When The Crowds Stop Cheering

Introduction

We’ll get a chance to do that tonight. I found this graphic as I was preparing for this sermon because it fit perfectly what I want to talk about tonight. But there’s the problem. This graphic was done for Pastor Appreciation Day. Now, in the religious world, that would probably be more about me. And we probably ought to have appreciation for the preacher, and I get a lot of that here. And so I don’t need a special day of appreciation from the church here, but it is a good thing to think about. But when we think about Pastor Appreciation Day, we think about our shepherds. Because they, in the biblical sense of the term pastor or shepherd, are those who shepherd us. And so if we’re going to have a pastor appreciation day, I’m thinking about Robert, Mike, and Tim.

And considering what they have meant to us over the last several years, and their good wives. How about let’s go a whole year instead of just a pastor appreciation day. Now you feel bad, don’t you? Okay, let’s get back to the crowd. Here’s the graphic. As I looked at that, it occurs to me that no one’s ever cheered for me much like that. Anyway. No big crowd has ever given me applause. And to be frank about it, I’m not that great of an athlete. Who would receive, like going on in the Super Bowl shortly, the accolades of 70,000 fans for great gladiator feats on the field. But I will say this. When I was in the fourth grade, I was the county champion in wrestling in my weight class.

Look at this guy. I weighed 125 when I graduated from high school. And in fourth grade, because I was in the smallest weight class, like 50 something pounds. I won the county championship. Guess how many guys I had to wrestle to win? One. I grew up in the smallest county in Indiana, not by population, second smallest county in size. It’s like 20 in population. A lot of folks live there, but a small county generally. The next year, my fifth grade year, I finished second in the county. But I had four wrestlers. I had moved up a weight class, had four wrestlers in the county, and the guy I lost to in the finals was the guy I beat the previous year. So I played baseball all of my years growing up.

I never hit a home run. I did get a triple once, and I remember it was a pretty big game. And I hit it off a guy who actually became one of my great friends in high school. He was a great basketball player, went on to play at Dayton, and I got the triple off of him, helped my team win that. I felt real great about that. But I played out in right field. In fact, I’m pretty sure I only played there because my dad was the coach. Because I was out in right field and I dropped a lot of fly balls. So, baseball wasn’t my thing. But I grew up in Indiana, and so I also played basketball, little AAU basketball, played a lot of basketball, played on my elementary school team.

And one time, when I was in sixth grade, I scored eight points in a game. That was my all-time high in my basketball career. Now, you’ve got to understand. It’s because we won that game 105 to 12. My next door neighbor, who was the real stud, the real athlete, always was, played on a state championship basketball team. He had 24 at halftime. One of my fellow baseball players who was our catcher, who reminded me of Johnny Bench, he had 20 points at halftime. So in the game where we scored 105, 44 were scored by halftime by two of my childhood friends. So I got to play in the second half and scored eight points. And I’ll never forget, and I just want to tell you because this is funny.

When it got to be 99, coach, timeout. Glenn Fryer coach, call timeout. He got like, hey guys, don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. We don’t want to embarrass the team. Nobody shoot. We come out of the timeout, past a Clark Jenny, 15 footer, off the glass, 101. Ended up at 105. I fared best in tennis. My senior year, my doubles partner and I were 21 and 4, but we were number two doubles. I mean, there were five guys better than us, including the guy I hit the triple off of. He was on the first doubles team. But had a good senior season. We lost the first round of the sectionals. But that was, but you know, nobody cheers for tennis. There was nobody there. My parents came.

The coaches were there, the students didn’t even come. So tennis wasn’t such a big deal. And then I had, as some of you know, a few years ago, right after I moved back from Auburn, I had my first ever hole in one. Playing golf. And of course, there were three other guys in the group, David Dickerson, who attends in Crosby, where Brett attends, and Reagan, who’s having the baby any day now. And Henry Stevenson, who I must add, unfortunately, is teaching a doctrine that I believe makes him a false teacher. It’s a really sad part of the story. And Chris Emerson. And when that hole in one happened, although we couldn’t see because of the glare, at least they were all cheering for me. They thought Henry said, I think that went in the hole.

And they were all cheering for him. He’s great. We couldn’t wait to get up to the green because the glare we couldn’t see for sure. And I got up, I didn’t see a ball on the green. And I said, Oh man. And I go and look, and there it was. And it was great. We all we were all excited. Then I was concerned about shooting a bad score that day after I’d had the hole in one on the sixth hole, but it ended up okay. And then Chris was envious. Because he’s very competitive. You know Chris Emerson. He’s very competitive, and Tony had a hole in one, and he didn’t. And so it bothered him for a while until a year and a half ago, he got his hole in one, and I was in the group with him when it happened for him.

And I said when he hit the shot, I said, go in the hole. And so now he’s fine. Again, just a few people in the crowd. But this old guy, this average athlete of a preacher. If you want a better athlete, you can probably find a preacher who’s a better athlete. This average guy was challenged by a couple of high school boys who, well, I’ll tell you, it was no one Drake. Challenged this old man to a bowling competition. How’d that turn out, fellas? And Sean beat him too. So average athlete. What would this be like? I want you to think about that tonight. I’ve said all of that to say. Imagine you’re Adele. And some of you saw her recently in concert. And all these people just want to hear your beautiful voice, and they’re cheering, and they would do anything to spend five minutes with you, and you’re the focus of their attention.

This big massive crowd, they’re cheering for you and clapping for you, or you’re the athlete or the rock star, or whatever you are. But this is the kind of crowds you get. And then I want you to think about this. What about when you reach the point in your life? The aging athlete, the singer’s voice is not what it was when he or she was younger.

You’ve had this rush, this excitement, this thrill for so long in your life, and now it’s gone. What about when the crowds aren’t cheering anymore? And I got this idea from my good friend who’s been helping me a lot in a lot of ways lately, Tommy Peeler, teacher at Florida College. He’s the one that gave me the commentary and revelation that’s blowing my mind. And he did this post on Facebook the day the Heisman Trophy was awarded in New York City. I don’t know if you saw that show or not. I’m getting to where I’m watching that every year because it’s a really cool show, even if even if you’re not really into sports, they do a good job with that. So I happened to watch the Heisman Trophy show, and I remember Tommy Peeler’s post, but what happened a week prior to that was a former Heisman winner, Rashan Salam, who was a great running back at the University of Colorado, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1994 after gaining 2,000 yards in one season.

Rashan Salam died from a self inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 42. He had a short NFL career of several years, had a good first year as a rookie. Didn’t last that long. But the real interesting fact about Rashan Salam is that he was the first Heisman winner to die in 55 years. Pretty amazing. And so Tommy posted this. The Heisman Trophy will be awarded tonight in New York City. The award supposedly goes to the best player in college football. And while I have long thought that this is the most overhyped award in sports, it is a great honor. But then he said, and this is what I want you to get. The applause of the crowd doesn’t solve life’s problems. My advice to the Heisman winner is, and he’s thinking about Salaam’s death.

One, be thankful for the moment. Be thankful for the blessings God has given you. No amount of work, hard work by an athlete or teaching by a coach can put in what God has left out. Number two. Be thankful for your teammates. Because any individual award in a team sport cannot come without the help of others. And I appreciate that about most of the Heisman winners, including Lamar Jackson, who is University of Louisville’s first ever Heisman winner, as he talked about wanting to go home and to share this with his teammates who made it all possible. Number three use your moment of fame to encourage as many people as you can. Four. Build your lives on a solid foundation so that when the crowds start cheering and the storms of life hit, you have something to stand on.

And his name is Jesus. How does the Sermon on the Mount end? The wise man builds his house upon the rock. And what is that all about? The one who hears these words and sayings of mine. The one who gives heed to the teaching Jesus has done and implements it in his or her life. Can weather the storms of life and listen to me? You will not live 50 years on this planet without having some storms in your life.

And there’s going to be times when the crowd isn’t cheering. The crowd’s applause does not solve all of life’s problems. Just ask Rashan Salaam.

And then in the parade, and this is what I love about the Heisman, when they have all the former winners who are alive, they’re all invited to come. All of them can’t come, but a lot of them do, and they’ll line the whole back of the stage, all the Heisman winners that have gone before. That’s a cool thing. Some great athletes. And out from behind the curtain comes Johnny Manzell. Johnny Football. Johnny’s not hearing the cheers of the crowd like he was. Is he? I thought it was sort of sad. Now he’s back enrolled at Texas AM, and I hope something good comes out of Johnny Manzell’s life. But he’s not going to be a star in the NFL, it appears. And then there was the interview with Jabril Pepper’s mom.

Jabril Peppers didn’t win the Heisman Trophy last month. But he’s a great story. He played seven different positions in a senior season. You know how incredible that is for a football player to play seven different positions, 933 plays. And the real irony of that is that he pulled a hamstring the day before the bowl game and didn’t get to play for Michigan, and they narrowly lost without Jabril. And the real irony about that is what his mom said in the interview of the Heisman Show about the rough nature of his early life and the absence of his father. I believe he was in prison. She talked about the difficulty, and she said this. This is a great quote. Adversity can do one of two things. It can cause you to travel down a dark path, or it can ignite something powerful and passionate within you.

1. Enjoy the Moments of Your Life

I like that. I have a passion for my God. Good choice. You didn’t know that. She said further, though I’m going through this, it’s not going to define who I am or hinder where I’m going. And that’s the long introduction. The sermon will not be as long. I want to talk to you for a moment about how to regard the fleeting moments of our lives. And they are that. Three points quickly about when the crowds stop cheering. Number one, enjoy the moments of your life. If you’re the singer on the stage, if you’re the football player in the arena, whatever it is that is going well and is a success in your life, enjoy the moments of your life. Because that’s all they are, they’re moments.

And I meant to say this. This was in the sermon last week as I was talking about Nebuchadnezzar, as he looked out over his kingdom. Look at what I built with my hands and the glory of my majesty. And then God has to humble him. That was very temporary. Nebuchadnezzar has been gone for a long time. And no matter how great your life becomes or what history says about you, it is all very temporary. And so you need to enjoy the moments of your life. And that’s exactly what the wisdom of Solomon says to us when it says, in that context of Ecclesiastes chapter 9, whatever your hands find to do it with your might. Keep your clothes white at all times. Enjoy your wife.

Eat your bread and drink your wine in happiness. It’s not intoxicating wine. Drink your wine and eat your bread in happiness. Because he goes on to say that time and chance happeneth to all. Man does not know his time. Suddenly he’s caught in a snare or a trap. And he goes, I was impressed by this. And so what he’s saying in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 is exactly this point. Look, and ultimately, your life is not completely in your hands. Nebuchadnezzar found that out the hard way, didn’t he? His life was in the hands of God, and he didn’t recognize it. And he had to be humbled for a time. And Paul said this in Athens, did he not? In him, we live and move. And have our very be.

For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 18. And I’m adapting what Tommy said about being grateful for the moment and for those who helped you along the way. And remember, it won’t always be that way. Paul says, I have known how to abound and how to be abased. And I have learned in whatever state I am in, therewith to be content. That’s 11 and 12. And then he says in verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can accomplish what the Lord wants me to accomplish. It doesn’t mean I can do everything. It means I can do what the Lord wants me to accomplish by his strength that he supplies. I can do that.

And you can do that. Whatever life throws at you. And he says, I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum. I know the feelings of both ends. And you can serve Christ in either one. But when things are going well, you thank God. And he said earlier, I’ll tell you what you do in every circumstance. You think on things that are pure, lovely, of good report. If there’s anything worthy of virtue and praise, think on these things. And if I might again adapt Tommy’s point, use your moment to encourage the struggler. Use your moment. This is our moment. We’re here to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, Galatians chapter 6 and verse 2. We’re to encourage the faint-hearted, 1 Thessalonians 5, just a few verses earlier from verse 18.

To encourage the faint hearted and the knees of the weak and feeble. Hebrews chapter 12. I mean, use your moment to advance this great cause. He who turns a sinner from the air of his way saves the soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. Turn him back, James says. James 5, 19 and 20. And make sure that you are standing on the ultimate foundation. Especially when the crowds aren’t cheering. Especially when the storms of life come. Look at this verse with me, Psalm 62 and verse 5. My soul. Wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest. The rock of my strength.

2. The Crowd That's Still Cheering

My refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times. O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. I appreciated those verses this week like I never had before. They just struck me. So important. So true. Appreciate the fleeting moments of your life. Point number two. I want to talk to you for a minute about the crowd that’s still cheering. Oh, I haven’t had a lot of fanfare in my average athletic life. Never going to be on stage as a singer. I gave up my hope as a professional athlete pretty early on. I went to the broadcast booth and thought that’s where I was going with my life, and then here I am as a gospel preacher. But here’s something interesting.

Most of us are never going to be in the arena where people are going nuts about our talents and abilities. But I want to tell you for a second about a crowd that’s still cheering for you. No matter what life throws at you, whether it’s clicking along just great, folks are congratulating you, noticing you, or ignoring and mistreating you.

I was writing a fellow elder, a fellow elder, a fellow brother who is an elder, I’m not an elder. I was writing a fellow elder this week, and I wrote him about Luke 6, 27 and 28.

But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. And I said, you know what my sad experience has been that more often the application of those passages for me have come from those within the body of Christ than from without. That’s sad. But it hurts when people mistreat you. When the pains of life and the storms of life come. But understand this.

Therefore, we have surrounding us a great cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight. And the sin that so easily entangles us.

The race that is set before us. I have heard people say that it is wrong to take this passage and to make it say that the idea is an amphitheater where all the faithful are looking down upon us as we run the race. That’s sort of the concept, but not it entirely. And I get it. I’m not so sure that all the faithful of the past are actually watching events on the earth. I don’t know what’s playing out in heaven. Maybe they are, but perhaps that’s not the idea. But I do know what is the idea of Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1, because I’ve read chapter 11 and you have too. And here’s what it’s saying. Average people, average men and women like you and me have blazed the trail of faith before us, and they did it all the way to the end, and you can too.

They’re not superheroes. They’re not people of extraordinary talent and ability, and that’s why they were able to do those great acts of faith in chapter 11. That’s not the point. They were people who decided to live for God in their time, enjoying the moments of their lives and serve God. And they did it all the way to the end, and they’re cheering for us. Oh, maybe not literally. Maybe it’s metaphorical. But they’re saying, we did it, and you can too. Lay aside the weights, and that’s the problem. There are weights. I wish there weren’t. I don’t like them, but they make us better. And I could talk another whole sermon about that. They make us go to God for our hope and support, as we read in Psalm 62.

They’re not negative necessarily unless you let them be, unless you let them destroy you, but they’re not powerful enough for that. Unless you let them be. That’s Romans 8. We’re conquerors because of our connection with God. Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us. And yes, it does. I know it does. That selfishness problem we talked about this morning. I know it’s a problem. Brawls. So just remember. There’s a crowd still cheering. No matter what stands in your path. Listen to the Lord. And listen to Ivory Bryant. Jabril Pepper’s mom. I’m not going down the dark path. I’m going to keep a passion for my God. Despite this adversity. And whatever I’m going through, I’m not going to let it define me.

I’m going to heaven. And God’s going to help me get there. And I want you to be aware of something else. Beware of the crowds that aren’t cheering you in the right direction. And there’s a lot of them. They are legion. Beware of the influences that are cheering you on down the wrong path. Because I’ll tell you, when you get to be where the prodigal son was. There was no one given him anything. Where had the crowd gone? And they will leave you high and dry when you can’t offer what they want. But this crowd ain’t going nowhere.

3. The Crowd That Cheers Eternally

And then I want to tell you about the final crowd. And that is the crowd that’s never going away. That’s the crowd that cheers eternally. You didn’t think I could fit Revelation 7 into this sermon, did you?

Aaron asked me the question about after class. This started the whole thing. He really spiraled my week out of control. Thanks, Aaron. I’m picking on Aaron a lot lately, but I love him. What’s the difference between the 144,000 of the beginning part of the chapter? And if you haven’t been in the class, then you’re going to be a little lost here, but you’ll have to catch up. What’s the difference between the 144,000 at the beginning of the chapter and the great multitude at the end of the chapter? And I really didn’t have a good answer, so that sent me on a journey, and Jared and I have been talking back and forth about it all week. And Jared and I have come to the conclusion, whether we’re right or not, that the 144,000 in the first part of the chapter are those who are the righteous on earth at any given time throughout history who are his covenant people.

And that’s why you have 12 times 12 times 10 times 10 times 10. You have 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel times 10, the perfect complete number of God’s people. And we are pretty sure that they’re on the earth because God is sealing them for security and safety because of this onslaught of judgment that’s coming. And so he’s marking his people. And it’s like 2 Timothy chapter 2. Really, I wish I had time to read 2 Timothy 2 10, all the way down to about 22, where it says, The Lord knows those that are his. Let everyone who names the name of Christ abstain from wickedness, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19. And right before that, if we are faithful, and I posted that this week, if we are faithful, we will reign with him forever.

And that really fits well with this 144,000. And so God is sealing the righteous who are on earth at that present time to be protected when he unleashes his judgment on the wicked. So then who is the great multitude? In this section. Well, it says, it is those who have come out of the tribulation. And so I go to Beasley, his commentary, and he says, the first vision in chapter 7 is employed solely to illustrate God’s concern for his people. And I like this. God’s concern for his people. And the second vision with the great multitude is to show the effectiveness of that concern. Because God is involved in their lives, because he is their security, their stability, their safety, that when they endure the tribulation, whether it’s persecution or just the hardships of life.

They overcome, they are the great multitude who are in the presence of God and in the presence of the Lamb, who is in the center of them, it says. And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. Heaven, in the presence of God and the Lamb is a reversal of fortunes of the most epic kind, nearly indescribable in its proportions. Those who have suffered so because of their faith, rewarded so because of their love for God. Those who had so little good here have no lack of anything there. Interesting. In the blessings and the curses of Deuteronomy 28 that we studied recently.

Conclusion

Just notice that. That is perfect. That’s really what the choice to serve God, young people, is all about. You’re really making a choice. You’re really making a decision. Do you want to ultimately have the lack of all things, or do you want the abundance of all things? And that’s why Paul says to the Corinthians, all things belong to you. Because we have everything that matters. There can be so much discomfort to our lives here. But there will not be a smidgeon of it there. I want to conclude tonight in James chapter 1. Remember this context. Count it all joy. When you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete.

Lacking in nothing. See that? Lacking in nothing. Now look at verse 9. And this is hard for us because we don’t want to be this, brother. But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position. And let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass, he will pass away. Leading moments. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, Daniel can tell you all about that. And its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed, so too. The rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. We see that happen all the time, but we sort of act like it isn’t going to happen. Happened to Steve Jobs, didn’t it? In the midst of his pursuits.

He’s done. Happens to all of us. Young people market well. Blessed. And I tell people all the time whatever follows that word in Scripture, you need to pay attention to, because that’s the ideal state of being. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life. Not just reward, not just treasure, not just the presence of God. All of that can be summed up in one word. And that word is life and a crown of life at that. Which the Lord has promised to them who love it. So I want to ask you in conclusion, which awards in life really matter? Which crowds really matter? Why are you here tonight? Why am I up here tonight?

And it’s this and this alone. Will you ultimately be numbered in the great crowd that’s around the throne of our great God? Man, I got to quote Brother D. If you missed heaven, you’ve just missed all there is. Do you need to respond to the invitation from now as we stand and sing?