PIPELINE FOR GOD

There are venues in sports where the stadium acoustics help the home team when the Fans get loud enough for the visiting team not to hear their own thoughts.  I have seen this.  I have also seen the fans support and cheer their team to what seems like a miraculous comeback.

To many this sense of control by the Fan is called The Extra Man.  For example, in basketball the Fan may be called The Sixth Man.  In American football the Fan may be called The Twelfth Man.  But besides the volume of the masses in the venue and the moral support given to the home team, it is the coaches and players that literally and figuratively - have the ball in their hands.  They are the ones that are in direct control of the outcome of the contest.  They are the ones battling it out - setting screens, blocking, passing, running, and scoring.  The Fan, well, he/she just appreciates the effort very much from the sidelines.

The message conveyed here to the Christian is a SHOUT to the Fans of Jesus to become a True Follower of Christ.  The shout is a wake-up call to get active in the world by helping others, loving on others, and spreading the Good News that Christ redeemed their relationship to God through His death and resurrection!

However, if you are a Christian, a true Believer, there is a next-level truth to be understood here.  The truth is the fight is going to be hard to stay out of because of what Scripture says about the matter.

1. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8
2. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. - Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

In Christianity, the field of play actually includes the stands and the rest of the world, it is just a matter of whether the Christians in those "stands" recognize this or not.  If the Christian does not recognize where the field of play is and that they are always behind enemy lines and conditions are getting worse, then victories in that Christian's life may be far-and-few-in between.  However, for the Christian that does live a "self-controlled and alert" lifestyle, the enemy is not going to take them off guard as easily and victories can be more forthcoming.

I say victories can be more forthcoming in the hopes that Christians will fight the good fight of Faith and good works by making themselves available as a pipeline of blessing to others!  Read this verse.......

• "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness." - 2 Corinthians 9:10

Pay close attention to the words underlined - "supplies" and "sower".  The tense to both words is present active participle.  This means that "supplies" translates He who keeps on supplying and "sower" translates he who keeps on sowing.  So, if you are an effective Christian you will be like Lake Galilee that has an input and output as opposed to the Dead Sea that has an input, but no output.  If you desire to be an effective player in this spiritual and physical battle of life - become a Pipeline of Blessing to others.  Here, when God decides to pour into your life, you can immediately think and pray about how to then bless someone else with that blessing or in a similar manner.  Later, when God gets me and you good at just one pipe flowing and expanding with blessing, He will train us to open several other pipes and tell us who to direct them toward. It's time to be a continual flowing Pipeline for God!