"Have I Moved The Ball Today?”

“HAVE I MOVED THE BALL TODAY?”

Col. 1:10

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

Why will all of the referees check their voicemail immediately after the Super Bowl? So they can hear someone say "no missed calls."

B. TEXT

“...So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” Col. 1:10.

C. THESIS

1. The American NFL “Superbowl” is here. Two teams are left. Both have reached this point because they have kept improving their team and strategy until they can “moved the ball” better than any other team!

2. The phrase “Have we moved the ball?” is a football term meaning “have we made progress moving down the field?” It’s easy to tell a team’s progress by the hash marks on the field.

3. My question for you today is, “Have YOU been moving the ball, spiritually?” Are you making steady progress in your Christian life? Most of the time it’s not so easy to tell if we’ve made progress (there aren’t any hash marks on our lives.)

4. But in Col. 1:10, Paul lists 4 measures by which we can tell if we’re still advancing that bring success: a. QUALITY: a worthy life; b. MOTIVE: to please Him; c. FRUIT: are you bearing?; and d. INCREASE in knowledge of God!

I. QUALITY: A WORTHY LIFE

A. ARE WE FOLLOWING IN HIS STEPS?

1. Not all lives are equal. In the sight of God, some are made of fine gold, sterling silver, transparent diamonds; while others are made of worthless materials. We don’t have to wait until judgment day to know which we have.

2. Our Lord Jesus set the standard of what a worthy life looks like. The Father, in raising Him from the dead, set His seal of approval on His life. On the whole, the more our lives resemble the life of Jesus, the more we are living a worthy life.

3. Jesus did not live for Himself, but for others. His goal was to build the Church and to tell others the Good News about salvation. He tried, daily, to alleviate suffering. He lived a holy life. He was a shepherd trying to gather in the lost sheep, but He also brought inward change to people -- spiritual awakening -- to their purpose and calling. He told many, “Come and follow Me.” He was on a mission and wanted others to join Him. Are we following in His footsteps?

4. Paul says, “That you may walk,” not that you might “talk.” It’s a practical way of living. God desires His people to walk according to the best model -- His Son. “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” Amos 3:3.

B. ILLUSTRATION

1. A farmer noticed a lot of dust and noise in his neighbor’s corral. Two oxen were fighting. His neighbor was urging them on with a stick.

2. He asked, “Instead of urging the oxen on with a stick, why don’t you stop them?” His neighbor said, “I can’t use them to pull my ox cart until they learn to get along.” “If I harness them together before they learn cooperation, they will pull in different directions.”

3. We disciples shouldn’t walk in such a way as to bring disgrace upon our Lord! When you walk with a King, you should rise to his level to be an honor to him; you shouldn’t act like a clown. We should become Christ-like -- fit to be put side by side with the character of Jesus.

4. You are a model for others. Somewhere, somebody is trying to be just like you. The turning point will be, in your life, when you live your daily life to edify and inspire others.

5. Our standard should be to live, over again, the life of the Lord Jesus—a life of tenderness, self-sacrifice, of generosity, of love, of honesty, of holy service, and a life of close communion with God. Let’s press forward to Him!

II. MOTIVE: TO PLEASE HIM IN EVERY WAY

A. HAVE YOU DETERMINED TO PLEASE GOD?

1. Paul said in Galatians 1:10, “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

2. A train ticket-taker moved through a train requiring every passenger to show his ticket. He was rewarded with

considerable grumbling and protesting, "You are a very unpopular man to-night." "I only care to be popular with one man," he replied, "and that is my boss!"

3. He might have pleased the passengers, disobeyed orders, and lost his position, but he knew it was his business was to please one man.

4. The servant of Christ will face many temptations to relax the strictness of God’s Word. As the representative of Christ, we are pressed to “agree” that certain behaviors must be “ok” with God. We can’t be untruthful. "No man can serve two masters." If we try to be popular with the world, will lose our popularity with the Lord.