The Parable of the Three Baseball Fans
I Corinthians 9:24-27
NOTE: Before I entered the auditorium, I changed into a baseball uniform. As the organist played and the people sang “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” I entered the auditorium and walked up on stage. I loved seeing the surprised look on everyone’s face seeing their preacher dressed in a full baseball uniform!
Jesus was the master teacher and preacher. He always used visual elements in his teaching and preaching.
A coin....in the parable of the lost coin.
A sheep...in the parable of the lost sheep.
A mountain...when he told them they could move mountains with little faith.
12 Baskets of leftovers...when he fed the 5,000
One of Jesus’ most common ways of teaching was through parables.
A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
Example: Jesus told the story of the prodigal son.
The earthly story: A son who wandered away
from home, lost everything, then came back.
The heavenly meaning: We can come back to God
and receive forgiveness.
Today I want to share with you a parable that God has put in my heart.
It is The Parable of the Three Baseball Fans.
Fan #1: The Spectator
Fan #1 just loves being at the game. All week long he plans and gets excited about going to the game.
He loves the smell of the grass, the sound of the crack of the bat as the ball is crushed. He loves the taste of the hotdogs and peanuts. He loves to hear the cheer of the crowd. The whole atmosphere is just completely exhilarating to him.
Fan #1 doesn’t care if he isn’t playing on the team. He just wants to be there. That is enough for him.
He would much rather sit back and just watch anyway. He just loves being at the game.
Spiritually speaking, many people are like Fan #1. They just love being at church. They love the great music, the preacher is a little crazy, but they love the worship. They love the fellowship. They just love being at church. Now, they don’t really want to make a commitment to Christ. They would rather just sit and watch. Just being at church is enough for them.
It is ok to be Fan #1, but we cannot stay that way. Or we will make the same mistake Fan #1 makes.
Fan #1 assumes that if he faithfully shows up for every game, one day he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It doesn’t matter to him that he never picked up a bat or glove or ball. It doesn’t matter to him that he never joined the team or even played in a single game. He believes that if he faithfully shows up for every game he will be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But the truth is: NO SPECTATOR HAS EVER BEEN INDUCTED INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME.
We cannot assume that if we simply show up for church every Sunday that we will be guaranteed heaven.
It just doesn’t work that way. The Word of God is clear.
We must join the team by accepting Christ as
our Savior, confessing Him, repenting,
and being immersed into him.
We must play in the game. (Serve Christ in
our lives.)
We must train ourselves. (Prayer, Bible
reading, evangelism)
When we do those things, God’s grace is alive in us, and we are bound for the Hall of Fame (heaven)
Fan #2: The Benchwarmer.
Fan #2 used to be a spectator. But he decided to join the team. He wanted to be in the game. He wanted to be a Hall of Fame player. So he joined the team. But then he saw how hard it was to be a big leaguer. He had to get up at the crack of dawn. He had to quit many of his old bad habits. He had to stretch and exercise. He had to work on his fielding, his throwing, his batting. He had to learn strategy. He had to watch his diet. He had to play almost everyday. He had to answer to the coach. He had to travel with the team. It was just too much work.
So Fan #2 decided he wouldn’t practice as much. He wouldn’t stay in shape. He wouldn’t always listen to the coach. He didn’t care to sit on the bench and watch his teammates do all the work. It was much easier this way. He could still be on the team, and not have to do nearly the work. He was right there in the action. To him, it was a perfect solution.
Spiritually, many Christians are like this. They wanted to be a light for Jesus. So they came forward, confessed Christ, were immersed into Christ, tried to turn their life around. But after they joined the team (became a Christian) they saw how much work it was. They saw that to grow as a Christian they had to:
Read God’s Word daily.
Spend time in prayer daily
Leave some of their old ways behind.
Answer to the coach (Christ)
Serve others.
Witness.
For many Christians, it is just too much work to grow. So for many, it is just easier and better to ride the bench. To sit in the pew and watch teammates (brothers and sisters in Christ) do all the work.
But there is a big mistake there- Not only do benchwarmers NOT make it into the hall of fame, they won’t stay on the team long that way. When you and I decide not to grow as a Christian, it affect our relationship with Christ and can cost us our eternity because we will longer be allowing the grace of Christ to penetrate and change our lives.
This should be a wake up call to Christians. GET OFF THE BENCH! (Get out of the pew!) START TRAINING! STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND GET READY TO BE A HOMERUN HITTER FOR CHRIST!!
Fan #3: Home Run Hitter for Christ
This fan loves being on the team. He is willing to do whatever it takes to become a better baseball player. His passion in life is the Hall of Fame. He is determined to work however hard he has to. It doesn’t matter what it costs or what it takes, fan #3 will do it, if it means that he becomes a homerun hitter. As he continues to live being faithful to the coach, the team and the game, he knows that one day he will be in the hall of fame.
Thankfully many Christians have answered the call of God and are serving him faithfully. They are growing everyday and becoming more like Jesus. This is the goal for each Christian. To grow to be more like Jesus.
Even though it might cost a lot of time, energy, perseverance, and struggle. It is worth it. Paul says those who compete in the games do it to get a crown that will not last. But we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Let’s examine our lives today. Which fan are we most like?
