The Line of Scrimmage
“The Line of Scrimmage”
by Pastor John Morgan
February 2, 2020
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV
Have you ever experienced a church prayer meeting? There are people who will try to impress you with the way that they pray more so than with the content of their prayers. Then, there are people who pray for things that most would not, such as for God to try them or test them. You don’t have to pray for trials. The sin is what you do that causes your life problems, and the weight is what other people do that causes your life problems.
There are going to be things that we do, and then there will be things that others do to try and bog us down. We must set these things aside because otherwise, it is going to cling to us.
1. When You Encounter Trials
In James 1:2-4, James wrote that you should “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Notice that James said “when” you encounter various trials, not “if” you encounter various trials. It is always a matter of “when” when it comes to trials. We need to consider it all joy. We need to deal with the trials unless the trials deal with us. God has already created you to have victory over the trials. God has created you to be a problem solver.
It is in our nature to get on the other side of problems. We are by nature of God’s design problem solvers. Sports are nothing but problems for us to solve. The trial is not our problem. Our response to the trial is our problem.
2. Responses to Trials
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” These things are just responses. So, how are you going to respond to the trials, with love, with joy, with peace, and so on? These things give us self-control. God didn’t give us circumstance control. He gave us self-control.
Every day we stand on the line of scrimmage navigating what life throws at us. Maybe your life had a bad start. Maybe you were born into this world or conceived in this world in an imperfect environment. There is a penalty on the play that you couldn’t control. There were things that impacted you, that you had no control over. All that you can control is your response to it now. The fruits of the spirit are not control of other people, it is only self-control.
3. Decisions to Prevent Trials
Sometimes you are further back then where you started because of things that you did. Because of bad choices that you made. Maybe you grabbed a hold of a relationship that you should not have had. Proverbs 12:26 says that the righteous should choose their friends carefully. You have to be careful who you lay hold of because the way of the wicked leaves them astray.
Maybe some of the bad choices that you have made in life were a result of the bad company that you have chosen. The righteous man chooses friends carefully because they know that if they have the wrong friends, they are going to impact him. The Bible says that if you walk with the wise, you grow wise. But, if you are a companion of fools, you will suffer harm.
There are two types of people who fail and hit the ground, the bouncer and the splatter. The bouncer hits the ground and says, I don’t belong here. The splatter hits the ground and becomes one with the failure.
4. Make Choices With the End in Mind
Don’t pray for trials. God told us that they were coming. The Bible says that the devil comes with the purpose to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants you to quit. However, Jesus came so that you could have life and have life more abundantly.
The abundant life is not an absence of problems. It is your response to the problems. Your response to the trials is what makes you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. You don’t ever have to be happy about the trial, but you have to have joy through the trial.
Reflection/Discussion Questions:
What trial are you facing today that serves as a problem that must be solved?
How can you apply the fruits of the spirit to solve this problem?
How can you make better decisions going forward to prevent trials like this?
Are you associating with someone that is a negative influence in your walk with God?