But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:12 NIV
The 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls were one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Their record was an amazing 72-10. It seemed like everything was clicking for them that season. Sporting News heralded them as the greatest NBA team of all time. The Bulls were nearly invincible that year with the exception of those ten games.
It was pretty obvious that the Bulls were going to win the championship. Determined, driven, mature and led by Michael Jordan the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor. Throughout the year the other teams focused on gaining membership to an elite club. They worked to join the ranks of the few who were able to beat the Bulls. We’ll call them spoilers.
The 1995-1996 Toronto Raptors were a new NBA team. No one expected much from them. They ended the season with a disappointing record of 21-61. Their year was devoid of many bright spots with the exception of March 24, 1996. This was night that the Raptors became the spoilers. Never headed to the playoffs and not destined to contend for a championship, the team from Toronto put a dent in the armor of the team from Chicago. That evening the Raptors celebrated a 109-108 over the Bulls. Toronto joined the elite few.
Our enemy is near the end of a losing season. The destiny of Christ’s followers is certain. In the end they will celebrate victory. Satan’s objective is to play the spoiler. The defeated foe won’t stop fighting even though his fate is sealed. He continues to harass us. He desires for us to share in his end. He recruits us to play spoiler for others. The more of us he can bring down, the more he wins in a losing campaign.
No one gave the Bulls anything. They fought for it. They didn’t end with a perfect record but a perfect record isn’t a prerequisite for greatness. At times they were overcome by spoilers but they didn’t quit. In the end the spoilers had nothing and the champions hoisted the trophy.
Excellent Message we have to keep in the forefront of our minds the truth of this great controversy and view it as a war. The more comfortable, the more distracted, the more enamored/taken with the things of this world we are means the less focus we have for the attack the enemy is planning. Thanks for the reminder bro and keep the posts coming!
Thanks for the support Kirk. Gotta keep putting the message out there!