Sunday, February 12, 2006
February 5, 2006 Sermon Notes--What a Bunch of Losers!
Note: Sermon notes recorded here taken from loose outline notes of pastor. Actual Sermon delivered may have differences in delivery and length. No video available! Sorry!
Text: Matthew 10:38-39
Today is the day of the big game, Super Boxl XL (speaking of which, that is about my size, actually more of a 3XL, but that is another story). There is a big question of who will win and who will lose. There are winners and losers. There will be sacrifice and great stories to be told again and again. I still remember some of the great times the Bengals were in the Super Bowl, and how close we came to winning. It was heartbreaking, but it showed we can play with the best with the right group of people.
We too are in a big game. In big games, sometimes you have to lose to win. You must give of your own prestige and props for the betterment of all. You have to give some of the pleasure you want to help others. I wish Stanley Wilson would have thought of that before the Bengals last trip to the Super Bowl, then things may have been different. Sometimes we must be willing to lose ourselves, to engage in sacrifice, in giving, resources, time, etc., for the church. We need to be losers in order to win.
Jesus, friends, was the ultimate loser. He left everything to help us win, to achieve the eternal victory. He left heavenly glory to be born in a manger. He left his family to take up the ministry. He suffered and gave his health so that others could be saved from perdition. He lost on Good Friday, or so the world thought. You see, that is the amazing thing about losing. The world takes it to mean one thing, that you lost, you stink, you aint no good, but for some, it can be the best thing that happened to them. For Christ, His "losing" on Good Friday was the best thing to happen to us. The world saw it as a victory for them, but it was really a victory for Christ. He lost so that we could gain eternity, He "took one for the team." He calls us to do likewise. He calls us to give to the team. And he doesnt even call us to do it 100%, as He did. We are just to give a tithe, a percentage.
Now I know what you are thinking. Here comes another donation sermon about money. Not at all. Tithing is not just about money, but about time, thoughts, and prayers. Christ only asks for 10%, but he gave 200% to us.
Christ won, because as He died, He gained the keys of life and death, he gained salvation for us to increase the army of God. Satan thought he won, but he lost. Look at the supposed winners of our society, the big time athlete. I read a study that said that 10 years upon retirement, the average football player, who makes millions, will be divorced, penniless, and deeply in trouble financially as well as legally and otherwise. Maybe if said athlete had been willing to lose some of the fame and fortune, maybe if they had not been so single minded, they may have saved their way of living.
See, that is what the world does to us. It tells us not to be a loser, not to give things up, whether it be money, fun, experiences, time, because we don't want to miss something and be called a loser or a dork. We don't want to be among the havenots, so we strive for things of this world, losing the things of the next world. And when we retire from this game, life, we are left with far worse than financial burdens, we are left with an eternal spiritual debt that we will go through Hell to pay...for eternity.
So, Jesus calls us to be like Him, to be a loser to this world. This world considered Him a loser. He didn't party with Herod. He didn't take the money of others and build ivory towers. He worked for the betterment of the eternal kingdom, and sacrificed so you and I don't have to pay the sindebt we have accumulated through trying not to be a "loser."
However, through losing, Christ became more powerful. Through giving up the grip on this world, He grew unbeatable. Likewise, Christ calls us to be losers in this world so we can gain the kingdom. He calls us to be losers in giving to the Church, so we can do the missions that he intends for us. If we give even a small portion of ourselves to God, to service and mission, we will win as well. We will be fulfilled with the Spirit, Christ will see the fruits of our faith in being willing to be labelled a loser in Christ, we will see the Kingdom.
The world may say we lost, but in eternity we will win.
Text: Matthew 10:38-39
Today is the day of the big game, Super Boxl XL (speaking of which, that is about my size, actually more of a 3XL, but that is another story). There is a big question of who will win and who will lose. There are winners and losers. There will be sacrifice and great stories to be told again and again. I still remember some of the great times the Bengals were in the Super Bowl, and how close we came to winning. It was heartbreaking, but it showed we can play with the best with the right group of people.
We too are in a big game. In big games, sometimes you have to lose to win. You must give of your own prestige and props for the betterment of all. You have to give some of the pleasure you want to help others. I wish Stanley Wilson would have thought of that before the Bengals last trip to the Super Bowl, then things may have been different. Sometimes we must be willing to lose ourselves, to engage in sacrifice, in giving, resources, time, etc., for the church. We need to be losers in order to win.
Jesus, friends, was the ultimate loser. He left everything to help us win, to achieve the eternal victory. He left heavenly glory to be born in a manger. He left his family to take up the ministry. He suffered and gave his health so that others could be saved from perdition. He lost on Good Friday, or so the world thought. You see, that is the amazing thing about losing. The world takes it to mean one thing, that you lost, you stink, you aint no good, but for some, it can be the best thing that happened to them. For Christ, His "losing" on Good Friday was the best thing to happen to us. The world saw it as a victory for them, but it was really a victory for Christ. He lost so that we could gain eternity, He "took one for the team." He calls us to do likewise. He calls us to give to the team. And he doesnt even call us to do it 100%, as He did. We are just to give a tithe, a percentage.
Now I know what you are thinking. Here comes another donation sermon about money. Not at all. Tithing is not just about money, but about time, thoughts, and prayers. Christ only asks for 10%, but he gave 200% to us.
Christ won, because as He died, He gained the keys of life and death, he gained salvation for us to increase the army of God. Satan thought he won, but he lost. Look at the supposed winners of our society, the big time athlete. I read a study that said that 10 years upon retirement, the average football player, who makes millions, will be divorced, penniless, and deeply in trouble financially as well as legally and otherwise. Maybe if said athlete had been willing to lose some of the fame and fortune, maybe if they had not been so single minded, they may have saved their way of living.
See, that is what the world does to us. It tells us not to be a loser, not to give things up, whether it be money, fun, experiences, time, because we don't want to miss something and be called a loser or a dork. We don't want to be among the havenots, so we strive for things of this world, losing the things of the next world. And when we retire from this game, life, we are left with far worse than financial burdens, we are left with an eternal spiritual debt that we will go through Hell to pay...for eternity.
So, Jesus calls us to be like Him, to be a loser to this world. This world considered Him a loser. He didn't party with Herod. He didn't take the money of others and build ivory towers. He worked for the betterment of the eternal kingdom, and sacrificed so you and I don't have to pay the sindebt we have accumulated through trying not to be a "loser."
However, through losing, Christ became more powerful. Through giving up the grip on this world, He grew unbeatable. Likewise, Christ calls us to be losers in this world so we can gain the kingdom. He calls us to be losers in giving to the Church, so we can do the missions that he intends for us. If we give even a small portion of ourselves to God, to service and mission, we will win as well. We will be fulfilled with the Spirit, Christ will see the fruits of our faith in being willing to be labelled a loser in Christ, we will see the Kingdom.
The world may say we lost, but in eternity we will win.
# posted by Mark : 4:07 PM
