Quote from Forum Archives on April 23, 2002, 11:15 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

RENEWAL AS A WAY OF LIFE #2/8
WHO YOU ROOTIN’ FOR?
(THE KINGDOM-CENTERED LIFE)
April 21, 2002

TEXT: Matthew 22:34-40

A couple of interesting phenomena has occurred, and is occurring, in
Indiana this basketball season. First, Indiana University - IU - was
considered very much an underdog in this year’s NCAA finals, yet went on
to actually advance to the national championship game. Following on the
heals of that, the Indiana Pacers have been on the verge of being knocked
out of the championships. Every recent game has been a sudden death
situation. Yet, they have managed to hang on and make it further than
anyone expected.
How do we know all this? Well, our local newscasts are not shy at all
about filling us with this news. In fact, frequently, the news starts off
with a report about the Pacers, just as a few weeks ago they would start
out with reports about IU. The accomplishments of the Pacers and IU
basketball teams are considered important enough to be the lead news
story ahead of all the other events going on in the state, nation, and
world. That’s pretty important, isn’t it?
We know about these basketball teams’ accomplishments because fans are
talking about them. You hear about them at work, at home, throughout the
neighborhood, at the coffee shops, on the street corners. You name the
spot, and discussion about the Pacers - now - is not very far behind.
Fans are celebrating their team’s accomplishments. They hold tail gate
parties and parties in homes. They gather in bars and stadiums with
television sets to watch the games together. They are yellin’ and
cheerin’ and rootin’ for “their” Pacers to hang tough and keep winning.
Now I don’t begrudge anyone for rootin’ for their favorite teams. I enjoy
several sports myself and have favorite teams that I root for, win or
lose. My two favorite tennis players live in my own house, and I know
that other families have favorite golfers and wrestlers and basketball,
baseball, softball, soccer, and other players living in their homes. So,
no, I don’t begrudge anyone rootin’ for their favorite teams and players.
But, as I was looking over my prayer sheet from last week, where I jot
down notes about other requests and announcements that are mentioned in
the service and Bible studies, I was reminded of Kenny’s announcement
concerning his son, Isaiah. He shared with all here last week that Isaiah
had given his life to Jesus Christ. Yet, in spite of this most important,
most joyous occasion one can have in their lifetime, there are no news
announcements about it. No tailgate parties or neighborhood festivals or
street corner celebrations. This profession of faith was made, like many
are, quietly in a home. Sometimes such professions of belief are made in
an out of the way place at work; sometimes they are made in a church
service. A few even occur at an evangelism crusade. But even then, there
is still little celebration when compared to the celebrations that take
place when our sports teams win, or the agonies we express when our teams
lose. After all, how many of us even thanked God throughout the week for
Isaiah’s decision to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior? How many
of us prayed for his family, thanking God for their faithfulness and the
wisdom to guide Isaiah in his walk with Jesus? How many of us prayed for
wisdom for this entire congregation so that we can know how to be
supportive in our role as a family of God in guiding Isaiah and every new
believer in their walk with the Lord? I’m ashamed to acknowledge that I
did not think of any sort of thing like this until actually preparing for
the sermon. Yet, how many of us knew about the Pacer’s status, or could
have known if interested? How many have even “prayed” for the Pacers to
win?
Even though much of American culture teaches us that it is OK to be open
about almost everything in our lives except our Christian faith, Jesus
wants us to pay attention to his kingdom. He wants our lives to be
kingdom-centered; he wants us rootin’ for the events that happen in his
kingdom.
When Jesus was asked by this expert in the Law, he could have based his
answer on many a variety of the traditions of God’s Law. Without a doubt,
he could have chosen to focus on morality; you know, “don’t smoke, drink,
cuss, or chew, or go out with the women what do.” But Jesus did not go
that route. He did not emphasize the Sabbath Laws, which in our days
would be akin to the Sunday Blue laws. Jesus was proactive and positive
here, not negative. He did not list any of the “shall nots.” Instead, he
gave two fairly simple “thou shalts:” “Love the Lord your God…” and “Love
your neighbor as yourself.” Then he summarized nicely by adding, “All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Jesus used the word “all” here. “All the Law and the Prophets…” In other
words, no matter how well we think we are accomplishing God’s commands in
our lives, no matter how spiritual we think we are, no matter how many
verses in the Bible we can point to and say that we have done, we have
fulfilled nothing and accomplished nothing if we have not “loved the Lord
our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and loved our neighbor as
ourselves.”
The famous answer Jesus gave in another gospel, Luke 10 - the parable of
the good Samaritan - drives home his point. Richard Lovelace writes:
“[Jesus’] point was that anybody I come in contact with who is in need is
my neighbor, including those who might normally be my enemies. God’s love
flows through us, enabling us not only to appreciate the gifts and
excellencies of all persons, but also to bless and help those near us,
even when they hate us.” And here’s the point which is driven home:
“Loving others, then, is not simply good behavior according to God’s
rules. It is imitating his love by participating in his loving outreach
toward the needy, including his enemies and ours.” (Richard Lovelace,
Renewal As a Way of Life, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985, p.
37).
Kingdom-centered lives, which should flow naturally from God-centered
lives, recognize that no one’s walk with the Lord is complete if it stops
only with the self… the individual. Yes, we have a personal faith and
relationship with Jesus. That is true. I cannot save anyone else from
eternal separation from God by trying to have a relationship for them.
That person must have his or her own saving relationship with Jesus. But
if our Christian spirituality never grows beyond that level, then it is a
stunted growth, and we are not living lives of daily renewal. When we are
growing in the Lord, we are increasing in our kingdom-centered awareness.
We are rootin’ for God’s kingdom.
There are many New Testament verses that emphasize this. One is Luke 11.
Turn there with me. The parable is about a person who needs food for a
visitor. He does not have any, so he wakes up a neighbor at midnight to
ask for food. Verses 8-10: “I tell you, though he will not get up and
give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s
persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say
unto you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he
who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” This
promise is usually applied to petitions for our own needs, but the
context involves gaining resources for others. The verses are not all
about my wants, but about the needs of others in God’s kingdom.
Why are we supposed to be rootin’ for God’s kingdom? Because it pleases
Jesus and brings him joy. Pastor, educator, and author Tony Campolo
recalls an outing to Coney Island with his son. They rode everything that
was still in operation. He writes, “All afternoon, we laughed and
screamed until, exhausted, I told him that it was time for us to head
home. ‘I want one more ride on the roller coaster,’ he pleaded. I
rejected his plea, but he did not give up. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I think
Jesus wants me to go on that ride one more time.’ That’s a new approach,
I thought to myself. ‘Where did you come up with that idea?’ I asked him.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘in your sermons, you say that whatever we feel, Jesus
feels. You say that when we are sad, Jesus is sad. And I just thought
that if Jesus feels what we feel, then when I am having a good time, so
is He. And I think He would like another ride on the roller coaster.’”
Then, Tony goes on to draw his observation: “I do not want to construct a
Biblical justification for my son’s theology, but I have to admit that
there is some truth to what he said. If Jesus is in us sharing our
emotions and if He is empathetic with our feelings, it only follows that
He has a vested interest in our happiness. We can surmise that the more
we enjoy life, the more He enjoys life. It may be that this is what lies
behind His plan. That is why He calls us to serve others in His name.
This may be why He invites us to give our time and energy to His work in
the world. Perhaps He prescribes sacrifice and service for us because He
knows that sacrifice and service give us the joy that gives Him
pleasure.” (Tony Campolo, Who Switched the Price Tags?, Waco: Word Books,
1986, pp. 190-191).
A kingdom-centered life means that we are living for Christ beyond our
local boundaries of self. Not even those in the history of Christianity
who have withdrawn from society to form a separate community have stopped
serving the world. In many ways, men and women living in monasteries,
convents, and other religious communities served God’s kingdom by
offering sanctuary, assisting the poor, providing education for those who
had none, and standing for justice at their own peril when the
governments around them failed to do so.
Through the numerous applications for scholarships that we have done
these past few months, I have come to realize that even the “world”
recognizes the value of selfless living, and the values of sacrifice and
service. On just about every application there has been a portion that
requires lists and/or descriptions of community service. Academic
performance is important, but it is not everything. Most of these
foundations and programs that provide scholarships also want to know what
the student has done with his or her education that also benefits their
community.
So, to our high school seniors with us today, remember this: the
education you have received and will continue to receive is not for you
alone. While we all offer our best wishes and hope for your continued
success, you are also charged to never forget that any gains you receive
and experience in life are not for you alone, but are also for the
community, and even world, in which you live. And, above all else, you
are meant to lead kingdom-centered lives by applying your God-centered
lives in such ways that Jesus is honored by your sacrifice and service
done in His name for His kingdom.
And for the many here this morning who are not high school graduates this
day, I likewise offer you this charge: what I said to the graduating
seniors applies to you as well. I hope you were listening. Who you
rootin’ for? I don’t care what sports team you choose to root for. As
Christians, though, we had all better be rootin’ for God’s kingdom.

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

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