Pick Me

Introduction

How many people here as a kid enjoyed playing group school gym activities like dodgeball or basketball but didn’t quite enjoy the team picking process. It wasn’t a big deal if you weren’t picked first but it got mighty embarrassing if you were picked last. The worst was if you were the odd man out. You didn’t even get picked because the teams were already evened up and you were the last of the last. Yeah, those were the days. And it wasn’t always because you were a bad player. Maybe you were okay or even had some good days where you finished near the top. You could hold your own and make a positive contribution to the team, but you still weren’t picked. What gives?

Story

Well, true confessions, that happened to me some times while growing up. I definitely wasn’t the best but I also shouldn’t have been picked last either. But there I was. Last or nearly last. And even sometimes, I was the odd man out. So why? Well some of the other kids lived by each other and they were friends. Others had spend year after year with the same other kids in their class. I, on the other hand, was what they call an air force brat. My dad was in the US Air Force and we moved every couple of years. I didn’t have any close friends. I just tried to make friends has best as I could and then ‘rinse and repeat’ when we moved again in two years. I didn’t have a close relationship with any of the guys so naturally, I wasn’t their first choice no matter how good I thought I was. I didn’t have much of a relationship with them yet I still expected them to pick me.

Transition

You know, we do the same to God. We expect Him to pick us and take us to heaven, but we don’t have a relationship with Him. Heck, we may even go to church some times or help with the church barbecue. But we don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We don’t give Him the time of day. He’s not on our thoughts. We know about Him, but we don’t know Him. Yet, we have this expectation that when we die, we should probably go to heaven because we weren’t all that bad. That must count for something. Right. After all God gave Moses the Ten Commandments so that must mean something.

And sure, they do, but let me ask you. What is the first commandment? Any guesses? It’s this, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” It’s number one, because God wants to be number one in your life. Relationship is critical. Jesus said in the last day people will cry out to Him saying, “Lord! Lord!” And they will list off all their good deeds. But His response will be, “I never knew you; leave Me”.

Matthew 7:21–23 NASB 2020

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Points

The sad thing is that a relationship with Jesus Christ is the easiest thing. It is. He is unbelievably patient. He doesn’t hold a grudge. He works with us at our level. He’ll challenge us like a good coach does; that’s for sure. He wants the best for us, so His goal is to shape us into the person we were meant to be. He created us so He knows exactly want we need and how to fulfill those desires.

Application

The good news is that you can start a relationship with Jesus Christ right now. The Bible says that He alone is the mediator between God and man. It goes on to say that no one comes to God the Father except through Jesus Christ. Why? Because God the Father sent His one and only Son to die on the cross so that anyone who believes on Him might be saved. That’s all we need to do to start a relationship with Him. So let’s call on the Lord right now. Repeat this prayer after me.

Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son Jesus to Earth to show me what You are like. You sent Him so that I could have an eternal relationship with You. Today, I call on the name of Jesus Christ. I want a relationship with the King of kings. I want to know Jesus. I want to walk with Jesus. And I want Him to pick me when the time comes. So come into my life today. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and teach me to be the person I was meant to be from the foundations of the Universe. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen