Victory in Jesus – Part One
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15: 57, 58
Jesus wants you to be a winner. All you have to do is become His team mate. Often in a team victory there are members of the team who have little to do with the actual victory. The team may be carried by a superior player. That only hints of the victory we enjoy as members of Jesus’ team. He is solely responsible for our victory. He, and He alone, won our victory. Yet, it can be your victory.
Our victory is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is, by the instrumentality of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is based on His victory.
In the award winning novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee one of the main characters is a little girl named Jean Louise Finch. Her dad, Atticus Finch, calls her Scout. Her dad, a lawyer, is a man of character and integrity. One day Scout comes home and shares some problems she is having with a teacher and some students. In an effort to help her understand and get along her dad gives this advice. “First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
That is exactly what Jesus Christ did. He left His celestial body and crawled into a terrestrial body composed of human skin to become Immanuel, God with us. As God with us, He was in reality God for us. His birth, life, death, and resurrection was as our proxy.
In the Old Testament is the story of a young lad named David, representing the nation of Israel in battle against the Philistine giant, Goliath. David defeated Goliath. He was the only one on that battlefield that day facing the giant. Yet, it was a victory for all Israelites.
Jesus Christ as the “only begotten Son of God” died alone on the cross of Calvary. Three days later He alone arose from the grave. It was His victory over sin, death, and the grave, just as David”s victory was his conquest of Goliath. Likewise, as with David, so Christ’s victory is a shared victory. His victory is our victory. God gives us the victory through Jesus Christ. The moment we invest our faith in Christ as our personal Savior the victory is won.
If you are a member of Jesus’ team, that is, you have made a life transforming commitment to Him you work not for victory, but from victory.
Arrested Spiritual Growth
In company with a friend who had recently acquired a vast ranch in Colorado we gathered around an iron cross the ranch manager had made. It was a significant moment of dedication of the ranch by the owner. I have a photo of that moment and looking at it again recently I was amazed at our facial expressions. It was an admirable moment of dedication of ourselves, not just the ranch. It was a spiritual growth marker. We have all had such. However, no matter how deep the dedication is, if we stop growing at any point we have reached arrested spiritual growth.
In one Peanuts comic strip Sally was struggling with her memory verse for Sunday. She was absorbed in her thoughts trying to figure it out when she remembered, “Maybe it was something from the book of Reevaluation.”
Christianity isn’t a static faith. We all need to reevaluate. We are told to “grow in faith and in knowledge.” Our faith is fed by facts, knowledge. They grow together like hands in gloves.
Doctors are required by the profession to attend conferences periodically certain they continue to grow and develop. Other professions require practitioners in their trade to maintain continuing training lest they reach a point of arrested development.
Conference, retreat, and courses are aids to spiritual growth, but not even they are adequate to prevent arrested spiritual growth. Only daily Bible study and prayer coupled with applying what is learned can avoid that. It is expedient to “be doers of the word and not hearers only.”
You and you alone are responsible for your spiritual growth. Why are so many not developing? “…it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again” Hebrews 5: 11.
It was said of the church in Berea “…they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so”Acts 17: 11. That is the regimen needed by all Christians. Daily devotion is fundamental for there to be spiritual growth. Be a Berean.
Are you more spiritually mature than at any time in your life? If not, it is likely you have regressed. It used to be called back-slidden.
Make a strategic plan for how you can grow to be more spiritually mature one month from now than you are now.
A group of tourists visiting a picturesque village walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked him, “Were any great men born in this village?” The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.”
No one has ever been born spiritually mature, only babies, and that is good.
However, spiritual growth results in fulfillment, and thereby God’s glory is revealed.
Is It Transformation Time?
Everything can change in the blink of an eye – but God never blinks.
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time, we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind regarding anything.
It is said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13: 8). He is our much needed constant.
Fortunately He has accorded us the capacity to change. It can be used either constructively or destructively.
William James, noted American philosopher and psychologist, summarily said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that men can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind!” That is, it is as simple as changing your mind.
That is good news. If you have a bad habit or generally a bad lifestyle you can change it.
Often on a device it stops acting like it formerly did. To correct this there is a “Reset” button. Ranked among those needing a change of mind are individuals who were living by the right set of values but drifted away and need a reset. It has long been called a rededication.
A passage associated with salvation is I John 1: 9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The first half of the verse offers the forgiveness of sin if we confess it. This confession means to agree with God about it and ask His forgiveness. That is the launch point for salvation. For the person who has never done this, now is a marvelous time to experience that transformative miracle of forgiveness by confessing and asking for the forgiveness of sin. Transformative means to cause an important and lasting change.
It is always improper for a Christian to sin, but lamentably it happens. That is where the last part of the verse comes into play. The Christian who sins and confesses is cleansed from all “unrighteousness.” The prefix “un” before righteousness means negative righteousness, sin. Confession by the Christian results in “cleansing,” forgiveness. Candidly, most Christians need to do this more often than imagined.
Sin breaks our communion, but not our union with God. Confession by the believer restores the communion, fellowship with the Lord. That is the spiritual posture that brings fulfillment and joy.
The Four Gifts of the Wise Men
The Wise Men traveled over a thousand miles to bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child. In doing so they evidenced characteristics becoming of all. They were warm-hearted and worshipful.
Scripture assigns more than one use and symbolism to each of the items. Origen, who died in A.D. 251, was the first writer to prescribe specific symbolism to each. He said the Magi brought “gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to God.”
Frankincense, literally means “pure incense.” It comes from a Boswellia tree grown in limestone rocks in South Arabia and Somalia. An incision was made in the bark of the tree and the white sap formed the frankincense.
Myrrh comes from the odoriferous Balsamodendron tree of Arabia. It was used as a perfume, an anesthetic, and also anointing the dead. This gift associated with death may have caused the brow of the maiden mother to furrow at the reflective thought of the message spoken by the angel regarding a sword that would pierce her heart.
The recipient of these gifts was of inestimable merit to the Wise Men who undertook their arduous journey to pay homage to the Christ child.
The Lord gave the Wise Men guidance to find the Christ child. Incidentally, their coming may well have been as much as three years after His birth. There is a Greek word for “baby” or “infant,” brephos, and one for “young child” or “toddler,” paidion. The latter is used here. Notice how it is translated in verse 9, “…where the young Child was.”
They considered His presence worthy of their presents.
Of the gifts offered, the fourth is most often overlooked. It was their worship. In Jerusalem the wise men had expressed to Herod the purpose of their mission, acknowledging they had “come to worship Him.” Conjecture regarding the nature of the star and absorption with the three material gifts often causes their real objective to be obscured. They left their homes, braved the desert, and endured the fatigue for this moment of worship. Doubtless it remained an immortal moment locked in the treasury of their memory bank.
Not all can give the three uncommon gifts normally referenced, however all can give Him worship. Those who give Him worship have no difficulty giving their substance.
Their form of worship is a needed additive in today’s style of worship. Their falling down indicates contrition and submission. It is an admirable attitude involved in worship regardless of one’s posture. A sense of divine wonder and awe must have prevailed as they knelt. It should be a jewel in our worship. Such had drawn them into the vestibule of His presence. The Hebrew word for “to worship,” when translated, literally means “to bow to.” In bowing to the Christ child they were bowing to the will of the Father. When we truly worship Him we are bowing to the plan that God has for us. Worship must be Christocentric, not self-centered. These star-guided men first opened their hearts to Him before they opened their treasures. Their awareness of who awaited them beneath that natal gem, the star over Bethlehem, drew them to this moment. By no means could they fully understand what would unfold as a result of this birth. Their awareness that this was a heaven sent gift motivated them. The sequence of their action involved seeing, falling down in worship, and then giving gifts.
Their journey rewarded them with the knowledge that – – – –
“Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh….” (I Timothy 3:16).
Now you can give Him a replica of the fourth gift, daily worship.
The Grotto Where Jesus Was Born
Come with me to Bethlehem and take this virtual Christmas visit. I have been there approximately 50 times so let me have the joy of being your guide. Let’s start this surreal tour in Nativity Square, the center of the old city, and the courtyard to the church that stands over the designated sight of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The massive church when viewed from above is shaped like a cross.
Originally the entrance was much larger. During one period of occupancy horsemen and horse drawn wagons mockingly entered and degraded the building. Under the cover of night villagers used large blocks of stone to make the entrance so small you have to bow to enter. It is now considered an appropriate way to show humility approaching the building.
Today’s basilica, the oldest complete church in the Christian world, was built by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It replaced the original church of Constantine the Great, built over the cave venerated as Christ’s birthplace, and dedicated in AD 339.
The cavernous basilica has massive red limestone columns, many of which have paintings left by the Crusaders. The walls are adorned with 12th century mosaics depicting Church councils, angels, and saints. Sections of the current false wooden floors are removed to reveal the original tile floors from the time of Constantine. There are no pews.
The iconostasis, a large carved screen adorned with icons, draws interest to the altar. To the right of it are steps leading down to the Grotto of the Nativity which is immediately below the altar. This is the long reputed sight of the birth of Jesus. It is marked with a silver star around which is inscribed, “Jesus Christ was born here to the virgin Mary.”
In the cave is a small area representing the sight where the Wise Men met the Christ child.
Instead of quibbling over whether these are the actual spots of the historical events, this is a meaningful place to commemorate the events.
Don’t expect a private visit. They are few. We have had such at off hours. We have worshiped in the church on Christmas eve with the basilica packed body to body. The grotto is always compacted with groups of tourists.
On Christmas Eve the square outside is filled with tourists and choirs from all over the world singing. We once carried a 108-voice youth choir to sing there. My favorite Christmas Eve visit resulted in the youth group leaving Bethlehem late at night and driving into Shepherds Field where an olive wood campfire awaited us. By the light of the full moon we watched as an old shepherd led his sheep nearby. This proved for us shepherds are in the fields watching over their flocks by night in December.
From our vantage point we could see Bethlehem silhouetted on the hill and hear a choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus.
It was about as ideal a Christmas Eve setting as could be designed.
The fact none of us are there this season does not mean the spirit engendered by what happened there that first Christmas can’t be enjoyed here as fully as we enjoyed it there. Focus not on the place, but the one whose birth there makes this possible as a Merry Christmas.