by Captain Michael Ramsay
To view a version shared with Alberni Valley Ministries on 25 August 2019, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/08/2-corinthians-56-10-home-and-away.html
Hockey season has started here again. It is neat hearing all the excitement of some of the kids in town around the Hawks (Trojans) games and the team. As a kid, I remember going out to the arena to watch junior hockey games (The Victoria Cougars) with my dad - it was a big deal. As a kid the excitement is intense. The excitement is amazing when you go out to cheer for the home team.
Years later, when I was working for the College (CPCI), I can remember the excitement of taking a number of our Japanese students to a couple of play-off games for the Mann Cup final of box lacrosse. I don’t know if anyone here knows anything about box lacrosse – but the Mann Cup is pretty important. It is the Grey Cup of lacrosse.
I can remember that at first I didn’t really realize what a big deal the final series was – I thought that I could just get someone to swing by and get tickets for the final home and away series so I asked Susan to just go down and pick us up some tickets on her way to wherever she was going. Well there must have been five to six thousand people lined up (at least!) to try and get one of the remaining tickets. Susan crowded in the line-up there for hours as the line moved slowly forward until, I think, she had to go to her job or something; so I traded off and went down to the arena myself.
Shortly afterwards my cell phone rang. It was Susan; she just heard on the radio that you could buy the tickets over the phone now and praise the Lord this was in the days before everyone had cell phones; so, now not only was I waiting in line but I was calling from my phone and I had my whole staff at the office and Susan trying to get through on the phone, all the time I am moving closer and closer to those last remaining tickets with less and less of them available all the time. It got down to there being very few tickets left and I wasn’t even near enough the ticket spot to see it yet when my phone rang – it was Susan, we got the tickets! I cheered as I took the victory tour, and embarked on the challenge of moving through the crowd like a Salmon swimming against the current.
This victory of just getting the tickets was almost as exciting as when our guys won the cup. Play-offs: They are exciting when you hear your team win on the radio when they are away. They are exciting to see your team win on TV but there is nothing like seeing the victory of home team live or in my case even the victory of being able to get the tickets to watch the home team play live. Our text today is talking about that a little bit too. 1 Corinthians 5:6-10:
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Paul is talking about a home and away series of sorts (cf. Eph. 218-20; Phil 3:20). He says that though we are in the body right now and playing an away game as it were (because we are away from the Lord), the final game will be a home game (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17; Philippians 1:23). In the end we will be playing before the Lord. Paul is saying very much that it is like a championship series and right now we are playing in an away game. Right now in this away game of the home-and-away series, in this game of our life, we may be dying but the home game is coming. The home game is to be played in heaven (or on the new earth as the case may be) and that is when our performance will be judged and we’ll receive whatever is due us (2 Cor. 5:10).
Look at verse 10. Paul is writing to Christians and he says that we all must appear before that judgement seat at the next game when the trophy is to be awarded. We don’t get a bypass on judgement just because we are Christians as some people suggest (cf. 1Cor 3:10-15 and Rom 14:10-12). Just because we are on Christ’s team doesn’t mean we get to sit out the rest of this game on the bench either. We can’t stop playing if we want to get that trophy, even if it seems like we might be losing, even if it seems that we aren’t playing our best, even if all the fans seem to be cheering against us. Even if we are a little injured, we have to keep playing and sometimes it’s difficult.
Sometimes our opponent seems to be winning. Sometimes it seems that no matter what we do, sometimes, to use a baseball analogy, sometimes it seems every time we swing, we miss. Sometimes it seems that we just strike out. Sometimes it seems that events or the devil get the upper hand.
The devil is pitching for the other team. Sometimes he throws some curve balls. He even threw some at Jesus during the away game. We know that Jesus suffered the temptations known to man and that Jesus prevailed (Cf. Matt. 4, Mk 1, Lk. 4, 1 Cor. 10:12-14, James 1:1-3) but do you remember the story of the devil’s attempt to tempt Jesus in the desert (Matt. 4, Mk 1, Lk. 4)? As part of this, the devil says to Jesus, Luke 4:5-6, I will give you all of the power, all countries (kingdoms) in the world. I will give you all this authority, he says, “it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I please. If you then worship me it will be yours.” The devil says all of this as he is trying to knock Jesus out of the away game. The devil doesn’t want Jesus to play in the game. He doesn’t want Him to make it home. He is trying to throw Him off or maybe – for an even better analogy - he is even trying to offer Him a buy-out or an early retirement package of sorts.
Satan offers Jesus everything and it seems to be a pretty good offer because in a sense the devil is right. He has been given authority on earth (John 12:30-32, 14:29-31, 16:11)– you don’t have to look so far with all the wars, violence, and starving people around (even though God has given us more than enough to solve all of these problems), You don’t have to look too far to see the trouble that we people are causing here because as the scriptures say the devil is the ‘prince of this age,’” (John 12:30-32, 14:29-31, 16:11) and because we fall victim to his pitches.
The devil tried to knock Jesus out of the away game with temptations; are there times when even though we know Jesus has already won the series between the cross and the empty tomb, are there ways that we can be knocked off our game with a temptation not to play anymore? Are there are times when, even though we know Jesus has already won the series, we just don’t want to get in and play anymore? Are their times when we are tempted to take the devil’s early retirement package rather than to stay and play the final game?
What are some of the pitches that he throws that might make us want to retire in this, the away game? Do you ever just get tired? Do you ever wonder why should I be so good? Why should I be honest if everyone else is cheating? Why should I read the Word? Why should I go to church? Why should I have to everything that I do? – Even, why should I even bother getting up in the morning because nothing changes anyway? The devil throws some tough pitches.
These past couple of weeks I have walked with people in real crises. As I was ministering on Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike struck. People lost their homes, their jobs, and their families… Do you ever feel like giving up? Do you ever feel like giving in? The temptation to not read your Bible; the temptation to not pray; the temptation to hide, the temptations not to get up in the morning, the temptation not to bother, the temptation to turn to self-indulgences and addictions and fear…the temptation to give up. These are all pitches that the devil throws our way in the away game and it gets stressful and the thing about the away game is that at times – it feels as if we are all alone – it feels as if no one is on our side – it can be almost like everyone is cheering against us.
We need to persevere though - There is good news and that good news is that the final game is coming. Those of us that keep playing, those of us that keep pressing on towards the goal (Phil 3:14; 1 Cor. 9:24; Cf. Col 2:18); those of us who don’t give up; those of us who – like it says in verse nine – those of us who make it our goal to please Jesus (who is both our coach and our star player, btw); those of us who make it our aim to please Christ who has already won the victory; we are going to play in the home game when the trophy is awarded. We are going to stand before the judge. We are going to be given the prize for playing on the winning team – provided we keep playing – provided we don’t give up – provided we don’t take the devil’s early retirement package, as good as it may seem. If we stay with Christ we will claim the victory.
Jesus has already won the series. Remember that. Remember that even though Satan is the ‘prince of this age’ as it says in John, and even though he does have some power given to him from above and even though his offers are real, and even though they can sound pretty good - remember that he is just the prince of this age, He is not the king of the age to come.
God is. Jesus is. Therefore, we should remember that when the devil throws these pitches, as Jesus states in Luke 4:8, we should respond and ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’. Satan, with as much power as he seems to have on this continent and in this world, Satan is just like a bad manager while the boss is away. And you know what happens to a bad manager when the boss comes back? He gets fired and Jesus is coming back and when he does the devil and his angles, will be fired in the eternal lake of fire.
Jesus has already won the victory. Even though the away game may be a tough haul that the home game is still ahead and even then that Jesus has already won the victory so we should not give up. This away game is almost over and the series has been won already. Don’t give in to temptation to quit. Stay the course. Don’t take the buy-out. Like it says in Verse 9, “whether we are home or away we make it our aim to please Him.” We should make it our aim to please the LORD.
So when the devil tosses you balls of self-doubt, when the devil tosses you balls of blame and temptation, hit them out of the park. Remember that Christ has already won the victory. We are just waiting for the cup to be awarded. When you are tempted to give up, when we are tempted to sin. Stand firm, the prize has been won and it is waiting for us. Let’s have a strong finish to our game.
In this away game of our lives, we don’t need to give in to sin. We do need to be holy (1 Peter 1:15, Lev 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7). We can be perfect (2 Cor. 13; Col. 1:28; Hebrews 11,12;) not by ourselves but with the Lord’s help. He will do it (1 Thess 5:23-24). He has won the victory. We just need to rely on God and on His scriptures. The Spirit will let us endure any temptation as we stand firm we will indeed enjoy the victory!
Like it says in James 1:12, ‘Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.’ Don’t give up, remain in the spirit, even if you slip up, remain in the spirit and as you do you will find that you read the scriptures, trust in God, endure the temptations, persevere, hit the devil’s pitches out of the park and claim the victory!
Let us pray. This prayer for us from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ‘May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you (us) through and through. May your (our) whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.’
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