11-17-2019

Good Morning All,

          Isaiah 42:13; “The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.”
      While watching sports over the past years, I am intrigued by the number of times the success or failure of a team is deemed to be with one player.  The announcers would go on and on about how this player or that player was hurt so the success of this team was certainly hindered by the absence of the player.  The announcers were convinced that without this player in the midst of the huddle, the champion of the team; the team would most likely lose.  Sometimes they would almost wax poetic about how the team would have certainly won if that one certain player would have played.

    If you want to ensure victory, it is important to have a champion.  It is important to have the one who will bring about certain victory.  This champion must always be in the game for without him victory will never be grasped.  The sweet taste of victory can be ours if we have that one great champion in our midst.  As long as this champion is in our midst, fighting for us, we will never be ashamed.

    At the time that our verse was written, the Isaiah was foretelling of the future for the Israelites.  First, as defeated and conquered people but soon; God would send a champion to fight for them and insure victory.  In their misery, God did not leave them to simply twist in the wind.  He sent the champion to free them from their oppressors.  He does the same for us.  He sent Jesus to be our champion

    We were being humiliated by the devil and the world and our sinful nature.  This evil group set out to torment us, to leave us in as much pain as possible.  This group was entertained by our suffering and we are unable to defeat this group on our own.  So, God sent Jesus to be our champion.  God sent Jesus to guarantee our victory in this fight.  God sent Jesus so that we would never have to suffer the humiliation or the torment of the devil again.  We have the sweet taste of victory because of Jesus and the victory that he gives us over sin, death and the power of the devil.

    The only tools that the devil has left in his arsenal are the lies that he tells us in order to deceive us.  He can only whisper his lies in order to cause us to doubt.  That is all he really has, lies and doubts.  God has given us the victory over the devil.  God has given us the promise of eternal life.  We have the great champion Jesus to insure our victory.  We will never be put to shame.

Gracious Father, because of your great love we have the victory over the devil and death.  These no longer hold us for we are in your hands.  You give us the blessings of this life and the promise of a greater tomorrow.  Be with those who are in pain at this time.  Give them the comfort of your Spirit that they may know the certainty of your presence in their midst.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret