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Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2008

Grace Church of Burlington January 27, 2008  “Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football.”                                                                                                                     John Heisman             It was brutal. At least that’s how I saw it. It didn’t matter which team you were cheering for, the weather conditions were just brutal. Now I don’t recall the “Ice Bowl” of 1967 that so many Packer fans speak almost affectionately of, or even the more recent “Freezer Bowl” of 1982 between the Bengals and the Chargers. I just know that looking out at Lambeau last Sunday night, I wasn’t disappointed in the very least that no one had offered me tickets.             In those conditions I almost got the shivers just watching the game. Yet play after play, even into overtime, both times marched out onto the field to give it their best. And it’s not just the fact that they are paid to play, I’ve seen college and high school football players do the same thing. Jane and I watched Aaron play last fall in conditions that were miserable. If my son hadn’t been on the field, I know that I wouldn’t have been in the stands. At least we had an umbrella that gave us some relief.             I read this past week that when Roger Staubach, former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, was once asked how he felt when he had blown a pass. He said, “I can hardly wait to get my hands on the ball again.” No wonder he was such a great quarterback. That’s determination! That’s perseverance!             There are many reasons that God’s Word compares the Christian life to an athlete but of those are the critical traits of any great athlete: determination and perseverance. The Christian life is not a cakewalk. It’s hard work. It takes exertion, effort and commitment. We must exert ourselves if we are going to win, and the “game” we are in has for its prize an eternal reward. We are in a “game” where eternal issues are at stake. So, if any people ought to work hard, we ought because we are working for the things which really count, that have true and eternal significance.             All of us put out effort for the things that we think are important. Have you ever noticed how hard some of us work at attaining material things we think will make us happy or give us pleasure? People everywhere give themselves to what is important to them. But Scripture continually urges us to evaluate what our priorities should be.             Look at the things people are working so hard to attain. They may be working for financial security or retirement. Or they may be working for business success. Some may be giving themselves to live a life of pleasure. Still others may be working for material possessions. But like players in a football game, those are “trophies” or rings that will perish.             What do you and I receive when we play in God’s game successfully? We receive an eternal reward that will last forever. The reward for the Christian is not temporal but eternal. Our labor, our faithfulness, wins for us an enduring crown in glory. Our treasure is being laid up in heaven where no one can take it from us.             What’s the obvious implication of this fact? It’s simply this, that if people work so hard for those things which are temporary, how much more should we as believers work for the things which are eternal?             Friend, what would happen to your Christian life if you did that? What would happen to our church if we worshiped, and served and gave and witnessed like what we’re doing here really matters...for all eternity...because  it does? Obviously, it would revolutionize the way things are done.             What would happen in your own life if you totally abandoned yourself to God -- to the point where it affected your lifestyle? When D. L. Moody heard a man say, "The world has yet to see what God can do through a man totally dedicated to Him," he said in response, "Lord, I want to be that man." As a result, God used Mr. Moody to impact thousands of lives.             The Christian life is not a game. It’s our life and we need to pour ourselves into it to win! To do so, we must live it with determination and perseverance. We must desire the things of God to the point where we work hard for them. We must give ourselves to the Christian life, not just in our spare time or when it’s convenient, but completely.             On one occasion Lenin said that he wanted fewer but better followers, men who would give him not just their spare evenings, but the whole of their lives. Jesus needs men and women like that. We must have a desire to win. We must live the Christian life with commitment and determination. We must be determined to succeed in our Christian life. John Piper writes, “God is calling us above all else to be the kind of people whose theme and passion is the supremacy of God in all of life.”             Packer fans are already talking about next year. For the believer there is only one life. This is it. This is not a dress rehearsal. Friend, are you pouring yourself out for Him in your Christian life? Are you living so that you “win” and in a way that please our Head Coach?