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ALMOST TIME FOR MR. OCTOBER

Have you ever seen a football game where maybe your team is on the 50-yard line trying to go down the field for a touchdown? First and TEN. But on the first play, somebody's called for holding: a ten-yard penalty. So it's first down again, but now it's first and TWENTY. You run another play and the SAME PLAYER is flagged AGAIN for holding. Okay, now it's first and THIRTY.

The quarterback cranks things up again, and this time the ballcarrier is caught behind the line for a loss. Now it's second down and thirty-THREE, and your team has "(quote) progressed," so to speak, from the fifty all the way BACK to their own 27-yard-line.

Well, one thing's for sure: if that trend CONTINUES, your team's NOT going to win.

Or maybe things aren't that bad . . . but let's say it this way. You're on the fifty-yard-line, and on first down you make one yard. On second down, the running back gets one MORE yard. Third down, you get maybe HALF a yard. Meanwhile, the clock is showing 52 seconds left, and you're still down by ten points.

What can you say about that, friend? Same conclusion. Your football team's 52 seconds away from another losing game. You can't win scoring one yard at a time when you can't keep up with the clock.
Now, why did I bring up these two depressing football stories? Here's why: Many people in the Christian faith feel exactly that way about what we call the Gospel Commission.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 24, Jesus told His disciples — AND US — what it was going to take to win the football game. Listen to this:

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached IN THE WHOLE WORLD as a testimony to ALL NATIONS, and then the end will come."
Well, you might be tempted to say, "Okay, the gospel has to be preached in all the world. But this is the 1990s. Let's go with huge global rallies, worldwide satellite TV transmission with Billy Graham, that kind of thing. Preach the gospel. It doesn't matter if anyone listens or responds as long as someone preaches it at least one time."
But, you know, just four chapters later, Jesus issues the same challenge again, and this time He ups the ante quite a little bit. Notice the distinction in chapter 28:

"Go and MAKE DISCIPLES of ALL NATIONS."
So this is talking about the real thing. Actually going, physically going, to every nation, preaching the gospel in person, walking with people down the aisle to the altar, baptizing them, nurturing them, discipling them. There isn't a TV shortcut we can take. Even The Voice of Prophecy being on all around the globe and throughout the former Soviet Union and blanketing the vast territories of Africa and China over Adventist World Radio doesn't really fulfill this verse's challenge. Making disciples in ALL NATIONS is what it takes to win the game.

And I'll tell you something, friend. When you look at the game plan ON PAPER, it just plain looks like we can't win. You'd have to conclude that the cause of Christ is going to fold up.

Let me ask you this: is your own local Christian church growing as fast as the population in your state or province? Are baptisms keeping up with funerals? Are people coming in the front door FASTER than they're going out the back . . . or is it the other way around?

I read in a book recently about a prominent Christian who traveled over to the country of Belgium to explore the possibility of setting up a ministry. While he was there a man told him that there were probably no more than ONE THOUSAND real Christians in the entire COUNTRY — and Belgium has a population of more than ten MILLION people! And the same was true in other countries: Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland . . . real Christianity is barely a blip on the map here in the 1990s. FRACTIONS of ONE PERCENT of the populations are actively professing Christ.

Now, keep in mind that these are countries where Christianity USED to be much stronger! After all, Europe was in many ways almost the nursery of the Christian faith. That's where it grew and became a worldwide religion. And yet, the mournful tones of the trumpet are really sounding retreat in country after country. In football terms, you'd have to say that the team is rapidly backing toward the wrong end zone. There's no way this team can win!

Well, all this week we want to discover good news, not bad. Our title, A GOD WHO CAN'T BE BEAT, gives away our perspective here on The Voice of Prophecy. But I want to really bring this whole week of Bible study down to a very personal level.

How is it in my life . . . and in YOUR life? We want to GROW in Jesus Christ, to GROW in grace. We want to become mature Christians who graduate from milk to solid food, as the Apostle Paul describes in First Corinthians chapter three. The book of Revelation describes God's saints in the last days as being men and women who follow the Lamb perfectly. They LOVE to obey. There's not one tiny shred of deception in them anymore.

So let me ask you: Is it happening? Is it happening as fast as you'd like? Is your life as victorious as you wish it were, or is your team going backwards on the football field, in the spiritual battlefield, the theater of operations?
You know, sometimes I look deep into my own life and I want to get discouraged. I say to myself, "Lonnie, you're more impatient now than two years ago! Ten bad habits back then are now FIFTEEN! I believe Jesus is coming soon and I want to experience holiness and sanctification . . . and it feels like the ship is sailing in the wrong direction."

Friend, I want to move to the arena of hope right now — both globally, universally, AND in our personal lives. Here's that good news: WE SERVE A GOD WHO CAN'T BE BEAT!

Let me say that again: We serve a God who CAN'T BE BEAT! God cannot lose! He's not going to lose! Despite how it looks right now, there's abundant evidence and proof that He's not going to be beat . . . and that those who ALLY themselves with Him aren't going to lose either.

I remember an election a few years ago where the evidence was clear that a certain candidate was going to win. I mean, as you went into Election Night, the polling evidence was certain that his side was going to come out on top.
But you know, as the first returns came in, his opponent was ahead. And not just ahead, but WAY ahead. Sixty-two to 38, that kind of thing. Tens of thousands of votes out in front. But those who had studied carefully, who had done the careful research, came on television and said: "No, what we're seeing right now is temporary. Mr. X is out front right now, but we can ASSURE you that before the night is over, Mr. Y is going to triumph."

And you know, it was a long night. Even at 11:30 that night, the man they SAID would win was still trailing. But when it came down to the final count, the last computer printout, the numbers that mattered — the right man was victorious as the scholars and students had predicted.

It's interesting that it was those who KNEW the numbers, who had STUDIED and done their HOMEWORK — THEY were the ones who didn't panic. Because of what they had read coming out of their computers and pie charts and demographics, they knew victory was assured. They knew their candidate would come through.

You know, I think it's that way with us. Maybe you ARE discouraged. The Church looks like it's faltering and failing; your own life might seem to be sailing backwards. But friend, let's be Bible students. What does the Bible say? Who does the Bible say wins?

All this week we'll encourage each other with Bible promises. Here's a little-known one from the Old Testament. Zephaniah 3:17:

"The Lord your God is with you, He is MIGHTY to save."
That's the New International Version. Maybe you prefer this rendition:
"The Lord your God is in your midst, A VICTORIOUS WARRIOR."
And I'm sure many of you listeners have grabbed hold of this verse, echoing through the centuries from the original triumphant shout by the Apostle Paul from Romans chapter eight:

"If God be for us, who can be against us?"

You know, in recent years there have been certain athletes who, when it came right down to the end, the playoffs, the World Series, they had something in them that just refused to lose. THEY WEREN'T GOING TO LOSE. Reggie Jackson was like that: "Mr. October." Magic Johnson of the Lakers. You could watch a game and it'd be down to the last few minutes, and somehow he'd find a way to steal a pass, drop a three-pointer, block a shot. He called the post-season games "Winning Time." He wasn't going to lose those games! Of course, on the other side of the floor, the Celtics' Larry Bird was the same way. HE wasn't going to lose those games either, which made for some great matchups.

Back in the 1960s Green Bay Packer Jerry Kramer wrote a book entitled Instant Replay. And he described a teammate, Max McGee, who had so much natural ability, such resources in talent, that he could kind of coast along on about a quarter of it . . . until that big game, that last big play. Then he would come through.

Well, friend, let me say very respectfully: GOD IS SIMPLY NOT GOING TO LOSE. It may be the bottom of the ninth, the two-minute drill, the last ticks of the clock in the fourth quarter. The score looks bad. The Church is struggling; the spiritual growth in your own life looks like a row of zeros, a shutout. But GOD ISN'T GOING TO LOSE. The Bible promises us that He's going to win, and that those who ally themselves with Him . . . they're going to be victorious too.

The game's getting down to Winning Time, so stay tuned.