100 Sermon Illustrations on Victory

The crown has been a symbol of victory, and of reward for superior virtue, from all antiquity. In very ancient pictures, a hand is seen coming out of heaven presenting a wreath or circlet; afterwards it is an angel, who descends with a crown, which is sometimes a coronet of gold and jewels, sometimes a wreath of palm or myrtle.

No questionable means need be employed to help out God's plans for our advancement (v. 10). Wait God's time. He can weaken the strongest and befool the wisest on our behalf

In all the upward march of matter and force, there has never been one single crisis and conflict where the higher has not been victorious over the lower. Witness the first struggle, between the mineral and the vegetable. The marble is hard, and the moss seeks to spread its robe of olive and velvet thereupon; slowly the marble crumbles, and dies; the moss lives and grows--it could not be otherwise; the moss is the higher and therefore victorious. The husbandman plants his seed of corn. The seed dies, the little plant lives, and becomes a great stalk, with corn in the milk, and then the full corn in the ear--it could not be otherwise; the golden stalk is the higher, and must be victorious. In the forest there grow a hundred kinds of jack-grapes, small, black and aciduous, and a thousand orange-trees are there, bitter, and with acid that sets the teeth on edge. But on the edge of the forest, steeped in sunshine and blest with room, there grows one grape that is purple and one orange that is sweet. And at last all the thousand acid vines and the ten thousand bitter orange-trees perish, while the one purple vine survives, takes feet to itself and journeys to all vineyards, while the orange of the golden heart gets wings for itself and crosses vale and mountain--it could not be otherwise, they are the higher. And never once has the law been reversed.

— N. D. HILLIS

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In 61 B.C., Pompey returned to Rome from the wars, having conquered the known world. He led a triumphal procession along the _Via Sacra_, occupying two days. In front were borne brazen tablets on which were recorded a list of the nations conquered and the trophies won in Africa, in Europe, and in Asia, representing nine hundred cities and one thousand fortresses. (Text.)

The victory that comes beyond all life’s failures is the subject of these lines from _Success_:

There is no failure. Life itself’s a song Of victory o’er death, and ages long Have told the story old of triumphs wrought Unending, from the things once held for naught. The battle’s over; tho defeated now, In coming time the waiting world shall bow Before the throne of Truth that’s builded high Above the dust of those whose ashes lie All heedless of the glorious fight they won When death obscured the light of vict’ry’s sun.

“A church educator could well be called on to spend 30 percent or more of his/her time and energy in conflict resolution,” said William Treadwell, a popular authority on church conflict.

Treadwell, along with Larry McSwain, president of Shorter College, Rome, Ga., discussed recognizing potential conflict and dealing with it creatively. Treadwell is minister of education at First Baptist Church, Waco, Texas, and adjunct professor at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. McSwain and Treadwell are often called on to help churches and ministers find ways to turn conflict situations into constructive learning experiences.

Treadwell reminded the educators they are expected to be agents of change. “But change often causes conflict,” he warned. “While not seeking it, the educator’s task is to engage conflict in such a way that the ‘players’ can integrate convictions and feelings on a higher plane and move forward together. When conflict becomes a win/lose contest, negotiation is called for as an engagement procedure.”

However, Treadwell observed, it is virtually impossible to negotiate a theological issue. “Then,” he said, “it becomes a question of how much diversity a church can handle.”

According to Jeter Basden of Baylor University, outgoing SBREA president who helped plan this year’s program, conference leaders were “on target” as they addressed the theme “Turning Defeat into Victory in Congregational and Personal Conflict.”

Basden, associate professor of ministry guidance at Baylor, used the Alamo, a short distance from the group’s meeting place, as a metaphor for how seeming defeat produced by conflict can be a rallying point for ultimate victory. The conference leaders to whom Basden referred included Chuck Kelly, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, McSwain and Treadwell and Howard Hendricks, distinguished professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and chair of its Center for Christian Leadership.

According to Basden, “The goal was to help ministers deal with conflict created by the diversity of generations in their congregations, the collision of personal expectations with those of constituents and ministers’ internal struggles as they follow their calling.”

In that vein, Hendricks reminded participants “the goal of ministry is not to have a pain-free, stress-free life, but to do what God called you to do in HIS strength.”

In the process of zealously pursuing that calling, however, Hendricks said ministers often go beyond their personal limits, thus producing “burnout.” He went on to list several characteristics of burnout based on 1 Kings 20 (withdrawal, depression and despair, physical/emotional exhaustion, bitterness and self-pity and a feeling of indispensability), along with some practical means of dealing with the condition.

Among the latter were three important things that create “margin” (defined as the gap between rest and exhaustion): a healthy devotional life, time with family and exercise. “Marginless ministry is the disease of the ‘90s,” Hendricks said.

Reflecting on the 1997 meeting in San Antonio, one SBREA member, Ron Palmer of South Carolina, observed, “It is clear that effectiveness in ministry for the years ahead will be determined by our ability to discern our strengths and build on them, rather than focusing on trying to turn weaknesses into strengths. Our present situation has taught us that when you spend energy on weaknesses, you neglect what is already strong, and that makes everything just average.”

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Harton is church ministries group leader, Virginia Baptist Resource Center

It will help you understand the victory a "renewed mind" provides:

Think of yourself as living in an apartment house. You live there under a landlord who has made your life miserable. He charges you exorbitant rent. When you can't pay, he loans you money at a fearful rate of interest, to get you even further into his debt. He barges into your apartment at all hours of the day and night, wrecks and dirties the place up, then charges you extra for not maintaining the premises. Your life is miserable.

Then comes Someone who says, "I've taken over this apartment house. I've purchased it. You can live here as long as you like, free. The rent is paid up. I am going to be living here with you, in the manager's apartment."

What a joy! You are saved! You are delivered out of the clutches of the old landlord!

But what happens? You hardly have time to rejoice in your new-found freedom, when a knock comes at the door. And there he is -- the old landlord! Mean, glowering, and demanding as ever. He has come for the rent, he says.

What do you do? Do you pay him? Of course, you don't! Do you go out and pop him on the nose? No -- he's bigger than you are!

You confidently tell him, "You'll have to take that up with the new Landlord." He may bellow, threaten, wheedle, and cajole. You just quietly tell him, "Take it up with the new Landlord." If he comes back a dozen times, with all sorts of threats and arguments, waving legal-looking documents in your face, you simply tell him yet once again, "Take it up with the new Landlord." In the end he has to. He knows it, too. He just hopes that he can bluff and threaten and deceive you into doubting that the new Landlord will really take care of things.

Now this is the situation of a Christian. Once Christ has delivered you from the power of sin and devil, you can depend on it: that old landlord will soon come back knocking at your door. And what is your defense? How do you keep him from getting the whip hand over you again? You send him to the new Land-lord. You send him to Jesus.

When Jesus Christ truly takes charge of our minds, bringing our every thought captive to Him, we become spiritually invincible. We operate with supernatural power. We walk under God's complete control. [1489]

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from Christenson's book, "The Renewed Mind."

Baseball draws analogies with the atonement. Sports fans live through their teams.

1. Those we give our lives to must be good.

2. People give their hearts to the team they live closest to. (Proximity)

3. Vicarious living requires that something important be at stake.

Trust in vicarious benefits is a fundamental part of our make-up. It is an ineradicable belief of the heart that speaks of something more than we understand. We believe, though we cannot explain, that our heroes’ victories are our own. Myth shapes itself around these things. So does baseball, as a kind of myth. The shape itself, the true myth made from eternal deeds, is the death and resurrection of Jesus.

#2039

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We are at war, and we need to know about the enemy.

1. Who is Satan?

2. What are Satan's objectives?

a. Keep unbelievers in the dark.

b. Render believers spiritually ineffective.

c. Hinder the work of God in the world.

3. What are Satan's tactics?

a. Deceit.

b. Accusation.

c. Capitalizing on weakness.

d. Oppression through demonization.

e. Oppression through demonized physical objects.

f. Physical affliction.

4. Our victory over Satan.

The bad news: We have an enemy who actively seeks to destroy us. The good news: In Christ, we have the authority to keep him at bay until his final defeat.

The New Testament frequently reminds us that we have a spiritual enemy (Mt. 6:13, 2 Cor. 11:3, Eph. 6:10–18, James 4:7). Peter further warns us to be “self-controlled and alert” around this enemy, whom he clearly identifies as the devil (1 Pet. 5:8). But unless we understand who our enemy is and what his tactics are, we give him a great strategic advantage over us.

Who Is Satan?

Just as the Bible nowhere presents an argument for the existence of God, it nowhere gives us an obvious explanation of who Satan is or where he came from. Jesus’ reference to “the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41), John’s account of the war in heaven between Michael and his angels and “the dragon and his angels” (Rev. 12:7), and the possible reference to him in Ezek. 28:14 as a “guardian cherub” have led many to the conclusion that he was a high-ranking angel who rebelled against God and led a group of the angels to follow him in rebellion.

Paul tells us that the coming of the lawless one at the end of this age “will be in accordance with the work of Satan.” This imposter under Satan’s control “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple ... proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4, 2 Thess. 2:9). Satan was acting out this ambition to be God when he tempted our Lord to fall down and worship him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world (Mt. 4:8–9).

We know that Satan will never achieve his goal of being like God, and he knows it. No matter where we put Revelation 12 (describing a vanquished Satan and his angels) in view of the end times, Satan knows that he has a limited time to pursue his diabolical purposes (Rev. 12:12). Yet spiritual warfare is a fact of life as long as this enemy is still loose on the earth and the final victory of the Kingdom of God is in the future.

God allows Satan to retain his power and operate as a part of this world because God’s sovereignty over the world is not in question. God is able to use the work even of this enemy to accomplish His own purposes — to make us stronger rather than weaker.

We can conclude, then, that Satan is a powerful angel who rebelled against God and now sees God and God’s children as his special enemies. The other angels who went along with the rebellion are what we now call demons (Jude 6).

What Are Satan’s Objectives?

Satan’s goals grow out of his jealousy and hatred of God. What does Satan hope to accomplish?

Keep unbelievers in the dark. Satan would like to rule the world. Since that will never happen in the ultimate sense, he has to settle for something less as he deals with people.

For the unredeemed his strategy is to keep them from hearing and receiving the truth of the gospel. Paul tells us that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan tries to keep them from even hearing the message. If an unbeliever hears but does not understand, Jesus tells us that “the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart” (Mt. 13:19).

Render believers spiritually ineffective. Believers are in a position to bring glory to God by their very lives, and that’s something Satan is committed to prevent. In the Ten Commandments it’s clear believers are not to “take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exod. 20:7, NAS). God’s intent was far more than to prohibit the use of His name in oaths or curses. He was saying we should not be called “children of God” and then not live in a manner that points others to God. We are not to take the name of God on ourselves by saying we are His children and then not reflect His character. That’s why Paul says, “Whether you eat or drink [the most basic functions in life] or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Peter says Satan’s aim is to “devour” us (1 Pet. 5:9). The root meaning of the word devour is “to swallow.” Satan will try to get us so swallowed up in worldly and self-centered living that we “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

Hinder the work of God in the world. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that he had attempted to come to them many times, but “Satan thwarted us” (1 Thess. 2:18, NAS). In Ephesians 6, Paul characterized Christian life and ministry as struggling against the demonic powers in the world. He clearly implies that if we do not use the spiritual armor and weapons provided for us, the enemy will press the attack and keep us from carrying out our Lord’s marching orders. Even when we are operating on faith, as Paul did, we are not spared the heat of the battle. Paul suffered many things (2 Cor. 6:3–10, 2 Cor. 11:23–33). Though much of his suffering came at the hands of human opponents, I believe Paul would have seen it as part of the battle with supernatural forces.

What Are Satan’s Tactics?

The more an army knows about the strategies and tactics of an enemy, the more effective it will be in combat with that enemy. Paul indicated that in his warfare with Satan he was not “unaware of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). Unfortunately, the Christian army today is often quite ignorant of Satan’s schemes and becomes easy prey. What are some of Satan’s basic warfare tactics?

Deceit. Jesus said that when the devil lies he speaks out of his very nature (Jn. 8:44). He first appears in the Bible in Genesis 3 using deception to lure Adam and Eve into sin (see 2 Cor. 11:3). In Rev. 12:9, (NAS) he is called the one “who deceives the whole world” (see also Rev. 18:23, Rev. 19:20, Rev. 20:10).

If a person is openly attacked, he can defend himself. If he is tempted, he can make a choice. But if he is deceived, he doesn’t even know anything is wrong. In 2 Tim. 2:24–26 Paul says that some people in the church who were opposing the truth were in “the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” He also indicated that the way out of that trap is the truth (v. 25).

Satan will deceive us about how powerful he is. Many people ascribe power to Satan that he doesn’t have, simply by fearing even to talk about him. Satan then will capitalize on this fear by attacking us — usually when we’re alone, when it’s dark, and when we’re in a weakened condition.

Satan also deceives us by offering us power to deal with the problem areas of our lives. People in all parts of the world, including what appears to be a highly secularized Western world, carry good luck charms, consult psychics and fortune-tellers, go to practitioners who use magic to heal diseases, consult with spirits claiming to be from people of past ages, consult the alignment of stars, and engage in a multitude of other activities we call the occult. Satan promises power but delivers only enough to keep his victims coming back, and he charges a very high price in the form of bondage in some area of a person’s life.

Satan also deceives us about spiritual truth. Paul tells the Corinthians, “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). He wrote to Timothy: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).

The two most foundational truths that come under attack are the character of God and the identity of the believer as a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Once a person’s concept of God is perverted, his concept of what it means to be a child of God is affected. This sometimes takes the form of blaming God for all the bad things that happen in life. It also takes the form of believing we have to reach a certain level of perfection before God will accept us. Since people may not live what they profess but will always live what they believe, success in spreading these wrong beliefs gives Satan an inroad in the most foundational area of our lives — our hearts (Prov. 4:23).

Accusation. Satan is also called “the accuser of our brothers” (Rev. 12:10). He accuses us to God and he accuses us to ourselves. God convicts us of sin by showing us how to deal with it through the Cross. Satan accuses us to discourage us and make us want to give up. He will sometimes put an evil thought in our minds and then say, “And you say you are a Christian — look what you’re thinking!” I’ve talked with ministers and missionaries who’ve struggled with this. It’s one of the reasons Paul tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3–5).

Capitalizing on weakness. A standard modus operandi of Satan is to find a weakness in our lives and intensify it to a compulsive level (2 Cor. 10:3–5). Weaknesses such as the effects of trauma or a dysfunctional family or wrong patterns of thinking may open the door for his involvement. Satan doesn’t fight fair. He’s ruthless in his attacks, and God’s protection is not automatic just because we are His children.

Oppression through demonization. In demonization, a demon holds some measure of control over a person. This relationship has often been called demon possession, but that is a misleading term and, if used at all, should refer only to the more extreme forms of demonic control over unbelievers.

Satan’s henchmen, the demons, seek to establish strongholds in people — both Christians and nonChristians (2 Cor. 2:10–11, 2 Cor. 10:3–5, Eph. 4:27). Symptoms such as an inability to grow spiritually, compulsive thoughts or behaviors, and undiagnosable or untreatable physical symptoms may indicate a demonic stronghold. So do the more classic symptoms of superhuman strength, different voices, and an inability to cope with everyday life. A truly Spirit-filled believer will not be demonized — not because an evil Spirit cannot be where the Holy Spirit is (God is omnipresent) but because that person is appropriating the spiritual power and authority available to him as a child of God (Luke 10:19, Eph. 1:19).

Oppression through demonized physical objects. God made it plain that His people should not bring certain religious objects into their homes. They were, in fact, to detest them and burn them (Deut. 7:25–26). Evil spirits can use such objects as a medium to come to people (Deut. 32:17, Ps. 106:37, 1 Cor. 10:19–20). For instance, a missionary child suffered severe nighttime disturbances until a ceremonial dagger hung in his room was removed and destroyed.

Physical affliction. Satan may also attack the physical body (Job 2:7, Mt. 9:32–33, Luke 13:16, 2 Cor. 12:7). Sometimes physical attack is the result of doors we open to the enemy through our own sin, as in the case of a woman who had undiagnosable fevers and pain that moved about in her body. When she confessed and renounced her participation in occult practices, the fevers and the pain left with no recurrence.

Our Victory over Satan

It’s easy to focus too much on what Satan can do and be intimidated. Instead, we should focus on our resources in Christ so we can meet Satan’s challenges with confidence.

The decisive battle in spiritual warfare was fought and won by Christ at the Cross and the Resurrection. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). The writer to the Hebrews affirmed this victory when he said, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Colossians 2:14–15). Our faith is in the victory of Christ and in our relationship to Him.

Luke gives us an interesting glimpse into the process many go through to learn of their spiritual authority over Satan. In Luke 10, he tells of Jesus sending seventy-two disciples out to practice what He had been teaching them. When they returned, they said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). They seemed somewhat surprised at this. Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” I think He was saying their ministry had all the authority of the Kingdom of God behind it. To make it more explicit He said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you” [this does not make you some special group of privileged, gifted disciples],”but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” [being a child of God gives you this authority] (Luke 10:18–20).

John McMillan, in his little book The Authority of the Believer, compares our authority to that of a policeman. A policeman’s authority does not reside in his own identity but in his position as a representative of the state. It doesn’t matter whether he’s one week out of the police academy or a twenty-year veteran. As policemen, both have the same authority.

So it is with the believer. It’s not one’s giftedness or age; it is being a child of God that gives us spiritual authority. Even a young child who knows the Lord can ward off the attacks of the enemy in the name of Jesus.

We are at war whether we like it or not. The only question is whether we can say with Paul “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:7) by being “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” taking our stand “against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:10–11).

TRIUMPH OVER EVERYTHING

The award-winning Australian film, which swept before it the Australian Film Awards, and now is making such a critical impact in USA, "SHINE" is a "must see" film. It features Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Noah Taylor, Googie Withers, Sir John Gielgud in the story of a brilliant Perth pianist who has spent much of his life in a psychiatric hospital. David Helfgott, was a young boy apparently pushed to the edge by an incredibly strong father who had survived the Nazis as a Jew living in Poland. David Helfgott was a child prodigy whose interpretative genius promised a brilliant concert career. He won scholarships to an American Music school and the Royal School of Music, London. His father refused him permission to go, but David rejected his father and went to London. The father-son relationship ended. At the point of brilliant international success as a concert pianist, David suffered a devastating mental and emotional breakdown that threw him into years of mental blackness. He went from psychiatric hospital and closed wards to obscurity and years of absence from music. But through some amazing co-incidences and some people who cared for him, this hyper-active, babbling, incoherent street person finds hope, love that leads to marriage, a return to music and a concert career that has him playing at the moment throughout USA while his CD's are in the top ten sales in Australia. David Helfgott, with help from his friends, has triumphed over everything. It is one of the most amazing stories of triumph over tragedy and loss. It is an Australian story, and it is still being worked out successfully right at this moment.

The Acts of The Apostles has set the theme: You can triumph over anything! It is the story of a little church, a small band, imprisoned, brutalised, attacked by the Roman army, persecuted in Judea, Jerusalem and Samaria and in the cities of Caesarea, Philippi and Corinth. Yet it ends in the centre of the Empire with citizens acknowledging Christ as Lord. It is triumph over tragedy, a little that became much, the weak that became strong. We now come to the final scenes. If you have felt insignificant, if you think that you have been dealt hard blows, if you feel handicapped and disabled, if you think that you are limited by your circumstances and prevented from reaching your objective in life, then read this passage carefully. For here PAUL DEMONSTRATES FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES that can assist you in triumphing over anything!

1. PURSUE YOUR GOAL.

In the Acts of the Apostles there is always a goal, an objective. It has been before Paul since he began to follow the Lord. We see its fulfillment in 28:14. "And so we came to Rome." Paul wanted to reach Rome and proclaim the gospel in the heart of the Empire. From there the good news would continue to spread. In the beginning, the church had been told, 1:8 "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Acts of the Apostles recorded the spread of the faith. By the last chapter the message had run west to Greece, east to Persia, south towards India, north to Turkey, over to Macedonia, to Italy, Rome, and then to Europe. Such was the spread of the gospel in the thirty years of this book. Paul, in the last chapter, is on the final stage of his journey. After staying on the island of Malta, on March 6, 58 A.D., 28:11 "after three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods "Castor and Pollux," two favourite gods of sailors. They reached the Bay of Naples. Rome was only 140 miles away. 12 "We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome." They set off by road under the Roman guard who had been with them ever since Caesarea. 15-16 The Christians of Rome heard Paul was coming and went to meet him. It was a welcome surprise for Paul and Luke when they reached the Via Appia Forum, forty miles from Rome, to be greeted by some Christians. Another group was waiting ten miles further on, at the Three Inns, near the Gate of Rome itself. Paul's heart was lifted in thankfulness by this meeting with friends. The fulfillment of his dream to go to Rome was achieved. His goal was reached, and he found Christians already there! There had been Jews from Rome in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and converted, they had taken the gospel back with them. Others had been converted by the preaching of Priscilla and Aquila. Paul himself had written his greatest letter to the church at Rome three years earlier. Now Paul had arrived in person. Although still a prisoner he was permitted to live with guards to watch over him. He still had two years to wait before his trial, but he was in Rome. He had reached his goal. This is the mark of a successful person. Success in any area depends upon your goal. We often have people come to Wesley Mission whose life is in a mess and who have no goal. Their lives are meaningless. They have no point, no purpose, no direction. One of the first things we do, whatever the need, is to help them discover new goals, new directions, new things they can do. What is your goal? To know and to move towards it is to take the first step to overcoming obstacles in your path.

2. USE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

Paul used his circumstances to reach his goal. Once I led the Australian Olympian Betty Cuthbert to the Lord. Betty was a heroine to us at the Melbourne and Rome Olympics and again in Tokyo when she won more medals. But the race she is now running against multiple sclerosis brings from us a wave of admiration. She is using her changed circumstances to win another race and witnessing to her faith. Some plan that some day, somewhere, when the sun is shining, they will write a poem or compose a song. The best of poetry and music are not made like that. They come out of suffering. John Milton was blind. Beethoven was deaf. Walter Scott was lame. Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Joni Erickson Tada is a quadriplegic. David Helfgott was certified as insane. But they all used their circumstances to achieve their goals. Don't let your handicap or limitation or circumstance stop you from achieving what God wants you to accomplish. Paul was a travelling preacher moving from country to country planting churches. Now he was in prison in Rome. Some said: "That is the end of his work!" Wrong! He would do his greatest work from there! Notice what happened! He was under house arrest with a soldier guarding him by a chain. The guard was on duty for eight hours. Then another guard changed duty with him. After eight hours, another change of guard.

Paul could not go to a congregation to preach, but he had a congregation which came to him! A congregation of one that couldn't get away! If Paul was confined, so was the guard with the possibility of an eight hour sermon! When Paul slept, some guards were thankful! But others had found new life in those days spent with Paul. Paul wrote to the Philippian Church from that cell, Phil 1:12-14 "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." Some guards became Christian as the message spread through the palace guard. Before long there was a church meeting in the Emperor's palace! The last verse of his letter to Philippi reads, 4:22 "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." Paul's goal was to take the gospel to Rome. God allowed him to come in chains, and one guard after another became Christian. These were the guards who protected Caesar himself and in two years there was enough of them to become a church close to the Emperor! Paul was successful and triumphed over everything because he had a goal and used his circumstances, whatever they were, to achieve it. What are your circumstances? Some of you have been battling for years against some enemy, maybe drugs or alcohol. Some may be disabled physically, some have been scarred by war, physically, mentally, emotionally. Some here are unemployed, some lonely, some in advanced age. Others listening are in hospital. Others listening right now are in prison. But there is nowhere that God cannot see you, hear you and use you, if you use your circumstances. God can use you and you can triumph over anything!

3. SHARE YOUR FAITH.

Paul shared his faith. 17-21 So Paul called the local Jewish leaders to come to let them know why he was in Rome and why the Jerusalem Jews had arrested him and handed him over to the Romans. The Romans wanted to release him. The Jews objected to this and the only course left for Paul was to appeal to the Emperor. He was in chains for the sake of the hope that was held by all Israelites. The Jews in Rome said that they had not heard about these things. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect." 23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets." The response was the same as elsewhere: some believed, and some did not. God is not responsible for the way people agree or disagree with the gospel, but we are responsible for sharing what we believe.

4. MAXIMIZE YOUR POSSIBILITIES.

There are always possibilities. We must find them, use them, and then maximize them. Even in prison Paul made the most of the opportunities presented to him. Previously when he preached to Jews, they often ended his witness by throwing stones at him. One of the few times he preached the gospel without getting beaten up, was in Rome when he was chained to a guard! The very person who was there to make sure that he did not run away was also there to protect him. That is a good thing about the law. It is there to protect us. So Paul preached boldly the Gospel. Paul could not go to the synagogues or to the few churches in Rome. But what happened? People came to him. They listened and some believed.

Paul wrote letters to Philemon and Timothy, the Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians. Much of the rest of the New Testament is taken up with the letters he wrote from Rome's prison. If Paul had been free to visit those churches, we would never have had been the riches of those letters. Paul had discovered a great secret. Your limitations do not matter, or your handicap or disability. You can do all things through Christ.Paul said Phil 4:12-13 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Do not whine! Discover Paul's secret and triumph over any situation. No matter what life has dealt with you, you can still win with Christ! Nothing is of greater importance than discovering a new life and a new future with Jesus as your Lord!

#4059

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They're usually some of the most exciting moments in sports. The touchdown or field goal that wins the game with no time left on the clock. That game-winning basket as the final buzzer sounds. The game-winning home run with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Whatever the sport, there is nothing like a sudden victory when victory seems out of reach to make the fans go ballistic.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Last-Second Victories.”

It can be really nerve-wracking when you're behind and time is running out. But it's really thrilling when a hero pulls it out at the last minute. The longer I walk with this God of ours, the more I've come to appreciate Him as the God of the last-second victory, the God of the eleventh hour, as I've called Him so often.

The Bible reveals many names by which God wants us to know Him. One that has meant so much to so many for so long is the name Jehovah-jireh. It means, “The Lord will provide.” You may be facing a need or situation right now where that is literally your only hope - that the Lord will provide - a job, a friend, the funds you need, the person you need, the answer you need, the house, the healing, the breakthrough you need.

We have His rock-solid promise in Philippians 4:19 that “my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Now, God's supply has nothing to do with what's happening in the economy, in the news, at work, in what your resources can do. It's all about His unlimited “Jesus-account” in heaven - which transcends every limitation earth has.

To be honest, God often waits a while to meet that need. And that's when we tend to panic, to come up with some desperate way to meet the need on our own, to abandon our trust in God because, well, He's taking too long. Which takes us right out of the will of God and aborts what God was going to do. It's in Genesis 22, where we find our word for today from the Word of God, that God is known as Jehovah-jireh for the very first time. We can learn a lot from how He worked that day for Abraham. Abraham had, by faith, obeyed God's direction to take the son God had once promised to him, climb Mt. Moriah with him, and sacrifice his son there - as God Himself would do one day when Jesus died on the cross.

Believing that God will somehow provide something he can't imagine, Abraham promises his servants that both he and his son Isaac will return from the mountain. Genesis 22:10 says his faith and obedience went so far that “he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” At that very last moment, God stopped him - and showed Abraham a ram, stuck in a thicket, who would be sacrificed instead of his son. And the Bible says, “So Abraham called that place, 'The Lord Will Provide.'“ Jehovah-jireh - making His move when there was no time left.

Now, about your need. God loves to come through for us when there is absolutely no place else that answer could come from. And there's no time left on the clock. It's 11:59. The buzzer is about to sound. And God shows up with His provision at a time and in a way that will blow you away, that will give Him all the glory ... that will show the people around you the greatness of your God and take you to a whole new level of faith and worship. God's last-minute victories are some of the most awesome moments of your life. So don't lose faith now. The greater the need, the later the hour, the more amazing God's work on your behalf is going to be. Hang in there until the end of the game, because that is when God really does His stuff!

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #1734]

"I would rather lose in a cause that I know some day will

triumph than to triumph in a cause that I know some day will

fail."

- Wendell L. Willkie

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 89.

Worry less, work more;

Ride less and walk more;

Frown less and laugh more;

Drink less and breathe more;

Eat less and chew more;

Preach less and practice more;

It was just hours before the first aerial strikes of Baghdad would fire the first rounds of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The President of the United States was in teleconference contact with all of his primary commanders. After hearing their reports and recommendations, the weighty responsibility of making the final call fell to one man, as it always does, the President - in this case George W. Bush. Before he proceeded, he asked each commander one straightforward question - “Do you have what you need to win?” Each one answered, “Yes.” That was all he needed to hear.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “What You Need to Win.”

For the battles you're facing, that's a pretty good question for you to be answering - “Do you have what you need to win?” Which may very well raise a good question on your end - “What exactly do I need to win?”

The Bible makes very clear that the essential difference between winning and losing in life's battles is something called the blessing of Almighty God. Do I have God's favor? Do I have God's smile? Is God pleased with me so that He can pour out His resources on me in this situation? You need His blessing to win.

In a turning point passage in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 28 and 29, God spells it out plainly. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands ... all these blessings will come upon you.” And what follows is a description of thriving children and crops, good things happening wherever you go, and enemies running from you. But then God says, “If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands ... all these curses will come upon you...” What follows is a description of struggling children and crops, calamities, and you running from your enemies. Same people, same farms, same enemies - two totally opposite results. Depending on whether or not they had the blessing of Almighty God.

One enlightening place to go to answer the “do I have what I need to win?” question is 2 Samuel 22, beginning with verse 25, our word for today from the Word of God. David says, “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.” What follows are some awesome promises for those who qualify for God's blessing: “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect ... He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle.”

But, you see, it's “clean” that God is looking for. He doesn't reward us according to how talented we are, how smart we are, how organized we are, how impressive we are, how rich we are - but how clean we are in His sight. Maybe you've been wondering why it isn't working. It could be because you've got everything except the one thing you need to win - God's blessing and the resources that come with it. He's waiting for you to listen to His Holy Spirit as He tries to get you to face some sinful action or attitude that a Holy God just cannot bless. That's what needs fixing, not all the superficial things you've been trying to fix.

There's a better prayer than the classic, “Lord, bless what we do.” It says, “Lord, may we do what You bless.” Clean up what your Savior is speaking to you about. Offer the Lord clean hands - the only kind of hands into which He can and will pour out His blessing. Because if you've got that, you have what you need to win. If you don't have His blessing, it doesn't matter what else you do have - there's no way to win.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5693]

It is said that during the Revolutionary War, General Washington came up to the Brandywine, near Philadelphia, with his army, and thy crossed over the bridge. Some soldiers went to him afterward and said: “General, what had we better do with the bridge, burn it or leave it there, lest the enemy may drive us back, and we shall want to retreat?”

General Washington thought a minute, raised his hands in the great majesty of his mighty generalship, and cried out, “Burn the bridge.”

It is victory or death. That was the idea. And so the Christian may go through this world burning all the bridges behind him, in no danger of being driven back or overcome by the enemy.

[for a similar idea see #34101]

Even the mightiest fighters themselves realize that it is better to walk in the paths of God. "As Stonewall Jackson stood one morning at the door of his tent, the soldiers in blue in the distance, beside him the soldiers in gray, a battle being imminent, he offered a prayer like this: 'O God, bring quick victory to one army or the other. O God, settle this cruel warfare, and send us back to our homes, to our God-given purpose of winning men to Jesus Christ.'"

- From {Men and Religion}

My latest sun is sinking fast,

My race is nearly run;

My strongest trials now are past,

My triumph is begun

I've almost gained, my heavenly home,

My spirit loudly sings;

The holy ones, behold they come!

I hear the noise of wings.

O, come, angel band,

Come and around me stand,

O bear me away on your snowy wings

To my immortal home.

Most of us watched the Olympics and were stunned when a

4-foot-8-inch girl charged down a runway, vaulted through the air and

landed on a leg so badly sprained that it could hold her upright for

only a second, just long enough to ensure the first gold medal ever

won by a U.S. women's gymnastics team. A crowd of over 32,000 cheered

as the young girl was carried in the arms of her coach to receive her

medal.

It had been a closely fought match all afternoon. The Americans

were hanging by a thread and close to losing the gold medal after four

girls prior to Kerri Strug had tried and failed to accomplish the

perfect vault. On Kerri's first try, we all remember how she slipped

and fell severely spraining her ankle. She asked her coach if she had

to vault the second time. He left it up to her. With complete

determination, she returned to the runway, whispered a little prayer

asking God to help her, and then vaulted her way into history.

- Charlotte Welling, "Olympic Christians" {The Indiana Baptist

Observer, }June 1997, p. 7

See \reference{Phil.3:12-14}{Philippians 3:12-14}

Walking through a park, I passed a massive oak tree. A vine had grown up along its trunk. The vine started small--nothing to bother about. But over the years the vine had gotten taller and taller. By the time I passed, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine's creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds' nests in it.

Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. But the gardeners in that park had seen the danger. They had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine--one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine's branches still clung to the oak, but the vine was now dead. That would gradually become plain as weeks passed and the creepers began to die and fall away from the tree. How easy it is for sin, which begins so small and seemingly insignificant, to grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. And yet, Christ's death has cut the power of sin. Yes, the "creepers" of sin still cling and have some effect. But sin's power is severed by Christ, and gradually, sin's grip dries up and falls away.

-J. Alistair Brown

Triumph In Tragedy

Read: Hebrews 11:35-40

This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life. --Psalm 119:50

Patricia St. John, who has been described as an ordinary woman with an extraordinary faith, poured out her life ministering to people in the neediest places on our planet. She was in Sudan when war refugees flooded that country. They had suffered terribly and had lost everything, yet those among them who were Christians still gave thanks to God.

Patricia said that she stood one night in a crowded little Sudanese church listening to those uprooted believers singing joyfully. Suddenly a life-changing insight burned its way into her mind. "We would have changed their circumstances," she said, "but we would not have changed them." She realized that God "does not always lift people out of the situation. He Himself comes into the situation. . . . He does not pluck them out of the darkness. He becomes the light in the darkness."

Does Patricia's insight apply to your life? What if, despite your fervent prayer, God doesn't see fit to deliver you from terrible circumstances? God's Word tells us that believers often suffer (Heb. 11:35-38). What then?

God promises to stand by you. He'll strengthen you and give you the grace to rejoice--even in the face of suffering and loss. That's real triumph in tragedy. --VCG

Do not fear the darkness that is gathering all around,

For the Lord is with you, and in Him true peace is found;

When you're facing trouble, and if tragedy comes near,

Jesus is the only one to drive away your fear. --Hess

The only way to be victorious is to have Christ reigning within.

QUOTES – OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

=============================

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

“The history of the human race is the history of ordinary people who have overcome their fears and accomplished extraordinary things.”

-- Brian Tracy

“If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’”

-- Ann Landers

“Rough spots sharpen our performance. And more often than not, obstacles can be turned into advantages. You just can’t let your disappointment get in the way.”

-- Harvey Mackay

When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.

-- Mary Kay Ash

“I always view problems as opportunities in work clothes.”

-- Henry Kaiser

“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory.”

-- Vince Lombardi

“Difficulties exist to be surmounted.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”

-- Margaret Thatcher

“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”

-- Helen Keller

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

-- Helen Keller

“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.”

-- B. C. Forbes

“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

-- George Bernard Shaw

“People do not lack strength; they lack will.”

-- Victor Hugo

“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

-- Mother Teresa

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at his best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

-- Theodore Roosevelt

“The new age cannot live on naturalism or on secularism. Life becomes sterile and futile without the depth and power which come from participation in eternal realities. But this new age cannot any more successfully live on religious faiths that are out of harmony with known truth, or that hang loose in the air, cut apart from the fundamental intellectual culture of the age. The hour has struck for the serious business of rediscovering the foundations, and of interpenetrating all life and thought with the truths and realities of a victorious religious faith.”

-- Rufus Jones, Christian Faith in a New Age Christian Quotation of the Day (CQOD)

“In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer.”

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), poet, B&P 10/30/02

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

-- Arnold Schwarzenegger, QFTM 11/25/02

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”

-- Virginia Satir, social worker, B&P 5/23/03

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

-- Helen Keller

Quotes for Determination

“The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.”

-- Roger Bannister

“The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.”

-- Vince Lombardi

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

-- Tommy Lasorda

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great mean, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.”

-- Charles De Gaulle

“If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.”

-- Samuel Johnson

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.”

-- Alexander Graham Bell

“Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose.”

-- Benjamin Disraeli

“The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between the great and the insignificant, its energy – invincible determination – a purpose once fixed, and then death or victory.”

-- Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton

“You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.”

-- Jimmy Carter

“A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop.”

-- Robert Hughes

“Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory.”

-- Ghandi

“Bear in mind, if you are going to amount to anything, that your success does not depend upon the brilliancy and the impetuosity with which you take hold, but upon the ever lasting and sanctified buldoggedness with which you hang on after you have taken hold.”

-- Dr. A. B. Meldrum

“A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough.”

-- John Christian Bovee

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

-- Vince Lombardi

“The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck.”

-- Channing Pollock

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it – but all that had gone before.”

-- Jacob Riis

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

-- Michael Jordon

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.”

-- Alexander Graham Bell

“A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough.”

-- Christian Nestell Bovée

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

-- President Calvin Coolidge

“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

-- Thomas Alva Edison

“We will either find a way or make one.”

-- Hannibal

“Decision and determination are the engineer and fireman of our train to opportunity and success.”

-- Burt Lawlor

“It’s a very funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

-- William Somerset Maugham

“A resolute determination is the truest wisdom.”

-- Napoléon I

“I learned about the strength you can get from a close family life. I learned to keep going, even in bad times. I learned not to despair, even when my world was falling apart. I learned that there are no free lunches. And I learned the value of hard work.”

-- Lee Iacocca

“A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must… be undaunted when the going gets tough.”

-- Ronald Reagan

“Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.”

-- James Corbett

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There was once a minister in England who was troubled with a violent and ungovernable temper. Many times he had prayed for victory over it. In tears he had struggled to conquer this foe. But again and again he had been beaten and now was almost in despair. He came into his study one day after a violent outburst of anger and broken heartedly buried his head in his arms on the desk. Soon his tears lulled him into a deep sleep. He dreamed that he was in this same study. As he looked out through one of the windows, he saw a glorious man coming toward the house who evidently was to be his guest. He was very aware that his study was in much disorder, and certainly unfit to receive such a guest, who he knew was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He swept and dusted the room, but, strangely, the more he worked the worse it became. Then the stranger knocked on the front door.

"Oh, what shall I do?" the minister said to himself. "I cannot invite Him into a room in such disorder as this." As he kept making attempts to clean his dirty study he kept thinking, "I cannot open the door while this room is so unfit to receive Him." But try as he would, all his efforts were in vain. Then when the knock came for the third and what he thought might be the last time, he with a sense of shame and confusion opened the door, saying to his guest, "Master, I can do no more. Come in if Thou wilt enter such a dirty room."

The Master walked in and suddenly a strange transformation occurred. The dust settled, the disorder disappeared, and all was bright, clean, and joyful. The Master's presence alone had done all that his own utmost efforts had failed to accomplish.

A sinful, mortal man, try as he may, cannot cleanse his own heart so that Jesus can come in. Only Jesus is able to do that. He says, "Come." He wants us to open our hearts' door (Revelation 3:20), and He will do the cleansing.

________

Source: These Times, Copyright (c) June 1953, Pacific Press,

http://www.pacificpress.com/signs

In June 2002, in the worst wildfire in Arizona history, more than 350,000 acres were burned and upwards of 400 homes destroyed. As a 50 mile wall of flames approached the little town of Show Low (150 miles northeast of Phoenix), townspeople braced for the worst and hoped for the best.

More than 3,000 inhabitants of Show Low were evacuated while firefighters tried to save the town by carving a fire line around the community. With gas-fueled blow torches, the firefighters actually set fire to the cactus-ridden underbrush on the outskirts of town.

According to Jim Paxon, fire crew spokesman, the controlled burn would serve as a preventive measure so the advancing blaze wouldn't have anything to ignite. "It's what you call fighting fire with fire," Paxon said.

As a result of the measures taken, Show Low, Arizona, was spared.

Jesus recognized the importance of taking drastic action to protect oneself against disaster. He said if your right hand puts you at risk, cut it off to escape the flames of judgment. "It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for you whole body to go into hell" (Matthew 5:30).

Citation: Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, IL; source: "NBC Today Show" (6-25-02)

I watched the new high school football coach at our local high school work an amazing transformation. Before he took over, playing our team meant an almost automatic win for the other team. After the new coach came and made his mark, our team almost always went to the state championship. Our sons can tell you one reason why, because they played for him on some of those teams. He used to run some very grueling practices - but he told them he was building a "fourth quarter team" - a team that had the endurance to finish strong when their opponents were fading. And you could count on our team dominating the final quarter of the game - they knew how decisive it would be, and they were prepared to give it all. In fact, at the end of the third quarter, the players would pump each other up with this familiar war cry - "Fourth quarter! It's ours!"

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fourth Quarter - It's Ours!"

Champions are strong fourth quarter players - in sports, and in life. We're talking about responsibilities and challenges that require a lot of perseverance ... where victory requires giving more when you feel like giving up. And maybe you're in one of those "fourth quarter" situations right now. And God is calling you to finish strong.

Like the Apostle Paul did, as recorded in 2 Timothy 4, beginning with verse 5 - it's our word for today from the Word of God. He's had every reason to quit - persecution, imprisonment, beatings, exhaustion, and abandonment. And now he is writing what will be his final words before his execution by Caesar. He's calling Timothy to a championship finish - like he's doing.

He says - to him and to us - "Be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." A statement like that makes us ask, "Am I a finisher - or am I just a starter? Have I left behind me in my life a lot of things I started but I didn't finish?"

Paul then looks ahead to what's at the finish line for all who complete the course that God has given them - he says, "In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... will award to me on that day." Sadly, those who quit before the game was over will never know the rewards that only the finishers can enjoy.

So now, maybe at a time when you have so many reasons to slack off, to quit ... when you've already played hard for a long time, listen to God saying, "Do not be weary in well doing, for in due time you will reap if you do not give up." (Galatians 6:9) Be a fourth quarter husband or wife ... a fourth quarter mom or dad ... a fourth quarter friend or worker or leader ... Be a follower of Jesus who refuses to slack off, to slow down, to head for the showers, to give up.

After how long the game has been, and how hard it's been, maybe your strength is giving out, but God's strength belongs to the weak and the weary - and His strength can carry you all the way to the finish line. So shout it with all of God's champions - "It's the fourth quarter! It's ours!"

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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What buck did President Truman say "stops here"? Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with money. He was referring to a knife with a buckhorn handle. While playing cards, players would move the dagger around the table as a means of keeping track of whose deal it was.

When the buck "stops here," it's time to pick up the cards and play.

"Buck," used to signify money, comes from buckskins, which trappers used to use as payment in lieu of currency.

Though cards gave Truman his buck, it should be noted they that did not give us a phrase that is commonly attributed to them. Winning something "hands down" did not come from placing winning cards face-down.

As a matter of fact, it comes from horse racing. If a horse was well ahead of the pack, the jockey would release the reins and put his "hands down" on the horse, thus giving the animal free rein ... and us another expression.