Run For God

1. Run For God Week 4-Free to Run

2. U.S. Marathon Runner • Prompted by the Holy Spirit • Endurance Athlete • Cross-Country at Stanford University • Olympic Runner Ryan Hall

3. The Bible references the sport of running multiple times. • It parallels running to the lives of believers and the journeys of exhaustion, pain, and dedication all Christ-followers must experience. • Ryan Hall’s favorite reference-Isaiah 40:31 “…but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” The Bible’s view on running.

4. At one point in Hall’s life, he allowed running to become an idol in his life. He lived, slept, eat, and breathed to be the best runner in the world. • He soon became burnt out on running. • He learned he needed to live, sleep, eat, and breath Christ above all. • By giving his gift back to God, he began to enjoy the sport of running again and broke through the walls that were hindering him. What Hall learned through his experiences-good and bad.

5. Why do you think that we as Christians often hit a “spiritual wall?” • How do we overcome the wall? • What does getting past that spiritual wall feel like? Discussion

6. Workout 1-Proverbs 24:16 “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” • We have all heard the phrase, “What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.” This is true if you have the right mindset about the valleys that you may be walking through. It often takes a strong will and enduring faith to have this kind of mind-set. Too many times we may become bitter or even angry over the situation that we are in. If we take it to Jesus and ask for his help, our situation may not immediately change, but our vision, hope, and attitude most always will. • Workout 2-Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” • Just as in our previous verse we learn here that the problem is not the situation we are in, but it is us trying to fix things ourselves. We often feel like we have to fix a problem and we have to get it fixed now. We tell Jesus to take a backseat and we’ll get back to him when things get better. Isaiah tells us to take it to Jesus first, because nothing is too big for Him. Not also that Isaiah says that the Lord will renew our strength, making it possible to weather the storms. He did not say that the Lord would just make the storm go away. Think of the storm as a marathon and the Lord as your favorite carb drink. The carb drink is not going to take you to the finish line, but it will give you the strength to get you there. • Workout 3-Psalms 119:32 “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” • We see here again that if we put our hope and focus in Jesus rather than in the things of the world, our hearts will be free of the things that hinder us and the sin that entangles us, as Paul talks about in Hebrews 12:1. Get in the Word

7. Wall Push-Up 1: Stand about three feet from a wall, feet at shoulder width and flat on the ground. Put your hands on the wall with your arms straight for support. Lean your hips forward and bend your knees slightly to stretch your calves. • Wall Push-Up 2: From the previous position, bend forward to lower your body to waist height. Bring one foot forward with your knee slightly bent. Lift the toes of the front foot to stretch the muscle under the calf. Stretch both legs. • Wall Push-Up 3: Put your feet together, rocking back on your heels with your hands on the wall and your arms straight to form a jackknife with your body. This stretches your you hips, shoulders, and lower back. • Back Stretch: Grab your elbow with the opposite hand and gently push the elbow up and across your body until your hands reach down to “scratch” your back. Gently push on your elbow to guide your hand down your back as far as it will comfortably go, stretching your triceps and shoulders. Stretch both arms. Stretching/Core Exercises: Repeat Each Stretch one to three times.

8. 5. Hamstring Stretch: Lie down with one leg straight up in the air, the other bent with foot flat on the ground. Loop a towel over the arch of the lifted foot, and gently pull on the towel as you push against it with your foot. Push only to the point where your muscles contract. Stretch both legs. 6. Heel to Buttock: Stand on one foot, with one hand on the wall for balance. Hold the other foot with the opposite hand and raise the heel of the lifted foot to the buttocks (or as closely possible), stretching your quadriceps. Keep your body upright throughout. Change legs and repeat. 7. Groin and Lower Back Stretch: Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Lift your right leg and cross it over the left, which should remain bent. Hug the right leg to your chest and twist the trunk of your body to look over your right shoulder. Change legs repeat (i.e. looking over your left shoulder. 8. Groin Stretch: Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground. Continued…

9. 9. Planks: The plank exercise is a great way to build endurance in the abs and back, as well as in the stabilizer muscles. To do it right: • Lie face down while resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor. • Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. • Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels. • Tilt your pelvis and contract your abs to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air. • Hold for 2 to 90 seconds, lower, and repeat for 1-3 reps. Continued…

10. Workout 1, 2, and 3 • Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk • Jog 90 seconds • Walk 90 seconds • Jog 3 minutes • Walk 3 minutes • Jog 90 seconds • Walk 90 seconds • Jog 3 minutes • Walk 3 minutes • 5-minute cool-down walk Week 4 Workout Plan

11. Remember that we often get so busy in doing what we think God wants that we miss Him totally. We pray, pray, pray, but sometimes we need to slow down or even stop, and just LISTEN! • Tip: Take the “talk test.” The talk test means running at a pace comfortable enough that you can carry on a conversation with a training partner, but not so easy that you could hit the high notes in your favorite gospel song. Week 4 Conclusion