4th and Long - Goal to Go!

When I was a kid growing up in West Texas, we would frequently come to Big D (Dallas) to visit grandparents.  It was fun and filled with anticipation to see them along with the cousins, aunts and uncles in the big city.  Holidays were especially exciting with big meals, fun and presents.

I recall a Thanksgiving in the 1970's.  As was the tradition of the day, the women did all the work and the men sat around talking.  Scattered around on couches, chairs and recliners.

As it was Thanksgiving Day, the Dallas Cowboys were playing Football and so we sat, stared and talked a little.  Very sedentary.  The only movement was to move to the table and then back to the couch.

My grandfather had recently purchased a brand new Magnavox Console Color Television.  These were large, heavy, expensive and prized.  He also had purchased a brand new Lazy Boy Recliner and my dad had commandeered the chair for his use.

This television had the first remote control I ever saw.  Up to this point, I was the remote control... "Greg turn up the TV", "turn it down", "change the channel", "hold the antenna."   As my dad was not prone to use many words when not required, clicks, whistles and thumb signals directed my manual efforts.

A remote control was exciting!  These remotes were not infrared "IR" as they are today.  They operated on practically inaudible high pitched audio.

The Cowboys under Tom Landry and Rodge "the dodge" Staubach were a power house.  The Cowboys came out strong in the first half and went to the half time locker room in the lead.  In the third quarter they fell behind (I saw this many times).  Now late in the fourth quarter, in a must win, must score situation, the Cowboys found themselves 4th down long and goal to go and with only seconds to play - it happened.

Roger was in the shotgun, hurry up no huddle offense, the ball is snapped and he hands the ball to the legendary Robert Newhouse.  Robert had 40" thighs and when they needed someone to blow a hole in the line, he was the go-to man.  When Newhouse hit the line people moved out of the way willingly or not.

Just as Robert hit the line, my dad leaned forward in the new Lazy Boy and it made a high pitched squeak. The men who hadn't moved all day were leaning up, just as the squeak from the chair imitated the sound of the remote control and the clunky channel changer moved forward a number of places.

Suddenly everyone realizes what has happened and are in motion trying to move the channel back to it's proper place.

Fortunately the Cowboys scored and the newly introduced instant replay restored our missed experience.

Some years ago we were cleaning out the home of my late grandparents and I found that remote.

Funny now.  Good memories.  Prized possession.

This old story reminds me of how a day, a game and an experience were saved at the last moment.

This is my segue into today and prophecy.

Many times in our Bibles the stories of 4th and long are recounted.

God shares Himself with humanity and redeems humanity through the promised Messiah and Satan relentlessly and continuously tries to stop the plan:

      -The fruit tree in the garden and a wall of separation is created.

      -Cain kills Abel (from Satan's perspective, if they kill each other off we can stop the plan of redemption).

      -If the fallen angels intermarry with all of humanity then God will not be able to redeem humanity or will have to redeem the fallen angels (see Genesis 6 "Noah was perfect in his generations" - DNA - not corrupted).  Noah was not perfect - none is perfect, no not one.  I think his family of eight may have been the last to not have intermarried with the condemned.  4th and long if there ever was.

      -God says spread out, the post-flood world sticks together at Babel, losing their dependence on God.

      -Abraham plays favorites and his family is torn apart.

      -Isaac plays favorites with his boys and his family is torn apart, as well.

      -Jacob's family is no different and the favorite son, Joseph, is as good as dead.

      -Moses the one to lead Israel out of captivity, kills a man and hides in the desert.

      -King David sleeps with Bathsheba, has Uriah killed, his family falls apart, Absalom in rebellion, sister raped - the odds of a promised Messiah coming from this Maury Povich Show family are dropping by the hour.

      -Solomon's son Rehoboam causes a civil war, the kingdom is torn in two.  How will God bring a Messiah out of this mess?

      -Athaliah kills her grandchildren, heirs of the throne and part of the lineage of Judah that would bring the promised redeemer.  But God saved Joash.  (my favorite 4th and long).

      -Genesis 49:10 - promise from God that Judah could have some self rule until the Messiah came.  When Christ was a little boy in Nazareth, Rome removed this ability.   Men cut their beards, sat in sackcloth and cried like girls, because in their minds God's Word had been broken.  God had not come through at 4th and long, except of course He had and right on time. The Messiah was here!

      -Peter tries to stop Christ in the garden.

      -Pilate's wife suffers in a dream, and tries to stop the atoning sacrifice for sin.

The Bible is full of these and they strengthen my faith and lift my spirit.

Enter 2017.

Satan knows his time is short.  Knows he can't stop the rapture of Christ's Church.  His rage and fury are moving on Israel.  He tried to cause God's Word regarding the time of Jacob's trouble to be broken with the destruction of the Jews.  Of late Hitler's Final Solution was his focus.  If Satan can cause all the Jews to be killed, then God's final call for Israel to repent will fail and His reputation will be destroyed.

Satan knows the 70th Week of Daniel is dead ahead.  If he can cause us to kill each other off, there will be no one left to redeem.

I won't be surprised at all, if an event goes off in and around North Korea.  We cheer as each North Korean missile fails on launch or falls harmlessly in the ocean (or ignore the divine hand that has caused every missile fired out of the Gaza Strip to fall harmlessly into a field - what are the odds?). We pat our backs for good old American NSA / CIA hacking. 

Reminds me of the blood lust in the USA after 9/11 and the national pride in our great and mighty military.  Instead of humility, prayer, fasting, repentance - we got Isaiah 9:10 on U.S. soil.

God may be using the NSA to forward His plan, but it is The Restrainer that is keeping us from annihilation. 2 Peter 3:9 (God is patient not wanting any to perish).

Ephesians 6:12 - "our fight is not against flesh and blood."

These upcoming wars and rumors of war have a purpose.  Satan is making his final push to make God out to be a liar.  The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY is a TRILLION AND 0.  His Word never fails.  His mercies are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness.  He will not allow His children to suffer His wrath.

Take it to the bank.  Put a fork in it.  It is finished.  We are His.  We are sealed.  Title is transferred. We are not our own, we are bought with a price.

Still that's not to say that a nuclear exchange will not happen.  It could, before the time of the snatching away, but Satan's plan to stop the final call for Israel will not happen.

Perhaps North Korea and the U.S. will get into it.  Perhaps this will be the distraction that prevents the U.S. from intervening in the upcoming Psalm 83 war (might have been fulfilled in 1949 or 1967) or Ezekiel 38-39 war.  We'll see.  Certainly lines up.

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