Never Boring

Billy Sunday was a popular professional baseball player from 1883-1891. He played outfield and got his start with the Chicago White Stockings.

Billy Sunday was a popular professional baseball player from 1883-1891. He played outfield and got his start with the Chicago White Stockings. Never Boring "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-38) The one thing I never want to be as a preacher of the grace Gospel of Jesus Christ is boring. The Bible is God's divine instructional guide to His people, and it is the job of the biblical teacher to present the truth of God with enthusiasm and passion. William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was a popular professional baseball player for eight years from 1883-1891. He played outfield and got his start with the Chicago White--not Sox, but at this time--Stockings. He was an average hitter but an exceptionally fast runner who could make spectacular catches in the outfield. He would make acrobatic catches and impress the crowds, and this was before they wore gloves in the outfield. He was the fastest runner in baseball, as he beat Arlie Latham in the 100-yard dash by 10 feet. Sunday could run the bases from home plate all the way around and back to home plate in an amazing 11 seconds. He was among the league's leaders in stolen bases. After drinking with his buddies one night, Sunday stumbled upon a Gospel service at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. He heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was saved, and started immediately attending the Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church. In 1891 he turned down what was then a lucrative offer to play professional baseball ($3,000 a year) in order to work with the Chicago YMCA for $83 a month! For 3 years, Sunday visited the sick and also would go to the saloons and bars and invite people to evangelistic meetings. Sunday went on to become the most influential and well-known evangelist in the first two decades of the 20th century. Roughly one million people came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior after hearing him preach. He was known for his powerful and fervent preaching, and he was most animated and enthusiastic. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Sunday) What about other enthusiastic people? Who do you know that is enthusiastic? I think of Jesus Christ. He was God in the flesh, so it is no surprise that we see Him enthusiastic in the Gospels: loving God, loving people, smiling, full of joy, and in total commitment to the Father. In our biblical text for today's devotion, one can feel the pathos, the passionate plea of Jesus when He invites everyone to come to Him and receive living water. I think of His encouragement to the woman at the well in John 4. His conversation so changed her that she went and told the Samaritans to come and hear Him. I believe His message so inspired her that she had to go and tell others. Jesus was very enthusiastic and inspirational in the best sense of the words. John 4:39 states: "Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, 'He told me everything I ever did!'" Ask the Lord Jesus to instill in your heart a passion and enthusiasm for Him that shines through all that you do. Podcast of the Week 10 Principles for Effective Living: Enthusiasm Pastor Danny focuses this episode on the principle of Enthusiasm, discussing the interesting linguistic roots of the word, how this characteristic benefits those who have it and everyone around them, and some inspiring examples of enthusiastic people. Download on iTunes Listen on Stitcher Watch on YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram Website Spotify SoundCloud Share Tweet Fwd Copyright © 2020 Danny Forshee Evangelistic Association, All rights reserved.