Not In It To Win It Part 2
September 29, 2024

Winning

We like winners.
We love to win.
What if we’ve misunderstood what it means to WIN?

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The Church has been losing.

Christians wanted to win a war we shouldn’t have been fighting.
Christians behaved as badly as others.
Christians used Jesus.
The Church has been losing because it lost the way of Jesus.

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Jesus, Mark 10:42-45

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” —Paul, Philippians 2:14-16

Engage in politics as Christians, first and foremost.

John Wesley on voting

  1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy
  2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
  3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.” — John Wesley, October 6, 1774

“The crisis is not that Christians are politically homeless. The crisis is that we ever thought we could make our home in politics at all.” —Michael Wear

Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, where Jesus is Lord.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…” —Paul, Philippians 3:20

Adopt Jesus’ scorecard and tactics for winning.

“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” —Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

We are called to win hearts and souls, not culture or political wars.

Challenge

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” —Jesus, Matthew 5:14-16