Rocky Balboa

When Sylvester Stallone was born, a doctor's forceps severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of his face. This caused him to slur his speech later on.

When Stallone was first starting out as an actor in New York, he was rejected by talent agents more than 1,500 times.

When Stallone was first starting out as an actor in New York, he was so poor that he couldn't even afford to heat his apartment in the wintertime. He also had to sell his wife's jewelry, and even his dog, in order to even come close to making ends meet.

In 1975, Stallone watched a little-known fighter named Chuck Wepner go 15 rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Stallone was inspired by Wepner's tenacity, and in a mere 3 days Stallone wrote a screenplay that was partially inspired by Wepner's incredible showing against Ali.

That screenplay was called "Rocky."

Stallone showed his "Rocky" screenplay to numerous agents and movie studios, but it was continually rejected. Finally, two Hollywood producers showed interest in the script, and offered Stallone a lot of money for the rights to it, but only on the condition that another actor, and not Stallone, play the lead character in the movie, Rocky Balboa.

Stallone refused. Despite his poverty, he had a vision that he would play the lead role in the movie. Finally, the two producers agreed to let Stallone play the lead role. They gave him less money for the script, but agreed to let him share in the profits of the movie.

At the 1977 Academy Awards, "Rocky" won 3 Oscars, including Best Picture, and it launched Sylvester Stallone's career as a Hollywood superstar.

Right before the Academy Awards began in 1977, Stallone went back and read every single rejection letter he had ever received.

He also bought back the dog that he had to sell when he was a starving actor. That dog's name was "Butkus", and he, too, was featured in the "Rocky" movies.

Sylvester Stallone once said, "I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and tell me to get going, rather than to retreat."

1,500 talent agent rejections. Physical challenges. Too poor to even heat his apartment during the cold New York winters. Forced to sell his wife's jewelry and his dog.

But what a story of perseverance. Sylvester Stallone is a living example of the words we find in James 1:3-4, when we are encouraged to persevere in the midst of trials and tests.

What trials and tests are you facing today in your church or ministry? Are you ready to give up? Are you ready to throw in the towel? Take Sylvester Stallone's story to heart. Go back and watch the original "Rocky" movie. Persevere.

It'll all be worth it in the end.