Thursday, March 27, 2003
During the 2002 professional football season, Donovan McNabb quarterbacked his team, the Philadelphia Eagles, to an exciting playoff season. In fact, they played for the NFC championship and missed being in the Super Bowl by just one victory. Unfortunately, McNabb was injured for the Eagles' first playoff game - which meant he didn't dress for the game but he was on the sidelines with his team. A friend told me that fans and sportcasters were commenting on the man in the McNabb jersey, sitting on the Eagles' bench as the game kicked off. And they questioned why Donovan wasn't out there, standing with his team, encouraging his team. But the guy wasn't leaving the bench. Apparently, security men even came up and talked with him. Of course, it's always nice to say you talked to your star quarterback. It was in the second quarter that it finally dawned on somebody - the guy in Donovan McNabb's jersey wasn't Donovan McNabb! Somehow, this guy who looked a lot like the real Donovan - who wore a jersey like his - had slipped onto the field and blended into a team of men who were real players!
Well,
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wearing The Jersey, Not On The Team."
Right place, right look, accepted as someone who belonged - but he wasn't really on the team. Oh, when it's a football team, no major harm done. But when it happens on God's team, it's the difference between heaven and hell.
That's why Paul gave a riveting warning to the folks in one of the churches he started. It's in 2 Corinthians 13:5. It's our word for today from the Word of God, and it's to church folks. "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" God is telling church folks - folks like you and me - to be very sure that they really do have Christ Jesus in them. Maybe that's because it's so easy to mistake having Jesus all around you for having Jesus in you.
You can wear the jersey, be accepted as part of the team and still be without Christ in your heart. You can know all the Christian words, impress all the Christian people, do all the Christian things and pretty soon no one even thinks to ask you if you've ever really committed yourself to Jesus. You can even deceive yourself into thinking that all this Christianity you've got must mean you have Christ.
But the simple truth is you don't have Jesus in your heart unless there's been a time when you consciously gave yourself completely to Him. When you bowed at Jesus' feet and said, "What You did on the cross is my only hope of ever having my sins forgiven; my only hope of ever going to heaven. Jesus, I resign running my own life - I am totally Yours." If you've done that, stop wondering if you belong to Him. If you haven't done that, stop pretending you belong to Him.
The longer you've looked like you belong to Him when you really don't, the harder your heart is becoming and the greater the spiritual danger you're in. That's why it's urgent that you get this settled soon. Like today. Let today be the day you clearly and decisively throw open your life to Jesus Christ. If you're ready to begin for real your personal relationship with Jesus, I hope you'll let me send you my booklet, "Yours For Life." It will help you confirm this as your new beginning.
You won't believe the peace, the relief you'll feel, just knowing that you are finally safe in Jesus' arms. At last, you'll be really, really His.