Dave Dravecky

We are continuing our series Small Faith Big God and it's been a great series. But today we are very, very excited to have a special guest with us and honored to have him with us, famed San Francisco Giants pitcher and friend of Twin Lakes Church. Dave Dravecki is with us. But if you don't know anything about baseball, you might not know Dave or you don't know the history of the Giants. We have a video to show you a little bit about that story. Check it out.

Dave Dravecki, the famous pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. A 21st round draft pick who fought his way up the ranks to national stardom. Growing up I had two heroes, Sandy Kofax and Bida Blue. They were left-handed pitchers. All I cared about as a little kid was I wanted to throw a baseball like they did.

I would have to say he was a tremendous competitor. He had this tremendous desire to win. Some people are born with just gobs of talent, but they only use about this much. And with David, David had this much and Dave used it to the full extent.

At the zenith of his amazing Major League Odyssey, Dave's doctors noticed a strange lump forming. Finally they said, okay, let's just get it checked. And so we went to the doctor and had an MRI. We were in the waiting room waiting for the doctors to come back and talk to us and outside of the room. We heard the doctors fooling around with the film, slapping it up on the thing. And then all of a sudden, the doctor said, oh my goodness, look at that tumor.

It was cancer in his left arm, his pitching arm. And so the doctors came in and told him they believed he had a fibroid tumor at the base of his deltoid muscle. They would have to remove it along with 50% of his deltoid muscle. The doctors said Dave Dravecki would never pitch again. But ten months after the removal of cancer from his arm.

You don't ever use the word finish when you talk about Dave Dravecki, because he never finished. He stood on the mountain in Candlestick Park on August 10th, 1989. And he stood there in amazement. The magnitude of that night, it was unreal. It was more like a World Series game, the seventh game in the World Series. And he got a stand ovation when he walked down by the bullpen. When he first started warming up, he got a stand ovation when he finished. He got a stand ovation when he went to the mound. It was just incredible to sit there. I didn't really manage that game, I just sat there in awe.

Dave returned to the mound to pitch eight electrifying innings for the Giants, leading them to victory. But then, five days later, on the mound against Montreal, Dave Dravecki threw the pitch heard around the world. The sixth inning and I'm back out on the mound and I rear back to throw a fastball to Tim Raines, who's at the plate. And all of a sudden, as I let go of that pitch, my left arm snaps in half.

Here's the pitch and Dravecki falls open. This incredible explosion in my left ear from releasing that fastball and my arm snapping in half. And I went falling to the ground. Almost went in shock. There was something going on in my life that was a whole lot bigger than baseball. So much bigger than baseball.

Dravecki stumbled on the mound, he threw a wild pitch, and he's holding his shoulder. He was checked by the doctors and they told him the tumor had returned. His left arm shattered, along with his dreams of a major league comeback. The man with the miracle arm must now face the future as an amputee. Baseball was just a stepping stone to something much greater.

Okay, I got scolded last night for going ten minutes over so you guys gotta chill. Just kidding, Val, wherever you are. It is so good to be here. You know why? This is the third time you guys have asked me back. Do you know that there hasn't been one place that I have spoken in the entire country, church or otherwise, that has invited me back three times? None have invited me back for the second time.

So I don't know if you guys are just messed up or this is a really good thing. And I wanna thank the latter, because it really is a good thing. You guys have, I feel like in coming here, I've come to like a second home. This is just a sweet place. You all have a wonderful leader in René and someone who I've yet to meet. This guy blows the joint and asks me to come down here, and we don't get face to face. But he's really cool. And I know he's all about grace. I know that.

And so today, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take you on a journey. Last night, I was going down some major rabbit trails, and I'm so grateful my wife was not here. Because she would have been looking at me really strange, saying, where are you going and get back on focus? But because it's so fresh, it's this thing that has happened in my life over the last six years that has really got me in a place where there's excitement. But there's also a little fear and trembling because I don't know where it's gonna go.

And so just bear with me as we go through this new season in my life. And wouldn't you all agree that as we've lived life, and I think for many of us, we've lived enough of it, that we know that there are seasons that occur where God enters in and takes us to another level with him. And I think that is a beautiful thing, but sometimes it can be really painful. Sometimes it can be really hard. And other times, you're just in a sweet place and you move to that next season.

You know, when I came here the first time, I shared with you the encounter that I had with my roommate and teammate, Byron Ballard. I can't even remember how many years ago I was here for the first time. And I talked about this challenge that Byron had put on me in relationship to understanding who I am in relationship to God. And so I began to read this incredible book, God's Word, to discover who I was. And as a result, I came face to face with a God who loves me more than I can comprehend.

And that's why he gave his son Jesus, so that we would be able to experience that love. We would be able to experience the forgiveness that separated us and separates us from that love. And I entered into this new season of life as a follower of Jesus. The last time I was here with you, I shared with you more of the struggle, more of the reality of life, and the fact that I'm not a robot as a Christian. I'm a human being with real feelings and real emotions.

And so it wasn't easy, it was hard. There were times when I struggled in my faith, I struggled emotionally, and obviously I was struggling physically. And that was really, really hard. But I came to a place in my life at that point where I learned some valuable lessons about who Dave Dravecki is. You see, for most of my story, as a follower of Jesus and as a major league baseball player, it was about what I did that defined who I am. That's where my identity was.

Even though I understood that as a Christian and a follower of Jesus, that Christ was now in me, so much of the world grabbed me and identified me through that amazing game called baseball. And as a result of going through the peaks and the valleys during that period of time in my life, I learned this valuable lesson that it's not what you do that matters most, but it's who you are.

I wanna share a poem with you that was written for us in the book called The Worth of a Man that was just the sum of all the struggles and the trials that I was going through and what I finally came face to face with realizing. And it goes like this. I once believed that what I did placed value on my worth. And walking where great men have walked, I saw my dream give birth. But dreams don't always last through life, in fact, they often die. The day I watched my dream pass on, all alone stood I.

And in the searching of my soul, God gave to me new peace. Today, I'm living other dreams, the kind that will not cease. In Jesus' eyes, I'm valued so much greater than I see. My worth is not in what I do, it's in Christ's death for me. That was 1993 or 1994 that that was written. Ladies and gentlemen, I've lived a whole lot more of life since 1994. I've gotten a lot grayer.

And there's this whole body of life over that 23 year span, and in particular, a 17 year span. Where I continued in this journey with Jesus, struggling. The ebb and flow of faith is a very real part of everyone's story. And I struggled because so much of my world was wrapped around this idea of pleasing God. Isn't that something that we ultimately desire to do with our lives? I mean, don't we want to please him? Yes, we want to please him. And that was the pursuit of my life.

But what I didn't realize was that the attempt to please God was actually placing me in bondage with God. Because everything I put on this list that I thought was important in pleasing him, reading my Bible every day, praying every day, going into weekly men's Bible study, being in church every Sunday, making sure that I was doing this and doing that and doing more of this and doing more of that in an attempt to please God was killing me. And you know why? I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. And I struggled so much.

And so my faith continued to have these wonderful peaks. And I'd be on this plateau for a while and boom, I'd crash. Has anybody ever been there, by the way? It's okay if you show your hand and say you have. God's grace is sufficient for you to show your hand and say, yeah, Dave, I've messed up. I don't pray every day. Or I struggle with reading my Bible, whatever it might be. And for those 17 years, that's what my life looked like.

And so in that span of those 17 years, you can begin to imagine the shame and the guilt that I felt in my feeble attempt to try and please God. And so I lived in shame and guilt, feeling that I was never good enough and I could never please Him. Is there anyone here that has felt like that in their story? Yeah, gosh, it feels so good to be in company. I am not alone. But you know what I discovered? Six years ago, I came face to face with a wonderful book that challenged me to take a closer look at the good news. And it's called The Cure.

I don't know if I shared this with you the last time we were here, but I want you to know I'm sharing it with you this time. Because this book is not the Bible, it's just a tool that God used in my life, like I'm sure he's used in your life with other tools that you've discovered, maybe through a book that have taken you directly to His word to help you understand who you really are. The subtitle to this book is, what if God isn't who you think he is? And neither are you.

So that's where I found myself. And as I went on that journey, one of the most amazing things happened as I began to read scripture. I went to Galatians, and today, this morning, we're gonna do it right. Last night I messed up big time. But that's par for the course for Dave. So in Galatians, if you wanna look at your Bible, I'm gonna read from the message, by the way. And it'll be up on the screen, thank God for technology. Galatians chapter two, starting in verse 19. And I'm reading out of the message.

What actually took place is this. The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Galatia. And all of a sudden, he's now talking about his own journey, his own experience. And you've gotta remember, this is someone who understood who Jesus was and who he had become in his own life, because he was a persecutor of Christians. So he fully knew what he was now involved in and engaged in as one of God's messengers. And being moved by the Holy Spirit, this is what he says in these verses.

What actually took place is this. I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God. And it didn't work. Thank you, Paul. Why didn't I read this 17 years earlier? So I quit being a law man so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion. And this is what really blew me away. And I am no longer driven to impress God.

Wow. I mean, that's amazing. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not mine, but it is lived by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going back on that. Gosh, guys, this verse is my theme song. I do not want to be a law man. I want to be God's man. And so what does that look like in the context of who we are? I want to share some thoughts with you in the context of what I came face to face with in reading this book called The Cure.

You know, I discovered something very important on this journey. And that was in the beginning when I came to faith in Jesus all the way back in 1981. I don't know how I miss this, but I forgot. I forgot, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone. A new life has begun. Did you hear that? The old life is gone. So as you sit here and you're a follower of Jesus, do you realize the old life is gone? That's why Jesus died on the cross. He died on the cross so that that old life would be gone. And he gives us a new life. A brand new life.

Do you live like your life is brand new? Or are you still living with that old guy or that old gal? Because the truth is when Jesus comes into our lives and we receive the Holy Spirit through this incredible encounter, we get all of him. And as Paul says, it's no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. I am a new creature. You guys are brand new.

I want to ask you a question. How many here in this room think of themselves as saints? Raise your hand. This young man knows where I'm going. Yeah, I was that guy who would sit. If somebody asked me that question and they were preaching from the pulpit and I was where you were sitting, there was no way I was going to raise my hand. Although I might do this. Just in case somebody actually saw me and knew me, they wouldn't see that. I was thinking I was a saint.

Do you realize in the scriptures that we are told after coming to faith in Christ that we are saints, we are no longer when you come to faith, you're a sinner who got saved. But after that moment, you enter into a place as someone brand new and a saint, a saint who sins because the reality is, is that old man doesn't go away. It's just supposed to die over our lifetime. And the only way that it dies is if we continue to live over here in who we really are as saints. But that battle will go on for a lifetime because Paul says he battles with the flesh and the spirit all the time. So it's there.

And so what we're challenged and called to do is trust the Holy Spirit in us to live in and through us. And ladies and gentlemen, we actually can trust the greatest power in the universe that dwells within us. To live in and through us. That's a really cool thing. That's unbelievable. Six years ago when I came face to face with this, it was like I had a new born again experience, man. I was like, oh my gosh, God, this is amazing. For all these years, I got bound up in this bondage. And now all of a sudden I'm entering into this new place where I'm learning again who I am in Christ. And with this wonderful reminder, you move me into a place of freedom.

That's what grace is. Grace is freedom. Ladies and gentlemen, it's not freedom to sin. It is freedom to live under the love and mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. That's where the freedom is. And yet we will sin. Yes, that is something to be excited about. We will sin. But when we do, we have a Savior who's already taken care of it. It was taken care of on the cross. And so we no longer have to leave, let that thing hold us in bondage. And yet sometimes we do, don't we?

And the moment we enter into a place of sin and we choose not to do something about it, we put on a mask. And when we put on that mask, the more we hide, the more we continue to go down this path of sin, the more we'll put on that mask and we'll lie to ourselves and to others about who we really are. And guess what happens when we do that? And this is so important, at least to me, what I have come to understand about the power of sin and grace. It's the longer we stay in that hiddenness, the less we are loved. Because guess what gets loved when you wear masks? The mask. So you never get to experience what real love is when you wear a mask.

So then the question begs itself, how do we deal with this? How do we get rid of this sin? Well, as I said, the cross already took care of that. That's a wonderful reminder to us to look to the cross. But just as important, the way you can eliminate the cycle of sin, stop the cycle of sin, is to tell somebody else. How many here like doing that? Any show of hands here? No, you like doing that? Yes. Yeah. You know why? Freedom, right? Yeah, there's freedom. And in that freedom, when we tell somebody else, guess what happens? We get loved again. We experience that love again. That is who we are, ladies and gentlemen. That is who we are.

The scriptures tell us in Ephesians 2:8–9, "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith in this knot of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not by works so that no man can boast." God has taken care of all of it through the cross. His grace is sufficient for your life every day. Every day. His love is overwhelming.

Guys, I didn't want to forget this when I was sitting down and I was praying and asking God to actually asking the Holy Spirit to live in and through me in this moment. I wanted to remember to acknowledge the people that were up here that ushered us into a place of worship this morning through music. Those songs were amazing. Fear is a huge part of my life. It grips me. When I read and I hear those words and I sing those words, that fear no longer has a grip on me because of why. I am a child of God.

Another area in scripture that helps us to understand who we are. We are brand new. We become children of God. How amazing is that? And now what we've come to understand in the midst of the journey of life when we sin is that there is a way out. But that way out is to tell another. And so what I've come to learn in the process of these last six years is the power of friendship.

When was the last time you heard from the pulpit a message on what it meant to be a good friend? And I'm just learning that. Because when you desire to enter into a good friendship, a quality friendship where you can trust. It takes a risk. Because in that risk what I am saying is I want to be known so that I no longer live in bondage to my sin but in freedom. In Christ. And so community becomes a powerful thing and my hope and prayer for every one of you in this room is that you at least have one person that you can go to that you know loves you and trust you and you trust them where you can expose and be open and known. So that you never have to wear a mask again.

And oh by the you know by the way you'll still wear one. Because this is our journey. We're maturing into the person that he has made us when we came to faith in Christ that brand new person. And it's a lifelong journey of maturity. You know something really cool I came to discover is you know in this process of my life change has been a very important word and I can't tell you how many times I've said man I'd look in the mirror and I'd be so frustrated with Dave and I go you need to change buddy you need to change. And when I read this book I realized that when I became brand new I was changed completely.

And so folks don't worry about changing anymore. Just worry about growing up. Because that's what we do we grow up. The older I get, well in some people's eyes I'm still not where I need to be but I think I'm growing up. And it feels good to grow up. It feels good when somebody comes into my story now and says gosh Dave we need to talk about something that I saw in you the other day and I say this with love and I say it only because I know you're on a journey getting closer to Jesus. So I want to encourage you.

Do I have permission to say this to you? One of the most beautiful words in the universe is permission. Why do we think we have a right to enter into somebody's problem without asking for permission? Who do we think we are? When we're just as messed up. So I would encourage you if you're in relationship and it's deep before you say anything hard to ask for permission. There are aspects of the church where the leadership of the church has the right and the permission without getting permission to speak into someone's life when there is sin and it is affecting the congregation or a family. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about day-to-day friendships. And that becomes a powerful thing.

So as we look at our lives and we see these wonderful things that God has done all these amazing things that God is doing for us and in us and through us because the Holy Spirit is there. We recognize some beautiful things about ourselves some beautiful things. And what is that? I want to ask you this question before I close. Do you really know who you are? Do you really know who you are today when you walk out of here? I want you to think about this. You have been made brand new and that happened the day that you met Jesus. Okay.

I want you to think about the fact that you're no longer a sinner who is saved but a saint who sins. I want you to tell yourself you're a saint and you don't say it with pride. And with a big ego because guess what you had nothing to do with becoming a saint. It's all based on what Jesus did for us. And here's another thing in the midst of this journey that you find yourself on remind yourself that you're a child of God.

And then as you do that if your grandparents put that grandson or granddaughter on your lap and look at them and think about how much you love them and that you would give your life for that little child. And remember and think about yourself sitting in the lap of your Heavenly Father. And think about what he must be thinking as he gazes into your eyes and looks at you and is so pleased. Think about that. You're a child of the living God. And in the end, it's Christ in me. Christ in me. That's you. Every one of you. Christ in you.

Do you believe that he lives in you? That the Holy Spirit dwells within you with all the power? That you need to live a life. That is full of the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, forgiveness and even more. And all you have to do. Guess what? You don't have to put any effort into this, folks. All you got to do is reflect. Like a mirror does the image of Christ through your life. And trust that he'll do it through you because he will. He's that powerful.

I'm going to close with a little section of this wonderful book that has encouraged my life. And I trust that it will do the same for you. It may feel like a gamble to you, but it is no gamble to God. This way of life that I'm talking about. God has shown all of his cards, revealing breathtaking protection. He says, this is what God says in essence. What if I tell them who they now are? Children of God. What if I take away any element of fear? What if I tell them I will always love them, no matter what, even on your worst day, you will be loved?

That I love them right now as much as I love my only son. Do you believe that? What if I tell them there are no logs of past offenses, of how little they pray? Thank you, Jesus. Or how often they've let me down. What if I tell them they are actually righteous right now? Do you believe you are holy and righteous? Because you are. Because the one who is holy and righteous lives in you. What if I tell them I'm crazy about them? What does that make you feel like when somebody says I'm crazy about you?

What if I tell them that if I'm their Savior, they're going to heaven no matter what? It's a done deal. What if I tell them they have a new nature? That they are saints, not saved sinners. What if I tell them I actually live in them now, my love, my power, and nature at their disposal? What if I tell them they don't have to put on masks? That they don't need to pretend we're close. What if they knew that when they mess up, I'll never retaliate?

What if they were convinced bad circumstances aren't my way of evening the score? What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn't how little they sin, but how much they allow me to love them? Think about that. What if I tell them they can't hurt my heart? What if I tell them they can hurt my heart, but I'll never hurt theirs? What if I tell them they can open their eyes when they pray and still go to heaven? Amen.

What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trap door? What if I tell them it isn't about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life through them? And here's what I want you to think about. That is really, really powerful in the context of who we are. Nature provides many examples of this incredible discrepancy between who we appear to be and who we truly are. Consider the caterpillar.

If we brought a caterpillar to a biologist and asked him to analyze it and describe its DNA, he would tell us, "I know this looks like a caterpillar to you, but scientifically, according to every test, including DNA, this is fully and completely a butterfly." Wow. God has wired into a creature looking nothing like a butterfly a perfectly complete butterfly identity. And because the caterpillar is a butterfly, in essence, it will one day display the behavior and attributes of a butterfly.

The caterpillar matures into what is already true about it. In the meantime, berating the caterpillar for not being more like a butterfly is not only futile, it will probably hurt its tiny ears. So it is with us. God has given us the DNA of righteousness. We are saints. Nothing we do will make us more righteous than we already are. Nothing we do will alter this reality. God knows our DNA. He knows that we are Christ in me. And now, He is asking us to join Him in what He knows is true. Do you believe it? Do you know who you are?

Father, thank you so much for this morning. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace that is new every morning. And as I stand here with my eyes open and praying, I'm so grateful that you're okay with that. I'm so grateful that you love each and every one of us right where we're at. And as a result, that even on our worst day, we are loved more than we can comprehend. So with that news, with that good news, move each and every person, including me, in this place, closer to your heart, with every day we are alive so that we get the unique privilege of reflecting Christ in me. Thank you, and God bless you all.