goal and they don't think about their lives past the moment that they exist in. It's all about choosing an easy alternative instead of investing their time and energy in something or someone other than themselves. Jonah out of the bible kind of copped out when he took off from God when He had asked him to go to Ninevah and tell the people to turn away from their sins and seek Him. Jonah copped out and instead went to Tarshish.

Cop outs are the best at giving excuses… "Why they couldn't do something or why they didn't go somewhere." And after awhile when they go off into their myriad of excuses – your mind tends to go off elsewhere too; because you've heard it all before. They are exhausting to be around… they remind me of a big floppy doll who always needs to be propped up or held together. Nothing ever seems to come from a cop out… they start and stop a lot but nothing ever seems to get finished or completed. They are it seems forever in a state of limbo… their bodies seem to be inactive but yet their mouths always seem to be moving…they are to me the saddest bunch. They are kind of like babies…they like it if things revolve around them. They are insecure but yet selfish. It's all the mindset of feed me, change me, look at me – am I not adorable?

Then there are the: Hold outs, a hold out is a person not committing to something out of fear of failure. We hear it being described as paralyzed with fear because that's just what the hold out does….they don't move. Sadly they never become all that were supposed to be because they never got rid of their fear of failure. They try to avoid new things and challenges at all costs. They a lot of times stay in a safe but unchallenging position or an unfulfilling job, or a familiar but boring career, instead of trying new things and perhaps failing at them. They look at life wrongly…Henry Ford said that "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." There's no doubt about it - we are going to fail – it's just a matter of time. We will eventually make a wrong decision, choice or thought and we will have to deal with the repercussions from it but if we regroup and move on and go into a different direction we can still succeed.  To truly make it in life we need to embrace failure not as a wrong step but a right step.  In the animal world; within a few seconds after its birth, a baby giraffe will struggle to its feet. Shortly afterward, the mother will knock it over from that first wobbly stance. And this happens over and over again until the young giraffe stands with confidence. We can't comprehend that; to us it seems like an awfully cruel way for a mom to treat her baby; but it is in fact truly an act of love by the mother. For the baby giraffe to survive in its dangerous world it must learn really quickly how to get up in the face of danger.

To the hold out – they need to have the same mind set… maybe in the long run being knocked down will help them to survive in this big scary world.

If we don't try we may never know to the point that we could have actually succeeded. It's said that an entrepreneur will fail an average of 3.8 times before they finally make it in a business venture.  It's all in perspective and how you look at it…With three steps forward and two steps backward – you will have still moved one step ahead.  If you can decide to see your own "failures" as a necessary part of your progress, instead of beating yourself up over it over time you will begin to see your successes add up. A hold out needs to be their own cheerleader; telling themselves that they can and will make it and reach for those things that don't come easily. Moses tried to hold out; he tried to tell God that he wasn't the person to lead those who were captive out of Egypt because he couldn't speak well… it was more really about his fear of doing something outside of what came easily for him that really paralyzed him. God knew though that he could do it if he would just try.  Thomas Edison said that "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." I can kind of think of a hold out as an adolescent – sometimes they really don't want to have to grow up…. Then there are the: a Drop out, dropping out by definition means leaving something for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment. Sometimes you can just describe them as quitters. Some people drop out because of laziness – others out of lack of hope or some out of trying to do too many things or allowing one certain thing to takes up all their time. Same thing happens in churches all over the world. I have known many drop outs….the worst thing about them is their fantasy that they play in their mind that they will come back whenever they decide to and then walk right back in and go on as though nothing ever happened. But for the most part, the enemy makes sure that never happens! Drop outs don't do well when the going gets tough and anyone who has truly read the bible understands that it's just a matter of time until those tough times are going to come. John Mark in the bible dropped out for awhile when he decided to go home from a missionary journey that he was on with Paul, thankfully though in his case he did make it back… God's word tells us to weigh the cost of following after Him.  A lot of people DON'T. Saddest of all is that there are a lot of drop outs who affect others. There is comfort in numbers so if "I can be a drop out then maybe you can too and we can both feel good about our lack of accomplishments." This is in my mind can be the teenager… who finally becomes aware of all that life is going to be about but they just don't know if they can handle it so they instead give up.  Finally there is the: All out All outs go above and beyond all that is ever asked and expected of them. It is the Olympic winner… the person who will set goals, commit to them and pay the price to reach them. Michael Phelps may have a body built to be a swimmer but if not for dedication; he wouldn't be who he is. It wasn't his body alone that got him up at the earliest hours of the morning and kept him in the pool for up to 5 hours of the day swimming and training. It was his drive! An all out has counted the cost and they couldn't possibly give less of themselves. They are committed! Commitment is action… you don't see them sitting on the sidelines making excuses or playing games you see them instead bettering and devoting themselves to whatever it is that they are called to do. They understand that commitment always comes before achievement. NBA legend Michael Jordan says that heart is what separates the good from the great.  Nothing is easier than saying words… and nothing is harder than living them day after day after day. Who are you??? Are you a cop out, a holdout, a drop out, or an all out? Look at yourself honestly and truthfully and begin to make some adjustments. Sometimes we think that we are really committed to something but in truth everything about our lives would prove that to be otherwise. Think about it…Who or what is the object of your attention? Ask yourself who or what you are living for? Or better yet– what am I willing to die for?  John Maxwell asks "if it came down to it, what in life would you NOT be able to stop doing no matter the consequences?"An all out to me is a mature grown up; those who have put childish things aside. Look at Paul in the bible; he says that he fought the fight and that he finished the race.  To make it as an Olympic athlete like Michael Phelps who can win gold I think it takes 4 things, and I think these same 4 things apply to our following Jesus just as well…. It takes desire/passion, it takes dependence, it takes discipline, and it takes delight. If you have these four things you can't help but be an all out in what you do. These Olympiads that we've been watching on television do all they can and look to receive medals to show everyone that they are the best of the best; but did you also know that God tells us that we too will be rewarded for what we have done in our race of faith?

1 Corinthians 9:24, 25 remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You must also run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self control they do it to win a prize that will fade away but we do it for an eternal prize.

Matthew 16:27 Jesus says for I the son of Man will come in the glory of my father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.

1 Corinthians 3:8 -the one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose; yet they will be rewarded individually according to their own hard work.

It's an individual event; and these crowns that we receive will never tarnish or rust away.

Be an all out for God!