It's the middle of the last quarter in the year. The heat is turned up. The crowd is on their edge of their seats to see how it all ends. The players is on their most aggressive attack, sweating it all out. They know and understand it is all in their hands and heads.

Remember going to one footy game with Mark Penny, Narmit, and a few of Mark's friends from Adelaide. The Western Bulldogs were playing the Kangaroos at the Telstra Dome. Being the first footy game that I ever been to, one could imagine that I was overwhelmed, first by the crowd, but I was even more overwhelmed with the intensity of the supporters. One would quickly find out that they aren't the crowd, they are the heartbeat, the soul of the team. A woman in her middle fifties was standing up for the course of the game; she was holding a cup of hot chips in her left hand and throwing her right fist in the air while shouting the name of the team players. That's fanatical!

As both teams played on through to the final quarter, the cheer of the fanatics or supporters got even louder and more aggressive everytime they score a goal. They knew and understood the significance of every goal, every single point. As the supporters in the Dome roared and stomped on the ground, squeezing every inch of support for their team. I knew and I understood the significance of the final quarter. The team was playing their hearts out. The supporters were screaming their lungs out. All for the glory of the final moment.

The first 3 quarters paled in significance as both teams gave their all in the final quarter. It was as though the first 3 was there to build a foundation fit for the players to go for the final attack in the fourth. What was done wrong in the first 3, what was done right, what was inaccurately calculated in the first 3 was nullified in the fourth. Because it was the final quarter that mattered. It wasn't so much of how they started, all they had in their mind was how it was going to end.

The was only one run that mattered. The run to the 50-line, setting his eyes and focusing in the space in between the 2 poles, lining up for a kick, release the footy and give it the best kick you ever given in your entire career. That was the only run that mattered as the clock counts down. It's interesting to note that the players never focused their eyes on the clock, but it was the referee. The players were aware of the time, they were aware of the fact that the clock is ticking down on them. But they were never looking at the clock. The only thing on their mind is how is my team going to go on the offence and score another goal and another and another!

It's the middle of the last quarter in the year. The heat is turned up. The crowd is on their edge of their seats to see how it all ends. The players is on their most aggressive attack, sweating it all out. They know and understand it is all in their hands and heads.

How is it all gonna end?

It's time. It's time to wipe of fatigue, set your eyes on the goal, the sweat will appear on the brow, but never let it seep into your eyes. Don't lose your focus. There is still time. Let God be our referee. One day, we will give our account of how we've played the game. It is the middle of the fourth quarter now. What will you do about it? Paul had it right on the pulse all along:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 3:12-14 [NIV]

This is the last lap, ladies and gentlemen. This is our fourth quarter. Can you hear the crowd (of witnesses) cheering your name? I know if I have 35,000 people in Telstra Dome cheering me on, I'll give my 110%. Yes. Run. Go for it! Will you be running the final lap of defeat or will you be running across the 50-line, tasting victory like it's on the tip of your tongue? The crowd is waiting in anticipation, they're on the edge of their seats. They wanna see how it all ends in 2005 for you.

Watch out! Victory beckons.