Baseball

"life is like a baseball game...a world series baseball game and you never know what is going to happen!"

The apostle Paul often compared the Christian life with athletics. He said, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training...."

Anyone who is serious about their athletic sport, baseball or whatever, will train hard. Those who train hard generally play hard and do well in their sport.

ILL.- Olympic wrestler, Dan Gable, in 1972, won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics without surrendering a single point to any of his six opponents. The Soviets came to the Olympics with only one goal in mind; to defeat Gable. They were unsuccessful.

During his prep and college careers, Gable compiled an unbelievable record of 182-1 and won 99 straight matches at Iowa State, with an NCAA record string of 25 pins in a row. Gable was named to the U.S.A. Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980, and to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985.

How could wrestler Dan Gable have been so successful? it’s called hard work. He trained hard! In his Olympic days Dan trained or worked out for nearly 8 hours a day at wrestling, lifting weights, running, and calisthenics.

It takes a lot of hard work to do well in anything, wrestling, baseball or the Christian life. How’s your training going? Or are you training at all? Are you doing any spiritual workouts? By this, I mean Bible study, prayer time, Christian service, etc. All these are matters of spiritual training.

Baseball is still our national sport or national pastime. Many people have played ball and most love to watch it.

ILL.- Some of you may remember that baseball player Lou Gehrig is called the "iron man of baseball" for a very good reason. For 15 years in the 1920’s and 30’s he played first base for the New York Yankees. He played 2130 consecutive games. And after he retired they X-rayed both of his hands and found that every finger had been broken at least one time, YET HE NEVER MISSED A GAME! He played even though he was hurt. That says something about his character.

Obviously, we must go on living the Christian life even though we’ve been hurt. And it’s a guaranteed thing we will be hurt in this life. We will experience hurt and pain in some form or another and for one reason or another: because of the devil, sin, or perhaps just because we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time.

Why did Lou Gehrig get the disease that is named after him (or ALS) and only live to be 38 years old? Simply because this is an imperfect world where age and disease affect us all.

As great as Lou Gehrig’s record was, Cal Ripken Jr. broke his record on Sept. 6, 1995, and the people stood and cheered him for 22 minutes and 15 seconds. And by September 19, 1998 Cal Ripken Jr. had played 2632 consecutive ball games. What a record! And what a ball player! He sort of reminds me of another player in the game of life.

The apostle Paul was a great player in the game of life. He endured much hardship in life. He said these words in II Tim. 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day..."

In a sense, Paul was saying, "I have endured. I have hung in there. I have stayed at bat. I have kept the faith."

Just as both Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken were faithful in their baseball careers, so we are to be faithful in our career as Christians. Faithfulness always pays off! Especially, in the spiritual realm!

Paul said, "They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

We play the game of life and endure certain hardships and stay faithful because we know that in the end it will pay off.

I Cor. 9:25 "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,

I don’t care if I never get back.

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don’t win it’s a shame.

For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,

At the old ball game.

Most of us, if not all of us, have heard that song sung many times.

ILL.- Here’s a poem entitled, "Baseball."

The game of baseball is the king

Of all the games we play

And it is one pursuit that is

Distinctly USA.

The people swarm into the stands

To watch their favorite teams

And munch their hot dogs when their lungs

Are not engaged in screams.

The pitcher hurls the horsehide and

The batter gets a hit

Or else the ball goes sailing and

Some fielder smothers it

A clever runner steals a base

A player takes a walk

Or managers and umpires

Decide to have a talk

The crowd is gay or gloomy or

Completely in suspense

But it goes wild when someone knocks

The ball beyond the fence.

Friends, for many Americans, baseball is still our national sport or national pastime. Many have played it and lots of us love to watch it. Our youth season has come to an end, but now it’s the MLB playoffs, and the world series is just around the corner.

ILL.- In the popular 1994 movie "Forrest Gump," Forrest with an IQ of 74 said, "Mama always said, ’Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’"

"life is like a baseball game...a world series baseball game."

In this message I want to compare our lives to a world series baseball game.

1- We’re on a team, so be a team player

2- We have a coach, so listen to Him

3- We will win, so look forward to the end of the game

I. WE’RE ON A TEAM, SO BE A TEAM PLAYER

Baseball is a team sport therefore you must be a team player. You can’t just play for self or for self-glory.

You can be an outstanding player, but most outstanding players are team players.

When you’re on a team, you have to be a team-player!

I Cor. 12:14 "Now the body (the church) is not made up of one part but of many."

The church is referred to in Scripture as a human body and the body has many parts to it: hands, feet, legs, arms, etc.

The church has many members and all are important. We are, in a sense, a team and everyone is important to the team! So we must be team-players!

He was a go-getter type person, type worker. He couldn’t stand still a second, it seemed. He did nothing slow. He was always going at full-speed. It didn’t make any different whether he was stocking shelves, unloading a truck or checking out customers at the cash register. His tachometer was always on the redline!

He was the kind of guy who would stock shelves all night, go home at 7 in the morning and sleep a few hours and come back in the afternoon to work the 3 to 11 shift.

And everybody knew he was go-getter, including the manager. Consequently, he impressed the manager and quickly moved up in the store and was given more responsibility. In fact, the manager was so impressed that he soon gave him a set of keys to the store so he could open and close.

But there was a problem with that guy: HE WAS NOT A TEAM-PLAYER! He was only thinking of himself, how he could get ahead, how he could promote himself. He was filled with pride, thinking more highly of himself than he should have.

Prov. 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Brothers and sisters, we are not playing the game of life by ourselves! We’re on a team! We are in this thing together! SO BE A TEAM PLAYER!

Rom. 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

I want you to be excited about the Lord’s work, but at the same time, be thinking of others; be considerate of others; be a team-player!

Rom. 14:19 "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

That "mutual edification" means to do what will benefit everybody in the church. Think about what you do and how it will help everybody in the church.

And if it doesn’t edify, if it doesn’t build, if it doesn’t encourage, bless and help, then maybe it shouldn’t be done.

Phi. 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

I believe that John Allen wanted to bless this church. I believe he was a team-player. And that’s exactly what we all must be.

Please examine what you do inside the church and outside the church. WE’RE ON A TEAM, SO BE A TEAM-PLAYER. BE A TEAM-BOOSTER!

II. WE HAVE A COACH, SO LISTEN TO HIM

ILL.- A father said to his son, "Well, son, what did you learn in school today?" His son replied, "I learned to say, ‘yes, sir’ and ‘No, sir.’" His dad responded, "Really?!" His son said, "YEAH!"

ILL.- The father of a teenager said to a neighbor, "My son is at that awkward age....he’s too old for a spanking and too young for analysis."

Regardless of their age, when children are at home, they need guidance, direction, and a certain amount of discipline. They need a mom and dad who will give them some solid guidance in life or for their life.

Prov. 29:15 "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother."

A child left to himself, to fend for himself, to discover life for himself is headed for certain trouble. Children need guidance from wise and loving parents!

In fact, all people need guidance at times in life.

Prov. 11:14 "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."

Without proper guidance a nation can fall and so can anybody! We all need guidance, direction, mentoring, coaching perhaps.

Friends, generally coaches know what they’re talking about when it comes to "their" sport and that’s because they’ve "been there and done that." They’ve played the game, made the mistakes, experienced victories and went through all the ups and downs. They generally know the best moves to make, how to hit the ball, when to run and when not to run, how to slide into the bases, etc.

I NEEDED A COACH! And I still need a coach, only for different things! We all do.

And I am saying that we need to listen to Him!

We have a coach who knows it all, He’s been there and done that, He’s experienced the game of life! He’s experienced it all. Except for losses.

Heb. 2:18 "Because He himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted."

Because Jesus experienced suffering in the flesh, He can coach us on what to do and how to handle it when we’re faced with it!

Heb. 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."

Jesus has been down the road of temptation and suffering. He knows what we’re going through in this life and this is why we need to listen to Him!

ILL.- In Matt. 4:1-10 we have the account of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Remember?

Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and Satan came to him to tempt him in a big way. He said to Jesus (this is a paraphrase), "So you are hungry, Jesus. I understand that. If you are truly the Son of God then you can do anything. Command or tell these stones to become loaves of bread so you can have something good to eat."

Jesus faced the temptation of the lust of the flesh! HIS FLESHY BEING WANTED SOMETHING TO EAT! And Satan threw a curve ball at Jesus.

If Jesus had given in to Satan, to what he said, He would have been worshipping Satan, in a sense. And that was completely against the Word of God.

Jesus did not give in! Instead, He defeated Satan with the very words of God, by saying, "It is written: man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

By the time the three temptations were thrown at Jesus, He had faced it all. Jesus faced the temptation of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. BUT HE NEVER GAVE IN TO SATAN! He never faltered, He never failed, He never flopped!

And that is why He is a fantastic coach for us! He faced it all and was successful! HE WON THE BALLGAME! HE WON IN THE GAME OF LIFE! And He knows exactly how the game is played and all the tricks of the opposing team.

We need to listen to Him! ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOUR COACH? If we don’t listen to our all-wise coach, how can we expect life to get any better?

Here is something to chew on, to think about.

Luke 6:46 Jesus said, "Why do you call me, ’Lord’ and do not do what I say?"

If we believe that Jesus is our all-wise coach, our Lord and Master then we must do what He says!

The best way in life is the obedient way. The way to win the world series game of life is to obey our coach!

1- We’re on a team, so be a team-player.

2- We have a coach, so listen to Him.

III. WE WILL WIN, SO LOOK FORWARD TO THE END OF THE GAME

It’s nice to be on a winning team, isn’t it?

ILL.- A winning team is nice.

And guess what? WE’RE ON A WINNING TEAM!

ILL.- There is a lot to be said about the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. But there is also a lot which cannot be said about that book, because so much of it is future tense and it’s written in figurative language.

BUT THERE IS ONE THING WE CAN UNDERSTAND.

When we read the end of the book the message is very clear: WE WIN! God has given us that promise. In the end, we will win!

Knowing that we will win should make the playing of the game a lot better for us. I MEAN, WHEN YOU KNOW THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME, you also know that all the mistakes you make playing the game are not final.

Rom. 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"

We are painfully aware of this verse of Scripture, but we should also be aware of some other Scriptures.

I John 2:1 "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the righteous one."

It is so comforting to know that whenever we blow it occasionally, the Lord is not going to hold it against us!

ILL.- I heard about a lady years ago who went to see her preacher. She said that she was having a terrible time in life, couldn’t sleep, terribly upset, etc. And while talking to him about the problem, she confessed the sin of adultery which she had committed years earlier. He asked her, "Have you confessed this sin to God and asked forgiveness for it?" She said, "Oh yes, I’ve confessed it every night for the last six years."

The preacher said, "That’s your problem. Your problem is not in being forgiven but in forgiving yourself. Your sin is not trusting the Lord, not trusting what God says. You need to confess that sin and begin to trust God for forgiveness."

Friends, sometimes that is our problem. We don’t forgive ourselves for the failures, the errors that we make while playing the game of life.

Please let me encourage you! Your failures are not final! Your sins are not unforgivable! You will stumble, you will fall, you will blow it at times, BUT YOU NEED TO KEEP ON PLAYING THE GAME THE BEST YOU CAN!

The Lord is gracious, forgiving, understanding, compassionate. Confess your sins, your failures and keep on pitching and playing the game!

We will win, so look forward to the end of the game!

I Cor. 9:25 "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

I am interested in that lasting crown, aren’t you? And on certain days, I wish it would hurry up! We are going to win! God has promised this to us who are in Christ! Don’t despair. Don’t give up. Don’t give in and quit the game! Keep playing!

Because we are going to win we need to look forward to the end of the game! We need to set our sights on heaven more than we do! And consequently, let’s live for the end and not for the moment.

Let’s keep the end of life in view. This will keep us going in the right direction. It will keep our priorities in order.

Col. 3:2-3 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

Let’s learn to please the Lord right now, so we can please Him even more later!

CONCLUSION-------------------------------------------

1- We’re on a team, so be a team-player.

2- We have a coach, so listen to Him.

3- We will win, so look forward to the end of the game.

II Tim. 2:5 Paul said, "If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules."

Rules are rules whether we like them or not. And we must play the game of life according to God’s rules if we expect to win in the end.

When we don’t play according to the rules we will just experience more and more trouble in life, in the game of life. Let’s play the game God’s way. Life is like a baseball game, a world series game. You never know what is going to happen.

Where are you in the game of life? Are you at bat? On first base? Second? Third? Almost home?

The important thing is to be on the right team, the Lord’s team. If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, please do that and join His winning team.