Truthworks

“Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!” (Matthew 6:8, Living Bible).

One of my earliest learning experiences in faith came in the strangest of ways. The year was 1973.

At that time Belinda and I were struggling in Denver to launch a coffee house street ministry called The True Vine. It was a spin off of a thriving ministry we had been involved with in Texas. The leaders had sent us to Colorado on a mission. “Do there what God is doing here.”

Therein lay the problem. We were trying to God’s work – without God’s blessing. You see, the leaders had got it in their heads that since the ministry was being blessed in Texas, surely God wanted to have “copies” of it everywhere across the country. They had even changed the name of the ministry. The True Vine was now called  — are you ready for this? — True Vine Ministries for Christ International, Incorporated.

We were the first to be sent out on this ambitious cause, and the future of the entire ministry rode heavy on our shoulders. If we could successfully replicate what God had done in Texas — then it would surely spread all across America….and the World!

But, as I said, God was not backing our efforts and so, after a year of banging our heads against the wall with no success, we decided to pull out and reboot the system.

Packing up what little we possessed and putting it into a small u-haul trailer hooked to the back of our worn out car was relatively easy. However, closing out our meager checking account would be a little more challenging.

Turns out our records and the bank records didn’t match. Due to an unseen charge the bank had assessed to our account – we were ten dollars short. I realize that doesn’t sound like much today, but in those tight times it was huge.

I complained at the bank — it was pointless. I complained along the highway, with only Belinda hearing my frustrated rants. It, too, was pointless. Finally I hushed and simmered internally over the unfairness of it all. Again, pointless.

We were on our way from Denver back to Texas, but were going to pass through Kim, Colorado — a ranching community in the southeast corner of the state. A friend pastored a church there and asked me to preach on our way through.

You can imagine my bewilderment when, after turning off the Interstate and driving on a Colorado state road for over an hour — the pavement suddenly ended. No more road. Nothing in front of us but a gravel swath going through a pasture filled with cows. We couldn’t turn back, because we were almost out of gas and wouldn’t be able to make it back to where we had last seen a gas station miles behind us.

So onward we went. On and on and on for miles with the gas gauge dropping by the minute.

What happened on that unpaved stretch of road has stayed with me all these years later. And I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

“For there is a greater power with us than with him.” 2 Chronicles 32:7

We have seen these past few days how God permitted Sennacherib to invade Judah, for the express purpose of bringing him to defeat at the hands of good King Hezekiah. We have also noted how Hezekiah did not doubt God during the invasion, but humbled himself in prayer and watched in wonder as the Lord sent an angel and destroyed Sennacherib’s army.

And we saw how Sennacherib himself came to a shameful end as he sought refuge in the temple of his puny gods.

Today, as we conclude our thoughts on this story, let me ask a pointed question. Isn’t this historic defeat exactly what happened to Satan at the cross?

Jesus, having accomplished everything His Father sent him to do, finally goes up Calvary’s mountain to die upon an old rugged cross.  And just like Sennacherib laying siege to Judah, Satan surely must have thought his moment of ultimate conquest had come. But, in the same manner that God had baited the Assyrian king into a snare from which there was no escape – so likewise was the devil drawn and quartered by Christ at the cross.

And as for us, we share in Christ’s triumph over all the power of the enemy. It is now said of us as it was of Hezekiah, “So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. (see 1 Ch.32:20-22).

Earlier we asked how does God reward His faithful servant? What does Hezekiah get for all his gallant duty? The answer is profound – Hezekiah had the high honor of being the one king in all history who defeated the King of Assyria.

You see, God set Sennacherib up for destruction by permitting him access into Hezekiah’s life. Is it possible God does the same in our lives today? Is it possible that He allows the devil access for no other reason but to bring him to ruin and an open shame?

“Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). It is no coincidence that John in the New Testament echoes the words of Hezekiah in the Old — “For there is a greater power with us than with him.” (2 Chronicles 32:7). For the story of Sennacherib in the Old Testament is a prophetic foretelling of the story of Satan in the New.

Is it possible that your faithfulness, your devotion, your service are often the occasion for the Lord to draw the devil into a trap? Could it be that we are sometimes used as “devil bait” – the means whereby the Lord lures Satan into battle, and gives us the honor of actually overcoming the wicked one.

Oh how humiliating this must be to Satan, that Christ has placed His victory in the hands of school children who by faith put the devil to fright and flight! What must the hordes of hell think of their dark master now? He who once wielded such power as to shake nations, now buckles when a little girl prays!

Hezekiah reassured the people with a single word of truth, “for there is a greater power with us than with him.” That is even more true for us today. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

My friend, take a new perspective on those unexpected invasions of your life; those times when darkness gathers about you even though you have long been faithful and true. Brace yourself not for battle, but for victory. A celebration is coming, for the Lord has decided to promote you for your service, and to distinguish you with a badge of honor – the defeat of a dreadful foe at your hands.

“For there is a greater power with us than with him.” 2 Chronicles 32:7

The Bible says that the king of Assyria “laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.” The fact is that God had indeed blessed Hezekiah, so much so that the king of Assyria became envious to the point of war. He invaded in order to possess for himself the many blessings God had showered upon Hezekiah. Sennacherib brandished his blade, and bellowed out his demands to Hezekiah in full expectation of an immediate and cowering surrender – just as many other nations before had done.

He could not have been more mistaken.

Hezekiah, good man that he was, never doubted the Lord for a moment, nor did he fear Sennacherib for an instant. Instead, he rallied the people and encouraged them, saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from the words of king Hezekiah. (see 2 Ch.32:7,8)

While Sennacherib amassed his army and prepared for a full frontal assault, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah bowed their heads in prayer. And the Lord answered them. The Bible says, “the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.”

Hey, you want to know how powerful God is? He sent one angel – ONE! – and annihilated Sennacherib’s army. Holy Moly! What then would an army of angels do? There were 12,000 angels standing with swords drawn and ready for war when Jesus hung on the Cross. What if He had decided to call them to His aid?

ONE angel annihilated the army of Sennacherib! And what of Sennacherib? What happened to him?

The Bible goes on to say, “he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.”

Those who follow in the footsteps of Satan are doomed to meet his own fate. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12). In this story Sennacherib is a figure representing Satan. Just as Sennacherib met a disgraceful end, so likewise will the devil.

We will take a closer look at this as we conclude tomorrow.