Hero Status

Hero Status
Numbers 25

What makes a hero?
Webster’s defines a hero as a person “of distinguished courage, moral or physical; chief character in a play, novel, poem, etc.”
One of my favorite movies is “The Princess Bride.”
One character of the movie, Inigo Montoya, fits the definition of hero found in the dictionary.
He has distinguished courage
He is a distinguished swordsmen, the son of a great blacksmith
He had dedicated his entire life to the study of swordplay in order to avenge the death of his father
His father was murdered by an evil 6 fingered man
That had a sword special made for him by Inigo’s father
The 6 fingered man killed his father over the price of the sword
Over the years he has dreamed of the day he would come upon the 6 fingered man
He knew what he would say to this man just before he ran him through with his sword
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
Near the end of the movie, he finally finds his foe
Any intense sword fight ensues and the entire time Inigo keeps repeating those words over and over again.
“Hello, My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die”
Inigo is winning, so his enemy begins to try and bargain for his own life by offering gold and silver to let him live.
Inigo tells him to offer him whatever he asks, and the man replies,
“I’ll give you anything you want.”
And his request? “Bring back my father.”
Inigo became a hero, a man of courage, ambition and determination

In order to right the wrong that had been performed 20 years in the past.
His father’s murder was finally avenged
Heroes! We see them all around us in many forms
Many people look to sports for their heroes
One of my heroes growing up was the great Reggie White
The ruthless defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles
He was a tremendous athlete
Reggie White was a 2 time NFL defensive player of the year The latest in 1998 at 36 years old
That’s old in the NFL
He was selected to 13 Pro Bowls
And was the Pro Bowl MVP in 1986
He forced 32 fumbles and recovered 21, two of which where returned for a touchdown
He ranks 2nd of all time in regular season sacks with 198
He sacked 75 different quarterbacks
Including his most frequent victim
Phil Simms 15 times
Reggie White also had a nickname, do you know what it is
The Minister of Defense
This came not only from his defensive presence on the field
But also from his presence off the field
Reggie White was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
He was a licensed minister
And he let everyone know it
Much more impressive than all his stats he accomplished while with the Eagles, Packers and Panthers
Was his stats that last for all eternity
His sack numbers, forced fumbles and Pro Bowl selections can all be accomplished by other men
They do not last
His stats of souls won to Jesus though last forever
Everywhere Reggie went he touched peoples lives with the love of Jesus
Every team he ever played for had players on it that had been led to the Lord by this Minister of Defense
Reggie White has gone on to be with the Lord
No doubt receiving many rewards in heaven for his works performed on the everlasting field of life
We immortalize many people as heroes
Some are truly worthy of this title
While most, sadly, are not
The Bible is full of heroes
And this morning we are studying one