Game Day! Series

Benchwarmer

Pt. 5 - Game Day

I. Introduction

As I told you about 7 weeks ago or so, I have been umping little league baseball for the last few seasons. I have learned some things from this experience. I have learned that the ump isn't supposed to dominate the game but facilitate it instead. I have learned that people have preconceived ideas about umpires and treat them accordingly. No one seems to like the umpire! You can't seem to make anyone happy. And the truth is even if you never played or no longer played sports there is still an umpire that oversees this game, we call life.

I want to take us back into the story of Jonah one more time and I think what we see described is how we perceive umpires . . . especially because of the examples you just saw on screen . . . and perhaps how we see THE Umpire!

Text: Jonah 1:1-5 (TLT)

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

Jonah 1:15-17

Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah hears from God, disobeys and runs. Then while on the boat God sends a powerful storm that is about to capsize the boat. Jonah is thrown overboard to drown. Then the Umpire of the Universe goes one step further and has a fish swallow Jonah.

This account solidifies what most of us think about THE Umpire!

We believe The Umpire wants us to strike out!

We are convinced that The Umpire is over the top. Harsh. Spiteful. Out to get us. Only desires to ring us up, call us out, and send us back to the dugout. This is an Ump who enjoys and look forward to striking us out or throwing us out.

How many of us are going through things right now that are painful, unpleasant, heartbreaking, gut wrenching and we know that it is because the Umpire has either caused it or at least allowed it? And if that isn't the case, then The Umpire wasn't watching the game close enough and He has missed the call. It is apparent that He can't see clearly otherwise I wouldn't be going through this. I would be feeling this. I wouldn't be dealing with this.

This storm I am facing was something He should have stopped. This heartbreak is something He should have fixed. This sickness that I have been dealing with for a decade should have been healed long ago.

In the middle of our pain and plight, through tears and shaking with fear all we hear is The Umpire saying . . . You're Out!!!!!!

And so, in our mind, The Umpire is someone we should avoid, keep at a distance. He isn't someone who is here to help but rather to hurt. We should run from Him. We become suspicious of Him at best and angry at Him at worst.

The reason this happens is that most of us only have a contractual or a doctrinal relationship with God. If we deal with the Umpire on a contractual basis then we either become legalistic or casual. The legalists are afraid they’ll break the contract and God will be angry. Those who deal with Him casually feel that because they have a contract it doesn’t matter what they do. If we only deal with Him doctrinally say, "I’m in Christ, nothing can hurt our relationship.” This is a person who has a doctrinal arrangement.

Our preconceived ideas keep us from having relationship with The Umpire. We never graduate to the understanding that this isn't about God hurting us; it should be the fear of breaking God’s heart and hurting our relationship.

In fact, when you read the account of Jonah what you discover is that . . .