Have you ever attended a football game and watched some of the things that happen off the field? There is a lot of activity on the sidelines that often affects the outcome of the game. A very important part of every game is the measurement of forward progress. That measurement is kept by two people who carry two poles tied together with a chain on the sidelines. One man stands at the point a play begins, the other stands to mark how far the team has to progress to get for more tries at a touchdown. Each time a team progresses 10 yards, they get four more tries. 
  When a play ends, an on-field official estimates the new spot of the ball marks it with his foot and tosses the ball to another official to set for the next play. When the new spot is close to the first down end of the chain, that’s when the "chain gang” trots out to "measure” whether or not the offense gets a new set of downs. When that happens, the whole game comes to a halt. It's dramatic, especially in an important game. It’s a breathless moments in a football game. A length of a chain link often decides the difference.
  Despite the availability of modern technology that can mark the position with GPS lasers, football teams still remain "old school" because they bring out the chain. At home, those watching by television see brightly colored lines of blue and yellow that indicate the progress, but the television screen doesn't count. What counts is the chain on the field.

  Sometimes a team is just inches away from winning or losing a game, so that little chain gets to be mighty important. Even though whole careers depend on the accuracy of the referee's call, the standard for measuring first downs hasn't changed in over 100 years.  Spalding’s Official Foot Ball Guide of 1907 set down the rules that have lasted for more than 100 years: "To assist in measuring the progress of the ball, it is desirable to provide two light poles about six feet in length, connected at their lower ends with a stout cord or chain 10 yards in length.” Thus, the "chain gang” was born.
  Over a century has passed, but at every football game from pee wees to pros, a group of officials stands about six feet off the sideline holding blaze-orange "poles” with a 10-yard length of chain stretched between them.
  There have been debates in athletic circles about using more modern techniques to measure what progress requirements, but the old "chain gain" survives.
  The standard has not changed.

  How far are we from what the Lord requires? Many us have made many first downs and are just inches away from victory. There are many fancy ways to measure our forward progress when it comes to God but there is one old fashioned way, like bringing in the chains at a football game, that tells our story. The ultimate test of progress in football is the chain, but in the Christian life it's the word of God which requires that we”act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God."
  It's old fashioned, but then God does not change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever more.
  As Christians, we strive to progress toward the ultimate victory of the Christian life, heaven. Our progress is measured not by the standards of men but by God himself. When we reach 4th down situations, he'll bring out the chain.