Giants and Patriots in Christ

Written by Malcolm Laws

The body of Christ has to be focused and ready, awaiting instructions from Coach Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We may be thrust in a position of greater responsibility without a moment’s notice, so we have to always be ready to go into a game time situation. After every play, the Patriots’ offense gets in a huddle, they await instruction from Tom Brady, but while Tom Brady is a leader, he still has a leader over him, the offensive coordinator up in the press box and then the leadership that holds it all together, head coach Bill Belichick.

The Holy Spirit bears witness to all things, so He is the offensive coordinator in the press box. Jesus is a personal trainer of sorts, keeping us accountable, and in good shape spiritually. Finally, we have God to be the head coach to give everybody in Team Jesus direction, and to keep things in order.

In ministry, we have some called to quarterback, some to receive, some to run for the team, and others to protect and then there’s the opposition. Each team member has a responsibility and one mistake could prove fatal for the whole team.

The opposition is the enemy and his cohorts, determined to keep you from your goal. He’s already lost and as long as we’re in Christ we’re in the victory formation. The only place that we can lose is in our mind and that’s where he attacks us primarily.

We only lose if we let him win because Jesus told us we have power and authority over him, so the only hold he has in our lives is what we give him.

Tom Brady is playing in his 5th Super Bowl this Sunday, and he’s already won 3 in his 12 year career and he’s been to 5 Super Bowls in 10 years.

But in the beginning, he was a 6th Round Draft Pick from Michigan University and the “experts” didn’t really think much of him. Six other quarterbacks were selected before him in the 2000 draft, none of which have won a Super Bowl. At the beginning of his career, he was just a backup to Drew Bledsoe.

The Pharisees were the experts of their time, and they didn’t think much of Jesus. At the beginning of his career, he was just a carpenter with a call on his life from God, but His ministry had not yet begun in the natural but God had already set things up in the spirit realm for Jesus to fit in His mold, so everything else could fall into place.

One night, Drew Bledsoe was injured and Tom Brady was asked to take over. 5 Super Bowl appearances and 3 Super Bowl wins later, the rest is history. But Tom Brady could have been on the sidelines complaining about not starting, he could have been thinking about getting traded or quitting, and many people would have in that situation. But he was prepared and he showed that he listened when the coach spoke and he applied what he’d learned, and it paid off. Bill Belichick believed in him, gave him a chance, and again, the rest is history.

Tom was patient, but prepared. Jesus was patient, but prepared. So we have to be patient, and prepared because the starting quarterback may go down, and the coach may call for a backup. When the coaches call a backup in, they expect them to be prepared so our spiritual leaders should be training their students to be teachers one day, not to be students all their lives. God didn’t give us Jesus to just read about, we are also to follow his example. The Bible is not just for us to read, but to do.

Another quarterback playing in the Super Bowl is Eli Manning, who faced criticism and scorn the moment he was drafted, even before then. Manning was initially drafted to the Chargers, but requested, and was granted a trade to the Giants. He didn’t feel right in San Diego, and one Super Bowl ring later, I’d say he made the right decision. From the outside, he was viewed as “arrogant” for not just settling for less, but getting what he felt was the best fit.

Jesus was viewed as arrogant for saying that He was the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Son of Man, and the Son of God. Jesus had no doubt in His mind who He was, and where He was supposed to be.

This year, the Giants were written off mid-season with 7 wins and 7 losses, by all the “experts.” Jesus was written off as a blasphemer by experts, Christianity was written off as a cult and a religion by experts, and Christians are being written off every day by experts, both outside and inside the church.

The Giants still believed, despite how it looked, and it paid off in the end. To grow in our faith to be giants ourselves, we have to do the small things first. Commitment, application, and obedience are a triple threat to the enemy. You’re committed to God, and you don’t even devote your time to the devil’s foolishness. You apply what you learn, so that others can learn as well and the body of Christ grows bigger and stronger. Full 100% obedience to God is foolproof and has always produced victory, even though it may not look like it in the middle of the season.

In Christ, we are called to be Giants and Patriots.

A giant is defined as having great power, which Jesus said we’re given over the enemy, along with His Holy Spirit which we can give full control over us.

A patriot is defined as a defender. We have to go out and speak about Christ, even in the face of opposition, because if we deny Him, we deny the Father, and He will deny us before the Father. We have to defend the kingdom of God via spiritual warfare from demons & principalities with the power of God’s Spirit given to each of us according to our measure of faith.

If we endure until the end of the fourth quarter, we become champions. Our championship ring is a crown of life. So despite opposition, keep practicing what you’ve learned, keep praying, and the job God has called you to do as a member of team Jesus. I pray this message blesses you this Super Bowl weekend and I pray Psalms 23 in your life.

I hope this confirms some things and/or encourages you, and I pray you become Giants and Patriots in Christ, in Jesus’ name amen.