Victory
Commentary
Once a woman came to Abraham Lincoln, after he had made a speech during the Civil War, and said, "Mr. President, isn't it good to know that the Lord is on our side?" The president replied, "Madam, it is even better to know whether we are on the Lord's side."
Lincoln had a point.
Throughout the Scriptures there is a strong confidence that God will ultimately be the victor. Sooner or later, he is able to weave both the obedience and rebellion of men into his plans. For God to be sovereign does not mean he will have his way all the time. To be sovereign is to know that, no matter what others do or don't do, you will ultimately prevail. Prophet and poet join in the proclamation that God's victory is certain. The invitation is go get on the right side now.
Even momentary defeat can be accepted when one knows who the winner is going to be.
The somber atmosphere of Lent persists because the shadow of the cross is ever present. But, even when we work our way through re-experiencing Lent, even as we trace the stations of the cross, we know where the path leads ... to an empty tomb.
Lincoln was right. What matters is that we choose to be on the right side.
OUTLINE I
How to Arrive at Certainty
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Introduction:Take time to illustrate something of the despair of the people of God in exile. Try Psalms 137, 77, and 74. Surely Ezekiel summarizes their attitude when he tells us what they were saying. See Ezekiel 37:11.
1. A Challenge: The first part of Isaiah 50 is instructive. Note the challenge to their despair. Show me your divorce papers! Show me the bill of sale by which I gave you up! Refer to Isaiah 40:27. The despairing are brought up short. Why do they give up on God so easily?
2. The Evidence: "Is my hand shortened that it cannot redeem?" Again and again Israel is given reminders of the God who brought her into existence, who worked the wonders of creation (Genesis 1, assorted Psalms, and Job), who worked the miracle at the Red Sea (see text verses two and three). There has been abundant evidence in the past, so why despair in the present? The opening line of Psalm 23 puts it positively.
3. The Certainty: When one hears the word and trusts God, then the face can be set as flint. Such persons live in the context of eternity. They know who will win. They are like those described in Hebrews 11:13.
Conclusion: Apply these insights to the propensity of many, in the congregation, to get down in the mouth, to despair, to imagine the jig is up, that God has lost the battle, and who are ready to throw in the towel. This is a good anti-apocalyptic (in the popular sense) opportunity.
OUTLINE II
The Stones Do Cry Out
Luke 19:28-40
Introduction: Begin by reminding the congregation the Gospel of Luke was written some fifty to sixty years following the event. Then remember it was written to people in the mid-eighties, in all likelihood. Then listen to it with their ears, especially to the last lines.
1. Blessed Be The King, etc.: This line comes mostly from Psalm 118. This Psalm was an enthronement Psalm, in all likelihood written for the crowning ceremony of a king.
There were many in Israel who yearned for the restoration of the monarchy. See Isaiah 9:6-7, for instance.
By now the first readers knew that Jesus did not come to restore the political throne of David. His was to be a kingdom of the spirit. The zealots may have meant one thing on the day it all happened. The church meant something else fifty years later.
2. The Very Stones Would Cry Out: And they did. When Luke's readers looked around, they could see the scattered stones of the temple which had been destroyed in A.D. 70.
Jesus had come that day offering them a choice. "What kind of king do you want? If you choose a political kingdom, then (start at verse forty-one). Note, however, that I come on an ass, symbol of peace."
They made their choice and Vespasian came in A.D. 66 and his son Titus in A.D. 70 and what Jesus foresaw took place. The stones did cry out and their message was:
"See, he was the Messiah."
Conclusion: Remind the congregation the stones still cry out. Berlin walls, shattered palaces, rusty hulks of implements of war, and row upon row of tombstones. And, still, few listen.
OUTLINE III
Where to Give Glory
Philippians 2:5-11
Introduction: Here we encounter the early church sorting out its thinking about Jesus as the Christ. This is its earliest thought, he became the Christ by reason of the resurrection. Mark will say it happened at his baptism (Mark 1:9-11). Matthew will move it back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Luke will move it still further into the past and call him the son of Adam (Luke 3:38), and John will encompass all time with his opening statement in John 1:1. As the truth dawned on that early community, it came to associate all Jesus did with all God had done from the beginning.
A. All Will Confess Him Lord: The word means ruler. All will proclaim his right to rule and reign in our lives. That right is bestowed upon him by God.
B. To The Glory of God: Sometimes, in the church we become so caught up in our adulation of Jesus, we forget he came that we might see the heart of God and give glory to God. No need to get all bogged down in Trinitarian stuff here. Just leave it like it is.
Conclusion: Invite the congregation to join those who accept Paul's statement of God's purpose, in Christ Jesus, and give the glory to God.
Lincoln had a point.
Throughout the Scriptures there is a strong confidence that God will ultimately be the victor. Sooner or later, he is able to weave both the obedience and rebellion of men into his plans. For God to be sovereign does not mean he will have his way all the time. To be sovereign is to know that, no matter what others do or don't do, you will ultimately prevail. Prophet and poet join in the proclamation that God's victory is certain. The invitation is go get on the right side now.
Even momentary defeat can be accepted when one knows who the winner is going to be.
The somber atmosphere of Lent persists because the shadow of the cross is ever present. But, even when we work our way through re-experiencing Lent, even as we trace the stations of the cross, we know where the path leads ... to an empty tomb.
Lincoln was right. What matters is that we choose to be on the right side.
OUTLINE I
How to Arrive at Certainty
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Introduction:Take time to illustrate something of the despair of the people of God in exile. Try Psalms 137, 77, and 74. Surely Ezekiel summarizes their attitude when he tells us what they were saying. See Ezekiel 37:11.
1. A Challenge: The first part of Isaiah 50 is instructive. Note the challenge to their despair. Show me your divorce papers! Show me the bill of sale by which I gave you up! Refer to Isaiah 40:27. The despairing are brought up short. Why do they give up on God so easily?
2. The Evidence: "Is my hand shortened that it cannot redeem?" Again and again Israel is given reminders of the God who brought her into existence, who worked the wonders of creation (Genesis 1, assorted Psalms, and Job), who worked the miracle at the Red Sea (see text verses two and three). There has been abundant evidence in the past, so why despair in the present? The opening line of Psalm 23 puts it positively.
3. The Certainty: When one hears the word and trusts God, then the face can be set as flint. Such persons live in the context of eternity. They know who will win. They are like those described in Hebrews 11:13.
Conclusion: Apply these insights to the propensity of many, in the congregation, to get down in the mouth, to despair, to imagine the jig is up, that God has lost the battle, and who are ready to throw in the towel. This is a good anti-apocalyptic (in the popular sense) opportunity.
OUTLINE II
The Stones Do Cry Out
Luke 19:28-40
Introduction: Begin by reminding the congregation the Gospel of Luke was written some fifty to sixty years following the event. Then remember it was written to people in the mid-eighties, in all likelihood. Then listen to it with their ears, especially to the last lines.
1. Blessed Be The King, etc.: This line comes mostly from Psalm 118. This Psalm was an enthronement Psalm, in all likelihood written for the crowning ceremony of a king.
There were many in Israel who yearned for the restoration of the monarchy. See Isaiah 9:6-7, for instance.
By now the first readers knew that Jesus did not come to restore the political throne of David. His was to be a kingdom of the spirit. The zealots may have meant one thing on the day it all happened. The church meant something else fifty years later.
2. The Very Stones Would Cry Out: And they did. When Luke's readers looked around, they could see the scattered stones of the temple which had been destroyed in A.D. 70.
Jesus had come that day offering them a choice. "What kind of king do you want? If you choose a political kingdom, then (start at verse forty-one). Note, however, that I come on an ass, symbol of peace."
They made their choice and Vespasian came in A.D. 66 and his son Titus in A.D. 70 and what Jesus foresaw took place. The stones did cry out and their message was:
"See, he was the Messiah."
Conclusion: Remind the congregation the stones still cry out. Berlin walls, shattered palaces, rusty hulks of implements of war, and row upon row of tombstones. And, still, few listen.
OUTLINE III
Where to Give Glory
Philippians 2:5-11
Introduction: Here we encounter the early church sorting out its thinking about Jesus as the Christ. This is its earliest thought, he became the Christ by reason of the resurrection. Mark will say it happened at his baptism (Mark 1:9-11). Matthew will move it back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Luke will move it still further into the past and call him the son of Adam (Luke 3:38), and John will encompass all time with his opening statement in John 1:1. As the truth dawned on that early community, it came to associate all Jesus did with all God had done from the beginning.
A. All Will Confess Him Lord: The word means ruler. All will proclaim his right to rule and reign in our lives. That right is bestowed upon him by God.
B. To The Glory of God: Sometimes, in the church we become so caught up in our adulation of Jesus, we forget he came that we might see the heart of God and give glory to God. No need to get all bogged down in Trinitarian stuff here. Just leave it like it is.
Conclusion: Invite the congregation to join those who accept Paul's statement of God's purpose, in Christ Jesus, and give the glory to God.
