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"SHUT UP!" #5
APPLES AND SMOKING GUNS
It's the only kind of lottery most of us win — when
our name comes up for jury duty. About five years ago, our writer, David
Smith, got drafted to drive 40 miles into downtown L.A. to sit with 11
other people and decide the guilt or innocence of an accused drug smuggler.
This young woman had been pulled out of line at LAX, Los Angeles International
Airport, and when they took her to the prison hospital, they found many,
many little balloons of cocaine in her system. Cartel bosses in Colombia
had hired her as a "mule," filled her up with this white powder,
put her on a plane, and expected her to deliver the goods here in the
U.S. Some of you know that this can be a fatal business when one of those
balloons bursts inside a person.
In any case, this young woman's defense attorneys had no choice but to
admit that their client did indeed have the cocaine on her person. But
they told a story of coercion and force; drug lords in South America,
they suggested, had threatened her, held her two kids captive. If she
didn't cooperate, she'd never see her children alive again. Etc. In other
words, she was a mule with a gun to her head. She had acted strictly out
of fear.
Well, the testimony went back and forth for about three days, and the
jury was actually beginning to wonder if maybe her story was true. Was
she indeed a first-timer, a novice forced into the trade by people who
were blackmailing her? Or was she a cool professional who was regularly
swallowing these cocaine balloons, tucking hundred-dollar bills in her
shoes, and acting as a paid courier? Through her interpreter the young
woman swore that she'd never been in the U.S. before, and the jury examined
very carefully the forged passport the customs officials had taken from
her.
Then, right at the end, the prosecutors lowered the boom. They had the
smoking gun. Computerized records from the passport people proved beyond
any doubt that she had been in the U.S. just a few months earlier. Handwriting
experts verified that the signatures on several cards were hers. There
in black-and-white was the evidence the jury needed; this woman was a
pro. And with just a half-hour of deliberation, they were able to confidently
send her away to prison.
I suppose most people have a built-in sense of appreciation for that Perry
Mason moment when a lawyer, after patiently making his case, and cross-examining,
and setting up all the plot lines of where-were-you-on-September 18 .
. . all at once nails it down with Exhibit Z. There it is in black-and-white,
the incontrovertible proof the jury needs. And the lawyer doesn't have
to actually say "Shut Up!", which is our radio title for this
week. They simply allow that final bit of evidence, that glove-which-fits,
to shut down the opposition. There's this long dramatic silence in the
courtroom, because the guilty person has nothing left to say. The lawyer
has nothing left to say. And finally the prosecutor says, very quietly,
"You are witness." And the case is over.
Here in Ventura County, California, there was kind of a "Shut up"
moment during this last June election. Two men were running against each
other for a congressional seat, a close race. And all of a sudden, one
of the candidates leveled a seemingly absurd charge against his opponent.
"He's sneaking around at night tearing down my campaign signs,"
he told the press. What?! It sounded so juvenile no one believed him.
And his opponent gave a big sniff of disdain. "Not a chance,"
he said. "Come on. I was home with my wife in bed that night."
"No," the first man said. "You were tearing down my signs."
And his rival issued another big, public, emphatic denial. "No way."
And all at once the first candidate pulled out a videotape. Believe it
or not, he actually had footage, camcorder footage, of his opponent out
there in the dark at two o'clock in the morning, tearing down campaign
signs. People couldn't believe their eyes, but there it was on the tape.
And there was suddenly this silence coming from campaign headquarters.
I mean, SILENCE. There was nothing left to say. And this man's political
future was, just like that, snuffed out. They say now even the county
deputy dogcatcher's job is safe from Mr. Rich Sybert. That videotape has
ended his career.
Well, friend, that smoking gun, that tamperproof bit of final evidence,
that surreptitiously taped video, can be either good news or bad news,
can't it? It all depends which side you're on. When Perry Mason or the
attorneys on The Practice pull out that DNA report which shows who was
where and when — you rejoice if your enemy is shut down, and you cry if
it's YOU that ends up speechless and handcuffed to the bailiff.
With that in mind, how do we feel about the court transcripts found in
an old book called Romans? Here's a legal brief from chapter two, verses
five and six:
"But because of your stubborn and unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's
wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed." Is that good
news? Here's verse six: "God ‘will give to each person according
to what he has done.'" Is THAT good news?
It would make sense that any sinner — and that includes
everybody on both sides of this glass radio booth — would be very sorry
to read what it says over in Revelation chapter 20, verse 12. Notice:
"And I saw the dead," John writes,
"great and small, standing before the throne, AND BOOKS WERE OPENED.
Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged
according to what they had done as recorded in the books."
Well, these are sobering words. Because it says that
God has books up there. He's got all the Watergate and Monicagate tapes,
and there aren't any deletions or misspellings. Everything we've done
is written down. And you and I both know there's a smoking gun; we know
it. And we know He's got it.
But here's the core message for our entire week. Friend, God has records
for refuting the enemy's charges and shutting HIM down, not us! If you're
a Christian, Jesus Christ is your defense Attorney, not the prosecution!
If He has a record of your conversion, of your acceptance of Calvary,
He's going to use His records, His heavenly books, His piles of heavenly
evidence to declare you innocent and Lucifer guilty.
Pastor Morris Venden, who hosts our Sunday broadcast, has preached often
about how even Christians worry about the record books in heaven. And
he points out how the Bible calls Satan the great accuser. The accuser
of the brethren. The devil has books too, you know. And Venden loves to
tell how God says to His ancient enemy: "You want records? I'll show
you records." Then he adds: "And God keeps records that shut
the devil's mouth forever."
Picture that L.A. Law moment where Satan brings up some poor sinner. And
he struts back and forth and tells God: "I've got all the proof I
need. This person's a sinner. He's cheated and lied. He's been pugnacious
and proud. He's done this and he's done that, and I've got all the motel
receipts." And Jesus Christ, without any fanfare, simply pulls out
one sheet of paper, and says: "Yes, but this person accepted My sacrifice
on Calvary." And there's a long silence, because Satan has no answer
for that.
But a moment later he regains his composure and goes to the next person.
"Ah, now, this case is ironclad. I've shadowed this woman for 70
years, and it's been nothing but sins, sins, and more sins. Look at these
photos my men took. Look at these falsified tax returns. Look at these
algebra tests she copied; I've got it all!" And Jesus approaches
the bench for a sidebar with the Judge. Once again He points to a simple
piece of evidence regarding Calvary and repentance at a Sunday School
meeting. And Lucifer has nothing to say. Silence.
But he doesn't give up even yet. "Now, God," he almost bellows,
mopping at his brow, "this man here is my best exhibit. A whole lifetime
of thievery! I mean, he stole from the time he was in kindergarten. He
stole from his enemies, and he even stole from his friends. He stole from
his own mother! He took anything that wasn't nailed down. God, he's nothing
but the commonest of thieves. In fact, he's so bad that the government
strung him up. They already found him guilty; what more proof do You need?"
And for a moment that bold challenge rings throughout the courtroom and
throughout the universe. This really does look like an open-and-shut case.
In fact, Lucifer wheels in a TV monitor and VCR and runs some tape, which
skips around like it's been edited, and we see that, sure enough, this
guy was strung up and killed for his crimes.
But then Jesus steps closer. And His face looks different, as though He's
remembering. "I especially know this man," He says at last.
"And he WAS a thief. I know, because I was there." And then
He turns to God and says, "If it please the court, I'd like to show
everyone My own evidence."
And God the Judge kind of has a smile, because He already knows all about
it, and says, "Oh really? Yes, I think we'd like to see Your evidence,
Son."
But Lucifer pipes up. "Objection! I've got it on videotape! You can't
do any better than that."
"Yes, I can," Jesus tells him. And He turns to face all of us.
"My friends, I've got the entire story. I've got it on cassette,
reel-to-reel, DAT, eight-track, videotape, Beta, laser disc, DVD, everything."
And He rolls His own version of it. We see a thief up on a cross, and
we see where Lucifer edited out the crucial parts. Because we see Jesus
there too on a cross just three feet away. We see the earthquake, and
the nails going in. And then those words we always read in our Bibles,
we now really hear for the first time, where this commonest of thieves
says:
"Jesus, remember me when You come into Your
kingdom."
And there's silence. A long silence. Because the devil
doesn't have a whole lot to say right there. And finally Jesus just comes
over and puts an arm around this thief and pulls him free, away from Satan's
grasp. And He looks right at His ancient enemy, this accuser, this prince
of darkness who started the whole mess back in a garden called Eden with
a tree and an apple. And He says to Lucifer: "How do you like them
apples?"
Shall we pray?
Lord, we want to rejoice together today about those books You have in
heaven — those books which record our decision for You, our acceptance
of Your blood. Jesus, we thank You today, right now, for Calvary, and
for the great silence it's going to bring when our enemy, Lucifer, accuses
us in the judgment. Thank You, Jesus, for being on our side . . . at the
cross, and today, and throughout all eternity. Amen.
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