It Friday But Sunday's Coming!

"IT’S FRIDAY BUT SUNDAY IS COMING"

READ LUKE 23:44-46

IN 1948 HARRY S TRUMAN RAN FOR RE-ELECTION AS THE 33RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS TRUMAN’S FIRST TIME TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. HE BECAME PRESIDENT WHEN FDR DIED 83 DAYS INTO HIS 4TH TERM. TRUMAN WAS RUNNING AGAINST THOMAS DEWEY AND EVERY PUBLIC OPINION POLL PREDICATED THAT DEWEY WOULD WIN A LANDSLIDE.

NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE POLLED 50 TOP POLITICAL EXPERTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND THEY GAVE DEWEY 366 ELECTORAL VOTES, 100 MORE THAN HE NEEDED TO WIN.

THE FT. LAUDERDALE DAILY NEWS FLATLY ANNOUNCED THAT DEWEY WOULD GET AT LEAST 62% OF THE VOTE.

LIFE MAGAZINE FEATURED A FULL-PAGE PICTURE OF DEWEY WITH CAPTION, "THE NEW PRESIDENT TRAVELS BY FERRYBOAT OVER THE BROAD WATERS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY:

THE KIPLINGER LETTER ALREADY ON THE DESK OF LEADING BUSINESS MEN, DESCRIBED THE ECONOMIC POLICIES OF THE NEW DEWEY ADMINISTRATION.

AND THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN’S FINAL ELECTION REPORT WAS CALLED - "HARRY S TRUMAN - STUDY OF A FAILURE."

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HAD ALREADY PUBLISHED AS THEIR HEADLINE DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.

ON ELECTION NIGHT WHILE DEWEY WAS IN NEW YORK WORKING OUT THE FINAL BUGS OF HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, HARRY TRUMAN WAS IN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS MO, TAKING A TURKISH BATH, EATING A HAM SANDWICH AND DRINKING A GLASS OF MILK WATCHING THE LISTENING TO THE ELECTION RETURNS.

"AT 6 O’CLOCK I WAS DEFEATED, I WAS DEFEATED AT 10 O’CLOCK, AT MIDNIGHT I HEARD THE REPORT THAT I WAS 1,200,000 A HEAD BUT WAS STILL UNDOUBTEDLY BEATEN."

TRUMAN WENT TO BED AND WAS AWAKENED AT 4 AM BY A SECRET SERVICE MAN WHO TOLD HIM HE WAS AHEAD BY OVER 2,000,000 - BUT THE COMMENTATOR CONTINUED TO SAY HE COULDN’T SEE HOW TRUMAN COULD BE ELECTED...

DESPITE ALL THE COMMENTATORS, NEWSPAPER AND THE ALL THE POLLS THAT SAID HE DIDN’T EVEN HAVE THE REMOTEST CHANCE OF WINNING, HARRY S TRUMAN WAS STILL THE ELECTED CHOICE OF THE PEOPLE AS THEIR PRESIDENT...

WHAT LOOKED LIKE SURE DEFEAT TURNED INTO A GREAT VICTORY...

THE SAME IS TRUE OF CHRIST VICTORY AT CALVARY... WHEN MANY VIEWED WHAT TRANSPIRED ON THAT "NOT SO" GOOD FRIDAY 2,000 YEARS AGO -- THE OPINION POLLS WERE SAYING THAT JESUS WAS DEFEATED... THAT HE HAD LOST AND THE JEWISH LEADERS HAD WON...

WHILE JESUS HUNG ON THE CROSS HIS OPPONENTS WERE PLANNING THERE VICTORY PARTY AND WRITING THE HEADLINES FOR THE JERUSALEM CONSTITUTION... "JESUS DEFEATED AT CALVARY!"

THE SIGNAL THAT SEEMED TO BE COMING THROUGH THE DENSE FOG OF THOSE EVENTS WAS THAT IT WAS FINISHED -- IT WAS OVER -- JESUS LOST. THE FOG THAT HOVERED OVER JERUSALEM, AND OVER THE WORLD ON THAT FRIDAY WAS DARK, IT WAS THICK... IT LOOKED LIKE ANYTHING BUT A VICTORY....

IT BEGAN IN A LONELY GARDEN -- JESUS WAS IN THE UPPER ROOM WITH THE 11 (JUDAS HAD ALREADY LEFT TO PERFORM HIS DEED OF BETRAYAL). AND RIGHT BEFORE JESUS LEFT WITH THEM TO HEAD TOWARDS THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE JESUS SAID;

JOHN 14:28-31

THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD, SATAN WAS COMING FOR JESUS --COMING TO ATTACK OUR LORD WITH ALL HE HAD... AS JESUS WALKED WITH THE 11 TO THE GARDEN HE CONTINUED TO TEACH THEM ON THE WAY;

TEACHING THEM ABOUT THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES ABOUT HOW THEY MUST REMAIN IN HIM -- OBEY HIM (IF THEY WERE TO SURVIVE) - AND HE WARNED THAT THE ONE WHO DOES NOT REMAIN IN HIM IS LIKE A BRANCH THAT IS THROWN AWAY AND WITHERS AND SUCH BRANCHES HE SAYS ARE PICKED UP AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE.....

AND ON THE WAY JESUS ALSO TAUGHT THEM ABOUT HOW THEY WOULD BE HATED BECAUSE OF HIM AND HE TOLD THEM OF THE COMFORTER THAT WOULD SOON COME AND BE WITH THEM...

AND AFTER DESCENDING THE MT OF OLIVES THEY CAME TO THE GARDEN..... THERE JESUS WAS TO DO BATTLE WITH THE EVIL ONE. REMEMBER AFTER JESUS WAS TEMPTED BY SATAN AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS MINISTRY -- SATAN FAILED/IT DIDN’T WORK -- AND LUKE 4:13 READS, "WHEN THE DEVIL HAD FINISHED ALL THIS TEMPTING, HE LEFT HIM UNTIL AN OPPORTUNE TIME."

YOU KNOW, IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT THIS BATTLE TAKE PLACE HERE, AFTER ALL IT WAS IN A GARDEN THAT MAN FIRST GAVE INTO THE EVIL ONE AND SINNED DISOBEYING GOD’S WORD, AND NOW THOUSANDS OF YEARS LATER IN ANOTHER GARDEN JESUS FIGHTS THE ULTIMATE BATTLE WITH SATAN, BUT THIS TIME THE SERPENT WOULD BE CRUSHED AS JESUS CHOOSES TO BE OBEDIENT TO GOD’S WORD/WILL ... EVEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH..

WHEN JESUS ENTERED THE GARDEN HE LEFT THE 11 (SCRIPTURE SAYS), JUST A STONES THROW AWAY... SAYING TO THEM, "MY SOUL IS OVERWHELMED WITH SORROW TO THE POINT OF DEATH. STAY HERE AND KEEP WATCH WITH ME...."

AND JESUS FELL TO HIS KNEES AND PRAYED AND PRAYED TO THE FATHER -- HE WAS SO OVERCOME WITH EMOTIONS.... THAT HE JUST THREW HIMSELF FACE DOWN TO THE GROUND PRAYING TO GOD WITH SUCH INTENSITY IT WAS AS IF HE WAS SWEATING DROPS OF BLOOD....