Preach the Gospel
Preach the
Gospel
Lest, when I
have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. -1 Corinthians
9:27b
It is with pride
that we often look back on our past accomplishments. While it might feel
amazing to win a 1st place trophy, be named MVP or to be accepted
into the Hall of Fame for our sport, it will be even more fulfilling at the end
of our Christian race to hear Jesus tell us “Well done, good and faithful
servant.” (1) We want to know that our lives have counted for something important. Francis
Chan has said that “our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of
succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
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We read in
Hebrews chapter 11 about “God’s Hall of Faith”. Although these faithful ones
faced many hardships and many did not see the promised outcome, they remained
true to their calling. We cannot “allow fear – fear of change, the unknown,
failure, ridicule, not following the crowd, our own inadequacies, or dozens of
other things – to set the course for our lives.” (2) If we do, we’ll miss the many blessings the Lord has for us.
We were each
created with a purpose. God knew us before the foundation of the world, before
we had any knowledge of Him, He knew who would come to be His by faith. We were
predestined “to moral conformity to the likeness of his son.” (3) We are called to a holy life by the grace given to us in Christ which was
planned from the beginning of time. (4) Each person who is saved by faith has an eternal purpose. What is this “holy
calling” we have been given?
This “holy
calling” was given by Jesus in the Great Commission. Jesus has invited each of
us to fulfill a heroic role in His kingdom. In the early church, Jesus’
followers were called Christians which meant “little Christs”. In Jesus’ final
words, He charged His disciple with the task to go out into the world and make
disciples of all people groups, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all He
had commanded. (5)
As athletes,
coaches and sports fans, we often strike up conversations about our favorite
teams or sports. We might want to ask ourselves, however, how often the Lord is
the center of our conversations with friends, coworkers, teammates and family
members. It’s easy to stay in our own corners and only speak about the Lord on
Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. We need to remind ourselves that the
“Great Commission” given by Jesus Himself wasn’t only for certain days of the
week. He commanded us to share the good news of salvation with all nations,
which includes family, friends, neighbors and teammates. (6)
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Paul wrote in
Romans 1:16 that he was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes. Being part of a team means wearing
the team uniform. Being identified as part of a team can cause us to feel proud
or more confident. Even if we don’t participate in a sport, we still often like
to wear the colors or jerseys of our favorite sport’s team. As competitor’s for
Christ, we are called to put on His uniform. (7)
There are many
places in the world where the gospel message cannot be shared freely. Those who
love the Lord and want to share His love with others must do so carefully. By
proclaiming the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior, a person could lose their
job, their home, their family, their freedom or even their life. Getting a
Bible, visiting a church or holding a revival is almost impossible. People
worship in small homes late at night. While many are fearful of sharing the
gospel due to repercussions, others are willing to continue because they know
that the Lord commanded us to do it. (8)
The best sports
teams are made up of the best players; and they are constantly looking to add
others to their team who will help the team perform their best. This is also
true of Jesus’ team, the church. We are called to the relentless mission of
pursuing others to join us in the life transforming relationship we enjoy with
God through Christ. (9)
We can do this
by focusing our attention on Jesus. “Just as a runner concentrates on the
finish line, we should concentrate on Jesus, the goal and objective of our
faith.” (10) We should always be ready to share the hope we have in Christ. (11) If we want to end up in the Hall of Faith, we must not remain on the sidelines,
but go! (12)
The gospel is
the good news about Jesus. Who can you lovingly pursue to join Christ’s team?
Pray and watch for opportunities to share God’s love.
(1) Matthew 25:21
(2) FCA Resources, “Take the Challenge” (Kansas City, MO: 2010); http://fcaresources.com/bible-study/session-8-take-challenge
(3) Romans 8:29
(4) 2
Timothy 1:9
(5) Matthew 28:19-20
(6) FCA Resources, “The Great Commission” (Kansas City, MO: 2010); http://fcaresources.com/devotional/great-commission
(7) FCA Resources, “Wear the Colors” (Kansas City, MO: 2010); http://fcaresources.com/devotional/wear-colors
(8) FCA Resources, “The Great Commission”
(9) FCA Resources, “Relentless Mission – I Pursue Others” (Kansas City, MO: 2010); http://fcaresources.com/bible-study/relentless-mission-i-pursue-others
(10) Hebrews 12:2
(11) 1
Peter 3:15
(12) FCA Resources, “Take the Challenge”
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