#WINNING

This month’s message series, “#WINNING” has been one of my personal favorites! I love being able to zero in on removing some of the blockages around our faith and how that translates to our personal success.  It’s a take on a popular meme started by everyone’s favorite addict Charlie Sheen.

His idea of “WINNING” was to live a life of severe dependency on drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes and essentially “get away with it”. It’s a sad commentary on what one’s life can be dragged down into, when the very things that destroy our soul (and body!) is celebrated in such a way.

My idea of WINNING is much different. It’s about conquering personal demons, rather than making them our friends. The best part is, once we win our own battles, God gracefully puts us in the path of others who may have faced similar struggles. We’re able to do all of this with more than a little help from our faith in Jesus Christ!

The series’ parts are divided into:  You / Home / Neighbor / Office / City

It’s very much an inward then outward focus that I feel should be applicable to most any message.

Why this series and why now? Because as a pastor you tend to notice difficulties other believers (young and old in the faith alike) are experiencing. Instead of having a “WINNING” mentality (for real, Christ has already won!) we keep our heads held low and our hearts heavy because of  ”life” holding us down. It doesn’t have to be this way!

When I was young in my faith I have naivety to believe that since I was a committed Christian, that everything would be “hunky-dory”. Surprise, surprise… I would grow frustrated with God when things didn’t work out the way I imagined.

Question was, did my faith bleed into my everyday life’s actions? Did I really trust God for all things? The answer was simply no. I had to learn that my faith is my life, not just a part of it. Faith in Christ should not only influence my behavior, it must direct it! The choices I made in life carried consequences, thankfully none that would last long enough to do permanent damage.

I was able to learn from them, but it was always the same lesson:  to make God first and foremost in all areas. That alone will give perspective as to not just what is less important, but also what is not fruitful or are possibly outright mistakes to engage in.

Eventually as I grew more mature in my faith in the Lord, the more I was able to be used by Him to influence the people and things around me. We must win our personal battles if we want to effectively influence others! You cannot expect someone else to “live the life” if that is not seen in you!

Also…

- You cannot tell someone the value in tithing and giving offerings unless you do it yourself!

- You cannot desire your children to be chaste and respectful in relationships if you aren’t!

- You cannot believe your loved ones will easily find Christ if your weak faith is blinding them to Him.

But it’s amazing that once you get your life in order (with reliance on the Holy Spirit!) how much God will use you to influence those around you (and even those that aren’t part of your “circle”). This my friends, is truly WINNING… when God can take losers like us to bring others to Him. Both history and the Bible backs this up!

The Apostle Paul makes a great case for it. He was responsible for persecuting the early church and putting many believers to death! Despite his past he was able to find Christ and realize that righteousness cannot come from following the law, but instead by faith in Christ!

He even had the gall to say to the churches he wrote to that they should follow his example:

Philippians 3:17…

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

And 1 Corinthians 11:1…

¹ Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Don’t get tricked into thinking that we cannot be used as good examples! Parents do this a lot. “Do as I say, not as I do (or did).” is a common expression that has little effectiveness on those it’s intended for. A Christian, saved by grace, who is repentant of their past but also one who embraces God’s grace and His righteousness, is much more useful.

Think about it this way, most folks (Christians and non-believers alike) will accept that Jesus Christ was a pretty decent fellow (and then some) and he would be a model to live one’s life by. But Paul? He was just another guy… right?

God’s saving grace and power in building us up to His picture of righteousness has to be seen in something that needs it. Kind of like a “before and after” demonstration for a cleaning product you see on a TV infomercial. It’s one thing to see it in Christ, but another to find that it can work for a dirty rotten sinner. It has to prove itself applicable to the common man, even the “bad guys”. And again, Paul (author of the bulk of the New Testament) was one of them!

He writes in 1 Timothy 1…

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. ¹³ Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

If we desire to see our family, our neighbors, our co-workers, and our city won over to Christ, we must first honestly look at ourselves and assess where our faith is at. Realize that every difficulty we face carries a unique opportunity to increase our trust in God, with our faith growing stronger as a result. This translates to others finding commonality and yes, even inspiration by the life we lead.

Join us again this Sunday at the Midnight Rooster as we continue #WINNING!