Overwhelmed to OverflowingSample

No ‘I’ in Team

READY:

“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”– Revelation 7:9a

SET:

The Olympics Opening Ceremony is a scene to remember. Every country competing enters the ceremony with their flag and team trailing behind. In the 2020 Olympics, there were 91 countries, and the ceremony lasted four hours, two of which were the teams’ entrances. The Opening Ceremony unifies the countries for one common purpose: the Olympics.

The Opening Ceremony is the closest picture we have to a scene in Revelation chapter 7. The last book in the Bible, Revelation, ends the Bible’s grand story about God and humanity. The Apostle John wrote this book after having a revelation from God. Chapter 7 sets the scene of the unity of humankind. As John gazed upon a great crowd in his revelation, he saw a crowd of people too vast to count standing before the throne. He didn’t just see people who all looked the same; he saw people from every single nation, tribe, people, and language, all together for one common purpose: praising and glorifying God.

God is all about unity. He demands unity in His believers and the church. He even sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to unify man and God after sin broke us apart. He began creation in Genesis with unity and ended Revelation with unity. Since it is important to God, it must be important to us.

The saying, “There is no ‘I’ in Team,” is popular because it shows that unity cannot exist where selfishness, pride, ego, or division remains. Teams are meant to walk into a situation unified, not as individuals. Teams wear the same colors and logos to represent they belong together. Teams are supposed to be unified for one common purpose, not chasing after individual objectives. Teams are meant to be unified like a family.

Where unity exists, a strong team will exist. A team can have a stacked team roster, a trophy case full of shiny gold, and a winning record streak, but if that team lacks unity, they lack everything. A team may look good on paper and have everything they could ever want, but without unity, they miss out on everything God desired, planned, and created for them.

GO:

1. Are you playing for yourself or the team?
2. How can you help unify the team today?

WORKOUT:

Philippians 2:2

Colossians 3:14

OVERTIME:

“God, help me stay focused on You and strive for unity in all I do. I pray my team becomes more unified and comes together for one common purpose: to be a team that glorifies You. Amen.”