Approaching Half Time
Dr. Marty Baker / July 29, 2001
www.stevenscreek.net
One of the marks of success in a football team is the ability to change their game plan as needed at half time. In the locker room, the coaches look at what went wrong, what went right, and then adjust their game plan so to put them in the best possible position to play a winning second half.
In life, most of us start out with a pretty basic game plan:
*Land a good position in a company
*Learn and grow
*Be further ahead each year.
The minutes of the second quarter wind down and you realize that you cannot play this way for the entire game. Something has to change. So, you go into half time with the desire to change your game plan because you know that games are won or lost in the second half. Over the next several weeks, we are going to be concentrating on a new series called Winning Strategies for Your Life. This series will provide practical principles to help you finish the game strong.
In the Bible, there is a man named Paul. We call him the Apostle Paul because he carried the message of Christ into his world. During a time of reflection, he penned these words:
2 Timothy 4:7-8
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
It is my desire to tap into the spiritual strength that Paul is talking about in this passage. This strength will enable us to finish strong.
As previously mentioned, today is my fortieth birthday. As you approach the fourth decade of your life, you begin to think a lot about who you are and where you are going. It is inevitable, and I believe, universal.
Some people approach this period in life pathologically and call it a crisis ... a mid-life crisis. These people buy a Harley; unbutton their shirts; wear gold chains; and get a tattoo. They refuse to accept the seasonal change that has come their way.
Let’s face it. All of us are growing older. Today I am 40 and my wife is 39. In ten years, I will be 50 and she will be 39. I’ll retire at 65 and she will still be 39. I guess the good thing is that she is 39, but still looks 29 to me.
The good news about mid-life is that the glass is still half-full... of course, the bad news is that it won’t be long before your teeth are floating in it.
Mid-life is when your 1980s Body-by-Jake now includes Legs-by-Rand McNally.
Mid-life is when your memory really starts to go. The only thing you still retain is water.
One thing for sure is that you become more reflective in mid-life.
You start pondering the "big" questions like:
"What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it’s no longer a healthy choice?"
Rick Majerus, the men’s basketball coach at the University of Utah, commented about his mid-life experience, "Everyone’s worried about the economy this year. Hey, my hairline is in recession, my waistline is in inflation, and altogether, I’m in depression."
The day will come when you, like Coach Majerus, will look in the mirror, see a receding hairline, or wrinkle, or gray hair, and think, "Hey, I’m not just getting older. I’m getting old. I thought that only happened to everyone else. But it’s happening to me, too. I’m never going to be young again."
The realization that you are never going to be young again sends some people into tailspin. It doesn’t have to. I believe that in every season you can find fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; 11a
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
When its all said and done ...
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Most of us live the first half of our lives as if we had walked into a movie theater twenty minutes after the film started rolling: we are not 100 percent sure what the story is all about, but it seems pretty interesting. By the time we figure out what’s going on, it’s over.1
Too many people live their lives that way. By the time they figure out what life is all about, it’s over. This does not have to be your story. I believe that you can
Well, I believe that the rest of your life can be the best of your life. Regardless of your season or your status, you can begin today with the benefit of past experience and the power of
Several years ago Bob Buford wrote a book called "Half time." In it he chronicles his journey through the seasons of change in his life. He defines the mid-life years as the interval in a person’s life where he or she explores ways to transform their success into significance.2
As I was thinking about that this week. I reflected on the first half of my life. I considered my successes and my failures. Out of this time, the Lord reminded me of several principles will help me make the rest of my life the best part of it. These principles are building blocks that will help build a foundation of success. They are values that have shaped who I am and who I want to become.
What is this foundation made of? Vision, Faith, Wisdom, Experience, Determination, Commitment, and Contentment.
How can we build a successful future? Here’s how.
How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best
1. Develop the ability to look beyond the majority (vision)
2. Believe God inspite of the circumstances (faith)
Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Mark 9:23
.... "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 11:22-23
22 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
Your circumstances may seem bleak; your back may be against the wall; and your life may appear to be over, but remember God specializes in turning darkness into light.
3. Ask God for wisdom. (wisdom)
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
4. Learn from the past, but don’t live in it. (experience)
All of us have setbacks. We fail. There comes a time when we must move on with your life. Learn from the past, but don’t live in it. Your trophies are a part of your history, not a guarantee
Today could be the day that you move beyond blame and excuses and realize that you are responsible for your happiness and the way you live your life. As a result, you may be challenged to change ... to do certain things differently than you’ve always done them. Don’t live in the past, but learn from it.
5. Be committed for the long haul. (determination)
Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
6. Enjoy the ride … the future is bright. (contentment)
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have ...
Philippians 4:12
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Psalm 37:25-26
25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.
Jeremiah 29:11
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.
It is an understatement to say that God has long range plans for your life.
How do you prepare for a successful future?
Four Things God Wants You to Do With Your Life
1. Get to know God.
Establish your relationship with God. That’s the first step. How? The same way you do with anybody else. To have a relationship it involves knowing the person, trusting the person, sharing with the person, enjoying the person, listening, spending time with the person. Communicate.
You establish a relationship with God the exact same way. Spending time with Him, talking with Him, listening to Him through His word. God wants you to have a relationship, not a religion.
Accept what Christ has done for you and get into God’s family. Once you know Christ, you’ll discover that you have three other purposes for life.
2. Become like Christ.
Develop Christ-like characteristics. The Bible teaches that life is a school of character development.
God wants to use everything that happens in your life to build character in you for eternity.
The Bible says that everything that happens in your life, once you are a believer, God is using to help you get to know Him and become like His son Jesus Christ. God is working on your life to make you like Jesus Christ. That purpose has never changed.
3. Practice Serving
I can prepare for eternity by practicing serving. God has some plans for you in eternity. He has plans for you to serve. He has a place for you to serve. You’re going to be working in eternity. And you’ll enjoy it. It will be perfectly suited to you. You’ll find fulfillment and meaning in it.
This is the third thing God wants you to do -- practice serving. God has given you talents and abilities and He wants you to develop them. Meaning in life comes from serving.
4. Share life’s purpose with other people.
At Stevens Creek, we are committed to helping you prepare for eternity so when you get to the final exam you’ll know the right answers. Because there will be a final exam.
The greatest waste is to live your entire life without ever knowing the point of it. Or to live your life for temporary things -- new cars, new stereos, etc. The best use of your life is to invest it in something that outlasts it.
Closing Prayer
