READ:
MATTHEW 9:20-22
As we
pointed out last week, a champion is not necessarily a man who has never been
knocked down. A champion is the one who wins at the end of a bout. When a boxer
goes into the ring against an opponent, it will have been determined how many
rounds the bout will go. Many times, champions get knocked down in the first
round only to beat the count and continue the fight. As the fight progresses,
the judges record the scores for each fighter. Eleven out of twelve rounds may
be won by one boxer who looks certain to carry the day. However, in the twelfth
round, the expected winner may get knocked out of the contest. The woman in our
Bible passage had twelve rounds with Satan, who continued winning towards the
end of the twelfth round. This woman must have visited many doctors. Every
year, she must have taken a little more from her financial reserve. Satan kept on
laughing. This woman was almost losing round twelve when she heard about Jesus
Christ. She decided to make contact with him at all cost and win the final
round. Satan had gathered a huge crowd, ready to celebrate the final victory,
but somehow, this woman pressed on. She got to where Jesus was and managed to
touch Him. The moment she touched the One called the Christ, she became
victorious. She became a champion. A champion may lose many rounds but his
determination never to let go gives him victory. In Mark 2:1-11, we fid another
set of champions who had a paralytic friend. They heard about Jesus and decided
that day was the day of victory. As they carried the man to Jesus Christ the
devil laughed at them. When the got to where Jesus was, people had surrounded
the whole place. All doors and windows were also blocked. They then went to the
roof and tore it open. Champions know when to be violent. Divine champions know
that the kingdom of God suffer violence and the violent take it by force. These
people tore the roof and laid their friend in front of Jesus Christ. What
lesson can you learn from their action?
MEMORIZE:
LUKE 18:1 –Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and
not lose heart,
