Sermon – “Be A Superbowl Christian!”
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Faith Temple Church –Sioux Falls, S.D.
Pastor Jeff Hayes
Title: “Be A Superbowl Christian!”
Scripture: Philippians 3
Introduction: A. The Big Game
B. Millions Of People Watching!
C. The New England Patriots // New York Giants
D. Super Bowl Sunday in a Presbyterian church the time for the collection of tithes and offerings was approaching. The minister, a true sports enthusiast, reached into his pocket, took out a quarter, flipped it into the air, glanced at it as it landed, then in typical referee fashion joyfully announced: "The ushers will receive!"
E. Here is some football-speak theology that appeared in ‘Religious Broadcasting’ magazine and some more from one of our members:
1. Backfield-in-Motion - Making a trip to the back (restroom or water fountain) during the service.
2. Bench warmer - Those who do not sing, pray, work, or apparently do anything but sit.
3. Blitz - The rush for the restaurants following the closing prayer.
4. Personal Foul: Standing inside the church door complaining to the pastor about the sermon.
5. Extra point - What you receive when you tell the preacher the sermon was too short.
6. Fumble - A lousy sermon.
7. Halftime - The period between Sunday school and worship.
8. Illegal motion - Leaving before the benediction
9. Instant Replay - The preacher loses his notes and falls back on last week’s illustrations
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10. End Run - Getting out of church quickly, without speaking to any guest or fellow member.
11. Staying in the Pocket - What happens to tithes and offerings aren’t given to the Lord’s work.
12. Sudden Death - What happens to the attention span of the congregation if the preacher goes "overtime."
13. By bedtime this event will be over. The Superbowl is not life but an entertaining diversion from real life. When I called this sermon, “Coming Into Focus on Superbowl Sunday,” I was not suggesting focusing on the Superbowl but on the all-encompassing, supreme focus of life.
14. This Sunday: We’re Talking:
BE A SUPERBOWL CHRISTIAN!”
15. The apostle Paul was very likely a sports fan. He spent time in Corinth, where the Isthmian Games were held. These games were second only to the Olympic Games in the ancient world. But Paul knew the supreme focus in life. The scriptures used will be some passages from his and other NT writings that offer three athletic analogies to the Christian life.
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I. BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE MAIN GOAL IN LIFE.
SCRIPTURE: PHIL. 3:8-9 “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Phil. 3:8-9).
A. If you would do some open-minded, comparison reading among different translations, you could find out just how strong was Paul’s statement that he counted his former religious accomplishments as “RUBBISH.”
B. “RUBBISH” – GARBAGE!
C. Compared to his own religious efforts Paul is praising
the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
D. That is more than knowing about Christ; it refers to a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP!
E. “HOW GOTTEN: BUT THAT WHICH IS THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST…”
F. ILLUSTRATION: In 1904 William Borden, heir to the Borden dairy estate, graduated from a Chicago high school a millionaire. His parents gave him a trip around the world. Traveling through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe gave Borden a burden for the world’s hurting people. Writing home, he said, "I’m going to give my life to prepare for the mission field."
When he made this decision, he wrote in the back of his
Bible two words: "No Reserves." Turning down high-paying job offers after graduating from Yale University, he entered two
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more words in his Bible: "No Retreats."
Completing studies at Princeton Seminary, Borden sailed
for China to work with Muslims, stopping first at Egypt for some preparation. While there he was stricken with cerebral meningitis and died within a month. A waste, you say! Not in God’s plan.
In his Bible underneath the word "No Reserves" and "No Retreats," he had written the words "No Regrets."
I. BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE MAIN GOAL IN LIFE!
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II. KEEP PRESSING TOWARD THAT GOAL.
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:10, 12).
" press on to take hold." Later in v. 14 he will mention straining toward what is ahead.
A. That is the word used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. In describes him with arms almost clawing the air, with head forward, and with the body bent and angled to the goal. It describes the person going flat out for the finish.
B. Don’t be distracted or let anything interfere with crossing the goal line.
C. Illustration: A pilot was flying his small plane one day, when he heard a noise which he recognized as the gnawing of a rat. Wondering what its sharp teeth were cutting through, he suddenly realized with horror that it might be an electric wire.
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Then he remembered that rodents can’t survive at high altitudes.
Immediately he began climbing until finally he had to put on his oxygen mask. Soon the gnawing sound ceased, and when he landed he found the
rat--dead.
THERE ARE RATS NIBBLING ON YOUR LIFE TO DRAG YOU DOWN! THEY WANT TO PULL YOU INTO THE GUTTER!!!
BUT YOU!!!AIM HIGH…DO WHATEVER IT TAKES …CROSS THE ………………………………………………………………FINISH LINE ..
D. Don’t let hardships interfere.
Illustration: During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with someone knocking him down every 4.6 yards!”
Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knows that everyone – even the best – gets knocked down. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard.
D. SCRIPTURE; JOHN 16:33 Our Lord said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
I. Be Very Clear About The Main Goal In Life!
II. Keep Pressing Toward That Goal!
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III. LET NOTHING KEEP YOU FROM REACHING THE GOAL.
A. Let Nothing Bad Interfere With Your Life’s Race.
Scripture: Heb. 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).
Illustration: When Cortez landed at Vera Cruz in 1519 to begin his
conquest of Mexico with a small force of 700 men, he purposely set fire to his fleet of eleven ships. His men on the shore watched their only means of retreat sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. With no means of retreat, there was only one direction to move--forward into the Mexican interior to meet whatever might come their way.
B. Let Nothing Good Interfere With Your Life’s Race.
Scripture: Phil 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).
C. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).
D. FAILURES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
E. When he made that statement about FORGETTING WHAT WAS BEHIND.. he was talking about his personal accomplishments in the ceremonial religion:
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PHIL. 3:3-7 “For . . . we who worship by the Spirit of
God, who glory in Christ Jesus . . . put no confidence in the flesh--though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:
“circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil 3:3-7).
F.. WHAT IS “FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST??? WHAT REALLY MATTERS!?!?!?!
G. SOULS, SOULS, SOULS, SOULS, BELIEVERS IN JESUS!!!!
ILLUSTRATION: Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days--and the boy lived.
Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.
Our greatest legacy will be those who live eternally because of our efforts. (Source: Leadership Journal)
CONCLUSION: BE A SUPERBOWL CHRISTIAN!
1. BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE MAIN GOAL IN YOUR LIFE!
2. KEEP PRESSING TOWARD THAT GOAL!
3. LET NOTHING KEEP YOU FROM REACHING THE GOAL!