The Super Bowl to End All Super Bowls

Hebrews 9:24-28

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%209%3A24-28&version=NIV;NLT

  

Imagine a world where there was a Super Bowl to end all Super Bowls.

Where Tom Brady and the Patriots would never need to snap another ball; run another down; score another last minute touchdown. Where players wouldn’t need to prove themselves year in and year out.

They wouldn’t need to make any more sacrifices of blood, sweat and tears because the “once for all time” Super Bowl had been played.

 

With the Old Covenant, the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of goats and calves to sacrifice for the sins of the people. This sacrifice would make them ceremonially clean on the outside, but not the inside. Only God could accomplish that. Only God could offer the “Super Bowl” of sacrifices.

 

¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!       Hebrews 9 NIV

 

The world loves a system like the Old Covenant. In fact, the world is built on a system like that where you earn what you get; where you climb your way to the top; where you accumulate stuff as a sign of success. It appeals to our pride; our desire to control; our sense of being able to do it ourselves. In fact, this is a system where you can earn your salvation.

 

But God’s system is the exact opposite. It is based on what only He can do. Only He can provide for our salvation; only He can make it possible for us to be cleansed on the inside; only He can make the ultimate sacrifice.

 

^26b …But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.    NLT

 

Jesus’ sacrifice is all that is needed. It is the Super Bowl to end all Super Bowls. Jesus didn’t go into a manmade sanctuary, but into heaven itself; into the very presence of the Living God so that we might do the same one day.

 

Imagine that, once for all time, being at home with the Lord.

 

 

 

Victory is Ours

Philippians 3:10-14

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203%3A10-14&version=NIV;NLT

 

Tom Brady is the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. Last Sunday, the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars making them eligible to play in the Super Bowl. It’s not so amazing that the Patriots won, but how they won.

 

At the ripe old football age of 40, and with an injured right hand (his throwing hand), Brady lead his team to victory by overcoming a double digit deficit with less than three minutes left in the game. No matter what adversity he faced, he kept his focus, and his team’s focus, on attaining their goal.

 

Paul had the same mindset for himself and for the Philippians.

 

¹⁰ I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead… ¹³ I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.      NLT

 

In football, the temptation is to lose sight of the goal; to think about the injured hand, the penalty, the fumble, the double digit deficit or the teammate out with a concussion. The reverse is also true. When you get a lead, there’s a temptation to ease up on the gas pedal; to think you’ve got the game in the bag; to coast.

 

Life is the same way. There is a temptation to either obsess on the problem to the point of being overwhelmed. Or to focus on how good things are and coast. Either way, you lose sight of the goal.

 

Paul was a fighter. Here’s what he wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith.

 

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.    2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

 

How do you respond to problems and blessings? Are you a fighter? Do you keep your eyes on the goal? Victory is ours, if we only take hold of it.

 

 

Who is Malcom Butler?

1 Timothy 6

 

If you know the answer to the title question, then you either a) love NFL football; b) love the New England Patriots; or c) actually watched the Super Bowl game and not just the commercials and half-time show. Malcolm is the rookie free agent defensive back who single handledly put an end to the drive that would have allowed the Seatle Seahawks to win two consecutive Super Bowls.

 

Some players when they make a big play are all about making themselves the center of attention. Malcolm seemed to be the exact opposite. Following the game the NBC sideline reporter had to chase him down to get an interview. And when she asked him a question, he seemed emotional to the point that he could barely respond. He did anything but come across as if the whole game depended on him.

 

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment”.    1 Timothy 6:17

 

Apparently some of the believers in Ephesus had a problem with money – imagine that! Human nature hasn’t changed much has it? Even back in the first century people put too much emphasis; too much trust; too much hope in their money.

 

But, this verse has a much wider application for us than money. The question isn’t do you put your hope in wealth, but what do you put your hope in? It could be money; but it could just as easily be a relationship, your career, your abilities – really almost anything.

 

Our human nature trusts in ourselves. We trust in what we can see and control. We live in an earthly body that is prone to desire what is here and now, and then to take credit for it when we get it. It’s called pride, and we all struggle with it.

 

It would have been easy for Malcolm Butler to take all the credit; to say I worked hard to get where I’m at and I deserve this; to say my hope all along has been in me and my efforts. But he didn’t. In fact, after intercepting the pass, as he ran to the sidelines, he pointed up. I took this to mean, give God the glory.

 

What do you hope in; trust in; have faith in? In the above verse Paul wrote Timothy to tell the rich Ephesians to “put their hope in God”. Like the rich Ephesians, we need to identify what we hope and trust in other than God; confess it and embrace our Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally and gives us every good gift.