Getting Ready for the Big Game

Matthew 17:1-9

February 3, 2008

Super Bowl Sunday

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and many people are very excited, especially Giants fans and New England fans.  All over the country, people have been up since the early hours of the day, thawing food, preparing grills, and moving couches into just the right position for television viewing.  Some are even putting on their favorite team’s jerseys and painting their faces their team’s colors.  There’s a whole lot of getting ready going on today for something which will last around three hours, and unless you’ve bet your life savings on the game, will probably have little or no effect on your life.

A few years ago, there was a story in the news about the fans of the Philadelphia Eagles who were going to Super Bowl 39 (XXXIX)… their first Super Bowl in 24 years.  Kevin O’Donoghue was 11 years-old when the Eagles made it to their last Super Bowl appearance and he promised himself that he would be there if the team ever went again.

He told his wife, "I don’t care if we have to mortgage our house, I’m going."  She agreed and O’Donoghue paid $4,000 for a package that included a round trip airfare, four nights in a hotel, and ONE ticket to the game.

The trip was financed through a home equity loan which they obtained by putting up their house as collateral.  Mortgage banks in the area said that many Eagles fans asked about refinancing mortgages or taking out home equity loans to pay for a trip that O’Donoghue called "the chance of a lifetime”.

This evening is another chance of a lifetime, as the world will watch the New Jersey Giants beat the New England Patriots.  I mean watch the New York Giants play the Patriots. How many Patriots fans do we have here this morning? Great! How many Giants fans do we have here this morning? Wonderful! How many Jesus fans do we have here at St. Paul ’s Untied Methodist Church this morning? Go on, raise your hands! Okay, just checking.

For you football fans, I have a little quiz for you.
(Give Super Bowl quiz questions.)

A true fan is not ashamed to stand up and be counted for his or her team! I’ve even seen fans who would fight you over their team if you said something about them. The word fan is a shortened version of the word fanatic.  Webster’s online dictionary defines a fanatic as someone who is “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.”  Those fans—or fanatics—will get to the game early, and stand in line for hours. They’ll bring grills and coolers and tailgate long before the game begins, and they’ll never complain if the game goes into overtime.  

Kind of like church.

What if we got as excited about actually playing on God’s team as we do about watching other people play sports? (Show “TAILGATE” video)

Friends, if millions of fans can get excited and passionate about their football team, surely we can get excited and inspired about our great God and Savior Jesus Christ! Go ahead, put face paint on or tailgate out in front of the church.  The town would love it!  A true fan does not care what others think about him or her. Don’t be embarrassed about letting people know how much you love the Lord!

Now, regarding tonight’s game, I know that you are all seeking the answer to one question: "Who will win?"  Let me tell you who will win. The winner of tonight’s game will be the team that will do whatever it takes to get ready for the big game.  Preparation is the key to any challenging endeavor we have in life. 

Even Jesus took time to prepare before he completed his mission on earth.  In the Church calendar, today marks the final revelation of the babe born in the manger, and we see Jesus revealed as never before. For on the Mount of Transfiguration, we see what Jesus had been proclaiming about himself, we see for the first time his divine nature. We see Jesus revealed as the son of God. As we heard in today’s scripture, "His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as the light.”

But for Jesus the transfiguration was a time for getting ready for his Big Game—his final journey to Jerusalem where he would encounter the cross.  Peter and the other disciples were there as Jesus got into that final huddle with God the Father, and Moses and Elijah, planning, encouraging, and getting ready for what lay before him.  And it had nothing to do with football.

Friends, the Super Bowl is only a game, but I want you to know that another game is being played tonight, and you are a part of that game. But, unlike the Super Bowl, your game is continuous and it has eternal consequences.

4th and goal in eternity is what we’re talking about here.  Some of you are people on the edge of the greatest decision of eternity… and you’re the player God wants on the field to go for the win.  Yet, like in the NFL, only a few Christians will rise to the level of play exhibited by a Super Bowl Champion.  Why?  Because many refuse to get ready, to prepare.

Vince Lombardi said, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

As there are no short cuts to peak physical conditioning, there are no short cuts to peak spiritual conditioning.  I Timothy 4:7 says, "Train yourself to be godly."  We need to have the will to be disciplined.  In fact, in our spiritual journey, the things that we need to do in order to grow are called spiritual disciplines.  They are habits such as reading your Bible, prayer, and fasting, as well as coming together at worship and being in a small group for studying God’s word.  Yet the word discipline has become a dirty word in our culture. It isn’t easy, it’s not fun; yet, discipline is essential to our success.

And whether or not we have discipline, focus and commitment will determine whether or not we view Christianity as a recreational sport or as a serious pro competition.  Newsflash: merely riding on the team bus and hanging out in the locker room will not get a football player onto the field of glory; neither will merely attending church and sitting on the sidelines of our spiritual journey get us into heaven.  Both situations require commitment and action.

Vince Lombardi said, "The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." "Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success."

Do we have the heart of a Super Bowl Christian?  The Super Bowl Christian, like the Super Bowl athlete, continually trains. There is no off season.

For the athletes on the field this evening, no sacrifice is too great when your team is playing in the Super Bowl.  Many of them will start practicing football 6-8 months before the season starts. They begin by getting their bodies in shape. They run and they lift weights, and they build up their muscles! They proceed to dress in a hot football uniform with all the hot pads and helmets, and they go out on that football field and practice until they can hardly stand! Their dedication drives them to work hard to reach the big game at the end of the season.

But friends, we are on the greatest team in the world! It is called the church of the Lord Jesus Christ! He is our captain. No sacrifice is too great for Him! He gave his all for us!  Do whatever it takes, no matter what others may say or do.

I read about a lady who went to the Super Bowl. A man was sitting behind her and noticed that there was an empty seat beside this lady. He asked her if she knew why the seat was empty, being the biggest game of the year and all? She said that it was supposed to be her husband’s but that he had died. The man said he was sorry to hear that but that it looked like a friend or a relative would have taken the seat to watch the Big Game. The woman replied that they all insisted on going to the funeral instead! Well, that may be a little extreme, but when we are committed, we will go forth no matter what.

And so this evening a game of great importance will be played. Large men will face off across a line of scrimmage. A call will be made, leather will slap, and bodies will collide and crash. A battle has begun. For four 15 minute quarters men will expend enormous energy and Herculean efforts to move a piece of pig skin up and down a field of grass. In the end one team will emerge victorious.

A trophy will be rewarded; Rings will be presented; Cash will be given; Glory will be bestowed.  And one team will have bragging rights for a year.

Yet today a game of greater importance is being played, and you are a key player on the field. You have the opportunity to play for eternal rewards. You can win a prize that will never dim. But the outcome is up to you.

Will you commit yourself to Jesus Christ, and to getting ready for the Big Game?