LIFE IS LIKE A BASEBALL GAME
I Cor. 9:25 "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
INTRO.- ILL.- In the popular 1994 movie "Forrest Gump," Forrest with an IQ of 74 said, "Mama always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’"
I also have a quote. I say that "life is like a baseball game...a world series baseball game and you never know what is going to happen!"
The apostle Paul often compared the Christian life with athletics. He said, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training...."
Anyone who is serious about their athletic sport, baseball or whatever, will train hard. Those who train hard generally play hard and do well in their sport.
ILL.- Olympic wrestler, Dan Gable, in 1972, won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics without surrendering a single point to any of his six opponents. The Soviets came to the Olympics with only one goal in mind; to defeat Gable. They were unsuccessful.
During his prep and college careers, Gable compiled an unbelievable record of 182-1 and won 99 straight matches at Iowa State, with an NCAA record string of 25 pins in a row. Gable was named to the U.S.A. Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980, and to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985.
How could wrestler Dan Gable have been so successful? it’s called hard work. He trained hard! In his Olympic days Dan trained or worked out for nearly 8 hours a day at wrestling, lifting weights, running, and calisthenics.
It takes a lot of hard work to do well in anything; wrestling, baseball or the Christian life. How’s your training going? Or are you training at all? Are you doing any spiritual workouts? By this, I mean Bible study, prayer time, Christian service, etc. All these are matters of spiritual training.
Baseball is still our national sport or national pastime. Many people have played ball and most love to watch it. And we are certainly going to be watching it here in Mattoon next week! The Cal Ripken Jr. World Series of baseball!
ILL.- Some of you may remember that baseball player Lou Gehrig is called the "iron man of baseball" for a very good reason. For 15 years in the 1920’s and 30’s he played first base for the New York Yankees. He played 2130 consecutive games. And after he retired they X-rayed both of his hands and found that every finger had been broken at least one time, YET HE NEVER MISSED A GAME! He played even though he was hurt. That says something about his character.
Obviously, we have to go on living the Christian life even though we’ve been hurt. And it’s a guaranteed thing we will be hurt in this life. We will experience hurt and pain in some form or another and for one reason or another: because of the devil, sin, or perhaps just because we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time.
Why did Lou Gehrig get the disease that is named after him (or ALS) and only live to be 38 years old? Simply because this is an imperfect world where age and disease affects us all.
As great as Lou Gehrig’s record was, Cal Ripken Jr. broke his record on Sept. 6, 1995, and the people stood and cheered him for 22 minutes and 15 seconds. And by September 19, 1998 Cal Ripken Jr. had played 2632 consecutive ball games. What a record! And what a ball player! He sort of reminds me of another player in the game of life.
The apostle Paul was a great player in the game of life. He endured much hardship in life. He said these words in II Tim. 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day..."
In a sense, Paul was saying, "I have endured. I have hung in there. I have stayed at bat. I have kept the faith."
Just as both Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken were faithful in their baseball careers, so we are to be faithful in our career as Christians. Faithfulness always pays off! Especially, in the spiritual realm!
Paul said, "They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
We play the game of life and endure certain hardships and stay faithful because we know that in the end it will pay off.
Life is like a baseball game and you never know what is going to happen next. Sometimes we may hit a home run and at times, we may strike out, but in the end, we’re going to win.
PROP.- In this message I want to compare our lives to a world series baseball game.
1- We’re on a team, so be a team player
2- We have a coach, so listen to Him
3- We will win the game, so look forward to it
I. WE’RE ON A TEAM, SO BE A TEAM PLAYER
ILL.- A man said one time, "In my house, I make all the major decisions and my wife makes the minor decisions. For example, I decide such things as East-West trade, crime in the streets, welfare cheating, and increase in taxes. My wife decides the minor things such as: which house to buy, what kind of car we drive, how much money we spend on things, how to raise the kids, etc."
Even though the Scripture teaches that the husband is the head of the home, there should be a certain amount of togetherness and unity in all things.
Eph. 5:21 "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Following these words, Paul immediately speaks of the responsibilities of both wives and husbands. SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER. Could this also possibly mean, work ‘with’ one another?
Most of us have discovered that in all of life things work a lot better when we work ‘with’ people and not against them. This applies to the home, work, business, and the church.
ILL.- In the mid-1960’s I worked for Safeway in Joplin, MO. I remember when the manager hired a certain stock clerk for our store. I don’t remember his name, but I sure remember his face! AND I REMEMBER HIS ATTITUDE AND HIS CHARACTER.
He was a go-getter type person, worker. He couldn’t stand still a second, it seemed. He did nothing slow. He was always going at full-speed. It didn’t make any different whether he was stocking shelves, unloading a truck or checking out customers at the cash register. His tachometer was always on the redline!
He was the kind of guy who would stock shelves all night, go home at 7 in the morning and sleep a few hours and come back in the afternoon to work the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift.
And everybody knew he was go-getter, including the manager. Consequently, he impressed the manager and quickly moved up in the store and was given more responsibility. In fact, the manager was so impressed that he soon gave him a set of keys to the store so he could open and close.
But there was a problem with that guy: HE WAS NOT A TEAM PLAYER! He was only thinking of himself, how he could get ahead, how he could promote himself.
Brothers and sisters, we are not playing the game of life by ourselves. We’re on a team. We are in this thing together, so be a team player!
Rom. 14:19 "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
Rom. 15:1-2 "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
In other words, let’s do thing that help, bless and encourage one another because we’re a team!
I Cor. 12:14 "Now the body (the church) is not made up of one part but of many."
The church is referred to in Scripture as a human body and the body has many parts to it: hands, feet, legs, arms, etc. The church has many members and all are important.
Everyone should find their place of service and work hard at it. We should work as a team and not against one another.
I’ve seen churches where the people were always in opposition to one another. It was the elders against the deacons. The deacons against the members. The members against the whole board. And everybody was against the preacher! Or something similar to that.
There is not a church, nor a family, nor any organization that can last when people are in opposition to one another. We may not always agree with one another, but we must always work together as a team if we are to accomplish any good and lasting results.
ILL.- In 1886 Nevada had a state fair. They decided to have a contest among mule teams to see how much they could pull. The first place team pulled 14,000 pounds. The second place team pulled 13,000 pounds.
Someone said, "I wonder how much they could pull together? Could they pull 27,000?" They hitched up both teams and together they pulled, not 27,000 pounds, BUT 35,000 POUNDS!
We’re on a team, so be a team player. Let’s pull together and no telling how much we can accomplish!
II. WE HAVE A COACH, SO LISTEN TO HIM
ILL.- A father said to his son, "Well, son, what did you learn in school today?" His son replied, "I learned to say, ‘yes, sir’ and ‘No, sir.’" His dad responded, "Really?!" His son said, "YEAH!"
ILL.- The father of a teenager said to a neighbor, "My son is at that awkward age....he’s too old for a spanking and too young for analysis."
Regardless of their age, when children are at home, they need guidance, direction, and a certain amount of discipline. They need a mom and dad who will give them some solid guidance in life or for their life.
Prov. 29:15 "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother."
A child left to himself, to fend for himself, to discover life for himself is headed for certain trouble. Children need guidance from wise and loving parents!
In fact, all people need guidance at times in life.
Prov. 11:14 "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."
Without proper guidance a nation can fall and so can anybody! We all need guidance, direction, mentoring, coaching perhaps.
ILL.- When I was involved in running it seemed like I often over-trained or overdid it. I once ran 24 miles on Saturday and then turned around and did it again the next Saturday. And, of course, I ran all week in between those two long runs, something like 12 miles a day. The next week I raced in a half-marathon and won it. But after that race I was worn out! I had over-trained big time! I had little energy after that. I was completely fatigued! I had to take off from running and rest my weary body.
Another runner friend who had many more years experience said to me, "Steve, you train too hard. You run too hard in your training. You do too much. Slow down. Back off..."
It took me a while to figure out he was exactly right. I NEEDED A COACH!
And the truth is this: We all need someone to coach us in life regardless of who we are or what we do for a living. All of us need to be coached in regard to running the race of life or playing the game of life.
ILL.- Here is a rather humbling example to me. I received the nicest email note from a young preacher this last week. He had been reading my sermons on the Internet site "sermon central.com." Here is what he wrote.
Dear Rev. Shepherd,
Hello! My name is Steve Tompkins. I have enjoyed reading your sermons so much!!! I was wondering if you had available for sale more manuscripts, tapes, etc. Your Illustrations and applications of the Bible are great!
Any help you could give to a young teacher of the bible would be appreciated! God bless, Steve
Isn’t this a nice letter from a young preacher? In a sense, he is asking for me to help guide him, mentor him or perhaps coach him. I wrote him back and said, "Feel free to use my material if it helps you. Bless you. Bless the Lord..."
Brothers and sisters, we all need coaching in life! We all make mistakes. We all need guidance and direction. AND WE DO HAVE A COACH AND HE’S A REAL WINNER!
Heb. 12:2-3 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus (our Savior and coach), the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Consider Him. Look to Him. Listen to your Savior and Coach. He endured. He’s been there and done that. He was victorious. He knows all about the game of life in which we are engaged. He knows what it takes to win. LISTEN TO HIM!
III. WE WILL WIN THE GAME, SO LOOK FORWARD TO IT
ILL.- Do you know that my hometown is Webb City, Missouri? What’s the big deal about Webb City, MO? The population is only 9,812. I graduated from high school 40 years ago this year "with honors." Well, perhaps not "with honors." But I did graduate! My twin sister and I are going back for the class reunion. She’ll look the best. I’ll be second best! Yeah, sure!
No, the big deal about Webb City, MO, right now is that she has a little league baseball team that made it to the world series. They were on TV last Friday night, playing against the Ft. Worth, TX, team.
ILL.- ESPN news stated, "Webb City is the first Missouri team in the 56-year history of the Little League Baseball International Tournament to win a trip to Williamsport, PA." The Ft. Worth team beat Webb City 1-0, but of course, Ft. Worth is a bit bigger than Webb City and had far more talented youngsters to draw from. However, I still consider the Webb City team to be a winner!
Rom. 7:18 "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
Paul, the apostle, was a player in the game of life. He was a winner even though he didn’t win all the time or every day. He freely admitted that he didn’t always do everything right or always live right.
That fact should give us some encouragement. We can get very discouraged when things don’t go right for us or when we blow it in life. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT WE ALL "BLOW IT" AT TIMES!
Rom. 3:23 "For all have sinned..." We are painfully aware of this verse of Scripture, but we should also be aware of some other Scriptures.
Heb. 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
I John 2:1 "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the righteous one."
It is so comforting to know that whenever we blow it occasionally, the Lord is not going to hold it against us! The Lord is not against us! HE IS FOR US! He is no more against us than we are against our own children!
ILL.- I believe our relationship with God is very much like our relationship to our own children. I have two children, ages 28 and 22. There is nothing they could do to cause me to disown them. I may be disappointed with them at times, but I love them dearly and would never disown them! AND SO IT IS WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER! Or so it seems to me.
Please let me encourage you! Your failures are not final! Your sins are not unforgivable! You will stumble, you will fall, you will blow it at times, BUT YOU NEED TO KEEP ON PLAYING THE GAME THE BEST YOU CAN!
The Lord is gracious, forgiving, understanding, compassionate. Confess your sins, your failures and keep on pitching, keep on running the bases, and playing the game!
We may lose at times. We may strike out occasionally, but we’re on a winning team! Be assured. Be confident. Be encouraged.
ILL.- There is a lot to be said about the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. But there is also a lot which cannot be said about that book, because so much of it is future tense and it’s written in figurative language.
I laugh at all the preachers and prophets of our day who try to make things out of some things in the book that nobody really understands except the Lord himself. BUT THERE IS ONE THING WE CAN UNDERSTAND.
If you will read the end of the book the message is very clear: WE WIN! God has given us that promise. In the end, we will win!
Brethren, knowing that we will win should make the playing of the game a lot better for us. I MEAN, WHEN YOU KNOW THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME, you also know that all the mistakes you make playing the game are not final.
I Cor. 9:25 "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
I am interested in that lasting crown, aren’t you? And on certain days, I wish it would hurry up and get up! We are going to win! God has promised this to us who are in Christ! Don’t despair. Don’t give up. Don’t give in and quit the game! Keep playing!
Because we are going to win we need to look forward to the end of the game! We need to set our sights on heaven more than we do! Let’s keep the end of life in view. This will keep us going in the right direction. It will keep our priorities in order.
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
Life is like a baseball game, a world series game. You never know what is going to happen.
Where are you in the game of life? Are you at bat? On first base? Second? Third? Almost home?
The important thing is to be on the right team, the Lord’s team. If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, please do that and join His winning team.
