OPENER:
Game: Human Knots
Great Small Group game. If you use a big group, separate them into small circles.
Everyone squeezes together and grabs the hand of a person not standing next to them.
They may not let go of the other person’s hands.
So in order to untangle they must go over and under people’s arms to get untangled.
Sometimes you will end up with two circles.
The first team to untangle back into a circle wins.
Opening Illustration: Tiny Frogs
There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,... who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...
The race began... Honestly: No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top." or:
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"
The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher....
The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...
But ONE continued higher and higher and higher... This one wouldn’t give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?
It turned out... That the winner was DEAF!!!!
Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!
Some people rejoice at you failing, because it makes them look better or feel on an equal level plain.
But also, there are people that want to see what you can do also…check it out in Hebrews 12:1-3
PRAYER
When you have to hang on tight, you’ve got to have a positive attitude amidst some bad situations.
I read about a schoolboy who brought home his report card that was heavy with poor grades.
“What have you to say about this?” asked his father.
“One thing for sure,” the boy replied, “Dad, you can be proud. You know I haven’t been cheating!”
DREAMSQUASHERS
Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of the cathode ray tube.
Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility--a development which we should waste little time dreaming about.
Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM.
I think there is a world market for about five computers.
Recording company expert, 1962. ---We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out.
All of these people were left behind because that had no vision for the future. The bible reminds us in Proverbs, that “where there is no vision the people perish”
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE
Today in the life of this church more than any other time in history we are faced with crossroads, one path leading to prosperity and another leading to a slow deterioration….either HANGING ON TIGHT to your commitment as a Christ Follower, or letting it go.
Hangin On Tight requires your attitude say win or does it say lose? Continually find the positive…
There’s a story about a child psychologist who wanted to observe how different children respond to negative circumstances.
They got a room and filled it with horse manure. Putting the pessimistic child in there, they observed how he responded.
Predictably, he whined and cried, and despaired that he was in a room full of smelly manure.
They put the other child in there, and the little guy started tearing around the room, digging in the manure with an excitement that baffled the onlookers.
After a few moments of watching this, they asked him why he was so excited.
He replied, “With all this manure in the room, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
Being a follower of Jesus means finding opportunity in every situation.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR HANGIN ON TIGHT
Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Sometimes we don’t always see opportunities when we just hangin on tight, because we have our eyes closed…when our eyes are closed…it limits us and puts us on a level playing field with FEAR
The one thing that FEAR and FAITH have in common is hearing…
Faith comes by “Hearing The Word Of God” in Romans 10:17, but also, FEAR comes by hearing the “Roaring Of The Lion” in 1 Peter 5:8.
Always keep your eyes open for opportunities when hanging on…
Illustration: The Donkey and The Well
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
We must be willing to shake ourselves off and continue upward.
STORY OF JACOB AND ESAU – Genesis 32-33
4 C’s required for “Hangin On Tight” in your relationship with Christ:
1. Conviction – Genesis 32:7-8 of what he did “Fear of the unknown”
2. Confession – Genesis 32: 9-12 of what he was going into “Reflection”
3. Conversion – Genesis 33:3-4 of what he responded to “Face Your Challenge”
4. Commitment – Genesis 33:11-12 of what he decided to give “Free Up Your Load”
Illustration: Lessons On Life
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
So, hang on tight to your commitment to the Father, He will bless you and fulfill you when your season comes
I’ll close with this story…
Illustration: The Little Fireman
In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia.
Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination to HANG ON.
Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son’s dreams to come true.
She took her son’s hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?"
Mommy, "I always wanted to be fireman when I grew up."
Mom smiled back and said, "Let’s see if we can make your wish come true."
Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix , Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix.
She explained her son’s final wish an d asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that, if you’ll have your son ready at seven o’clock Wednesday morning, we’ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day.
He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you’ll give us his sizes, we’ll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat-not a toy one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.
They’re all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.
Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station.
He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic’s van, and even the fire chief’s car.
He was also videotaped for the local news program. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.
Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.
The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes.
Will you please do me a favor?
When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire?
It’s just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time.
And will you open the window to his room?
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy’s third floor open window 16 firefighters climbed up the ladder into Billy’s room.
With his mother’s permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?"
"Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand,"
the chief said.
With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He’s been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing."
He closed his eyes one last time.
In chapter 13 of the book of Hebrews, God says that “I will never leave you nor forsake you”
In the very last sentence of the book of Mathew, Jesus comforts us with “I am with you, even unto the very end”…and He means it.
When you are living life on the edge…always remember to hang on tight, because when you do, you’ll find that on the other end of your dilemma, Jesus is right there with you holding you as well.
