Where Do We Go From Here?

Welcome

Good evening guys, my name is Joel Hayworth and I’m the lead pastor at FBC Salem just up or down the road from the high school and I’m thankful and excited to be able to be here and talk with you all tonight! Coach, thank you for allowing me to be here and each of you players and parents for being here tonight. I’m sure you’ve heard people say this before but when you’re 26 you can say it and mean it, I remember sitting where you’re sitting today as a high school athlete. I remember thinking that these adults don’t understand what I’m going through and what it’s like be a high school student athlete with all that’s going on… I remember those thoughts, and I’m sure some of you guys are thinking that right now - you’re thinking what is this guy doing here and how much longer is he going to talk for. My ask is just this: hone in for 10 minutes to talk about 3 “p’s” in your life right now: People, Problems, and Purpose, and I believe that something good will come from tonight.

On any team, you have people. People are our greatest encouragers and our greatest aggravators all at the same time because people have problems. Every single one of us fall into this category. Some of us are tall, others are short. Some are big, some are small. Have you been to Lamberts before? Some of y’all catch the rolls they throw, and some of y’all drop the rolls because you can’t catch. As people, we’re all different… but there is something that unites you and that is belonging to the same team. Now I could throw out some sports psychology that I’ve heard and learned, but I’m a pastor so I want to share what I especially know that I’m qualified to share and that is Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul is talking about how the people who make up this church are united and literally apart of the same body - that’s what it means to be teammates, to be members of the same body and working together. Listen to what he tells these people who are tempted to have some problems with one another.

1 Corinthians 10:23–24 CSB

23 “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything builds up. 24 No one is to seek his own good, but the good of the other person.

1 Corinthians 10:31–11:1 CSB

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or the church of God, 33 just as I also try to please everyone in everything, not seeking my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved. 1 Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.

Paul knew that these people were different. They thought differently and they looked differently… but the reminder here in God’s Word is to seek the good of the other person. Even though they have the ability to do something, if it’s not what is going to build the team up, they shouldn’t do it. As a player, and even deeper as a person, you have a choice to make each day: Are you going to look out for self or are you going to look out for your teammates? Are you going to do what is easy or are you willing to do what is difficult if it means that it’s the right thing to do? We’re all people and we’re different, but we all have the same fundamental problem. That problem is two fold: We aren’t perfect and we live in a world that isn’t perfect. See, if we lived in a perfect world and we ourselves were perfect, everything would be great! But that isn’t the world we live in. We live in a world where things don’t always go our way and our plans don’t go the way we’d like them to go.

How many of you are 16? I grew up in Ozark, just south of Springfield, and Ozark has a very proud tradition of athletic excellence, even though the last few years haven’t been so great… I turned 16 in October and was getting ready for track season in the spring, but on New Years Eve several of my friends from church and school decided that we wanted to play basketball at First Baptist Ozark because we didn’t have much else to do on a cold day. We get to the gym and there’s about 20 of us and we play basketball for 2-3 hours that night and we’re getting ready to wrap up around 11pm, so the 2 best teams that night are playing one last game. My best friend steals the ball and passes it ahead to me and I have a wide open fast break with no one even remotely close to me… About a week before this I dunked a basketball for the first time… So now I’m thinking that I’m going to throw down a dunk in front of all my friends and look really cool doing it, but I have to slow down a bit to get my steps just right. As I slow down, a senior sprints down the court because the game is close and as I jump to dunk the ball, he comes up to block me and we both land on my right leg with all of our body force - think of what happened to the basketball player at Louisville (Kevin Ware) several years ago but not quite that bad. My leg from my waist to my knee was straight as a string, but from my knee to my foot was off at like a 45 degree angle because my patella had broke in half. I didn’t really feel much pain because of the adrenaline, but in that moment I realized that my plan wasn’t going to happen. My upcoming track and field season was going to look different because something didn’t look or feel right. Sure enough, the doctor had to put in 3 screws and he told me that it would take months before I could run and that the swelling would get worse the more that I jump on it… My track events were hurdles, triple jump, and 4x400. 3 jumping events and the worst sprint race you could possibly do. There I am thinking that my world was just flipped upside down and I felt purposeless. That was my goal. That was my sport. I was looking forward to being a part of a team that was going to win districts and hopefully have a chance to win state. All that ended in just a single moment. A problem had showed up and I’m left trying to figure out what to do next.

See, I grew up hearing over and over that my purpose was to glorify God in all that I did - my dad has been a pastor my whole life. But I had always found my identity and purpose in athletics. Now when that was taken away, I felt like I had nothing left… but in actuality, I discovered that my purpose hadn’t changed. My identity was in something greater than a sport or competing for Ozark. What I discovered in that moment, and what I want to challenge you all tonight, is that you have to understand your purpose and get that right vertically before you can do anything horizontally. We have to understand that we are made by God in order to glorify Him. How do we glorify Him? If 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that we should do everything for the glory of God, what does that look like? It starts by understanding why we do what we do. Life changes, seasons come to an end, graduation is around the corner for some of you. If the only reason that you are here is for self or because its been forced on you from a young age or because you think that this is your whole life, then friend you’re in for a rude awakening. I hope that all of you go on to play college ball, if you do that, you’ll play football for 5-6 more years… then what? So many of my friends placed their identity in their sport (just like I did), but whenever they graduated from high school or college, they were left with their head spinning trying to figure out what to do next. You want to know how to avoid that confusion? Realize now at your age that God has gifted you with the ability to play sports… and God expects a return on that investment. The reason he created you the way that you are isn’t so you can have a spotlight shining on you… it’s so you can point others towards Him! Anyone can play for the name on the back of their jersey, but not everyone plays for the name on the front. We have to understand our purpose and find our identity vertically before we get things right horizontally with those around us.

As we get that purpose right with the people around us, we can solve whatever problems are thrown our way. You can win with grace and you can lose with honor because you’re working together as a team. You can grow deeper in your relationships with your brothers beside you only after you understand that you have a purpose that is higher than blocking your opponent, kicking the ball, or scoring touchdowns, your purpose is to use your gifts to glorify your Creator. Once that clicks, it actually free’s you up to do those responsibilities better than if you focus solely on your job without getting your purpose right.

One last story and I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ve been blessed to have insanely athletic relatives (I missed out on that). One cousin was a junior olympian high jumper who could high jump close to 7 feet before he ruptured his Achilles tendon at an event in Cleveland. Another cousin played last year in the women’s college world series as a pitcher/1B/DH for Florida State - whenever you play any sport at Florida State, you’re a stud, and Mackenzie is certainly that: a stud. She worked her butt off and battled injuries to make it to that point and she excelled on that stage in the world series - striking out several Oklahoma Sooners and even hitting a home run off their best pitcher. But Florida State lost. Their dream of a championship fell short and I know that’s been hard on her because that’s where she found her purpose for years… and now it’s all over. What do you think would’ve happened if Florida State had won? Do you think my cousin and her teammates would all be happy and joyful now? An Oklahoma player was interviewed and asked this question… and she said this: My freshman year went really well and we won the world series and I felt awesome that night… but I woke up the next morning emptier than I had ever been before because I had accomplished my dream and it wasn’t enough to satisfy me. The next year she got her purpose right - she trusted in Jesus as her Savior and understood that softball was a tool that she could use to glorify Jesus, but softball didn’t define her whole life. She said this right before the world series against Florida State: I want to win because my team has worked hard to get here… but if we don’t win, it’s ok because my identity is in Christ. It’s not the end of the world.

If you look at the outcome to find your joy, you’ll be empty. You could win every game by 40 points like Webb City used to do a decade ago and win state, but if you base your feelings on the scoreboard, even if you win, you’ll be empty. The season will end and you’ll have fun memories, but that’ll be the end of it. My prayer for you guys is that you’d find your identity in Christ and once you do that, that can never change or be taken away from you. That joy overflows into every part of your life and it changes your purpose. It makes you look out for your brothers beside you. It makes you consider others as more important than yourself. It makes you realize that you can win with grace and you can lose with honor because the joy of the Lord is your strength and He’s always with you. Look up, get that right, and then look out and get that right. Use your gifts to glorify God. And watch Him change you and watch Him change this team. I believe that God is going to use people just like you to do something incredible for Him - but you have to keep your eyes up!