“God’s Divine Game Plan”
2/1/15 Ephesians 6:10-20
Pastor Matthew Northside UMC
Have you seen the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? They usually select a family that is
in need of a makeover for their house. It’s usually compelling—the family had a tragedy, or the
family is trying hard to put their life back together. So the building crew goes in and transforms
the house while the family is away at Disney World or some extravagant vacation. It’s amazing
the creativity and detail that goes into the house and each room. The kids’ rooms usually have a
theme. The community and other sponsors help out and they do this makeover in a couple
weeks. It’s amazing! Then after the family comes back from vacation they show the family the
house in a dramatic fashion. There is a bus in front of the house. People are gathered from the
community, and then everyone says, “Move that bus.” The family members’ faces are in shock
and wonder when they first see their new house. It’s unbelievable to see the transformation in all
of the rooms. So that’s what God wants to do in our lives—Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition.
This is God’s Divine Game Plan for us.
God you could say is our coach. From the beginning of time God had a plan for us. God
wanted us to be in perfect relationship to him, but we turned away from God through our own
choices and disobedience. As any good coach knows, like Bill Bellichick, you have to make
adjustments in the game. But God knew what to do in the game by sending God’s Son, Jesus
Christ to die for our sin so that we could be made right with God. We’ve all felt that God-shaped
hole in our heart. We might not know that and maybe we even try to fill it with other things, but
Christ fills that hole by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. That separation from God could be
bridged only by Christ on the cross. So no matter who we are or what we’ve done, you can be
forgiven and reconciled to God and made whole. We all long for God, and we all want the
victory like any good athlete. Through Christ, now all are welcome to come to God—no matter
what race, or creed or status, or orientation. God has broken the wall of separation. This is the
first part of God’s plan for the extreme makeover.
God has also given us a place to do this makeover and it is in the church. God has given
us a team! We are not just lone rangers trying to figure things out on our own. We are not a
one-man team. God has given us brothers and sisters in Christ, our spiritual family. I watched
this week, When the Game Stands Tall because we had a lot of time to watch movies with all the
snow. The movie is about the De La Salle high school football team from California that had a
12-year winning streak. They had a peculiar routine when they walked onto the field before the
game. They would be holding hands, two-by-two. This is strange for young football players full
of testosterone to be doing, but it exemplified their belief in the team. They stood together. A
team does this through thick or thin. You know you’ve got each other’s back. They cared for
each other. Their motto was giving the perfect effort, and they called each other out when they
were not giving enough effort. We need to do this. So often as Christians we haven’t spoken the
truth to one another. Or we have been arrogant or cocky as a team and we’ve not said the right
things or we’ve said nothing at all like Marshawn Lynch during media day. As Christians, we
need each other. We all have different gifts in the Body of Christ. We are not all quarterbacks.
Some of us are running backs and others play defense, but we need every part of the team in
order to be successful and faithful to God. So God often uses other teammates to help us with
this extreme makeover.
But like any good coach knows, the players have to do the competing. The coach is there
urging us on, but ultimately we have to act. That’s why we need good equipment that Paul tells
us about in today’s Scripture from Ephesians. God gives us the tools to help shape us in this
makeover. It’s a battle out there and we need to be prepared. This battle, though, is not against
the world. Sometimes as Christians we’ve gotten off track and fought the wrong battles or we’ve
fought against ourselves. Good teams don’t have dissension and bitterness toward one another.
Our battle, as Paul says, is against spiritual forces—against sin, against pride, laziness, anger,
greed, injustice and hatred. The Message describes the battle this way: “This is no afternoon
athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours… Be prepared.
You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.” We don’t talk much about
spiritual forces, but there is evil and sin in the world that tries to take us down. There is more
going on than meets the eye.
So that’s why Paul tells us to stand, to stand firm in vs. 14. Like at the goal line in our 3point stance (go into the stance). When we want to give up, we need to stand. When you don’t
have strength you need to stand. When you are discouraged or depressed, you need to stand.
When the enemy or circumstances get you down, you need to stand! And how do you do that?
Paul tells us that we are to pray. Pray at all times and on all occasions. We stand by being
faithful in prayer, not just praying a quick prayer before bed or at meals. Take time to be with
God. Listen to God. Turn off the computer, TV, or your phone.
We also have the shield of faith. Put on those shoulder pads so you can withstand those
hits from the Legion of Boom (put on shield). Faith keeps us going. We put our trust in God that
it will be okay no matter the trouble. Yesterday’s devotional from Jesus’ Calling was timely:
“Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember I am your shield. But unlike inanimate armor, I
am always alert and active. My presence watches over you continually, protecting you from
both known and unknown dangers. Entrust yourself to my watch care which is the best security
system available. . .” And we wear our shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace (put on cleats).
We need good cleats, good traction. We need to be secure in our footing. We need to be
grounded in who we are in Christ. When we know who we are and whose we are, then we are at
peace and don’t have to be striving after things in this world—material things, ego and
reputation. The belt of truth—holds everything together (put on belt). It holds everything up.
We need truth in working together with our teammates. We are to speak the truth to one another.
The helmet of salvation—this is knowledge of Christ—we know Christ in our head and our heart
(put on helmet). We need both—head and heart knowledge. We will be off balance if we have
one and not the other. The Sword of the Spirit—God’s Word. We need to put God’s Word into
our minds. It’s God’s playbook. We need to study it and know it like any good football player.
They know the plays. They don’t have to think, they just react on the field. That’s like us. We
need to react in the world based on being trained as a disciple of Christ. Then can improvise, or
make a play out of something, but we need to know the basic plays first. That’s why we need
God’s Word, God’s playbook.
So this is God’s Divine Game Plan for our lives. Maybe this is the first time you’ve
heard of this. You can join Christ’s team today. Put your faith in Christ. Make him the Lord,
Savior, Captain, and Coach of your life. Or maybe you’ve been on Christ’s team for awhile, but
you haven’t gotten into the game. You are just a spectator. Today is the day! Jump in. Let
God do a makeover in your life. Tell God, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play, today!” Let’s
go! (Run!)