Today is "Get In The Game" Sunday. Today we are launching our "Get In The Game" giving campaign. Our goal in this campaign is for each of us to prayerfully consider what God has to say to us about what we should give over the next four years to help our church pay off our debt on the construction of our Children’s Education building that we built about two years ago. Each of us needs to consider what God says to us about what our part ought to be and then commit to doing our part.
Since I believe it is God’s will for me to be a member of First Baptist Church; and because God’s will for First Baptist Church is to pay off our debt so we might move forward in making more room to reach more people; I know it is God’s will for me to "Get In The Game" and help pay off the debt over the next four years.
Make no mistake about it, God has a plan for each of our lives; and for those of us who are part of this church, that means that the welfare of the ministry of First Baptist Church is part of His will for our lives.
Each of us has a "race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). Each of us is called on by God to "Get In The Game." But how can I make sure that I am playing in "God’s Game?" How can I make sure I am living in such a way as to make sure that I am running the race that God has marked out for me?
George W. Truett defined true success as "Knowing God’s will and being in the center of it." That’s what I want us to deal with over the next few Sundays, as we prayerfully consider what God wants our part to be in helping our church become debt-free.
First of all, of course, we understand that the Bible tells us that God’s will for is people to come to know Him in personal relationship. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why Jesus died. That’s why Jesus was raised from the dead.
"(God) desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth." - 1 Timothy 2:4 (NASB)
So if I am going to "Get In The Game" and make sure that I am walking in the will of God for my life, I need to make sure I have entered into a personal relationship with Him through trusting Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.
Beyond that, I need to understand that God’s will is for people to come to know Him in personal relationship. Once I have been saved, I cannot become satisfied with just my knowing Christ. I must seek to make Him known to others.
"(God) wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned." - 1 Timothy 2:4 (The Message)
This is why our church has adopted as our mission statement:
"To know Christ and make Him known"
God calls upon His children to give our lives to the spread of the Good News, so that as many people as is possible might come to know Christ as their personal Savior.
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Notice how Jesus calls us to "Get In The Game." He calls us to be concerned with what God is concerned with: the spread of the Good News. He calls us to be involved in the spread of the Gospel and God work of calling a lost world unto Himself. As Rick Warren puts it: "God wants His lost children found!"
Like the shepherd in the parable of the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:10-14), we are called to never rest, to never be satisfied, but to be passionate about seeing as many people come to faith in Christ as we possibly can.
That is why First Baptist Church must always seek to grow. That is why we must always be praying, working, and planning for growth. God is in the people business, and we are called to participate in God’s business.
How about you? Have you "Got Game?" As we look to this passage over the next few weeks, we are going to consider four things that need to be true of God’s people if we are going to "Get In The Game" for God. We can know we’ve "Got Game" if we:
Go for the gold;
Aim for excellence;
Make the commitment; &
Expect God to work.
Let’s talk today about "going for the gold."
In verse 38, Jesus speaks about the fact that one day, every believer will give an account for the life we lived here below. On that day, some believers will stand before Him with their heads held high and some will stand before Him with their heads hung low.
"Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won’t have to hide in shame." - 1 John 2:28 (CEV)
The Bible tells us that one day, we will give account to our Savior as to the life we lived as a Christian. On that day, we are told, some will be rewarded, and some will go without a reward.
Paul was confident, toward the end of his life, that he would be rewarded. He was looking forward to "getting the gold!"
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return."
- 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)
Notice how Paul says that those who look forward to Christ’s return can expect to receive a reward. Why is that? Because they are living with "their eye on the prize." They are focused on living their life so as to please their Lord!
When we live our lives with one eye on eternity, Paul tells us, it will insure that we "Get In The Game" as far as God’s will for our lives is concerned. We will "fight the good fight, we will finish the race, we will remain faithful." That’s why Paul tells us:
"Run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours."
- 1 Corinthians 9:24 (Amplified)
Are you running your leg of the race in such a way as to win the prize? Are you going for the gold?
In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, Paul talks about the day in which every believer will be called to account.
"For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ. Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames." - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NLT)
There are five thoughts concerning what Paul tells us here about "Going For The Gold."
1. We must build our lives on the right foundation - v. 11
Through trusting Christ as our Savior, we accept the foundation that God has laid upon which we can live a life that is worth living. What remains is for us to engage ourselves in completing the construction.
2. We must build our lives according to the right code.
Most cities have a building code, a very strict one. One must follow all kinds of rules when building. God’s "code" is found within the pages of the Bible, His Holy Word.
3. We must build using the best materials.
Some materials are cheap, but they don’t last. God calls us to build a life here and now that will shine for all eternity. The materials which last are those which are eternal. As these well-known words express, "Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last."
4. We must build according to the direction of the master foreman.
God is the One in charge of construction. He is the one whose directions we must follow. Each day, as we report for work, we must be alert to hear His instructions for the day, so that we might accomplish in the time allotted that which He wants accomplished.
5. We are under a time crunch.
Jesus said, "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end." - John 9:4 (NLT)
Conclusion: What are you waiting on? Now is the time to "Get In The Game." First make sure you know Christ - that you have the foundation. Next, make sure you are helping to make Christ known - by living a life according to the right code, using the best you have to offer, daily following the directions of the Master Foreman. Now is the time to work. Now is the time to "Get In The Game." Now is the time to "Go For the Gold."
In the movie, Schindler’s List, which is a true story, the main character, Oscar Schindler, is a German industrialist, who employs Jewish slave labor in his factory in Poland. At first, he is concerned with only one thing - making a fortune for himself - which he does. At one point in the movie, it shows him in the possession of four trunks full of money. But as the war drags on, and he watches the atrocities perpetrated upon the Jewish people by his fellow Nazis, Schindler comes to see that there is something more important than making money that he needs to give himself to - the deliverance of as many Jews from destruction that he possibly can. He decides to move his business to his hometown in Czechoslovakia and to take as many Jews from the local concentration camp as laborers he can. To do this, he has to bribe the local commandant as well as other German officers and officials. At the war’s end, he succeeds in rescuing 1100 Jews from extermination, but in the process, he has spent his entire fortune in doing so.
On the final day of the war, Schindler must flee for his life because as a Berman industrialist, he was wanted by the Allies. Before he leaves, the 1100 Jews who he saved from destruction by employing them in his factory, gather to say good-bye. As Schindler says good-bye to his plant manager, he says, "I could have gotten more out. Why did I keep my car? It would have paid for 10 or 11 more people!" He removes his Nazi party pin from his jacket and says, "This gold pin would have bought perhaps two more people!" And he falls to the ground in the presence of 1100 he helped save, weeping over the ones he possibly could have saved if he had been willing to give more!
May we live in such a way today, that we will have no regrets on the day we stand before our Lord!
