Martial Arts
Fighting the Good Fight Justin Heckel is a worship leader at the Omaha Hub as well as an author and mixed martial artist. He uses the natural to teach the truths about the spiritual realm and to evangelize at fights and gyms here in Omaha. Let’s see what Justin has to say about fighting the good fight. Justin: Well, God gave it to me like this. I was going through a really hard time. I had a wrestling background, and God actually used Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to bring me back to Him. He showed me that if things are the truth in the physical realm, it’s actually because it’s a truth in the spiritual realm. The Spiritual Warrior is actually a ministry to MMA fighters, and it really shows a person how to worship and commune with the Lord in their training. Therefore, it’s able to take someone who is training further in their relationship with the Lord and also able to introduce people who don’t know the Lord into knowing the Lord because of their training. Allan Pettit (on behalf of Salt Magazine): Amen, I love it! This is so cool. You get to wrestle with each other, and it’s all for Jesus somehow. I love that. I’m thinking of some Bible verses right now, at least one, where Jacob wrestles with the Lord. Justin: Yeah, and he actually says, “Bless me; I won’t release You unless You bless me.” That was actually one of the big things I felt God using with me as I was training down in Kansas City. There are so many others like, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities of this dark world.” But I think the truth is we talk about wrestling and warfare, but not many people know the mindset and what it means to go into warfare, wrestle, or compete in a way that it matters if I win or not. In the physical realm, there’s an immediate physical consequence, so it matters if I learn those truths. So in the spiritual realm we have to get back to the mentality that it matters if I win or not. Allan: So you’re alluding to it here. I heard the part of your heart come out that not a lot of people realize the mindset of going into a fight. What does that mean? Justin: I feel like a lot of times when we have difficulties in life, we go in with a lot of doubt and bring a lot of people who are filled with doubt around us. But when I am going into a fight, I fill myself with disciplines that will get me ready for that fight. I
purposely put myself around people who will encourage me. I purposely put myself around them so when I go in, I am filled with confidence in what my life is about so that I can have victory. But a lot of times we don’t do those same things when we go into spiritual warfare, so we tend to do a lot of second guessing. How can we win if we’re filled with “I don’t know” and “what if”? So it really is about filling yourself with disciplines and people who will build you up to be victorious. Keeping the right mindset helps us know who God is. We focus a lot on the love side, and I love the love side. But in Exodus 15:3 it says, “The Lord our God is a mighty warrior.” And Genesis 1:27 says, “I have made them in my image.” So we are made in the image of a warrior. It’s just not forgetting all the sides of who God is and who we are. Allan: Amen. So I can go home knowing that I don’t have to be a passive person, but I am a mighty warrior. So what does that not mean? Justin: It doesn’t mean hurting anybody. But what it does mean is having a stance that says, “I will not be moved. When the enemy is coming after you, I will stand with you and not let him budge me because I’m not letting him get to you.” Allan: What kind of martial arts do you teach? Justin: Primarily, I like catch wrestling, but also jujitsu, boxing, and Muay Thai kickboxing. Allan: I love it. I had the opportunity to train with a mighty man of God years ago, James Rosenbach out of Fremont. And what I loved was that when we were physically exhausted, we were lying on the ground because we were so tired, and James Rosenbach would start telling us the Gospel. We were so tired that we had to listen. Do you work that into your teaching? If someone trains with you, and they are a Christian, would they get a lot of that from you? Justin: Yeah. I try to always work in the spiritual because I truly believe if you have a better spiritual awareness your fighting will be better as well because the spiritual truth is the deeper truth. If you understand the spiritual truth, the physical one comes very easily. For example, I have a friend who I train who recently came to the Lord. When he did, he still had some of the natural consequences like the law following him. He said, “I want to focus on God, but I have all of this other stuff coming at me.” So I used a picture of when I hold the mitts for
Martial Arts
him to punch. I told him, “When you punch the mitts, your target is actually behind the mitt, but the mitt is in the way. So even though you’re going to hit the mitt, it’s not your target. The truth is, you never set out in life to have all these problems. You want God, but these troubles try to get in the way. Keep your eyes on God and aim for Him, you will blast through the troubles.” It clicked right away. As a brand new Christian, he knew exactly what I was saying. Allan: With that in mind, what are one or two prayer requests to take the ministry God has given you to the next level? Justin: I would say number one would be brotherhood, like hearts, because it’s always easier to walk with someone than walk alone. A second would be vision and boldness because when it is something unique, with no blueprint, it can be easy to question the direction you’re going in. Allan: I love this heart. It’s just about wanting people around you. I am thinking of Ecclesiastes where two are better than one. What are some of your other hobbies? Justin: I am an author. I actually wrote a book called The Spiritual Warrior. So I am trying to spend more time writing. I am also a musician. My wife, Elly, and I are worship leaders here at the Hub. We are about to record our first album. We just love worshiping. Allan: I am excited to read this book. How would someone get ahold of the book? Justin: You can go on Amazon.com and search Spiritual Warrior Justin Heckel. There are a lot of Spiritual Warrior books out there. Right now it is only in digital form while I save up to print some copies, but you can get it for your Kindle or Kindle App for your computer or phone. Allan: Let’s just round the interview up. If Jesus took you back in time to when you first accepted Him, what kind of wisdom would you tell yourself? Justin: Take your passion because it is the desire that God has placed in your heart, and He put it there to glorify Him. Pour yourself into your passion, just like Paul told Timothy to pour himself into his gifts. Do it for the sake of affecting people and pouring into them, not for your own gain. I want to be where Jesus is, and the Bible says Jesus is a servant of all. Do your passion, and do it to glorify God through serving people. For more information, contact Justin Heckel on facebook or justinheckel@hotmail.com by Justin Heckel