1. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,

2. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV) despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

3. Hebrews 12:1-3

4. Super Bowl Christian  Tonight is the big game, but we appreciate your decision to be here  There are many people that are involved in tonight’s game  There will be thousands of people sitting in the stands, watching the game

5. Super Bowl Christian  We might consider those people lucky since they can watch things live and in person  There will be many members of the media there  They will be reporting on the game and giving us every angle of it

6. Super Bowl Christian  There will also be a great number of former NFL greats at that game  Those who have won Super Bowls themselves as players  They will be watching and critiquing the teams and participants of the game

7. Super Bowl Christian  Then there are the participants in tonight’s game  They are really the center of attention of all who are interested  They are who matter the most when it comes to the outcome of tonight’s match up

8. Super Bowl Christian  We find ourselves in the Super Bowl of Life  Paul acknowledged this in Philippians 3:13-14  “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”

9. Are You In The Stands?  Are you merely a spectator to what is going on in the Super Bowl of Life?  Sadly, many simply sit and watch as all the action goes on before their eyes  They don’t participate in the service, nor in the work of the church

10. Are You In The Stands?  Jesus said that we cannot sit by and watch  That’s what the priest and the Levite did in Luke 10  We must do for others (Matt. 25)  We should be doers of the word, not hearers only (Js. 1:22; Matt. 7:24-27)

11. Are You In The Stands?  I Jn. 3:18 – “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”  What’s more important, what we say or what we do?  In order to love in deed, we have to get out of the stands

12. Are You In The Media?  There are some who might be members of the media  They spend all their time reporting on what brother so-and-so is doing, or what sister so-and-so said  They are busy reporting all the latest news and gossip on the lives of others

13. Are You In The Media?  Paul said to work out your own salvation in Phil. 2:12  That was the point of Matt. 7:1, not that we cannot judge, but that we need to be careful that we judge righteously after getting our own lives in order  Does talking about someone help?

14. Are You In The Media?  II Thess. 3:11; I Tim. 5:13  These verses warn against busybodies  If we are busy in the Lord’s work, loving people and trying to help others, we will not have the time, energy, nor desire to talk about them!

15. Are You In The Game?  What God wants for you and I is to be participants in the game  I Cor. 15:58 – “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  Paul’s wish for all is to be involved!

16. Are You In The Game?  We tend to feel more a part of the Lord’s body when we join in the work  I’ve never met a person who has been heavily involved in the work at a congregation that feels dissatisfied and detached  I’ve met many who aren’t involved who feel that way though

17. Remember The Greats!  Just like there are those former NFL greats in attendance, we “are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1)  We think about those who have come before us and the hard work they put in and the sacrifices they have made

18. Remember The Greats!  Those examples should inspire us and motivate us to want to do more for the Lord!  Remember that you too serve as an example to others as well  There are and will be those who look up to you in the church