Tag: victory in battle

The Contender – A Celebration of Our Freedom

July 4, 2020

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26

Crown – dfn. a reward of victory or mark of honor especially : the title representing the championship in a sport; a royal or imperial headdress or cap of sovereignty : diadem; imperial or regal power : sovereignty. (Source: Merriam-Webster)

Today is the Fourth of July. Known as “Independence Day’, today we as a nation set aside time to remember and celebrate freedom and liberty. On July 4, 1776 the 13 American colonies officially declared freedom from England’s rule and separation from Britain’s Crown, a freedom which eventually led to the formation of the United States of America.

Crowns signify honor, power, sovereignty, dominion and victory. On this Independence Day we are not only remembering the fight to cast off a political crown leading to freedom, but also the spiritual fight over the conquering of another crown – Death’s Crown and freedom to receive a Crown of Life. Let’s take a look.

The Ring & The Fight

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:21

The fight originated long ago. It was a fight destined before time began between the two contenders (Gen 3:15). In one corner was the champion. He held the title and wore the victor’s crown – The Crown of Death. His earthly name is satan (Job 1:6-9 & Rev 12:9) and his heavenly name was Lucifer (Is 14:12). It was not planned to happen this way. But, because of deceptive and unscrupulous tactics (Gen 3:1-5), he stole the title away from the intended victors of life (Gen 2:7-8, 2:15 & 2:22-25). This fighter carried with him the baggage of a bad reputation (Is 14:13-14) and was known as a ‘dirty player’.

In the other corner was a fighter of a totally different caliber, demeanor and composure. In fact, he looked like no contender for any crown at all (Is 52:14 & 53:2-3). His name was Jesus the son of a carpenter (Mat 13:55 & Mk 6:3). The reigning champion in fact thought it most humorous that such a contender would even dare him and bring him to this level of humiliation. He jeered, he laughed, he mocked and he cajoled at the prospect of being challenged, much less defeated, by such an embarrassment. But, he did not realize who he was dealing with (Is 7:14 & Lk 1:30-33). And he would soon find out.

Round One

And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Matthew 27:29

The opening bell rang, its shrill reverberating throughout both time and Eternity. The fight began. Out of one corner of the ring one contender emerged with vengeance. His blood burned, his countenance fumed like a dragon (Rev 12:3, 4 & 7) and the corner of his lip dripped with saliva fueled by lust, greed and flesh-like ambition (Mat 4:1-9). In his mind he relished the thoughts:

“This is one fight the world will never forget. This fight will go down in history as MY fight – The Fight of the Ages. The day I finally put to rest the notion that I can be reasonably challenged or it even considered that I can loose my crown, my crown of dominion of life on earth. My victor’s crown of Sin & Death”.

However, something else happened at the opposite corner. Viewed from a distance, the scene was so extreme and macabre it appeared almost in slow motion. “What is going on?” the paying crowd thought. This other contender appeared to not want to fight at all as he walked towards the center of the ring with his fighting gloves down and fearlessly face the impending onslaught. It was as if he wanted to loose and hand his opportunity over without resistance (Joh 10:15, 17-18 & 15:13).

His opponent wasted no time. Pound. Jab. Pound. Pound. Jab. Jab. He did quick work. And it was almost over sooner than he expected, leaving behind a scene almost too horrendous to describe (Mar 15:19-20.

The Stretcher

The defeated opponent seemed barely able to stand upright in the ring. His body now weakened and frail. Seeing victory inevitable, the reigning champion decided to end this match with his most lethal tactic. It was the most painful and shameful weapon in his arsenal. It was what he called ‘The Stretcher’. The stretcher was brought out to carry away his challenger and end the contest (Mar 15:21-38), a contest seemingly not fair from the beginning (or at least the observers thought it was!). In fact, this final act caused the judge to observe something he had never before experienced in all his years working the ring – a fatal knockout. And after seeing what he just observed, he was not sure he wanted to see another one.

A Miraculous Comeback

News of the contest was abuzz and quickly made its way throughout the country (Luk 24:13-19). But, news of something else had captured the people’s attention. Sometime between carrying the contender to his grave and his body being ‘officially’ corrupted after being dead four days, it was reported he was walking around ……… Alive ! (Luk 24:36-41) It could not be. But. it was. He was alive (Rom 6:9).

When the reigning champion received news of his being raised back to life, it struck fear and terror in his spirit (Mat 8:29). His best effort, his most pointed assault failed to finish the work. He did not finish it, his opponent did (Joh 19:30).

Disqualification Leads To Exultation

In every war, in every battle and in every earthly conflict there are rules of engagement to be followed. There are governing bodies in our world that monitor war crimes and crimes against humanity. Why? Because even when humanity is faced with the possibility of annihilation, it intrinsically seeks preservation. It is a nature designed by God. A nature that seeks life, seeks hope and seeks truth. The Lord is running the ship in Heaven and in earth and not the enemy. Truth prevails and truth never fails (Deu 32:4, Ps 57:10, Ps 89:14, Ps 96:13, Ps 146:6, Jn 8:32, Jn 14:6 & Jn 17:17).

Because satan did not follow the rules of engagement (truth) he disqualified himself from the contest (Jn 8:44 & I Jn 2:21). The earthly judge’s decision was ultimately nullified and the crown stripped from the former champion.

The Crown of Death was removed from the Head of the Serpent, and in its place, the Crown of Victory was placed on the Head of the Savior (I Cor 15:54-57). Jesus now gives us freedom over death, wields the Crown of Eternal Life and graciously gives it to those love him (Jam 1:12 & Rev 2:10).

Crown Him. Crown Him. Crown Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:2I

And I saw, and consider this, a white horse. And he who is seated upon it has a bow. And there was given to him a victor’s crown. And he came forth conquering and in order to conquer. (Wuest)

Happy Fourth of July!

And Samson

December 14, 2019

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Samson.

Every child who has ever attended Sunday School knows all about Samson. What child’s imagination does not get sparked by his mighty exploits? From the setting afire the tails of a skittish skulk of 300 foxes (Judges 15:4-6), the killing of 1,000 Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:15-17), ripping out single-handedly the gates of the enemy’s fortified city (Judges 16:3), and the breaking of ropes as if sewing thread (Judges 15:12-13, 16:11-12). Purely fantastic fodder for the imaginative mind.

And God had a divine and outstanding mission planned for Samson before his birth:

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Judges 13:3-5

Samson had it all. From the beginning he had both Heaven’s anointing and destiny imprinted upon his soul. Samson was called to deliver Israel from her enemies the Philistines. And to a degree he did.

Moreover, Samson was both one of the most enigmatic figures ever recorded in the Old Testament and Samson was also one of the most tragic figures recorded in the Old Testament.

And Samson.

The Pillars

If we could go back in time ourselves and embrace the imagination of a child we just might see what God possibly saw in the last scene of Samson’s life:

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Judges 16:21

There he is swarming within all of the theatrics and drama of life. A pitiful figure Samson is. Where his laser sharp and dark piercing eyes once were are now scarred and disfigured eye sockets. Where freedom once allowed the man to tromp over his enemy’s heads in vengeance, he is now bound like an animal in a parade of mockery.

Let us also imagine and wonder how the Lord perceived this. How did God feel while looking at this pitiful scene? It had to have broken His heart. The God of Glory had to have wept and mourned for Samson. The promises. The anointing. All the hope vanished in a moment. Only a heart-less king and ruler would respond otherwise.

But, God is God and not man.

And Samson.

And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Judges 16:26

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 11:29

Perhaps in Samson’s mind thoughts of his troubled past interlaced with divine thoughts of future hope and glory. And maybe he uttered these words:

“Lad, let me feel the pillars. I cannot see them, but just let me feel them because I know a God who still performs miracles. I’ve seen Him do them in my past, and by God’s grace and mercy, He can do it again. Because I know a God who is still in the miracle-working business.”

He was physically blinded, but somehow Samson miraculously sensed pillars in the room, and one more important pillar, a spiritual one. The pillar of his God was also present, for his one true Pillar of truth had not forsaken him and gave him renewed hope exactly when he needed it most.

And Samson

Maybe you were wondering by now why the repeated, maybe even disruptive repetition of the phrase “And of Samson”? (the word “of” is not in the original Greek) Here is why:

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Hebrews 11:32

Nestled on the wall of Heaven’s Champions of Faith as recorded in Hebrews Chapter 11 is a most unlikely person. He was perhaps God’s most colossal failure. He stumbled. He fell. He embarrassed himself, he embarrassed Israel and He embarrassed Jehovah God. So why would God care? Why would the Lord waste more time and divine resources on a fallen hero? There is one reason:

I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. Hosea 11:9

A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. Matthew 12:20

When man would say: “Let’s move on. Done deal. The damage is done. No damage control in the world can rectify this situation.” Heaven says: “Not so fast“.

Hopeless? In “the world”, yes. In Heaven, absolutely NOT.

For God is God and not man.

Man may, but God never extinguishes even the faintest glimmer of hope or faith in anyone. A raging forest fire can be started by one small spark. One spark of faith and hope in a heart can be the beginning of new life in impossible situations and when facing insurmountable odds.

It was one last spark that changed Samson’s world. And one last spark was all Samson needed:

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Judges 16:27-30

Samson’s final act was his very best. Up to this point in his life is it not mentioned where he ever prayed. But, here we see Samson prayed to his God. And his God heard it.

Because of his prayer and faith in God, the Lord honored it, gave him the victory and saw fit to place his name on His wall of faith. Samson got a piece of the wall and became one of God’s pillars of faith. His name is nestled right smack in the middle of the godly and victorious company of Gedeon,  Barak, Jephthae and Samuel.

Why? Because the faith Samson exercised at the end of his life simply pleased God. For without faith it is impossible to please Him.

The Lord took the crumbling wreckage of the pillars of Samson’s life and transformed them into a pillar of faith for all of time and eternity.

It is not over until God says it is over. And God is still in the miracle-working business. Our God is the Master of turning Messes into Masterpieces!

God is God and not Man.

And Samson.

Be Blessed!