A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers  

Revelation 1:18, “I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death.”  It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Lord Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral.  Late in the day it flashed the signal: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D--.” Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. People throughout the land were sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war. Suddenly the fog lifted, and it was discovered there was more to the message. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D---T-H-E--E-N-E-M-Y!”  It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory!  Listen, friend, the same thing happened when Jesus was laid in the tomb on a dark Friday afternoon. Hope seemed to have died, even in the hearts of Jesus’ most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had crept in on the followers and friendsof Jesus. They had “read” only part of the divine message. “Christ defeated” was all that they saw and knew. But then on the third day, a glorious Sunday morning, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding lifted, and the world received the complete message: “Christ defeated death and hell!” Defeat was turned into victory; death was turned to life!  What enemies are you facing today?  Remember this;that if Jesus Christ can defeat death, hell and the grave, there is no enemy that you face, that He has not already defeated.  Allow Him to help you overcome by walking in His victory.  The fog can lift, and usher you from a night of seeming defeat, into the light of a victorious new day.