How to win the Super Bowl!
Text: Acts 1:8
This evening the world will watch the Chicago Bears beat the Indianapolis Colts (I mean play the Indianapolis Colts). I shouldn’t have made a prediction like that! How many Bears fans do we have here this morning? Great! How many Colts fans do we have here this morning? Wonderful! How many Jesus fans do we have here at the Grace Baptist Church this morning? Raise your hands! Oh that is great!
This morning I want to compare the playing of the Super Bowl, and all the fans that will be watching the Super Bowl to that of the Christian life. Now, there is a greater Super Bowl being played, even as I speak! King Jesus, and His team is on one side of the playing field, and Satan and all his demons are on the other side of the playing field! Which side are you going to be? I hope you are on Jesus’ team, and you can be on His team before you leave this morning!
As I thought about how to win the Super Bowl, I thought about how the Christian life is compared to the sports world. We have a lot in common with the world of sports. The Bible even pictures the Christian life as a boxing match, a race, and a wrestling match.
Now how can you win at the Super Bowl of Life?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
Acts 1:8 says
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
A true fan is not ashamed to stand up and be counted for his or her team! As many of you have already stated, a fan is not hesitant to say what team they are pulling for, unless it happens to be the New York Yankees! Just kidding! Are there any Yankee fans here today! I’ve tried my best to convert you into Brave fans, but all to no avail! You want to be a winner right, so you pull for the Yankees, instead of the Braves! Well friends, I really do not know who will win the big game tonight, but I guarantee that the Colt fans are going to let everyone know when Peyton Manning throws a touchdown pass, and the Bears Fans are going to let everyone know when they score a touchdown or kick a field goal.
I’ve even seen fans would fight you over their team if you said something about them.
It is easy to tell who a true fan is pulling for. Just look at their shirts, coats, socks, and even their underwear and they will have the logo of their favorite team on them. It is said that Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever, would wear his North Carolina Tarheels gym shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls uniform. Once a Tarheel, always a Tarheel. AMEN! That is why the Lord painted the sky above us Tarheel Blue! How many Tarheel fans do we have here today? How many Duke Blue devil fans do we have? If those fans can tell everyone whose side they are on, let’s go out into the world and let them know we are on God’s team!
When Satan starts to fight against you, just sick King Jesus on Him! Satan is no match for the Captain of our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Friends, Jesus has already scored the most amazing victory in the history of mankind. He conquered Death, hell and the grave on the old hill called Calvary! He smashed the head of Satan and suffered a heel wound in the process, as predicted in Genesis 3:15. If King Jesus has already scored the winning touchdown at Calvary’s Cross, then let’s tell everyone the good news! Satan couldn’t keep him down. All the demons in hell couldn’t keep him down, so let’s tell everyone whose side we are, and that the victory has already been won. Have you told anyone lately that you are on the team of the Lord Jesus Christ?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
II. Display a strong support for your team!
Some of the super bowl fans will spend hundreds of dollars to purchase a ticket, and then thousands of dollars to fly or drive to Miami, Florida to watch one game that will consist of four 15 minutes quarters, all for a grand total of one hour of football. No sacrifice is too great when your team is playing in the Super Bowl. Friends, we are on the greatest team in the world! It is called the church of the Lord Jesus Christ! He is our captain. No sacrifice is too great for Him! He gave his all for us!
As a member of God’s team, we have an obligation to support the Lord’s word with our time, talents, and treasures! We are only stewards of every good thing that we have. God has allowed us to borrow them while we are on this earth. Your health, possessions, and time all belong to God, and without Him we can do nothing
In John 15:5 Jesus says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
That word “nothing” carries the idea that we can do nothing at all with out the Lord. Hey, he keeps the sun coming up in the morning; He keeps the air pure enough to sustain our life. He provides food and water to nourish us. He keeps our heart pumping and our lungs working, and He gives us strength enough to get up and go to work so that we can earn a living and pay the bills. He gives us a car to drive, and a house in which to live. Every good gift that we have came from God, and all He ask from us is ten percent in return. We get to use 90 per cent, and we give God 10 per cent. There has never been a football team or a football coach as good to us as God is. Therefore, let’s give back to God as a way of saying “Thank you Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you Lord for making me whole. Thank you Lord for giving to me, Thy great salvation so rich and free. I want to use more of my time, my talents and my treasures for God than any fan uses his resources for the Super Bowl, because when the super bowl is long gone, and all the fans and players have traveled back to their respective cities and homes, God’s team will still be playing, and He will still be on the throne.
II Corinthians 9: 7 says, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
That word cheerful means hilarious. It comes from the Greek word “hilaros” or hilarious! God loves a hilarious giver who is excited about laying up treasures in heaven where no one can steal them, and the moths cannot destroy them. Could you imagine when the offering plate is passed around that someone in the service stands up and starts laughing uncontrollably and says, “I thought you would never get to the offering. I’ve been saving up all week so that I could support the Lord’s Team. Glory to God, and Hallelujah!” That is the idea from this verse! Let’s display a strong support for God’s team just like these fans will who go to the super bowl! Well, just a drink will cost you $5.00, and a hot dog will probably be $10.00, but they will gladly pay it to root for their teams! Hey, the Water of Life is free, and His name is Jesus Christ, and He will quench your thirst for all eternity! That’s where I want to show my support! You will get eternal rewards in heaven and your retirement program will be out of this world.
I read about one lady who went to the Super bowl. A man was sitting behind her and noticed that there was an empty seat beside this lady. He asked her if she knew why the seat was empty, being the biggest game of the year, the Super bowl? She said that it was supposed to be her husband’s but that he had died. The man said he was sorry to hear that but that it looked like a friend or a relative would have taken the seat to watch the Super bowl. The woman replied that they all insisted on going to the funeral! Well, that may be a little extreme, but a real fan is going to support his or her team.
Now how can you win at the Super Bowl of Life?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
II. Display a strong support for your team!
III. Work hard for the success of your team!
Have you ever noticed that sports fans are tireless when it comes to their teams? They will go on the road with their team so they can be at every game. They will travel through rain, sleet, and snow to show up at the big game. Booster clubs are even organized to help promote the success of the team. I’ll guarantee you that at least ten pounds of my body weight has come from buying candy bars and cookies from the little league baseball teams and the school teams at the local school! I’ve seen little children get out and go door to door so their team can purchase new uniforms! That is a great excuse to buy some delicious candy and feast on them. Plus you can take the wrapper and go to pizza hut and buy a pizza at a discount!
Think about the players on the team. Many of them will start practicing football 6-8 months before the season starts. They begin by getting their bodies in shape. They run and they lift weights, and they build up their muscles! They proceed to dress in a hot football uniform with all the hot pads and tackle and helmets, and they go out on that football field and practice until they can hardly stand! Their dedication drives them to work hard to reach the big Super bowl game at the end of the season.
The Christian life is a lot like working for a super bowl. Jesus has already won the victory, and now He wants us to go everywhere and tell people about Him! We can serve the Lord in the music department, or the children’s department, or the youth department, or the Sunday School Department. We can serve the Lord with a musical instrument if God has so talented us! We can serve the Lord by visiting the hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and even personal visits of those who may be sick or down. We can take food to those who have had a death in the family, and to those who have had been in the hospital! We can visit the funeral home to let that person know that we are praying for them in the loss of a loved one. We can pass out Gospel tracts all around the area so that people will know that Jesus Christ is Lord, and He can save them! We can mow the grass and keep the church looking beautiful.
We could show up on Tuesday Nights at 6:30 and go out and visit the sick, discouraged, and the lost! We can volunteer to serve on a church committee or help at a social event to set up or to clean up. We can be a prayer warrior and pray for those who request special prayer! There are so many ways that we can work together for our Lord to make our team here at Grace Baptist Church to be a success for the Lord! What are you doing for Him? He did everything for us when He laid down His life, and now He lets us get in on the action by serving Him here during this life! Everyone can do something to keep the ball going forward! A loyal player is going to work hark not to be seen of men, but for the success of the team. Friends, it doesn’t matter if anyone seems to notice your sacrifice for the Lord. Jesus sees it all and He will surely bless you for every deed done in His name whether anyone praises us or not! We are not serving man, but God!
Listen to this verse Galatians 9:6 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
We are going to reap the benefits of God if we keep on keeping on!
Now how can you win at the Super Bowl of Life?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
II. Display a strong support for your team!
III. Work hard for the success of your team!
VI.Remain faithful to your team!
A real fan will stick with his or her team even during the losing seasons. I’ve tried to convert fans to switch to the team that I was pulling for and I have found that a true fan is loyal in the good times and in the bad times!
Now, I have been an Atlanta Braves fan all my life, and I can only remember them winning one World Series! But that is not going to stop me from rooting for them again! I may have to go down to Atlanta and give them a few pointers on how to win, but once a brave’s fan, always a braves fan! I don’t want to switch! I believe we are going all the way in 2007! Maybe I’m dreaming, but I am still going to get my tomahawk out and wave it up and down, and watch them this year, win or lose! Win loose, sink or swim, a true fan is going to stay with his or her team!
Friends, when the devil tempts you to turn away from God and go back to that old lifestyle, and those old habits, and those old friends, and those old TV programs, and that old language, just remember that he has already been defeated! His days are limited. He is going to get it big time. Jesus is the winner, and I’ve read the last chapter of the last book of the Bible!
When you are down and discouraged, and nothing goes right, just go ahead and praise the name of Jesus! It will make you feel much better! This world is not our home; we are just a passing through!
The sad fact of this is that there are not many Super winners who repeat a Super Bowl win the next season! One reason is that many of the players who get the team to the Super Bowl, start looking for greener pastures somewhere else! The same situation occurs with the Christian. We get a few victories in our life and all of a sudden, we start looking elsewhere, when we really need to keep our eyes on the Lord! Friends, family, and co-workers may abandon you, but Jesus never will. He said that He would never leave you or forsake you! Hebrews 13:5
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
When you are tempted to switch teams and abandon the Lord, remember his words in Revelation 2:10
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Now how can you win at the Super Bowl of Life?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
II-Display a strong support for your team!
III-Work hard for the success of your team!
VI-Remain faithful to your team!
V-Display a passion for your team!
A real player or a loyal fan is going to get excited about their team.
The word fan is a shortened word for fanatic. Merriam Webster’s online dictionary defines a fanatic as someone who is “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.”
Someone once said, “I may be a nut, but I am screwed onto the right bolt.” Well, I’ve seen some of the quietest people in the world get excited at a ball game and holler and shout at the team or the referee or the umpire! I thought, “Where did that part of that person come from?” Well, they are passionate and excited about their team. Those fans at the game tonight will have their team jerseys on, they will have paint on their faces, their hair will be greased up, and they will do the craziest things to show how passionate they are about their team!
I saw that this week in Chicago the temperature has been the coldest of the year! The temperature dropped down to around 3 degrees. Now that is cold! They interviewed one man and he had about ten layers of clothes on to protect him from the frigid temperatures. But they also showed that at one of the museums in Chicago, the fans had dressed these big concrete lions up with the Chicago Bears Football Helmets! They were about four or five feet across, and they covered these big concrete lions heads! The temperatures dropped so low that the big helmets on the lions cracked from the extreme low. Those fans were so passionate about their Bears that they came back and made repairs to the helmets so the cracks would not show! Now that is passion!
Those fans and players will get to the game early, and stand in line for hours. They never complain if the game goes into overtime. Oh, there may be a few who will leave the game early, but the players and the true fans are going to stay there until the game is completed! There will be some crazy things happen in the excitement of the Super Bowl, because there always is. People who are passionate about there team can do something exciting things!
Friends, if they can get excited and passionate about their football team, surely we can get excited about our great God and Savior Jesus Christ! A true fan does not care what others think about him or her. Don’t be embarrassed about letting people know how much you love the Lord!
Ecc. 9:10 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
He is saying be passionate about whatever you are doing for the Lord. If you are going to sing, do the best job you can do. If you are going to play an instrument, do it to the best of your ability. If you are going to preach or teach, put everything you have into it! Give God your best, not your leftovers. If you are going to work in the Awanas or the Sunday school, prepare the best that you can and God will give the increase!
Some people shout and others cry. Some are loud and others are soft-spoken, but I believe we all can be excited about what the Lord has done for us! He died on an old rugged cross. They took Him down and buried Him in the tomb of Joseph. Satan thought it was over. The demons of hell were all rejoicing. Mr. Death thought he had conquered the giver of life! Even the disciples thought they were finished. They went back to their old lifestyle and started fishing again! And all of a sudden on the first Resurrection Sunday, after three days, Mr. Death lost his grip on the Son of God. All the demons in hell had to flee away from Jesus. Even Satan himself could not hold Jesus down! He arose victorious! In Revelation 1 we read in verses
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
In a few hours, two teams will square off in Miami Florida to play for the Super Bowl. There will be rings given out and trophies presented. Cash will be awarded to the players according to who wins and who loses. Glory will be given, as well as bragging rights of being the best football team in the world for another year. I don’t know who is going to win. I believe the team who wins will display these five characteristics that we have discussed. If you are going to win the super bowl of life, you too must display these same characteristics. What are they in review?
1-Tell everybody whose team you are on!
II-Display a strong support for your team!
III-Work hard for the success of your team!
VI-Remain faithful to your team!
V-Display a passion for your team!
If you have never trusted Him as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to do so this morning and get on God’s Team, and you can win in the Super Bowl of Life!
