March 21, 1995
On June 18, 1815, the French under the command of Napoleon were fighting British, Dutch and German troops commanded by Wellington in the famous Battle of Waterloo. The people in England waited for a signal to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on Winchester Cathedral.
Late in the day, the message flashed from the tower: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N -- D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -.” At that moment, a sudden cloud of fog obscured the tower. News of defeat quickly spread throughout the city and sorrow filled the entire country.
Suddenly the fog lifted. The message had four words, not two. It said: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N – D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- - T-H-E - - E-N-E-M-Y!” It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy. Defeat was turned into victory!
The Israelites knew what it is like to experience dejection and later surprise by seeing “the rest of the story.” Early in their history, Moses led the Israelites to the banks of the Red Sea. The threatening Egyptian army was right behind them. God’s people were angry with Moses for bringing them into this situation. Defeat was certain. Imagine their relief when the sea miraculously parted and Moses led them across. They turned to watch the returning waters sweep their pursuers to defeat.
Years later, another generation of God’s people was taken captive in Israel and hauled off to Babylon. Sorrow filled them. They could not even sing their traditional songs of worship. However, after seventy years, the story took an upward turn. The Babylonian king allowed Nehemiah to return home and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ezra was allowed to rebuilt the city. Finally, God’s people could go home!
Almost two thousand years ago, a group of men and women also felt great sorrow. The religious establishment had delivered their leader to Roman authorities who put Him to death. Hope and joy died in their hearts. They could not understand what happened. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and fed the multitudes. Why then, when the soldiers arrested Him, did He offer no resistance? Their dream of a new kingdom of Israel was now sealed in a tomb covered over with a large stone.
These disciples were like the people of London after the Battle of Waterloo—they only read part of the message. What they saw spelled “C-H-R-I-S-T - - D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- - -“ Their future was black. Their hearts felt like large stones.
Three days later, the fog lifted and revealed the rest of the message. At first they could not believe it. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to the other women—but their words seemed like nonsense. Finally “He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the believers.” Christ is alive!
The message did begin with sad news: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . He was buried . . . “ but it ends with glad news: “He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” This message reads: J-E-S-U-S - - D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D - - S-I-N - - A-N-D - - D-E-A-T-H!
Now God’s people rest in joy and full assurance. Our greatest enemy has been swept to defeat and when we die, we can go home!
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2016
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
When I lose, I win ................. Parables 246
(December 12, 1990)
If you were an army general and won a major victory, how would you let the whole world know? A Roman conqueror of the first century paraded both captives and loot through his home town on the way to headquarters. Even the odor of conquest hung in the air; everyone knew about his achievement.
Sometimes people call Christians “losers.” When the Apostle Paul uses the picture of a Roman conqueror to describe us, it even sounds like he meant we are losers: “Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us, spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” (2 Cor.2:14). He pictured the warrior = Christ, leading His captives = those who lost the battle.
As a matter of fact, at one time it seemed to me the battle was myself fighting against God. I resisted His claim to my soul. However, He didn’t give in and finally I did lose the fight to Christ, and became submissive to His Lordship over me. However, that didn’t make me a loser.
There was another war going on, one that I couldn’t see. It was Jesus nose to nose with the evil one. Along with everyone else, I was the spoils of war for which they fought. Certainly, Christ won when He died for our sins and rose from the dead. Out of the battle, souls were redeemed from the grasp of the enemy. Jesus took lives as a prize, lives that Satan would have twisted and perverted for his purposes, and claimed them as His own.
Every Christian belongs to the spoils of Christ’s victory but we are not mere trophies. One version translates part of that verse: “God causes me to triumph in Christ.” Because I am in Him, I also wound up as a winner with Him. Even more, because I am in Him, I’m guaranteed the same parade route and destination He has. His heaven is my home because it is His home. “Thanks be to God...” seems an understatement for this remarkable truth.
Another verse asks, If God is for me... who can be against me? It implies that since I am on the side that has already defeated every foe, who could possibly defeat me? Does that sound like a loser?
Any thought of somehow being deprived, or that being held captive means I will go without, is answered by: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?” Again, does that sound like a loser?
Any accusation, any false guilt is also taken care of... “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.” No one can stand on the sidelines and condemn me. Jesus paid for my sin when He fought to win me, so, “Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes and is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, and who also makes intercession for us.” He takes care of my sin; even it cannot defeat me.
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Nothing can! No one can take us out of the victory parade!
Everything the enemy now tries to do is like a taunting noise from the crowds, a jeering from the sidelines. I am in the procession and he has lost. His threats cannot get me back into the soiree. There is no chance of a rematch. When Jesus won, so did all who would yield to Him.
Today, whatever life dishes out, nothing can change the fact that I am in the procession. As Jesus and I go through the streets of life, some of them will be narrow; some will go through slum areas; some will have not applauding onlookers but jeering bystanders. Some will be uphill with rocks and jagged footing. Some will be paved with blood.
But the procession never changes. He leads it and will take the entire train of captives through life and eventually to His home -- where all of us “losers” will be with Him, forever.
If you were an army general and won a major victory, how would you let the whole world know? A Roman conqueror of the first century paraded both captives and loot through his home town on the way to headquarters. Even the odor of conquest hung in the air; everyone knew about his achievement.
Sometimes people call Christians “losers.” When the Apostle Paul uses the picture of a Roman conqueror to describe us, it even sounds like he meant we are losers: “Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us, spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” (2 Cor.2:14). He pictured the warrior = Christ, leading His captives = those who lost the battle.
As a matter of fact, at one time it seemed to me the battle was myself fighting against God. I resisted His claim to my soul. However, He didn’t give in and finally I did lose the fight to Christ, and became submissive to His Lordship over me. However, that didn’t make me a loser.
There was another war going on, one that I couldn’t see. It was Jesus nose to nose with the evil one. Along with everyone else, I was the spoils of war for which they fought. Certainly, Christ won when He died for our sins and rose from the dead. Out of the battle, souls were redeemed from the grasp of the enemy. Jesus took lives as a prize, lives that Satan would have twisted and perverted for his purposes, and claimed them as His own.
Every Christian belongs to the spoils of Christ’s victory but we are not mere trophies. One version translates part of that verse: “God causes me to triumph in Christ.” Because I am in Him, I also wound up as a winner with Him. Even more, because I am in Him, I’m guaranteed the same parade route and destination He has. His heaven is my home because it is His home. “Thanks be to God...” seems an understatement for this remarkable truth.
Another verse asks, If God is for me... who can be against me? It implies that since I am on the side that has already defeated every foe, who could possibly defeat me? Does that sound like a loser?
Any thought of somehow being deprived, or that being held captive means I will go without, is answered by: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?” Again, does that sound like a loser?
Any accusation, any false guilt is also taken care of... “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.” No one can stand on the sidelines and condemn me. Jesus paid for my sin when He fought to win me, so, “Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes and is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, and who also makes intercession for us.” He takes care of my sin; even it cannot defeat me.
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Nothing can! No one can take us out of the victory parade!
Everything the enemy now tries to do is like a taunting noise from the crowds, a jeering from the sidelines. I am in the procession and he has lost. His threats cannot get me back into the soiree. There is no chance of a rematch. When Jesus won, so did all who would yield to Him.
Today, whatever life dishes out, nothing can change the fact that I am in the procession. As Jesus and I go through the streets of life, some of them will be narrow; some will go through slum areas; some will have not applauding onlookers but jeering bystanders. Some will be uphill with rocks and jagged footing. Some will be paved with blood.
But the procession never changes. He leads it and will take the entire train of captives through life and eventually to His home -- where all of us “losers” will be with Him, forever.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Fantasy vs. Reality ...................... Parables 095
Over the holidays I saw a helicopter blow up, a water tower shot full of holes and the water pour out, a great white shark attack a tram car full of people, and a young man change from a 150 pound weakling to a 200 pound muscleman in a puff of smoke. I saw King Kong face to face, experienced an avalanche down a mountain side and was fired at by armored space soldiers.
A few days later, I went on a space flight, saw submarines embarking on a tour of the arctic, and climbed up a tree house with rooms and running water... but none of it was real. The helicopter was intact 20 minutes later. So was the water tower. The shark was polyester, King Kong was hydraulically operated, the avalanche an illusion, and so on. The tree even had plastic leaves - if you looked close.
You guessed it, we were at Universal Studios and Disneyland - where fantasy is made so real that it almost becomes reality. In fact, for most of the thousands that come, it is reality. The people, the hot dogs, Mickey Mouse, the rides, arcades, stores, lights, sights and smoke - how much more real could they be?
As I sat on a white fibreglass bench in the 2nd floor of the Star Tours building, I thought that in spite of the intricate technology needed to run the machinery, how much easier it is to control fantasy than real life. In Disney’s world, the good guys always win, the equipment rarely breaks down, and the heros live happily ever after.
But what about the real world? Two nights later we saw some of it. Several cars trying to occupy the same space at the same time left two children without parents. Unexpected low temperatures brought out a voucher program so the “homeless of San Fernando Valley” could find shelter in local motels. A man staggered alone along a deserted street on December 25, his Christmas “cheer” obviously liquid and cheerless. Streets were unpredictably lined with $300,000 homes beside neighborhoods of shacks made from boxes that once warmed refrigerators. Friends showed us their complex burglar alarm system - yet it was not enough... they plan to move to a less crime-riddled neighborhood in February.
The people who live in this kind of reality need their Disneyland. For most of them fantasy (or a bottle or chemicals) is the only escape they have. And Disneyland is fun... but eventually the lights are turned out, the gates closed, and everyone goes home... to a real world of tribulation.
I’ve tried fantasy, escaping life by losing myself in a book, or in my imagination, or in the wild wonderful world of amusements. Sometimes I need to “escape” to relax and be refreshed, but all too often I have done it to avoid reality standing before me saying, “What are you going to do about me?” Jesus said to His disciples what is almost an understatement: “In the world you will have tribulation.” That is reality. But then He added, “But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus faced the worst possible reality. He left the glory of heaven to come to a sin-sick world where He was despised and rejected, spit on and crucified. Yet He conquered all that kind of reality could do to Him and rose from the dead. He is now seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, a far greater reality than the passing problems of this world.
Yet I live here, for now, and the reality of this life is tough. I don’t mind admitting I am weak and sometimes afraid of it. Nor can I always cope with many ordinary difficulties and obstacles, never mind life’s horrors. However, fantasy doesn’t solve anything. I need the reality of the Lord. I am thankful that He offers His overcoming power to me through faith in Him.
Because of Him, I can face the not-so-pleasant temporary realities too, even with a joyful heart. And because of Him, we enjoyed our vacation to California, not as an escape but because Jesus was with us supplying all our needs - whether we were on the freeways or riding merry-go-rounds.
A few days later, I went on a space flight, saw submarines embarking on a tour of the arctic, and climbed up a tree house with rooms and running water... but none of it was real. The helicopter was intact 20 minutes later. So was the water tower. The shark was polyester, King Kong was hydraulically operated, the avalanche an illusion, and so on. The tree even had plastic leaves - if you looked close.
You guessed it, we were at Universal Studios and Disneyland - where fantasy is made so real that it almost becomes reality. In fact, for most of the thousands that come, it is reality. The people, the hot dogs, Mickey Mouse, the rides, arcades, stores, lights, sights and smoke - how much more real could they be?
As I sat on a white fibreglass bench in the 2nd floor of the Star Tours building, I thought that in spite of the intricate technology needed to run the machinery, how much easier it is to control fantasy than real life. In Disney’s world, the good guys always win, the equipment rarely breaks down, and the heros live happily ever after.
But what about the real world? Two nights later we saw some of it. Several cars trying to occupy the same space at the same time left two children without parents. Unexpected low temperatures brought out a voucher program so the “homeless of San Fernando Valley” could find shelter in local motels. A man staggered alone along a deserted street on December 25, his Christmas “cheer” obviously liquid and cheerless. Streets were unpredictably lined with $300,000 homes beside neighborhoods of shacks made from boxes that once warmed refrigerators. Friends showed us their complex burglar alarm system - yet it was not enough... they plan to move to a less crime-riddled neighborhood in February.
The people who live in this kind of reality need their Disneyland. For most of them fantasy (or a bottle or chemicals) is the only escape they have. And Disneyland is fun... but eventually the lights are turned out, the gates closed, and everyone goes home... to a real world of tribulation.
I’ve tried fantasy, escaping life by losing myself in a book, or in my imagination, or in the wild wonderful world of amusements. Sometimes I need to “escape” to relax and be refreshed, but all too often I have done it to avoid reality standing before me saying, “What are you going to do about me?” Jesus said to His disciples what is almost an understatement: “In the world you will have tribulation.” That is reality. But then He added, “But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus faced the worst possible reality. He left the glory of heaven to come to a sin-sick world where He was despised and rejected, spit on and crucified. Yet He conquered all that kind of reality could do to Him and rose from the dead. He is now seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, a far greater reality than the passing problems of this world.
Yet I live here, for now, and the reality of this life is tough. I don’t mind admitting I am weak and sometimes afraid of it. Nor can I always cope with many ordinary difficulties and obstacles, never mind life’s horrors. However, fantasy doesn’t solve anything. I need the reality of the Lord. I am thankful that He offers His overcoming power to me through faith in Him.
Because of Him, I can face the not-so-pleasant temporary realities too, even with a joyful heart. And because of Him, we enjoyed our vacation to California, not as an escape but because Jesus was with us supplying all our needs - whether we were on the freeways or riding merry-go-rounds.
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