Yesterday, a technical issue prevented my sermon from recording properly (meaning we can’t post it on our website). Therefore, I’m using this week’s blog to provide a summary of what we discussed. I coach high school basketball, mostly at the C-Squad and JV levels, and during the pre-game time, and at halftime, we meet in the locker room to draw things up on the whiteboard, review offensive plays and defensive schemes, talk about how to press and break a press, etc. The players seem to understand when I’m drawing on the board and we’re just talking about the game. Then, sometimes (more often than I would like), the boys leave the locker room, start playing on the court, and seemingly forget everything we just discussed. For example, one of my players can actually draw up play “51” himself, but then go out on the court and not run play “51” when I call it. In these situations, I want to scream (okay, share passionately), “get out of the locker room!”

 

What we talk about, explain, and draw up means nothing if we don’t do it on the court. As Christians, we can experience something similar. We can participate in church services on a Sunday morning, sing songs of praise and worship, partake of the Lord’s Supper, hear a message from God’s Word, spend time in prayer, and encourage each other, which are all wonderful and important things to do. But as critical as these things are, they really work much like the pre-game or halftime speech; we need to “get out of the locker room,” go out into the world, and actually put our faith into practice, day by day, moment by moment. The “game,” if you will, is in our real lives, our homes, our neighborhoods, our work places, and our schools. We must “get out of the locker room” to walk with Christ, go to heaven, and take as many people with us as possible.

 

This is especially critical when it comes to the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20b, we read these words from Jesus: ¹⁹ “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Getting out of the locker room means we put our faith into practice and we understand that we’re simply beggars showing other beggars where the food is. We “let [our] light shine before others, that they may see [our] good deeds and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). So, let’s not only know God’s Word and what we’re supposed to do; let’s actually do it by getting out of the locker room and shining God’s light in this dark world.

 

Troy Burns