Becoming a Disciple - Week 1, Day 1

I Could Have Done More (Getting in the Game) 

Bottom line: No one wants to get to the end of their life with regrets.

Years ago, a movie came out called Schindler’s List. Maybe you’ve seen it, or maybe you haven’t, but essentially, this movie shows, in graphic detail, the lengths that Hitler was willing to go in order to obliterate the Jewish people from the face of the earth.

This movie is based on the very real story of how Oscar Schindler used his factory to be a place of safety. 1,100 Jews were fortunate enough to find their names on Schindler’s list. If you saw the movie, you’ll remember how at the end of the war, Schindler announced to those prisoners how the roles had been reversed. Those who had been hunted were now free, and those who were safe were now in danger. Schindler told them he was going to escape that night at midnight.

When midnight came, all 1,100 people that he saved came out to thank him. When he looked at the sea of people he had saved, his only thought was, “I could have done more.” He said, “I should have sold my car... that would have given me more people.” He said, “I should have sold this gold lapel pin that would have gotten at least one more person, maybe two more people.”

His greatest regret on his mind was how much more he could have done. No doubt, Oscar Schindler did a lot. He saved 1,100 people from who knows what kind of an awful death at the hands of the Nazis, but in the end, he had one regret, didn’t he? He regretted that he didn’t do more.

Friends, you don’t want to get to the end of your life and have the same regret. Now is our time to make a difference. Now is our chance to leave a legacy that is worth following. Now is our time to invest in that which is eternal. Now. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but right now.

You say, okay, Tim, you have my attention now. How do I live this kind of life?

We need to use the gifts and talents that God has given us to advance the kingdom of God. The smartest thing you and I can do every day is ask God to use what He has given us to help others, to allow God to use us any way He wants to, and to give all of our life over to Him.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about a little boy who gave everything to Jesus. This story is found in John 6, starting with verse 5.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” John 6:5-9

Picture this story in your mind. Five thousand men, not counting women and children, have come out to the middle of nowhere just to see Jesus. Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “I want you guys to go out and find these people something to eat.”

Can you imagine what the disciples were thinking and saying to each other? Probably the same thing we would be saying to each other.

“Jesus has lost his mind.”

“How are we going to find enough food in this crowd to feed everyone?”

“Jesus has asked us to do a lot of crazy things before, but this is the craziest thing He has ever asked us to do!”

As the disciples search the crowd for food, Andrew runs into a little boy who has a little sack lunch. He has five fish and two small loaves of bread. Basically, it is five little sardines and two small loaves of bread. It’s not a lot of food.

I don’t know if Andrew brought the boy forward to stop the insanity or if he was just trying to make a bad joke. I know this: when Jesus pulled the little boy aside and asked for his lunch, he didn’t give Jesus half of his lunch. He didn’t say, “we can split it!” He didn’t say “no,” and keep his lunch for himself. He gave everything he had to Jesus. Why?

Because he believed that Jesus could do something great with his little sack lunch. Do you believe that God could really do something great with your life? Or did you give up on that idea a long time ago?

My friend, if we would place our life in the hands of God, there is no telling what He will do in us and through us. Think about this:

A basketball in my hands is worth about 20 bucks, but a basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan was worth 33 million dollars a year. It all depends on whose hands the ball is in.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6, but a baseball in the hands of A-Rod was worth 20 million dollars a year. Again, it all depends on whose hands have the ball.

Five loaves and two fish in that little boy’s hands would have made a couple of fish sandwiches, but in the hands of Jesus, it fed over five thousand men, not counting the women and the children. It all depends on whose hands it’s in.

Your life in your hands will have a minimal eternal impact on this earth, but if you would place your whole life in His hands, the impact you make will never end.
What kind of impact could you make in this city? Imagine the difference you could make in our world! God wants to use you. It is time to get in the game! Are you interested?

Time Out:

What are you really good at?

How can you use what you are good at to advance the kingdom of God?

There are a lot of different ways a person your age could serve in our church. Do you have a place where you are currently serving God in the church? If no, why not?

If you don’t know what you could do to serve God in the church, talk to your leader or your student pastor as soon as possible. With their help, we hope you can find a place in our church to make a difference in our city.

How could you make a difference at your school or at your job?

Are you willing to let God use you any way He sees fit?

As you pray, say that you want Him to use the gifts and talents that He has given to you to make a difference in this world. Ask Him to guide you as you get off the bleachers and get into the game.