FCA - Mt. Ridge (2)

Intro:

Who I am

Thanksgiving Competition

Example:

Playing Chicken

I know this is a stupid illustration, but at the root of my reputation was this desire to be noticed, to be the best, to fulfill my selfish ambition.

This comparison game was at play, and is still so often at play in my life

Playing soccer in high school,

I compare my favorite team, Liverpool to other teams

I compare my ministry to other ministries

How many people “like” my ministry page? How many people come to my youth group

I compare my kids to other kids

I’ve got 3, and just to be honest, they are better than any other kids!

And if you guys were honest with me, you’d say the same thing right?

In our world of social media, we often care more about how many likes, comments, retweets, streaks we have than anything else. It’s all fueled by this comparison

But here’s the problem…we as believers, we do this with each other

If I could go back in time to highschool I’d do so many things differently. I essentially lived my life in comparison to other “Christians” I was friends with or knew of. As long as I was doing more than they were doing, I was good.

So I played in our churches praise team

And we are flat out wrong

I went to youth group

I participated in spiritual activities at Calvary

All in comparison to other “not as good as me kids”

says this, “ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel”

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel

See, I read this and I see Paul saying this, “Don’t live your life in this constant comparison to other believers. Instead, live your life in comparison to the gospel of Christ…are you living a life worthy of Him?”

Someone tell me what our main goal as believers is to be?

If we are to be effective in what we as believers are to do, it needs to be in light of this book and in light of the work of Christ

Not in light of other people. We can’t be comparing how we are doing in our walk with Christ compared to other people.

But when we compare our lives to other people around us, not only are we doing an injustice to Christ, but we will also start to turn our noses up at those people. We’ll start to judge them against us, and God’s “church” will begin to fight against each other....and His Gospel will begin to take a backseat.

Unity is essential

I’m here at an FCA gathering, so I imagine a lot of you are involved in sports or team competitions of some kind....so let me ask you this:

How effective are you as a team when each of you are pulling in a different direction?

I was talking to one of my youth girls the other day about her volleyball state tournament..... “We lost in the first round. Everyone had an attitude and was playing for themselves, so there’s no wonder why we lost”

I remember high school well, I played soccer, my dad was our coach

Which, any of you ever been coached in high school by your dad? Super fun. Guess who got yelled at the most?

But we had a pretty good team.....because we all worked together.

We weren’t allowed to showboat, or try to beat three guys on our own

Our mission was to pass and move and that’s what we did....scoring 130 goals in one season with 89 assists and only giving up 28 goals. 13 of our 18 players scored in the season

Unity is key to our Christian walks. If we would all pull in the same direction, which is to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ…to be all about proclaiming and living for that....then we can do something great.

has this to say:

Now that my bragging is over

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

See, this desire to compare or to be the person with all the accolades is fueled from a selfish ambition. Paul says we are to have humility:

And think with me, it takes humility to:

You don’t all go to the same church

Pray - because we are admitting to God that He is more important and that we can’t do it on our own

You and your churches may not all have the same exact views on every different doctrine or belief....we will rarely always agree on everything

Read His Word - We don’t have all the answers.

gives us a picture of Christ, the ultimate example of humility, who as it says, emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, and becoming obedient to death on the cross......

for you. and for you. and for you.

Do you believe that? I know you’re here at FCA…but let me ask you....do you believe in Jesus Christ?

If you do, how are you living your life? In comparison to Him, or to others?

When we do....we then are called to strive as says, which means, work together side by side in proclaiming that Gospel.

You guys as FCA of Mt. Ridge have an incredible opportunity to impact your school for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Don’t impact your school for your church

Don’t impact your school for your youth group

Don’t impact your school for how good you will feel in comparison to other people

The challenge is to strive side by side for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In a world of constant comparison and one upsmanship, I promise you this…if you all, together, in unity, will stand for this gospel....you will impact your school, your families, your community in a way that will be remarkable.