Gtcotr/ss020319
Today
is Superbowl Sunday for the 53rd Annual Superbowl.
·
Los
Angeles Rams
·
New
England Patriots
Today
Americans will consume:
·
1.3
Billion Chicken Wings
o 4 Wings for every
person in the United States
o 700 Million Chickens
will give their lives for the Superbowl
·
2
Million Pizzas from Domino’s Pizza alone
·
325.5
Million gallons of beer
·
10
Million pounds of ribs
·
$59
Million of avocados
·
$227
Million of potato chips
·
3.8
Million pounds of popcorn
·
88
Million pounds of cheese
o The average American
watching the Superbowl today will consume 6,000 calories. That’s more than is
consumed on either Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Each
losing team member on the roster will receive a bonus check for $53,000,
whether they actually play or not.
Each
winning team member will receive $107,000 bonus for Superbowl!
With
several young players on the roster who are making only minimum wage for NFL
Salaries, just $420,000 per year, this could be a good bonus.
Genesis 3 NKJV
1 ¶ Now the serpent was more cunning
than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the
woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the
serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3 “but of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not
eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to
the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 “For God knows that in the
day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.”
6 ¶ So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of
the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the
garden.
9 ¶ Then the LORD God called
to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
I
have not studied the Word of God for these past 40 years so that I could stand
here this morning and help you identify all of the trouble you have been having
with your relationships, your finances, your family or your outlook on the
future. Rather, I have grown in life to the point where I now have very little
time for the problem because of the consuming respect I hold for the answer.
If you
have trouble today, you know it. Some of you may not want to face it but
you know it. God has not left you without a witness. (Acts 14:17) Although God
is kind, His love is merciful and He is gracious, He nonetheless points our
trouble out to us as only He can do. But whether you are at the top of your
game today or living life at the bottom of the barrel, the path which leads
onward and upward is remarkably the same for every person. We must follow the rules or suffer the consequences.
Even
in a perfect world like the Garden of Eden, there are rules.
Again,
I am not here to point out the problems but rather solutions. And believe me,
there is a solution for every dilemma we face. Everything we enjoy has rules,
some written some unwritten. Break the rules of the game and you stand to be
disqualified. True peace and lasting success results from respecting and
following God’s rules.
So
without condemnation, criticism or closed mindedness, let’s go to the Word of
God together and survey the rules which were put in place by God to help us build and maintain a healthy, happy and
wholesome life.
You see, God has designed rules to govern everything.
Take for example the relationship Bernie Madoff
had with his clients. Madoff was a licensed stockbroker and his clients were
those who provided him money to supposedly invest. For many years it appeared
Madoff was a market-savvy financial advisor who was making his investors well
above average returns on their money. However, Bernie was breaking the rules
which were established to govern those relationships. Bernie Madoff was
probably a pretty good guy but he was also a thief, a cheat, a liar and a scam
artist.
For
a long time he got away with breaking the rules and he appeared very successful
for decades. He, his wife and 2 sons enjoyed everything money could buy. They
had access to more than $50 billion – what a fairytale life.
Today
however at age 80, Bernie Madoff sits alone in prison serving out his 150-year
sentence after having to forfeit nearly $20 billion. Why, because he was found
guilty of breaking the rules. His scheduled release date is November 14, 2139,
providing he gets some time off for good behavior.
Now
I’m not picking on Bernie, like I said he no doubt was a nice guy and a good
provider for his family, he just didn’t maintain a healthy respect for the
rules. Like I said, I don’t want to pick on Mr. Madoff at all … he, his family
and his investors have all suffered greatly. I pray he finds peace. That will
probably depend somewhat on whether or not he has learned to follow the rules
in his new environment. God bless him and his victims.
When we participate in any event, we fall subject to the rules which
have been established to govern that event.
I
could have launched this subject taking about Lance
Armstrong who beat cancer and won the Tour de France an amazing 7 times
before being stripped of all of his titles and medals and banned from
competition for life because he didn’t keep the rules. Or perhaps I could have
told you about Miss America 1983 who posed for
nude photos which went public and so she ended up giving up her title. Like Bernie,
all of those things they wanted, valued and worked so hard for in life were
lost because they didn’t maintain a healthy respect for the rules.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him
who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
This is the place where I hope to connect you
with God in a meaningful way. There are 5 Potential Prayers which I want you to
consider right now. Where are
you? Which one of these prayers will you pray
today?
1. Prayer of Thanksgiving
·
Are you at the place where you need to thank
God this morning because He has confirmed that you are right on track? Pray and
thank Him for saving your soul and giving you the good sense to follow His
rules. Thank God for your job, your family, your nation, and your Church.
2. Prayer of Petition
·
Do you need to let God know that have heard
His Word this morning and need His help? Pray and ask God to help you change
and follow His guidelines for your life.
3. Prayer of Intercession
·
This is a prayer prayed in earnest for other
family members and friends, asking God to open their eyes and soften their
heart to do His will. God will hear your cry today and He will do His part.
4. Prayer of Repentance
·
If you know you have been wrong or have
disregarded God’s rules for whatever reason, you owe God an apology and need to
ask His forgiveness. Pray and ask God to help you begin a new day and commit
yourself to follow the rules.
5. Prayer for Salvation
·
If you don’t want to obey God this morning or
if you don’t care about His rules for life, then that’s reason enough for you
to be concerned about your salvation. Conversion transforms us and creates a
new heart within us. When we are born-again, we receive a new nature, a new
mind and a new will. We may not be perfect, but we want to be, and we strive to
be pleasing to God.
Where are you today? Are
you thankful; repentant; in need of help for yourself or help with others; or,
are you lost?
One sincere prayer will begin the process …
The question is not only where you are but more importantly
… Where do you want to be? Let’s go to God together right now! Join me now in
prayer …
