Get The Prize | Pastor Mike Frisch | Active Church Yucaipa

This exposition insists that the prize of the Christian life is always a person: Jesus. It argues that every spiritual practice, every moral choice, and every longing flows from recognizing Jesus as the reward rather than pursuing religious outcomes as ends in themselves. Drawing on Romans 12, the text calls for lives offered as living sacrifices—daily surrender of wants, rights, and convenience so that kingdom priorities shape decisions, words, and relationships. Such surrender produces visible behaviors that invite curiosity rather than provoke condemnation.

Matthew 5 supplies concrete, countercultural examples of that surrendered life: turning the other cheek, giving coat and shirt, and going the second mile. Those acts operate as nonverbal invitations that expose dehumanizing behavior and call opponents to reconsider their story and dignity. The argument stresses that these practices are not passive weakness but strategic, Christlike ways to preserve image-bearing humanity and to create space for repentance through kindness.

Renewal of the mind stands central: transformation requires more than religious habits or memorized doctrine. The content urges deliberate capture of thoughts and alignment of thinking with Christ so that actions flow from a changed heart. Renewed minds lead to changed habits—confession, accountability, reconciliation, and bigger tables instead of higher walls.

Mission flows naturally from this inward change. Christians who see Jesus as the prize function as salt and light, preserving dignity and leading the way out of spiritual decay. Ambassadorship for Christ means living with presence over protection—making room for questions, showing kindness that prompts movement toward God, and using resources to tell Jesus’ story instead of self-promote. The will of God appears simple and clear: God desires repentance and restoration, and that desire should shape daily choices.

The exposition closes by inviting alignment: communion serves as a symbol and practice that reorients hearts to Jesus as the reward, and a communal call invites both commitment to follow and renewed resolve to be the Christians the world needs—surrendered, transformed, and sent to restore hope, forgiveness, and life.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus is the prize Seeing Jesus as the reward reorders motives and practices; salvation, sanctification, mercy, and joy all flow from relationship with Christ rather than from religious performance. When Jesus becomes the center, behavior moves from proving worth to embodying the gospel for others’ benefit. This shifts worship from ritual to a life lived in daily dependence upon and gratitude for what Christ has done. [40:25]
• 2. Live as living sacrifices Offering bodies as living sacrifices means choosing kingdom priorities moment by moment, not only on Sundays or in theory. Surrender strips away entitlement and enables decisions that honor God and uplift neighbors even at personal cost. This sacrificial posture functions as authentic worship and a visible testimony to a watching world. [49:39]
• 3. Renew the mind daily True transformation changes thought patterns, not just outward habits; taking every thought captive makes decisions obedient to Christ. Renewed thinking dismantles pride, resentment, and hypocrisy and produces confession, accountability, and repentance. A changed mind reorients relationships toward reconciliation and service. [63:14]
• 4. Counterintuitive mercy invites change in others Practices like turning the other cheek or going the extra mile expose dehumanizing behavior and create moral pressure for repentance. Such nonretaliatory responses protect image-bearing dignity and provoke curiosity rather than defensiveness. Mercy becomes a strategic, redemptive force that opens doors for restorative conversation. [57:14]
• 5. Ambassadors who embody presence Christ’s ambassadors prioritize presence over protection, creating space for questions and offering kindness that leads to repentance. Representing Christ means using words, resources, and life rhythms to invite others home rather than to condemn them. Presence grounded in humility and truth models God’s patience and catalyzes real spiritual return. [72:21]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:39] - Opening Prayer
• [33:12] - Series Overview: The People We Need
• [33:31] - Problem of Nominal Christianity
• [36:17] - Personal Conversion Story
• [40:25] - Jesus as the Prize
• [48:21] - Romans 12: Living Sacrifice Introduced
• [49:39] - What It Means To Surrender
• [53:32] - Matthew 5: Countercultural Examples
• [63:14] - Renewing the Mind
• [67:32] - Salt and Light Explained
• [72:21] - Ambassadors for Christ
• [77:14] - Communion and Invitation
• [79:56] - Closing Prayer and Benediction

1. According to Romans 12:1, what does it mean to offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice”?
2. What does it look like practically to “not be conformed to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2)?
3. In the sermon, turning the other cheek, giving your coat, and going the second mile were described as “nonverbal invitations.” What do these actions communicate to the person who wrongs you? [57:14]
4. How does renewing the mind lead to being able to “test and approve what God’s will is” (Romans 12:2)?

1. Why is it significant that true worship is described not just as singing but as offering our whole lives to God (Romans 12:1)?
2. How do actions like turning the other cheek or going the extra mile actually “expose dehumanizing behavior” rather than simply avoiding conflict? [57:14]
3. In what ways can someone have “religious habits” or know Bible verses but still not have a “renewed mind” (Romans 12:2)? [01:03:14]
4. If God’s will is that all people would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), how does that shape the way we interact with those who don’t know Jesus?

1. Where in your life right now are you holding tightly to your rights, wants, or convenience instead of surrendering them moment by moment? [49:39]
2. Is there a relationship where you’ve been resistant instead of surrendered? What would it look like this week to respond with presence instead of protection? [01:08:43]
3. What thought patterns do you need to “take captive” to make them obedient to Christ? How can you practically begin renewing your mind daily? [01:04:32]
4. When have you recently had an opportunity to show counterintuitive mercy (like turning the other cheek or going the extra mile)? Did you take it? Why or why not? [57:14]
5. How can you use your resources this week to tell Jesus’ story instead of promoting yourself or your own comfort? [01:07:04]
6. Who in your life needs to experience God’s kindness through you? What’s one tangible way you can show them kindness that may lead them toward repentance? [01:11:30]
7. In what area of your life do you need to realign and remember that Jesus is the prize—not an outcome, a behavior, or an influence? [40:25]