Last week, we began our consideration of the things that need to be true of us, as the people of God, if we are going to make sure that we "Get In The Game" for God and live lives that count for Christ. We said that we can know we’ve "Got Game" if we:
Go for the gold;
Aim for excellence;
Make the commitment; &
Expect God to work.
Last week, we talked about "going for the gold." We spoke about the importance of living our lives with "one eye on eternity," living our lives in such a way as to be able to face Christ one day with our heads held high, rather than hung low.
We noted how in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Paul testified to the fact that when we live our lives with one eye on eternity, 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? Are you living so as to be rewarded by our Lord one day? Then we must make excellence our aim.
How do we "aim for excellence?" By seeking to be like Christ!
Making us to be like Christ is God’s ultimate purpose in saving us!
"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." - 1 John 3:2 (NASB)
Part of what will make eternity such a blessed experience is that I will be just like Jesus - perfect in every way - never having to apologize again, never having to confess sin again, never doing anything stupid again!
What’s more, the Bible tells us that the degree to which I become like Christ today will determine the degree to which I will experience the blessedness of heaven today! That’s why Paul said:
"[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power out-flowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body]. Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward."
- Philippians 3:10-14 (Amplified)
With such a desire in our hearts, we should then look for God-given opportunities to learn how we can become more like Jesus. God uses various circumstances in life - some good and some not so good - to make us more like Jesus. This is the promise of Romans 8:28-29:
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son."
- Romans 8:28-29 (NLT)
I believe that the "Get In The Game" campaign is an opportunity that God has sent to us as a church, through which we can learn how to become more like Jesus.
In our text, Jesus speaks to our being like Him inverse 34:
"Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how." - Mark 8:34 (The Message)
I believe that we can identify two keys to our aiming for excellence in life - two keys to our becoming more like Christ - from the old children’s game of "follow the leader."
When you play "follow the leader," you must first, go where the leader goes, and second, do what the leader does. It’s the same in following Christ. To follow Christ is to become like Christ, and to become like Christ, we must be where He is and do what He does.
1. Being Where Christ Is.
Where was Christ as He walked upon this earth? I am not really talking about where He was physically, but where he was spiritually, although where he was physically was determined by where he was spiritually. Where was he? He was where His Father was working.
"My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does." - John 5:17; 20-21 (NIV)
Jesus lived His life seeing where the Father was at work and joining Him there. That’s part of what Jesus meant when He said, "I am the father are one." - John 10:30 (NIV).
Living His life being where the Father was eventually led Jesus to the cross. Jesus used the imagery of the cross to speak to us about the importance of seeking to be where He is if we are to follow Him and become like Him. If I am to aim for excellence in life and become more like Christ, then I must take up my cross, I must embrace God’s will for my life, I must be seek to be where Christ is working. As the old saying goes, "I must seek to be under the spout where the glory pours out!"
A few years ago, everyone, it seemed was wearing the bracelet, "WWJD," which stood for "What Would Jesus Do?" That’s a good question to ask, but I believe an even better slogan would be, "WIJD," for the question is, "What Is Jesus Doing?"
What is Jesus doing? He is growing this church. For the last 10 years, we have averaged 3 additions to our church family EVERY WEEK! We have seen worship attendance increase by 16%; Choir enrollment by 37%; Sunday School enrollment by 62%, Sunday School attendance by 28%; Small Group attendance by 22%; and budget giving increase by 58%!
We have seen our church make over 3 million dollars worth of property acquisitions, building improvements, and facilities expansion. We are at a point to where practically every Sunday School room we have is in use and our two services are full! We are, once again, in a position where we must make more room to reach more people! But first, we must pay off the debt we owe on the Children’s Education building.
Make no mistake about it, Jesus is right in the middle of the "Get In The Game" campaign, because this campaign is all about making more room to reach more people and Jesus is in the people business! That’s why He took up His cross, and now He calls on us to take up ours. To be where He is and join Him in the work He is doing!
2. Doing What Christ Does.
Just as Jesus joined the Father in the work He was doing, we must join Christ in the work He is doing, which will require us being willing to do just what Jesus says in verse 34, deny self and giving sacrificially. In joining the Father in His work, Christ had to sacrifice, and if we join Jesus in His work we can expect to be called on to sacrifice, too.
"The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone--a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives. All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them."
- John 12:24; 26 (NLT)
Conclusion: Jesus sacrificially gave so that we might live, and He calls on us to do the same. The fact is that life costs.
A certain Christian lady once said to a friend, "Our church costs too much. They are always asking for money." "Sometime ago a little boy was born in our home," replied her friend. "He cost me a lot of money from the very beginning: he had a big appetite, he needed clothes, medicine, and toys. When he went to school, and that cost a lot more; later he went away to college, then he began dating, and that cost a small fortune! But in his senior year at college he died, and since the funeral he has not cost me a penny. Now which situation do you think I would rather have?"
If we are going to "Get In The Game" for God, we must aim for excellence, seeking to be like Christ, which will mean being willing to sacrificially give of ourselves to see life brought to others.
