FOCUS

Colonel G.W. Goethals, responsible for completion of the Panama Canal, had major problems with the climate and the geography as it was being built. But, he had an even bigger problem. It was the growing criticism back home from those who predicted he'd never finish the project and had opinions about how to do it better.

One day, a colleague asked him, "Aren't you going to answer all these critics?" "In time," answered Goethals.  "When?" his partner asked.  "When the canal is finished.”

In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant explored possibility of Panama Canal.  In 1914, 45 years later, it officially opened.

Some of the hardships/distractions:

·        Yellow fever epidemic-400 workers died after only 126 the year before.

·        In 1904, US doctor discovered 70% of local Panama population has Malaria

·        Mosquitoes found to be carrying Malaria and yellow fever

·        In 1906, President Roosevelt visited Panama-1^st sitting President to leave U.S.

·        Numerous U.S. troops were sent to the Panama area along with Naval ships to protect workers and keep peace in the area

·        In the end, 27,000 people died building the canal

The climate and geography may not be ideal and people around us might be critical, but we must remain focused! We will come across some obstacles along the way but we cannot let them distract us from our calling!

Psalm 25: 15--My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Focus does not keep us out of trouble or experiencing difficult times.  Focus does help us stay or see the right path so we do not drown in trouble or the difficult times.

In dog obedience training, they put a dog at one end of a room and its master at the other end of the room, with a plate of food in the middle. And then the master calls the dog. If the dog eyes the food, he’s a goner; he’ll go straight for it. So they teach the dog to focus his eyes on the master. If the dog keeps his eyes on the master, he won’t be tempted. Instead of heading for the food, he’ll head straight to the master.

Keep our eyes on our master or we’ll get distracted. Get our minds off our circumstances and our problems and focus on God’s goodness to us in our past, his closeness to us in our present and his power to help us in our future.

The successful man is the average man, focused.

Unity

Lego bricks all look the same except for the different colors.  But, it’s what is not seen that makes the difference in how you can build with the bricks.  The tubes added under the brick enable the bricks to be put in different formations instead of just stacked on top of each other.  Same for football officials, we all look relatively the same.  But, our different talents, roles, and functions within the crew will determine the unity in the crew and our results on the field--more unity-better results; less unity-not as good of results.

Lego

--Most profitable income of any toy manufacture.

--600 billion pieces made.

–Started with wooden toys by Denmark carpenter.

o   Hollow brick had limitations of what you could build.

--Late 40s started making plastic bricks

--1949 – automatic binding bricks

o   Added tubes gave clutch power. The tubes were the most important thing that happened in this company’s history.

--Different Combinations were now possible:

o   2 bricks – 24 different ways

o   3 bricks – 1060 different ways

o   6 bricks – 915,103,765 different ways

Uniformity and Unity are not the same.  Uniformity means everyone/everything is the same.  Unity takes the differences and similarities and bonds them together.  In the church, God calls us to be one in the Body of Believers.  But, he gives different talents/gifts to the Church in order for the body of Believers to grow.

As a crew of football officials, we can correlate the Unity that God calls the church to be to apply to our crew.  We are one “body”.  We want to be on the same page—a crew.  In order for us to achieve unity, we bring our different talents and abilities to contribute to the crew.

Ephesians 4: 11-13:  (11) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (12) to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (13) until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Take the legos, the bricks look the same except for the colors.  However, you can build them thousands of different combinations (depending on the number of bricks you have).  Same is true in officiating—we work each play one by one until the end of the game.  We use the crew’s talents and abilities to work the best game possible.  At the end of the game, we have built something.  Each week it’s unique.  But, hopefully it’s something we can be proud of!  

“Unity is not uniformity.”

HEAR and ACT

When does disobedience occur? Dan Britton of the FCA explains that we are disobedient when we don’t act the first time.  There is no such thing as second-time disobedience.  How is obedience defined?  It is simply to hear and act accordingly.

Obedience applies in all areas of life—our Faith, marriage, family, job, friends, and officiating.   Look back at the definition—hear and act.  We usually don’t have a problem with the hearing.  The issue is acting—accordingly.  Let’s also emphasize “accordingly” when we act.  If we don’t act the right way in all areas of life, it’s just the same as being disobedient. 

In our relationship with God, first time obedience is a struggle.  We may see a need and don’t act the first time.  We feel God telling us to do “something” and we don’t do anything.  It’s a struggle.  In officiating, when do we struggle with obedience?

--Off the field, are we being obedient with our family?  Are we doing our “jobs” with our crew to make sure we have the best chance to be successful?

--On the field, are we ready mentally, emotionally and physically for the game?

Think about this question:  Are you marked as a person that is living a life of obedience or a life of disobedience?

Dan Britton explains further the top ten Godly results of the power of obedience… 

1. My obedience invites the favor and blessing of God. (Joshua 1:8)
2. Obedience always pleases the heart of God, who loves me. (John 14:21)
3. My obedience will always, in time, bring a harvest. (Galatians 6:9)
4. Choosing to obey is the ultimate expression of my love for Christ. (2 John 6)
5. Obedience is the pathway for intimacy with God. (1 John 2:3)
6. Obedience always delivers what it promises: freedom and blessing. (James 1:25)
7. Living a life of obedience leaves a legacy. (Psalm 112:1-2)
8. The prayers of the obedient are powerful and effective. (James 5:16) 
9. My life is always moving in the direction of my obedience. (Colossians 1:10)
10. When I try, I fail; when I obey, He succeeds. (Galatians 2:20)

Colossians 1: 10:  ¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Remember this……….

Obeying = Clarity

Disobeying = Confusion

WHY NOT?

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover of the U.S. Navy was legendary for his interviews and found ways to cut through the superficial and rehearsed answers to get a look at the person underneath. He especially wanted to know how candidates would act under stress. During interviews, Admiral Rickover would have candidates sit in a chair with the front legs sawed off an inch or two shorter than the back, to keep them off-balance.

In his autobiography Why Not the Best?, President Jimmy Carter tells about his Rickover interview.  The Admiral asked Carter’s ranking in his class at the Naval Academy. As President Carter explained, “I swelled my chest with pride and answered, ‘Sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820!’ Carter sat back to wait for the congratulations. Instead came the question: ‘Did you do your best?’ Carter started to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ but remembered who this was. Carter gulped and admitted, ‘No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.’ Admiral Rickover looked at Carter for a long time, and asked one final question, which Carter never forgot and was not able to answer. Rickover asked, ‘Why not?”

Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV):  ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 The Message (MSG):  ^12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

These verses show that God wants His people to excel in both what they are (inward character) and in what they do. So, why not pursue of excellence in all we do all the time?  Remember this…..”The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” Knowing this, we want to pursue our goals, our jobs with excellence.

Excellence:  greatness — the very best

Perfection:  excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement

“Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.” Brian Harbour--Rising Above the Crowd.

Why not?  Why not strive to always do your best? We can make excuses of why we can’t or why we didn’t?  But think about facing Admiral Rickover and answer the question--”Why not?”

“If a task is worthy of our attention, it is worthy of our best.”

Swim Buddies

In underwater SEAL training, SEALS are partnered with a “swim buddy” on long swims. In fact, Admiral McRaven explained they were physically tied to a partner during these swims.  So, success or failure was determined by the buddies tied together, not the individual.  At the end of a swim, if you failed to meet certain requirements, both buddies suffered the consequences—The Circus (hundreds of flutter kicks, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc).  The Circus was two hours of additional calisthenics-after your training.  Not only was this punishment difficult to endure due to the physical exhaustion, it was mentally tough knowing you had your “normal” training the following day after completing The Circus.

As Admiral McRaven wrote in his book “Make Your Bed”, The Circus was a cycle of failure that caused many students to quit training.  However, in the case of Admiral McRaven and his buddy, the Circus made them stronger, not weaker.  The final open swim training was a 5 mile swim in the very cold ocean.  At the end, Admiral McRaven and his buddy made it back to the beach. An instructor met them and said “You have once again embarrassed your class.”  Thinking they were way behind the rest of the group, the Instructor then said “You have made all of your teammates look bad.”  What he then realized was him and his partner came in first.  Enduring The Circus paid off and made them stronger.

Our swim buddy is each member on our crew.  We want the best individual performance as possible.  But, the reality is when one member of the crew suffers, we all suffer.  Just as Admiral McRaven and his buddy did, we have to let The Circus of evaluation, assignments, grades, outside “noise” make the crew stronger.  How much stronger can our crews be if we learn and correct weekly?

Isaiah 40: 31:  “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.”

Rarely do we have instant solutions to the things we face. In Isaiah 40: 31, God promises if we will slow down and wait for Him, in quiet confidence, He will strengthen us. When we face discouragement or difficult times, slow down, keep fighting, pray and listen to hear God’s plan and soar!

As Admiral McRaven states……..

“Don’t be afraid of The Circus”