Over the last few weeks, we have been talking about Getting In The Game for God and what it takes for us to make sure we live lives that count for Christ. We’ve talked about how to make sure we’ve "Got Game!" How we need to "Go For The Gold," "Aim For Excellence," "Make The Commitment," and then "Expect God To Work."
In so doing, we have clearly seen that there are two ways for us as Christians to spend our lives. We can either invest our lives living for God or waste our lives living for ourselves. We can either be winners in the game of life, or whiners!
Today, Commitment Sunday, is an opportunity for each of us to make a declaration concerning how we intend to live our lives. Let’s think about these two choices together for a moment.
1. How to waste your life as a whiner.
How can I live in such a way as to guarantee that my life will be a complete waste? That I will have absolutely nothing to show for my salvation when I stand before the Lord? That I will be one of those who Paul says will be saved "like one barely escaping through the flames of a burning building" (1 Corinthians 3:15). How can I make sure that I live my life as a Christian belly-aching and whining? Allow me to make the following recommendations. If you want to be a whiny Christian who wastes your life . . .
A. Make your attitude contingent upon circumstances.
Determine that you are only going to be happy when all your ducks are in a row. Make sure to adopt when and then thinking. When I close this deal, then I’ll be happy. When I get married, then I’ll be happy. When I make this amount of money, then I’ll be happy. Etc., etc., etc. If you adopt that mentality, you’re going to waste your life chasing one meaningless thing after the other. And as an added bonus, you’ll be so miserable to be around, no one will want anything to do with you.
B. Wallow around in the pit of worry.
Decide right now, "I’m constantly contemplate on worse case scenarios. What if this happens? What if that happens?"
Worry is an activity that is guaranteed to waste your life. So, just worry and worry and worry. Most of the things you worry about will never happen anyway, but make sure you play them out. Just turn them over and over and over on the rotisserie grill of your mind. Don’t even think about meditating on a verse like this, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" - Matthew 6:27 (NIV). Be sure to block truth like that from your mind.
C. Consistently put your needs above the needs of others.
Adopt an "it’s all about me" attitude. Put your needs above your spouse, your co-workers, your friends, your children, and everyone. Just say, "I am going to be the sovereign ruler over my life. I’m the creature. God’s the creator. But you know what, God: I’m going to usurp your authority and I’m going to take charge." This is going to be bad, because most people who don’t know Christ are putting themselves above everything and everyone else. If you do the same thing, you’ll have some battles with them. It’ll be great. It’ll be selfish and mean-spirited. And make sure that when you don’t get your way just to throw a fit: "It’s not fair. I deserve to be happy."
D. Don’t ever get involved in church.
Don’t come to church. You can do the poinsettia and lily thing, Easter and Christmas Eve, or maybe you can come to church when your spouse or your friend kind of twists your arm, but make sure that’s about all you do. And when you do come, make sure you have a lousy attitude so you don’t learn anything.
You see, if you’re not careful, when you come to church you might learn about the kid of life you could be living - a joy filled, purposeful life - and you wouldn’t want that. So make sure you just hang out on the fringes of the church, if you have anything to do with the church at all.
By all means, don’t join a Sunday School class or a Life Group, because you will get to know other believers who have an attitude of joy and you’ll realize what you’re missing. Joy is contagious and you don’t want to catch it.
And whatever you do, don’t get involved in ministry. Don’t use any of your talents to say or to act or to teach or to greet or work with children or get involved in outreach or missions. Don’t do that, I beg you, because your life will count for eternity, and you don’t want that.
And absolutely make sure that you don’t give to the church.
Don’t even think about being a generous person. If you give anything, make sure it’s whatever you have left after spending all you want on yourself. Make sure it’s always whatever you have leftover.
Remember, you don’t want God to bless you, and, if you practice tithing and giving, He’ll start blessing you like you’ve never seen before. So don’t go there.
Oh, and for good measure, every time you hear any teaching on tithing, giving or stewardship, be sure to grip and belly ache and complain to as many other Christians about it as you can. After all, why should you be the only one who isn’t blessed by God?
Well, there you have it. A few suggestions which, if applied, are guaranteed to make you a whiny Christian who wastes your life. Just practice these things and you’ll be there.
But what if that isn’t the kind of life you want? What if you don’t want to be a whiny Christian who wastes your life? What if you want to be a winner instead?
2. How to invest your life as a winner.
It is important to recognize that we are at war. That we have an adversary who would delight in nothing other than our living meaningless lives. If there is any way he can keep us out of the game for God, he wants to do it. But we need not allow him to overwhelm us. Instead, we can overcome him in the same way the saints in the great tribulation will overcome him.
If you want to be a winner in the game of life as a Christian, there are three things that need to characterize your life.
A. Constant Cleansing - "They overcame him by the blood of the lamb"
The fact is that as we seek to get in the game for God, we will have times when we falter. Times when we fail. Times when we let our head coach down. But thankfully, constant cleansing is available to us whenever we need it because of our Savior’s sacrifice at Calvary.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Beeny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later the Bruins had to punt. Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team.
The strange play came in the first half. At halftime the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands.
A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels.
When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second." The players got up and started out, all but Riegels. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels sat and said, "Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second. "Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. "Coach," he said, "I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the university’s reputation. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face the crowd out there."
Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegels’ shoulder, and said, "Roy, get up and go back. The game is only half over."
Riegels finally did get up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play hard and play well.
On occasion we run in the wrong direction. When that happens, the evil one wants to keep us out of the game through guilt, intimidation and accusation (Revelation 12:10). But because of the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, the game is only half over. None of us can go back to the beginning and make a brand new start, but by the blood of Christ, we can always start from where we are and make a brand new end.
B. Consistent Confession - "They overcame him . . . by the word of their testimony"
In other words, their walk matched their talk. Their testimony was one of consistency. It has been said that what matters is not how high you jump, but how straight you walk once your feet hit the ground. You may jump high on Sunday, but how straight do you walk seven days a week?
"Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us."
- Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
My prayer for our church is that we will be known for a consistent commitment to reaching folks for Christ, to working together in unity, to making a positive impact on our world for Jesus, and a willingness to follow Jesus where ever He leads. A consistent commitment to "knowing Christ and making Him known." But as the old saying goes, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
C. Courageous Commitment - "they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death"
Christian who are winners are willing to make whatever sacrifice might be necessary to follow the Savior. They willingly "lay down their lives" for the one who laid down His life for them.
It what ways is God calling you to "lay down your life" in order to follow Him? Involvement in this "Get In The Game" campaign is an example of what we’re talking about here. God wants us to pay off our debt as soon as possible so that we might make more room to reach more people for Him. As a member of this church, this means that God wants me to participate in the effort to see this debt paid.
Hopefully, you have sought God’s face and heard His voice. Now, today, each of us has the opportunity to do whatever He has told us to do about this matter. Today, we have opportunity to demonstrate that First Baptist Church is not a bunch of whiners, but a bunch of winners!
