I want you to meet a friend of mine named Brian Dermondy. Brian is a strength coach for the University of Louisville football team. He is an expert in the area of strength. In fact, he is quite literally one of the world’s strongest men. (I’m sure you can see why we’re friends…so much in common.) Check out the YouTube clip of him dead lifting 1000 lbs.
A few weeks ago Brian came up to me and said he was ready to be baptized. There stood one of the strongest men in the world with tears running down his cheeks. He understood that he would never be strong enough to save himself. And so he admitted his weakness and found the strength he needed in Jesus. There is a passage in Luke 18 where Jesus meets a man that seems to be perfect candidate to follow him. He is described as a “rich young ruler.” We learn that he considers himself to be a very righteous man who has kept the law since he was a boy. Jesus tells the man he can follow, but he first must go and sell everything he has. The story ends with the man walking away sad because he’s rich. The encounter ends with Jesus saying, “It’s is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Someone close by said, “Who then can be saved?” In other words, If this rich young ruler who has kept the law doesn’t make the cut, then who has a chance? And in verse 27 Jesus made this statement: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” We can’t do it on our own, but He can do it for us. We will never be good enough. We will never be strong enough. But as a friend of mine in AA likes to say, “I can’t. He can. I think I’ll let Him.” Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 12, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses…for when I am weak, then I am strong.”I am fairly certain that no one will ever post a YouTube video that shows my impressive strength. But as I follow Jesus, I am learning to boast more gladly about my weaknesses.
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WOW!!! Brian…you have proven here that you are physically strong and that is an amazing accomplishment…well done…Now you have the greastest strength in you…CHRIST…let him fill your spirit….thank you for sharing part of your life ’s journey…God bless…Kristine Rick
Kristine,
Thank you for your comments. Christ has always been a big part of my life, but never as big a part as He should have been. I have always taken a lot of pride in my job and in competing in strength sports. In fact, a lot of my identity was wrapped up in these. However, I now approach both as part of my ministry here on earth. I use both to glorify God, spread His truth, and find all the lost sheep and bring them back to Him.
Bryan Dermody
Amazing stuff! That’s really awesome, Brian! Glad to see that you’re using your different strengths to witness to people about God, and that your faith is growing stronger in Him.
-Tyler
P.S. Guys Friday night Bible Study still remembers you.
Bryan,
I see Your comment showing you reaching a place in your Spiritual life that I have recently found myself and what Kyle, to me, has been preaching about from Upside Down onward. To follow Jesus is to live a “Passionless Passion” life. We must give up our worldly passions for temporal possessions and strengthen our passion of love for God and following Jesus. We must get beyond Christian Religion and into the Religion of Christ. Not a Fan But a Follower!!
Your letting go of the pride of competition in strenght sports is like a running back seeking the end zone. He first has to break head-on tackles, staying on his feet and reaching the end zone for the TD. You have broken a tackle of passion for competion and are well on your way to a score for Christ.
I hope to celebrate with you one day in the end zone.
Stay Blessed,
Jim
I was hoping Kyle’s original posting would prompt more interaction on this blog from young men out there. Since it has not, I will kick it start it myself. As I mentioned in my first post under this blog, I used to actually find strength in competing in strength sports . . . How prideful and ignorant was I? Now I have come to use the competitions for a different purpose. I want all the young men out there to know that the strength that is displayed in the video above has no substance to it, no real intrinsic value. In and of itself it is meaningless. Real strength does not come from athletic prowess, sexual conquest, or economic status as so many of our young men in this day and age have been led to believe.
Real, lasting, unbreakable strength comes from Jesus Christ. There will always be a limit to the amount of weight that I can lift, no matter how physically strong I get, but there will never be a limit to the impact the strength of Jesus Christ can have on my life. The same is true for you. It is impossible for me to ever defeat sin in my life without the strength of Jesus Christ, but it is also impossible to not defeat sin with the strength of Jesus Christ.
Remember, real strength does not come from things of this world – not even deadlifting 1000 pounds. But if deadlifting 1000 pounds gives me the opportunity to glorify God in front of a crowd of non-beleivers, or to reflect his Truth to those non-beleivers, or even to lead one of those lost sheep back to Him, then it is all worth it. If I can’t do any of those things, then what’s the point?
Bryan
As Followers, Leaders, teachers, servants of Christ, sometimes we may not see right away the fruits of our labor.
Luke 9:62 No one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
You are planting your seeds. You are making the land fertile, not only for the youth of today, but even old guys like myself. Your testimony is powerful. Stronger then even the physical strength that you have shown.
Remember that the pople who sang Hosanna to Him, turned around and shouted Crucify Him three days later.
Continue to sow the seeds of salvation. Continue to truly be a Follower of Christ. Continue to show others through your ACTIONS and your testimony, that you are a follower of Christ! A Leader! A Warrior.
Pray that God will open the eyes and hearts of those you are trying to reach. Pray that HE will touch their hearts, like He touched yours. Fill others with the strength of the Holy Spirit. It will happen, brother, through your actions.
Followers are also Leaders! Leaders are also servants. We come to serve a mighty God.
Brian- that was amazing! And so was the deadlift of 1000 pds. I too am or was a proud person thinking that I could do it alone… how wrong am I? I have been telling everyone I am a Christian, but haven’t been acting as one. I think that its fantastic that you can use your “status” to glorify Him to those around you-especially to young men. I teach in a high school and even though there are rules saying we can’t glorify Him, I am always looking for ways around that lol. These kids need a person to teach them His ways… Good Luck in your quest.
I think some may have gotten the wrong impression from my last post. The last statement in that post is simply to illustrate how meaningless strength athletics competition (or anything for that matter) is without a Godly purpose. It does by no means signify a withdrawel from the fight on my behalf. In the end my goal is to be able to utter the same words as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”
Strength athletics is part of my ministry and it is part of the “fight.” As followers OF Jesus, we must always keep the faith and fight on for God’s will. In fact, right now I am preparing for the National Championships in Miami, FL on July 12th. I doubt Jesus’ presence has ever had a front seat at the National Championships, but it will this year. If I do well at this contest I will qualify for the biggest contest in the world, The Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic. This contest has a very non-Christian atmosphere – very scantily clad women everywhere, a lot of materialism, a lot of lusting hearts, a very high value on image and appearance, a lot of people that abuse drugs. It is my aim to bring Jesus to this place next year – a place where the Devil has had a dominating presence for far too long.
For me, it is not what I can lift but what I can carry.
I will keep you in my daily prayers! I pray that as you contunue on your quest, that Christ be with you always! That the Holy Spirit send you not only the strength of His Spirit to keep you from evil, but the strength to perform at the highest level. I pray that He give you the opportunity to share your faith with those around you who need to see Christ in you!
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