They Call You Coach- Creating a Team by Transfer- FRIDAY

I played against Bear Bryant-coached teams.  As players for our team at Ole Miss, we were physically dominant over his players individually in every position.  But he was dominant over our coach in creating a team who worked together.  Bear won.   How can this be when football is so physical on the field?  It is because a team that works together multiplies its talent and effort beyond the sum of individual efforts.  Bear knew this and this was his mission as a coach ... to create a team.  Where did he learn this?  I don't know how it got to him but I know where it was modeled clearly in the Bible.  We see it with the way Jesus discipled His men and how they were used to do the same in forming the Church as a "team."  He transferred the wisdom and direction He received from the Father to them, and they then transferred their wisdom and direction they received from the Holy Spirit to others.  It was a seamless effort, as that is how it is when good teams work together.  But what if they had stopped the flow and remained content with having their own ticket punched for Heaven?  What if they did not reinvest what had been given to them by Jesus to others?  Where would you and I be?  Would the disciples have been obedient to Jesus if they had done that?  Of course they would not be.  We see the answer to those questions clearly.  But do we see that those questions apply to us who are not concerned with the generation that follows us?  Are we serving our King as part of His team by doing what He asks of us, or have we taken our self out of the game for our own selfish interests to be in the stands?

When the Apostle Paul spoke of the different body parts in a body, it was to connect our understanding of our spiritual gifts working together.  It was to make a point that we must be a "team" working together under the "HeadCoach" which is Jesus, to multiply our individual efforts.  Got the picture?  Why is this important to understand?  It goes to a point I want to make.  Do you think our Heavenly Head Coach tells us as older men to no longer use our spiritual gifts, our talents, our wisdom, and the flexibility of our time of life to reinvest those things into younger men?  Of course not.  Do you think He is pleased if we obey Him and do this?  Of course.  Do you think He will help us with our efforts?  If we position our self in close proximity to Jesus and from this place help another man go to this same place, do you think Jesus is pleased by this effort of ours?  If the Holy Spirit is part of this whole endeavor of walking with Him and reinvesting our life into another person, do you think there is potential for greatness to emerge in this other man, or even our self?  Do you want to be part of something great?  If you do Coach, you can't keep what you know to yourself.  You've got to get out of the stands to transfer what you know to others.

I love sports metaphors, for they remind me of the human struggle to pursue something greater than our selfish comfort.  People who do this are heroes.  But we don't see heroes staying in the stands.  For example, we don't use retirement with fishing, or golfing, or sleeping late, or traveling, or watching every TV program we want as part of a motivational speech.  A report of our leisure time doesn't impress many people, and as well, I feel it doesn't impress Jesus either.  There are times that our Good Shepherd will lead us beside "still waters and green pastures" to restore us.  But that is because we have emptied our self from serving His purpose and He leads us to this restoration.  But we don't live there.  Note the next words that come immediately after "restore" in Psalms: "He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake" (Psalms 23:3 NIV).  It is apparent that He gives us restoration so that we are able to return to the right path He has for us.  Living a life of permanent leisure with no reinvestment of our life as our highest priority is not God's plan for a disciple of Christ.  Sorry to shake you if that is your life style and perspective on life.  But the old coach in me must speak frankly and clearly to you as I would to a lazy athlete with great potential.  I would tell him that he is wasting his God given abilities and the opportunity he has during this time in his life to invest himself into being a great athlete.  I will say the same to you.  You are wasting the God given wisdom you have and the God given time of life you have to pursue only your interests.  As a coach, I would try to reach a young man and help him see something great that he could be part of.  I would ask for a total commitment, and I in turn would make a total commitment to help him be the man of that vision he has for himself.  But it would require that he is willing to deny himself and take on his mission with all that is within him and trust me to get him where he wants to go.  That is what I would do as a coach.  Does this sound like a metaphor that is borrowed from somewhere else?  Do you think Coach Jesussaid the same?  You be the judge:

Here are some big questions we will all face:  First is "What happens to me when I die?"  Are you confident with the answer to that question?  If you are, then the next questions come from Jesus when we face Him in Heaven: "How have you invested the life that I redeemed?  Were you obedient to me?  Did you deny yourself and take up your cross and allow me to guide you?  Did you transfer what I gave to you to anyone else?"

Men, you need to do an earnest assessment of these questions.  If you find yourself in the stands only watching the game as someone else plays it, get up and get started toward making sure you can answer those questions with a "yes."  You will want to hear your King say to you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"  We all need to step up and enter the field of play.  No more spectators.  No more fans.  No more riding the bench.  Just players and coaches on Jesus' team doing their parts in the game.  We are in the fourth quarter.  We need you.  Let's win it for Jesus!!!  Let's give-em Heaven!!!