This is the third Sunday in November--a day that will live in infamy for diehard football fans. The year was 1968. The exact date was November 17. Little did people know as they made their way home from church and prepared for an afternoon of professional football on television that this would be a day that would plunge a large portion of our population, mostly male into outrage.

The New York Jets were playing the Oakland Raiders on the West Coast. It had been a long drawn-out game. The Jets were ahead by 10 points. Just as the game was moving into its critical moments only two minutes remained someone at NBC (an insensitive clod at best, according to football fans; a cultural terrorist at worst) made the decision to cut from the ball game to show the children's movie Heidi. During those two minutes Oakland snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. New York blew their 10point lead. It was a stunning ending to a bitterly fought athletic contest but the nation's football fanatics could only read about it in the paper the next day. They had been deprived in the most heartless way of seeing the conclusion to the game, all because of a children's movie. The response of the fans to this insensitive action on the part of the network was swift and vociferous. Most of it was uttered in unrepeatable terms.

Now you might think, if you are not a football fan, that it was much ado about nothing. But it is human nature to want to know how things turn out in the end.

Those of you who are mystery fans think what it would be like to watch the progress of your favorite mystery right up until the moment when the dastardly villain is to be unmasked and then have the power go out, leaving you literally "in the dark."

Those of you who are soap opera fans. Imagine watching your favorite soap right up until the time that Jennifer has to decide between Larry and Mark (I'm making these names up as I go along) and suddenly a breaking news story interrupts (the world has come to an end or other such trivial concern) and you are left not knowing which one of the men won out.

It is a horrid thing not to know the ending when you have been intimately involved in the drama for so long.

Jesus' disciples wanted to know how their story was going to come out. One day they were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."

"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

Jesus replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ˜I am he,' and, ˜The time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilence in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life." (NIV)

There are three things Jesus is saying to his disciples about the future. FIRST OF ALL, THE FUTURE IS GOING TO GET ROUGH. Jesus predicted that the temple would lay in ruins, and he was right. It was utterly destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans. Jesus predicted his disciples would suffer great persecution and they did. Jesus knew that the future was going to get rough and, of course, he was right.

Would it be too depressing if I said to you that the future could be rough for many of us as well? We don't know what tomorrow may bring, do we? How fast life can change. An automobile accident, a health crisis, the loss of a loved one . . . or a job. The breakup of a marriage. We just don't know what tomorrow may bring. Things could get rough.

Craig Brian Larson tells about a coach that understood that life can get rough. His name is Steve Kafka. In 1995 Kafka was voted into the Illinois High School gymnastics coaches Hall of Fame. Kafka's athlete's were remarkable for their ability to perform under pressure.

Actually the first time Kafka's team qualified for state competition, several of his gymnasts fell off the side horse, high bar, and parallel bars, and the team finished down in the standings.

But then coach Kafka got an idea. At the end of practice each day, he began conducting a practice meet, and he did two things to intentionally raise the pressure on the gymnasts. First, if anyone missed a routine, everyone had to do pushups. Second, Kafka told the team to try and rattle each performer. And so while one gymnast performed on the side horse, his teammates would yell, threaten bodily harm, tell jokes, even throw rolled up socks at him.

"My gymnasts started to feel that competing in real meets was a breeze compared to practice," says Kafka. In the end, even a state championship with TV cameras rolling and critical judges watching every move was easy. Fighting through daily opposition taught Kafka's gymnasts focus and determination.

Craig Larson says, "In the same way, persecution can lead true followers of Christ to a greater focus on Christ and a stronger determination to do his will without fail." (1)

Jesus was preparing for a future that he knew would be rough. He wanted his disciples to be prepared for their hour of testing. He wants us to be prepared as well. But there is a second thing Jesus was saying to them and to us.

ROUGH TIMES CAN BE USED BY GOD. Jesus said to his disciples: "They will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them."

Jesus doesn't sugarcoat what lies ahead, but he gives meaning to it. You will be persecuted, he is saying, but God will use your experiences to bring others to the faith. Whether this made Jesus' followers feel better or not we do not know. But at least they saw that even though their life would be rough, it was part of a larger context, and that no matter what happened to them, God could use their sufferings in a positive way. God doesn't cause heartaches, we sometimes say, but God can always use heartaches to God's glory and to our best good.

Perhaps you know the story of Rene Russo. Rene is one of the most glamorous women in Hollywood, and has acted in movies with such megastars as John Travolta, Kevin Costner, and Mel Gibson. These things are at least external indicators of success. But for many years, Rene Russo did not feel successful inside. She was miserable. After dropping out of school in her teens, Ms. Russo was discovered by an agent, and moved to New York to model. She thought that getting jobs and recognition would make her happy, but it didn't. The money and the glamour were not enough. Her low self-esteem made her feel like no amount of success was enough. She kept thinking that business success or people around her could fill the void, could make her happy. But nothing did.

So Rene Russo dropped out of the business. She left behind her successful and glamorous career, and began taking classes in theology. For four years, Rene Russo studied theology, and slowly she began to realize that her lack of self-esteem stemmed from a lack of faith. She had been going through life without any purpose, no reason for doing the things she did. She had been unaware of her gifts, and had set no goals for her life. As she learned more about faith, she understood that every life has a purpose, and that every person has something special to contribute. Now that she has a new outlook on life, Rene Russo is much better able to handle her success. She is also married now, and the mother of a young daughter. All these things might have been out of her reach if she had never taken the time to learn about her faith. (2)

Rene Russo was fortunate to discover that her feelings of misery and insecurity could be used in a positive way to help her find God. That is true of every experience in life. There is meaning to life. There is purpose. Even more importantly, behind life there is a Divine Intelligence who can help us turn negatives into positives, tragedies into triumphs, heartaches into hallelujahs.

Jesus told his disciples up front that things would get rough. He also told them that God would use their trials as a means of witnessing to their persecutors.

But he made them one more promise: HE TOLD THEM THEY WERE ON THE WINNING SIDE. "All men will hate you because of me," Jesus said to his followers, "but not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life."

That is the ultimate promise Christ makes when times get rough. "If you stand firm, you will gain life." Regardless of what you and I experience, we are on the winning side.

Some years ago a writer in Leadership magazine told about another athletic contest with a happier ending than the infamous Heidi incident.

"On a balmy October afternoon in 1982, Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, was packed. More than 60,000 diehard University of Wisconsin supporters were watching their football team take on the Michigan State Spartans.

"It soon became obvious that Michigan State had the better team. What seemed odd, however, as the score became more lopsided, were the bursts of applause and shouts of joy from the Wisconsin fans. How could they cheer when their team was losing?

"It turns out that seventy miles away the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the 1982 World Series. Many of the fans in the stands were listening to portable radios and responding to something other than their immediate circumstances.

"Paul encourages us," said this writer, "to fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen (2 Cor. 4:18). When we do, we can rejoice even in hardships because we see Christ's larger victory." (3)

And that is Christ's message to us today. Times will be rough. Good can come out of these rough times because God will be with us. Ultimately, though, if we hang in there and hold on to God, we will find that we were on the winning side all along.

1. Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996), 171.

2. Eric Fellman, The Power Behind Positive Thinking (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1996), 105-106.

3. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois.