Sunday's Message - Eye on the Prize

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant, Ohio and the First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, March 21, 2020.

******

John 12:20-33 [Contemporary English Version]

Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.” Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.

Jesus said:

The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory. I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat. If you love your life, you will lose it. If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life. If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.

Now I am deeply troubled, and I don’t know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. So Father, bring glory to yourself.

A voice from heaven then said, “I have already brought glory to myself, and I will do it again!” When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.

Then Jesus told the crowd, “That voice spoke to help you, not me. This world’s people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out! If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me.” Jesus was talking about the way he would be put to death.

*****

Eye on the Prize

When I was a teenager, going up in the Norfolk, Virginia, March was just about my favorite month, but I’ll tell you, it had absolutely nothing to do with the coming of Spring. As a matter of fact, I think you could say that I was “mad” about March. Do you get it? You see, back then, I was all about basketball. Man, not only would I watch as many ACC games as I could see (they were broadcast locally through Pilot Life. I can still hear the jingle.) but not only that, I was a basketball player and sort of envisioned myself playing under Dean Smith or Lefty Driesell. And looking back, even though I was short, I really made up for it by being slow. I wasn’t very good. In fact, I started only one game in high school and was benched after committing three fouls in the first two minutes. I was excited. But you know, in spite of that, that was exactly how I felt every March; man, I was excited. 

And even though my enthusiasm has faded just a little bit over the years, I still enjoy following the NCAA Tournament. And although a lot of stuff has changed in the last fifty years, you know, one of the things that hasn’t is that it still takes focus to win. In other words, to advance in the tournament, neither the players nor the coaches can allow themselves to get distracted. Instead, they need to come together as a team and to concentrate on the game, you know, on what they need to do in order to win. And when they do, that’s what often happens. But if they don’t, I mean, if they’re only 50% from the foul line or they commit 16 turnovers or they go five for twenty-three from 3-point range, well, let’s just say bad things happen. 

Of course, the reason I mention all this has nothing to do with basketball. You see, I think the same thing applies to our Christian living; to come out ahead, we also need to maintain our focus. But I’ll tell you, like any OSU player would probably say today, that’s not always easy. I mean, just think about all the things that come up in life that can distract us from being the kind of folks God has called us to be. My gosh, you could list everything from physical temptations we face to personal assumptions we make to moral values we’ve learned. Let’s just say, there’s a lot of stuff that might cause us to miss two straight 3-pointers as the clock is winding down. You see, just like in the big dance, to win, we also need to keep our eye on the prize.

And I’ll tell you, that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, we’re going to take the passage from John that we just read and consider two things. One, we’re going to look at what Jesus did and how he kept his eye on the prize and then, two, we’ll consider how we might have that same focus ourselves.

And I’ll tell you, I think that makes sense, because, according to the Evangelist John, Jesus was certainly able to keep his focus, you know, his eye on prize. In other words, as he approached the end of his mission here on earth, Jesus never lost sight of what he had to do; namely, that he was going to become like that snake stuck on top of a pole we talked about last week, you know, when he would be lifted up on the cross. And you know, I believe this sense of mission was clearly on Jesus’s mind. Remember, in our passage, he himself said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory. I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat.” [John 12:23-24, CEV] You see, that was going to happen and Jesus knew it. In other words, I guess you could call the cross his “prize.” And to keep himself focused, well, I think he did three things that sure helped, and we can see all three in what we read. 

You see, first, I believe Jesus accepted that he faced some very real and very definite distractions, and I’m talking about some thoughts and feelings that might interfere with him accomplishing his mission. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said, “Now I am deeply troubled, and I don’t know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. So Father, bring glory to yourself.” [John 12:27-28a, CEV] Now that’s what he said, and I’ve got to say, not wanting to suffer and die, man, that would sure distract me. But I’ll tell you, by accepting that they were present, I think that enabled Jesus to put his own “deeply troubled” thoughts in their appropriate place, and that was right behind the reason he came and the glory he was about to bring to God. You see, he accepted that the distractions were real, and that’s one thing Jesus did.

And second, he also recognized that he wasn’t alone. As the Evangelist John wrote, “A voice from heaven then said, ‘I have already brought glory to myself, and I will do it again!’ When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.” [John 12:28b-29, CEV] I’m telling you, after hearing the voice, it was really easy for Jesus to understand that he wasn’t facing this “troubling” future all by himself. He recognized that he wasn’t alone, and that’s another thing Jesus did.

And third, he made what I believe was a conscious and intentional decision that he was going to keep his focus and to do the job he was sent to do. And that choice was made when “...Jesus told the crowd, ‘That voice spoke to help you, not me. This world’s people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out! If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me.’” [John 12:30-32, CEV] Now that’s what Jesus said, because right here, he decided to do exactly what he came to do, namely, to be “lifted above the earth” and to “make everyone want to come to me.” You see, those were the three things Jesus did in order to keep his eye firmly on the prize.

And brothers and sisters, as sure as I’m standing up here this morning, so can we. In other words, I believe we can stay focused on our own mission, something I think Jesus clearly stated when he said to those Greeks and to Philip and Andrew and to everybody else who was within earshot there in Jerusalem. You see, according to Jesus, this is exactly what following him is all about: If you love your life, you will lose it. If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life. If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you. [John 12:25-26, CEV] Now that’s what Jesus said. And even though, frankly, I wish that he’d have said something else, you know, like “because you love your life, I’m going to give you more” or “you can call yourself one of my servants by just talking about it” or “I’ll make sure my Father honors you regardless of what you do,” in other words, even though I wish he’d have told me what I want to hear, he didn’t. Instead, what he said to me and to us is really challenging. It’s not easy to do; therefore, I believe there’s a whole lot of stuff working on us from both the inside and outside that can be distracting. In other words, keeping our focus isn’t going to be a cake walk.

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, I think it’s extremely important for us to follow the example of Christ and do those three things that enabled him to keep his focus. For example, just like he did, first, we might want to accept that we’re surrounded by distractions and temptations. And they’re all trying to divert our attention from living the kind of life God has called and equipped us to live. It’s like Paul wrote to the Corinthians: Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations. [1 Corinthians 10:12-13, CEV] I’ll tell you, if we want to avoid the distractions and to keep our focus, man, we need to accept that we’re surrounded by them. And for me, that’s first thing we can do.

And second, also following Jesus’s example, we can recognize that we’re not alone. I mean, before he was lifted up on the cross, Jesus made this promise to his disciples: I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. [John 14:25-26, CEV] You see, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present with us right here and right now. But I’ll tell you, God offers more than just his presence. I mean, just listen to what the writer to the Hebrews said: Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up. [Hebrews 12:1-3, CEV] I’m telling you, as we’re running the race we have in front of us, I think it’s important for us to recognize that we’re not alone. And that’s something else we can do, if we want to maintain our focus.

And third, we can made the intentional decision that we’re going to do what we’ve been called to do. In other words, we need to be clear about our own “cross.” And even though, it’ll certainly involve some self-denial and self-sacrifice, those are really more the means to a higher goal. You see, if we’re serious about serving Jesus Christ and seeking honor from God, this is what we need to do. As Jesus said to his disciples, “My children, I will be with you for a little while longer. Then you will look for me, but you won’t find me. I tell you just as I told the people, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” [John 13:33-35, CEV] And as John wrote in his first letter, “We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other. If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.” [1 John 3:16-18, CEV] I’m telling you, this is our mission. And if we want to keep our focus, this is exactly what we must decide to do.

Now for the next few weeks, different college teams will be competing with one another in Indianapolis. And the one that wins it all will probably be the one that looks past the distractions, comes together as a team and gets the job done. And you know, that’s really what Jesus did as he approached the cross and what we can do as we look to follow him. You see, we can accept that we’re surrounded by distractions. And we can recognize that we’re not alone. And we can decide that we’re going to keep our focus. And if we do, not only will our lives be more satisfying, on judgement day, we just might hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You certainly kept your eye on the prize.”