Watch out for the feint

By Steve Qualls - Christpoint Church

In life, the odds seem to fall into one of two categories. They’re either stacked against us, or the odds are on our side.

Let me explain, if a young man were to climb atop a bridge to attempt a jump into the cool waters below, the odds would be stacked against anyone doing the same. Likewise, a doctor may enter your room to let you know the odds of a successful upcoming surgery. You may even be like a friend of mine who jumped a motorcycle across a vast expanse, just to prove he could. The odds were not in favor of him walking away unscathed, and the odds were right. Several surgeries later, he confidently walks with a limp. Everything in life comes with its own odds. We will seldom change them in the natural, but we can alter them greatly through the supernatural.

Let’s break down some of the odds we find ourselves facing in society today. Concerning the ever present coronavirus, that seems to loom universally everywhere we go, those that die from the disease in Tennessee are 3 to 5 per 100,000. So, the odds of each of us succumbing to COVID is maybe as high as 5 in 100,000. The odds of any single person being struck by lightning in their lifetime is 1 in 12,000. The odds of a person dying from diabetes is almost 900 per 100,000. I could go on with these statistics like 1 in 6 people will suffer from heart disease or battle some type of cancer in their lifetime, but it seems logical to allow science to speak for itself in that you have a much greater chance of being struck by lightning than dying from the coronavirus. The odds are simply against it.

What we are experiencing is referred to as a “feint.” This is a movement or blow intended to distract from the real punch. So if a feint is a distraction, then what are we being distracted from and who is doing the distracting? The answer to that lies once again in the science.

There are 3,141 counties in America. We would love to think that the average county could have a population of Christian believers as high as 55 percent. However, the actual recorded statistics are closer to 18 percent of the population in America are actually cultivating a relationship with Jesus enough to call themselves followers of Christ. While we are consumed with a 3 in 100,000 coronavirus chance, a feint is distracting us from the real pandemic. We are losing half to even three quarters of our population that are dying and going to hell. These are friends and family - they’re spouses and children. These people include those closest to us, and it seems we are allowing it to happen at an alarming rate. So, we know the what and the why, now let’s uncover the who.

His name is Satan, and, according to the book of John, recorded in the 10th chapter, he is the master of the feint. He would love for each of us to become so fear driven by a cold virus that we easily forget the greater issue. He doesn’t care if you live or die with this virus, he just doesn’t want you to live or die for Jesus. If you are not a believer or if you have someone in your family that rejects Christ, the odds are stacked against you or them.

In the book of Judges, God called a simple man by the name of Gideon to accomplish the impossible. He called him out of a hole in the ground to lead the Israelites against the Midianties. They were outnumbered four to one. Those were terrible enough odds, considering the Israelites had no formal training, no skills, and no weaponry. But God did something to level the odds, he reduced Gideon’s army by 22,000. Now they were outnumbered 13 to one. But God wasn’t finished and finally compressed the Israelite army to 1 percent of their original number. Now they were outnumbered 450 to 1, and God had them right where he wanted. They attacked the Midianties with torches, clay pots, and a shout. They won a decisive victory against insurmountable odds. Did you notice the feint in the story? It was the fact that the enemy had massive numbers to such a degree that Gideon and his countrymen were hiding in fear. Fear is the feint the enemy uses to drift our attention to the lesser things.

When all of this becomes yesterday’s news and a new tactical diversion is introduced to our culture, the reality will still remain that your household and mine are losing loved ones at an alarming rate. So let’s stop running in fear from the lesser and cast our focus on the greater. Remember this story in the book of Judges this Sunday when you want to avoid church or shy away from a small group study. The odds are always in our favor through supernatural positioning. Align our insecurities with God, and he will do more with 1 percent of his planning than we can accomplish with 100 percent of our own.

I would like to invite you to spend some time with us either in person or on one of our social media outlets. We are Christpoint Church on the square in Sparta. Our service times are at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. We’re real people, living real lives, serving a real God. Welcome home.