Teamwork

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.'"' Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt."' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt." -Exodus 8.1-7

As the fight moves into round four we begin to see a solid rhythm forming. By now there is a routine that both men are comfortable with. They know their skills and their callings, and when the time comes each one performs the task that is needed of them. God speaks to Moses, Moses speaks to Aaron, Aaron stretches out his hand, God's wonders unfold. There is teamwork taking place to accomplish the will of God. And there is no shame in team work.

Men, we need eachother. Not one of us can do everything, not one of us was meant to. We each have gifts and strengths, and they are unique. We each have different skills and passions, and they are all necessary. We must learn to work together. Think of the phalanx. Each Spartan was a force to be reckoned with. Each one of them was skilled in combat. Each one of them was a powerful and deadly warrior. But every Spartan knew that their true strength was in the phalanx. When they stood together, side by side, they were unbeatable.

At Thermopylae they held off a vastly superior force for three days. The final day of combat it's thought that they broke rank and just cut down Persians until the last man fell. Part of me wonders what would have happened if they stayed in formation. Could the phalanx have held out? But the phalanx only worked because each warrior was so disciplined and skilled, able to hold his shield up and protect his brothers.

Men, we are all indispensable members of the phalanx. But if we are to stand firm together we must each be an individual force to be reckoned with. We will never be as strong individually as we are together, but if we have never developed our strength we have nothing to offer the phalanx. If we are to function as a team, we must each hone our skills and bring them to the front lines. And we must also be willing to let others bring theirs.

We are a team of skilled warriors. Are you able to lift your shield? Have you added it to the phalanx?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor