OPEN: (Show 5:30 minute clip from “Cool Runnings” – the section where bobsled team crashes in their final run... but they refuse to admit defeat. They pick up their damaged bobsled and carry it across the finish on their shoulders. Make sure to include the section where the team shouts their battle-cry before the race: “Respect.” Also, see the note at the end of this sermon)
APPLY: The movie “Cool Runnings” was loosely based on a true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
In the movie practically everyone looked down on their team. Their coach was a disgraced bobsledder who’d been kicked out of the sport for cheating. Their team was a sloppy group of black men from a country which had never seen snow, let alone a bob-sled. And the sled they used was a rebuilt and repainted reject that failed them in the final run.
By all reasonable expectations, they shouldn’t have been able to compete that year. But, because...
· they didn’t cheat
· they didn’t complain
· they didn’t give up…
…because of HOW they ran their race, they gained the one thing that mattered most to them: admiration and respect. (Make note of their battle-cry of “Respect”).
One of the underlying messages from the movie was: there is a right way… and a wrong way to get what you want in life.
I. What is it you want most out of life?
Some people want Love
Others seek Financial Security
Respect, understanding.
The Bible says “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4
It is God’s desire to give you your desire
But there is a caveat. There is a condition that we must consider.
Let’s rephrase that verse and look at it in reverse:
“He will give you the desires of your heart IF you delight yourself in the LORD.” Psalms 37:4
The problem is, many people (even Christians) want what they want on OWN terms… not God’s. They either don’t want to wait on God, OR they don’t want to live under God’s authority and leadership. So they’ll seek other ways to obtain what they want in life.
That’s what Judah had done. And the message out of Isaiah 40 is this: THERE’S A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO GET WHAT YOU DESIRE IN LIFE.
And Judah had gone about pursuing their goals in entirely the wrong way.
II. For some time Judah had been pursuing:
Safety
Security
Strength
They were a small kingdom surrounded by larger and more powerful nations, and they felt weak and threatened.
It was almost as if they were “running a race” and they believed that they needed every advantage they could find… so they sought to strengthen themselves by invoking the names of other gods and by making alliances with pagan nations.
Why would they do this?
This was Judah. They were people of God. Why on earth would they turn their back on God and seek out other sources of power?
Well…
1st – it is hard to ignore the dangers that surrounded us.
To the north of Judah there was an empire called Babylon. It was a powerful kingdom. It had a fearsome army and a reputation of destroying any nation in their path… and Judah was smack dab in Babylon’s way.
Now, I have to admit to you that it’s hard for me not to sympathize with Judah’s fears. They lived in a very real world filled with very real dangers.
ILLUS: A former police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department - Bob Vernon - tells of how the Department would demonstrate to rookie officers the value of the bullet-proof vests they’d be issued. The vests were placed on mannequins and then officers would fire round after round into the vests. The rookies were asked to check to see if any of the rounds had penetrated the vests.
Invariably the vests would pass the test with flying colors. Vernon would turn to the rookie officers and ask, “So who wants to wear a vest and let us test how it works on you?
How many of you would put on those vests and allow marksmen to take a shot at you? (No one raised their hands). I don’t blame you. You could cover my entire body with that armor – and I’d still hesitate to put it on and let them shoot at me.
Why?
Because it’s one thing to “say” I have faith
It’s quite another to actually act on that faith.
You see, this world can be dangerous place. And the things that we desire in life can often be threatened by powers beyond our own strength. We might lose our jobs, our relationships, our families. At times like these it’s easy to panic. It’s easy to take our eyes off of God’s faithfulness and begin to look around for other forms of power and security.
But throughout Scripture God’s message has always been to His people: “Trust me.”
“Put your faith in my promises.”
“Act upon my assurances.”
ILLUS: One man once asked: “Do you want to be in the center of God’s will? Then turn to the center of God’s word, the verse that is exactly in the middle of the Bible - Psalms 118:8. It says:
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”
So… IT IS hard to ignore the dangers that surround us and the forces that threaten our hopes and dreams in this life. BUT it is at times like those that it is critical that we put our faith in God and Him alone.
2ndly – it’s hard to ignore the visible strengths of this world.
Believing in God is ok… but you can’t see God. You can’t touch God.
And there are people who prefer to rely on things they can see… touch… feel
It’s tempting to rely more on my bank account and financial security than on God riches
It’s tempting to rely more upon political parties than I do upon the Lordship of God
It’s tempting to rely more upon justice of courts than upon the faithfulness of God
These are things I can see. Things I can touch. Things I can feel.
But, God’s riches and faithfulness and Lordship are often invisible to my eyes.
So my tendency is to rely upon what I can see and handle and touch
That’s why Judah had drifted away from God and began to trust pagan nations, and began to worship pagan gods. These were visible and tangible to their eyes and hands.
But God said: “Have you looked closely at the things you’ve put your trust in???
Have you considered what you’re comparing God with?”
Isaiah 40:18-20 says
“To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.”
God asks: Is THIS what you’ve replaced me with? A piece of wood or metal that can be knocked over with a good push?
And God asks: “Do you really think you can replace me with the power and might of men?
Isaiah 40:22-25 says: “(God) sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’" says the Holy One.
God asks us: would you replace me with mere mortals who can be swept away like chaff?
God seems to be asking - What’s wrong with you guys?
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.” Isaiah 40:21-22
In other words start learning to look at life from God’s perspective… not your own.
III. You see… that was the heart of Judah’s problem
Judah had become accustomed to viewing their lives purely from the viewpoint of their OWN strength and abilities. Not from God’s
ILLUS: One of the great movies of all time was the 1959 Biblical epic Ben Hur. One of the movie’s most riveting scenes where Charlton Heston (Ben Hur) defeated his arch enemy in an extremely realistic chariot race. The scene required 5 weeks of filming, 15,000 extras, and 18 chariots.
To add to the spirit of authenticity Charton Heston actually learned to drive the chariots he’d be using in the race. But after weeks of practice, Heston was worried about the shoot. He confided in the stunt coordinator: “I can drive the chariot, but I’m not sure I can win.”
The stunt man smiled and replied: “Chuck, you just make sure you stay in the chariot, and I’ll make sure you win the race.”
You see, Heston had made the mistake of thinking that HE actually had to win the race by his own power and skill.
He had forgotten that this was a movie.
The outcome had already been decided
It was in the script
He COULDN’T LOSE!!!
And that’s what God is trying to get us to see in Isaiah 40
Look with me again at Isaiah 40:28-31
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
In other words: You can actually rely on His strength
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
He finds pleasure in helping you when you can’t do it anymore
“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
ILLUS: Most of you know my family went to Washington D.C. last week on vacation.
And Washington is a great city to take your family to. There’s so many intriguing things to do and places to visit.
For example, we went to the “Spy Museum”,
We got a special pass to visit the White House, and The House of Representatives.
We saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington
We visited the Smithsonian Air and Space museum
National Archives (Declaration)
The Washington monument
The Lincoln memorial
The Vietnam and Korean memorials
And the most recent memorial to the veterans of WWII.
And you know… there’s one thing that I remember most about our visit to Washington D.C…. we walked everywhere. We walked… and we walked… and we walked… and we walked. It wasn’t so bad for me, but I had an 8 year old daughter and an 11 year old son whose legs were shorter than mine, and they had to go twice as far just to keep up with me.
(pause…)
Just before we left D.C. we wanted to go up into the Washington monument. It was a HOT day. We seemed to have to wait FOREVER to go inside the building. And there is hardly any shade there.
Then we got into the monument… and we had to wait to go up in the elevator.
Then we got to the top, and we had to wait to look out of those little windows out on the city of Washington.
That’s when Naomi started to feel sick. She felt she was going to throw up.
Did you know there’s no bathrooms at the top of Washington monument?
We found a black plastic bag (just in case) and we rushed her to the elevator… only to find a line of 20 or 30 people waiting to get into an elevator that was already filled with people. I believe it was by the grace of God that the elevator operator leaned out and said “I’ve got room for 2 more people.”
“I’ve got a sick girl here” I called out… and people graciously stepped aside to let us through.
Before I got on the elevator with my daughter, I told my wife we’d meet them at the White House,(the side where people would pose for pictures with the White House and it’s fountain in the background).
Naomi and I made it safely to the bathroom and she felt a little better. But she was still hot and tired. We set out to go to the White House… but I only had a vague idea how to get to our appointed meeting place. There was a lot of construction going on and I began to be unsure of how I was going to get my daughter there without getting lost.
I saw a workman in a golf cart and said to him: “Can you tell me the best way to get to the White House.” He gave me some instructions which I only vaguely understood. Naomi and I thanked him and we began to walk away. We’d only walked a few feet when Naomi pleaded with me to lift her up on my shoulders. I picked her up… and had only walked a short distance when I heard a voice behind me call out: “If you’ll hold her in your lap, I’ll drive you folks on over to the White House.” It was the man in the golf cart.
Now, I’m a nice strong man… but I’d have been a fool to turn down an offer like that.
I was hot and I was tired, and as he drove us to our destination I noted that his cart had a roof overhead to shield us from the sun, and as we moved swiftly along, a breeze cooled our faces.
As we rode, I asked the man about himself. He wasn’t just any ordinary workman. He was the supervisor of the construction company that had been engaged in a $2.5 million dollar project there. Thus… what had potentially been ONE MORE long, hot walk in Washington turned out to be a comfortable ride – given by the man who basically ran the company.
It was then that I realized that I had been given the closing illustration for this sermon.
Even strong men grow tired
Even young girls get hot and sick
But our God cares so much for us that he offers us his strength.
He offers us wings of eagles to carry us along
He offers us the refreshing coolness of His presence… because He cares for us and He knows how frail and weak we can become in a world that sometimes overpowers us.
(NOTE: For those of you who would use the movie "Cool Runnings", you should know that there were several "historical" inaccuracies in the film. John Candy’s character did not exist. The team actually had several trainers. And, according to an interview with one of the bobsled team, the actual cause of their crash was not the mechanical difficulties... but rather their own inexperience.)
OTHER SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
Cool Runnings - Isaiah 40:1-40:31
The Race Toward Evil - Isaiah 59:1-59:21
A Prize Every Time - 1 Corinthians 9:19-9:27
Getting Your 2nd Wind - Mark 5:1-5:20
Running For Freedom - Acts 8:26-8:40
The Runaway Lad and The Waiting Dad - Luke 15:11-15:24
