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American Ninja Warrior is a sport that is really, I mean, it's prime time.

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And the things that these people are able to do is absolutely incredible.

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I mean, I work out at the gym, but what this guest that we're going to talk about,

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we're going to talk to in just a moment is able to do.

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It blows my mind.

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So Daniel Gil, welcome to Charisma News.

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It's great to have you here.

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You are, whenever I think of American Ninja Warrior, you are the person that I think of.

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I don't see anybody else, but I just see you and your smiling face and that amazing head of hair

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that you have.

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So Daniel, welcome here.

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Yeah.

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Thank you so much for having me, John.

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I'm so excited to get to be with you and just share my story, talk about my testimony,

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and just really talk about what God is doing through this secular television show,

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but all the many ways that He's using it for ministry to impact the lives of literally

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millions of people who watch it on a regular basis.

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And I've been involved in the sport for 10 years now.

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I've done it longer than anything else in my life.

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And I've just watched God take the talents that I've been stewarding and use them for

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such incredible impact, not just within the four walls of a church, but outside in the

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secular arena.

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And it's been such a joy.

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One of the most or the most fulfilling thing that I've gotten to do with my life is say

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yes to God every day and use every gift and talent that He's given me.

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Well, I want to talk about your personal journey with the Lord in just a moment.

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But as we're recording this, the season finale of American Ninja Warrior just wrapped up the

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other day.

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And you completed the course, which is a miraculous, amazing thing by itself.

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So congratulations for that.

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But you were what, one second too slow for the million dollars.

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Oh, my goodness.

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Tell me about that event and just that whole experience there.

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Yeah.

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Oh, man.

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I mean, it's bittersweet to say the least.

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And yet at the same time, like from the get go, I never did Ninja Warrior for money because

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honestly, I mean, point zero zero zero one percent of the athletes ever actually get

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any money.

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The drive and the draw is just to be on this TV show to get to compete on the world's toughest

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obstacles, to showcase the world the way you've got or to bring awareness to whatever cause

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that you want to bring awareness to through the show and the platform.

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So for me, I said, God, I'm the kingdom ninja.

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Matthew 633 is the reason why I do it.

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I want to seek first the kingdom of God, live righteously, do the

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best that I can and know that you're going to provide every need.

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Maybe not every once in the time frame that I desire it, but all my needs have always

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been met.

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And I prayed this year.

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I said, God, after coming so close in 2019 and losing on that rope climb, I said, God,

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two things I'm praying for.

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One, I want my rematch on that rope.

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And two, I want to beat it because I fully believe that I am capable of it.

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And so as it came down to those final moments of this season, I was one of eight people

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to attempt stage four and one of only two to actually beat it this season, to finish

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And I did.

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And yet, I guess looking back, I'm like, okay, God, maybe I could have prayed for the

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million dollars.

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Yeah.

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But again, God's got more than a million different ways to put any amount of money

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into my bank account for kingdom purposes.

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My job is to steward what I have, to walk by faith, to trust in Him, trust that, you

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know, whatever the results, He can work them out for good.

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He can work them together for good.

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He can comfort me in any situation so that I can comfort others.

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And whatever valley or shadow of death I might go through in life, He's going to be with

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me.

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I don't have to fear.

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So at the end of the day, I know that I can do it.

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I did what I wanted to do.

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I got exactly what I prayed for.

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And you better believe I'm going to come back stronger next year and hopefully get

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yet another attempt.

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We'll have to watch and find out.

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But it's a joy.

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And yet another, you know, journey or leg of my testimony walking with the Lord through

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American and your warrior.

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Yeah.

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So I want to talk about how you started this journey for, I mean, I grew up watching

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American gladiators.

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This is like the next level.

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I mean, you are pushing your physicality to an extreme level.

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I mean, just some of the things that I'm going to try to put a clip in here.

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So just some B roll of you running and jumping and just, I don't even know how to describe

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some of these obstacles that you have to do.

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How do you even train for some of this stuff?

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Or how did you originally first say that, hey, I want to do that?

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Yeah.

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Oh, man.

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I mean, honestly, you know, Bible talks about we're knit together in our mother's room.

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Like God formed us, fashioned us.

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He knows us better than we know ourselves.

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And for me, I grew up and I was the monkey boy in my family of five.

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I was the athlete.

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I climbed on everything.

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I played about every sport possible.

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And as, you know, athletic and amazing and talented as I've gotten nowadays, I was never

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that good at sports growing up.

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I was never the strongest, never the fastest, never the most naturally gifted.

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But I was super competitive and gave my heart to the Lord at a young age.

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As a kid, grew up in a Christian environment, had amazing pastors and leaders in my life

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to help me avoid so many pit holes or pitfalls in life.

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But in my high school years, I, in addition to being an athlete, got into like parkour,

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free running, got a Bowflex home gym.

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I took ownership of my health and wellness, my health.

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I said, God, I've got one body.

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I want to take care of it.

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I want to be physically capable of doing anything that you call me to do, anything that you

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ask me to do.

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And at that time in my life, I said, God, I know I'm a Christian.

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I know that my faith is in Jesus and Christ alone and what He did for me and what He continues

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to do for me every day, taking me from glory to glory, faith to faith.

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I said, God, I know that I've given you my heart, but from this day forward, as like

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a 14 year old, I said, God, I'm going to give you my life.

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I'm from this day forward.

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I'm not going to live off of just the faith of my pastors or my parents.

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This is my walk with you.

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I'm choosing to make you the Lord of my life.

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And I'm not just going to go to church because that's expected of me.

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I want to learn who you are, what you're about, your character and your nature.

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I'm going to get in the word of God because I want to know your prescribed method of living

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this life.

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And so everything radically changed for me in high school.

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I said, God, everything that I am is yours, my good, but also my bad and ugly, my hopes

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and my dreams, but also my fears and my doubts and my insecurities.

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I'm going to pick myself back up because I know the righteous fall seven times, but they

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get back up and I'm going to trust you with every gift, every talent, every measure.

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Now, I grew up watching Ninja Warrior back when it was in Japan, Sasuke, and they had

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American Ninja Warrior when I was in high school.

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I said, God, that would be so cool.

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But I live in a big family.

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We're all homeschooled.

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They don't film TV shows in Houston, Texas.

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That would never happen.

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So just whatever.

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I'm just going to pursue you.

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Graduated, went to a two-year school of ministry, got to travel the world, see signs, wonders,

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miracles, places like Bulgaria, Japan, Malaysia, Honduras, Rome, Italy.

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Just it ruined me for normal life, John.

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And I said, God, life with you is the most fulfilling, most gratifying, most satisfying

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and most impactful life I could have ever dreamed of.

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God, if I've ever said it, if I've never said it before, I'll say it again right now.

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My life is yours.

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Take with it.

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Do what you want.

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And then my job ended, which was like answering phones at a company.

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And I went to my friends in prayer at my Bible school.

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I said, guys, can we pray about this?

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I need help.

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I need direction.

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I need guidance.

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They prayed with me.

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And literally the next day, a friend of mine in my tiny Bible school, like 20 students,

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he said, hey, I work at a gym you might be interested in.

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And I said, no, I don't lift weights.

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I do calisthenics, body weight exercises, push-ups, pull-ups, running, climbing, jumping,

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all that.

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Thanks, but no thanks.

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And he said, well, no, it's not a regular gym.

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Have you ever seen that show Ninja Warrior?

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I work at the only gym in Houston that trains people for the TV show.

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And I was blown away.

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And I said, oh, my gosh, yes, let's go.

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It was almost like this light bulb moment where God said, okay, follow me and delight

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yourself in me first and foremost and watch how these other desires that are in your heart,

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watch how I bring them to fruition.

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Oh, good.

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I'm 37, four, you know?

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And so I got there, miraculously got a job at a local gym here in Houston, began training,

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tried two years of trying, auditioning, and getting rejected on the show before I finally

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got my shot.

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But when I did get my chance and my opportunity in 2015, I had the fastest time, went on to

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become a rookie of the year.

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And now, nine years later, have achieved total victory and completed every course on there.

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Wow.

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So these courses, let's describe a little bit about the courses and the training that

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goes into that because it's hard to, you know, Ninja Warrior, you just think about movies.

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Unless you've seen the TV show, American Ninja Warrior, you're just kind of like, okay, I

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know kind of what a ninja is.

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But like, what is it that you're actually doing and how do you train for it?

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Yeah, absolutely.

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So it's obstacle course racing.

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So technically, I'm an OCR athlete, like an obstacle course racing athlete.

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And so what Ninja Warrior is, it started out as a Japanese game show, if you can believe

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that, where, you know, the athletes and competitors have to get from the starting platform and

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go across a series anywhere from, you know, six to 10 different obstacles in succession

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to try to get to the finish buzzer at the very end.

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And so you're running up cross steps, you're jumping, you're swinging off of ropes, you're

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you're jumping up bars, jumping over hoops and hurdles and running up curved walls, sometimes

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up to 18 and a half feet before you get to the finish buzzer at the end.

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And so of all the sports I've ever done, this is the most difficult because what you see

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on the show when you watch us compete is the very first time that we touch any of those

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courses.

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Well, you have to be so physically capable, but then so good at doing something the very

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something perfectly the very first time.

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And so it is it's a whole, you know, obstacle in and of itself to be able to show up and

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do what you plan in your head the very first time.

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And so these gyms that are popping up all across the nation, we will replicate obstacles

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that we've seen on the show, but of course, every year they have brand new obstacles that

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have never been seen before.

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And you'll see some of the fastest and some of the best ninjas go down early each year

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because just the thing didn't move the way they thought didn't feel the way they thought

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it would.

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And, you know, I'll be the first to say that these courses are so physically demanding

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with your grip strength or with how far you have to jump or the dismounts getting off

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to the platforms.

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It is it's truly a spectacle when you watch it and some of the most incredible feats of

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athleticism that you you will see anywhere.

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And I'm blessed to be a part of it.

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And literally, I look back and I say, God, thank you for my background, because everything

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that I've done in my life leading up to this, God was preparation, everything from athleticism

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to be having a background in theater, because it is a production on the show.

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I mean, interviews, there's B-rolls, there's hero shots, and you have the lights and the

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cameras and the audience and you have to be able to stay focused and not not get distracted

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and let your heart rate spike out of control.

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It's a whole thing.

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But I'm so blessed to be doing it.

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I'll continue doing it as long as I can.

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Amen.

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You know, Daniel, as you're talking about this, I just the concept of deja vu is something

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that's popping into my into my head.

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And so I just want to ask, like, have you ever felt like God's given you a vision of

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a course to come or how to do something in the moment, like right before that's the big

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thing?

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Like, how does God speak to you, I guess, in those moments where you're literally on

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this obstacle course?

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How are you connecting with God in those moments?

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Yeah, oh, man, even I mean, and you'll see it too, when you watch me compete on the show,

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like when I when I step up to the starting line, I always lift my hands up and I always

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say a prayer and I say, God, thank you for this opportunity.

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Thank you that I get to do something that brings not only fulfillment and joy to me

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as an athlete, but also God giving me an opportunity to shine for you, just like Jesus said, let

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your light shine before others so that they see you.

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But then they give glory where it's due.

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They give glory to God in heaven.

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So when I'm standing there, I pray and I say, Lord, I've got a plan.

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I believe that I've trained hard enough.

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I train as a professional athlete.

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I know that I've got what it takes physically.

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But, Lord, there's new obstacles here.

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I have a plan, but it might not always go according to plan.

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Lord, give me the ability to be adaptable in this moment on this course.

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God, if I hit a buzzer, Lord, I'm going to give you all the glory and show people what

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it looks like to win.

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But if I fall or fail, God, give me the grace to show others what it looks like to do that,

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to fall, but then to get back up and show others to get back.

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Show them what it looks like to get back up and move forward and allow God to use those

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moments as well.

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And so as I'm running through the course, if things go smoothly, I'm just like, oh,

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thank you, Lord.

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Thank you, God.

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This is going great.

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This is awesome.

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Or sometimes if things are getting out of hand or I'm getting confused or caught up,

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then I'm like, okay, Lord, help.

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I need help.

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I need help right now.

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And God has always been so faithful to, one, lead me with peace.

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I'm never freaking out when I run these courses.

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I've got friends that just literally will run off, throw up, and then compete because

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that's how the anxiety and the nerves are.

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For me, anytime those nerves begin to come up, I literally just cast them on God and

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I say, Lord, I don't want to deal with this.

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I know who you are.

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I know who I am, whose I am, and why it is that I'm here in the first place.

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My identity is not in a result.

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My identity is not in performance.

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My identity is in you and having the opportunity to do something I love and appoint others

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to you do this.

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So then it's like this carefree, this joy filled, and it always shows because I have

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a big smile beaming from ear to ear every time I compete.

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And that's kind of what it's like for me whenever I do compete.

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It's just, I bring God into it.

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It just like Psalm or Proverbs three, verse five and six.

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In all of my ways, I'm acknowledging God.

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I'm thanking His presence with me and knowing that He's going to direct my paths.

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Amen.

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Amen.

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You talk about that in your book, the whole anxiety and you wrestling with that.

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And so you talk about that in your book.

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So let's talk about your book.

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You've got a lot of stuff in this book, which is called Kingdom Ninja, a warrior's guide

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to physical and mental or physical, mental and spiritual health.

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What inspired you to write this book?

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I mean, you're on TV, you're training all the time.

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I'm sure you're helping other people and you're active in your church.

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I know because I've seen videos of you playing bass for your worship team with the caption,

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I learned bass because we needed a bass player.

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And that's how I started playing the guitar myself with my worship team.

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So I really think that's pretty cool.

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But why did you write this book and what's the inspiration for that?

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Yeah, oh man, John, it was it came out of a place of need from those around me.

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You know, I've been an elite level ninja warrior, like OCR athlete for years and years with

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great success and even better consistency.

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And so I've been given opportunities.

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I mean, my full time, you know, career other than an athlete is, you know, going to getting

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into public speaking, whether I'm speaking at churches or schools about overcoming obstacles,

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you know, even anti-bullying, whatever the needs of that school are.

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I'm doing like keynote messages and I'm doing a lot of speaking.

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And while I'm at these places, people will pull me aside afterwards and say, hey, can

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you talk more about this?

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Can you talk more about just being healthy?

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Can you talk more about getting off the couch and starting some sort of physical routine

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or hey, I heard you preaching about, you know, how the peace of God or the fruits of the

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spirit or the way that God can work all things together for good.

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You have all these verses that you share and you know the word of God really well.

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Can we talk more about it?

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So I began to see a need of just those around me that watch the show, those that follow

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me in my life.

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And I said, God, I can only talk to so many people at a time.

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Well, what can I do?

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How can I create something that blesses more than just the person that I'm right in front

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of at this moment?

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And so then I was given an opportunity, literally another miracle I consider, a publishing company

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hit me up and said, hey, we love what you do.

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We love who you are.

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We love your platform and see God moving.

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Would you like to do a book with us?

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A couple of books, in fact.

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And as soon as they said it, something in me sparked and said, yes, that's what I need

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to do right now with this season of my life.

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So I sat down, I literally just prayerfully put all of my knowledge, all of my experience,

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all of my history and my testimonies, everything from taking ownership of my physical health

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and then taking ownership of my mental health and wellness and then taking ownership of

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my spiritual health and wellness and spiritual maturity that I've just walked through all

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these years of walking with the Lord.

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And I said, God, help me put this into a book.

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And it was like, Holy Spirit was just speaking to me day in and day out.

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And I could not be more proud of how this book turned out.

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And whether you're an elite level athlete or just someone who is a fan of the show and

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wants to take better care of their own bodies, this book is for everybody.

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And whether you're an athlete or you more so just care about your mental health and

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awareness or your spiritual health, there's so many different parts, so many different

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components.

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I give a lot of my own personal biography and background and history of what God has

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done working with me through my life.

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And I think regardless of who you are or your own athletic or personal goals, everybody

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can get so much out of this book.

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So it was, yeah, we just launched about a month ago and I could not be more happy with

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how it turned out.

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Very cool.

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Very cool.

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You know, you're an inspiration to so many people.

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And I know that a mutual friend of ours, Doug Stringer, told me about an experience that

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he was able to connect you with a young boy named Liam, who is kind of like a make-a-wish

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kid and by the grace of God, he is cancer free today.

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But just tell me about this experience where you got to be somebody's make-a-wish wish.

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Yeah.

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Oh, man.

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Just with the notoriety of being on TV, there are so many people that look at my life, so

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many young people that look to me as an example, as a role model, as a leader.

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And from day one, when I first started competing on Ninja Warrior, I said, God, I recognize

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this platform.

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God, this isn't just about me and my own goals as an athlete.

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This platform is about every single person whose life is going to be affected by me,

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by my success, by my loss, by who I am and the integrity that I carry on this TV show.

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And so, you know, to have an experience or an opportunity with someone like Liam to say,

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hey, you know, I'm going through such a difficult season, such a difficult health crisis, and

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all I want to do, my biggest thing is if I could go train with my Ninja Warrior heroes

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at a gym and overcome some other obstacles physically, then I think that'll help me overcome

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these obstacles in my health.

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And so, when they reached out to me and said, hey, we've got to make a wish experience.

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We want to run like a Ninja course with you at a local gym.

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Would you be willing to do that?

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And to me, it was like, God, there's no greater life than to take a moment from the busyness

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or from chasing after you and your goals that you've given me, God, but to take a moment

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for the one, the person right in front of me that has come here and said, hey, can we

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talk?

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Can we overcome these challenges?

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And to be there for Liam in such a crucial, pivotal moment in his life is something that

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I will never forget and a moment that by the grace of God, he will never forget either.

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He'll look back and say, I got through that and I overcame those courses with Daniel

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Gil, but also in my health and I'll never forget that.

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And I hope he never forgets that either, that God is always with us through every single

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obstacle that we face, be it physical, be it emotional, be it mental, be it spiritual.

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He is with us in those moments.

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He's a God who cares and he's a God who knows our pain and walks with us through those situations.

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So to get to do that with Liam was amazing and he's one of many testimonies of a similar

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nature where I got to share my life with others and help them overcome their challenges.

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Yeah, Daniel, as we're coming to a close with our time here today, I'm just encouraged by

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listening to you talk and I can just see the Holy Spirit just all over you as you're talking

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and the joy of the Lord on your face is yet God is using you in an amazing way and you

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have this platform.

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It would be really easy to get caught up in your own strength.

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My wife and I have been reading through the Bible in a year.

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We just got married in December and so our first year we are going through the Bible

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together.

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It's a great foundation, but it's something that I've one thing I've noticed, especially

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in the Old Testament, guys that relied on their own physical strength or their outward

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appearance like King Saul and all these other guys, they got caught up and they were prideful

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and they stopped relying on the Lord.

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You seem like you've got a great head on your shoulders and you're staying humble.

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What advice can you give to people that might be at the top of their game or working towards

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the top of their game, but pride seems to puff up their life?

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Yeah, I mean man, lay it down daily is what I would say in the same way that I wake up

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every single day and I try to train myself in godliness.

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I try to have the first thing that comes out of my mouth say, thank you God for this day.

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Thank you Lord for another miraculous breath of air coming into my lungs.

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I start my day off with the Lord and thankfully with the sport that I'm involved in, it is

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the most humbling sport you could ever, ever attempt because you never know what you're

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going to get and even the slightest break in focus will send you down into the water

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and end your season.

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Humility is something that by the grace of God and because of the sport that I'm in has

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been heavily just drilled into me from day one.

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Not only that, but because I was such a competitive person growing up, my family, my friends and

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my wife, anytime my head starts to get even the slightest break, they pop that bubble

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so, so fast because they know me.

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They know yes, the good parts about my life.

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They know my strengths, but they also know my weaknesses and so in any area of my life

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where they begin to see a weakness of mine start to manifest, they say, hey, no, no,

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no, no, we love you too much to let you stay down this offshoot that you're trying to take.

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No, we love you.

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We're not going to be yes men, Daniel.

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We're going to be no, man, we're going to keep you in check and they do that to me because

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I've given them access to my life.

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I have people that I trust, people that I know that know the good, but know the bad

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and keep me accountable and again, I try very hard.

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Every day I re-commit, re-dedicate my life to the Lord and say, God, I can't live off

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of yesterday's faith because today's problems are too big for that.

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God give me exactly like Jesus said to pray, give me today my daily bread, give me exactly

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what I need for today's obstacles in whatever form that they take and with that type of

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mindset, that type of mentality and training yourself in godliness to say every day I'm

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going to choose to make this decision and it becomes a habit, it becomes second nature

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and it becomes so much easier to fall, fail, make mistakes, but say that's not who I am,

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that's not what defines me.

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I'm defined by my walk with the Lord and I'm going to be the first to get back up, the

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first person to repent and start walking back the direction that God is leading me to and

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called me to.

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So that's what I would say for any of those that are chasing after dreams, stay humble,

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keep that humility as one of the number one things in your life because we live in a broken

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world where we have free will, we can choose to make mistakes, we will stumble and fall.

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Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author, the perfect, the finisher of our faith and watch, watch

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how quickly he'll mature us and grow us to where yesterday's problems don't have to

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affect us today.

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Amen, amen.

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As we're wrapping up here, I just want to encourage people to check out Kingdom Ninja,

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a warrior's guide to physical, mental and spiritual health.

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You can go to kingdom-ninja.com to find out more about Daniel Gil and all the things

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that he's doing because he is a Kingdom Ninja.

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He is on American Ninja Warrior, but he is really focused on advancing the kingdom of

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God with the gifts and talents that God has given him.

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Daniel, as we're wrapping up here, would you just pray for people that are inspired by

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what you're talking about here and how they want to take their next step with the Lord?

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Yeah, absolutely, John, I'd be happy to.

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Well, Lord, we just come before you and we're full of gratitude first and foremost.

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Thank you for the lives that we live.

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Thank you for the breath in our lungs, God.

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Thank you for each and every new day that we are given where we have the opportunity

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and the choice to pursue you, to pursue the kingdom of God above all else, God.

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And I pray that for those listening right now, God, that whatever you've called each

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of us to in any sphere of life, be it health, wellness, the arts, entertainment industry,

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God, being leaders in various industries, God, even in our families, even amongst our

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friends, amongst our peers, at our jobs.

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God, I pray that we would recognize that you are with us, that you are for us, that you

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have good plans for us, and you can redirect us whenever we fall, fail, or act in the flesh,

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God.

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All it takes is running back to you and you can redirect things for us.

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God, I pray that the goals that we have will just be given to you, God, that the steps

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that we're taking each day to reach those goals, God, would first be gone to you, that

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we take and we live our lives based on how we feel you call us to, that you lead us to

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these.

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God, I pray for grace and I pray for favor over every single person listening to the

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sound of my voice right now.

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Grace and favor to do what you've called us to do, to be who you've called us to be.

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Each one of our lives is going to look as unique as you've made us, God, because each

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of us were formed and fashioned uniquely.

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None of us are the same, and none of our callings are the same either.

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So God, I pray that we would celebrate each other with where you've called us, how you've

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positioned us.

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We're not called to look exactly like each other, but we are called to walk faithfully

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with Jesus, hand in hand with our Father God each and every day.

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So I bless them in the mighty name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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Amen and amen.

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Daniel Gil, it's been great to be able to talk with you.

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I look forward to connecting again and definitely after you win next season.

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Yeah.

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Thank you, John.

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I appreciate the opportunity to get to encourage, inspire and point people to Jesus today.

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Amen.