Jesus Wins
Some people believe winning doesn’t matter. “Just as long as you try.” There’s a special name for those people. “Liars”. Maybe Timmy’s t-ball game is just for fun, but the rest of life is not just about trying. I don’t want to try at marriage. I don’t want to just try to be a good dad. You don’t want to just give your investments a shot. Our nation doesn’t shrug its shoulders when our soldiers try and die. No, we want to win.
But winning is never easy because there’s always an opponent who wants to win, too. In every situation, there are forces that don’t want you to win. That’s why you’ve bought stuff you really didn’t need, right? Because right next to the part of you that wants to win financially is the part that wants to enjoy life now. That’s why some of you have a gym membership, but no one at the Y would recognize you. Because right next to the part of you that wants to win physically is the part that wants to pick up a Hot and Ready and watch the X Factor on the couch. Those opponents mean if we want to win, we have to fight.
The Bible is really a book about that fight, but on a spiritual level. It’s about a God and a people who want to win, but have to fight to do it. Every day that battle is fought in our culture, in our homes, and in our hearts. And no one wants to “just try”. We all want to win. Because when we win, there are blessings. When this battle is won, wives brag about their fairy tale husbands. When it’s lost, wives vent to their girlfriends about Prince-Less-Than-Charming. When this battle is won, disagreements are drama free as coworkers speak humbly. When it’s lost, drama shows up at reality T.V. levels. When this battle is won, little girls learn about God the Father from their father. When it’s lost, little girls know neither one. When this battle is won, people give, share, help, trust, and love. When it’s lost, they hoard, squander, worry, hate, and grope for more. When this battle is won, people die in peace and grieve with hope. When it’s lost, there is only despair and loss. In this life, the difference between winning and losing is as massive as the gap between worry and peace, frustration and joy, bliss and breakup, anticipation and dread, life and death. And the gap only grows in the life to come. Heaven’s victory or hell’s defeat. “Just as long as you try”? No way. At the very depth of us, we want to win.
A wise pastor named Paul once wrote, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” God says that to all of us. He wants us to fight because he wants us to win.
So, are you winning? Are you fighting the good fight? Will you win on the Last Day? That can be tough to answer. Thank goodness there’s an app for that! No, really. I have an app on my phone called Confession: A Roman Catholic App. I’m guessing it was invented by a guy who didn’t have time to see his priest, so he put a digital priest on his phone…but I’m not sure. It’s actually pretty insightful. You click on the tab called “Examination of Conscience” and it walks you through about 50 questions connected to the 10 Commandments. Basically, it asks you to examine your life and see if you’re winning the battle. So it asks, “Do you seek to love God with your whole heart?” “Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children?” “Have I given my family a good, godly example?” “Have I been resentful?” “Have I respected all members of the opposite sex?” “Do I waste time at work?” “Am I critical or negative in my thoughts towards others?” Yes or no? Victory…or defeat?
Those questions remind us the battle is not just at the bar and bachelor parties. It’s everywhere. It’s out there in the world and in here within us. There is no demilitarized zone. Out there the devil whispers, “You’ll be happier if…” Out there friends can’t wait to share a reputation-damaging story. Out there you can look at porn and they won’t even charge you. Out there you can wasted and your best friends will pour the drinks. Out there your job can become your mistress and your company will praise your “commitment”. Out there neighbors will encourage your resentment and your revenge. And in here is not much better. In here is a voice that says I always am right. In here is a nudge when I’m getting close to the line of impurity. In here is a mind that can rationalize selfishness. In here is a perversion that doesn’t really want to log off or look away. In here is an independent man who knows his rights and asserts them. Yes, we all want peace, patience, faith, kindness, and love, but those don’t come without a fight.
There will be war today. And there will be no truce tomorrow. Tomorrow, before you wake up, the devil, the world, and your sinful nature will wake up first. They will get up, stretch out, and wait at the foot of your bed. And from the moment you wawke up, they will fight. A godly father? A good mom? A faithful employee? A selfless son? A forgiving friend? A generous man? Not without a fight. Those enemies want to defeat you know and make sure you don’t win when Jesus comes back. So you are condemned to eternal loss in hell. They are relentless and they know you well.
I need you to see how bad this battle really is so you can realize how good God is. Because today, we’re looking at Revelation, the last and most challenging book of the Bible. Revelation is a book of battle. In Revelation, Jesus gives a Christian named John a glimpse into the history of the world. And for 22 chapters, John sees war. Battles. Blood. Bodies in the streets. The graphic imagery reminds us of the situation here in our lives. It’s war! But every now and then in Revelation, Jesus gives John a break. He pulls back the curtain and lets John peak into heaven. And what John sees reminds him why Christians fight for their faith. Because something amazing is coming for those who do.
Look at John’s vision in Revelation 19. “1After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!”
It is rowdy in heaven! “Hallelujah!” “Praise our God!” “Amen! Hallelujah!” Why such joy? “For true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth…The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” That’s an interesting song of praise, isn’t it? “Thank you, Jesus. You condemned the great prostitute! She’ll burn forever and ever!” Now the children join in! But the song makes sense once you understand the fight. The great prostitute represents either the Antichrist or the false church here on earth. Those who operated under the cover of religion, but only corrupted people’s minds by turning them back to their own morality for salvation. Those who robbed countless millions of the comfort of the gospel by telling them they had to earn God’s love. How many of us have felt the crushing weight of our own sins and been told that we made the mess and we have to fix it? The prostitute enticed people away from the gospel and took away more than their purity; she took away their hope, their confidence. But she will be condemned. The smoke will rise forever and ever. She will be killed when Jesus returns. He will win…and his people will, too.
Jesus promises when the Judgment Day arrives, he will destroy everything evil out there. He will condemn and defeat the devil and the unrepentant world once and for all, just like he did on the cross. So when he comes, there will be no one left out there to attack you. No one left to accuse you. No one left to mock you. No one left to beat you. No one left to rape you. No one left to insult you. No one left to ignore you. No one left to overlook you. No one left to hurt you. No one left to lie about you. No one left to tempt you. No one left to pressure you. No one left to encourage your sin. No one left to sin against you. The war you and I wage minute after minute and decade after decade with evil “out there” will end. And those enemies will never show up again. Our app tells us we should lose then because of the battles we lost now. But when the Last Day comes, we will win…because Jesus wins.
But not just out there. No, our losses didn’t just come from out there. They mostly came from in here. But listen to this: “6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb (that’s the celebration of all believers) has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
“Hallelujah! Let us rejoice! Let us be glad!” Why? Because the battle in here will be over. Because Jesus changed something in here so that we could meet heaven’s dress code. And all Christians are dressed—“Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Purity. Perfection. Where did that come from? “It was given her to wear.” God gives us that outfit when we come to faith. Jesus clothes us in his perfection. The phrase “fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints” probably isn’t the best translation. The phrase “righteous acts” can also mean “a declaration of righteousness”. In other words, the “fine linen” God gives to us is his declaration that we aren’t guilty because Jesus forgave us. We didn’t make this outfit. God gave it to us.
If you believe Jesus has forgiven you, that is how God sees you. Pure. Clean. He knows about the war inside. He knows the battles you’ve lost. He saw you fall. He is aware of the stains, the spots, the blemishes. But he chooses to see you differently.
A wife once confessed to her husband the dirty things she had done during the first years of their relationship. She had been unfaithful, but never admitted it. She feared for the worst—that he would walk out and leave her for the sins she had committed. When she confessed, her husband was devastated. Silently, he listened, pain creasing his face, as she shared what she did and why she had never told him. When she finished, he didn’t say a word. He simply walked out of the house. She was sure he wouldn’t come back. But he did. He returned an hour later with a plastic bag in his hand. Without explanation, he took her up to their bedroom and looked into her confused eyes. She trembled with shame and fear. He then undressed his wife until she stood before him exposed. He pulled out a white nightgown from the plastic bag. Slipping it over her head, he tenderly let it fall into place. With tears in his eyes, he said to her, “I choose to see you as God sees you.”
“Hallelujah!...Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Despite our infidelity, despite the battles we’ve lost in here, despite the temptation that dirtied us, despite the stains we can’t forget, God chooses to clothe us. To put on garments of purity, clothes of victory he won for us when Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus conquered our enemy in here so we could have joy forever. The Bible says, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy…and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” When the Last Day comes, the enemy in here will lose and we will win…because Jesus wins.
Friends, that is both your power and your motivation to fight today. It can be exhausting going back to war, but Jesus empowers and energizes us. So if my sinful nature wants to pull me into selfishness, I’m not going down today without a fight. If the devil pushes me down dark paths of pride, today I’m going to push back. If the world pokes you with temptation, punch back by the power of the Spirit. Stand your ground. Fight back today. Because one day, Jesus will come back and the war will end. The fighting will stop. Jesus will grab our scarred hands in his scarred hands and raise them in triumph. And his people will win forever. Amen.
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