LAKER VICTORIES AND A CHINESE MONSOON

And now we've come down so close to the end of the war.
It's quite a feeling, really. God has won; that means His people have won too. We're in a great army, under a General who can't be beat. There's still some mopping up to be done, still some skirmishes to fight. In fact, there's actually a very major battle yet in the future. But in the War itself, a Victor has already been declared.

Here in Los Angeles, when the L.A. Lakers play a basketball game, sometimes you come down to the last few minutes and the home team finally has a lead that isn't going to get away. Now, in baseball you can't ever say that. Until that last out in the bottom of the ninth, anything can happen. But in an NBA game, because of the ticking of the clock, you get down to a certain point, and your lead is finally safe.

And Laker announcer Chick Hearn has always had his trademark way of announcing that, in his opinion, the Lakers have just reached that point. "The game is in the refrigerator," he announces to his listeners. "(**FAST**) The door's closed, the light is out, the eggs are cooling, the jello's jiggling, and the butter's getting hard."

They tell me that Red Auerbach, associated with the Boston Celtics for so many years, would watch with intensity in that fourth quarter, biting his nails and sweating and screaming. And then finally, when that moment of assurance came, he would lean back, take out a cigar and light it. And fans all over Boston Garden and watching on television, would give out a cry of triumph. "Yes! This ballgame's ours! We've won."

Now, friend, what does this mean to us? I said a moment ago that when God wins, His people win too. His victory is OUR victory; His assurance is something we can claim in our own lives.

You watch those NBA games on television, and just see how the FANS sitting in the seats are reacting. THEY'RE not playing the game; they're not getting a salary from the Lakers or the Celtics. THEY don't wear championship rings. But you try telling the fans that this isn't THEIR victory! In fact, I've seen stadiums where, when the last out is made or the clock runs out, it immediately goes up on the huge DiamondVision scoreboard: "WE win!" In other words, all of us. The victory belongs to the fans as well.

What does it mean to us as Christian soldiers, knowing that God is going to win? If you're marching under His banner, then this is the time to have confidence! Don't give up! Stand tall! You're marching with the winners.
I've read some wonderful missionary stories of Christians who ended up in POW camps during World War II. Behind Barbed Wire, about John and Barbara Oss, is one of my favorites. And when those captives of many different faith groups saw the first Allied planes fly over their camp and dip their wings as if to say, "Hang on!", a great shout of victory went through the entire camp. And all the guards and the prison commandant just stood by helplessly. They knew it was over too.

Right now I'd like for you to take this week's series title, A GOD WHO CAN'T BE BEAT . . . and just clutch it to your heart. Make it your own! Let that good news fill your life and become part of your own outlook, your own spiritual confidence.

In a book entitled Against the Tide by Angus Kinnear, there's a memorable story about the great Chinese preacher and writer, Watchman Nee. This goes back to the year 1925, when Watchman Nee and several other Christians were trying to evangelize the village of Mei-hwa. But this was right during the Lunar New Year there in China, with lots of fireworks and excitement, and people weren't paying much attention. Finally, one of the Christians, in frustration, asked a villager: "Why don't you people listen to us? Why doesn't anybody believe?"

Well, the villager explained to him, "We already have a god. His name is Ta-Wang (meaning Great King)." And the big day for Ta-Wang's festival was coming right up, January 11.

That was bad news for the Christians, of course. But then the villager went on and boasted that for the past 286 years, their powerful god, Ta-Wang, had provided unfailing sunshine on the day of his festival. So why should the village of Mei-hwa pay any heed to some new god?

Well, this new convert with the evangelistic team was just a 16-year-old boy. Li Kuo-Ching. And he was a little bit braver than maybe I might have been. Standing up tall, he said to the villager, "Well, MY God — who is the TRUE God — is going to make it RAIN on January 11. In fact, I GUARANTEE you that He'll do it. Rain on January 11."

Well, the whole village was quite impressed with such boldness. And they promised Li Kuo-Ching and Watchman Nee and all the Christians that if their God could make it rain on January 11, they would all gather and gladly listen to these stories about a Man named Jesus.

To tell the truth, Watchman Nee was secretly horrified that his brother had made such a big headline statement. Were they being presumptuous, promising what God would do? Were they putting heaven on the spot? But after a season of prayer, Nee had a phrase from Scripture flash into his mind: "Where is the God of Elijah?" He remembered Mount Carmel and a similar showdown . . . and he began to sense in his heart that God WOULD answer this prayer. So he joined the other preachers in spreading the word all through town. "January 11 it will surely rain."

That same evening, though, a bit of discouraging news came their way. Their host told them that all the local fishermen, who were quite skilled at predicting the weather several days in advance, were in full agreement: Beautiful sunshine on January 11. And of course, they had the 286-year record of sunshiny exploits by their own god, Ta-Wang. Watchman Nee found himself murmuring the same Bible question again: "Where is the God of Elijah?"
Finally the great morning arrived. January 11. Brilliant sunshine outside. Not a cloud anywhere. Watchman Nee and the other Christian preachers gathered for breakfast with one eye on their food and the other eye on the clear blue sky outside. Very quietly Watchman Nee said to the others, "I think the time is up. Rain must come now. We can bring it to the Lord's remembrance." So as they blessed the food, they also mentioned the rain once again.

Before the prayer was over, before the word "Amen" was spoken, the first raindrops fell. Then the drizzle turned into a shower. As Watchman Nee ate a second bowl of rice, he paused to thank God and add a Chinese P.S. "Lord, send even more." The rain began coming down in buckets. By the time breakfast was over, the streets outside were filled with deep water.

Some of the supporters of the defeated deity, Ta-Wang, hastily carried their idol outside into the monsoon riding in a sedan chair, hoping they could stop the shower. But as the downpour continued, they began to stumble in the water. Ta-Wang, the disgraced god, fell from the perch and fractured its jaw and left arm.

But . . . the local villagers weren't quite ready to give up just yet. Some of them got their calculators and abacus beads out and began to refigure the numbers. "Wait!" they said. "Hold everything! January 11 is the wrong day! No wonder! Our festival is supposed to be on January 14!"

Watchman Nee and his friends accepted this latest tactic calmly. "All right," they said as they started another prayer session. "We're going to ask our God for three days of sunshine; then at 6:00 p.m. on January 14, as you begin Ta-Wang's procession, it will rain again." Now the suspense was even greater.
For the next three days, under beautiful sunny skies, the Christians preached to huge audiences. Everyone was watching and paying great attention.

January 14 was another perfect day; not the slightest wisp of a cloud in the sky. The procession for the repaired god, Ta-Wang, was ready to begin. And at exactly 6:00 p.m., the God who couldn't be beat . . . sent His torrential rains and floods. Round Two, as the story was told from village to village and from generation to generation — Round Two was even greater than Round One. This new God, they all agreed, was surely the most powerful God in all of China.

Friend, I have to confess something to you. I didn't actually read this story in the original book, Against the Tide. I found it in another book, God: A Biography, by Steven Mosley, from a chapter with this title: VICTORIOUS . . . WARRIOR. Isn't that beautiful? We serve a God who can't be beat!

And here's the marvelous point of it all. These victories BY the Victorious Warrior — can be ours! They're performed on our behalf. God is ready to fight for me and to fight for you.

In the book of Isaiah, the 49th chapter, we read this wartime statement coming from our own God. Listen:

But this is what the Lord says: "Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I WILL CONTEND WITH THOSE WHO CONTEND WITH YOU, and your children I will save."

Aren't those nine great words? "I will contend with those who contend with you"? "Do you have enemies?" God asks. Enemies in the form of temptations, habits, spiritual challenges? Are the bullets flying dangerously close to your head? Our warrior God promises us: "Friend, your enemies will become My enemies. I will contend with those who contend with you. I will fight for you."
God fighting for me and fighting for you . . . that's quite a promise, isn't it? Especially when you remember that God . . . can NEVER . . . be beat.