The Basketball Game of Sin and Life

Galatians 5 vs 16-21-But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.


When you get up the college level of basketball, one of the essential activities a team does is watch film. They do it for three main reasons typically, all with the purpose of helping them to win the game. First, you watch film to scout your opponent to see what their tendecies are. Does their big man like to slip or pop out on a screen and roll ?? Does their guard like to back it out and call another play when you present a zone defense vs a man to man ?? These tendecies often lead to the next reason why a team will watch film, which is to discover their opponents strength's and weaknesses. Lastly, once you are able to discover a team's weaknesses and strengths as a team, you can then set up your offense and your defense to try and take advantage of what that team is trying to do.


When I read that passage up above, i don't know why, but I see a basketball game that is going on between sin and those who are trying to live by God's ways. As the passage clearly illustrates, the flesh represents our selfish desires, while those who live by the Spirit of God represent the team that is trying to win the game the right way, through living on a team with God, and who commits to living by biblical fundamentals. I'm sure you've probably never heard or read the analogy that the war going on between the sinful desires of our flesh and the pure and holy desires of God characterized as a basketball game, but the three principles that I talked about above make a lot of sense to me into how we can strive to live according to God's ways and not my own.


First, a basketball team scouts film of their opponent to see their tendencies. Now I know you can't plug in a DVD of all your past sins, but I think you can do a similar function in your mind. Every one of us knows deep down the sins that we commit on a regular basis. It could be lying to someone, it could be looking at something on the computer that you have no business looking at, it could be stealing money from your business, it could be anything, the fact is most of us could instantly remember in our minds the sins that so easily entagle us.


Now, as a person who loves to watch basketball film, the next part is key. Thinking about my sin, I know that I have strengths and weaknesses that lead me to either resist sinning or falling into a sinful lifestyle. Now, thinking from a basketball standpoint, I want you to think about where you are weak. Do you know what kind of triggers lead you to do those sins that you repeatedly do ?? It could be anything, it might be hearing a word, or seeing an image on tv, or maybe it's even a person you hang out with that leads you there, all i want you to think about is what weakness leads you to sin on a regular basis. Now, I know it's hard to admit that you're weak and that your weakness reguarly leads you to sin in particular ways, but I have learned in my walk with God that if you don't admit that you're weak, God's power won't be able to truly live inside you and help you overcome the struggles of your life. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."


Now, the last part of doing film work to win a basketball game is taking what you know about yourself and your opponents strengths and weaknesses and crafting a game plan to win the game. Yesterday at service, Pastor Ferrell talked that as a believer, if you don't have a plan to actively combat the struggles of sin in your life and if you're not implementing those principles through the power of God, then you're gonna lose the game per se. For you, now that you know what your weaknesses are, and now that you know that the struggles of sin cannot hold up against the power of God, what are you going to do RIGHT NOW TODAY to not get caught up in your struggles ?? Maybe you need to memorize some Scripture verses that deal with your particular struggle. Maybe you need to seek out a close friend to talk to about your struggles who will walk alongside you and hold you accountable to what you want to do. Maybe you need to pray and seek the face of God for His love and power to overcome this stronghold. Whatever it is, it is vital that if you want to win the basketball game between your flesh and your desires to live by the Spirit of God, you MUST implement your game plan, no matter what the cost is, to win the game, you have to be willing to make the sacrifices to admit that you are weak and need God's help.


I know it's hard, but it's worth it. Jesus says to you who are willing to invest in living by His power in Revelation 2:7-"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."