Victory !

As a young person I was cradled and nurtured in the Army. I always had a special fascination with the war songs that spoke of the battle of the Christian soldier...that battle one was called to fight, and the certainty of victory if one trusted in God and kept steady.

As a former officer I still get a sense of that early wonder when I hear a congregation sing, "March on Salvation Soldier, march forward to the fight, with Jesus as our leader, we'll put the foe to flight. In spite of men and devils, we'll raise the banner high, for the day Victory's coming by and by." Or when they sing, "Ever is the War Cry victory, victory, ever is the War Cry victory! Write on your banners get it on your knees, victory,victory, victory!"

I don't know about you...but doesn't that stir your blood? Surely it did at one time. Think of it...the possibility of victory in the life of the believer (officer or not)? Victory in Christ!

It was the watch-word of the early church. It must be the watch-word of those former officers who find themselves struggling with feelings of abandonment and mistrust with the Army today.

The story from the book of Acts is proof of it. Peter and John had, in the name of Jesus, healed a man crippled from birth, and then preached with great power and authority to the crowd that had gathered. As a result, they were seized and taken before the Sanhedrin and admonished. They were told not to preach and teach about Jesus. There was enormous, intense opposition and pressure on Peter and John. All of the political and religious powers were against them. But notice it was the disciples who won the battle and were victorious, not the Sadducees!

There are three lesson that I derived from this story from Acts 4...

1. In order for the Christian to be victorious, one must be gripped with a keen sense of urgency, with a compulsion to win people to Christ. Notice from Acts 4 the tremendous motivation Peter and John had? They were told very pointedly in verse 18 not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. Their reply was very directly in verse 20 "We cannot but speak" or "we cannot stop telling." You see, there was that within them which made it impossible for them to do otherwise. It was a compulsion to speak, to tell, to witness. A compulsion that stemmed out a deep sense of urgency...from an inner conviction. "We cannot speak about the things we have seen and heard." Peter and John put it in even plainer terms...they said, "We must obey God! Why? They had been with Jesus. They had listened to his teachings, they saw his miracles, they had been through the events of the Crucifixion, they had seen the risen Christ, they had experienced Pentecost in the upper room. "and you ask us to keep quiet?" they said.

Part Two

Andrew L. Burton
Times Square Corps
New York, NY