Quote from Forum Archives on February 4, 2004, 2:03 pm

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

GET IN THE GAME
February 1, 2004

Text: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I think that if we were to be visited by space aliens who were trying to
research civilizations of the universe, they would find an interesting
religion practiced among us members of the human race. The religion that
their anthropologists would collect data on and study would be the
religion of “sports.” Can’t you just imagine a space craft full of these
behavior scientists setting down and going to work during the playoffs
and championship games for football or baseball or basketball or hockey
or soccer? There may be a lot of different denominations, but they still
fall under the religion of “sports.”

Yep, today is Superbowl Sunday. And even though you may not be a football
fan - or a fan of any sport - you have probably had to hear about the
Superbowl to some extent. In fact, a lot of it doesn’t have to do with
the game anymore. It has become more of a festival. There is
entertainment; there are parties; there are the Superbowl advertisements.
Amazing how so much activity and hoopla can come from one event featuring
no more than twenty-two men on the playing field at one time.

Now I am not going to stand here this morning and try to convince you
that I am not a sports fan. I enjoy my favorite games and teams and
players of a variety of sports. I like to watch the competition that goes
on between individuals and teams. But one thing I learned early on about
sports: not everyone can play the game. By my seventh grade year in
school, I had grown quite fond of basketball. I watched it on TV and
would shoot a lot of hoops at the junior high school near us on weekends.
I didn’t think I was too bad. So, in seventh grade, I tried out for the
team. Tryouts were held one afternoon after school and consisted of
demonstrating the basic elements of the game. Dribbling is, of course,
one of those basic elements of the game. So when it was my turn to
dribble the ball down the court, I grabbed the ball tossed to me and took
off. What I had not mastered was dribbling the ball without watching it.
So as I dribbled down the court, I was astonished when I ran into
something and went straight down to the floor on my back. Looking up, I
quickly discovered the impediment which I had smacked into. Take my word
for it, running into the coach does not get you on the team. By ninth
grade, I discovered that I was better at taking pictures of sports for
the yearbook than playing the game.

For those of you who are not sports fans and think that you can escape
that world by sticking to the Bible, think again. Even in the world of
Scripture, we are reminded that we are not the only society to popularize
and elevate sports. In more than one of his letters, Paul uses an
illustration from the world of sports to make his point. Face it, there’s
just no escaping contact with sports.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul’s comparison is to a runner. He suggests that
Christians, like athletes, are in training and have a goal. But he also
observes that, unlike athletic where only a few can compete, all
believers are involved in the Christian life. There are no sidelines; we
are all in training and we are all pursuing the goal.

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” We have
heard it said many times: when an athlete makes something look easy, you
can be assured that he or she has dedicated enormous effort and time to
the mastery of the task. The dedicated athlete’s sacrifice is enormous.
We may be in awe of an athlete’s performance on the field, but we should
be even more awed by the athlete’s strict training.

This lesson was not lost on Paul. He easily made the transition and
application from the physical, secular, and temporal realm into the
spiritual realm of the Christian faith. Paul was well aware of the
struggles that even Christians dealt with. He was writing here to a
church filled with strife, differing opinions, conflicts, and even
sinfulness. Paul knew how much the Christian and the Church needed to
involve themselves in discipline. It took training on Paul’s part in
order to arrive at his profound revelations in chapter 10:31-11:1. Turn
and read what he wrote. “So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether
Jews, Greeks or the church of God - even as I try to please everybody in
every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that
they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Paul arrived at this point only through the training of prayer and study
and obedience and the other spiritual disciplines.

Why do athletes go to all the trouble of strict training? “They do it to
get a crown that will not last…” Of course. They compete for prizes,
awards, trophies, championships. After tonight’s game, there will be one
Superbowl champion team out of all the football teams that began the
season. The whole goal of the season is to reach the point to be able to
compete in the Superbowl, and then the goal is simple: win the Superbowl.
To get to this point and not be able to win is going to be greatly
disappointing for one side tonight.

OK. Name the Superbowl champion team from three years ago. I don’t
remember who they were. World Series champions from two years ago?
Stanley Cup champs last year? For the most part, we don’t remember. We
get all worked up over a championship; athletes pursue it as their
primary goal; and the glory doesn’t last. It fades quickly. How sad.

Paul wrote about goals, too: “…we do it to get a crown that will last
forever.” The results of what we do as Christians should be measured in
terms of eternal significance. The Ray Bolz ballad, “Thank You,” reminds
us of the eternal consequences of Christian goals. The man who dreamed he
went to heaven spoke of the impact a friend of his had on others around
him. As a Sunday school teacher, contributor to missions, and “spiritual
athlete,” the man in the song learned of the eternal consequences of his
goals. Is this not what Paul expresses here? “They do it to get a crown
that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Commenting on these verses, William Barclay writes, “We need to know our
goal. A distressing thing is the obvious aimlessness of the lives of so
many people; they are drifting anywhere instead of going somewhere…
Someone once drew a cartoon showing two men on Mars looking down at the
people in this world scurrying here, there and everywhere. One said to
the other, ‘What are they doing?’ The other replied, ‘They are going.’
‘But,’ said the first, ‘where are they going?’ ‘Oh,’ said the other,
‘they are not going anywhere; they are just going.’ And to go just
anywhere is the certain way to arrive nowhere. We need to know the worth
of our goal. The great appeal of Jesus was rarely based on penalty and
punishment. It was based on the declaration, ‘Look what you are missing
if you do not take my way.’ The goal is life, and surely it is worth
anything to win that.” (William Barclay, “1 Corinthians,” Daily Bible
Study Series, Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, 1975, CD-ROM ed.)

Even though Paul could use the world of sports he knew to illustrate
strict training and goals for the Christian, he had to make one important
distinction between the two. In most sports, we have to try out. Not
everyone makes the team, especially if you run into the coach while
dribbling the ball down the court. In the scheme of things, relatively
few make it onto the field or the court or the ice rink.

In the scheme of God’s plan, however, all born again believers are to get
in the game. More than that, we are in the game. “Do you not know that in
a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a
way as to get the prize… They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” Paul is addressing a
wide audience. The prize of the Christian faith is not limited to a
qualified few. It is available to all who believe because Christ has
enabled us to come to the Father. We train; we strive toward the goal; we
win.

Get in the game. That is the invitation of the Christian faith. We tend
to learn and grow best by doing. The Christian faith affords us many
opportunities to get in the game. And many are in the game. Look how many
are involved with the many teaching and worship ministries on Sunday
morning. Some make visitations to visitors and members. Others write
letters and cards of encouragement. Some serve through ministries of
First Baptist Church, and some serve through ministries elsewhere. We
even have some members who have developed their own ministries using
their gifts, talents, and experiences. These are all wonderful, and I
want to encourage you to stay in the game.

For those who may be feeling that they’re not in the game or could take
on some additional responsibilities, there are always opportunities
available. There are ministries that utilize socialization and outreach
skills, and there are ministries that utilize quiet, behind-the-scenes
skills. We have needs right here at First Baptist, and there are
certainly ministry needs in places outside this building. It doesn’t
matter to me where you serve or how you serve as long as you are in the
game. Whether you are reaching out to youth in the community or
maintaining the church library or praying in your home, you are in the
game. And that’s what Paul was getting at. Run the race; get in the game;
serve Christ. Referring once more to chapter 10, “So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” That’s the
power and the truth of the Gospel. “They do it to get a crown that will
not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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