I began coaching basketball (assistant coach) this year and I can tell you that patience is much needed with our youth. I have always thought that the NBA had come to represent what I call bad basketball. I find it hard to watch the pro’s as it’s all run and gun and dunk the ball. Good fundamentals and strategy are lacking in professional basketball. I tend to watch college men and women or the WNBA which is woman professional basketball it still relies on skill and fundamentals.
The youth of are day who are watching the NBA are picking up bad habits that are hard to break in youth basketball. It seems to me that many of our brotherhood churches, colleges have been watching to much denominationalism, and have picked up some bad habits. The fundamentals have been reject for run and gun, and slam dunks. While those are nice to watch they don’t develop the person in fundamentals. The fundamentals are necessary for building new players, and keeping the more mature players sharp.
That’s where patience can make or break a congregation. It also determines the development of our faith.
James 1:2-8 (NASB)
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various [a] trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [b] endurance. 4 And let [c] endurance have its perfect [d] result, so that you may be [e] perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [f] without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a [g] double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Endurance (Patience) as a coach or preacher helps to develop the people you are teaching. Patience also helps a congregation not to “fly by night” and follow bad fundamentals. You can have a great game plan, you can talk trash. But if you don’t execute the necessary truth then all you dunk shots, behind the back passes, dribbling between your legs is nothing if you can’t finish the shot. Some people will not finish the race because
they lack the basic fundamental skills to play the game. What I’ve found is those who lack the skills are the ones who love to talk trash. I also thought it stupid for the cheerleaders to cheer we’re number 1 and the team is the worst team in the league. If you talk to people with respect and careful instruction you’ll be more likely to influence. The praise of a thousand tongues are a million pats on the back. Here’s what happens when you talk trash 1st Kings 20:11 Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.. The start of a conversation or trash talk reveals nothing. The outcome reveals the truth of any situation, and we are beginning to see the results of churches that strayed away from truth to build crowds. Slam dunks and fancy plays bring in crowds for the NBA, but it has ruin the youth who lacks fundamentals. I realize that some of our bigger churches are still sound fundamentally. But we are on the verge of losing the basic fundamentals of Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (KJV).
I’ve understood in this last year that patience brings success, I’m not talking money, and material wealth. I come to realize that I need patience in order to let Christ build the fundamentals I need to finish the race. That is the facts of being in Christ as 2nd Timothy 4: 2 gives us indication to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with [a] great patience and instruction.” When results don’t happen overnight its not time to flip out and head down the denominational play book. It’s time to wait on God with patience and instruction even as we do the same. That’s why Hebrews 6:12 reminds us “so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” And James 5:7 “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until [a]it gets the early and late rains.” Could we not have any better instruction then to be patience in our Christian lifestyle. That doesn’t mean to be idle, but indicates us executing the play book (bible). In order to execute we must be skilled in the fundamentals.
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