MVP
A week ago today millions of people were crowded around their tv sets to watch the biggest football game of the year – the superbowl! And here at church we had an awesome outreach event for the game. I hope everyone who came had as much fun as I did. The food, the fellowship, the game, the halftime video with Tony Dungy…what a great night.
One of our own members, Derek Tobek, actually went to the game in Detroit to watch his brother play his heart out. I would do almost anything to be able to actually go to a superbowl.
I heard about this man named Bob who won a free ticket to the superbowl. Unfortunately, when he arrived at the stadium he realized his seat was in the last row in the very corner of the stadium. He seemed to be closer to the Goodyear Blimp than the field!
About halfway through the first quarter, he noticed an empty seat that was just 10 rows off the field right on the 50-yard line. He decided to take a chance and made his way through the stadium and around the security guards to the empty seat.
As he sat down, he asked the gentleman sitting next to him, "Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" The man said "No, be my guest."
He was so excited to be in such a great seat for the game. Bob said to the man next to him, "This is incredible! Who in their right mind would have a seat like this at the Super Bowl and not use it?!"
The man replied, "Well, the seat actually belongs to me. I was going to come with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Super Bowl we haven’t seen together since we got married in 1967."
"That’s really sad," said Bob, "but still, couldn’t you find someone to take the seat? Maybe a relative or a close friend?"
"I tried" said the man, "but they’re all at the funeral."
This year’s superbowl started out a little different than the rest. Right before the game started they paraded out all the [1] MVP’s from past superbowls. Those players were deemed the most valuable players for the games they were in. They had the most impact on that one game and were honored for their efforts.
Every year they elect someone as the most valuable player for the superbowl. They are crowned the hero among heroes for that day.
All of us here tonight have heroes in our life. All of us could name people in our lives that are incredibly valuable to us. Our spouses, our children, our friends, maybe a coach or a teacher. These are the people that have made a difference in our lives. They’ve taught us, loved us, cared for us and led us.
But if we had to pick a most valuable person from our lives, who would it be? Now of course, most Christians wouldn’t hesitate to say, “Jesus Christ is my most valuable person.” And hopefully, that would be the case. But do we really understand what that means? Do we really understand what it means to say that Jesus is the most important person in my life? It’s so much more than just a cliché. It’s a life style.
Turn with me to [2] Philippians chapter one where we’ll see a man who knew what it meant to have Jesus as his most valuable person.
Before Paul came to Christ he was known as Saul. And not only was his name different but his entire approach to life. He was all about himself. His schooling, his career, his achievements, his possessions, and his goals in life.
But then he met Jesus and everything changed. It was no longer his schooling that guided his choices but rather the wisdom from God that did. It was no longer his intellect used to impress people but rather the power of God that did. It was no longer his strength that got him through trials but rather Christ that gave him strength. It was no longer his goals that directed his life but rather God’s will be done. Listen to Paul’s heart and dedication to Christ.
[Read Philippians 1:20-21.]
When you hear Paul say that he wants Christ to be exalted in his life, he’s saying I want Jesus to be lifted up; I want Jesus to be magnified: I want Jesus to be high; I want Jesus to be so large in my life that that’s what people see when they see me.
John Piper wrote, “We shouldn’t care much about what others think of us for our own sake. Our concern is ultimately for Christ’s reputation, not ours.”
People can see that Jesus is our MVP when Jesus is the [3] most important influence in our lives. For example.
[Sub sandwich and mustard illustration.]
People should be able to bite into our lives and taste some Jesus – no matter where they start. If He is the most important person to us, it will show.
But why would we give Jesus such a high and lofty place in our lives? Why would we give Him the preeminence over us? Because He is so [4] valuable.
When the superbowl committee chooses an MVP for the game they choose a player that was so valuable to their team its as if the team couldn’t have won without him. Without him, the score board would have read differently and his team would have lost the game.
It’s the same way our lives. Without Jesus our lives would be empty and meaningless. And in the end, our souls would be on the losing side of eternity. That’s how valuable Jesus really is. Turn with me to [5] Revelation chapter one. This passage gives us a glimpse of who Jesus really is; of Jesus’ value.
[Read Revelation 1:4-18.]
As we read this passage we see the majestic, powerful Savior in His glory. But let’s dig a little deeper and look at how these individual verses can give us a glimpse of who Jesus is.
Jesus is: [6]
v4 "who is and who was and who is to come" eternal, coming again
"before His throne" enthroned
v5 "faithful witness" trustable
"first-born of the dead" resurrected
"ruler of the kings of the earth" sovereign
"Him who loves us" love
"freed us from our sins by His blood" sacrifice, savior
v6 "made us to be a kingdom, priests to serve His God and Father" potter
v7 "He is coming with the clouds" returning
"every eye will see Him" evident
v8 “Alpha and the Omega” eternal
“the Almighty” omnipotent
v9 “companion in suffering… testimony of Jesus” brings trials, grows us
v11 "write on a scroll what you see" enlightening
v13 "clothed in a robe reaching down to His feet, and with a golden sash around
His chest" judge, priest
v14 "His head and his hair were like white wool, like snow" pure
"His eyes were like a flame of fire" searching for righteousness
v15 "His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace" sacrifice, persecuted
"His voice was like the sound of rushing waters" huge
v16 "in His right hand He held seven stars" protector
"out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword" distinctive,
decisive, cutting
"face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" brilliant
v17 "He placed His right hand on me" personal, tender
v18 “the Living One, alive forever” alive, resurrected, eternal
“hold the keys of death and Hades” sovereign
[7] [Read through Jesus’ descriptions.]
And this is just a glimpse of the value of Jesus Christ. There can be no measure, there can be no price, there can be no evaluation of just how valuable Jesus is to us and the world. As Master Card would say, “priceless!”
Another attribute of Jesus Christ that adds to His value is that He’s an actual [8] person. He isn’t just an idea, mindset or theory. He is a real person who walked this earth revealing to us who God is and what His plans are. Turn with me to John chapter one so we can see the personhood of Jesus Christ.
[Read John 1:1-14.]
When the Son of God came to the earth as a human He was the Word. The visible, walking, living, breathing, eating, talking, miracle working person Jesus Christ. He was, and still is, a person. A person we can have a relationship with.
[Read John 1:12.]
Aren’t you glad Jesus is a person we can have a relationship with? Aren’t you glad we don’t just have an ideology to follow? A set of teachings to give our life order.
We have the person, Jesus Christ, the God-man, with whom we can have a relationship with. We can know Him. He knows us. A personal relationship that reaches across time, space and realms of existence.
[Read John 14:16-18.]
Santa Clause is a fairy tale. Bigfoot is a myth. Confucianism is a set of beliefs. But Jesus Christ is a real person that’s alive and well as we speak!
So it’s easy to see that Jesus should be the [9] MVP of our lives. The only question left to ask is, “Is He?” [10] Is He the MVP of your life? I mean, we can say He’s the MVP all we want but words are cheap.
It’s like the man who grimaced and gagged while eating a new dish his wife spent her entire afternoon making special just for him. “So you don’t like it?” She angrily says. “No honey, it’s great.”
Our actions, not our words, that tell us who the MVP of our lives is.
There’s a simple three question test that we can all take to see who the MVP of our life is. And you don’t even have to study for it.
Question number one, [11] do we love?
[Read I John 4:7-8.]
Do we love God?
Do we love our fellow Christians?
Do we love our enemies?
Would people around us say that we are a person who loves?
Would God say we love?
Question number two, [12] do we obey?
[Read John 14:15.]
Do we regularly obey Jesus’ teaching?
Do we obey even when don’t want to?
Do we obey when it’s inconvenient?
Do we obey when it’s unpopular?
Would God call us obedient children of His?
Final question, [13] do we take up our cross and follow Him?
[Read Matthew 16:24.]
Do you, like Jesus, take up your ‘cross’ joyfully?
Do you only take up the easy ‘crosses’ of life?
Do you take up the hard ‘crosses’ without complaining?
[“Gates of Splendor” movie illustration.]
I know this seems like a lot. [14] Love, obey, take up your cross. But remember, Jesus is the most valuable person of the universe. Shouldn’t He be the most valuable person of our life? Doesn’t He deserve this position. [15]
It’s so easy to get off track in life. It’s so easy to find yourself having walked with the Lord for years and slowly move yourself back on the throne. We are tempted daily to try and be the MVP of our own lives. A place that only Christ deserves.
[16] If tonight you’ve realized that maybe Jesus isn’t the MVP of your life, or maybe of a certain area of your life, what’s stopping you from putting Him rightfully back on the throne of your life? What’s stopping you from making Him your MVP? Listen to the lyrics of the great song, “I Surrender All”.
[Read lyrics of “I Surrender All”.]
Tom’s going to lead us in a verse or two of that great song, and if you need to do business with God tonight, don’t let anything stand in your way of making Jesus your MVP.
[Pray.]
