Working Your Skills!
Notes
Transcript
A couple of weeks ago, I started a four-week series called BALL, and this morning we are going to continue talking about B. A. L. L.
Just like last week, no, I am not going to focus only on football and neglect God’s word, but we will use some sports principles to help us understand God’s word.
B. A. L. L.
B. A. L. L.
We talked about what it takes to “Make The Team.” This is symbolized 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."
The same applies to us as Christians; before we can join Team Jesus, we must be saved.
We then discussed the next step, which is “Working on Technique.” This is represented by the letter A.
Our technique is summarized in the word Abide.
A. = Abide
A. = Abide
If we are going to abide, then we must stay connected to our coach, Jesus Christ, and do things that will help us improve our technique of abiding.
Today, we will take the next step in our B. A. L. L. journey, which in the sports world means moving from technique to skills.
Several years ago, I coached wide receivers.
I worked with them to understand technique
I showed them how to hold their hands correctly
I broke down movements before making a cut
I focused on giving them the tools to succeed.
But once the game started, they had to apply all the technique they had learned and turn it into skill.
In football, technique refers to specific physical movements and actions used to execute a skill, while skill is the ability to apply those techniques effectively in a game setting. Technique is the "how" of a movement, while skill is the "when" and "where" to use that technique effectively.
In the Christian world our Skill is played out in John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
The first “L” in B. A. L. L. stands for Loving His Commandments.
L. = Love His Commandments
L. = Love His Commandments
In the Gospels, Jesus gave us over 50 commands. Some argue there are fewer, while others believe there are more.
Either way, we don’t have time to cover them all this morning, so I will focus on what I believe are three essentials.
While all of Jesus' commands are important and vital to Christian living, I believe these three capture the heart of Jesus and the foundation behind all His commandments for us.
Jesus says in John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
What does this look like, and how can we genuinely apply it to our lives?
When you listen to athletes, especially those who go on to play college and then into the pros, there is a common theme: they do it for the love of the game.
It's hard work and takes a toll on the body, but they play for the love of the game.
With TV, social media, and other platforms, everyone has an opinion about you, but you endure it because of your love for the game.
Those who don’t love the game often give up, because it just isn’t worth it.
Jesus says the way we show love to Him is to obey His commandments.
How do we develop this skill?
Jesus teaches that everything (every skill we try to master) begins with loving God.
Love God!
Love God!
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
“This is the great and foremost commandment.
Above all the commands, this is the most important.
We must learn to develop this skill.
If we cannot develop and learn to work with this skill, then all other skills will fail.
This skill is essential and is as important as breathing to the believer.
Notice that there are three ways we love God: Heart, Soul, and Mind.
The heart is the core of our emotions.
The soul is our entire inner being, encompassing our heart and mind, our will and conscience.
The mind is the center of our intellect and reasoning.
God wants all of us, not just one part. Our love for the Lord should be intelligent, emotional, and willing.
Some may love the Lord with all their minds but not with all their souls.
They believe certain things to be true but are not emotionally engaged.
Others love God with all their souls but not all their minds.
They relate to God emotionally but do not fill their minds with God’s Word.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We worship Him in “Spirit,” which comes from the heart and is genuine worship.
We also worship Him in “Truth,” which means knowing God’s character based on His Word.
It is hard to love someone we don’t know and trust. But as we learn to genuinely start worshiping God for who He says He is, according to the Bible, then when tough times come, and they will, we can still be madly in love with Him. We can follow the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
The Bible emphasizes the importance of balance.
It instructs us to love God with every aspect of our being, our intellect, our passion, and our strength.
We are called to love God with all that we have.
Where there is love, there will also be service and obedience.
Are you here today just because that’s what Christians are supposed to do, or are you here because you are radically in love with Jesus and want to give Him every part of yourself?
The first skill we must learn to master is loving God.
The second is similar, loving others.
Love Others!
Love Others!
Jesus continues His command to love in verse 39 of Matthew 22
“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
For many of us, this is where the rubber meets the road.
Often, we are okay with the idea of loving God; after all, He created us and died for us.
But love my neighbor?
Love them like I love myself?
If you are like me, I’m thinking, okay Jesus, now you’re meddling.
You must not know my neighbor like I do.
Love our neighbor? Really?
Assignment Football
One of the hardest things to teach in football is what we call assignment football.
In other words, we ask our players to do specific tasks that may not show up on the stat sheet but will help the team succeed.
By doing this, they are giving of themselves for the success of others.
Most players, especially younger ones, struggled to understand this concept.
Staying with wide receivers,
I would teach them the importance of blocking and show them how this skill is just as important as running a route and catching the ball.
No, it was not as fun, but it made us successful when they did it well.
Loving others is similar.
It is not intuitive because we are selfish by nature.
We don’t like others succeeding because we are prideful and wish their success was our own.
And yet, Jesus says if we are to love Him, we are also to love others.
Amazingly, we find it difficult to love those who love us in return, and this is the easy part.
But what about the ones who aren’t so lovable?
What about those who aren’t even on our team?
On Wednesday nights, we discuss how every person has value to God; therefore, we should see them the way God sees them.
The truth is, this is difficult, but if we are to genuinely love our neighbor, that includes the not-so-lovable.
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If we are truly to act like Jesus, to be called sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, then we are to love all people.
Jesus, who is our example, showed us what love looks like. Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I know this is hard to hear, but folks, none of us was lovable before Jesus died for us, and yet He chose to love us anyway.
Wow! Thank you, Jesus!
The first skill we must learn to master is loving God.
The second is loving others.
The third is building on loving others by sharing the Good News!
Share The Good News!
Share The Good News!
I once had an offensive lineman who struggled to tell his right from his left.
It’s difficult to do your assignment well if every time the ball is snapped, you don’t know which way to go.
He would raise his hands to help him decide which way to go.
Eventually, we learned to tape his shoe.
The good news for him was that there was an easy fix for his problem.
As believers, we live in a world that doesn’t know which way they are heading. They receive all kinds of ideas but are unsure whether to go left or right.
Some think they’re going to heaven by what they do.
Others don’t care.
Still others don’t realize they should care.
The solution is to give them tape on their shoe… or better yet, share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them so they can know which way they are going.
One of the best ways to show love to others is to follow a third command, which is found in Matthew 28:18-20 and Matthew 9:37-38.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
In my opinion, if we love God and love others, then these verses should naturally flow from our hearts. If this isn't your inclination and if sharing the gospel with those who are lost isn't on your mind, then I challenge you to reevaluate your love for both God and others.
You will notice I underlined the main points of the commands in these verses.
Go
Make disciples
Baptizing
Teaching
Praying
These are all action words.
Jesus has called us into action.
We are to get off the bench,
we have made the team,
we have been given the techniques,
and now He is asking us to start using the skills He taught us.
The reality is, we live in a world that is increasingly moving further away from Jesus and the truth in God’s word.
If we don’t share the Good News with them, who will?
This is not a command for just missionaries, evangelists, and pastors. This is a command for every one of us who are on team Jesus!
for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
Do you love Jesus this morning?
If so, do you love Him enough to share Him with others?
Let’s pray
