If you missed it Jason spoke on Jesus not WANTING people to be fans of Him, but be Completely. Committed. Followers of Him. After Jesus had fed the 5,000 he had a lot of people who wanted to “follow” him (fans) but once they realized the cost (Matt 16:24) Deny Self, Take up Cross, and Follow me they said “no thanks, that’s too much” and left him. A lot like a bandwagon fan…
Jesus wants people who are going to be in the game for Him and not people just on the sidelines waving a flag saying “Go Jesus” when things are good and then jumping off the bandwagon when things get rough.
It is well known throughout the student ministry that I am a huge Texas Longhorn fan (Hook ‘Em!) and if you live in Texas then you are most likely rooting for Texas or A&M… never both! One of my best friends is a huge A&M fan and we have rules for one another when Texas and A&M play each other…
Rule 1) Minimal, but definite smack talk before the game – because you need to smack talk, but we already know that we are rooting for our teams so too much just doesn’t make sense
Rule 2) Whoever is the underdog in the game that person can text the other during the game – either saying “wow, we are getting our butts kicked” or “y’all didn’t want to play today?”
Rule 3) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF THEM ALL: Absolutely NO TEXTING, CALLING, EMAILING, SKYPING, SMOKE SIGNALING ANY SMACK TALK OR MENTION OF THE GAME FOR AT LEAST A 28 HOUR PERIOD AFTER THE GAME. ( 28 hours because by then ESPN has stopped playing the highlights and you have had 4 hours to get it out of your mind or for it to be the first thing said in the conversation for the person who won)
With all that being said I have a respect for A&M and their traditions (despite most of them being cultish) One of their traditions that I admire is the 12th man tradition (Aggies, excuse me if I butcher this, but I think I got it right) In a game in 1922 against the nations top team the Aggies were falling like flies. The coach at the time remembered that one of the fans in the stands was eligible to play so he called him down from the stands to get suited up and prepare to play in the game. Still to this day the fans at A&M are known as the 12th man.
Now what if this happened to you in the game of life? What if God was calling you to no longer be in the stands and to no longer just be a fan of His, but to be a COMPLETELY COMMITTED FOLLOWER of HIM?! Would you listen to the call or would you be satisfied with just waving the “Go Jesus” flag when you are at church on Sunday. Would you say well maybe when I am older, maybe when I have more money, maybe when …
Last thought: So lets stop waving a Jesus flag and get in the game, but remember this: God loves us for the person we are right now just as much as He will love us for the person He wants us to be.
Something new is coming to 9:05 beginning May 20th. The Gospel Project. The Gospel Project will help us understand that Jesus isn’t just part of the story the Bible tells–He is the point of the story! Over the next few weeks we will begin The Project by studying how God reveals himself to us. Each week I will post a Gospel Project Study Guide. Prepare yourself for Small Group by spending time on the devotionals and utilizing the study aids. One of the most influential professors I had in college always encouraged our class to do the “optional reading.” He claimed that it was way more interesting than the required reading. Some of my peers ignored him, and I did too at first. But then I tried it. And guess what? He was right. Not only were the extra articles interesting, they also came in handy during test time. By the end of the semester my grade had improved from a B to an A. So, what’s the point of this little anecdote? DO THE OPTIONAL READING. It will make a difference in what you take away from The Gospel Project. And you may even enjoy it.
