Go All Out

"Go All Out!" Romans 12:1-2 A Devotional Presented to the Little River High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes Pastor Ted Weis Little River Congregational Church February 5, 2021 Good morning! My name is Ted Weis, I'm pastor of the Little River Congregational Church. It's great to be with you this morning and huddle up. This Sunday is the big game. The Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas Chiefs will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Chiefs are lucky enough to win, they will match a level of achievement that few NFL teams have ever reached. You might be thinking, "You mean, become only the 8th NFL team to win two consecutive Super Bowls?" Now that would be a great achievement. But I'm thinking of a far greater feat. If the Chiefs win, they will join the ranks of Little River High School and together, the Chiefs and the Redskins will share an elite title-football champions. Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Can the Chiefs rise up to your level? Of course, for you, right now, it's basketball season. I have to say, all your teams are having a great year. The junior high girls won the league tournament. The junior high boys finished second in the league. The high school boys remain undefeated. The high school girls won the Fairfield Invitational. Way to go! As athletes, you know that in order to reach the top and become a champion, you can't be lazy. You can't play video games all day long. You can't spend all you time obsessed with social media. Instead, you have to be disciplined. You have to work hard. You have to listen to your coach. Those are the habits that make a sports champion. Today I want to challenge you to think about this-how do I become a champion for God? What are the key habits of a champion for God? But first, why should that matter? The famous Oxford professor C.S. Lewis once said, "If Christianity is false, then it has no importance. But if Christianity is true, then it is of greatest importance. What it never can be is somewhat important." Jesus puts it this way, "What does it profit a man or woman if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul?" (Mark 8:36). In sports, you train your body. In class, you train your mind. In church and in the Bible, we train our soul so we can walk with Jesus and enjoy the living God. In Romans 12:1-2, the Apostle Paul teaches us how to be a champion for God. He says this: 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. How do you become a champion for God? In verse one, the Apostle Paul tells us, God wants your body. In other words, God wants your whole life. Your thoughts. Your words. Your decisions. Your actions. "Present to God your whole body as a living sacrifice." Notice what Paul doesn't say. He doesn't say, "Present to God your body if it's convenient. No. What God demands is sacrifice. Serving God is costly. Give to God your entire self. Now you may be thinking, "Isn't that a little extreme? Sounds like you're telling me to be a religious nut. If I do that, I might lose my friends. I'm willing to say 'I follow Jesus,' but I still want to drink and party on the side too." No. No. No. What God is challenging us to do is the very same challenge our coaches make-be totally committed. Be passionate. Go all out. That's the only way you become a champion. Is God's bar high? Absolutely! If it doesn't challenge you, it'll never change you. Now let's say you accept God's challenge. You're convinced-knowing God and walking with Jesus is life's greatest purpose and pleasure. You want to be a champion for God. So, how do I do that? Well, it's just like football or basketball. You need to play good offense and good defense. A champion for God plays good defense. In verse two, Paul says, "Do not be conformed to this world." Don't allow this evil culture to mold you. Don't be deceived into thinking that looks are everything. Don't be consumed by lust and porn. Don't lie to maintain your image. Don't bend to peer pressure. Then next, a champion for God plays good offense. Again, in verse two, Paul says, "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Notice what Paul stresses. Your mind. What you think. In sports, what's above your shoulders is more important than what's below it. How you train your mind is the difference between being good or great. The same principal applies to the Christian life. You can't please God if your mind is like a sewer. Your thought life needs purified. Go on offense. Take time to pray. Take time to read the Bible. Take time to attend church. These are the ways the mind is slowly changed. We're getting close to the end. The buzzer is about to sound. In a moment, we'll need to break our huddle. So, wrapping up, here's God's challenge for you-go all out! I say it, you say it-Go all out! Now here's the truth. When our life is over and we stand before God and God asks us, "Did you go all out for me?" the honest answer will be no. We didn't. We can't measure up to this high calling. There are times when we try and fail. Then, there are other times we fail because we don't try and don't care. And that's where Jesus comes in. Jesus is the only human being who ever went all out for God. He came from heaven to earth. He lived a perfect and holy life-all out for God. Then, Jesus went all out for us by dying on the cross. He died for our sins. On the third day, he rose again. He rose to prove that we really are forgiven. Today, Jesus reigns in heaven. One day, he'll go all out to judge the world and make it brand new. Jesus died for us, so we can live for him. The only way to go all out for God is to go all in with Jesus. The first step then is to first receive Jesus as your Savior. John 1:12 says, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." For me, it was in 9th grade, over French fries and a Coke at a McDonald's restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio that Jesus became real to me. He went all out for me. In thanks, I'm living all out for him. That's how a champion is made. Go all out. Amen.