You Have To Get In The Game!

• Tony Askew
• Jan 17, 2010
• Series: T.E.A.M.

Series: TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplished More)

Message: You Have To Get In The Game

Date: Jan 17 2010

[SLIDE-1-] TEAM JOURNEY

OPENING PRAYER

[SLIDE-2] TITLE “YOU HAVE TO GET IN THE GAME”

Let me ask you…can you think of any organization which has all the following attributes??

The workers work very hard physically, including weekends, with little complaint. The workers receive no money and little material compensation for their services. The work is dangerous and the workers are frequently injured on the job. The work is strictly voluntary. The workers usually have high morale. The workers are highly motivated to achieve the organization’s goals…  does this describe the place where you work..A fortune 500 company..not any that I know. But it does describe one organization…

[VIDEO:]

[SLIDE-3] This is the second Sunday in our series “Team.” And TEAM is an acrostic for ?? “Together Everyone Accomplishes More”.  We’re skipping past the usual church-speak and painting a picture we can all understand, comparing being a Christian to being part of a football team. How when God’s people come together as his church, it’s like when a football team comes together. 

Between now and the [SLIDE-4] Super Bowl on February 7th, every time you turn on the TV, you’re going to be seeing football, last week saw the wild card games, this week the second round of the payoffs, next week the divisional finals and then at last the finally..the Super Bowl. Oh and let’s not forget those commercials. People will be talking about which teams they support. Players and commentators will be talking about what makes a team great, the star players, and what it takes to be a champion..Oh and let’s not forget those commercials.

Imagine if Sunday morning worship were treated like the Super Bowl! All the excitement – the interviews, the player lineup, the pre-game show, halftime commercials, color commentators with statistics. Wouldn’t that be different??

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[SLIDE-5] One of the goals in this series is that every time you hear someone talking about football in the next month, it will remind you of what it is to be a follower of Christ, a part of his team, how you need to support your teammates, how each of us has a different role to play as part of the team, and what it takes to be champions….. in God’s eyes.

[SLIDE-6] First, we are going to look at parallel between a football team and the church, when a football team comes together to pray.  In the locker room or on the field, they call on God to be with them, to protect them, and to grant them victory.

Have you ever noticed, though, when a player on the other team is injured, all the players on BOTH teams will take a knee? That, I think, is when football is the best picture of the Church Christ wanted us to be. A love for all people, whether they are part of our team or not.

[SLIDE-7] Most people, when asked to name their enemies, will have a laundry list of people. For some of you who are students, you might think the enemy is your teacher or your parents, or a rival schools sports team. For those who are teachers, it might be a demanding parent or clueless administrator. For others it might be that unreasonable boss or difficult co-worker.

If you asked most people to identify the enemies of the church, most would name a list of people. Terrorists. Other religions. Atheists. Some people believe that our enemy is divorce and broken homes, or violence and suicide, or pornography, or drugs and alcohol, or poverty and hunger, or abortion clinics.

It’s easy to take a narrow view of who our enemy is, but the truth is that none of these are the enemy of the church. The real war is not between people. It isn’t about money or disease, drugs or violence. 

Its a war for your heart and mind – a war for your soul. There are two armies. At the head of one is God himself, creator of the universe. The one who shaped you before you were born in a special way so that your live could make a difference in this world. The one who took your punishment on himself so that you could have the opportunity to choose which army you will serve. 

At the head of the other spiritual army is Satan. Satan hates you and would like nothing more than to destroy you.

[SLIDE-8] In John 10:10 Jesus describes it this way “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 (NLT)
Peter said that Satan is stalking your footsteps:
Keep a cool head. [SLIDE-9] “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Second…[SLIDE-10] you can’t be content to just stand on the sidelines…you have to have a desire to get into the game. Nobody goes through the conditioning, weight training and trials of two a day practices in the 95 heat of late August because they want to sit on the sidelines… You do that because you want to play the game.  

We should be like Isaiah….“Then I heard the Lord asking, Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us? I said, Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

Send Me..Send Me…[SLIDE-12] Coach send me into the game. When I played high school football… many years ago.. The coach would often use position players like receivers or running backs to relay the plays he wanted. These players would sprint on and off the field in between plays, into the huddle where he would give the quarterback the play for that down. The coach was always looking for those players to be close at hand. Tell me, as our coach the Lord above, looks down the side line does he find us close at hand? Are we paying attention, are we willing, are we eager to sprint onto the field and carry out the play He as called?

Jesus tells us few are…. [SLIDE-13] In Matthew 9:37 we can find Jesus saying to his disciples “…The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his field.” Matthew 9: 37 (NLT)

There are many in the modern church, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions, who come to practice their religion every time the doors of the church are open. But just as in Jesus day most are sitting on the sidelines watching the game from the bench [SLIDE-14] (or back pew if you happen to be Baptist) every Sunday. Few have the desire to get onto the field. The bible has this to say about everyone who would rather just sit on the sidelines…In Revelation 3:15,16 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot not cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Rev 3: 15,16 (NLT)

[SLIDE-15] When football teams compete for the prize, each player plays his position as part of the team effort. You have your linemen, your backs, and receivers, your special teams players, sure you have those who are in the star positions..most commonly the quarter back or running back..they are typically carrying the ball,,but it is the team that wins the game, not any one player. If I might read this scripture, changing the singular “I” to the plural “we” from [SLIDE-16] Philippians 3:14 “We run toward the goal so that we can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize God offers because of what Jesus Christ has done.” Phil 3:14 (CEV)

Everyone wants to be part of a great team. [SLIDE-17] Not just a good team, but a great one. Very few remember who came in second..Super Bowls 17, 22, 26 were of course won by the Redskins [SLIDE-18] …How could anyone forget?? I don’t remember who came in second…well maybe I do remember a couple of second place finishes. [SLIDE-19] Super Bowls 5, 10, 13 those were all years Dallas came in second…. Thom Rainer, in his book “Breakout Churches” has this to say “It’s a sin to be good if God has called us to be great. Christians refer to Matthew 28:18-20 as the Great Commission not the Good Commission.”
Jesus wants you on the field [SLIDE-20] …he is calling your number and has a play in mind just for you..to use your unique talents and gifts for his purpose.

[VIDEO]

[SLIDE-21] If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve - and do it today … As for me and my family, we’ll worship God. (Joshua 24:15 MSG)

[SLIDE-22] Together Everyone Accomplishes More

[SLIDE-23] Team Journey

CLOSING PRAYER

[END of SERVICE SLIDE]