1. The metaphor of the Olympic Games of Rome is key to the NT writers
a. In the Revelation, John (and us) declares that the games of the emperor were not about Domitian but about God and Jesus at work in history
b. Think of the ways he could have said to the world that Jesus is his son; until the second coming he has picked us to be his Olympians to demonstrate his deity in the games; we are the athletes;
2. What would it feel like to be a great athlete to be picked for the Olympic team?
a. Train day and night -- consumed with desire to be the best they could be
b. [One year a pole-vaulter finished with silver medal -- after he received his medal, he began doing pushups in the stadium; when asked what he was doing, he said that he was preparing for the next Olympic contest.
3. We are the Olympians of God's world so RUN!
[Why do we treat discipleship as a walk in the park or a day at the beach? God wants Olympians -- consumed with the desire to live with all their might for him as disciples. NOT just more religious stuff -- being consumed to live for Jesus in everything we do -- our performance declares to the world that Jesus is GOD!
4. Greeks ran with everything they had because the only one who got the wreathed crown was the winner of the race. Paul says Run like you want to win -- 1 Corinthians 9.24.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
a. I just need to give all I have; God grades on effort not performance!!!! (5-2-1 Talents)
b. Don't hold back! Do we want to die, stand before Jesus and have him ask, "Do you have anything left?"; and have to say, yes, I only gave a little?
5. Athletes who performed for the emperor trained hard because he would kill anyone he felt did not perform well;
a. Serious Marathon runners don't have 'fun' while everyone else is lounging -- pain -- difficult but when you sense improvement physically; or improve in competition
b. Discipleship is not about feelings -- it is having the discipline/chutzpah to train and perform with every ounce we have -- ALL OF THE TIME
6. The Witnesses to Our Race
a. Hebrews 12.1-2 -- We follow someone who has run the race; knows the pain; Jesus watches and encourages us on -- "I understand your pain; I know what it is like to lose a parent; to have a friend betray me; to be in pain; Just take one more step; by grace you can do it." Can we say we quit? We are coasting?
b. Hebrews 11 -- List of Runners who have completed the race
1) [Cross Country teams run races; the ones who do not finish first see the ones who have finished gathered at the finish line urging them on
2) The Man, Moses and his Choices -- Hebrews 11.23-28
I. Right Choice -- Wrong Time
A. He Knew His Mission -- Acts 7.23-25
23 "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
1. He knew His Background -- Hebrew
2. He knew the meaning of his name -- "Drawn (from the River)"
a. His escape from death
b. [Sonograms
In April of 2008, Florida proposed a law that would have required abortion providers to offer pregnant mothers the opportunity to see ultrasounds of their unborn children. That's ALL that law would have required.
In fact, the bill did NOT require the mothers to look at the ultrasounds.
And yet that law died in the Florida senate.
Why? Because we live in a culture that does not value life. We live in a society that decrees that certain children should die. (AP -- David Royse -- May 1, 2008)
3. Interesting point -- Pharaoh wanted to drown the Hebrew boys in the River and himself would be drowned in the Sea of Reeds
4. Important role of women in the story -- Jochabed; Pharaoh's daughter; Miriam
B. He Made His Mistakes and Did not Wait on God
1. Killed the Egyptian -- knew it was wrong -- looked to see who was watching
2. Maybe he thought it was all "up to him" and God wasn't going to act
I recently ran across the following "e-mail from God"
"I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help. If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it on your own. Kindly put it in the SFGTD box (something for God to do). It will be addressed in My time, not yours."
3. There is a time to act and a time to wait
a. Psalm 25.5
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait [WAIT; LOOK FOR; HOPE FOR; EXPECT] all the day long.
b. Contrast with Ai
4. Wound Up on the Backside of the Midian Desert 40 Years Herding Sheep
II. Wrong Choice -- Right Time (Burning Bush and Excuses) -- Exodus 3.1-4.1ff
George W. Bush, in an airport lobby, noticed a man in a long flowing white robe with a long flowing white beard and flowing white hair. The man had a staff in one hand and some stone tablets under the other arm.
George W. approached the man and inquired, "Aren't you Moses?" The man ignored George W. and stared at the ceiling. George W. positioned himself more directly in the man's view and asked again, "Aren't you Moses?"
The man continued to peruse the ceiling. George W. tugged at the man's sleeve and asked once again, "Aren't you Moses?" The man finally responded in an irritated voice, "Yes I am".
George W. asked him why he was so unfriendly and Moses replied, "The last time I spoke to a Bush I had to spend forty years in the desert.
A. The Call -- 3.1-6
1. Spontaneous combustion is common in the desert -- this is different
2. Hineni -- I am ready and willing to do
3. Bare feet -- sign of a servant
B. The Command -- 3.10
C. The Confusion -- 3.13-4.13
D. The Compromise (Aaron) -- 4.14-17
III. Right Choice -- Right Time -- 4.18ff
A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, the young boy began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.
One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, "Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around and our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place him first in our lives." The boy drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.
Many years after this, the young boy (now a man) stood as Sunday School at a Church in Chicago and said, "I would rather be a layman in the Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus."
So, every time you . . .
--take a take a bite of Philadelphia Cream cheese
- sip a cup of Maxwell House,
- mix a quart of Kool-Aid,
- slice up a DiGiorno Pizza,
- cook a pot of Macaroni & Cheese,
- spread some Grey Poupon,
- stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat,
- slurp down some Jell-O,
- eat the cream out of the middle of an Oreo cookie,
- or serve some Stove Top,
. . . remember a boy, his pony named Paddy, and the promise a young man named James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as He directed.
A. Back to the Egypt Mission
1. Pharaoh's Confrontations -- Out of Comfort Zone
2. Plagues and Passover -- Amazing Signs and Allusions
3. Parting the Sea of Reeds -- Incredible Path to Freedom
B. Back into the Desert -- "Desert People"
1. Tend to think of the desert as a cursed place
2. It is the sweetest place of all -- God is there -- Psalm 81.16
But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock [wall; cliff; boulder] I would satisfy you."
3. Torah at Sinai (Pentecost)
C. Mission Accomplished with Joshua Leading the Way
1. Crowd of God's games are heroes of OT and NT disciples who have finished before us;
a. Remember who sits in stands cheering and encouraging us on -- Hebrews 11
1) James says we have same chutzpah/Boldness as Elijah
2) Imagine running for Jesus (spiritually) and see Abraham and he says, "Keep going."
3) Deborah -- I did it, you can; others there cheering us on;
4) Moses -- I messed up; I was faithful; you can be, too
b. Others:
1) Parents; grandparents; friends; etc.
2) Who is in your stands cheering you on?
3) What will you say when you cross the finish line and meet them?
4) What will you say to those who are coming along behind you? We will finish the race before them because we started sooner.
2. The implication is to encourage one another on NOW; too often we discourage one another and say unkind things;
3. Maybe we need to encourage one another to run and keep running, not necessarily to run faster.
a. Athletes compete for awards that fade; we for one that does not fade --
b. [Jim Thorpe gave ribbons and medals to his grandchildren to play with because he had so many and they were not important to him any more
4. At finish line -- because Jesus saved us; because we ran with it all; we will join the champions who finished the race.
5. Moses' Choice was to Give His ALL -- Deuteronomy 6.4ff
