Please, as we turn to the book of Luke in chapter 16, I want you to hold on to your tickets this morning and your seats. We might go into overtime today. Notice with me as we turn to Luke chapter 16. I want to preach a message this morning titled, Sports. And I'm not here this morning to criticize you if you enjoy playing or watching it. But I hope that you will stay with me this morning as we consider this in the light of Scripture and in the light of history and just think about some things that God has to say and some of the things that the pagans have believed and practiced over the years. And just please consider them today. Notice with me as we come to Luke chapter 16. I want to begin reading here. I have an article that I cut out of the paper By the way, February 6, 2005, last year after Super Bowl Sunday, and I saved this, I've had it for a year, or at least a year, over a year, and it's titled American Idol, and it's got a huge football trophy, I mean huge, and thousands of people standing around the bottom of it worshiping. And the caption is a father speaking to his son and he says, It's why God made Sunday's sun. And then as you were to look into The television today, there's 24-hour sports stations. Every news channel has a sports station. Every newspaper has a section with sports in it. Every, you go through the bookstores and the magazines and the internets, and you think about here's one paper that I'm going to open up right here. This is out of the Mobile Press. And think about now, as Sergeant York would say, this is a lot of writing. But I want you to think about this is all, this right here, dealing with the issue of sports in America. This ought to tell you just a little bit how far we have come in this country away from God Almighty, in the worship of man and the worship of the body. Now, notice with me as we begin reading here in this chapter. We find that in verse 13, he said, No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also who were covetous heard all these things, and they derided him." In other words, they laughed at him and they mocked him. Then in verse 15, this is the text I want to begin with here this morning, and he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Many years ago, after I got saved, I memorized at least part of this verse, and this has been a principle and rule for me for over 30 years. In other words, to find out whether something is of God or of the devil. In other words, is it highly esteemed among men? Father, we ask your blessings this morning upon the reading of our Scripture. And Father, we ask this morning that you fill us with thy Holy Spirit Lead us in truth and righteousness. Forgive us of our sins. And God, help us with an open mind to please consider the subject that is before us. For it is in Jesus Christ's name we pray, Amen and Amen. You may be seated. Now, I realize that as we consider this subject, I realize that if men can't fight, then they must compete some way, somehow. I mean, I understand that. But I want you to come to the Scriptures this morning and begin looking at this from a biblical point of view. I've got several quotes I'm going to read to you today, and even dealing with the Olympics and other things, and I want you to consider as we look at this. But when we come to this and begin considering it, yesterday was the beginning of college football season, and there were many people gathered around the family altar yesterday, their television, and there will be others gathered around it today as the pro-season begins. And they will begin their season of worship of their gods. And the conversation will be for the next few months. Thank God, football season only lasts three or four months. But the conversation from here on will be centered around teams and, you know, championships and things of that nature. Now, the thing about it, when we began looking at this, and I want to use this verse here to begin with this morning, but I want you to understand that as we come to look at this, that sports is big business in our country. As a matter of fact, it has become an idol and a god in America, and there's year-round, there's no seasons Hardly anymore, it just goes in from one sport to the other. If it's not baseball, it's football. If it's not football, it's basketball, and tennis, and golf, and everything else that we could consider. In other words, you can watch this stuff year-round, and actually if you've got the mind to do it, or don't have the mind to do it, you can watch it 24 hours a day, or listen to it 24 hours a day on the radio. But what does God have to say about this? Some questions that I'd have to ask you this morning. Do you have a bad day if your team loses? And be honest with yourself. Do you know the quarterbacks' names of the SEC conference more so than the twelve apostles that God gives us in the Word of God? Do you watch four hours of college football intently sitting on the edge of your seat and then doze off and go to sleep in church? I mean, there's many questions that we need to ask ourselves this morning. And I know some of you are saying, well, now, Brother Reid, I don't have a problem with sports. Well, we preached on your sin last week, and if we didn't get it, we'll get it next week. Now, notice as we look at this verse again, before we turn away. By the way, here's an article I picked up some years ago. Again, I've got some quotes to give you. But he said there is an industry in America that takes in more money than agriculture and automobile industry combined. I don't know if it's true or not, but this is an article I picked up. It says it is the sports industry. It took in $313 billion in 1999. This says nothing. of probably 100 times that amount that was gambled on it, and it mentions one shortstop of one baseball team getting $118 million. In other words, the article basically ends with the fact that you can see the true God of America. On page 11 of the 9th of August, 2004, the newspaper contained an interesting article. This had been two years ago. And it talked about explaining why ancient Greeks traveled 210 miles from Athens to Olympia to watch the original Olympic games. And it goes on to say, the Greeks thought it was a small price to pay to be as close as they could to their gods. And how true that this is in America. Now, notice with me as we come back to this passage again, I want to read this and then we're going to move on. And by the way, the first college football game that I can ever remember watching was in Alabama. I remember when I was pastoring in Pennsylvania, preaching at Penn State College to college kids, and somebody asked me while I was there, they said, what about them Nittany Lions? And I said, I don't understand. And they, you know, they, what about them Nittany Lions? I said, I don't know where Nittany's at and I haven't seen any Lions. And I was serious. And they said, well, you fool, we're talking about Penn State football team up there. I didn't even know the names of these. But it was when I moved to central Alabama, taking a church that was divided down the middle between Auburn and Alabama, And it was then that I began starting watching a little football because Tennessee had to come down and play twice a year at that time. So I began watching a little bit of football and got caught up in it to some extent when I realized after a period of time, what a waste of time that this really was. Now, and especially after I had a deacon and a man in the church get into it one morning over Alabama and Auburn, I had to step between them to keep them from fighting. Yes, this is in the house of God. Now, notice with me as we come here to this passage. Now, he says in verse 13, he said, No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Notice with me in the middle part of verse 15, he makes this statement, look at it carefully. He says, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men, notice, is abomination in the sight of God. If you want to use a principle whereby you can judge whether something is of God or not, listen to me, if the people hate it, you better check it out, God may be in it. But if the majority of people love it and flock to it, you better check it out because God may not be associated with it whatsoever. Now, first of all, I want to speak to you this morning about the origin of sports. We find that this verse here is a gauge that we can use. There is nothing that gets any more publicity than sports today, whether it be local or whether it be national or worldwide. A sport draws more crowds today than anything else, and many of the players today are idolized. In other words, sports is highly esteemed in America in the time in which you and I live. I want you to turn with me, please, to 2 Timothy 3. I told you to hang on. We may be going to overtime. That's exciting to think about. Now, notice with me as we come to 2 Timothy 3. In 2 Timothy 3, we went into overtime a couple of weeks ago in the sermon. We may have to do it again. Now, notice with me as we come to this passage here. Now, we find that in the last day, The Bible speaks about men being lovers of pleasure, and I want to read a verse here that will bear this out. But let me give you just a few thoughts, and some of these are a few quotes. When we talk about the origin of sports, where did it come from? Well, it did not originate in the house of God or the kingdom of God. We're talking about organized, spectator, competitive sports. I want to put all three of these words in there. Organized, competitive, spectator sports. That's what I'm after. This morning, I'm not after getting out in the backyard and enjoying one of those company in the family or with friends or the church or whatever, and getting some exercise and having a good time, which we will probably be doing that tomorrow evening at the cookout. Not dealing with that this morning. I'll say more about that a little bit later on. But I'm dealing with organized, competitive, spectator sports that we see in America today. Now, it did not begin in the church of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, many of the church fathers spoke not against bodily exercise for maintaining health, but they did speak against the vainglory of competitive sports and public games." As a matter of fact, they spoke of the issue of sports, arts, the theater, and amusement, and in many cases they connected sports with idolatry, that is, with pagan gods. And this is something I want to bring out as we go through this message this morning. In Hebrew history, and I want you to listen to me, folks, when we began to study subjects, and it doesn't matter what it is, I wrote articles on certain subjects that have blessed some and cursed others. And I've had people, some love them and some hate them. But we've written on subjects of colleges and schools and we've written on the subject of cremation and birth control and a number of different issues. If you want to know whether it's right or wrong, go to the Bible and forget about what the history has to say and find out if it is in the Word of God. In Hebrew history, athletics and sports as we know it today, was not found. It was foreign to their culture. As a matter of fact, it was introduced by the Greeks and the Romans. The Hebrews did not have gymnasiums or competitive athletics in their time. But after the conquest of Alexander the Great of Palestine, we find that even though he died early at 33 years of age, his legacy lived on, and you can see it not only in the Middle East, but you can see it all around the world. But one of the things that the Greeks gave to the world was the design of public buildings and gymnasiums for games and open-air theaters. And the Romans continued to carry on this custom and this tradition. So as we begin and talk about the origin, when we talk about organized, competitive, spectator sports, and put those three words with it again, we're talking about the fact that it has pagan roots. You can go back in history and find that to be so. I'm going to quote a few things. to you this morning. I do not have the time to go into a lot of details. I could bring a stack of stuff this tall into the pulpit and read this for you this morning. Diana, here's one quote, and I want you to listen to this. We're going to read here and Timothy in just a moment. But here's a loose quote by another author. He said the Greeks introduced competitive sports to the Jews and erected a gymnasium at Jerusalem. They didn't have one before the conquest of the Greeks, long before Christ was born into this world. He goes on to say that under the rule of the Maccabees, these games came to an end. But Herod the Great revived them, even building a theater at Jerusalem. The Romans carried on these Greek athletic customs and gave special prominence to their gladiatorial shows. One of the key forms of amusement among the Romans in the early Christian era in the amphitheater in the empire before huge crowds of spectators. The crowds would urge on the beast, and Paul speaks of beast in 1 Corinthians 10.32. But it says, and they would urge on the beast to destroy the poor victims by throwing darts and shouting at them. And these people that were in the amphitheaters, the gladiator gangs, they were condemned criminals, slaves, captives of war, and yes, Christians that had been persecuted that was thrown to the lines as the people sat around and watched this brutality. One of the reasons of the fall of the Greeks and the Romans was that their emphasis upon amusements and coliseums and circuses and theaters and amphitheaters is one of the reasons that they fell. The Greeks worshipped the mind and the body. We would call that humanism. And that is introduced in Genesis 3 and verse 5 when Satan came and told Eve, he said, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as God. It is the deification of reason, and it is the glorification of a body. This is the religion of humanism, and the survival of the fittest has its source, by the way, from hell. And this is the foundation of the pagan gangs that were introduced into the world. Alexander the Great was, even though he lived a short life, his legacy lived on, he was tutored by Plato's greatest pupil, Aristotle. And all you've got to do is go back and begin studying a little bit of that, and you'll find out that when we look at this, the organized, competitive, Spectator sports was born out of paganism. It did not come from the Hebrew people. As a matter of fact, there is a revival in America of Roman and Greek thought. As a matter of fact, years ago Americans did play sports, but it was a lot different than it is today. As a matter of fact, you can go around America and the Capitol buildings throughout each state, and all you've got to do is look at the naked statues of the gods and goddesses that are all around our country, showing us that we were influenced by the Greeks and the Romans. When they removed the Ten Commandments out of a building in Montgomery just three years ago this month, I believe, it's been about three years ago, they at the same time, with taxpayers' money, protected a statue in front of a federal building which was a Greek god. Now I want you to notice with me, please. that as we come to 2 Timothy, and I'm going to be reading from verse 1, notice here very carefully. He says here in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1, he said, This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men, now notice the wording, shall be lovers of themselves. Covetous. boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy, without natural affections, truth-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Notice he said in verse 4, traitors, heady, high-minded, and here it is, the lovers of pleasure more than the lovers of God. And this fits in the society in which you and I live. We're talking about the origin of sports. Turn with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Now, before we get into very many scriptures, let me bring a few more quotes from an article. These are quotes from about three different sources. But I want you to listen to this. This was taken from an article, probably in 1996-97, in dealing with the Olympics, talking about the Olympics being revived in the last hundred years. We say the last hundred years, for about 1500 years, Christian thought pervaded and dominated. The Olympic Games were done away with in about the 3rd or 4th century AD because of Christianity. But he says in Atlanta, and many of you will remember this, the opening ceremonies in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 19, 1996, was totally pagan, idolatrous and New Age. The estimated 15 million production is titled, The Call of the Nations, was watched by 3.5 billion people around the world. Now I want you to listen to the origin of the Olympics. Here is a quote from this Christian magazine. It says, the origin of athletic games lies in the ancient world, where they were treated as a ritual festival. Now I want you, as I read this, make the connection between organized competitive sports and between paganism. Make that connection. He goes on to say, He said especially these were true in Greek. They were treated as ritual festival. He said modern historians have the games beginning in 776 B.C. or earlier. They lasted well over 1,000 years until A.D. 394. Olympia, the town where the Olympic games were held, was devoted to the worship of Zeus. who was the sky and weather god of the ancient Greeks. The temple of Zeus at Olympia was one of the seven wonders of the world. It says here, it contained a gold and ivory statue of the god that was more than 40 feet high. In the beginning, the Ganes were few. and were held in less than a day. However, by the 6th century B.C., there were 13 events and the contest lasted several days. The first day was devoted to worship and preparation. On the second day, the contest began. It says, Day 3 of the Olympics began with religious rites. A parade of judges and priests and athletes and trainers marched to the sacred altar of Zeus. Of their 100 auctions were sacrificed to the god. Thus the Olympic Games were pagan festivals for believers in the polyistic Greek pantheon. By the 5th century B.C., Olympia was the holiest place of ancient Greece because so much religious ritual was tied to the games where an athlete, when an athlete rather, won an event, he was supposed to give public thanks to the deities. The stadium there held about 45,000 people. There were other games such as in Corinth, Athens, Sparta, but we found that the Olympic games were celebrated the most. Now, I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. And as we get into this, we're talking about the origin of this. We're not talking about exercising. We're not talking about friendly games and, you know, with family and friends and things like that. We're not talking about that. But we're talking about what we see in America and what is around the world. I was in Honduras a year ago, and they reminded me of this story a few weeks back when we were there, is that over a soccer game, I believe it was Guatemala or one of the other neighboring countries, actually bombed one of the cities because one of them had lost a soccer game. Now, notice with me as we come here. Now, I want to show you some athletic imagery that is used in the Bible, especially by the Apostle Paul. Now, I listened to a few sermons of preachers on this subject, and I finally just threw them away because I think they're totally off base on this. But I want you to see why Paul uses this athletic imagery. He does not use it to promote the Greek or Roman athletics. You've got to understand that the Greek and Roman athletics was associated with idolatry, was associated with nudity, was associated with brutality in the gladiator games and so forth, and it was associated with pride and vainglory. So Paul uses this imagery not to promote sports among Christian people, but he uses the imagery to show the people. The people were very familiar with this. When he writes the letter to Corinth, We're talking about in the area of Greece. We're talking about there were games held in this city as well as Sparta and Athens and Olympia. And Paul writes and uses an object lesson to communicate truth unto them that they would be familiar with. He also uses the imagery of soldiers. But Paul didn't justify the things that the Romans and the Greek soldiers did, but he uses the imagery. Now, notice this as we come to 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24. He says, "...know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize, so run that ye may attain." He said, "...and every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." In other words, the athletes. that played in these games, even the pagans. They disciplined themselves. They submitted themselves. They worked hard. They were temperate. They were enduring. There was an issue of teamwork and staying focused upon the goal. And Paul is not justifying the games, but he's using something everyone was familiar with, and he's saying that as that athlete trains and performs in the games, he says that we as Christians ought to be just as dedicated. He says in verse 25, And every man that striveth for the Master's temperament in all things, now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainty, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air, But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be attached away." So Paul is using the athletic imagery of running a race. Turn with me, please, to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. These imageries are used in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 and other places. Turn with me to 2 Timothy, chapter 2, and notice here. You see, Corinth was a city that linked Sparta and Greece. And in the first century, there was different games conducted throughout Greece in which the Corinthians would have been very familiar with. Notice what means 2 Timothy in chapter 2. Now, we've got to get through this origin of this, and we're going to get into some other thoughts. I'm going to talk to you about the danger of sports, and then, last of all, the Christian's response to this issue. In 2 Timothy, and I'm going to be reading in chapter 2, and I'm going to begin in verse 1. He said, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, saying, Commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Now he's going to use the image of soldiers. Then he's going to use the imagery in these verses also of a farmer in verse 6. But in verse 5 he says this, he uses the imagery of athletics. He said in verse 5, "...and if a man also strives for mastery, yet is he not crowned unless he strives lawfully." Those athletes, they trained and they trained and they had to do it properly and lawfully and so forth. And all Paul is saying is that if they can dedicate themselves and discipline themselves and work hard at this, why can't you and I as Christians do the same thing? 2 Timothy chapter 4, his last letter, the last chapter, he says this in verse 7 and 8. He says in verse 7, he said, I have fought a good fight. Talking about soldiers. I have finished my course," talking about athletics, and I have kept the faith. And then he says, there is a crown laid up for me in verse 8. So again, we see the imagery there, or the metaphor is used. Now turn with me, please, to 1 Timothy, and this time in chapter 4. Notice with me in 1 Timothy chapter 4. So there's at least three figures of speeches that were used there and which we just looked at. Now, we're not talking about creating with men a bunch of weenies, amen? You know, a man needs to be a man and not hang around the kitchen all the time, amen? But what we're talking about is, again, is this organized, competitive, spectator sports. I'm going to say that eight or ten times throughout this sermon, because I'm telling you, folks, it is ungodly, and I'm going to talk about that in just a moment. It is a waste of time, and it will get you caught up in thinking things that you shouldn't be thinking. Now, notice with me in 1 Timothy 4. Now, let me give you a little testimony as we come to this chapter also. And by the way, Four hours of being a couch potato on Saturday will not take any weight off of you or make your heart pump at all. It will not help you physically or mentally. You can watch another man run up and down the field while you're eating potato chips and drinking root beer or whatever. You can watch that all day long. It won't help you a bit. As a matter of fact, it will hurt you. Now, let me tell you just a little bit about exercise. Now, there's a verse here that many believe that is talking about physical athletic exercise. We're going to read it. There's some different commentators differ on this, but we're going to take it in that text this morning because it's used by most, where it talks about the fact that bodily exercise profiteth little. Now, if that is talking about athletics, you know, to exercise, we know that that to be true, do we not? It is good to exercise. If you do not exercise, you are going to be sickly. As a matter of fact, many years ago, I'm going to give you my little brief testimony here, and we're going to read, by the way, verse 7 and 8, then back up into verse 1. But several years ago, I began exercising, always been pretty active most of my life. I'm going on 54 years of age. And I find that exercising is very, and I don't like to just, you know, some people, the way to go to the gym and stuff, never care for that kind of stuff, like to be outside. But I've found out that physical exercise is refreshing, it is renewing, it is energizing, and it is cleansing. And I don't say that in a religious sense. It is very good for you. As a matter of fact, when I was in the Navy at 18 years of age, I had arthritis in my feet and in my knees and had problems. Probably had it in other places, but that was where it showed up the most. At 18 years of age, I was in a hospital having a needle that looked like it was three feet long. It wasn't quite that long, draining my foot because it was swollen to the place that I couldn't walk on it. And then when I got married at 21 years of age, I was back in the hospital again with a needle stuck in my foot during that time, draining fluid off of it again. And so over the years, when I was in construction work for eight years, I had my left foot that stayed swollen for eight straight years, and my right knee stayed swollen for eight years. So what I did, in order, believing that it would help it, I exercised as much as I could. I was a brick mason working 8, 10, 12 hours a day, coming home, running 4 miles, not 4 hours, but 4 miles a day, riding bicycles. I've had a bicycle all of my life. And then later, when I moved to Selma, Alabama, and through changing vocations, I'm now pastoring, waking up on Monday morning feeling horrible, I began every Monday night meeting with a few other guys and began playing basketball. Not because I like the sport. I think it stinks to have to watch it on television or whatever. But I thought this would be one way for me to get some exercise. So every Monday night I went for about two hours and played basketball, and it helped me mentally and it helped me physically, if you can understand that. It was a great blessing to me. It's therapeutic and it helped me emotionally, mentally, and physically. And I have been doing that for all of these years. I have not in the last year had somebody regularly to get out and pound the court with. I've only been out about four or five times this year, but I feel the best and the greatest when I can exercise at least once or twice a week, that's when I'm at my best. The wheat-eating and mowing just doesn't get it. Even though I do that every week, it doesn't get it. I've got to have that exercise, and that's when I will feel the greatest. In the last 24 years, my foot has not been swollen, neither has my knee been swollen, and you can ask these young men in the church, I can get out and run two hours with them, can I not? Now, I am not against physical exercise or getting out and playing games with one another if it's kept in a perspective with a good attitude and doing it for the right reasons. Now, what I am against, as I've said, help me out, I can't get all these words together, organized, competitive, spectator sports that we have in America. I've considered this for years. I've been caught up in it myself, and it's been several years that I backed away from this and was able to look at it. I didn't just quit this yesterday, but I'm talking about some years ago. Now, I want you to notice with me that he said in verse 7, He said, but refuse profane and old wise fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness, for bodily exercise profiteth little. That means it will profit for a little while. It is temporary. That is true, is it not? But he goes on to say, but godliness is profitable under all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. So we find then that if he's talking about athletic, physical exercise, some believe he's not because of the context. He's dealing in verses 1, 2, and 3, the context is a warning against apostasy. So some believe that he's talking about something different in the religious matter in verse 7 and 8, but we're this morning are going to just let it stand as bodily exercise. Now, he says in verse 8 again, for bodily exercise profiteth little. There is temporal profit in bodily exercise. There is a little worth in bodily exercise. It will make you feel better, make you stronger, so there is some profit in that. I want you to turn with me, please, to 1 John and in chapter 2. In 1 John chapter 2, we're going to move to the second area and we're going to talk about the danger of sports. There's no doubt. in my mind that its origin is out of hell. Now, you can disagree with that, but that's the conclusion that I have come to after being saved for thirty-something years. Now, notice with me in 1 John chapter 2. What about the danger of these sports that we're talking about? An excessive love of pleasure, amusement, was the downfall of the empire of Babylon, and Persia, and Greece, and Rome, and eventually it will be the downfall of America. We have become obsessed with pleasure, and sports has become a god in this country. Sports were used by many nations to get the people's mind off of the reality of what was going on in the nation. And it also was used by many leaders to get people to forget about God and to get them caught up in their rivals and in their sports. And I want you to understand this, that colleges across our land are identified mainly by their sports program today. What do you think of when you think about Notre Dame? You think about the sports program. Years ago in Alabama, what do you think about when you think about Alabama? The Bears. In other words, they become identified with the sports program. I want you to understand something. In the philosophy of the high schools that are state-funded and the colleges that are state-funded, the philosophy of these institutions are against everything I believe and everything I preach. Why would I want to buy their tickets? Why would I want to support them? Why would I want to memorize the names of the men on the team? Why would I want to know the stats of all these men? Why would I want to give them one word of conversation and approval? No way, because they teach humanism, they teach immorality, they hate God and everything else, and most of them are fag infested. And so I am not supporting any college or any high school or any protein in this country. You're not going to hear coming from the lips of this preacher how great and wonderful they are, because they're destroying families that I'm trying to preach to. Now, notice with me carefully as we come to 1 John. I'm going to be reading two or three verses from this chapter. But let me give you a few other verses before I read. One verse is 1 Corinthians 10.14. The Bible says, flee from idolatry. James 4.4 says you cannot be a friend of the world and at the same time a friend of God. Romans 12.2 says be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. by the renewing of your mind. Colossians 2 says, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. And when Paul arrived in Athens according to Acts 17 and verse 16, he was just amazed because when he looked around, he said that the whole city was given to idolatry. He said they were wholly given to idolatry. We're talking about paganism. We're talking about the roots and the danger of this subject that we call sports in America. I'm going to read another quote. This was taken from a book titled, A Generation Which Knew Not God. Listen to me carefully. In this quote is a quote from another man that wrote a book titled, Safely Home. Listen to this. He said, The word gymnasium actually comes from a Greek word meaning to exercise naked. And you can check the Strong's Accordance, by the way, 1128, 1129 and 1131. You know there's a lot of nudity and nakedness and body form in the issue of sports. He goes on to say the word athlete comes from the Greek goddess Athena. She was known as the goddess of wisdom, skill and warfare. The Greeks' love for sports was a natural outflow of their love for the gods. You know that as we become more pagan, the more we love sports. He goes on to say, in the peak of the political might, the Greeks saw humanity as something to be indulged in as far as their development of human reason and the human body. He said, a true discovering of the individual. He says, humanistic, to say the least, the gymnasium of Athens was the center of advanced learning, intellectual as well as athletic ability were the measure of a man. Again, this is a quote from another author. Folks, the roots are in paganism! And the more pagan we become, for instance, it's like the subject several years ago, it's been 13 or 14 years ago, I stood in this pulpit and preached the message against cremation. And then I wrote an article. That article has been sent all over the country and even outside the country. I know of over 75 people that have changed their mind about cremating their dead because of that one little article that we wrote. But how come cremation is an issue in America? It's not just because it's cheaper. It's because of the pagan invasion into America. The same is true with this issue. Why is it that sports has become a god, and it's worship, and we love it more and more every year? It gets bigger and better, supposedly. It's because of the pagan invasion into the United States of America. 1 John 2, please notice here, and I'm going to be reading from verse 15. He said in verse 15, he said, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but it is of the world. And the world passes away in the lust there, but he that abideth He that rather doeth the will of God abideth forever. Turn with me, please, to Ezekiel chapter 16. We see the issue of the world and the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life in Ezekiel chapter 16. Now, what comes to your mind when you think of the city Sodom? First of all, am I correct? Homosexuality. Isn't that the first thing that comes to your mind? That's not the first thing that happened to Sodom. Let me show you. By the way, the Greeks worshipped the body. They even exercised and played naked. Much homosexuality in the Olympics and all these kind of things, and we see it also in the sports in America today. Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 16, and let me show you the real problem or the root problem of Sodom before they ever came to the place of what we would call homosexuality. Jeremiah 10 too tells us to learn not the way of the heathen. Another quote from a book that was named or titled Safely Home says this. It says, academics and athletics competitions were the cornerstone of the Greek vision for training supermen. The worship of the body and the exaltation of human reason were indispensable components of the Greek philosophy. Their countless festivals and competitions were driven by an intense religious passion for their pagan faith and optimism in the perfect ability of man. It was in the context of religious worship and its relationship to athletics and culture that the gymnasium was birthed. He goes on to say, another purpose of the Greek gymnasium was to create an entire nation of soldiers, think about this, who could serve the state and further its interests. Thus, the ancient Olympic dream had as much to do with preparing warriors for the state as it did with athletics. He said, the doctrine of the military state has long been with man. It was a critical part of the ancient world. How true that this is. The whole concept of worshipping the gods, training these athletes to be soldiers that they might fight for the state and for the country. Think about it. Notice what I mean in Ezekiel chapter 16. Ezekiel chapter 16, notice this. By the way, there are some sports that are just absolutely stupid. Basketball, who can stand to watch it, man? I'd love to play it. But who can stand to watch it? If I was going to watch anything, it would be football. But the thing about it is, what about racing? Get in the car, drive 500 miles and get out the same place you got in. I don't understand it. Golf. Golf is about the stupidest sport that I have ever... I mean, good name. I've been offered memberships all over where I've ever pastored and I've had people offer to play. I've never played the first game. I said, it's stupid to go out there and hit a ball and then get in a cart and ride around the cart. There's no exercise in that. As a matter of fact, there's more die playing golf than any other sport because of lightning. You see, God created that sport to kill preachers on Monday, amen? Now notice carefully as we come to this, in Ezekiel chapter 16. Notice this in Ezekiel chapter 16, reading in verse 49. He said, Behold, this, now look at this, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom. Now here we, he don't begin with homosexuality, which is down in verse 50. Abomination. He begins with pride. Then he goes to fullness of bread. Everybody's got two months to eat. Then he says abundance of vitalness. Who's got the time and money to follow their team all over the Southwest and East and everywhere else? I mean, who can afford all of that? And then he says also, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And verse 50, they were haughty and committed abomination before me. Therefore, I took them away as I saw good. So we find that the beginning of Sodom was not what we call homosexuality. It was pride, and it was fullness of bread, and too much idleness, and it was not helping the poor and the needy, and it was haughtiness. And all of that led to homosexuality. Turn with me, please, to Proverbs chapter 16. In Proverbs chapter 16, we're talking about the danger. of these sports events that we're speaking of. What are the dangers? Well, notice here as we come to Proverbs. Let me list just a few things quickly. What about promoting pride? And you say, well, I've never promoted any pride in my life. Have you ever argued over or debated with somebody about your team and them winning or losing? Have you ever done that? Men, all nature is aroused more in sports than anything else that I can think of. There is more anger and more temper and more pride and more display of the flesh than anything else that I can possibly think of. And the Bible says that women are to cultivate a meek and quiet spirit. What are they doing in sports? What are they even doing watching it? Because there's no way that they can cultivate a meek and a quiet spirit. I'm saying that sports cultivate a competitive nature and a macho attitude in the majority of people that follow it. Can I get an amen? Telling you the truth. What about rivals? What about rivals? It creates enemies and contentions among even friends. I've listened again. I gave you the story of the two that were arguing in the church. I've heard it in this church before. Even team ball. Go and watch the mamas cuss each other and cut each other with knives. You know, go watch that. As a matter of fact, I started a church league when I first came to this area. Baseball, I hate baseball. That's a stupid game too. And it takes too long to play it. I hate it. But anyway, I started a league and we had ten teams in it. You know, down here in the bayou, I had the mayor to give me one of the parks. We cleaned it up and I hung Scripture signs around it, replaced the lights, opened a concession stand. That thing was a train wreck. Did I enjoy some of it? Yes. But I'm telling you what, I ain't never seen the arguing, not in our church, but in other churches, the lying and the cheating, the arguing. I said, no way, this is among supposedly Christian people. What about idolatry? Do we not worship and idolize the athletes? They become our heroes. The martyrs are no longer heroes. The twelve apostles, the preacher, the father, the mama are no longer heroes. But we find that we hang the pictures on the walls and whatever, and then we find the addiction. You say, well, I'm not addicted. You know, I've seen old drunks, you know, the boy, I'm not addicted, I can quit anytime I want to. Well, you're addicted when you think about it and you talk about it. You're addicted to this. What about covetousness, buying the tickets and paying? I have never, by the way, been to a college game and I've been offered tickets. I had a man eight years ago say, I'll pay your way, I'll pay your night in a motel if you want to spend the night, and I'll fly you there in my plane to go see an ogre game. I said, no. I was going to go see one. It wouldn't be an Auburn game, but anyway. But I said, no, I'm not interested. I'm not interested. I've never had a desire to go to one. Again, the philosophy behind this whole thing. What about the nudity that is involved in these games? The cheerleaders alone are half or three-quarters naked. I've seen men say, well, I just like the game. And the wife really believes that. Their wife, right? You know, what about the cheerleaders? And what about most of the sports? If it's tennis, they're half-dressed. If it's swimming, they have no clothes on. If it's soccer, they don't have many clothes on. If it's basketball, there's not a clothes on. If it's football, they have clothes on with every form of their body, you know, especially the bottom part can be seen. You see, the nudity that's involved. It is the Hollywood and the athletes that are setting the dress. Many go out and buy shoes because Michael Jordan's name is written on them, and pay $70, $80, $100 for a pair of shoes. I'm saying to you that one sign of paganism is nudity. Athletics, rather, is the primary way of introducing nudity into a culture. That is expressing the form and the movement of the body. This stuff is out of hell. What about the drinking and the drugs, the tailgate parties and on and on? You say, well, I watch it on television. What about the commercials and the sponsors? I mean, come on, really think about this. I'm not criticizing you if you watched one yesterday. That's your business. What I'm trying to say to you is that this stuff is leading us away from God and it's pagan. What about the time that is spent? What about the music? the bands of the teens and also the commercials. Can you imagine somebody, a Christian loving God, following the Dallas Cowboys some years ago? I guess they still have the naked women that dance for them while they play, do they not? Can you imagine somebody sitting down with their family watching this stuff? He says in the book of Proverbs in chapter 16, notice this very carefully. He says in verse 18, he said, "...pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the prime. Does not organize competitive spectator sports without any doubt produce pride in the hearts of men and women." Turn with me please to Philippians chapter 2. We'll get on to our third point. In Philippians chapter 2, and by the way, you are blessed this morning. I already wrote an article. We just got to get it off the computer. You will have that in your hands in the weeks to come. I finished it yesterday. I usually preach then write an article, but I wrote this one first. Notice with me in Philippians. I started to do this last year. the beginning of football season. I did not. I was going to do it the year before. I did not do it, but I committed this time and this year to do it and get it finished and preach on it so we can have it on tape or CD. Notice what we mean in Philippians chapter 2. Now, what is the Christian's response to the issue of sports? Have you ever asked the question about does it display the fruit of the spirit in our life, love, peace, joy, missing gentleness and temperance and so forth. Can you find that in most of the sports across our country today? As a matter of fact, what about boxing? You know, that is a sport that people love in our country. What is the whole point? Try to do the other guy in. There's not a Christian spirit in that. Matthew 7.12, there is not a Christian attitude or spirit in this. Line up on a football line and I'm going to kill him if I can. I'm going to put him down. I'm going to break his leg. He won't be in the game anymore. That's not Christian. That's not Christian. And we don't even have to deal with wrestling. If you watch that on TV, you need to get saved this morning. That's fakey stuff, man. You need to get saved. You know, but just go through the list of them. Go through the list of them and consider. Christians want to justify this. They say, well, they teach discipline. That's not what I've seen. Man, I've seen cursing and nudity and attitudes and pride and all this stuff. And I'm going to tell you what, if you get out in the backyard, you can't get out in the backyard and play with that organ. You need to quit that too. Everybody's trying to imitate the prose. Had a man broke a goal out here a year ago, and a fellow down the street, because he's trying to imitate Michael Jordan or somebody, and he jumped up on it, hangs on it like a monkey. Why does anybody want to do that? Because they saw somebody else do it on television. Christlikeness. That's what we're after, is it not? The spirit of these sporting events is contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ. Matthew 7.12. Write it down. Romans 12.10 says, "...in honor preferring one another." Romans 12.16 says, "...mine not high things, but consonant to men of low estate." In other words, who gets to play on the team? Is it the lowly man or the great athlete? James 4, 6 says, God resists the proud and giveth grace unto the humble. Eric Little, in Scotland, many years ago, there's a movie inspired, Chariots of Fire, by him, and he refused in the Olympics to play on Sunday. Now, that's another issue. deal with, when are many of these sports played? They're played on the Sabbath. Are they not? God said in the book of Exodus, He said, Keep it holy. Hallow it. He said, Delight in it. Don't do your own thing on My day. But this man that ran in the Olympics, he made this statement when he refused to run on Sunday. He says, My faith in Jesus is far more important than sports. And another man that went to China, India and Africa as a missionary, that he lived in England and played a sport similar to our baseball, he left all of that, and he said this, he said, If Jesus be God and died for me, then no sacrifice that I can make for Him would be too great. Some questions. Does it glorify God or man? Questions. Does it promote my fellow man? Does it lift him up? Does it promote him? Does it encourage spiritual maturity? Does it manifest the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22 and 23? Does it cause harmony in the kingdom of God? These are some good questions. The Bible said abstain from all appearances of evil in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 22. I see liquor, nudity, cursing, pridefulness, vainglory. The Bible said evil communications corrupt good manners. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 33. That's the reason you can't go to the ballparks and stuff, you know, because that's what you see. Nudity and drinking and cursing. Notice what it means when we read this. Now, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. He said in Philippians 2, and I'm just going to read this slowly, but please look at the words. Please make note of the word lowliness and humility and servant and no reputation. Please make note of them. This is Jesus Christ, verse 3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. But notice, in lowliness of mind, Let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Is Christ Jesus my example, or is it some athletic hero that is my example? Which is it? I want you to turn with me in closing to 1 Peter chapter 2. And we'll close in this passage. You and I ought to be salt and light. I'm not going to follow the world and the system. That which is highly esteemed among men is a what? Abomination in the sight of God. Again, look at this one section in this newspaper I put up here laying on the platform. This is one day. One day, five full-page ads dealing with sports, college, high school, and pro. And this is every day, seven days a week. Seven days a week that this is dealt with. Again, we won't run from one to the other. one season to the next, into one sport into the other. And again, we are not dealing with this morning with wholesome gains whereby a family or a church or friends can get out and enjoy each other's company as long as it's done with a good attitude and maintaining a good spirit. We're not dealing with that. We're dealing with this organized, competitive, spectator, covetous-oriented sports in our country. That's what we're dealing with this morning. It is not of God. It does not cultivate a humble spirit in the lives of those that follow it. The Bible said in Ephesians 5 verse 17 that we're to redeem the time. And we cannot redeem the time following the paganistic system of this world, getting our minds away from God Almighty. It's just not good. I'm going to close in 1 Peter 2, and I want you to notice here, I'm going to begin reading in verse 2. And I want you to notice that we are of peculiar people. 1 Peter 2, I'm sorry, verse 9. We are of peculiar people. Did not God put a difference between Israel and the Egyptians? Did He not? He made a difference between them. They were different in every way. Again, we're to be sold in life. We're not to be like the world. We're not to follow the world's system. By the way, we're talking about the Lord's Day. Athletes, probably more than anyone else, violate the fourth commandment. Probably more than anyone else. And in their violation of the fourth commandment, they're leading others away from God and violating the same commandment and forsaking the house of God Almighty. See, this is not of God. There is no way God can be in something when it's held on His day. There is absolutely no way. He says in 1 Peter 2, reading in verse 9, he said, but you're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Notice a holy nation, a peculiar people. That word peculiar there means that you've been purchased by God, according to Deuteronomy 7, 6 and Exodus 19, verses 1 through 5. He said here that you should show forth the praises of Him who had called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, which in time past were not of people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evil, They may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." I believe with you this morning that this issue must be reconsidered. It must be prayed about. It must be meditated upon. And I'll tell you what, it can form an addiction because I got to liking it at one time as much as anybody. And if I did miss a game, I wanted to see what the scores were the next day in the paper. It is and can become an addiction. And it is a waste of time. I'm not against rest. I'm not against amusement or exercise. You know that. But what is our God? As we began, you cannot serve two masters. These are things we must pray about as our song leader comes, would you stand with me? And I want to once again, I challenge you to look at this February the sixth, 2005, after Super Bowl Sunday, a huge trophy. with thousands of people, a cartoonist called American Idol. And a father and his son there with a big smile on his face and his arm around his son, and he said, It's why God made Sundays, son. It's why God made Sundays. Our country has become like Greece, has become like Rome, has become like many of the other nations that have fallen by the wayside. Spectators wanting to be amused. And the circuses. The circuses in the days of Rome were more than just what we think of circuses. They had to do with such things as chariot races and things of that nature. Then the theaters became big. The amphitheaters where sporting events took place. the gymnasiums, the athletic games, they became the God of their time. And I've seen people that's come through this church, they don't stay here very long, but they struggle with these issues. And they haven't been here on a Sunday night or a Wednesday night service, but they sure saw Their team played yesterday for four hours. That stuff is out of hell. You cannot serve two masters. You'll either hate the one or love the other. It cannot be. What song do we have, Brother Bill? 116. I've been preaching to Christians, by the way, this morning. I've been speaking to you and I as believers. If you're here lost, we'll be happy. to show you how to be saved, but I, like last Sunday, I wasn't speaking to the lost. I'm speaking to the church of Jesus Christ. This, in my book, is serious business. Would you come?