Frankie Mazzapica - When Endurance is All You've Got
You know, I admittedly am making a rookie mistake as a preacher and as a communicator. It’s a rookie mistake. A rookie mistake is when you build a message for yourself and end up preaching to yourself. It’s a rookie mistake. It’s what a lot of preachers do when they’re just kind of getting into it. I think you know, I mean, geez, what’s 47 minus 17? That’s easy, 30. That’s the easiest one, right? But you don’t even have to carry a one or anything. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I’m about to make a -oh, thank you-I’m about to make a rookie mistake because rookies build their sermons to preach for themselves, and everybody else just kind of listens in. But once you’ve been doing it, you really say, «What would you guys want to hear?» So I’m preaching to myself this morning, and you guys get to listen in. But I really believe that many of you are going to go, «Hey, that’s me too.» Great relationships start when one person says to the other, «Hey, me too.» That’s when you connect.
And I really believe that the title of today’s message is «When Endurance is All You’ve Got.» It’s all I’ve got. I’m not going to be awesome today, okay? I’m not going to be awesome this week; there’s nobody I’m going to admire myself this week. You know, sometimes you back up, and you say, «Look, I’m not being cocky, but I’m doing good.» Are you with me? Say yes. Are you with me? Say yes. You guys say yes a lot since I’m preaching to myself. You can encourage me. Say yes. Yeah, I’m not being cocky but I know I’m doing good. And then there are other times when you’re just trying to put one foot in front of the other. Like, there are so many times at the end of my day-you know what’s so funny?
One of my very close friends, his name is John. John, why don’t you stand up and wave at everybody? He knew me when I was cutting my teeth; I was 17 years old. He just told me a few months ago, «I don’t even know if you remember saying this. You know, Frankie, sometimes you’re so transparent, I think you’ve crossed the line.» Sometimes I feel that, and I think I’m going to feel it even more, but here we go. We’re in this; this is part two of a series that we’re in. Next week will be part three. But today’s message, actually the series, is called «I Fought the Good Fight, I Finished the Race.» That’s what we’re going to talk about today. And I’ve kept the faith. So we’re going to talk about the race today.
Let’s build our foundation straight away. This is 2 Timothy. This is Paul. He’s old in age. He knows he’s about to pass away. This is what he says: «For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.» This is how he summarizes his life: " I have fought a good fight, and I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.» Everybody say, «A crown.» One more time, «A crown.»
«A crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto everyone in Celebration Church, unto all of them, all the Christians, everybody reaching toward the Lord. All of them will get a crown also, that love His appearing. They love the Lord; they long to see Him; they long to be close to Him. They’re looking forward to heaven.» I’m going to focus just on the course. I’ve got two major points for you. The first one is just about the course, how it is preset. The second point is the title, the endurance for the course.
So there’s so much that I want to make sure that I say. I don’t always use an iPad, but I’m going to use it today. Trust the course. In 1 Timothy 4:7, he says, «I have finished my course.» Watch this. Let’s read Hebrews 12:1; it reads like this: «And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.» Look at that. Marked out. Your course, your life was marked out. This is what you’re going to do at one year old too. This is what your life is going to look like when you’re born. This is the situation you’re going to be in. This is the elementary school. You’re going to be; your parents are going to get a divorce. You’re never going to know your father. Your parents are going to stay together. You’re going to live in Michigan. You’re going to live where? I’ve never sent angels, Louisiana. I’m just kidding you. This is where you’re going to live. Are you with me? Say yes.
I know your life has had ups and it has had downs, as mine has, but every single up was part of the course that the Lord scratched out. There’s a Woodlands marathon that comes here every year. Before one person shows up to run the race, they’ve already put out orange cones. They’re showing up; they don’t know when to take a right, when to take a left, and when to go straight. They just run. And then there are policemen and cones that go this way, this way. It’s already been set out. All right, watch this. Let’s read the next verse. There we go, Ephesians 2:10: «For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.»
So he set up the course, and the moments where the people that you are around right now, even during hard seasons, good seasons, high seasons, low seasons, there are people that you have influence with, meaning they listen to you. He says we are going to partner together in good works. So he planned who you’re going to talk to; he planned when you’re going to talk to them; he planned your seasons. In Daniel 2:21, it says that he changes the seasons and the times. In other words, he backs up and goes, «Okay, you’re about to take a left on the course. That part of the course is over; this is it. It’s laid out.»
Let me point out something that we’ve already emphasized. You don’t get to pick your course. You can only capitalize on the opportunities during your course. Like you back up and you go, «Look, I didn’t pick this. I wish I had more resources. I wish I knew, but this is my life, and I’ve got to figure out how to do good right here.» Sometimes your course is fast; sometimes it’s slow. It is what it is. Are you with me? Say yes. Let me point out something. There are difficult seasons. Paul says this: «I have finished my course.»
Let’s look at his course. Can we do that? We already know he wrote more than half of the New Testament, but watch. In 2 Corinthians 11:23, he talks about the difficult stretches. Watch this: Imprisonments. He’s been to prison so many times; theologians don’t know how many times he’s been. If you read scripture, it’s between five and seven times he was thrown into prison just for doing what God called him to do. Thrown into prison. I’m going to go quickly. He’s been beat so many times that he says «countless beatings.» He can’t even count. This is his course: Five times he received 39 lashes.
Now, if I whipped you with a bullwhip 39 times, would you even be alive? And what would your life look like after that? But it wasn’t a bullwhip; it was a whip about this long, made with leather like a bullwhip, but it had seven strips with glass in it and bones in it, so it ripped his back. How many times did that happen? Five times-39 lashes. He’s like, «This is my course.» He did not pick that course. Watch this: Three times I was beaten with rods, one time I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, dangers from rivers, robbers, Jews, Gentiles.
Watch this: countless nights of being hungry, thirsty, sleepless, cold. What’s that show when you can get voted off the island? Survivor. Survivor. Okay, I’m going to last 30 minutes; I’m going to snuff out my own. Get me out of here! One mosquito, I’m out of here! Some of those people-they lay there. What are you doing? You’re not getting a medal; just get-I’m out. Bye, I’m out of here. I don’t like stuff like that. But you, Survivor, you volunteer for it. Why? Because they’re nuts. But in life, you don’t get to volunteer for your course; you get stuck in your course. But let me say this: God allows you to be on the course; He arranges you to be on the course, but there’s no part of the course that you’re supposed to stay in. A course is a route. You stay there -let me move on because I’ve got so much to say.
There’s a moment in someone’s life where it’s like an acceptance stage. It’s not an acceptance like I’m going to be here forever. Like, you know God’s going to shift your season, but you kind of stop being mad or frustrated about your course; you kind of begin to see the potential of the course that you’re in. You’re no longer mad about it. That’s why Paul says this in Galatians 6:4: He says, «Pay careful attention to your own course.» Paul didn’t look at John and look at Peter and look at them-Look what I’m doing. He’s like, «Pay attention to your own course, and then you’ll receive this satisfaction of a job well done.» You’ve got to be very careful of people telling you what your course should be, and you’ve got to be very careful telling yourself what your course should be, because you don’t get to pick it.
My father got remarried when I think I was 16. And when he picked her out, I was cheering him on. She was this 5-foot-10 blonde who modeled in a bikini in front of speedboats when she was like 19, all right? And she was about, I don’t know, 31 at the time. And I’m like, «Dad, I feel strongly that this is the will of God for your life and my life.» And he was like, «Don’t worry; the Lord already spoke to me long before you even met her. I know this is from God.» That marriage was awesome! Incredible! Everything we both dreamed it would be for about a year. And when I say this, I’m not even joking at all -she went crazy. And what I mean by that is, to date, we’ve lost count of how many times she’s tried to kill herself. It’s over 10.
I’ve got a picture in my phone where she took a garden hose and wrapped it around a staircase and fa-like she’s taken so many Advil. She’s fallen before, and the doctor gave her pain pills, and she’s washed them all down at once. My dad’s a pastor; the church is 30 years old-New Covenant Church in Humble. This year Leah has probably been to church five times, maybe she’s not well. Now, I’m not talking behind her back; this is part of my dad’s testimony. She’s very open about it; she’s just not well.
Now, when my dad-after my mother and father got divorced-my dad was like, he was a total stud. He was like, he’s Sicilian. You’ve heard him preach here many times if you attend our church. He just looked like Robert De Niro, like a total stud. This wasn’t the course he anticipated. And what do you do? So, there are these large chunks where he and I are talking where you just-What do you do? And you’re upset; you feel like you got hoodwinked. We were very upset because Leah’s family knew that she was crazy, and they didn’t tell us. She was already checked into a home like three times, and they didn’t tell us, and we’re like-there was a talk about problems with your in-laws-like a whole different, you think there was a whole different deal with that.
And so there’s this anger period. And just for kicks and giggles, there was another girl that he was-I call her a girl — she, I think they were in their early 40s. If you’re a lady, you’re a girl till you die. Okay, I’m going to-if you’re 92, I’m going to say, «What’s up, girl?» There was another girl; her name was Debbie. She was a multi-multi-millionaire. Multi, multi, multi, multi. Her husband left her, and she was interested in my dad. And to this day, we’re like, «I wonder where Debbie’s at right now?»
I actually texted him, and I was like, «Hey, where do you think Debbie’s at?» like three days ago. He texted back, «I think she blocked me.» But no, we’re just… But there’s a certain point where my dad backed up, and he was just like, «This is my course, and I’ve got opportunities here. God’s in this.» When you’re in the middle of your course, unless you’re wise beyond your years-and some of you are, you’re 17, 25, you’re wise beyond your years-but there’s a certain point that usually kicks in, like around your late 30s to 40s, where you just go, «This is my course.» And then you’re over getting angry and mad; you’re just trying to figure out how to capitalize now. How do I capitalize on this? It’s my course.
Point number two: sometimes endurance is all you’ve got. Let me read a scripture. This is what Paul says. I’ll get to that scripture in a minute. There are times when you look back over your life, and you know you’re moving the ball down the field, like God is using you. And then there are other times where you’re just trying to get through the day. See, sometimes you’re trying to get through the year because it’s a hard year. Then there are other times where you’re just trying to get through the day. This is when endurance is all you’ve got. You’re not going to be victorious over anything; you’re just trying to endure. But what the scriptures tell us-and I’m about to share it right now-is that God does not value your life according to your achievements, but rather your endurance. He blesses lives that endure; He just brings things to you. But it’s endurance to be able to get through the seasons when nothing good is happening. It’s endurance.
Those of you that are just trying to endure, when you get to the end of your day and you go, «I won the day,» if you’ve never said that to yourself, adopt those words. You just, at the end of the day, go-you didn’t do anything awesome, you just go, «I won the day.» How did I win the day? Because I’m still here, right? I’m going back to my bed; I won the day. Why? Watch how God honors endurance, not achievement. Endurance. Watch this: Matthew 24:13, «But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.» It doesn’t say Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes. No, no, no. Just like, «I’m still here.» Go to the next one. Watch this: «Blessed is the one who perseveres.» Not just awesome, perseveres under trial. You’re just getting through it. Having stood the test, that person will receive the crown. You get a crown just for getting through it-a crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
The only thing you can do sometimes is, «I’m not going to quit, and I love you.» Is that anybody? «I’m not going to quit, and I love you.» I’m a horrible dad, but I’m not going to quit, and I love you. I’m a horrible husband, but I’m not going to quit, and I love you. I’m a…
Watch this next verse. «Blessed are you when people insult you.» They’re not going to heaven, but blessed-blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice! That’s pretty hard, but rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven. Great is your reward in heaven! For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Great is your reward! Why? Because you just endured.
You know what I said to myself between services? I was kind of going over the message in my head, and I said to myself, «Isn’t it interesting how most people believe in you after you do something good?» Isn’t that true? You can’t find anybody to believe in you when you yourself don’t believe in you, but then after you do it, they’re like, «I always believed in you!» When there’s nobody around, it’s just you. Endurance is so greatly valued. Sometimes I just tell the Lord, «Lord, bless the people in the church.» Just so you know, when you’re not praying for you, I’m praying for you. And when you are praying for you, I’m praying for you, too. And sometimes I’m like, «God, just help the weak be strong; just endure.»
I did a half-Ironman one time. It’s a 70-mile race; actually, 70.3 miles. The race starts with a 1.2-mile swim. You get out of the water, you jump on a bike, and you bike for 56 miles. You get off the bike, and then you run a half marathon, 13.1 miles. When I did it, I remember when it was over, I saw how fast I did it, and I was so crushed. I was so crushed! I just looked down at it. I’ve run marathons, I’ve run half marathons; I trained so hard for this. I looked down, and I was just crushed. And my wife got me a medal and this plaque and all this kind of stuff, and it’s sitting in my office. I’ve just always looked at it and just thought, «That wasn’t a great race!» Like, I trained to do better than that, right? And then it hit me: I just did a 70-mile race-a 70.3-mile race! Like, I couldn’t even swim.
True story. My son put a note on my pillow and said, «Daddy, please don’t do this.» When I took swimming lessons, I remember standing in a pool. I paid someone to teach me how to swim. There were only little toddlers in the pool, and I remember thinking, «If I can swim to that wall, I will feel so great about myself.» I remember thinking that I could go under and go like this, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t go like this. And now the race is over, and I’m like, well, almost two years later, I don’t even want to talk about it. Now you’re looking at me like, «Are you an idiot? Are you an idiot?» Because you’re saying, «70 miles, you made it.» That’s what you’re saying. «You made it. You endured. You could have quit.»
My tire on my bike blew out. I could have quit. There are so many of you whose tire blew out, whose marriage failed, who are unemployed, deep in debt. You’re still… Let me give you some earmarks of people who endure. Let me just read it to you. You keep working hard even when the return isn’t what you hoped for. You still go to work even though your paycheck isn’t making ends meet, and you work hard, and nobody at work even knows your financial situation, but you’re still working hard, and they appreciate you so much. Why are you still working? Because you have endurance. You hold tightly to relationships even when they feel like they’re going to fail. You fight to grow stronger in the very areas where you’ve been weak. My mother-in-law, Leah-that’s who I’ve been talking about-her mom, my grandmother, my adopted grandmother, her funeral was on Saturday. And Leah told me, «I told my mom that I’ll live the rest of my life being my best self.»
Leah knows she’s not well, but what we all know is that she has endurance. Sometimes endurance is all you have. But we just read scriptures on the reward for endurance. You know you have endurance when you show incredible resilience in the face of setbacks. Setbacks. You work 10 years to get here, and then in a snap of a finger, you’re here, but you claw your way forward. Endurance. You pursue growth even when other people don’t believe in you. I had somebody tell me one time, «Frankie, you just keep repeating to yourself, 'I’m better than I was yesterday, and I will continue to get better.'»
Watch this. You keep looking to the Lord when your faith is thin. When you can hardly believe in Him, you’re still enduring. You long for righteousness even though your life is peppered with unrighteousness. I grew up on the east side of Houston. Some of you don’t know where that is, but it’s not the Woodlands. Just trust me. I remember I almost-I was going to buy a gun in class, and the cop showed up that morning and arrested the guy who was going to sell me the gun. That’s where I grew up, on the east side of Houston. I actually hated people in the Woodlands. The fact that I’m here is absolutely insane. I wasn’t poor; I was «po.» It was-I had a rag for a gas cap, for real. None of my tires matched. None of my rims matched. I had a boom box.
Some of you have no idea what that is, but a boom box strapped into my car with an antenna, and I put my love songs mixtape in there. Remember that? My wife and I were going to a funeral in Beaumont. So if you’re going to go to Beaumont, you have to drive through the east side of Houston to get there. And I’m driving through, and I’m telling her, «Hey, this is where I got my bike stolen. This is where I used to work. This is where I used to live. This was the bridge over I-10 that I hung off and did graffiti on it.»
I just kept going down the list, and then I saw places and I didn’t even mention them to her because I didn’t want her to know I did that, right? These were all little snapshots. And then when I look back on it, all I see is peppered unrighteousness. But I remember longing and wishing for righteousness. Those of you that long and wish for righteousness-it’s endurance. I want to show you something about endurance. Because in the craziest way, endurance always wins. If you can just endure, it always wins.
How does it win? Well, we just read scriptures about how God does not value your life according to your accomplishments but according to your endurance. We just read scriptures that, you’re just like, «I’m not going to quit. I might stink, but I’m not going to quit.» This room is full of people who don’t quit. You may not be as awesome as you wish you were, but you don’t quit. And God says, «I can’t wait to see you. Your reward is so big.» But endurance also matters here because some of you have never met my dad in your life, but you honor him just because he’s endured. He has influence in your life. If you bumped into him or he comes here and speaks a lot, you give him instant credibility. Your heart is open. You’re ready to listen because he endured. Endurance wins.
Have you ever had somebody look at you and tell you and counsel you, and you’re like, «You have no idea what it’s like to be me»? It’s kind of like a priest giving you marriage counseling. It’s like, «That was a stupid joke, wasn’t it?» I heard it in my head; I was like, «Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.» I was right. A priest could be, but when somebody has been through something, when they endured it, you instantly say, «Talk to me. I want to be your friend. I need you.» Endurance wins. You get influence with people. People listen to you. There’s a whole reason why you’re here: to influence people. You can do everything. There’s no reason for you to be on this earth and not be in heaven. Everything you can do on earth, you can do in heaven.
There’s no reason for you to be here. You worship here; you’re going to worship there. You serve God here; you serve God there. You pray here; you’re going to pray there. There’s nothing you can’t do here that you’re going to do in heaven, is there? There’s nothing, except for one thing: to look at somebody and help them and encourage them. And those of you who have endured, you’re the most valuable people on this planet. You get instant weight and credibility. Let me give you an example of a person with endurance, and you’re never going to forget this person as long as you live. Take a look at this video: The 600 meters underway.
Heather Dornad from Minnesota finished second in this event a year ago. She is in lane four, and Dornan is probably going to be your favorite. She actually won the NCAA championships in 2006 in the 800, but she’s only won one Big Ten championship in the two years. Three laps in this event, 600 meters, three times around the 300-meter track here at the fieldhouse. What a bold move by Bond! She’s looking very confident, and the Penn State runner is just running amazing today. She did win her heat in the 400 but ended up taking fourth overall. That’s Bond moving into the lead!
Sophomore from Penn State, Dornan running second. Dorn, last year, scored 23 points for the Golden Gophers in their Big Ten championship, so they’re really relying on getting a lot of points from her this weekend. And she’s just passing Bond now in the home stretch, heading into the bell lap. Oh! Down! Falling down! Gets up quickly, but that’s going to cost her. Lucky she wasn’t injured. Her teammate just went to the front, though, so they may be able to recover from that, and Dorn is flying down the back! She’s catching up! She is going to catch Bond, and she may catch the leader!
Wow! Wow! This is a gutsy effort by Dorn! Can she pull it off? She’s moved into third! Dadan coming down the stretch from the outside! Dadan coming out strong all the way! She did it! Wow! Unbelievable! That is amazing-to fall in a 600! I mean, this is basically a sprint! I mean, this is an extended 400, basically-to fall with 200 meters to go and get up and win! That is unbelievable! Unbelievable! That’s one of the most exciting things I’ve seen! Can I tell you the reason why that warms us? It’s because every single one of you has done what she did.
There is a reward in heaven. There is a reward here. None of you are going to remember those three other girls, but you’ll remember the girl who fell, got back up, and said, «I’m not going to quit.» Like, what am I going to do? Quit? You’ve already made that decision; that’s not an option for you. Let me say one more thing: When someone’s name crosses your mind out of nowhere-it’s like an intersecting thought-pray for them right away. I got a text message from somebody on Friday. They said, «Hey, you’ve been on my mind for two days. I’m praying for you.» Second Corinthians 1:11, Paul says this: «You helped us when you prayed for us.»
Let’s all stand to our feet, please. Will all the prayer partners come down to the front? You know, at celebration, you can volunteer for almost every single ministry in our church. In fact, you can volunteer for all of them, with the exception of two. These prayer partners are one of them. We search for people who we know still pray and who have endured. It’s a personal one-on-one referral. These are the people you want to pray for you. So, if you need someone to pray for you -if you just want someone to pray for you in a minute, not right now-I want you to come out of your seat and let someone pray for you. Sometimes you might look around and wonder if any prayer partners are available. Just come down to the bottom of the aisle. We’ve got an usher at the bottom of every aisle who will do the looking for you. As soon as one is available, they’ll point you to the first person.
If you’re in this room and you say, «If my heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, I’m not ready to see God,» the Bible says this -in Britton, where are you? I was raised with this verse, and you probably were too, Richie. In a twinkling of an eye, the Lord will return. I was raised that way, and I’ve failed you by not saying it regularly. But in a twinkling of an eye, those who love the Lord will meet Him in the air. It’s called the rapture. If you’re not ready, you have to be ready. You have to say, «Lord, I’m so sorry for my sins.» You have to.
So, if you need someone to pray for you because you’re in an endurance season or you need to give your life to the Lord, I want you to come out of your seat and take the hand of a prayer partner. There’s no official dismissal; you can leave whenever you are ready. But let’s sing this song a couple of times before anyone goes. May the Lord bless you. May He keep you. May His face be lifted up on you and deliver you. May the joy of the Lord be your strength-miraculously be your strength. May the peace of God overwhelm you, and may His countenance be lifted up and shine down upon you and your family. In Jesus' name, Amen.