Invincibility

Happy Sunday! I'm thrilled to be talking to you today from beautiful Saint Augustine, Florida. While I'm here, I'm going to film several sermons on peace. The beach is such a peaceful place for me. Each year, countless numbers of people head to the beach for the same reason.

I can sit on the shore and look at the waves, and all my worries can drift away. The good news today is that you can truly have peace wherever you are. You don't have to go to the beach.

Years ago, Jerry Lee Lewis did a song called "Whole Lot of Shaking Going On." I think that's a good description of the world we live in. There's a whole lot of shaking going on. I saved a text message from a dear friend of mine from 11 years ago. He wrote, "Something weird just happened. I think they're calling it an earthquake. Cracker Barrel just started moving and rattling everything on the walls. It was wild, and it was crazy."

In that an accurate description of this world? Wild and crazy. Today I want to talk about Christian invincibility. That should give you peace, shouldn't it? Invincibility. I like that word. It's a bold, strong word. It's a confident word.

If we understand scripture, we will also see that it is an accurate word for the believer in this shaky world. If you are a Christian, you are invincible. Let me explain. You may know part of Romans 8:31. The last part of the verse gives a great statement through the form of a question.

You're likely familiar with these words: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" "If God is for us, who can be against us?" In the Greek language, this verse is a little different. In my Bible, the words "is" and "can" are in italics. They were added to help us get get it.

In the original language, it reads something like, "If God for us, who against us?" There are no verbs. It's done this way because the verse is timeless, without regard to time, past, present, or future. This is a fixed and permanent reality.

The word "if" also is better translated as "sense." "Sense God for us, who against us?" Here's the point: God is God, and he is for us. And since he is for us, no one or no thing can successfully be against us. That's what makes us invincible in this shaky old world.

David, the young man who killed the great giant Goliath, wrote many of the Psalms. In Psalm 27:1, David said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" David understood that with God he was invincible.

When my friend texted me about being in an earthquake, my mind immediately went to Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." To have peace, we must remember that God is our refuge and our strength.

Psalms 46 goes on to remind us, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." I love being reminded that today our God is the same God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. The same power, the same protection, the same refuge. The Lord of hosts is with us.

When it comes down to it, peace is a matter of focus. Will you focus on the world, or will you focus on the God of this universe? When I focus on God, I realize that I am invincible. Oh sure, my body can be destroyed, and I can take my last breath in this world. My invincibility that I have is eternal life, and that I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Knowing that, I have peace. By the way, while I'm at the beach, I will not watch the news. Actually, I quit watching the news years ago. That has helped my focus.

I will close with a few words from the song "Trumpet of Jesus" by the Imperials: "I listen to the trumpet of Jesus while the world hears a different sound. I march to the trumpet of God Almighty while others just wander around." May God bless you as you find your peace in him, as you march to the trumpet of Jesus.

Pray with me. Lord, whatever my friends are going through today, we pray that they feel that invincibility that can only come through you. If we understand scripture, and if we believe what you tell us, well, you are always with us, and nothing or no one can separate us from your love. Thank you bright for that, and give us peace forevermore. In Jesus Christ's name we pray, amen. God bless.