Today we will conclude 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.
We have talked about "Going For The Gold," and how we need to live our lives with "one eye on eternity," living in light of the fact that one day we will give an account of ourselves to Christ.
We have talked about "Aiming For Excellence" by seeking to be like Christ in the way we live - seeking to be where Christ is working and joining Him there.
We have talked about the importance of daily "Making The Commitment" to deny ourselves and take up our cross. We said that in so doing, we need to daily embrace God’s will for our lives. As we do, we will also be embracing greatness through saying "no" to sin and self and "yes" to submission and sacrifice.
"The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." - Matthew 23:11-12 (NIV)
Which brings us to the final thing that must be true of us if we are going to "Get In The Game" for God. We must expect God to work. The Bible calls this "faith." Faith has been defined as: "Forsaking All, I Trust Him." Without faith, I cannot "Get In The Game" for God.
"But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him." - Hebrews 11:6 (CEV)
When you get right down to it, it is faith that motivates me to make sure I’ve "Got Game." I mean, if I don’t believe that God is real and that He rewards those who seek after Him, then I won’t be motivated to "Go For The Gold" by living in such a way so as to be rewarded by God or to "Aim For Excellence" through Christ-like living, or to "Make The Commitment" of daily taking up my cross. No, I am motivated to live in the way we’ve been talking about because I know God is real and He is alive, and He is active! Jesus promises us that God will work in response to our "Getting In The Game." Notice what He says in verses 35-37:
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Mark 8:35-37 (NIV)
It is important to emphasize that Jesus isn’t addressing the need for unbelievers to not reject Him as Savior and miss out on heaven. No, He is addressing the need for believers not to reject Him as Lord and miss out on the life God saved them to live. This is what He is referring to here when He speaks of one "forfeiting his soul."
"What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?" - Mark 8:36-37 (The Message)
I want us to focus on the word "exchange" in verse 37.
"What can a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Mark 8:37 (NIV)
A pastor was asked to conduct a wedding ceremony. During the rehearsal, the groom pulled the pastor aside and made him an offer. He said "Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to me and the part where I’m to promise to ‘love, honor and obey,’ I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out." He gave the pastor a $100 bill and walked away.
The day of the wedding arrived and they came to the part in the ceremony where the bride and groom make their vows to one another. When it came time for the groom’s vows, the pastor looked at the young man and said "Will you promise to bow down before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?"
The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, "Yes." Then He leaned in and asked "What happened? I thought we had a deal!" The pastor gave him his 100 dollars back and said, "I’m sorry, but your bride made me a better offer."
God has made us a much better offer than the world has! The world offers us the "S.O.S." - Same Old Stuff. The world calls on us to live like we did before we met Jesus, as though we didn’t even know Jesus.
But Christ calls us to live life on a new level, on a higher plane. He calls on us to exchange the old life for the new, to live an "Exchanged Life." He calls on me to exchange my old rotten life for His pure, holy, righteous life. The "Exchanged Life" involves the believer in discovery of his identity in Christ: that is he is a new creation, one born of God, that he is not what he was before. It is the discovery of all that is "new" about me because of Christ’s presence in me and my position in Him.
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (The Message)
J. Hudson Taylor popularized this term, the "exchanged life" through his testimony of how God made him a new man (Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, page 154.) He used the word "exchanged," to signify that God has made it possible for us to exchange our total insufficiency to live the Christian life for Christ’s total sufficiency to live it through us.
Now, I position myself to live the "exchanged life" by living each day with eternity in view; seeking to recognize where Jesus is working and joining Him there; and daily denying myself and embracing His will for my life. As I live each day in this way, I can expect God to work to lead me, day by day, to experience the newness of what is mine in Christ. Let’s think of some of the exchanges we can expect God to work in our lives as we learn how to "Get In the Game" for Him. God will work in our lives to exchange . . .
1. Our limited wisdom for God’s limitless wisdom -
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." - James 1:5 (NIV)
2. Our limited power for God’s limitless power -
"I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need" - Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)
God will enable you to live on what you have left after giving what he wants you to give. He will enable you to remain faithful as he teaches you contentment.
3. Our limited resources for God’s limitless resources -
"You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus." - Philippians 4:19 (The Message)
"God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done." - 2 Corinthians 9:8 (The Message)
Conclusion: A few years ago, a television game show was all the rage - "Who Wants To be A Millionaire?" On the show, contestants had to answer multiple choice questions. For every right answer, they advanced closer to that final question which, if answered correctly, would result in their winning one million dollars.
To help them along, they had three "life lines" - Ask The Audience, 50/50, and Phone A Friend. The one that is most intriguing is the "Phone A Friend" lifeline. I say this because, the contestant had to find friends with particular areas of expertise, who would agree to be called on to help them, should they get stuck on a question. The friend would basically say, "Look, I am willing to help you out because I want to see you win the million dollars."
That is what our God has said to us. He calls us to "Get In The Game," and He wants to see us win! He promises to be right there for us to help us every step of the way.
"Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NASB)
With our eye on the prize, let’s join Christ where He is working, embracing His will for our life, and expect God to work!
