Hebrews 10:25
Well, it’s time for Georgia Football again and I can hardly wait. I’m sitting in my study listening to the Georgia Pre-game show and looking forward to the first kickoff of the season against Clemson. I am a huge Dawg fan and have been since I was old enough to understand the concept of competition and that the Georgia Bulldogs were my team to root for. Everyone I knew was a Georgia Dawg. If I discovered that someone I knew living in Georgia was a Florida or Clemson or Alabama fan, I thought that something was wrong with them. They just didn’t think right. Football is a driving passion in the South. People are possessed with it especially in the Fall when all the action is going on. They are dedicated to it to an unusual degree called fanaticism. In fact, the word “fan” is a shortening of that word, fanaticism. It’s fun.
Just take a look at any football stadium on game day and you will easily surmise that nothing much matters to the thousands and thousands of fans who don’t care if its raining, snowing or sleeting. They are going to be in their seat for which they paid hundreds of dollars in order to scream, yell and generally go bonkers especially when their team is winning. Lots of energy in a football stadium on Saturday afternoon. Turn it into electricity and it could probably run a good sized city for a week.
As a Pastor, I guess its only natural for me to wish that people would be as committed to the Lord and His House as they are to sports events such as football. People will make plans, spend huge sums of money and generally make sure that nothing interferes with their ability to be at a favorite football game.
I often look at a college football game with ninety to one hundred thousand people in attendance and wonder how many of those people will be in worship the next day. Wouldn’t it be nice if those people, while enjoying the game on Saturday, knew that their place on Sunday would be to be in their seat at church to Worship the Lord on Sunday? It seems to me that, while being a fan and having fun at a game is great, the Lord is much more important in the life of a person. Also, by the way, it does not cost hundreds of dollars to attend a worship service. As a matter of fact, it is free.
There is a time for everything but we should not forget that there is also a time for the Lord and our worship of Him. Those same people who will place most anything before Him will one day want a preacher to “put them in heaven” at their funeral. Sorry, no can do. If the Lord is that important then, He is that important now. And, worship of Him is extremely important to Him if not to others. Hebrews 10:25 tells us something very important when it says: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” In reality, one might think that people feel that verse applies to their favorite football game and not to the worship of the Lord. We are given no commandment concerning going to a football game, but we do have one concerning the act of Worship. I’m not trying to be a spoil sport. I love attending a game as much as anyone. I hope the Dawgs win the national championship again this year. But, I place worship above any other event or responsibility. I plan from the time I leave a worship experience to be at the next opportunity to come before the Lord in obedience to His word in Hebrews.
One does not wind up at a football game by accident. They planned for a long time to be in attendance. Their presence is not by chance, it is by design. They will let nothing interfere with their plans. A fan cannot wait to settle down in his high-dollar seat to watch a game. He is there by the fact that he had personal interest in what he bought his seat for. Not only that, they look forward to and greatly anticipate getting there. All of that is commendable because they have great interest in their team.
Now, let’s transfer all of that over to the act of Worship. Most people don’t think about it much during the week. They go to the church to worship because it’s the thing they do and have most always done. Just about anything can interrupt their attendance. God forbid that there is a fog and especially if it were to start sprinkling. Satan makes it look like the worse thing ever and suddenly that person decides that they don’t need to take a chance getting a cold so they had better stay home. That same person will not let rain, sleet, cold, snow or anything deter them from their seat in the stadium. Which, I ask, is more important? Which has more to do with where you spend eternity? Which will instruct you with the Biblical instructions for life? Which has God in it? As stated earlier, I’m not trying to be a spoilsport. I think going to a football game is a wonderful thing to do. But, I am pointing out that if you are going to be a committed “fan” then you might ought to think about be committed to Worshipping the Lord to the same degree. Otherwise, your sport of choice becomes your god. And, God points out that “thou shalt have no other god before Me.”
You will not stand before a coach one day expecting him to let you in heaven because you were dedicated to the team. But, you will stand before the Lord one day. I think I know which one I feel is more important. It is Jesus and there is no substitute. Be as committed to Him and dedicated to your worship of Him as people are about dedication to their favorite team and the excitement of a ball game. And, by the way….He is watching and keeping the score.
