Have You Made The Team?
Notes
Transcript
If you know me at all, you know that I love football.
I have had the privilege of coaching football from peewee levels all the way up to college.
I could sit and talk about football strategy, plays, and philosophies for hours.
Football, in my opinion, is the ultimate team sport.
Every single play, each player must do their job at their position if there is going to be success.
I used to tell my players, each game was like living life in fast forward.
Each play brought adversity or success, and we get to choose how we respond.
There are so many life lessons that can be taught and learned in a single game, which is one of the many reasons I loved coaching.
Football season has officially kicked off.
The NFL has already started their preseason.
College games begin August 23rd, with LSU starting August 30th against Clemson.
High school football practices are already underway, and games will start soon.
So for the next four weeks, I want to talk B. A. L. L.
B. A. L. L.
B. A. L. L.
No, I am not just going to talk about football and not God’s word, but we will use some sports principles to help us in our understanding of God’s word.
Today, we want to discuss what it takes to “Make The Team.” This is represented by the letter B.
B. = Believe
B. = Believe
Before we can play on any sports team, we need to know that we have “Made the Team.”
I remember coaching my son Ethan in football, and the first couple of weeks of the season, we coaches would decide what team and position players would play, or if they even made the team at all. (Being a smaller school, most players made the team, but on rare occasions there were some who were just too risky to include.)
He always works hard. If they ran lines, he gave his all every time.
He did everything he could to impress the coaches.
By the end of tryouts, there was usually a list posted.
The list would include all the players who made Varsity or JV, and if you were a Freshman, there was a separate list for you too.
But if your name was not on it, then all that effort, all the strain, the sweat, often felt wasted.
Unfortunately, many well-meaning people still believe their efforts are what get them saved. They think that by doing and saying all the right things, they can make God’s team.
Many believe, “A person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, will earn a place in Heaven." According to recent research conducted by the Culture Research Center at Arizona Christian University, among those who hold this belief are:
41% Evangelicals.
46% Pentecostals.
44% from Mainline Protestant Churches.
Look at the statistics from LifeWay research conducted nearly 10 years ago on American theological views. If it was this concerning back then, imagine how much worse it is now..
60% believed all people will be reunited in Heaven.
Only 54% believed Jesus is the only way to salvation.
52% believe salvation can be earned.
What does the Bible say about salvation? Can it be earned?
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Then there are those who think they're on the team, but they were never actually part of the team to begin with.
There are fans who attend every game; they can relate to every detail.
They may even wear a team jersey, but they were never truly part of the team.
I believe… There are many professing Christians.
There are many faithful churchgoers, possibly even Sunday School teachers, deacons, or pastors, who are not genuinely saved.
Jesus says this in Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he 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; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
We can’t earn our way; there’s no tryout we can succeed at or impress God with, and we can’t fake our way onto God’s team.
What’s the solution then?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Salvation is open to all! The Bible says God doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell, but they will if they don’t believe.
You can’t earn salvation, and you can’t simply believe in anyone or anything; your faith must be in Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Some call this easy believeism, but there was nothing easy about it. Jesus gave His life for you and me so that we would have the opportunity to choose to believe.
I have often argued that taking a free gift is harder than earning something. We, in our pride and arrogance, want to think we can somehow do something, but we can’t.
But this is Salvation; this is the only way we can make the team. The tryouts consist of simply believing that Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection are all that is needed for salvation and claiming that truth as your own.
Remember the illustration of basketball tryouts and looking for your name at the end?
When you join God’s team, your name is added to the list. This list isn’t divided by tiers like Freshman, JV, and Varsity because we all are on the same team.
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
When you die, if your name isn't on the list, the consequences are severe and irreversible.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The wonderful thing about salvation and joining God’s team is that, unlike sports, once you’re on the team,
You will never be cut.
You will never be traded.
You can’t retire.
Even if you ask for a trade or want to be cut, you can’t.
We refer to that as Eternal Security.
You Are Secure!
You Are Secure!
We are secure, not because of our abilities, but because of Jesus’ love for us and what He has done.
Athletes who know their position is secure tend to play loose, fast, and confidently because they are not worried about losing their job.
It is the same way with you and me: once we understand that we are eternally secure, instead of working to earn our salvation, we can focus on loving Jesus and becoming more like Him each day.
What makes our Eternal Security so amazing is that the entire Trinity is involved.
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Jesus says “no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Jesus also states “no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
The Holy Spirit is the one who seals us. He is our guarantee of being delivered to eternity.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
God keeps us eternally secure because of His immense love for us!
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You will recall I used the analogy of football as life in fast forward and how it can teach us many lessons, and in each of those moments, we have a choice to make.
How are you doing at the start of this football season? Are you truly on God’s team or just watching from the sidelines?
Last week, we talked about Jesus coming back soon. We don’t know exactly when, but it is certain to happen.
Will you be ready? Will you be dressed and prepared for His team?
If you're unsure, make today the day you join the team.
Let’s pray
