Some time back someone circulated a form called The College Entrance Exam -Football Player Version. This humorous exam consisted of twenty questions and had a time limit of 3 weeks for completion. Let me read you some of the questions:
1.What language is spoken in France?
2. Would you ask William Shakespeare to (a) build a bridge (b) sail the ocean (c) lead an army or (d) (in large capital letters) WRITE A PLAY
3.What religion is the Pope? (check only one) (a) Jewish (b) Catholic (c) Hindu (d) Polish (e) Agnostic
4. What time is it when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 5?
5. How many commandments was Moses given? (approximately)
6. What are people in America's far north called? (a) Westerners (b) Southerners (c) Northerners
7. Six kings of England have been called George, the last one being George the Sixth. Name the previous five.
8. Where does rain come from? (a) Macy's (b) a 7-11 (c) Canada (d) the sky
You get the idea. By the way, an asterisk at the bottom says, "You must answer three or more questions correctly to qualify."(1)
I hope our athletes don't mind if I have a little fun with them. Most football players are not dumb, of course. And some of them are quite inspirational. When the St. Louis Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in the last Super Bowl, one player's outstanding effort set him apart from the pack. Kurt Warner, quarterback for St. Louis, proved once again why he was named the NFL's most valuable player for 1999. Success hasn't come easily for Warner. He struggled in anonymity for years, unable to make it in the NFL. He played for a few European teams, but it looked like his dreams for an American football career were never going to happen. Finally, in 1999 Warner got the chance to prove himself with the Rams. He's never looked back. If you think, though, that football is the most important thing in Kurt Warner's life, then think again. Four years ago, Warner became a Christian, and this is what motivates and inspires him. Kurt came to the faith after seeing how his wife, Brenda, handled heartbreaks with such grace and peace. A few years ago, Brenda's parents were killed when a tornado struck their home. Then, Brenda's baby boy, Zachary, suffered permanent brain damage when he was accidentally dropped. Kurt was so impressed by his wife's faith that he, too, gave his life to Jesus. Now he takes every chance he can get to tell others about his faith. He even printed his own football trading cards, featuring the story of the day he turned his life over to Christ so that he'll have something meaningful to give people who ask for his autograph.(2)
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." (LB) Caesarea Philippi, says William Barclay, was an especially appropriate place for Jesus to ask, "Who do you say that I am?" It was the center of Baal worship and worship of the Greek god, Pan. The immediate region was also full of monuments to the Roman emperor Caesar, who was believed to be a god. Everywhere Jesus and his disciples looked, they were confronted by another monument or a temple to some god or another. And yet, when confronted with the question of who Jesus was, Peter looked at this common carpenter, Jesus, and declared him to be the Messiah.(3)
Here is one of the high moments in the New Testament. Barclay suggests that Jesus may have asked this question at this particular time because he was nearing the time of persecution. He knew he didn't have much more time left with his disciples. He needed to know that he had communicated the essentials to them, that they would be able to carry on his work without him. He needed to know that they believed in him.
EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS IN OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH IS WRAPPED UP IN THIS ONE QUESTION: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT JESUS IS?
Christian faith is not a philosophy about the nature of the universe. The church has produced many great philosophers. But Christian faith is not a philosophy. It is not an attempt to explain life. No one sat down and thought up Christianity as an explanation of the way things are. Christian faith is an acknowledgment that God has invaded our universe and has revealed himself to men and women in the life of one man, Jesus of Nazareth. This is the foundation of the church. There is no other. We stand on the profession that Jesus is the Christ! In Matthew's telling of this important episode, when Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus calls Peter a rock and says, "upon this rock I will build my church and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it." (16:18) This is critical. Our church is built upon the testimony that Jesus is the Christ. When a theologian or church leader says that he or she is a Christian but does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, regard his or her testimony with great skepticism. When a congregation of people call themselves a church, but do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, be wary of their witness. We can compromise in many areas of our understanding about Christian work and witness, but there is one area where compromise is not possible: We are followers of Jesus the Christ, The Lamb of God, The Lion of the tribe of Judah, The First-born of All Creation, The Holy One of God, Captain of our Salvation, Lord of Glory, Kings of Kings, Prince of Peace. Am I being unnecessarily narrow? Not at all. Consider what is at stake.
FOR ONE THING, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD IS AT STAKE.
What is God like? The answer of the church has always been, God is like Jesus. CHRIST IS OUR UNWAVERING STANDARD FOR DISCERNING THE NATURE OF GOD. The Scriptures are full of expressions like "the word of the Lord came unto me," and "God spoke all these words." Someone has counted such phrases and says that they appear 680 times in the Pentateuch, 196 times in its poetical books, 481 times in the historical writings, and 370 times in its prophetic portions. Never did the Lord communicate to us more clearly, however, than in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ; for he is the brightness of the Father's glory, "the express image of His person." One writer has aptly commented, "Jesus is the best photograph God ever had taken."(4)
Often people will come to disturbing images of God in Scripture--passages in which God is represented as a god of vengeance, of violence, of venom and vanity. And the obvious question is, is this a true representation of God? And the answer is, does this picture of God look like Jesus? If it does not, it cannot be accurate. Any time we seek to interpret the Scripture, we do so in light of our knowledge of Christ. Charles H. Spurgeon told of a young preacher who asked an elderly minister for his opinion of a sermon he had preached. "A very poor sermon, indeed!" was the reply. "A poor sermon!" exclaimed the young man; "it took me a long time to prepare it." "Ah, no doubt of it!" said the older man. He added that while the discourse had merit as a lecture, it was not a good sermon because "there was no Christ in it." "Well!" was the reply, "Christ was not in the text." "Don't you know, young man," the venerable minister said, "that from every town and every village and every hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London, the center? And so, from every text in Scripture there is a road to the center of the Scriptures--that is, Christ. And, my dear brother, your business is to say when you get a text, "˜Now, what is the road to Christ?' and then preach a sermon running along the road to the great center, Christ."(5)
Christ is the absolute standard by which we discern the nature of God. AND CHRIST IS THE ABSOLUTE STANDARD BY WHICH WE JUDGE THE NATURE OF RIGHT LIVING. W-W-J-D--what would Jesus do? Cynics contend that we don't know enough about Jesus to be able to ask that question in every moral and ethical situation, and perhaps they are right. But it is the best question we have. What would Jesus do? Not only the historical Jesus who comes to us in the revealed word, but the Jesus who lives in our hearts today. How would Jesus feel about abortion, capital punishment, sexual promiscuity, the proliferation of handguns, Rolex watches, Sunday morning soccer, cheating on a math exam or a marriage? If when dealing with a moral or ethical question, you and I sat down with scripture and talked the question over with Christian friends, then prayed for God's guidance asking all the time what would Jesus do?, my guess is that we would be able to give a good approximation of what Jesus really would do. It might not be a perfect response, but it would be a better response than we are likely to make using any other guide for our behavior. The real problem is that most of us don't want to know what Jesus would do, because we would rather do it our way--without the guilt of exposing our plans to a higher standard. Jesus is the Christ. He is the absolute standard by which we discern the nature of God, He is the standard by which we discern right behavior, AND HE IS THE MEANS BY WHICH WE LIVE OUT THE BEST THAT IS WITHIN US. Our worship of Christ is no mere orthodoxy to which we ascribe. It is no cold rationalism that helps us make sense out of life. It is a living relationship with the One who stands at the center of the universe, and at the same time lives within our own heart.
Mike Minor had a life-changing experience this past November 14th. Mike was at home having a lazy Sunday. Flipping through the channels on TV, he came across the Ironman competition being televised from Hawaii. Mike was amazed to see these athletes, men and women, push themselves to their absolute limits. The race begins with a 2½ mile swim, then a 115 mile bike ride, finishing up with a 26.2 mile marathon. To complete this course is an incredible achievement. As Mike watched the athletes pass by, it appeared that all of them were in top physical condition. But hidden in the crowd Mike noticed other athletes who at first seemed out of place. A runner with only one leg, and then a man in a wheelchair. Then Mike saw a man swimming with a harness tied to a small inflatable raft. In this raft was another man, who obviously could not swim this race on his own power. Then this race began to get really interesting. Who were these men and what was going on? As the older of the two men climbed out of the water, he gently picked up the man in the raft and carried him to the next course, the 115 mile bike ride. It turns out the two men were father and son. The father is 59 years old, and his son is 37. The son has cerebral palsy and physically could not compete on his own. So the two compete and challenge themselves as one. The race was won in just over 8 hours. To Mike first place did not count in this race. The Father and son team crossed the finish line in just over 16 hours. As they did Mike cried watching this man and his son rejoice in their achievement. Mike writes, "We may not be running a race as challenging as the Ironman, but sometimes life is just as hard.
We may not be physically challenged, but we may suffer from loneliness, depression, alcoholism or abuse. It is then the Father gently pulls us out of the water we may be struggling in, and carries us to the next challenge. His arms are always open to catch us if we fall, his legs are there to carry us when we feel we cannot walk. His love is there to fill our hearts to give us the strength to keep us going. When we cross the final "˜finish line' he will be waiting to embrace us. He may even carry us across that line. Christ is the TRUE Ironman," Mike writes, "and his sacrifice will carry us all across the finish line."(6)
Mike's testimony is the same as Kurt Warner's. It is the testimony upon which our faith is built. Jesus is the Christ--the Son of the Living God. He is the standard by which we know God's nature, He's the standard by which we judge right living, he's the means of being all God means for us to be.
1. The Funnies Home Page: http://wwwacn.cornell-iowa.edu/~bmcguire/fun/fun.htm
2. "Celebrity Quarterback Puts God First," RELIGION TODAY Jan. 28, 2000.
3. William Barclay, THE GOSPEL OF MARK (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975).
4. Illusaurus
5. T. Darley Allen, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, January 28, 1930 (Dale Galusha <http://www.pacificpress.com/signs>).
6. Mike Minor. Mminor1702@aol.com. Comments/Feedback are welcome. Sermon_Fodder-owner@onelist.com.