Golf and the Christian Life
Pastor Glenn Newton 8-4-02
Romans 10:11-15 “ As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put
to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is
Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved."
RO 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can
they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is
written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
This morning I’m going to attempt to compare the Game of Golf and the Christian Life. I
have found that there are some good ways to help illustrate how we should live our
Christian life, through this game we call Golf.
Let me ask you, How many here this morning have ever played Golf? How many
here this morning understand the rules of Golf? Not very many. Don’t worry that’s not a
problem, before were done I believe you will understand what I’m trying to say.
I hope to be like that fine preacher who was once complimented by a little
boy who said, “You’re not a great preacher because I could understand every word
you said.”
Arnold Palmer said, “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated, it satisfies
the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening
-- and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind have ever invented.”
The game of golf is fun to play for many reasons, but one of the most beneficial reasons to
play is that your patience level will increase as you learn the game. It’s not an easy game.
To sit and watch the pro golf players hit that little white ball around and put it right where
they actually aim it, looks easy. But friend, let me tell you it’s not easy making that little
ball go strait
In the same way, our Christian lives can have times of frustration, times when we don’t
seem to be making progress in our spiritual growth, in our Christlike attitudes, in our
witnessing. If were not careful, we can find ourselves like the frustrated golfer, just
swinging away with no idea where we are going to end up.
I can tell you with confidence this morning, that’s not what God wants from us. God has
called us to win, and He wants us to have confidence and assurance in our Christian lives.
That doesn’t mean everything will be easy, in fact I can tell you there will be times of trials
and hard times, but our Faith can stand strong, our Witness can shine through and we can
grow through adversity.
This morning I want to share with you Three areas that I believe will help your Christian
Journey. I’m going to use Golf lingo, but I will apply it to our Christian life so you will
know exactly what I’m talking about.
What we are talking about is Fundamentals. In any sport, there are basic fundamentals
that we need to learn if we are going to play the sport effectively, and have a chance to
compete. Of coarse there are fundamentals in the Christian life also.
In Golf, there are allot of things a person needs to know, and to be honest I know I don’t
know all of them by a long shot. But I have narrowed down what I do know to three
fundamentals that every golfer should pay attention too.
1. The Rules.
It’s hard to play a game if you don’t know the rules, or you don’t pay attention to the
rules. Rules are important. Abe Mitchell, British Champion said this, “The sum total of
the rules(of etiquette in golf), is thoughtfulness.”
The rules of golf are a reflection of the etiquette and fairness which are a vital part
of the entire game. Golf has been called the most “civilized” of sports. The player with
the lowest score on the previous hole receives “honors” at the next tee. On the fairway,
the “disadvantaged” player whose ball lies the farthest from the hole shoots first.
Likewise, on the green, the “unfortunate” one with the longest putt goes first before the
others. Much of the rules are built into these concepts of courtesy, fairness, and honor.
Good players are aware of their fellow golfers game. They do the little things that
aren’t caught by the less gracious players, such as not casting a shadow where the player
is trying to make a putt, not walking in the area where the other players are going to be
putting their ball.
Ex. If I’m getting ready to putt my ball, and you come and stand right in my line
to the hole, when you finally move, your going to leave indention’s in the grass that will
throw my ball off to one side or the other. That’s rude in the game of golf.
This last week I had to use good etiquette on the golf coarse when I played on
Tuesday evening. I was by myself, so I couldn’t blame anyone else. I was hitting the ball
from the fairway and was about 200 yards from the ninth hole. To my left there were four
gentleman who just finished the ninth hole and were getting ready to tee off again on the
first hole. They were about 50 yards ahead of me, and to my left in the other fairway.
You see, I have this problem with my long irons. I have what’s called a Hook,
which means when I hit the ball instead of going strait like I’ve instructed it too, it takes a
sharp turn to the left.
I was all ready to hit, I knew they were over there, but surely I wouldn’t hit it that
far off coarse, that was the last thought that went through my head right before I swung
the 4 iron. As soon as I hit the ball I used another rule of golf, If you hit a ball and it starts
heading toward other Golfers, you yell, Fore!
I yelled Fore! Fore! Fore! It worked, they ducked and my ball barely missed their
heads. It’s a good rule. They were nice of enough to point out where my ball ended up,
and I mentioned to them that I was working on my problem..........
Rules are good. As a Christian we have God’s Word that teaches us what God’s Rules
are for our lives. Just as the rules in Golf make it an enjoyable game, the Rules that God
has written down not only in His Word, but as we read in Scripture, God has written his
laws on our hearts, We know the difference between right and wrong, we are without
excuse.
On Wednesday Nights we are studing the 10 Steps to Freedom, and we are
discovering that we can only be Free when we live within the boundaries that God has
ordained for us.
God’s laws can either set you free through your obedience, or they can crush you
through your disobedience. The choice has always been yours and mine.
Christians, get into God’s Word, know what He says to you about living Holy
Lives, lives that are set apart for his use, for His Glory.
Of coarse, there are allot of people who know what the rules are. But they choose
to live by their own set of rules, rules that cater to their own selfishness. But one thing
you need to realize, just because you don’t agree with God’s rules, doesn’t mean you
won’t be held accountable to them.
There’s a day coming when the King of Kings will come in Glory, He will come
for His Church, and He will also come to Judge the nations. Every man and women will
give an account for how they have lived their life. The Standard that King Jesus will
use to make his righteous judgments will not be up for debate, they will not go to the
Supreme Court, He is the Supreme Court. His Standard for Truth will be His Word,
You have His Word available to you today, there will be no excuse on that day, their will
be no plea of ignorance or insanity. Know His Word, Keep His Word, Know the Truth,
and His Truth will set you free.
Heb. 4:12-13 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from
God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we
must give account.”
2. Your Stance- How you set up for your shot is important. Your stance becomes the
foundation for your swing in golf.
My wife a few years ago when I first showed some interest in Golf bought me a little book
called, “The Golfers Tee Time Devotional”. I guess she knew I was going to need to have
my devotions allot more once I started playing this game. Inside this little book came a
little fold out “tip sheet” to help me with some of the fundamentals of the game.
The first thing you make sure that is in order is your grip on the club. If your grip
is wrong, everything else won’t matter. The second thing a player looks at is the Stance.
In football I learned about having a good stance, it was important to start every play with
solid footwork. In Golf, your stance is important if you are going to hit the ball in the
right direction.
My little tip sheet says this. A square stance. Your feet should be lined up parallel
to a line running from the ball to the target. Once I remembered what Parallel meant, I
was in good shape.
For the Christian, our stance, our foundation is so important to our Christian life. We
need to make sure that we are lined up properly so we can be effective, and we can grow
as a Christian.
The Christian needs to have a Foundation for Success. This comes through
discipleship. Discipleship involves your spiritual growth, your learning to Worship God;
becoming involved in the ministry of the church, establishing your roots so you can stand
firm in your faith.
Let me tell you a secret. You cannot disciple yourself. Christ hasn’t called you to
live a life of isolation. When you were saved, you were adopted into a family, and you
joined a world wide body of believers, and you have a important part to play in the church.
God has instituted the church to be His Witness, His vehicle to win the world.
As a Christian, this relationship with God will need to be nurtured, you need to talk to
God through regular prayer time, just you and Him talking things out, you sharing with
Him, and then you listening to Him. Prayer..... it’s simply talking to the One who loves
you more than you will ever know.
For your Spiritual nourishment, you need to get into God’s Word. It will feed your soul,
and you mind. God’s Word is light and life for the believer, it will become your greatest
joy as you see it come alive in your walk. The Holy Spirit will help you to understand the
truth, He is our counselor, our teacher.
You also need to be in church with a family that will love you, encourage you, help
you, pray for you, hold you accountable, who will worship with you, and spur you on in
your journey. This church needs you to be involved, to use your spiritual gifts to benefit
our body. In business, you learn that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. In the
church that shouldn’t be the case, but sadly it seems like it is. Friends, I challenge you to
get involved in ministry.
3. The Swing -
In Golf, you can know the rules and keep the rules, you can have a perfect stance,
but if you don’t master your swing, you will never be the kind of player you could be.
Needless to say your swing is important, its what drives the ball to the destination.
If I was to invite 10 guys from the Clarksville Country Club who have been playing for a
while and ask them to give us the most important thing about the swing, guess what I
would get? I would most likely get 10 different answers. There’s so many things to
remember when you start your swing it’s mind boggling.
First your grip, then your stance, keep the left arm as strait as possible, tuck the
right elbow next to your body, keep the clubface square with the ball, don’t overgrip with
the right hand, don’t swing to hard, and on and on it goes......
I can’t tell you the proper way to swing a golf club, but I can tell you that it is very
important. That really helps doesn’t it.
In the Christian life, the single most important aspect of your relationship with God, is
simply your Love for God, and Your Love for People.
I’ve been stressing this over and over lately because God has reminded me over and over
that this is the key to a winning team.
The one thing that drives your Christian life in the direction that it is suppossed to go is
your love and commitment to God, and related to that is your love and comittment to
others.
Your love for God keeps you in line, it keeps you in prayer, it keeps you growing
in your relationship with Him. Love is a Choice. I’m not talking about emotion, emotion
is apart of any loving relationship, but first you must make the choice to Love God. When
you do, God then pours His love into your life, and you will have no choice but to share
that love with other people.
To Love God is to Love People. The opposite is true. You will not be able to Love
people the way God wants you too, unless God’s love is evident in your life, and that
happens as you open up your heart to God.
The only way to play par golf or better is to have mastered the swing.
New Hope Church, the only way we will be able to make the kind of Impact, the only way
we will be able to make a difference in Clarksville for Jesus is through our Love for God
and our Love for people.
Do you want to make a difference? I do, I want to make a difference. We need to share
with people what God has done for us.
This week pray that God would open doors of opportunity for you to share God’s love
with other people. Will you pray that with me? He will be faithful to answer that prayer if
you pray with faith and conviction that this is what you want to do.
Remember the Rules.... There important.
Remember your Foundation...... being discipled in a church family, growing through
prayer and Bible study and through Worship.... these are foundational.
Remember your Swing....... The one thing that will drive us to victory is our Love for
God and our Love for people. If I took your temperture to measure your Love for God
and others, would you where you need to be......... would you be a little under the
weather......... or would you be burning up with God’s love this morning?
