[Don’t stand on the Sidelines]
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)
This material was originally presented in PowerPoint format to a student ministry audience. If you have questions or would like a copy of the original PowerPoint (less audio and video clips – which are too large for email), drop me a note at Robert.fox@alltel.com
[Don’t Stand on the Sidelines]
Slide Graphics – football players standing on the sidelines
Slide Text –
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)
This Sunday we’re starting a series of 4 discussions on “How to be a Christian.” To try to skip past the usual church-speak and paint a picture we can all understand, we’re going to be comparing being a Christian to being part of a football team. Between now and the Super Bowl on February 4th, every time you turn on the TV, you’re going to be seeing football and football commercials. They’re going to be talking about which side you support. They’re going to be talking about what it takes to make the team, about how each player has a different job on the team, and about what it takes to be a champion. My goal 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, how you need to support the people who have decided to serve Christ’s mission on earth, how each of those people has a different role to play, and what it takes to be a champion in God’s eyes.
I’m not saying God’s purpose on earth is football, just that football is something we understand – something that isn’t made unnecessarily mysterious.
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? Well, we’re not going quite that far.
(play video clip – “SportsCasters” from www.BlueFishTV.com. This is a great resource, with hundreds of high-quality video clips, including this one, for less than a couple of bucks! What it Sunday morning worship were treated like the Super Bowl?)
[Come Together]
Slide graphics – pictures of football players praying in locker room or on field. Picture of players from both teams taking a knee when a player is injured.
Slide Text –
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
What we want to talk about today is how being a Christ-Follower is like being part of a team. How when God’s people come together as his church, it’s like when a football team comes together.
A football team has a purpose. There are lots of things that they could probably do well, like crowd control or loading UPS truck, but they have one purpose – to compete at football and win. Same with the church. The church might be able to do a great job singing songs or keeping kids busy for a few hours. But the Church has one purpose – to serve Christ’s mission on earth, to restore the dead to life.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10)
When a football team takes the field, there are two teams, and every players takes the field already part of one or the other. No player walks onto the field undecided. In the battle for this world, there are two teams, and everyone is part of one or the other. There’s no such thing as being a spiritually undecided spectator.
I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19)
When football teams compete for the prize, each player plays his position as part of the team effort. It is the team that wins, not any one player. In the real battle, the battle for the hearts and minds of this world,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
Everyone wants to be part of a great team. Not just a good team, but a great one.
“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.” (Thom Rainer, author of “Break out Churches”)
I don’t think there is a better parallel between a football team and the church than 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.
Most people, when asked to name their enemies, will have a laundry list of people. For some of you students, you might think the enemy is your parents, or maybe certain people at your school, or perhaps your school’s rivals.
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.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
Peter said that Satan is stalking your footsteps:
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. (1 Peter 5:8 MSG)
That’s why I think a football team is most like a church when it comes together and prays.
• When they acknowledge God.
• When they lift each other up.
• When they ask God to protect them.
• When they pray that they will have the strength of character to act honorably.
• When they pray for victory.
• And especially when we pray for the players of the other team.
(play David Carr Interview “Faith as an NFL Quarterback”, also from BlueFish.com, describing how as he moved from high school to college to professional football, more and more of the team where devout Christians, publicly praying together.)
Satan is your enemy. He hates you and he wants to destroy your life and keep you from being what God has created you to be. He wants to keep those who have never been saved from placing their faith in Christ. He wants to keep those who are saved from living for Him.
The bible says that Satan is roaming the earth hungrily looking for people to destroy. He is trying to destroy your life, to destroy your testimony, to kill any desire you have to seek God and live a life that is honoring and pleasing to Him. Think about all the people who have joined a church, who were once active and excited about serving God, but who are now sitting at home cold and bitter and uncaring. That’s no accident! They’re the casualties of this spiritual war that is being waged for the hearts and minds of God’s people.
[Who is my enemy?]
Slide graphics
Left side – pictures of demonic faces in the smoke from the world trade center attack on 9-11
See for example http://www.snopes.com/rumors/wtcface.htm
Center – Steel cross in rubble of WTC towers
See for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_cross
Right Side – people fleeing the tower, covered in soot, all looking eerily similar
Sorry- don’t remember where I found them
Slide Text –
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12)
The Bible tells us this war is not an earthly battle between people, but a spiritual battle raging through the centuries.
One of the more tragic events in our countries recent history was the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York. This event ignited a war that has our young men and women fighting and dying on the other side of the world. Our country is at war against terrorism. But in reality, this is just a shadow of the real war. When the terrorists flew hijacked planes into those towers, many people remarked that the smoke and flames were filled with demonic images. Many of these images were captured in film and shown on network television.
These images may or may not be coincidental artifacts – random images in the smoke. But the Bible says that Satan himself that goes around seeking to destroy mankind. The men who hijacked those planes and flew them into the towers are not the real enemy. They were the first victims – taken by Satan years before.
One of the more striking images I have in my mind from that day is the survivors running from the tower covered in soot. They all looked the same. There was no black or white on that day, no Christian or Jew. The same clouds of smoke that were on those newscasts covered every man woman and child, making them look strikingly uniform. I think this is a tragic, horrific picture of the real war. A war against all humanity, attempting to destroy them all.
The police and the firefighters there that day are like the church. Their mission was to save people. All people. They didn’t ask who was a Christian. They didn’t ask who was wealthy. They didn’t ask who deserved to be saved. They tried to save them all. Many of these brave men and women died – giving their lives to save others. There was no judgment. No asking who was worth saving. They considered everyone worth saving. Everyone was worth dying for. If you had been there that day. If you had been the only one in the towers, every one of those heroes would have entered the building to bring you out, so that you could LIVE.
That’s what Christ did for you 2000 years ago. You were doomed to die in this same war, but Christ sacrificed himself so that you could live. One fascinating thing that the rescuers found right in the middle of the ruins after the towers fell was a steel cross rising from the ruins.
The newspapers and televisions are full of people asking why our country is at war. This is not the forum for us to enter that debate. Instead, we should ask ourselves why the spiritual war is raging. Why does Satan want to destroy us?
You had everything going for you. You were in Eden, God’s garden.
You were dressed in splendor, your robe studded with jewels:
Carnelian, peridot, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald, all in settings of engraved gold.
A robe was prepared for you the same day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub. I placed you on the mountain of God.
You strolled in magnificence among the stones of fire.
From the day of your creation you were sheer perfection ... and then imperfection—evil!—was detected in you.
In much buying and selling you turned violent, you sinned!
I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God. (Ezekiel 28:12-18)
Satan hates God, he hates Jesus Christ, he hates the work of the Holy Spirit, and because he hates them with all his being, you have become the prize, the spoils of the war.
[Who’s team are you on?]
Slide graphics
Football Jesus Bobblehead (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/116/story_11664_1.html)
Team Jesus football Jersey (http://www.tshirtsforjesus.com/-strse-748/Glory--dsh--Football--dsh-/Detail.bok)
Slide Text –
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)
You see, Satan was once Lucifer, one of the most important and most beautiful of the angels. But Lucifer did not want to server the purpose for which God created him. Lucifer wanted to determine his own destiny. He wanted a future where he was in charge of his destiny, not God, because he did not believe that God’s plans for him were as good as the future he could create for himself. He wanted to replace God.
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)
As the result of his pride and rebellion against God, Lucifer was judged. He was cast out of heaven to the earth. The Bible tells us that there will come a day in the future when Jesus will cast Satan and all of his wicked angels into the pits of hell never to be loosed again, but in the meantime, he is waging a war that you and I are caught up in whether we like it or not.
Satan was able to deceive Adam and Even and convince them to follow his example – rebel against God. Reach out and take for themselves what God had forbidden. He was working behind the scenes when Cain murdered Abel. He was there when the wickedness of man was so great that God destroyed the earth with a flood. Satan was there when Abraham and Sarah chose to have a son through Hagar – the son who would be, has always been and will continue to be a thorn in the side of Israel. He was there when Ishmael’s descendants chose to kill innocent people in New York.
You’ll see the great conflict all through the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation it is the conflict between light and darkness, between good and evil, between holiness and wickedness. How can I convince you that there is a war being waged that is so much bigger than you, so much broader than you realize? Paul told the believers at Ephesus that it was time they woke up, time to quit living foolishly and make the most of the days they had for the Lord because the days we live in are evil!
Why is Satan not judged now, today? To be honest, I don’t think it is humanly possible to understand all the reasons. But consider this: You and I have made the same choice as Satan. We live our lives believing in our hearts that we can make a happier, more fulfilling future for ourselves than the future God has planned for us. We don’t trust God. We want to replace him as lord of our destiny. Perhaps one reason why Satan has not been cast into hell is that, if God were to judge Lucifer, he might have to judge all of us. Judge you and me by the same standard. What would happen to you if that judgment were leveled today? Would you be judged guilty? Yes - you would.
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. There is no one righteous, not even one; (Romans 3:10-12)
Mankind stands condemned of having joined Satan’s rebellion. However, 2000 years ago, Christ came to earth lived a perfect life. He alone does not stand condemned. The judgment on his life was “not guilty.” And yet, when the innocent verdict was passed, he stepped up to the judge (God) and asked to have the penalty of mankind’s rebellion transferred to him. Christ paid the price for our rebellion. No one will now be punished for mankind’s rebellion. In a sense, we all stand once again in the Garden at the moment before man rebelled.
But now you are in the battle, and you have to chose which side you are on. Have you fallen in love with God’s vision for you? Are you passionately pursuing God’s purpose for your life? Or do you believe, like Lucifer, that you’re future will be better in your own hands? Which team’s jersey are you wearing? There are no sidelines on this field. Everybody plays.
[Joshua’s Enemies]
Slide Graphics – picture of Joshua, picture of hand in turf (“this is my turf”)
Slide Text –
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?"
He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?"
The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15 NASB)
The greatest battle you’ll ever fight is choosing whose side you want to be on.
You know, I think the Bible is fascinating. There’s a story in the Old Testament about a time just after the Israelites had crossed over the jorden river and were about to begin the battle for the lad God had promised them.
The first city they attack will be Jericho. They are awaiting God’s command to attack. Joshua, the leader of the Israelite army, walks to a place where he overlooks the city. He is thinking about the coming battle – his first as commander. And something strange happened. Suddenly, (poof), there is a mighty warrior standing in front of him with a drawn sword. Now Joshua knows that this is not an ordinary man, and he knows he is not one of the Israelites. Probably a bit concerned, Joshua gets right up in his face and asked the warrior if he was on Joshua’s side or on the side of the people of Jericho.
They guy says “no”.
That must have set Joshua back a bit. “This guy must not be the sharpest knife in the drawer.” I mean, what kind of an answer is that? “Are you for me or against me?” – “No.” What does that mean?
Then the warrior tells him that this battle isn’t Joshua’s battle, and the enemy is not the people of Jericho. “Are you for Israel or Jericho?” – “No.” This was God’s battle and the enemy was Satan. It wasn’t for Joshua to ask which side God was on, if was for Joshua to tell God which side he was on.
Are you going to join Gods side? If not, you are one of the rebels.
Joshua then bowed before the captain of the army of God, and asked what God wanted of Joshua – to which the reply was to “take off your shoes, the ground you are on is holy”. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it. God said the same thing to Moses only 40 years before when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. On both that occasion and this, God was asking the people to chose to join his army, to live and die according to God’s plans. Notice that the ground did not become holy until Joshua had chosen to let God be the master of his destiny. When Joshua chose God, the ground became holy. Take off your shoes, Joshua, put your bare feet on the ground where you chose to join the army of God.
You and I have battles we fight every day. Battles against impurity in our lives. Battles against compromise. Battles against greed, lust, laziness, and anger. These are not the battles fought with fists or even wits, but instead they are the battles fought in front of the bathroom mirror or in front of our friends. And before each one, God is there to meet us. Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed and helpless that we ask God if he is on our side. Have you forgotten me? Is anyone on my side? Instead, God asks us if anyone is on his side. Have we given him control of the battle?
[Sacred Ground]
Slide Video – entire Gettysburg scene from “Remember the Titans” Note especially the quote “If we don’t come together here on this sacred ground, then we too will be destroyed”
God is asking you today to join his army. The battle isn’t against our brothers here on earth – it’s a war between God and those who have rebelled against him. Satan, the original rebel, is stalking you. He wants to destroy you. He hates God and all those who love God.
We, God’s people, need to come together right here. We need to open our eyes to what is going on. We need to humble ourselves and pray. Pray for forgiveness when we have rebelled, and pray for all men, even the ones whom Satan is urging us to hate.
We need to stop fighting our brother men and lift them up instead. Satan wants you to turn from God and fight each other. Choose God instead. Make this holy ground!
[Martin Luther King got it]
Slide graphics – various pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Slide Text –
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of (John. 10:10 MSG)
Slide Audio – portion of the “I have a dream” speech made on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Tomorrow is the day we set aside to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Dr King lived in a time when there was a very real war raging on within our country. Brother against brother. King was cursed, spat on, and jailed. Everywhere he turned, his message was met with violence and oppression.
But Dr. King had learned what Joshua had learned. Dr. King had learned that the people who were opposing him were not his enemy, they were his brothers. Dr. King spoke out against the crimes of injustice, and yet pleaded for love and forgiveness among all men, black and white. Our battle is against the immorality of those who rebel against God’s purpose for men. We fight immorality IN men, while loving all men.
We have to oppose oppression and violence, without resorting to violence and oppression.
[Football Brothers]
Video of Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo – footage from games. Taken from movie “Brian’s Song” at approximately 37 minutes.
Football teaches us many of the same Truths we have been talking about today.
In the 1960’s two men who played for the Chicago Bears became close friends. Halfback #40 Gale Sayers was black, Fullback #41 Brian Piccolo was white. On the road, they were assigned to be roommates – the first interracial roommates in the NFL.
They were both outstanding players. They worked well as a team on and off the field, encouraging and supporting each other. Their wives and children were all like one large family. Sayers knee was injured badly in his third season, and Piccolo stayed by his side through the long, painful recovery, refusing to let him give up, and Sayers eventually returned better than ever.
These two men refused to give in to the pressure from society. They acted like brothers, and ushered in a new era of the NFL.
[God loves your brother]
Slide Video – the “I love Brian Piccolo” speech at the end of the movie “Brian’s Song” – beginning approximately at 1:04.
A year later, Brian Piccolo was diagnosed with lung cancer. Sayers never stopped supporting and encouraging Piccolo, and was at his side when he died after the second surgery.
These are the words from a speech Sayers gave shortly before Brian Piccolo died, when Sayers was presented with an award as the most courageous player in the NFL.
All men and women are our brothers and sisters. The real battle is not against our brothers and sisters. Satan is stalking you, stoking up anger, resentment and bitterness, trying to get you to hate your brothers and sisters. God wants you to love them. Separate people from the things they do. Stand against violence and oppression without falling into the trap yourself. That is God’s battle plan.
Jesus Christ came so that you could have LIFE, more rich and full than you could ever dream. Fall in love with his vision of you today. Stop fighting your own fights and sign up to fight with him – against evil, not against men.
When Satan is whispering in your ear to hate your brother, God is standing before you, asking you to give up your private war and fight for him. Choose to respond in love to your brother. Jess said that he came so that all men could have Life! God said “Behold, I set before you a blessing and a curse, life and death. Choose life!”
Make the choice to come together as men and women of God. Make the choice to give up your own plans and let Christ direct your path. Whenever and wherever you do that, you stand on holy ground.
I want you to do something today. Something that may make you feel a little silly. If you are able to say today that you will give up your anger and bitterness, give up your resentment against people – not your anger against injustice and immorality, but your anger against people – then take off your shoes. You don’t have to come up here. Wherever you are when you make that choice, and you will have to make it over and over again every day, wherever you are when you chose to respond with love in your heart, that ground becomes holy to God. Set apart. Sacred. Make the ground holy right there where you are. Wherever you go this week, keep making that difficult choice to give up your battles and join God’s, and fill this city with holy ground. Take off your shoes. Feel the floor beneath your feet. Look around and feel the love of these, your brothers and sisters who have just promised to love you unconditionally. The floor of this room is now holy to God.
