Why do sport teams watch tape of their opponents?

I like sports. All types of sports, from football to martial arts to volleyball to hockey, you-name-it. When the Bennettsville Parks Department sponsored a tae kwon do class in the high school gymnasium, I was one of the first, and one of the last, members of that program. I was skinny and my karate skills came in handy on more than one occasion growing up in rural Carolina. Back in the 70s, we didn’t carry guns like the stupid kids do today. Instead of gunning down a rival in a drive-by and spending twenty years locked away like an animal, we got into “fights.” Like I said, I was a lightweight and I didn’t always win the “boxing/kicking/wrestling” match, but I always lived to fight another day, and no one went to jail. No one died from bullet wounds. The proliferation of guns in the hands of young people is an evil scourge on our society.

Sports are a relatively safe way to blow off steam and work off some of the aggressive energy of youth. The world of competitive sports is tough, sometimes merciless, but it’s typically not lethal. On the court or field, the aim is to dominate your opponent, not literally kill him or her. Athletes compete to win with honor, playing hard within the rules of the game. Athletes learn you win some and you lose some. Many key life lessons can be gleaned from the world of sports.

One comment you often hear from competitive sports athletes is, “We watched a lot of tape in preparation for this game,” or “I studied my opponent on tape to get ready for this fight.” Why do they do that? The answer is obvious. They study tape to gain a competitive advantage over their opponent by learning their strong points, their tendencies, and their weak points. By watching tape, teams can better prepare their own offensive and defensive tactics. No coach would send their team out to compete before they looked at tape of their opponent, if such tape or footage is available.

Does Team Jesus have an opponent? Yes, we do. The Bible calls him Satan, the great dragon, that serpent of old (Rev. 12:9). What is his game? Is it to compete with honor within the rules of the game? Hardly. He is the great deceiver and the father of lies. His aim is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). The apostle Peter gives us a strong and clear warning about our opponent. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Scripture states that the devil wants to devour and destroy us, just like a ferocious lion! The Bible also states that we should not be ignorant of his devices or schemes, so that no advantage be gained over us by Satan (2 Cor. 2:11).

When it comes to dealing with our satanic adversary, the modern church is like the proverbial ostrich with its head buried in the sand. Many “Christians” in the 21st century have discounted the notion of a devil. To them, Satan is a pitch-fork carrying, red suit-wearing cartoon character invented during the dark ages. They wonder, “How can modern man believe in a real, personal devil or demons?” And many church leaders who do believe in the evil one have taken the position, “We won’t mention the devil and maybe he’ll leave us alone.” Hey coach, that’s a terrible and cowardly game plan. Why is it cowardly? Because our Lord and Savior has commanded us to engage the enemy and overcome him. He shows us how in his inspired word.

The following is an excerpt from the section, "Resist God's Enemy" in my book, The Spiritual Awakening of America. I'm happy to announce the book is finally available in both paperback and hardcover. It was released in hardcover on December 31, 2021, and I feel like it's a "real" book now. It has been a true labor of love. Even though it was first published in 2019, I never stopped working on it. It seems the Lord was constantly prompting me to add another spiritual precept or Bible verse, or finetune the presentation in some way. So, the book has evolved during the last three years. Many pieces have been layered into the work that were not there in earlier editions, and I’m really proud of the finished product. Both the paperback and the hardcover contain the exact same updated content, but the hardcover will last for years to come. Click here to order your copy. With your help, I feel this book will play a key role in the spiritual awakening of America. Now, let’s roll tape and check out the tactics of our archenemy and the countermeasures employed by our Lord.

"Once we understand our high position in Christ, and the vital role humility plays in our victory over the evil one, then we are ready to resist the devil. Satan likes to operate in secret, behind the curtain, so to speak. The evil one works in disguise, but believers are not ignorant of his tricks. One of the devil’s most effective cons is disguising his ideas as those of our own. Brain specialist Dr. Daniel Amen advises, “Don’t believe everything you hear – even in your own mind.” Satan works at the level of our thoughts (Isaiah 55:7; 2 Cor. 10:4,5). He sows ideas and suggestions in our mind without us realizing the real source of those ideas. Once we act on them, we fall into his trap. That has to be the epitome of deception! Satan, the master deceiver, plants thoughts in our mind that are disguised as our own thoughts. Note the following three examples.

1 Chronicles 21:1 » “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

Matthew 16:21-23 » From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”

Acts 5:3 » But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?”

Do you see the master deceiver at work? David had an idea to count the number of soldiers he had in his army. Peter had the idea to rebuke Jesus for talking about dying. Ananias had the idea to keep back part of the money he made by selling his land. In each case, Satan planted a suggestion in the mind of his victim that was disguised as their very own thought. Why? Because the thought is father to the deed. Bad thoughts father bad deeds; good thoughts produce good deeds. Notice it was Peter who detected the enemy’s work within Ananias. Maybe Peter discerned the devil’s handiwork because he was deceived earlier in a similar fashion. The evil one will definitely try to lead you astray, the same way he led poor Pahom astray, one suggestion at a time.

There’s an old saying that may be helpful at this point. “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair.” Satan will tempt you by dropping suggestions into your mind. You can’t stop that. You’re not a “bad person” just because the enemy dropped a wicked thought in your head. But you are responsible, in the authority given by Christ, to expel those thoughts! That’s what it means to resist the devil, and the Bible shows us how in the book of Matthew 4:1-11. Watch and learn from our Sensei (Matt.11:29) as he wields the sword of the Spirit to resist the evil one:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’ ”

Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’ ” Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him."

I’m sure you noticed that every time the devil attacked Christ with a temptation, Jesus countered the lies by quoting Holy Scripture. That’s part of the idea behind “resist the devil.” It means to be steadfast in the faith, to live a holy life. It entails counter-attacking the devil’s lies with the holy truth of God. We dispel the darkness of Satan with the light of the word. But once again, answer me this: If we overcome the tempter by quoting Scripture, how effective can I be if I’m ignorant of Scripture? Or how effective can I be if I’m skeptical of Scripture? Is there any wonder why Satan constantly attacks the Bible? Without a working knowledge of divine revelation, we become easy prey for the master deceiver.

In the first temptation, Satan is attempting to take advantage of the fact that Jesus is hungry. “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” How does Jesus respond? The Spirit of God uploads to his mind a verse from Deuteronomy 8:3. The entire verse reads: “He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.”

In this passage, we learn that during Israel’s 40-year wilderness experience, God provided the nation with food (manna) previously unknown to them (Exodus 16). This food was provided daily, except on the Sabbath, by the command or word of God. So, one could say it was not the physical bread that sustained the people in the wilderness, but the “word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.” The lesson to be learned is that God allowed the nation to hunger in order that they might learn to trust in him – not just for their daily bread, but for all their needs. So this verse is the perfect counter for the temptation to “command stones to become bread.” A good God provides sustenance that meets both our physical and our spiritual needs. Also notice Jesus didn’t need to quote the reference nor the entire passage, just the part that related to the situation.

In the second temptation, Satan wants Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple. The Jewish historian Josephus claims this was a fall of over 400 feet. In this second attack, Satan uses Scripture in his attempt to trick our LORD. Did the devil forget that Jesus is the Word that “became flesh, and lived among us” (John 1:14)? How foolhardy of the evil one to think he could twist the Scriptures on the One who is the embodiment of Scripture! The devil quotes from Psalm 91:11,12. “For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.”

In The Merchant of Venice, the bard states, “The devil can cite Scripture for his own purpose.” The verses he quotes in Psalm 91 speaks to the promise of angelic protection, but Satan is twisting it to justify putting God to some sort of test. The passage is about trusting God, not testing God. There’s a big difference in the two, which Satan knows full well. Yet the evil one was still willing to cite Scripture for his own purpose. The takeaway here is: Do I know my Bible well enough to detect when it’s being twisted?

Jesus counters the lie of Satan with another passage from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 16: “You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.” Back in Exodus 17, the nation of Israel contended with Moses. They were “almost ready” to stone him in the wilderness because of the lack of water. In verses 5-7, “Yahweh said to Moses…‘You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.’ Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, ‘Is Yahweh among us, or not?’ ” The word Massah means testing and Meribah means contending. Unlike the fickle children of Abraham, the son of God didn’t contend with or test Yahweh during his wilderness experience.

In the third temptation, Satan offered our Lord all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would, get this! – “fall down and worship me.” The audacity of the old dust eater to ask the LORD of Glory to fall down and worship him! Satan’s pride knows no bounds. In Isaiah 14:13-14, we saw the five foolish “I wills” of Lucifer. He said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!”

In Ezekiel 28, we see that he was the anointed cherub who was full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. But verse 14 reveals, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.” When the apostle lays out the qualifications for spiritual leadership in the local church, he points out in 1 Timothy 3:6, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” That’s the KJV. In the WEB, it reads, “Not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” The condemnation of the devil was due to pride because of his elevated position, and his wisdom, and his beauty. The height of pride is asking your Creator to fall down and worship you! That’s the insane spirit of Satan.

In his work, Basic Stages in the Book of Ages, my first Bible teacher, Dr. Harold L. Willmington writes, “It is revealing to note the name of God that Satan uses here. He wanted to be like EL-ELYON, the Most High. This name literally means, “the strongest strong one.” The devil could have picked other names for God. He could have used EL-SHADDAI, which means, “the breasted one, the one who feeds His children,” but he didn’t. He might have selected JEHOVAH-ROHI, which means, “the shepherd God,” but he avoided this title also. The reason is obvious – Satan coveted God’s strength, but was not the least bit interested in His feeding and leading attributes!”

The condemnation of the devil was due to his desire for more power and status. This beautiful and splendid creation of God, who was, I dare say - fearfully and wonderfully made - wanted to be God. He was not content to be a high ranking angelic being. He wanted to be like the Most High, EL-ELYON, the strongest strong one. How can the “little g” god of this world even think to ask the “Big G” God of all worlds to fall down and worship him? That’s crazified! You don’t want any part of his foul spirit.

At this point I reckon our Lord had enough, for “then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” And he counter-attacks the lie with the truth of God – the sword of the Spirit: “For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ” For the third time in a row, our Lord and Teacher quotes from the book of Deuteronomy. Apparently, Jesus familiarized himself with that book and Israel’s wilderness experience (Luke 2:40-52). According to 1 Corinthians 10:1-12, it behooves us to do likewise.

This time Jesus cites and paraphrases from Deuteronomy 6, verses 13 and 14. “You shall fear Yahweh your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name. You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you.” And even though Jesus didn’t include the next verse in his counter-attack, please note verse 15, “For Yahweh your God among you is a jealous God, lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.”

After Jesus tells “little g” to get lost, “then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.” We should be grateful to God for this demonstration of how to resist our enemy. Jesus resisted by using the sword of the Spirit to counter Satan’s lies with God’s truth! In each and every encounter with Satan’s lies, Jesus quoted and paraphrased verses that related directly to the specific temptation. He didn’t entertain the devil’s lies, he immediately refuted them with eternal truth. He didn’t hold a debate with Satan. He certainly didn’t act on the suggestion of the devil. Our humble Master, meek and lowly in heart, relied solely on the word of God to defeat and banish the enemy."

I hope you benefitted from the excerpt. It's helpful to consider it as tape or footage of our adversary. These are the last days, and I believe it's high time we stir up ourselves to take hold of God (Isaiah 64:7), which is the final concept the LORD had me add throughout the manuscript. There is so much more to discover in this 340-page book that was, I trust, co-authored by the Holy Spirit of God. Click here to learn more!

Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!

Brother Quick