NFL - Not For Long

NFL - Not For Long

This is the first time in three consecutive years that I was able to enjoy the SUPER BOWL at home. As an evangelist, it is a privilege to criss-cross the Country but it does come with some personal sacrifice. While preaching and catching planes I literally missed both games the last two years and it was different being home to watch it. I love sports but I also learned the things that meant everything to me as a kid mean nothing and the things that meant nothing now mean everything.

First, the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE has also been coined “Not For Long” among players and fans. While preaching one year ago today in Ohio; I had the privilege to tour the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. I saw the museum the day before the SUPER BOWL but missed the entire game after preaching three times in two days on the flight home. I am certainly not complaining because I know that the BIGGEST GAME is in souls and it’s wise to chase the ETERNAL not temporal.

Secondly, my hat goes off to the New Orleans Saints. One, I almost always root for the underdog and I love the NFC. Peyton Manning is a gifted student of the game and has had an amazing career (even if he elects to call it quits) but I must say that the Colts impressed me but the Saints inspired me. Much has been said the past couple years of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. What has been neglected is during that time their stadium housed the homeless while the Saints organization became homeless having to play every single game on the road. This is what we call “CHARACTER BUILDING.”

Talk about courage under fire, these brothers literally dug deep while going out and playing every single game two years ago in an opponents arena. Most would have buckled but some folks break under pressure while others Break Records. In life, some get bitter and others grow BETTER. I have always said: “Those that have come the furthest tend to go the farthest.” What do I mean by that? Consider a rubber band – the stronger the resistance the greater the distance. Perhaps, that is why God uses the BROKEN the most because they don’t rely on self but their Savior. I’m convinced that our adversity today prepares us for God’s Varsity tomorrow. Our mess now becomes one’s message later. The test in the present becomes our TESTimony in the future.

When crisis comes upon us we must get creative and cling to Christ. I shared before the game that Jesus en route to His death rode a Colt but in our lives via His Holy Spirit is present with the Saints. Some suggest that God is not in the affairs of men. I believe He is. It’s not that God isn’t interested in man but sadly, men are not always attuned to the affairs of God. Some suggest that the beer commercials are the best and the one where the people laid down their lives so the truck could deliver the “goods” was interesting. Talk about BEER OVER TROUBLED WATERS.

Its ironic, how Madison Avenue or Hollywood take a Biblical reference and twist it for their benefit. The chasm between man and God is not liquor but the Lord. Some got goods but do we got God? The other beer commercial with the plane wreck basically said “Life is a party” as long as you got beer. Just the Gospel Truth, Heaven NOT hell will be the biggest Party of all time. The Almighty not alcohol is the bridge that closes the gap and because of the cross we can have an eternal encounter with Christ. Nothing wrong with having fun but if we live and die without Faith in Christ as our Savior, Subsitute and Sacrifice we are deceived by the Devil.

Indeed, the football season is too short. Some wives may disagree but the season is over before you know it and many sports fans long to fill the void after the season. “March Madness” starts in less than two weeks and I often wondered if sports weren’t strategically placed to keep our mind off the Biggest Game which is salvation found only in Christ. God gave me a word recently. THE BIGGEST LOSER is not the one who lost the most weight but WAITED TOO LONG to find God. In this tough economy, loss of employment, feelings of fear, many Christians have taken some serious shots. Some are either on the ropes or sitting on the sidelines, wondering if it will pay off in the end? As the Saints had to play in a foreign stadium weekly, consider Christ who Divinity became Humanity. He left the worship of Heaven to come to the rejection of Earth. The Son became sin and tempted without ever sinning. Contradictory no but Champion yes!

Recently, I read where a man paid $14,000 for two tickets to the game and in my spirit I wondered if they would “neglect so great a Salvation” for FREE. 100 years from now even the Super Bowl will resemble the Toilet Bowl if we failed to grab the grace of God. This may sound harsh but Hell is hot, eternity is forever and no one wins if at the end we were not prepared to meet Him. The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus is in the soul, saving business! Nothing wrong with going to the big game – my parents went to the Super Bowl in 1992, when the Redskins beat the Bills in Minneapolis. But praise God – they got their reservation for Heaven long ago. If you are unsure if you died tonight if you would go to Heaven – CLICK THIS LINK from Billy Graham to show you how you can make Heaven your future home –
http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp

The Saints are living proof, it doesn’t matter where you have been but what matters most is WHERE you are going. Child of God, perhaps you have also taken some hits, dangled on the ropes of romance or just waiting for the Referee (Jesus) to either stop the fight or start fighting for you – rest assured, we win in the end. In closing, I also said that win or lose today I knew that in the end it will not only be worth it but when the Trumpet sounds, the whistle blows, the Game of Life is over and the Lord appears “The Saints Go Marching In.” Yes, this life is NFL (Not For Long) and get God before your Game is Over.