Highlands Fellowship Game Day Sunday: Not Just Spectators Transcript
0:00 Well, hey, everybody, and welcome to Highlands Fellowship. Today is Game Day Sunday. It's a time where we have a little bit of fun. We're wearing our jerseys or our team colors and maybe do a little bit of trash talking with some friends out in the lobby or in the parking lot. And I mean, listen, keep it clean and don't cause anybody not to come back to church on account of your trash talking, okay? But, you know, we're gonna have a little bit of fun today. And I don't know what team you cheer for, but I'm guessing some of you are already convinced your team is going to have a great season. And then there's others of you who are already convinced your team is going to disappoint you yet again. And really, that's just part of being a sports fan, right?
Now, I grew up loving sports, and my family loves sports, and we were playing something all the time. I really did have a great time playing as I was growing up. And what I love about sports so much is that there are so many life lessons you learn as you play — things like teamwork, persistence, leadership, and so much more. Another thing I love about sports is that it has the ability to bring people together. You can put a bunch of people in a room who don't agree on much of anything, and when the game comes on, suddenly they're high-fiving, they're chest-bumping. It's absolutely crazy how it brings people together. And of course, everybody becomes an expert, right? You know what the coach should have done. You know who should have been in the game. You know which play should have been called. You know the bad calls the ref made, and maybe the ones he didn't make. And the funny thing is, most of us are making these observations from the most comfortable seat in the house, and we're just watching. There's nothing wrong with watching a game — it's entertainment, right? That's what makes sports so fun. And I don't expect everybody sitting in the stands to get up and run onto the field and play. That's not really how that works.
But here's where I wanna go with this today as it relates to following Jesus. What if we become too comfortable being spectators when it comes to our faith? What if we become really good at watching Christianity without actually participating in the mission of Jesus Christ? We come to church, we sing the songs, we listen to the message, we watch people serve, we watch people lead, we watch people pray, we watch other people go on mission trips, we watch people invest in the kids and the students, we watch people invite their friends to church. And somewhere along the way, we can become convinced that watching is actually the same thing as following. But it isn't. And that's why I wanna talk to you today about this idea, that followers of Jesus are not just spectators. Following Jesus isn't a spectator sport. Every follower of Jesus has a place, has a purpose, and has a part to play in the Kingdom of God.
3:11 And I wanna challenge you today to stop watching from the sidelines and to start following Jesus with your life, because — and I really want you to get this today — Jesus didn't call spectators. No, He called disciples.
3:28 So I want you to look at something Jesus said in Luke 9:23. Jesus said this: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." There's a word in that verse I don't want us to miss. It's the word follow. Jesus said, "Follow me." He didn't say admire me. He didn't say listen to me whenever you have some free time. He said, "Follow me." And following actually requires movement, right? You can't follow somebody while sitting in the same place. If I were to tell you, "Follow me," and then I start walking, all of a sudden you have a decision to make — you can stay where you are and watch me walk away, or you can get up and follow.
4:19 And that's really the invitation Jesus gives every single one of us today: "Get up and follow me." I think that's an important distinction, because it's possible to be impressed by Jesus without actually following Jesus. You can admire Him. You can believe He was a great teacher. You can agree with many of the things He taught. You can enjoy coming to church, and you can enjoy Christian music, and you can even love knowing a little bit about the Bible. But knowing about Jesus isn't the same thing as following Jesus.
5:01 There's a difference between being a fan of Jesus and being one of His followers. And I think that's something every one of us has to wrestle with, because spectators have a different posture than followers. A spectator watches what happens, whereas a follower participates in what Jesus is doing. A spectator asks, "What do I think about this?" Whereas a follower asks, "What does Jesus want me to do?" A spectator is looking for a good experience. A follower is willing to be changed.
5:36 A spectator can walk away when things get uncomfortable, but a follower keeps following even when following Jesus costs them something. And Jesus makes this really clear in Luke chapter 9 when He says, "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me." That's not spectator language. That's discipleship. And here's what I think is so important for us to understand: Jesus isn't looking for people who will simply attend His church. He's looking for people who will give Him their lives. There's a big difference.
Maybe you're here today and you've never really thought about following Jesus in that way. Maybe you've been around church, your family brought you to church, and you grew up hearing the Bible stories. Maybe you've attended church for years, but you've never personally made a decision to follow Jesus. Well, if that's you, I want you to know something today: Jesus is inviting you to become — and to be in relationship with Him. He's not inviting you to become a better version of yourself. He's inviting you to surrender your life to Him and allow Him to lead you through this life. Now, if you're here today and you're a new follower of Jesus, just getting started — you don't know everything, you still have a lot of questions, you don't have the Bible completely memorized — well, that's okay. You don't have it all figured out yet, and that's all right. But Jesus is simply saying, "Follow me."
7:24 And if you've been following Jesus for years and years and years, this isn't just a message for somebody else, because it's possible to follow Jesus for a long time and slowly become comfortable watching rather than participating. We can get to a place where we know how church works, but we've stopped asking God, "What do you want to do in me and through me?"
7:47 We've been around church for so long that we can forget Jesus is still calling us to follow after Him today — not just what He called you to do 10 years ago, not just what you did in the past, not just what somebody else is doing, but what does following Jesus look like for you today? Because following Jesus is a daily thing. Jesus says, "Take up your cross daily and follow me." Every day there's another opportunity to say, "Jesus, I'm yours." Every day there's another opportunity to surrender our plans to His plans, to choose obedience over convenience, to serve somebody, to love somebody who needs Jesus, to take a step of faith. That's what disciples do. They follow.
And here's where I think this gets really practical: you don't have to know the whole plan to take the next step. You don't have to know everything God is going to do in your life in order to follow after Him. You don't have to know exactly where you're going to be five years from now. You don't have to have every question answered. You just have to be willing to follow Jesus today. Think about the first disciples. Jesus walked up to Peter and Andrew and said, "Follow me." And they did. He called James and John, and they left their nets and followed after Jesus. Jesus didn't hand them a five-year strategic plan. He didn't give them a detailed explanation of everything they were going to experience. He said, "Follow me." And they stepped out of the boat and followed Him. That's faith. That's discipleship. And that's what Jesus is still saying to us today: "Follow me."
11:05 You gotta know your role, all right? You gotta know your role. So if Jesus has called every one of us to follow Him, then the next question is pretty simple: what does He want me to do? Because here's what I want you to understand today — you don't have to do everything, but you do have something to do. And I think that's important, because sometimes we look at the church and think there is so much to be done. "I don't know where I fit in." Maybe you see people who can sing, and you think, "Well, I can't do that." Or you see people who teach, and you think, "That's definitely not me." You see people lead, organize, work with kids and students, work with small groups, go on mission trips, stand on stage — and you start to think, "I don't have what they have." And so we end up convincing ourselves that because we can't do that, maybe there's nothing for us to do. But that's not how God designed His church.
12:10 Paul gives us a great picture of this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, where he compares the church to a body. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 12:12: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ." He goes on to explain that the body has different parts, and every part has a different function. You've got hands and feet and eyes and ears, and nobody looks at their foot and says, "I wish you were an ear." Nobody says to their hand, "You're not doing a very good job of being a foot." Why? Because the foot wasn't created to be the hand. The foot has a role. The hand has a role. The eyes have a role. The ears have a role. And Paul says that's what the church is like. He says in 1 Corinthians 12:27, "Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it." I love that phrase — each one of you. Not just pastors. Not just the staff at the church. Not just people who've been Christians for 30 years. Each of you. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you have a place in the body of Christ. You have a role to play.
13:39 Now, let me say something I think is really important: your role might not be on a stage, and that's perfectly fine. In fact, most of the important things that happen in the Kingdom of God do not happen on a stage. It might happen in a conversation over coffee, around a dinner table, in a classroom with a group of kids. It might happen when you sit beside somebody who's hurting and get to know them, or when you invite your neighbor over. It might happen when you pray with a friend or encourage somebody who's ready to quit. It might happen when you mentor a teenager, or serve behind the scenes and nobody ever knows you were even there. And here's something I've learned about the church: God doesn't measure significance the way we do. We tend to measure importance by visibility — if everybody sees it, we think it must be important. But God sees what nobody else sees. Jesus talked about this in Matthew chapter 6, when He told us not to do our good deeds simply to be noticed by other people. Why? Because God still sees. The person who quietly serves when nobody is watching is just as valuable to the mission of God as the person standing on the platform.
14:54 The person who faithfully teaches a group of children every Sunday is part of the mission. The person who welcomes somebody in the parking lot is part of the mission. The person who stays late to clean up at the end of an event, they are part of the mission. The person who notices somebody sitting all by themselves and walks over and talks to them is part of the mission. The person who uses their business, their home, their resources, their influence, their experiences, or their gifts to bless somebody else is part of the mission.
15:48 Listen, there are no spectators in the body of Christ. There are only different parts. And that's why I don't want anybody to compare their role with somebody else's role, because comparison will always mess you up. You look at somebody else and say, "I wish I could do what they do." And meanwhile, you're overlooking what God has already placed in your hands. Paul says in Romans 12, in the first part of verse 6, "We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us."
16:17 Different gifts — I think that's intentional, right? God didn't make us all the same. Imagine how ridiculous a body would be if it were made up of nothing but eyes. You'd have a lot of vision, but you wouldn't get very far, would you? Or imagine if everybody in the church had exactly the same gifts — everybody wanted to preach, but nobody wanted to change diapers; everybody wanted to lead, but nobody wanted to follow; everybody wanted to be seen, but nobody wanted to serve. That wouldn't be a very healthy church at all. God designed His church with different people, different personalities, different experiences, different gifts, and different opportunities. And when everybody does their part, something beautiful happens — the church actually becomes stronger. That's why you matter. Not because Highlands Fellowship needs more volunteers, not because we're trying to fill a schedule. No, you matter because you are part of the body of Christ. There are people God has uniquely designed for you to reach that I may never reach. There are conversations you can have that I can't have. There are people who will listen to you because you have a relationship with them. There are experiences you've been through that God can use to help somebody else. Don't waste what God has given you and taught you through the circumstances of life you've been through. Your story can actually become part of somebody else's story.
And sometimes I think we make serving God much more complicated than it needs to be. We think, "I need to discover my spiritual gift" — and I think you should, I think that's a good thing, we should understand how God has gifted us. But sometimes you don't discover your role by sitting around trying to figure out your role. You discover it by getting involved. So you gotta start somewhere, serve somewhere, help somewhere. Say yes to something, try something, and what might happen is you discover God has equipped you in a way you didn't even know. And maybe you're thinking, "But I'm too busy" — I understand that, we all have responsibilities, jobs, families, schedules. But I'd challenge you to ask a different question. Instead of asking, "Do I have time to serve?" ask, "What has God already given me that I can use for His purposes?" Because your time is a gift. Your experiences are a gift. Your relationships are a gift. Your abilities are a gift. And God wants to use what He's given you. That's what makes the church different — we're not just a crowd of people who gather in the same room once a week. No, we're a body. And a body works when every part is doing what it was created to do. So let me ask you something today: what is your role? Where are you serving? Where are you investing? Who are you investing in? Who are you helping? Where are you using what God has given you for the sake of somebody else? Because you don't have to do everything, you don't have to be everything, you don't have to serve everywhere — but you do have something to do.
And here's the thing: even when we discover our role, there's a temptation that can creep in, and we start thinking our role is about us. We can start looking for recognition, comparing our contribution to somebody else's, asking, "What's in it for me?" But that's not the heart of Jesus. Because when we understand who Jesus is and what He's done for us, we realize our role isn't about us.
21:01 No, it's about Jesus. And that's point number three: your role isn't about you. Now, here's where I think this gets a little bit deeper, because it's one thing to say, "Find your role," and another thing to ask, "Why are you doing it?" You can get involved in church and still make it about yourself. You can serve and want people to notice you. You can lead because you like being in charge. You can volunteer because you enjoy the recognition. You can even become frustrated when things aren't done the way you think they should be done. And let me just be honest — we've all been there. Sometimes we can take something that was supposed to be about Jesus and turn it into being about us. That's why Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others." That's a completely different way of looking at church than what our culture teaches, because the question isn't simply, "What is my role?" The deeper question is, "Who am I doing this for?" And that's where following Jesus gets really personal.
22:31 Jesus didn't come asking, "What's in it for me?" He came asking, "How can I give my life for other people?"
22:39 In Mark 10:45, Jesus said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Think about that. Jesus had every right to be served. He was the Son of God. He deserved the honor, He deserved the glory, He deserved the recognition — and yet He came as a servant. He washed people's feet.
23:09 He welcomed little children to come to Him. He stopped for people that nobody else even noticed, and He cared for people who couldn't give Him anything in return. And ultimately, He gave His life for us. That is the heart of the gospel. So if Jesus is our example, following Jesus will eventually move us from "How can this church serve me?" to "How can God use me to serve somebody else?" That's the shift. And honestly, it's a shift all of us have to keep making daily, because our natural tendency is to ask, "What do I get?" Whereas Jesus teaches us to ask, "What can I give?" And that's not just about serving on Sunday morning — that's a way of living. It's how you approach your friendships, your marriage, your family. It's how you approach your job and your coworkers. It's how you use your money and how you treat people who disagree with you. It's how you respond when nobody's giving you credit for anything. Because if we're honest, it's pretty easy to serve when people are noticing us. It's much harder to serve when nobody knows you're doing it at all. But that's where our motivation gets tested. Am I doing this for Jesus, or am I doing this for me? And maybe that's a question worth asking today — not just "am I involved," but "what's really motivating me?"
Because the goal isn't simply to get more people working in more places around the church. No, the goal is for us to become more like Jesus Christ in the way we think and in the way we live. And Jesus was a servant. So when we follow Him, we become people who look for opportunities to serve others. We start noticing people. We start looking beyond ourselves. We start asking, "Who needs encouragement? Who needs help? Who can I invest in? How can I make somebody else's day a little bit better, a little bit brighter?" That's what happens when you get off the sidelines, when you stop asking, "What's in it for me?" and start asking, "What can I do for somebody else?"
25:41 So let me bring this back to where we started. Following Jesus is not a spectator sport. And maybe today you realize you've been more of a spectator than a follower — you've been watching, attending, just consuming. But Jesus is saying, "Follow me." Maybe your next step is simply saying, "Jesus, I want to follow." Maybe you've been following Jesus, but just sitting on the sidelines — well, it's time for you to get involved. Maybe you've been serving, but somewhere along the way you've made it about yourself — maybe God is calling you back to humility today. And maybe you've been faithfully serving for years and years and years, and if that's you, this isn't a correction, but it is a reminder: what you're doing matters. The person you're encouraging matters. The child you're teaching matters. The teenager you're investing in matters. The person you're welcoming to church matters. The person you're praying for matters. The person you're discipling matters. Because we're not just filling positions. We're joining the mission of Jesus Christ.
27:13 So don't just come to church. Be the church. Don't just watch, but follow after Jesus. Don't just attend, but be an active participant. Don't just ask what you can get. Ask what you can give.
27:38 Because God didn't save you just to sit in the stands. No, He saved you to join His mission. Would you pray with me today? God, we come to you and we're asking you to do something in our hearts and lives that we cannot do on our own. We're asking you to change us from the inside out, to allow us to become more and more like you, because we believe that as we follow you, we will begin to look more like you. And when I think about this idea of following Jesus as not a spectator sport, I really believe we get into this attitude of consumption because so much of our culture is about consuming things, about us, and if we're not entertained, we don't want anything to do with it. But the church is different. The church isn't about entertainment. The church isn't all about us. Yes, you came to die on the cross so that we could be saved, so that we could be in right relationship with you — so in some ways, it is about us. But at the same time, when we give our hearts and lives over to you, there's a shift that takes place. We're no longer consumers. We are faithful servants, and we give of ourselves because that's what you have done for us. So God, my prayer is that we would no longer be consumers, but that we would give our hearts and lives completely over to you, and that we would truly follow after you — and that takes movement, that takes trust, and that takes us fully surrendering our hearts and lives to you on a daily basis. So God, continue to work in our hearts and lives, and we trust that you're going to do great things in and through your church as the body comes together as one, understanding our roles and fulfilling the purpose you have for each and every one of us. God, we love you and we praise you. It's in the name of Jesus we pray, and everybody said, "Amen."