Go Hard Or Go Home
This is the text I worked off of to give my sermon on August 23rd. I deviated from it somewhat when I gave it in the Garden and again at my supervisor's church.
The texts for the day were:Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69.
<Pray for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I may declare it boldly. AMEN.
When I coached football, we had a saying we told our players during the most challenging parts of practice, “Go hard or go home.” It meant we coaches wanted all they could give. When the players came to practice we wanted their total focus and maximum effort. If they were not willing to do that, then they were not being helpful to the team; they should go home. I had one player I coached ask me one day after I had been on him because I knew he was not giving his maximum effort what more wanted. I told him, “All I want is all you’ve got.” From the Gospel, for the past 6 weeks, we have heard Jesus talk about bread. Jesus has told us that in order to have eternal life, we must believe in him and eat, no, gnaw on his body and drink his blood. We must take him into us; we must abide in him and he in us. We must abide in his teachings, commands and ministry. Jesus knows this is not easy. His disciples grumble, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" They realize this is much more difficult than what they what they thought when they first began to follow Jesus. But Jesus does not take it easy on them; he challenges them, “"Does this offend you?” But rather than telling them that if they aren’t ready to “go hard” they should “go home,” he asks what If I go home? If the disciples, the ones who have seen it all and heard it all, cannot believe and accept this teaching, what happens when Jesus returns to the Father? When Jesus challenges them to “Go hard or go home,” many of his followers decide it is too hard, and they do go home. Jesus loses many followers, but he knew this was going to happen. Not everyone will decide to walk the path, or stay on the path, Christ calls us to on which to walk with him. Some will never believe and some will come to believe at a later time. But “no one can come to Christ unless it is granted by the Father.” God knows the challenges we face. As the Psalmist says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” There will be problems in our lives. This isn’t going to be easy. But if we put our trust and faith in God, we will not be punished. We shall be forgiven. Our lives will be redeemed. We will have life eternal with God. Following Christ, being a Christian is not an easy thing. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But it is worth it. Paul advises us on how to deal with these difficulties. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God.” We are beset with troubles both within and without of the church. We are plagued with problems both inside and outside of our homes and families. We are deluged daily with despair over the care and concern of those struggling with sickness and health issues. We are flooded with feelings of anxiety over financial worries. We face doubt over our daily lives and responsibilities and how the future will play out. “This life is difficult; who can accept it?" We can; we can because we take solace in the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” The decision to serve God is a just that, a decision. This is a decision we make with every thought, word and deed we perform. It is a decision we make with what we have done and by what we have left undone. It is a decision we make by what we hold to be most important to us.
This is what Joshua called on the tribes of Israel to understand. Joshua knows they have fallen from the ways of God. They have decided to put other things foremost in their lives. Joshua tells the tribes that he and his household have decided to serve the Lord. The assembly tells him they will do so as well. After the lesson, Joshua challenges Israel to be sincere and thoughtful in committing to following God. Joshua reminded them they may be tempted to follow other gods and put other things before their relationship and communion with God. The decision of why we do what we do reflects whom we serve. Joshua called the people of Israel to join with him in the service of God. Jesus calls us to him in service of God. However, our human free will allows us to resist and fight these calls. “This service is difficult; who can accept it?" We can, if we choose each day whom we will serve. Paul encourages us to prepare for battle with the dark and evil forces that distract and distance us from God. We are to put on the whole armor of God and the breastplate of righteousness. This language comes from the book of Isaiah (59:16-17) and was used to describe the coming Messiah. By Paul suggesting we wear the armor and breastplate, he calls upon us to take up and continue the ministry of the Messiah. We are capable of doing this if we have faith in Christ and have him abide in us and we in him. We are capable off doing this if we call upon God by “Pray(ing) in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” What will you decide to do? Jesus Christ gives us the choice to leave if we feel this is too difficult. "’This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that we are complaining about it, says to us, ‘Does this offend you?’” He knows his teaching is hard, but it is not as hard as is the path ahead for him.
Does eating the flesh of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does doing the work of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was tortured for us offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was crucified for our sins offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus is dead on our behalf offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was so we may live forever offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
If hear we are to take Christ into ourselves is too difficult, how can we bear witnessing his torture, death and being raised for our sins? Does this knowledge offend you? Or does it challenge you to go hard or go home? Peter answers for the disciples, and for us. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Please look at the second sentence Peter says, which is verse 69. “We have come to believe and know.” This shows a progress in the disciples’ belief. They have come to believe; that means that had not believed, but now they believe and will continue to believe. What exactly prompted them into belief we are not told; but now they believe and they know. Also notice the order of the words; word order is very important. Knowledge cannot precede faith; the confidence of truth can only come from faith. Also, coming to believe implies the disciples did not reach their belief on their own, but came to it with help from outside themselves. They have been drawn and called to their belief and knowledge. We are drawn to God. We are called by God. We come to believe by the will of God. Peter also acknowledges Jesus as “the Holy One of God,” with Holy One meaning the anointed one, the chosen one, the Messiah. When I was challenging that player, I didn’t intend to paraphrase the greatest commandment. Now I definitely did not think that I was the Lord, our God. But I wanted “all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.” (Mark 12.30) It is what God wants from us. It is not enough that we believe in our minds, but we must believe in our bodies. It is not enough to confess on our tongues, but we must act with our hands. It is not enough to have faith in our hearts, but we must respond with our souls. “Go hard or go home.” Each and every day, we must decide to whom or what we will give “all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.” It is a decision we must make each day. You must decide each day to accept this hard lesson. You must decide each day to abide in Christ and him in you. You must decide each day to put on the full armor of God. You must decide each day to pray in the Spirit at all times. You must decide each day to cry out to the Lord. You must decide each day to choose whom you will serve. As for me, I choose to serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
There was actually another sermon I prepared for the day. I'll share it at another time.
The texts for the day were:Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69.
<Pray for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I may declare it boldly. AMEN.
When I coached football, we had a saying we told our players during the most challenging parts of practice, “Go hard or go home.” It meant we coaches wanted all they could give. When the players came to practice we wanted their total focus and maximum effort. If they were not willing to do that, then they were not being helpful to the team; they should go home. I had one player I coached ask me one day after I had been on him because I knew he was not giving his maximum effort what more wanted. I told him, “All I want is all you’ve got.” From the Gospel, for the past 6 weeks, we have heard Jesus talk about bread. Jesus has told us that in order to have eternal life, we must believe in him and eat, no, gnaw on his body and drink his blood. We must take him into us; we must abide in him and he in us. We must abide in his teachings, commands and ministry. Jesus knows this is not easy. His disciples grumble, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" They realize this is much more difficult than what they what they thought when they first began to follow Jesus. But Jesus does not take it easy on them; he challenges them, “"Does this offend you?” But rather than telling them that if they aren’t ready to “go hard” they should “go home,” he asks what If I go home? If the disciples, the ones who have seen it all and heard it all, cannot believe and accept this teaching, what happens when Jesus returns to the Father? When Jesus challenges them to “Go hard or go home,” many of his followers decide it is too hard, and they do go home. Jesus loses many followers, but he knew this was going to happen. Not everyone will decide to walk the path, or stay on the path, Christ calls us to on which to walk with him. Some will never believe and some will come to believe at a later time. But “no one can come to Christ unless it is granted by the Father.” God knows the challenges we face. As the Psalmist says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” There will be problems in our lives. This isn’t going to be easy. But if we put our trust and faith in God, we will not be punished. We shall be forgiven. Our lives will be redeemed. We will have life eternal with God. Following Christ, being a Christian is not an easy thing. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But it is worth it. Paul advises us on how to deal with these difficulties. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God.” We are beset with troubles both within and without of the church. We are plagued with problems both inside and outside of our homes and families. We are deluged daily with despair over the care and concern of those struggling with sickness and health issues. We are flooded with feelings of anxiety over financial worries. We face doubt over our daily lives and responsibilities and how the future will play out. “This life is difficult; who can accept it?" We can; we can because we take solace in the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” The decision to serve God is a just that, a decision. This is a decision we make with every thought, word and deed we perform. It is a decision we make with what we have done and by what we have left undone. It is a decision we make by what we hold to be most important to us.
This is what Joshua called on the tribes of Israel to understand. Joshua knows they have fallen from the ways of God. They have decided to put other things foremost in their lives. Joshua tells the tribes that he and his household have decided to serve the Lord. The assembly tells him they will do so as well. After the lesson, Joshua challenges Israel to be sincere and thoughtful in committing to following God. Joshua reminded them they may be tempted to follow other gods and put other things before their relationship and communion with God. The decision of why we do what we do reflects whom we serve. Joshua called the people of Israel to join with him in the service of God. Jesus calls us to him in service of God. However, our human free will allows us to resist and fight these calls. “This service is difficult; who can accept it?" We can, if we choose each day whom we will serve. Paul encourages us to prepare for battle with the dark and evil forces that distract and distance us from God. We are to put on the whole armor of God and the breastplate of righteousness. This language comes from the book of Isaiah (59:16-17) and was used to describe the coming Messiah. By Paul suggesting we wear the armor and breastplate, he calls upon us to take up and continue the ministry of the Messiah. We are capable of doing this if we have faith in Christ and have him abide in us and we in him. We are capable off doing this if we call upon God by “Pray(ing) in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” What will you decide to do? Jesus Christ gives us the choice to leave if we feel this is too difficult. "’This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that we are complaining about it, says to us, ‘Does this offend you?’” He knows his teaching is hard, but it is not as hard as is the path ahead for him.
Does eating the flesh of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does doing the work of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was tortured for us offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was crucified for our sins offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus is dead on our behalf offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was so we may live forever offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
If hear we are to take Christ into ourselves is too difficult, how can we bear witnessing his torture, death and being raised for our sins? Does this knowledge offend you? Or does it challenge you to go hard or go home? Peter answers for the disciples, and for us. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Please look at the second sentence Peter says, which is verse 69. “We have come to believe and know.” This shows a progress in the disciples’ belief. They have come to believe; that means that had not believed, but now they believe and will continue to believe. What exactly prompted them into belief we are not told; but now they believe and they know. Also notice the order of the words; word order is very important. Knowledge cannot precede faith; the confidence of truth can only come from faith. Also, coming to believe implies the disciples did not reach their belief on their own, but came to it with help from outside themselves. They have been drawn and called to their belief and knowledge. We are drawn to God. We are called by God. We come to believe by the will of God. Peter also acknowledges Jesus as “the Holy One of God,” with Holy One meaning the anointed one, the chosen one, the Messiah. When I was challenging that player, I didn’t intend to paraphrase the greatest commandment. Now I definitely did not think that I was the Lord, our God. But I wanted “all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.” (Mark 12.30) It is what God wants from us. It is not enough that we believe in our minds, but we must believe in our bodies. It is not enough to confess on our tongues, but we must act with our hands. It is not enough to have faith in our hearts, but we must respond with our souls. “Go hard or go home.” Each and every day, we must decide to whom or what we will give “all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.” It is a decision we must make each day. You must decide each day to accept this hard lesson. You must decide each day to abide in Christ and him in you. You must decide each day to put on the full armor of God. You must decide each day to pray in the Spirit at all times. You must decide each day to cry out to the Lord. You must decide each day to choose whom you will serve. As for me, I choose to serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
There was actually another sermon I prepared for the day. I'll share it at another time.
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