Title: True Champions
Pastor Glenn Newton
Date: Jan. 26, 2003
PHP 3:7 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
PHP 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. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Phil 3:7-14 (NIV)
It there is such thing as a Superbowl Sunday Passage of Scripture...... Paul’s writing to the the Philippians in our passage today would definitely qualify. I don’t know about you but I love to read the Apostle Paul’s writings because one thing you realize before reading too long is that He is Passionate about Jesus...... Paul is a True Champion of the Faith.
Our Mission Statement for New Hope is under construction right now by our Refocus Team, and one of the ideas that we are wanting to incorporate into our statement is that we are a Church that is building Champions of Faith...... Men and Women, Teenagers, boys and girls who not only know what they believe, but they champion it’s cause.
When I think of a Champion I think of someone, or a team who has been tested by the battles, they have made it through the good times and the down times, they have persevered, as Paul tells us, they have pressed onward toward the goal, they have finished the race. Champions Never Quit.
This morning I want to talk to you about 3 Characteristics of a Champion....... These Characteristics are universal, they can be found in the Superbowl winner..... or they can be found in our Christian Lives as we Champion the Cause of Christ. My question to you is simple, “Will you be a Champion of Faith?”
This morning we could come up with many Characteristics of a Champion, but I am going to just 3 with you this morning.
First, There is a Commitment to Excellence.
If you were to walk into one of our Super Bowl Teams Locker Rooms, or any of their meeting rooms, you would notice a slogan, a statement that is printed on the walls, it’s printed on everything they hand out to their team, it’s a way of doing business, it’s part of their mission statement, do you know what that slogan says?
Commitment to Excellence.
Great Teams understand this Commitment, they understand you can’t do things like everyone else and expect to become a Champion, there has to be a commitment to go farther in every area.
The Apostle Paul understands this Commitment to Excellence. What I’m going to tell you about the Apostle Paul is very important for us to hear today in the church.
The apostle Paul in his early life as a member of the Jewish Ruling Council, he was committed to Excellence, but the problem was he was committed to the wrong thing.
Listen to the Key this morning: The Apostle Paul early in his life was committed to His Religion, not to Jesus, and my friends that makes all the difference in the world. The apostle Paul was committed to keeping the Law, he was committed to church attendance, to paying his tithe, he was committed to his Religion 100%, in fact he tells us that noone kept the Law more strictly than he did...... but my friends he found out a very important truth that we need to hear today......
Our Commitment is to be to Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior, a Commitment to know Him, a Commitment to serve Him, to grow in our knowledge of who He is.... and from this commitment to Jesus will flow our passion for the church.
I know allot of people who put the weight of their Commitment onto the church, thinking that what they are doing is the right thing, but their relationship with Jesus is not the number one priority in their life, and guess what? They will get very discouraged with the church, with the pastor, with other people, do you know why? Because the church by itself won’t satisfy your spiritual need. Only Jesus Christ through a personal, ever growing relationship can meet that need.
Listen to Paul’s words as he describes his old way of life with his new life.
PHP 3:7 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9
In verse 7 Paul tells us that many of those things I used to do that I thought were to my benefit, I know consider loss..... I now realize they just got in my way of knowing Jesus.... In fact EVERYTHING is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, for whose sake I have lost all things.......
Friends, Do you want to be a Champion of Faith? I challenge you to take your focus off all the things you think you need to do to be a great Christian....... To be a Great Church member..... And Focus on one thing.......Growing in your Relationship, your Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ..... If you will do that, He will train you to be a Champion of Faith.
As you grow, you will be challenged, you will be tested, you will go through the good times, and you will experience some down times, as Paul tells us in other places, sometimes your tested by the fire....... But when you are In Christ..... You come out stronger, and more committed than ever.
True Champions will be committed to Excellence in their Relationship with Jesus. How do you commit yourself to excellence to grow. Think about how you would grow any relationship.
1. You need to spend time with Jesus, alone in prayer, really talk to God.... share with Him what’s on your heart..... listen for his voice..... you will know when He speaks to you. Friends, we all have the same amount of time everyday. We all have 24 hours every single day. It’s up to you to make time for the things that are most important to you. Cut out the activities or the TV that are detracting from you Christian walk and give that time to God, you will be amazed at what He will teach you. Commit to time everyday.
2. Study His Word. Notice I didn’t say just Read the Bible. Non believers read the Bible all the time and are not changed. As a Christian, you have been given a great gift, the Holy Spirit, who has been given to you and me as a guide, a teacher, a counselor. As we get into God’s Word, pray that the Holy Spirit would make the Bible come alive to you, so you can learn and grow as you study the Word. To study the Bible, it’s not how much you read, it’s how much is being understood and being applied to your life.
I can read the 10 commandments everyday, but if I don’t apply what they say to my life... then I haven’t gained anything.
3. Make Worship your Lifestyle. To Worship God is to Surrender to Him. Worship comes from a Greek word that was used to describe surrender, as one would surrender to a Conquering King. As we worship God, we surrender ourselves to Him, we honor Him with the songs we sing, but really it goes so much farther than that, really we honor Him with every area of our life, as we surrender every aspect of our lives to him.... that is worship. As we come together as the church, We Worship as One, and it’s important to Worship together, we can encourage each other, we can spur each other on, we can pray for one another, we can share our spiritual gifts with each other, to build each other up.
The Second Mark of a Champion is Discipline.
Glenn Newton’s definition of Discipline is simple, but here it is. Discipline is doing the right thing, right now. The apostle Paul speaks to us about being disciplined when he says this, PHP 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.”
A Champion of Faith does the right thing, Right now.......
In December 1994 syndicated columnist Bob Greene told the inspiring story of Rob Mouw.
Rob played on the soccer team in his senior year at Wheaton Christian High School. In the final seconds of a big game against favored Waubonsie Valley, with his team behind by one goal, Rob was dribbling the ball in front of him, running at full speed toward the opponent’s goal.
Just before he shot the ball, though, he caught sight of the scoreboard. The clock read 00.00. But like any good athlete, Rob shot the ball anyway, and it went in for a goal. The referee signaled that the goal counted, and the game finished in a tie. The Wheaton fans cheered. The Waubonsie Valley fans cried that time had run out. Bob had a choice to make. He could say nothing and avoid a loss. After all, it was the referee’s job to decide the calls, not his. Or Rob could do what was right.
Rob asked the referee whether the official time was kept on scoreboard or the referee’s stopwatch. The referee said the scoreboard time was official and then ran off the field. Rob went to his coaches and explained that just before his kick, he had seen zeros on the scoreboard clock. Since he hadn’t heard a whistle, he kept playing. But his goal was late, and he didn’t think it should count.
His coaches agreed, and so they went over to the opposing coaches, explained what had happened, and conceded victory to Waubonsie Valley.
Bob Greene ended his article with this quote from Rob Mouw: "Every time in your life you have an opportunity to do right, you should be thankful. For a person to know what right is and then not to do it—that would be a sin. To have won the fame – I mean, really, who cares? Doing the right thing is more important. It lets you have peace."
The Question is, “Are we doing the Right Thing, Right Now.” The beauty of being a Christian is that we have the Holy Spirit who tells us, who teaches us what the right thing is...... there’s no excuse for not doing the right thing, because the Holy Spirit is very faithful in helping us to know the truth.
I would guess there are some here today that know what God is speaking to them about, there’s no doubt, there’s no confusion, but you just haven’t obeyed. You will not be able to grow in your Relationship with the Lord unless your committed to doing the Right thing, Right now. It’s about Obedience, and obedience to God is not optional in the Christian life, no matter how we try to rationalize it. Amen?
The Third Characteristic of a Champion, is TEAM FIRST, ME LAST.
One of the greatest hurdles for most teams these days is getting their player to realize that the team is more important than the individual. Many great teams never realize a championship because of the selfishness of their players.
It takes a commitment from any Championship Team to put the Team goals, above the goals of the individual.
It really pains me this morning to use the Oakland Raiders as an example of a Championship team, while my Denver Broncos sit at home wondering what happened. But they have a great example of Great Individual Players who are willing to put aside their own ego for the good of the team.
Before the season started this year, the Oakland Raiders were about to sign Jerry Rice, the best wide receiver to ever play the game, but before they signed him they went and talked to their star wide receiver that was already on the team, Tim Brown. They wanted to know if Tim Brown would be able to share the spotlight, and the football with such a huge superstar........ The decision that Tim Brown made before the season even started, to say yes, I’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship, even if it means that I’m not the focal point. That decision set the tone for this season that they have had. Tim Brown was telling everyone else on his team, it’s not about Me.... It’s not about You..... It’s about WE, it’s about Our Team coming together and putting the Team above the individual.
The Raiders may win the World Championship Title today, and Tim Browns decision months ago will be a huge factor in helping the Team reach it’s goal.
Church, We are a Team, God has brought us from all walks of life, God has brought us from different experiences, different backgrounds. God has been working on us for some time, I think waiting on us to get our priorities in order, waiting on us to grow, to be more disciplined, maybe waiting on us to put the Team ahead of the indivuale.
Team New Hope has a mission, and our mission is bigger than any one person that we have, the mission is to reach out to the people in our community with the message of Hope, the message that God is a God of Grace and Mercy, that God can take us right where we are at and Give us New Life, New Hope.
I believe part of our mission is to reach out to people who have tried religion, went to church but they didn’t find what they were looking for...... that happens alot these days it’s sad to say. Our message is to those folks, We don’t want to share Religion with you, We want to share Jesus with You, he’s what your really looking for... Religion cannot save you.... Only Jesus.
Will you be apart of this Team, Team New Hope? God’s looking for True Champions of Faith, Men and Women, Teenagers, Boys and Girls who will Give themselves to Jesus 100%, not half way, not just until it becomes uncomfortable, but will surrender to King Jesus and say it’s all yours, I’m all yours.
Have you said that, have you given yourself 100% to Jesus. You can. It’s not hard, but it’s life changing. How about today...... Today can be your day......will you pray with me?
