Set Your Mind Above

Episode #94 - What Kind of Player Are You?

November 16, 2021 Season 1 Episode 94
Set Your Mind Above
Episode #94 - What Kind of Player Are You?
Show Notes Transcript

I had the blessing of joining a discussion on another podcast last night with my friend Hal Hammons along with Terry & Peyton Francis. The topic was "jocks" and we used sports to springboard some very deep spiritual discussions. At one point Terry discussed Peyton's relationship with his teammates on his football team in high school. No player ever just showed up for the game, they practiced, work hard, and were always together. Well...what kind of players are we? Do we just show up for worship on Sundays, and then somehow expect for us to find success as a church? Or are we really the kind of family that God designed for the church to be? 

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Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

I had the pleasure of being a part of a podcast last night that was hosted by our brother Hal Hammons down in Georgetown, Texas. Hal is the host of the Citizen of Heaven Podcast, and he frequently brings in other guys to engage in discussion over a special topic. Last night, he brought in Terry Francis, Terry’s son Peyton, and myself for a special “jocks” episode. I was honored to be able to participate, and the topic was right up my alley. As you know, I am an avid sports fan – especially baseball and football. But this was not just a time to sit down and debate about college or professional ball, much rather, we used this topic as a springboard to tackle some very important biblical principles. While I don’t want to replay the entire episode for you, you’ll have to go listen to it for yourself, we covered a range of topics from not comparing ourselves with one another to the differences between “getting the job done” or actually submitting ourselves to God, among many other things. In the last segment of our discussion, Terry Francis has some really good thoughts that he shared with us about his son Peyton’s experiences as a football player that I just had to share with everyone today. It had to do with Peyton’s relationship with his fellow teammates. You see his son was an offensive lineman in high school. As a member of the offensive line, your sole job is to protect the quarterback and create gaps for the running backs to shoot through. As such, Peyton was always with his fellow linemen and teammates. For starters, there was practice throughout the week that they were a part of, often times there were two-a-days that everyone would attend. On Thursdays after practice, Peyton & the quarterback would hit the ice baths together and go over plays the entire time. But it wasn’t just on the field, they were always together. They ate lunch together. They rode the bus together. They hung out in each other’s homes. It was this kind of effort and chemistry that they developed for hours and hours throughout the week that translated to the football field come gameday. You see, the players didn’t just show up for the game. Can you imagine how that would go for a team if that was their mentality? That they didn’t practice, didn’t build chemistry, didn’t spend any time together, but expected to then be successful when they stepped onto the field once a week? I mean, that would be absurd wouldn’t it? No one thinks that way, and with good reason. But then Terry turned that on it’s head, and the application that he made is what I want you to ask yourself in how you practice your faith. 

Here is the question: what kind of player are you? Now, you might be thinking, “I’m not sure I follow, what does this have to do with my faith?” Allow me to explain, but let’s first read an account of the way the first century church practiced their faith as told in the book of Acts 2:42-47, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” This is such a powerful description of the church immediately after it was established on the day of Pentecost. These Christians were dedicated in their faith. Just look at the kinds of things they were doing: they were devoted. Daily they came to learn truth and hear the words of the apostles proclaimed. They were engaged in prayer, in the practice of the Lord Supper, and even were able to witness the mighty power of God through the works of the apostles. But this was not all they were engaged in. You notice that they not only daily devoted to the teachings, but they were daily devoted to one another. They were in each other’s homes, eating together, sharing with each other, and building chemistry together as they grew in favor with all people. As a result of their dedication and faith, the church grew exponentially day by day. Now, let me ask you again…what kind of players are we? I think one of the most devastating realities is that when you look at many Christians and local churches today, what we do now is not an accurate reflection of what we have just read of the church in the first century. For many of us, we just show up to the game because we’re “Sunday Christians”. We pat ourselves on the back and think we are doing the work of God because we never miss a service, that because every time the doors are open we’ve done what God has desired for us to do because we were sitting in the pew. But is that really all that God has expects of us? You see just like a football team cannot expect to have success if the players merely just show up for the game, how can we expect for the church to grow if the only time we spend together is showing up for services? Ephesians 2:18-19 says, “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” I say this often and I’ll say it again: the church is not like a family, the church is a family. We are the household of God. Just like you don’t spend one day a week with your family for a few hours, and just like a football player doesn’t just show up for a game, we must recognize that God’s design for the church extends so far beyond the doors of our meeting halls. We need to daily be involved in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be in one another’s homes, eating and praying together, building up relationships and building our chemistry with each other. We need to be in our communities serving together, being rich in good works. Our relationships in Jesus are so significant, and how those relationships are cultivated and developed has a direct correlation to the health of a church & it’s work. Whenever you see a church that has not grown in quite some time, but rather has consistently dwindled in spirit & number, I would venture to say there is a great possibility that the majority of that church only see or think of each other once a week. If that is the case, then perhaps we’ve already identified one of the biggest problems right there. If I’ve stepped on your toes with these thoughts today, I hope you know that I have had no intention of singling anyone out. I look at this and I understand how much better I personally need to be in how I apply these things here to my church family in Danville. It is my prayer that all of us, wherever we are, can become the kind of church family that God desires for us to be. Thank you Terry, for how you taught me last night, and I hope like me you’re ready to see a whole lot more of one another. 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.