Last Saturday night, I watched a good bit of the Oklahoma State – Texas (busted…huge college football fan). Amazingly, the turning point of the game was a punt. UT had stopped OSU on defense forcing OSU to punt from their own 34 yard line. At the time, Texas had stormed back from a 31-14 deficit to close the margin to 31-28 all the momentum on their side. Then, the OSU punter (all 5’10”) came on the field and boomed the ball 57 yards forcing the UT punt returner to retreat momentum taking him back to his one yard line where he was tackled. Zach Sinor, the punter, had “flipped the field” with momentum clearly switching back to OSU. From that point on his team took over the game.
The devil tries to flip the field to regain momentum…
• often thru a “fiery dart” that fixates our mind on dealing with it (Eph. 6:16).
• paralyzing through noise (1 Peter 5:8 Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.)
• as the father of lies deceiving to make us follow him down a rat hole away from the Lord’s will (John 8 44 “the devil does not hold the truth, there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”)
• not surprisingly by “masquerading as an angel of light, servants of righteousness” to get us off track. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
• sucking us into conformity to this world through “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and he pride of life” (1 John 2:16).
• accusing you with guilt, shame, blame, etc. trying to force you into fear, uncertainty and doubt. “He comes to steel, kill and destroy” (John 10:10).
Seemingly, what a foreboding foe?! However, Jesus flipped the field for eternity when he proclaimed from the cross “it is finished”. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Then, he got out of the grave and identified us, His children, with His resurrected power. He ascended to heaven and took us with Him. Colossians 3:3 tells us our glorious position. “3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God”…in heaven. Again, brothers, He flipped the field for eternity. “Greater He who is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). He is prepared to “demolish every stronghold and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into the captivity of obedience to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). The field has been flipped. Now, stand in the victory!
Barnabas Man 