[Play Your Position]
A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together … If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. .
1 Corinthians 12:14-18 (MSG)
This material was originally presented to a senior High student ministry audience in PowerPoint format. If you have questions or would like a copy of the original powerpoint (less the video attachments, which are too large for email), drop me a line at Robert.fox@alltel.com
[Play Your Position]
Slide Graphic – chalkboard diagram of football play – X’s and O’s
Slide Text –
A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together … If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. (1 Corinthians 12:14-18 MSG)
This is the second week of a month of looking at football as a metaphor of Christianity. Of course, we’re not saying that you have to play football to be a Christian, or that all football players are Christians, or that Christ would play football if he born in our time instead of 2000 years ago.
It’s just that there’s so much hype everywhere you turn, and it’s going to get even worse as we get closer to the Super Bowl on February 4th. I think, since you are going to have to listen to all of this, we might as well take advantage of it and use it as an opportunity to point out the parallels between being part of a football team (something we all can understand) and being a follower of Christ.
• Last week we talked about standing on the sidelines versus joining the team.
• This week we are going to talk about playing your special position
• Next week we’re going to talk about the equipment you need
• And on Super Bowl Sunday we are going to talk about what it takes to be a champion.
I encourage you to use this as an opportunity to invite someone to come with you to Church on Sunday morning. Someone who you might worry about bringing to a typical Bible-study. We’ll be showing lots of clips from football movies to illustrate the things we’re talking about, and later in the afternoon, you’re all invited to our house to hang out and watch one of the movies we used.
Today we’re going to talk about “playing your position”. On a football team, of course, not everyone can be the quarterback. Every person has a unique role to play – a role that requires unique skills and special practice. Every position is essential to the success of the team. If one person decides that they aren’t going to really try, because, after all, they are not the quarterback, then the whole team will suffer.
[God has a unique mission for you]
Slide Graphic – Blues Brothers (who were on a “mission from God”)
Slide Text –
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
David Served God’s Purpose in his generation (Acts 13:36)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The bible says that God knew all about you before you were ever born. He created you in a unique way in your mother’s womb, shaping you in such a way that you could perform the unique mission he has in mind for you.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalms 139:14-16 )
Your hands formed and shaped me (Job 10:8)
God has a mission for each of us. All of them are similar in some ways, in that they serve his purpose to bring mankind back into a relationship with God.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10)
But that just because we are all created to work together for a larger purpose doesn’t mean our individual missions are all the same. Every player on a football team has a different individual mission, which all work together to accomplish the team’s mission of winning the game.
The Bible says you are a unique creation. No one was ever created like you before, and no one will ever be created like you again. It says you were created for a purpose.
A lot of times we compare our lives and measure our success against other people. Why do we try so hard to do what someone else can do and leave undone what only we can do? If we don’t walk the unique path God set before each of us, no one will ever walk that path. If you go on to the football field and try to play someone else’s position, your position will go unfilled. At the very best, someone not nearly as well suited to that position will have to step up and try to cover for you.
[A Man with a Mission]
Slide Video – clip from “The Replacements” where the coach asks one of the players to “get me the ball”, which the player did, with single minded focus.
Now here’s a guy who knows his mission. He has focus and determination. It doesn’t look like he’s worried about why he’s not the quarterback. It doesn’t look like he questions why he was given this particular mission and not some other. It doesn’t look like he is worried that his position doesn’t get the glory and admiration of the fans.
It’s the same way with being a follower of Christ. You don’t get to choose your mission on earth – God did that before you were born.
What right do you have, a human being, to cross-examine God? The pot has no right to say to the potter. Why did you make me this shape? A potter can do what he likes with the clay! (Romans 9:20-21)
[A Man with a Mission]
Slide Graphic – hand with championship ring holding football
Slide text –
Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? (Romans 9:20-22 MSG)
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day (2 Timothy 4:8a)
The goal of completing the mission God has for you is not to be admired by your peers. In fact, completing your mission does not mean you deserve anything special from God. Completing the tasks God set before you doesn’t earn you a place in heaven, any more than winning a football game makes you part of the team. You are already part of the team, winning games is just what the team does – what it is for. At best, if you have a great season, you may end up with a championship ring. The metal and gems in the ring are not payment for years of sacrifice and hard work, it is a symbol of your dedication, of your perseverance.
It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:9)
[You are Gifted]
Slide Graphic – “Farside” cartoon showing boy pushing on door labeled “Pull” at the entrance to “Midvale School for the Gifted”
Slide Text –
…each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. (1 Corinthians 7:7)
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10)
At the moment of salvation when the believing person is baptized into the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit gives to every believer one or more gifts, God-given abilities for service as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11)
Every person who has ever lived, whether they are a believer or not, was designed by God in a unique way, with the capacity to excel in certain areas – natural talents. Some of these abilities take practice and hard work to fully realize, but they are there. These natural gifts are designed just for you so that you will be equipped for the road God will set before you.
What are your natural gifts? Music, athletic ability, technology, courage, optimism, strength of will? What do you think is ahead of you down that path in life that you needed to have just that mix of natural abilities to face?
However, when you become a believer, the bible says that you are given special “spiritual gifts.” Every single believer gets spiritual gifts, but no unbeliever gets them. They are as unique as natural gifts, and, like natural gifts, your spiritual gifts are given to you very deliberately, carefully chosen just for you so that you can better complete the unique mission God has for your life.
Got it? You get your natural abilities when you are born, and supernatural abilities when you are born again.
The thing about your spiritual abilities, they only work when you use them for God’s purposes. Only when the Holy Spirit is in control of your live do you have superpowers. If you have the spiritual gift to be able to tell intuitively what is right and what is wrong (gift of prophecy), you can’t take that gift to Vegas and clean up on the roulette wheel.
If you are a believer, you spiritual gifts. Gifts given to you by God for a specific purpose in your life. There’s no such thing as a little believer without any gifts who just comes to church and loves God. There’s no such thing as a believer without a critical God-given mission. There’s no such thing as a member of a football team who has no position to play.
There are different gifts, given to each by the Holy Spirit. There are different ways each person gets these gifts, even though the same Lord gave them to us. There are different uses of these gifts in the lives of people, but it is the same God who works through these gifts" (I Cor. 12:4-6, expanded translation).
Just like natural abilities, the more you use them, the more you practice and develop your God given talent, the more powerful they will become. Paul was not satisfied with Timothy’s use of his gifts, "fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you " (2 Timothy 1:6). This is a picture of stirring up the coals of fire to make it hotter.
[Invincible]
Slide Video – clip from “Invincible” combining the scene in the dorm where Fraks shows Popale the secret of watching his opponents knuckles, and the scene at the end of the movie where he uses what he learned to read the other team and score a touchdown.
This clip is taken from the movie “Invincible”, about Vince Popale, a 30 year old part time schoolteacher who tried out for a position on the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team. We’re going to talk more about this true story in two weeks when we talk about what it takes to be a champion.
But today I want to look at the position he played. He was assigned to Special Teams, which in his case meant he was on the kickoff and punt team. He wasn’t bitter that he wasn’t the star player. He didn’t ask the coach to let him play a better position.
He played the position that was given to him. He studied it, he learned about it, and he trained himself for it. He focused on playing that position to the best of his ability, so that the team would benefit. He knew he wouldn’t be the one scoring the points, but he also knew that his team would have the best chance of winning if every position was filled with men who performed their role to the best of their ability.
[Your Gift is Unique to You]
Slide Graphics – leg lamp from “A Christmas Story” and a picture of a “take a number” machine
Slide Text –
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (Romans 12:6-8 NLB)
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled "chosen of God,“ They’d be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus. (Romans 9:27 MSG)
The Bible says that everyone’s gift is uniquely suited to their talents and their mission.
Every man hath his proper gift from God (1 Corinthians 7:7)
"Proper" means "fitted." When you buy shoes, the salesman tells you, "We’ve got a shoe that’s perfect for you. It’s just the shoe you need, it’s in your color, and I have one in your size"
These aren’t “one size fits all”. Your combination of spiritual gifts is not suited for anyone else, just you. I love the message translation of Romans 9:27. It says that God isn’t in the business of gathering up X number of Christians. You are not a number to him. When you were called, you were called by name!
In the Bible, there is a parable of the talents (Matthew 25). In it a rich man went on a long trip and left three of his servants entrusted with some of his money, each according to their ability. Two of the servants used the talents they had been given to increase their master’s accounts, but one buried his talent in the ground and refused to use it. When the master of the house returned, he rewarded the two who had invested the talents they had been given, and called them “good and faithful servants.”
The third guy, however, told about how he was afraid to use the talent he had been given for fear he wouldn’t use it well. His was called lazy and evil and his talent was taken from him and given to those who had been willing to use their talents for their master.
God expects you to use the talent he gave you.
[Get Serious]
Slide Video – video of humorous commercial where muscle relaxer accidentally gets dropped into football player’s water cooler
Let’s look at a clip that shows what happens when the players on a football team don’t play their positions correctly.
(play clip)
This may seem like a silly clip, but it’s scary how true this is about the church – Christ’s team. We are too relaxed. We aren’t playing our position. Some of us are clueless. Some of us are asleep. Some of us are facing the wrong direction. We may have been given natural talent and spiritual gifts, but we aren’t using them. We aren’t a championship team.
Christ’s team has been on the field for thousands of years. As time goes by, different players get substituted on and off the field. This is our time on the field. How many yards will we gain for the team?
[Your gift is for a purpose]
Slide Graphic – swiss army knife
Slide Text –
[The kingdom of God is] also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. (Matthew 25:15)
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)
In the parables of the talents (Matthew 25 and Luke 19) men were given money according to their ability and told to it in the service of their Lord. This parable was used to tell people that they have been given gifts by God and are responsible for investing them for God’s kingdom. The passage in Luke says that the master went away for a long time to a distant place in order to become king. The men were given the money and to occupy themselves with it until the master returns as king. The Bible said that Jesus told this parable because people thought that the kingdom of God was going to be here in a matter of days. He was explaining to them that it will be a while before God’s kingdom comes down to earth, and that we all have a job to do in the mean time.
When God does finally return physically to earth – when the trumpets sound and the dead rise and Christ rules from the New Jerusalem, he will ask what each of us has done with what he has given us while he was away.
What will you tell him? What will he have to say about how you have used what he gave you? What will he say about how you filled the position on the team he designed you for? Will he say “Well done, my good and faithful servant”? Or will he call you evil and lazy?
[Football for Jesus]
Slide Video – video clip from www.bluefishtv.com where Vickiel Vaughn shares his faith
Vickiel Vaughn was a High School football player from Plano Texas. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville on a four-year football scholarship, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL draft.
Vickiel had a great deal of natural talent. He recognized though, that the talent he had was given him by God, and that it was given him to serve God’s purposes, not Vickiel’s. God had given him a unique path to walk, and the real intent of his talent is to walk that path serving God’s purposes – to play his position on God’s team.
[It’s about the team, not you]
Slide Graphics – photos of the 1972 Dolphins and a picture of a sign reading “Sale on Body Parts” (from a garage)
Slide text –
And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (1 Corinthians 12:21)
All people tend to have an inflated view of the importance of their own gift. They think their gift is the most important. The truth is that all gifts are necessary, like different parts of the same body. Is there a part of your body that isn’t important and useful to you? Is there a part you could really do without?
There has only been one professional football team that went undefeated in regular season (14-0), undefeated in playoffs and went on to win the Super bowl. The 1972 Miami Dolphins. No other team before or since has matched their record. Every year 30-some odd teams try, but for 3 decades, it stands alone. Sports fans all have their own opinions about who might be the “Greatest Team of All Time”, but one of the 1972 Dolphin team members put it best: “Perfection has a way of shutting peoples mouths.”
The Washington Redskins coach, going into Super Bowl VII against Shula’s Dolphins, was asked to comment on the incredible Miami defense. “I can’t recall any of their names,” he said, “but they are a matter of great concern to us.” That year, the Miami defensive line became known as the “No-Name Defense.” What made that team special was not the handful of superstars – it was the dedication of every team member. The willingness of every player to execute his position with excellence for a common purpose. Something special happens when everybody plays their position. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. They had some great players, no doubt. But plenty of other teams over history have had better personnel. More Pro-Bowl players, superstars, Hall of Famers. Yet no team has reached level of achievement that they did.
We can’t be a perfect team unless we are a no-name team, where no one plays for personal glory or recognition. We each have a different role to play, and it takes each of us playing the role that was assigned to us as best we can for the team to succeed.
[The Perfect Team]
Slide Video – Clip from “Remember the Titans” where, in the halftime of the final game, the team captain stands and says words to the effect of “I’m not saying I’m perfect. None of us are. But we have not lost a game this season so far. As a team, we are perfect.”
On a championship football team, no one player is solely responsible for winning or losing the game. When the game is over, they don’t pick one single person to call the winner. It is a team effort and a team victory.
The same is true in our lives as Christians. We are each called to play with excellence the position the coach assigned us. To rely on and trust our teammates. To advance the ball for our team against the opposition.
And when the dust settles, we will be given a championship ring to wear for all eternity.
