Who Is Your Sponsor?
Exodus 17:1,8-15
**Message Outline**
Bible Truths
1. This race of life has a finish line. (v.1)
2. This race of life is long, difficult, and dangerous. (vv. 8-11)
3. Sometimes you need some help to run this race of life. (v. 12)
4. Victory is attainable in this race of life. (v. 13)
5. As you run this race of life, one question must always remain in your heart and mind … Does the world know who your “sponsor” is? (vv. 14-15)
LIFE Applications
1. Set your sights on the end goal of life. Don’t just live life day by day, look toward the finish line!
2. Don’t be ashamed to seek help as you run this race called life. We are supposed to be here for one another.
3. Never forget, Jesus has already won this race for you! Live life like a winner!
4. Make sure everyone around you knows who you serve … who your “sponsor” is.
5. Make sure you have the lifestyle to back up the claims that your mouth makes.
**Message Plan and Transcript**
“Igniter” Video
Show appropriate video clip from “Days of Thunder,” with Tom Cruise racing. (MPEG of a 4-minute video is available by contacting pastorgeoff@bellsouth.net )
Opening Illustration
Week 1 Drama
Drama Directions:
Week 1 Drama - “I Wanna Be a Race Car Driver!”
Cast: 1 Man & 1 Woman (Tony and Alecia Dothsuk)
Note: All stage direction is given in italics.
Stage Direction
*Man enters from rear door and moves down aisle toward the center of the floor immediately in front of the stage. He is wearing an absurd costume that looks something like a racing suit. It is made up of work overalls with fake patches, a number on the front and back … all decorated to look something like a racing uniform. To top it all off, he is wearing a football helmet.
*His wife enters from stage left door slightly afterward, moving toward the man. She looks at the him, and has a look of complete disbelief on her face. Dialogue begins…
Drama Script:
Wife: Tony, what in heaven’s name are you wearing?
Man: This is my new racing suit!
Wife: What do you mean, “My new racing suit?” Where do you think you’re going to be racing to today, Cracker Barrel or El Bracero?
Man: No, seriously, this is my new racing suit. I have come to a crossroads in my life (looks at crowd and winks), and I have decided that I need to make a change. I feel that I have missed my calling in life. I should have been a race car driver … so that’s what I am going to do!
Wife: You can’t be a race car driver!
Man: And why not? I have a great suit (strokes and admires his suit) , and I have my protective helmet… (Knocks knuckles on head.)
Wife: (Beginning a tirade…) But racing is dangerous … you’ve never done anything like that before. Those people drive over 200 miles an hour, and there are crashes and wrecks all over the place. You don’t have any training. You can’t be a race car driver! What would the kids and me do if something happened to you?
Man: Nothing’s going to happen to me! If Tom Cruise can do it (jerks his thumb to point at the screen), I know I can.
Wife: But, Tony, where do you think you will get a race car? They don’t just give those away, you know. They cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can’t ever afford to buy us a new mini-van! You would have to have money, endorsements, and sponsors. How do you think you are going to get all of that?
Man: (Looking puzzled and disappointed…) Do you really think there’s than much to racing? It looks a lot easier than that. I thought it was just a bunch of guys driving cars around in a circle. It looks like fun. But I didn’t know it was all of that trouble.
Wife: (Calming down … sharing a voice of reason.) Honey, life is tough enough as it is. Our life is like a race! We are constantly racing off to take kids to school, to meetings, to practice, to games. We race all over town to pay this bill and that bill. It seems like all we ever do is race to stay one step ahead in this life.
Man: I guess you’re right. Our life is a bit of a race, isn’t it? (Removes his helmet and holds it by the facemask.) Maybe I should just focus on doing a good job with our home and family. I guess the NASCAR world can make out OK without me. (Looks very disappointed.)
Wife: It’s time to go get the kids from school now. Why don’t you come with me and we can talk some more on the way? (She smiles takes him by the hand.)
Man: Okay, honey. (As they are walking toward the door) But did you hear? (Starts getting excited again …) I saw on TV that they are looking for families to be on the Family Fear Factor. We could do that! Wouldn’t it be cool?!!
Wife: Rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she drags him toward the exit door…
Transition
(Pastor entering from rear “sound booth” area.) Life is a lot like a race, isn’t it? Think about it … our lives are so often lived in “overdrive.” We run here and there. There never seem to be enough minutes in the day to do everything that we really need to do. We have places where we need to go, places we have to take our kids. We get caught up in all of the motion of family, jobs, sports, entertainment … even church. And so often we wind up running circles around ourselves. We get wound up so tight, and so caught up in the race of life that we actually forget how to live.
Well, today is a day of beginnings. We begin the next chapter in the life of our church in this beautiful new facility. But we are also beginning a new way of studying God’s Word. As you can probably tell by looking around, you are experiencing something of a racing theme. And there’s good reason for that. Because today we begin a new seven-week series called, “It all comes down to the finish line…” (Show title slide.)
As people of the Lord, we need to be something more than “one day at a time” people. I know that was a wonderful old Kristy Lane song, but it might not be a good song to base your theology of life upon.
Yes, we ask the lord to give us each precious day … one day at a time … but we do so with the end goal in mind. We have our eyes fixed upon the end of the race. We all know that this race that we call life will end some day … it has a finish line. And all of the moments of our lives build up to and point to that moment. Because what we do …how we respond to God … our relationship with Jesus determine what comes next. You see, in reality, the finish line for this race called life is just the starting line for eternal life in heaven with our Lord. So we keep our eyes on the finish line, but we live life in the now … doing our dead-level best to make every single moment count. Amen?
Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to talk to God and ask Him to be here with us as we seek His truth today…
Pastor’s Prayer
*Prayer of blessing upon the Bible study.
Introduction of Today’s Message
Now, with regard to racing, who can tell me what a sponsor is? (Interact with the crowd … allow them to explain sponsorship … fill in the gaps as necessary.) Good! Now, let’s shift gears a bit. Think about your life from a spiritual and practical standpoint. If you were to identify a “sponsor” for your life, who would it be? Who should it be?
That’s what I want us to think about as we study God’s Word together today. I want each one of you to think about this question … “Who Is Your Sponsor?” Who does your life represent? If your life could be seen as a NASCAR racing car, what would be on the hood? Who would you represent in front of all the world?
Of course, you’ve probably already figured out what the correct answer should be. Your life and mine should represent the Lord Jesus Christ. All the world should know that we are about Jesus … our lives represent Him … He is our sponsor.
Transition
Now, as we look at the word together today, we’re going to study a passage in Exodus 17. And I know what some of you are already thinking. What could anything in the Bible, much less the Old Testament book of Exodus, have in common with racing? What could it have in common with my life? Friends, this precious book tells us a lot about running this race of life.
So, today, I want us to look at a story from the life of Israel. The Exodus has already occurred. Moses wend down to Egypt land and said, “Let my people go…” And they are hot on the trail of the promised land … the land of Canaan. But there are some obstacles along the way. One early obstacle is an enemy of Israel called the Amalekites. Apparently, they didn’t care for this huge throng of people crossing through their lands. So, they attacked. Let’s read and see what happened…
Bible Reading
Exodus 17:8-15
Isn’t that a curious passage? The men of Israel go out to do battle with the Amalekites. Moses watches over the battle from a nearby hilltop. And, for whatever reason, as long as his hands are up in the air the Israelites are winning. As his arms start to grow weary and droop down, they start to lose. (Relate to that … Army story … M-16). It gets so bad that Aaron and Hur step in to help hold his arms up. And, finally, the men of Israel win a huge victory! To commemorate the victory, Moses builds an altar on that hilltop and he calls is Jehovah Nissi, which means, “The Lord is My Banner.”
What does this have to do with life? With living our lives? With running the race of life? I believe it has a lot to do with it. And there are some valuable life lessons that we can learn from this event in the life of Moses and Israel.
Bible Truths
1. This race of life has a finish line. (v. 1)
This race of life has an end. It has a goal. Just like the people of Israel. Once they were free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, what were they trying to do? What was their singular purpose? They wanted to reach the promised land! God had promised His people a land of their own, a land so rich and plentiful that it “flowed with milk and honey.” They wanted to get there … that was their finish line. And the only way to get there was to follow wherever the Lord commanded.
And the same goes for us, doesn’t it? We have a promised land to reach. Life is good … most of the time … but eternal life with the Lord Jesus is perfect. And we are going to get there someday! Meanwhile, we live this life as best we can. And we have to follow the Lord as He directs. Why? Because He knows the way! He knows the best pat to get us successfully to that finish line.
But make no mistake about it, friend, this life is short. It has a finish line. And getting there isn’t always easy … which brings us to Bible truth #2…
2. This race of life is long, difficult, and dangerous. (vv. 8-11)
Illustration: Life can really be a workout sometimes. Like comedian Flip Wilson used to say, “If I had my whole life to live over again, I don’t think I’d have the strength.”
Contributed by: Donnie Martin to sermoncentral.com.
The Israelites knew all about living a hard life. Generations in slavery. Being pursued by the Egyptians. And now, as they’re making their way toward that promised land, the Amalekites come out and attack them. It’s like they can’t catch a break!
So they had to do battle … and we have already read the story. The men are fighting. Moses is standing with his hands raised to heaven. And the battle was tough. Things went back and forth. For a while, it seemed like the Israelites could lose.
We can relate, can’t we? Sometimes, things just get so bad … so tough in our lives. Sometimes we just seem to reach the end of that rope. There’s not enough money in the checking account to pay the bills. Then a kid gets sick. The car breaks down. Someone gets laid off from work. You have a fight with a friend, and feeling are hurt. A loved one dies. This life is hard, friends. The race is long, difficult, and sometimes even dangerous. We can count on it. Even great heroes of the faith like Moses had to deal with the same, if not even greater, difficulties in life.
Transition Illustration: In water-safety courses a cardinal rule is never to swim out to a drowning man and try to help him as long as he’s thrashing around. To do so is basically to commit suicide. As long as a drowning man thinks he can help himself, he’s dangerous to anyone who tries to help him. The reason why is because his tendency is to grab the one trying to help him and the result is he ends up taking them both under the water in the process.
The correct way to rescue someone who’s drowning is to stay far enough away to where he can’t grab you. And then you wait. And when he finally gives up and quits thrashing around, you make your move. At that point the drowning man won’t work against you. Instead he’ll let you help him.
Contributed by: Erik Estep to sermoncentral.com
That illustration helps drive home our third lesson today …
3. Sometimes you need some help to run this race of life. (v. 12)
But as long as we’re insistent upon helping ourselves, things just seem to get tougher, don’t they? But sometimes we just don’t like help, do we? We are too private … and too prideful. We don’t want anyone to know our business. We are afraid of the vulnerability that it takes to open up to people and let them in to our lives. So what do we end up doing? We try to carry all of our own burdens … on our own. And sometimes the weight of it all crushes us. Our spirits and our backs just give out, and we crash and burn.
Even the great Moses needed a little help. Think about it, he didn’t even have to fight. All that dude had to do was stand on the hill with his arms in the air. Sounds easy enough. Until you try to do it. So what happened? When he got tired, they pulled up a stone for his to sit on. And when things got really bad, they each grabbed an arm and helped him hold them up in the air. Yes, even the great Moses … burning bush and Ten Commandments Moses … needed a helping hand.
Why should you be any better? Friend, don’t try to carry all of your burdens alone. If you are in Jesus, then you are a child of the Most High God. And you have lots of brothers and sisters. We are here to help. That’s our job. And when burdens are shared, they are reduced. So, let’s be sure to help one another along the way of this race in life.
Transition Illustration: There was a very poor man down in West Texas in the 1930s who barely made a living on a very poor sheep farm around Odessa and Midland. His name was E. L. Yates and he was so poor that he was contemplating bankruptcy and allowing the bank to repossess his farm. He was constantly worrying about how he could pay his bills and feed his family.
One day a survey crew from an oil company came to him and asked for permission to drill for oil on his property. The contract stated that he was to receive every eighth barrel if any oil was found. At 1,115 feet they hit a gusher. The well produced 80,000 barrels of oil a day! Wells soon followed that could produce twice that capacity. Even thirty years later government surveys showed wells with a capacity for 125,000 barrels a day. It proved to be one of the richest veins of oil ever found on the North American continent.
Mr. Yates owned it all! When he purchased the land the oil came with it. During all the years of poverty he was rich and didn’t know it.
Friends, whether you realize it or not. no batter how bad things may seem, Jesus has already won. You are a member of the winning team. You already have the victory. If you will just run the race with all of your heart and soul, you will find that…
4. Victory is attainable in this race of life. (v. 13)
The Israelites learned about the victory that is found in God. They had a big battle before them against a tough enemy. Moses held his arms up. Aaron and Hur helped. Joshua fought with the army. And together, they led the people to victory!
You can have victory in this life. Don’t let all of the stuff get you down. Don’t get lost in a sea of bad decisions. Don’t let life get so out of control that you completely crash and burn. You can and will win in this race of life, it you will just run it God’s way. You’re already on the winning ide, you just need to live like it!
Closing / Transition Illustration
** While Secretary of State during the Reagan presidency, George Shultz kept a large globe in his office. When newly appointed ambassadors had an interview with him and when ambassadors returning from their posts for their first visit with him were leaving his office, Shultz would test them. He would say, "You have to go over the globe and prove to me that you can identify your country." They would go over, spin the globe, and put their finger on the country to which sent--unerringly.
When Shultz’s old friend and former Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield was appointed ambassador to Japan, even he was put to the test. This time, however, Ambassador Mansfield spun the globe and put his hand on the United States. He said: "That’s my country.” The secretary later said, "I’ve told that story, subsequently, to all the ambassadors going out. ’Never forget you’re over there in that country, but your country is the United States. You’re there to represent us. Take care of our interests and never forget it, and you’re representing the best country in the world.’ "
Contributed by: Thomas Cash to sermoncentral.com
We must never forget where our home and our allegiance is. Our real home is heaven, and our allegiance is to the Lord. We are his ambassadors, and we are supposed to be representing Him while we’re here.
Friend, before we leave today, I want you to consider one last and very important question:
5. As you run this race of life, one question must always remain in your heart and mind … Does the world know who your “sponsor” is? (vv. 14-15)
After the battle was over, after the Amalekites were wiped out, God led Moses to build an altar to commemorate the event. He called the place Jehovah Nissi, which means “The Lord is My Banner.” Do you understand what that means?
In doing this, Moses was telling the whole world. “Look at this hilltop! Look at this altar. Never forget what happened here! The Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob won this battle! This is all His doing! We were just a part of what God has done. It’s not about me … it’s about God! The Lord is my Banner!”
Friend, what is the banner that flies over your life? What or who does your life represent? Who is your “sponsor?” And does the world know who your sponsor is?
If you know Jesus as Savior and Lord, you have a huge responsibility. You have become an ambassador of God on this earth. Everything you say and do counts. And every word and every action in your life has one of two outcomes. Either it brings glory to God, or it shames Him. There is no in between. There is no middle ground.
So what about it? Who is your sponsor? Is Jesus in front in your life? If not, are you ready to place Him in the driver’s seat and follow His way? Or are you just going to keep going your own way … waiting for that next crash? The choice is up to you. I pray that you will choose Jesus … today.
Closing Prayer / Challenge
1. Salvation
2. Rededication … better representative of Jesus.
(Invitation and prayer time … quiet music…)
LIFE Applications
1. Set your sights on the end goal of life. Don’t just live life day by day, look toward the finish line!
2. Don’t be ashamed to seek help as you run this race called life. We are supposed to be here for one another.
3. Never forget, Jesus has already won this race for you! Live life like a winner!
4. Make sure everyone around you knows who you serve … who your “sponsor” is.
5. Make sure you have the lifestyle to back up the claims that your mouth makes.
