Should Christians participate in ballgames?
ANSWER:
“ Ballgames , and--and frolics, and so forth, that's all right; but it don't belong in the church. In the church we want Christ, not a form of Christ, or a picture of Christ, or a dead Christ, or a tomb of Christ. We want a risen Christ Who's alive with us, proving Hisself that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's what the church wants, what they ought to want. Depends on what their appetite is (See?), whether they will receive it or not.” [Micaiah The Prophet, Chicago IL 61-0426]
“You people that used to go to dances, I don't believe you'd do it now, since you're a Christian. But when you used to, you used to have to play all the music, and carrying on and everything, and get in the spirit of dancing. When you went to Ballgames, you had to--somebody had to hit a home run 'fore you throwed the hats and screamed and hollered. Well, it was all right for you then. But a fellow didn't believe much in Ballgames, he just stood there, he couldn't see nothing in it. He wasn't in the spirit of it. And that's the reason you come around to an old fashion meeting where they got good salvation, they go to hollering, "Amen" and "Praise The Lord," you say, "That bunch of fanatics." You're just not in the spirit of it; that's all. See? If this is the Holy Spirit, then that other must be unholy spirit. This makes you do holy things, that makes you do unholy things.” [The Hand Of The Lord Came Upon Him, Louisville KY 54-0403]
“That's what's the matter with our church today; they got the lady's society, and the men's society, and this society, and Ballgames, soup suppers, and everything else. And prayer meetings is left off, you know. No more... And the Holy Ghost promised He'd only seal those who sighed and cried for the abominations done in the city.” [Expectation, Richmond VA 61-0308]
“The church sets, dead. Ballgames, attractions of the city, and the worldly things has the church all lured away. The Bible said they'd be heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness. Hotel rooms, full of drunks; you can't even sleep. Sunday school teachers, people going to church, church members, having a little clean American fun. Sinful, oh, this old world's a staggering like a drunk man coming home of a morning.” [Abraham's Covenant Confirmed, Middletown OH 61-0318]
“Look on me, sir, just a minute, just in order that you and I could come in contact with the Lord Jesus. If I be His servant, Jesus said, "The things that I do shall you also. A little while and the world will see me no more," that's the unbeliever. They're out to Ballgames, and swimmings, and so forth. They'll never see Him. "But ye shall see Me, for I'll be with you, in you, to the end of the world." Then if He's raised from the dead, and He's standing here this morning, and this anointing that I have now isn't mine, but it's His, then you couldn't hide your life if you had to, because we're in contact with one another by Spirit being. And if God can reveal to me what you're standing there for, will you accept it with all your heart? You will do it?” [Proof Of His Resurrection, Jeffersonville IN 55-0410m]
“Why are you out here tonight? Is because you're interested. Why ain't you at the BALL game? Is because you love God more than you love Ballgames. That's the reason you're here. God called you and put a different desire in your heart.” [Abraham, Macon GA 55-0608]
“It's time for the prophets of God, oh, brother, for the preachers, if you would say it, across the nation, to fall on their face. When I know there's nineteen million Baptist churches, nineteen million Baptists,
And on Werather, in America, thirteen million Methodist, eleven million Lutherans, ten million Presbyterians, mercy, think of that. And constantly, the Ballgames, the amusements... dnesday nights and sometimes on Sunday nights, stay home to listen to the television and the radio of old jugs, gags, and jokes they pull from Hollywood, your soul growing on that kind of stuff, when you ought to have your Bible out somewhere, laying out before God on your knees a praying for the sins of the country... And I'm guilty with you.” [A Blushing Prophet, Jeffersonville IN 56-1125e] ke I said the other night about the hog, about the sinner. You can't blame... A sinner's a sinner; don't try to reform him. Don't try to tell him this, that, or the other. He's a sinner to begin with.
“Have you ever noticed how the world gets into the spirit of things that are in the world? They go to their Ballgames, their sporting events, and their dances. They enter into the spirit of it. They don't sit there like wall flowers, old dried up sticks. They enter right into the feel of things and become a part of things. But, oh, how they hate the Christians for getting into the Spirit of God's Word. They call us fanatics and holy-rollers. There is nothing they won't do to show their hatred and disapproval. But ignore that. You can expect it, knowing where it is coming from. Just go on and get in the Spirit of worship.” [Patmos Vision, Church Age Book 65-1207]
“Go to the BALL game, somebody knock a home run, or something another, set and look, and say, "Well, guess that's pretty good." No, you wouldn't be a baseball friend; you wouldn't be a real... You wouldn't be in the spirit of baseball. When somebody knocks a home run, you raise up and holler, "Whew. My. Win." Knock somebody's hat off his head like that, nobody says a word about it. Then in the church when you get in the Spirit, raise up and holler, "Glory. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord." Somebody turn around and say, "Holy-roller." (Oh, Brother Wood...) I'm going to ask you a question. If we're holy-rollers because we do that, then them's unholy-rollers out there. I'd rather be a holy-roller (Wouldn't you?) than an unholy one. My. Certainly. The unholy-rollers.” [The Patmos Vision, Jeffersonville IN 60-1204e]
“If there's those here who are just depending on a sensation... Maybe they have shouted. They... Maybe they have the Holy Spirit. Or... We wouldn't count that, Lord, because we've seen people at Ballgames shout. We seen people at worldly amusement shout. We seen those so happy till they cry out on the floor dancing and all those things. That ain't You, God. But to meet You, and to talk with You, and You talk back, that's what we want.” [A True Sign That's Overlooked, Jeffersonville IN 61-1112]
“We have to have an absolute at a BALL game. Did you know that? A BALL game can't operate right without an absolute, and that's the umpire. Now, sometime we--we don't like his decisions, but it's--it's--it's absolute. He's the absolute, anyhow. If... No matter, if we want to say, and others say, that--that it was a strike, or it was a BALL; and he says it's a strike, that's what it is. Don't argue with him. He's there. He's the absolute in that BALL game. Because, if he said, "Strike," you can fuss, you can throw your hat out there, and protest it, but it's a strike, anyhow. Amen. Now let's think just a minute. What if there was no umpire in the game? What kind of a fuss would it be? It would all be chaos. You--you couldn't play the game without having an absolute in it. Games has got to have an absolute. And if games has to have an absolute, what about life? It has to have a resting place. And every mortal here, this afternoon, has got your absolute somewhere, your ultimate, that's the last word. Notice, there would be fusses and everything at this BALL game. It'd all end up in chaos.” [An Absolute, Phoenix AZ 63-0127]