Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 31, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Knows their Opposition!
“Should I just tell the other coach we forfeit the rest of the game?”
Yep, our basketball coach in college said this during a half-time locker room talk. We needed it. We didn’t show up with tenacity and the will to win. We showed up, but were not playing with the heart and intensity to win. So, he was probably was right. If we weren’t playing to win, why embarrass ourselves in the second half?
I don’t think we won, but we definitely played with a different mindset and intensity in the second half.
The Apostle Paul said, (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
The mission Jesus has given us is going to be met with opposition, but that doesn’t mean we don’t show up. It doesn’t mean we give in. It means we fight to win!
Jesus did. And he won!
How?
The people who heard Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum said, “What is this? A new teaching and with authority.”
What gave Jesus’ teaching authority? It was the truth of God! It was the truth that overcame all the lies – intentional or not – given through the teaching of the teachers of the law. Later in Jesus’ ministry he condemns them:
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The way to win? Jesus tells us in John 8:31-32
John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So if we are going to win, know your Opposition, Satan, loves to communicate lies that our heart is tempted to believe. To win, our hearts must be filled with the truth of God’s word. Training must include regular intakes of the truth of the Bible. Why? So we can clearly discern the lies of Satan and replace them with the truth of Jesus’ words.
Jesus didn’t come to this world to “try” to win. He came to fight AND win!
Should Jesus just tell Satan that we forfeit and give up? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Fill yourself with the truth Jesus brings and swing freely the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, the truth!
Apply: What is a lie that Satan is getting you to follow or believe? What is the truth Jesus gives to set you free from the lie and live boldly in the truth?
PRAYER: Jesus thank you for overcoming the lies of Satan with the power of your truth. Give me your Spirit to enable me to discern the and always live in the truth! AMEN.
PASSAGE AND PRAYER for the Ministry of Cross & Crown:
Thursday – February 4 – Luke 9:23-22
“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.’”
PRAYER: Lord, we know the call to be a disciple is an “all in” call to deny our natural inclinations and take up a cross of challenge. But following You is nothing short of amazing. We lose our lives to You anew today, and we trust You to keep us even as you call us out in faith.