August 15, 2004

Turning Losers into Winners

We’re finishing up our summer series here on the Heart of a Champion, and I’m going to speak of the heart of one Champion, spoken of in the Bible – one who took losers and turned them into winners, one who was more than a coach, He was Jesus our Savior. 

This week, if you turn on the TV, you can see that the whole world is tuned into the best of the best of the countries of the world.  And where are they?  They are in Athens.  Yes.  And if you were to go and to look for the best athletes in the world, you might go to Athens.  But that’s not the place that Jesus went to look for winners.  No, he went to common places, places you wouldn’t expect.  He went down to the seashore.  He found some fishermen, and he saw in them much more than they were.  He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will not just make you better fishermen, but fishers of men.  Jesus saw people, saw their needs, saw their potential.  He was a master at that, a master need meter, a master coach. 

Today we’re going to look at some things Jesus did to meet people’s needs.  I’ve got three examples I’m going to go through. 

First of all, this being Olympics, we’re going to start with the physical.  We’ve got some people that are in wonderful physical shape in Athens.  Not everybody is in wonderful physical shape. Some of us suffer from disease, permanent physical disabilities.

People have PHYSICAL needs… John 9:  Our first loser:  Blind man 

Jesus went, and met the first man that might be considered by the world to be a loser.  He went to meet that first loser.  He saw him along the road. That was the blind man. 

¹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ²"Teacher," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" ³"It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. ⁵But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world."  

I’m going to stop there for a moment.  Jesus said that this man, was disabled not because of anything he did wrong, not because his parents did anything wrong, not because God was out to punish someone, but that God might get the glory.  And Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”  I am the light, the light that you see in your eyes.  I am that light. 

⁶Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man's eyes. ⁷He told him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing! ⁸His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Is this the same man--that beggar?" ⁹Some said he was, and others said, "No, but he surely looks like him!"And the beggar kept saying, "I am the same man!" ¹⁰They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?" ¹¹He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, `Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.' I went and washed, and now I can see!" 

Why was the man born blind?  That God might be glorified.  The man was healed.  He washed in the pool.  And what did he do?  He told others of the miracle that was done.  He gave the glory to God that was due to God.  He gave God glory.  Now God wants to meet physical needs -- disease, food, clothing, shelter.  But when God meets those physical needs, He also wants the glory.  So if God has done something in your life, give Him the glory!  If God has healed you, give Him the glory!  If God has provided you a job, when you had no prospects for a job, give Him the glory!  

God is there to meet physical needs. 

Now I’m going to go on to the next one.  

People have EMOTIONAL needs 

So I’m going to turn to our next loser, a little short guy.  His name was Zacchaeus. 

This comes from Luke, chapter 19. 

¹Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ²There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich. ³He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there. ⁵When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today." ⁶Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ⁷But the crowds were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. 

I’m going to stop here in the middle again, and tell a little about Zacchaeus. 

He wasn’t well liked is his community.  He wasn’t liked because, well, he was a tax collector.  Few people like to confront the tax collector.  But more than that, he was a sell-out.  He was a traitor.  He was born a Jew.  And the ruling authorities came in.  They were Romans.  He wanted the money.  He turned away from his Jewish heritage.  He turned away from God.  He tuned to the Romans.  He says, “I’ll collect your taxes.”  He wasn’t well liked by the other Jews.  That relationship had been destroyed.  He didn’t have friends.  If you’ve been a police officer, a tax collector, you probably don’t have many friends.  You have more enemies than you have friends.  He had an emotional need. 

But he reached out to Jesus and Jesus reached out to him.  Jesus said, “Let me come into your house. 

And he said, Yes!”  And he went home and he prepared his house, and he invited him in. 

The crowds were displeased. 

 ⁸Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"  

Here we see an invitation.  He invites Jesus into his life.  He invites Jesus into his home. 

Here we see repentance.  He’s become rich off of everybody else’s money.  He’s become rich off the occupying Romans.  And he says in repentance, “I give half my money to the poor.”   

And so when we invite Christ in, and when we turn in repentance,⁹Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham.  

Not a sell-out of the Jews, this man has come back.  This relationship with his neighbors has been restored.  His relationship with his God has been restored.  ¹⁰And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost." 

Zacchaeus sought to be liked, to be understood, accepted, loved, respected.  Instead, he was despised.  He had riches, but little good it did.  He didn’t have any friends to share it with.  Zacchaeus was physical short.  He was socially outcast. But Jesus met him where his need was, brought him back from having turned away from his people, having turned away from his God, and his life was changed.  Zacchaeus was saved from hell.  Zacchaeus was saved from the displeasure of his own people.  Instead he became a big benefactor back to the community.  He was another loser turned into a winner.

People also have SPIRITUAL needs 

We’re going to go back to the book of John and look at the third loser.  A loser in the world’s eyes, a woman, a despised race (the Samaritans) the woman at the well. 

¹Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, "Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John" ²(though Jesus himself didn't baptize them--his disciples did).  

You know, Jesus was already training up pastors, wasn’t he?  He was already having his disciples baptize new believers. 

³So he left Judea to return to Galilee. ⁴He had to go through Samaria on the way.  

Didn’t really have to. It was the shortest route.  He chose to do it.  He had a purpose in mind. 

⁵Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.  

I don’t know if this was the same well where Jacob met Rachel.  This may have been the location of the first date for the nation of Israel.  I won’t go into that. 

⁷Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." ⁸He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. ⁹The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" ¹⁰Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." 

And then looking around, maybe she realized, “Maybe he’s asking me for a drink because he doesn’t have a bucket.  He doesn’t have a rope.” 

You know once she starts to look to him for water, she’s like, ¹¹"But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? ¹²And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?" ¹³Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. ¹⁴But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."  

Still not understanding that He’s talking about the spiritual, the woman says. ¹⁵"Please, sir, give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water."  

But Jesus knows that she has a thirst that is greater than her thirst for water. 

¹⁶"Go and get your husband," Jesus told her. ¹⁷"I don't have a husband," the woman replied.  Jesus said, "You're right! You don't have a husband-- ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now."  

Some have wondered, “Why is this woman, at noontime, coming up to the well to get water?  Isn’t that something that you do first thing in the morning, when you get up, and you get the water that you’re going to need for the day?”  

Maybe she was up late the night before, with this man who wasn’t her husband.  Maybe she was drinking and partying. 

And Jesus says, “Go and get your husband.” 

And she’s thinking, “Whoa!  He’s a newcomer in town.  How does he know what I was doing last night?”   

And then he says, “You’ve had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.”  I know not only what you were doing last night; I know what you were doing last summer.  I know what you’ve been doing all through life. 

¹⁹"Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet.  

She knows he’s not from town.  He’s a Jew.  There are no Jews in town.  This is a Samaritan village.  So she tries to turn the conversation around from he own self here. 

²⁰So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?"  

Do you ever get this kind of misdirection when people are confronted with their own sin, with their own failings?  “Well let’s turn the conversation to something religious, something not me.” 

²¹Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for (not Jews) anyone who will worship him that way. ²⁴For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."  

Now she’s gaining a spiritual perspective on this conversation.  She’s beginning to recognize what may be going on here. 

²⁵The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." ²⁶Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!" ²⁷Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. ²⁸The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, ²⁹"Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?"  

She’s saying to her villagers, “Can this be the Messiah?”  She’s really thinking in her heart, “This is the Messiah.  That’s what he told me.  He told me everything I ever did.  He is a prophet.  As a prophet, he claims his words are true.  As a prophet, he said he is the Messiah.”  But she asks it as a question to her friends, “Can this be the Messiah?” so that they might come and investigate it for themselves.  And if you read further on in the chapter, you see that they do.³⁰So the people came streaming from the village to see him.  

Now this woman was a failure at relationships.  She was looking for love.  She was looking for love from everybody except the Author of love.  She needed first to be forgiven and reconciled to God to feel His love, before she really could turn, and in truth, love others. 

In her life, love was a game.  And love was a losing game.  She had a vacuum in her heart that only God can fill. 

Being reconciled to God is something that we cannot do on our own. That would be religion.  No, Jesus came to her as a relationship. 

He goes right after the spiritual needs.  He knew she came from an imperfect situation.  Did he say to her, “Go and marry this guy, get right with him, and then come back?”  No. Did he say, “Go back to one of your previous husbands and get right with them and then come back?”  No, he didn’t say that either. He didn’t say, “You first have to go fix the rest of your life, and then you can come to Jesus.”  He says, “First, come to Jesus.  And then, you can begin to fix the rest of your life.” 

Jesus met her spiritual need, and Love found her.

So let’s look at some things about spiritual needs: 

Every person needs Christ.  We need him for our physical needs.  We need him for our spiritual needs.  We need him for our emotional needs.  We need him because we suffer under the condemnation of sin. 

…for we have already shown that all people whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. Romans 3:9 

For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Romans 3:23 

God loves everyone and has provided for their salvation. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?  Romans 2:4 

God wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 1 Timothy 2:4

It doesn’t matter whether they are Jew or Gentile, Samaritan, male or female, old or young. 

He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 1 John 2:2 

Jesus came and he ministered.  At the end of his ministry, he was punished.  He was laid on a cross.  He was put to death.  The sufferings that he suffered on that cross were not for his misdeeds, not for him violating the law, God’s law nor man’s law.  What he suffered for on the cross, was your sin, was my sin.  He paid the penalty.  A penalty was required. 

While the woman at the well was putting her faith in an act yet to come -- in a Messiah who has yet to finish his earthly ministry --  she put her faith in him, that he in fact was the savior.  He would save her. 

God has chosen to give the message of salvation through those who have experienced it. 

But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

God wants to work in your life. 

• He wants change you in ways we can never change on our own.
• He wants to give you a reason to live, a reason to love.
• He wants to help you do the right thing.
• He wants to give you a heart for other people, those who are in your social circles, and those who are socially outcast.
• He wants to save your soul and take you to heaven to be with him forever.

 You know, Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his house.  And in the same way, Jesus has now welcomed Zacchaeus into his home.  Zacchaeus did it here on earth.  Jesus is doing it in heaven.  If you accept Jesus here on earth, he accepts you in heaven.  He’s paid the penalty for your sin.  All you need to do is trust in that -- put your faith in that -- welcome him into your heart, into your house, into your life, and he forgives that sin.

 Now there’s a change that comes about.

 I want you to take a look at this and tell me, what is wrong with this athlete?

  Have you ever seen football played on roller-skates? 

These are the roller-skates of relativism.  The world tells us that there is no absolute right, or absolute wrong.  The world tells us, “There are better choices and there are worse choices, so make good choices.” 

That’s like playing football riding on the roller-skates of relativism. 

Now let’s bring about our first temptation here.

Sometimes, we’re pulled along by the eyes. 

Have you ever seen some guys, they’re walking along,  all of a sudden something catches their eye and it’s like a spider web just attached?  And they turn and their eyes, and their mouth begins to drop open.  And then their shoulders begin to turn.  And pretty soon they’re walking the other way. 

Sometimes, our eyes pull us away.  Sometimes you’ll see someone in a store.  And they’re walking down the aisle.  And they’re here to buy something over there, and this big sale sign pops up.  And they’re looking, and they’re saying, “Whoa…”  And their eyes turn them, and they’re pulled. 

Zacchaeus saw something different.  He was enticed by gold, silver, by the lure of money.  And he was pulled along by that.

But, you know, sometimes it’s not the things that pull us, it’s the things that push us. 

These guys here represent peer pressure.  It’s a desire to conform to the world, to do what the world says is right, not what God says is right.  And if this football player is being pulled on one hand and pushed on the other hand, he’s going down on roller-skates, and great will be his fall, as he gets knocked flat. 

God is trying to help us avoid that pain.  He wants us to get off of the roller-skates of relativism. 

In Ephesians it talks about having your feet shod instead with the gospel of peace. 

You know, in every sporting event, they’ve got special shoes.  Football players have got shoes, and they help them to stand their ground.  When they take their stance, and put up their arms to block, they can stand, because they have shoes on. 

We’ve got some things that are not relative -- but absolutes -- that we can stand on, like the ten commandments.  I am the Lord your God.  Don’t make idols and bow down to worship them.  Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.  Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.  Honor your parents.  Those are like five cleats for your right foot, to keep it grounded in the Word.  They keep it grounded on steady ground and keep you from falling. 

Then you’ve got: “Do not kill.  Do not commit adultery.  Do not steal.  Do not lie.  Do not covet.”  Those are like five more cleats, to plant your other foot solid on the ground so that you can stand.  And when the devil tempts you, you can say, “The word of God says, ‘Thou shalt not…’”, or “Worship God, and Him only.”  Then you can stand.  And if you need one more, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”  And that’s like a big heel spike, stuck in the ground, that helps to keep you from falling, because you’re not on the roller-skates of relativism.  You are standing on the truth, the true word of God.  And you can stand there, because you have the Holy Spirit working in your life.  You have Christ in your life.  You’ve turned your life over to him.  And so you can stand. 

And there’s something that happens when you do that.  You know, when football players have got solid footing, they can make plays.  And you start making enough successful plays, you start winning games.  And so there’s something that happens when you turn your life over to Christ.  Like I mentioned with the woman at the well, there’s something that missionaries call “redemption and lift.”  They’re redeemed.  They’re saved.  They’ve put their trust in Christ.  And as they begin to do right things, and abide by God’s law, and begin to put aside bad habits, filthy practices, their whole situation tends to come up.  Their situation begins to come up, and they stop losing money, losing relationships, losing what they are trying to hold on to, and they start gaining friends, and they start gaining back relationships, and they start gaining the grace of God working in their life.

HOW CAN WE DEVELOP A HEART FOR OTHERS? 

How can we see the potential in a group of fishermen out fishing, or a tax collector sitting in the booth, in men that might seem to be losers in life? 

1. We can start by showing a GENUINE concern for others.  We’ve often heard that they don't care what you know until they know you care.  You can look at others and ask yourself, “What is her greatest need?”  It may not be something that you can take care of.  It may be something you can only pray for.  It may be something you can get someone else to take care of.  It may be a need you may be able to meet.

Instead of looking down on a person, start asking yourself, “What is their greatest need?”

2. Share your STORY.  If God has saved you, if God has healed you, give glory to God, and he’ll do it more.  No one can argue with your story. The blind guy in John 9 was able to say to those who asked him what happened, "I once was blind but now I see."

3. Extend an INVITATION.  Some of you have done that today.  Most people who attend church, do so because they were invited by a friend.
   • Listen to their needs. Get more information.
   • Invite them to church, youth group, or Pioneer Clubs.  You know, we give kids a little prize at Pioneer Clubs when they invite a friend, to get them in the habit of inviting friends. And there the message of salvation can be explained.
4. Expect a variety of RESPONSES - Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
   • Some won’t respond at all.  They’ll have closed hearts.
   • Some will have shallow hearts.  They’ll come take notes, and just kind of wander off and forget about it.
   • Some will be distracted.  Some of you may be thinking of something else today while I’m talking.
   • Some will have fertile hearts and good soil.  They’ll hear.  They’ll understand.  Their lives will be changed.

   Now we can’t account for other people’s responses.  We can only account for our invitation, our message, what we tell them.  

   Friendship challenge! 

5. Follow-up with the POSSIBLE (what you can do).  Ask God for the IMPOSSIBLE (what you can’t do).  Again, ask, “What is their greatest need?”

   You know, some of the people I’ve seen turn to Christ have started off the biggest atheists you have ever known, but they’ve come all the way to recognizing God, and Christ, and their need for salvation.

    Maybe you’re here feeling like a loser.  Maybe you have a need that’s dragging you down.  Maybe it’s a physical problem.  Maybe you feel belittled like that little man, Zacchaeus.  Maybe you have a spiritual problem and need to experience the refreshing forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers -- the refreshing forgiveness. 

   Jesus wants to turn you into a winner.  Jesus wants to help you win others.  Here at Fellowship Chapel, we want to help out as much as possible.  And we want to ask God with you for the impossible.  When you see someone with a need, come to our Sunday night prayer meeting and we will pray with you.  But most of all, if you don’t know Jesus Christ, I ask you not to walk out of this building without getting the help you need, without getting the answers you’re looking for.  Talk to me after the service, or someone who invited you or one of the other elders.  It is a joy to see lives changed. 

   We didn’t have an opportunity for testimony in the service today to see lives changed, but we heard all about it last week.  We hear about it time and time again, how a need is there, and we pray, and God meets that need, because he is a need meter.

    

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