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Webster’s says, ‘to act upon steadily through pushing or thrusting force, to exert contact’. In other words, pressing on means you’re steadily pushing. You’re not giving up. You’re not quitting. Listen, the easiest thing to do in life is quit. It takes no effort to quit or to surrender. It takes real determination to stay in the fight.

The original verse I talked about in Jude 3 says, “Contending for the faith.” If you’re contending for the faith, you’re a contender. A contender is ‘one that contends, especially a competitor for a championship and a high honor’. The title of my message today is, “Are you a contender for a prize?” Are you a contender for the prize?

I want to read you a couple of quotes. “It isn’t the struggle or the adversity that defines you; it is your response to it.” Amen? I read this in the Bible, “In this life you will have tribulation.” Now, if it’s in the Bible, it’s true. Right? So, if He told me that in this life I’m going to have trouble, I’m going to have trouble. It isn’t the struggle or the adversity that defines you, it’s your response to it. Jack Dempsey said this, “A champion is someone who gets up when others can’t.” Can you stand up when others quit? There will be plenty of people around you who will quit. When we were running five miles that day, some people quit.

When I was a correctional officer for sixteen years I worked the tier. I worked the worst prisons. I worked at the oldest operating jail in the United States of America. Every day people quit. People would get in fights with inmates, and officers wouldn’t respond. They quit.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. There are risks in the fight, but winning is worth the risk. You’ll never really know what you can accomplish till you get in the fight. You’ll really never know how good you are, how much you can take, or how effective you can be, till you get in the fight.

There is more to this message! You can watch it on YouTube at this link!