Monday, March 18, 2002
He had been a stock boy in a grocery store ... and then one of those rare football players who isn't drafted but just shows up one day and gets a job. Kurt Warner went on, of course, to become the quarterback of the St. Louis Rams, leading them to the Super Bowl two out of three years ... and, of course, becoming the NFL's Most Valuable Player. Now, that would be enough for most people. But not for Kurt Warner. He's got a bigger goal - at least according to what he told Sports Illustrated he would like as what he called his "football epitaph" - "Used his football platform to work for Jesus."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Platform You've Been Given."
Here's one follower of Jesus Christ who understands why he is where he is - to make a mark for his Lord. And you're where you are for the same reason.
No, you probably don't have a platform that touches millions - the kind a Super Bowl ring gives you. But, believe me, you do have a platform, given to you by God. The reason? "To work for Jesus." That's what the Bible is talking about when it says that "we are Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
And God uses your abilities and interests and life experiences to put you in a position in other people's lives that can literally change their eternal address. It's obvious that the Old Testament hero, Joseph, understood this divine platform thing. You can hear it in his words recorded in Genesis 50:20, our word for today from the Word of God. The Lord built Joseph's platform through the brutal attack of his brothers, his being sold into Egyptian slavery, his first job in Egypt, and then two years in prison for something he didn't do.
Ultimately, Joseph is divinely maneuvered into being the assistant Pharaoh of Egypt; possibly the second most powerful man in the world. And just in time. His God-given wisdom leads him to a plan that ends up saving many people during a terrible seven-year famine. He's a champion, a hero in his country, to an even greater extent than any modern sports champion. Here's what Joseph says to his brothers about where God has placed him - "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good ... the saving of many lives."
Joseph was where he was so lives could be saved. That's why you are where you are. So people who know you, who are influenced by you, can meet your Savior and have their lives saved forever. Your platform for spiritual rescue is the job God has placed you in, or the pain you're going through or have gone through, the place where you live, the children God gave you, the recreation, the activities you're involved in. From heaven's viewpoint, the # 1 reason you are there is so you will be in a position to take some people there to heaven with you!
It's a whole new way of seeing the everyday activities of your life - they are actually God's means of divinely positioning you with the folks there to let them see what Jesus is like in what you're like ... and to hear what He did for them when He died on the cross. Don't miss the purpose for which you've been placed where you are!
So are you using your platform to work for Jesus .- to do what Jesus came for - to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10)? He's put you - His personal ambassador - in some places here on earth so some of the people there can have a chance at heaven.