Description
THE FAN
Part 2
October 25, 2009
Ed Young
Do we have any real fans in the house, any real fans here? Ok, I just wondered. You know, sometimes people talk about vintage stuff – well, my high school jersey. Again, ladies, I love Spanx, I really like Spanx. I mean, they really work well with me, I’ve worn Spanx for the last, uh, two weekends and this Jersey is probably 30 years old. What do you think? The last time I wore it, the last time I wore it, was right there. [Picture of Ed in High School is shown on side screens] That was it. I was a sophomore at Spring Valley high School. Whoa! Going baseline right there. Man, those were the days.
Have you checked out my shoes I got on? You want to see some real vintage stuff? Look at these shoes, ok. You might be thinking, ok, old school Nike’s. No, no, no. these are Nike’s on an HNL, a ‘Hole ‘Nutha Level. Check out the back. See that? See that? Oh yeah! What’s that say? FSU, yes! These are the shoes they gave us back at Florida State.
I’m dressing like a real fan. We’ve been talking about real fans. Real fans are interesting. We have this desire to be a fan. God’s plan for man is for all of us to be fan. And it’s good that we’re fans. I mean I think that’s an awesome attribute to cheer for certain teams and to like certain things.
The Bible says that we’re made to worship. We’re going to worship.
I went to a U2 concert recently and it was interesting to watch people, because people were in a state of worship when U2 was performing. We worship stuff.
What does it mean to worship something? To worship something means to hold something, a person, place or thing, in high esteem. Some worship homes, others worship antiques. Some worship needlepoint, watercolor. Some worship football, surely not here. Some worship basketball, some worship hunting, fishing. We’re wired for worship. We have this desire for devotion. And it’s God-given. And it’s cool to hold something in high esteem.
God though challenges us, from cover to cover, he says, “Don’t waste your worship.” Don’t waste it. God’s plan for man is to be fan. It’s good to be fan of things, but make sure that we’re a fan of God.
Jesus said, “Follow me.” That’s what he said. Throughout the Scriptures: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus said, “Follow me, follow me.” He challenged men to follow him, he challenged women to follow him, he challenged students to follow him, he challenged family units to follow him. Jesus said, “Follow me.”
What does it mean to be a fan? To be a fan, is to be an enthusiastic follower of God. A real fan is an enthusiastic follower of the Lord himself. Now if I’m just a fan, of anything, I’m just an enthusiastic follower. So, I really believe if Jesus were right here in the flesh, he would say, “Be a real fan.” I think he would use that phraseology, because as a follower, we don’t say, “Well, yeah, I’m a follower of the Cowboys.” Or “I’m a follower of the Rangers.” Or “I’m a follower of the Hurricanes.” We say, “I’m a real fan!”
What does it mean to be real fan? Because we’ve been looking at the facets of a fan, because the facets of a fan translate to being a fan of God. What are some different facets of a fan?
Well one of the facets is a real fan is informational. Have you noticed that? Real fans are informational. They know the facts and the figures and the percentages and the rankings and the schedule. Real fans are informational. And one of the reasons they’re so engaged when they go to a game is the simple fact that because they are self-feeders, because they digest all of the stuff, when they sit there and watch a football game, they are so focused. They are so into it because they know the 4-1-1 about their team.
I’ve got to ask you, do you know the 4-1-1 about God? Do you know the facts and the figures and the percentages and the lives of the matriarchs and patriarchs? Do you know the Word? Because the Word, this book, gives life. It builds enthusiasm. It makes us into a real fan. The half brother of Jesus said it this way. James 1:22. And you know James was known as old camel knees. His knees were all jacked up because he spent so much time in prayer. So if Jesus would have been a hoax, you think his half brother would have written a book in the Bible? Come on now.
James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:25, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
So what do we need here? Another Bible study? I mean, Bible studies are great, but you better make sure the Bible studies you. That’s the deal.
People ask, “Well, why do you teach the way you do, Ed? Why does Fellowship Church have the style it does?” That’s an easy, easy answer. It’s the style Jesus set forth in the Scriptures.
If you take all of the words of Jesus in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all the words, 30% were words of information. 70% were words of application. What’s application? It’s the ‘so what’ principle. Tell me what I need to know and then tell me what I need to do. This Bible is made of leather. Most shoes are constructed from leather. These Florida State Nike specials – 30 years old – they’re made of leather.
So we’re to take the Word of God and apply it. So we’re not just an information only church. And I don’t know about you, but if I just applied the information I already know, I’d be way ahead of the game. Real fans, though are informational.
Are you a self-feeder? Whenever someone says, “Well, I’m not getting fed.” I know I’m looking in the face of a baby. Because babies can’t feed themselves. But self-feeders, those of us who are walking with God, we’ve got to feed ourselves. Are you feeding yourself?
So you feed yourself with facts and figures and the 4-1-1 and the information and the rankings and the schedule, guess what? You come to church, you come to, as Jerry Jones calls it, this ‘stage-yum,’ you’re going to be fired up! You’re going to be ready, because you are in on it. Information without application leads to desolation.
But there’s another aspect of a real fan. Do we have any real fans here? Real fans are generational. They’re generational.
Illus: A friend of mine on the front row, his name is Brent. Brent is 16, he was born into a Longhorn household. Now, Brent, did you have a choice whether or not to be a Longhorn fan or not. Yes or no? [Brent: No] No. No chance, man. Brent was born, I guarantee it, he had longhorn diapers, and longhorn shirt a longhorn pacifier. I guarantee he had all that stuff. And he was expected to go to the games. His parents go to the games, they watch the games, they know University of Texas. I’m sure they donate stuff to the University of Texas, they love UT. And Brent will do the same thing – it’s expected of him. It’s not optional.
They don’t say, “Brent, do you want to go to Austin?” “Brent, where do you want to go to school?” No! No! He’s a Longhorn. It’s generational. Because the Texas Longhorns know they’re one generation away from extinction. So they better talk to young people, they better bring that next generation in on the deal. Because if not, they’re going to be in trouble, right?
Real fans are generational. Real fans understand when a baby is born, “Wow, what an opportunity, what a gift from God!” Real fans understand that this child is God’s child. And real fans understand that God’s given them this position to mold and shape and take this little one and to teach them and train them about the things of God, to expose them to a relationship with Jesus, to give them an opportunity to come to Christ.
So, real fans make sure their children are here for age-appropriate teaching. Real fans make sure they’re here in the Jr. High ministry. Real fans make sure their kids are involved and engaged in the High School ministry. Real fans always have their kids at Allaso Ranch during the summers. Real fans make sure their kids go to mission trips. It’s not optional.
“Hey, what do you think we should do?”
“Well, my friends aren’t there. I don’t think it’s cool enough.”
You’re a fair-weather fan. We need some real fans! Do we have any real fans in the house? Real fans are generational because Christianity is just one generation away from extinction. Optional? You think it’s optional for Brent to be a Longhorn fan?
And jacked-up parents think, “Well, I just give him the opportunity to choose what religion or faith that he or she wants to do. If they want to go to church, you know, they’ll tell me.”
Parents, please, become real fans. Real fans are generational.
Real fans, also, they’re positional. You talk to a real fan? They want the best seats. Am I the only one? I mean, I want some good seats. When I go to a game, I don’t want to sit up in the nosebleed. I’ve been there before. I don’t like the nosebleed section. I want some good seats. And don’t you do this? When someone invites you to the game, you try to ask them questions, you try to find out where the seats are located.
Illus: One time someone invited Lisa and I to a game, and I thought, “Oh man, we’re going to have the best seats in the house.” We sat on the back row of Texas Stadium. I mean, we were leaning against the cement wall. It was interesting.
But you know what I’ve noticed about that? The loudest boos come from the cheapest seats. Oh, you’re not listening to me. The loudest boos come from the cheapest seats.
So, those of us who are real fans, man, real fans, you check out the 50 yard line, those who are straddling the 50, they paid the price to be there. They paid the price. And you’re not going to hear any funk from them; you’re not going to hear any junk from them. They’re going to be positive. They’re encouraging. “We can take it, we’re winners!”
But those who are way up there in the nosebleed, you know, leaning their backs against the cement wall, that’s a whole other story.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, a very interesting verse, he said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of the Longhorns and….” No, I’m sorry. “Seek ye first the kingdom of the Cowboys….” No. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Isn’t it interesting, real fans, they schedule everything around the games. They arrive early, stay late. They tailgate and have all the paraphernalia. They’re into it. They paid the price. Their team is at a top position. Also, they want the best seats man. They’re sitting down there, they’re engaged, they’re involved in the game.
Now, if you’re a Longhorn fan, like my friend, Brent, you watch every game. Now, you might go to Austin, like his family does for most home games. You’ll even go to some away games, but you’re going to watch the Longhorns. Real fans, is this too deep for anybody, real fans watch every game. They follow their team.
Illus: Now, watch this. I had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling, and to talk to a lot of leaders, especially church leaders around North America and also around the world. And what’s been really, really crazy about the last several years is that when I’ve talked to these leaders of some of the largest and most prevailing churches around, when I’ve talked to some of these leaders, they ask me, “Ed, what are we doing, man?” What are we doing?
And they begin to say something like, “We look at the statistics, we look at the percentages of the attendance of people who attend our church. Most people for the last two years,” they tell me, these leaders, “most people attend our church once every four weeks.” Once every four weeks. Isn’t that crazy? Think about that. And I thought, “Man, Surely, that’s not the case of Fellowship Church.”
I checked it out through our children’s ministry. Are you ready? A huge percentage of people attend Fellowship Church once every four weeks!
Brent, I ask you, can you imagine your family watching the Longhorns play once every four weeks? Once every four games? You wouldn’t know what was going on!
How in the world can you discover God’s greatness for your life when you’re showing up once every four weeks? How in the world can your kids understand what God’s plan is for their lives when they’re showing up once every four weeks? How can you know God’s math for your marriage when you’re showing up once every four weeks? How can you know life and how can you know how to process your career when you’re showing up once every four weeks.
That’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen for you. You’re a fair-weather fan.
And you’re lying to yourself and lying to God if you say, “Oh no, God, I’m a real fan!” Say what? Say what? Positional. Positional. Real fans live for Sunday or Saturday. Real fans of God, we live for the weekends. We feed ourselves.
And we understand the stuff and then we show up. Hebrews 10:25, and we gather together. And you know what? I cannot explain it, I don’t know how it happens, but every time we gather together corporately, and obey this Book, supernatural stuff takes place.
So what does it mean to be engaged and involved? What it means to be a real fan? What does it mean to be a real, real fan?
Number one, at least show up 3 out of 4 weekends a month – at least. That’s just showing up. At least we should bring ten percent of what we make, the tangible, to the ‘stage-yum’ – to the House. It also means we should get outside of ourselves and serve. Get engaged and involved. That’s what it means to be a real fan. Do we have any real fans here? Oh yeah, we do. We got some real fans at Fellowship Church.
Real fans are informational, generational, they’re positional, also they’re hopeful. Have you ever been with a real fan, I mean, they are hopeful.
Illus: A friend of mine, he is a true Dallas Cowboys fan. This guy is a faithful Cowboys fan. And he told me, just yesterday, he said, “Ed, I cannot stand to watch the Cowboys play with fair-weather fans.” He goes, “I just can’t do it.”
I asked, “What do you mean?”
He said, “Well, Romo will go back to pass, and he runs out of the pocket, he starts scrambling, maybe he throws an interception, or gets thrown for a loss. And fair-weather fan says, ‘Well, that’s Tony Romo – he’s playing too much golf,’ or ‘I heard he’s dating this girl over there.’ ‘Oh it’s Jason Witten, Witten has this attitude, and I just cannot believe it.’
Then ‘Wow, the Cowboy’s scored – Whooo – we’re going to the Super Bowl!”
My friend said, “Man, I can’t handle that. That’s a fair-weather fan. That’s a fair-weather fan.”
Real fans are faithful. They’re focused. A fair-weather fan, here’s the definition, it’s “a fan of a sports team who only shows support when the team is doing well.” They’re usually the last to join, and the first to leave. Fair-weather fans.
But real fans are hopeful. We’re going to take it! Real fans understand, “You know what, I’m playing on an undefeated team. The enemy is going to mess around here and there, and I’ll make some mistakes and all that. I’ll throw some picks, I’ll be thrown for a loss and I’ll have some conflict or whatever. But I’m fighting from victory.”
We win. We’re undefeated. Every time we come to the Church, to the stadium, we have that vibe. We have that knowledge. So we shouldn’t walk around like, “Oh, I’m just a loser.”
We’re winners! And real fans are hopeful, man! They think, “We’re going to get ‘em next time. We’re going to take it!” Talk to a real fan. Even if they’re 0 and 11, on the 12th game, real fans are like, “We’re going to win! We’re going to come together, man. The offense is going to do it! The defense is going to do it! We’re there, man.”
Romans 15:4, “4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
And the word hope is not, “Oh, I wish.” No, it’s confidence in God. Do you want to have hope in a hopeless world? It’s about the Word, everyday. And it’s about the teaching and preaching and communication of the Word each and every weekend.
This is game day. This is it. And we energize you and talk to you and challenge you and inspire you to hit the field. Because I’m telling you – it’s tough out there – it’s a faith fight. It’s on God’s grid-iron. Yeah, we come together and celebrate the victory of who we are, and whose we are, before God himself.
Positionally, do you position your life around the Church? That’s a great question. Are you hopeful? Informational? Generational? He’s a Longhorn, man. He was born into it.
Also, real fans are vocal. Don’t you know that? We are vocal. Real fans cheer.
“Once I heard my grandma say: The Laurel team is a-coming this a-way. With a vee-vo, with a vi-vo, with a vee-vo, vi-vo, vum-bo and a riptail, raptail sitting on a cat-tail, bum-bum-bum.”
“What’s a matter with that team that they can’t see that they can’t play as well as we, with a vee-vo, with a vi-vo, with a vee-vi, vi-vo, vum-bo, and a riptail, raptail sitting on a cat-tail, bum-bum-bum!”
“We are the raiders, Oh-yeah, we eat potatoes, oh yeah! On Sunday mornin’ oh yeah, we eat bologna, oh yeah! With Cheeeeeeeeeeese and with ease. Say Oh yeah! [oh yeah!] say Oh Yeah! [ Oh yeah].
“We’ve got spirit yes we do, we’ve got spirit how about you? [cheering]”
When I used to wear this jersey, number 22, when I would commit a foul, and if we were playing at an opponents’ gym, the entire crowd would point to me and say, “The foul’s on YOU the foul’s on YOU the foul’s on You-You-You-You-You!” I’d think, “Man!”
“You got it, now use it, you got it, now use it, you got it, now use it.”
How in the world can some of you go to see the Dallas Cowboys—and who are the Cowboys? A bunch of muscular and overweight guys. Let’s just be honest, fighting over pigskin zipped up with air. That’s the deal—How can some of you freak out, “Aaah! Wade, you’re crazy! Jerry, what are you doing? I love Tony Romo!” You can do that and come to church and yawn and be bored! It’s hilarious. And then you have the audacity to say, “Well, the music was too loud today. I’m not sure about this. People started clapping and standing, raising their hands. I just can’t do it. I just can’t do it.”
[Beatbox noises] Come on.
Psalm 47:1, keep up that rhythm. I know it’s hard for some of you. “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
Thank you. Wow, that was not written by Jay-zee or Fi’ty Cent or Eminem. That’s in God’s Word, man! That’s in God’s Word. And it’s great, hey, cheer your butt off at the Cowboy’s game. But don’t waste your worship! Don’t cheer for a bunch of overweight, muscular guys fighting over a pigskin zipped up with air, and get so emotionally drained, and so messed up, that you give God leftovers at church. You’re a fair-weather fan. You’re a fair-weather fan.
Real fans, man, we’re vocal, aren’t we? I’ll say it again, the loudest boos come from the cheapest seats; they always do. But real fans, man, they’re vocal. They’re positive.
And you know something else about a real fan? I just thought about this – this is so cool.
Ok, let’s say today, when the Cowboy’s play, they make some mistakes. I know they will. Let’s just say they make some mistakes. Penalties, whatever, you know. Flozell Adams has another false start or whatever it is. I’ve heard he has a problem with that. Now, faithful fans, they don’t need an explanation when the Cowboy’s screw up. Watch this now, faithful fans don’t need an explanation when the Cowboy’s screw up. They don’t! Fair-weather fans, even when you give them an explanation, still don’t believe it.
Who are you huddling with? Who are you running with? How do you spell relational relief? Because real fans hang out with real fans. When things are tough, oh, they don’t need an explanation, they trust. They got faith. They’re faithful people. Fair-weather fans, even if you’ve sit down with them and break down the game, every down, everything, they still don’t believe it.
So who are you running with? Who are you hanging with? I’m so thankful we’ve got some real fans at Fellowship Church. I’m telling you. It is unbelievable the real fans we have here.
Real fans show up at least 3 out of 4 weekends. Real fans at least bring the minimum requirement, 10%. Real fans are serving and helping. Real fans don’t give their kids options as far as church attendance. Once they leave the home, then they can choose what they want to do. But guess what, parents? You’re the parent, you’re the coach, they’re not. They’re the players. And they better not become play-uhs while they’re in your household.
Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Real fans are faithful. We’re committed, totally committed. We’re not jumping from the Cowboys to the Raiders, from the Raiders to the Rams from the Rams to the Jaguars. We’re not doing that! We’re saying, “I’m faithful.” Because when you pledge yourself to a position, no matter what the cost; when you throw feelings aside and emotions aside and say, “You know what? I’m going to stand here and I’m going to be a man, I’m going to be a real fan.” The blessings are unreal. They’re unreal.
Blessings. What does it mean to be blessed? It means to be on the receiving end of the tangible and intangible favor of God. Some of the stuff we can’t even see or even measure. The intangibles, love and grace, they’re forgiveness and reconciliation and purpose and power and strength. You can’t even see those things. “Oh, there’s purpose!” No, you can’t see it. Intangible.
But also, blessings have to do with the tangible. God blesses people who are faithful. It’s simple as that in Scriptures. Tangible stuff. That’s right.
“Well, I just think that’s a spiritual world and this is the physical world.”
Whoa! Everything is spiritual. If matter didn’t matter to God, we wouldn’t be here. We’re matter. Matter matters. That’s why it says, you know what, your stuff is not your stuff. You’re just managing it. You’re managing it. And God blesses us with tangible stuff. We have an opportunity to be a blessing to him.
Real fans are faithful in that. Real fans are vocal, they’re hopeful, they’re positional, they’re generational, they’re informational.
Thank you for being a real fan. I want to thank you, Fellowship Church, for being real fans, because most of you are real fans! But I have got to challenge you with one more thing. I’ve talked about real fans, but there’s one other thing that real fans do. And this is another facet that they that they are into. Are you ready for this?
Real fans are invitational. If you’re a real fan, you say, “Ok, come to the game with me. Wow, you ought to see this team play! They’re unbelievable. You mean you’ve never seen them play? Come on with me!”
And we’re open and generous and we invite people.
In this schizophrenic economy, so many of us think, “Man, I can’t believe I have got get up, go to work, tomorrow. It’s wearing me out. I’m working harder today than ever before. Man, I got a dead end job.” Or, “Man, I got to go to school tomorrow, I’ve got band practice tomorrow, it’s just wearing me out.” Or “I’ve got to go there, here, I’ve got to here, I’ve got to go there, or whatever we do you know.”
And I understand that. That’s part of the drone of life. It is. I understand that. But, real fans see it through God’s perspective. Real fans, as they’re feeding on his Word, understand that God has placed them at the office around hell-bound people to influence them for the cause of Christ.
And when you see your office that way, I don’t care how mean your boss is, how little your pay is, it changes everything. When you say to yourself, “Man, what am I doing in this small apartment?” or “What am I doing barely making the mortgage?” you’re at that complex, you’re in that neighborhood for a reason. And when you see it from God’s perspective, everything changes.
You’re telling me that you’re just where you are for an accident? No! It’s for a reason. You’re in places that I can never be. I’m in places that you can never be. And when we understand what it means to be a real fan, we’ll leverage that and what? We’re vocal, yeah, I talked about that. But we will invite. We’re invitational. “Come to the game. Come to the ‘stage-yum.’”
Next week I’m talking about the end of the world. If you can’t invite your friends to that, every movie, every even children’s book is all about the end of the world. All these television shows about the end of the world. Children’s books, “…and they lived happily ever after.” Here we have that desire, don’t we, to live happily ever after. The end of the world. What an awesome opportunity!
You see, you’re a fair-weather fan if you’ve not invited someone to Fellowship Church over the last 4 weeks. You’re a fair-weather fan. It’s just the way it is. I mean what are we doing in taking up space and grace here?
And I go through seasons in my life where I’m a fair-weather fan, where I have an opportunity to engage and invite and I don’t do it. But real fans do it. And what would happen, what would happen here if we did that? Just invite, just engage. It’ll be awesome. It’ll be amazing. Real fans are invitational.
Are you a real fan? These are great things to think about. I mean, awesome! We’re into the information, the generational thing, the positional thing, the hopeful thing, the vocal thing, the faithful thing, you know, inviting and all that. That’s great that we’re that way for a sports team. Good. I’m not jamming you because of that. But make sure you understand God’s plan for man is to be a fan.
Thank you for being a faithful fan. Thank you. Because God will bless you like you’ve never dreamed possible.