Episode Transcript
Hello. I'm Doctor Kylie Fisher. Welcome to heavenly harmonies.
Luke, chapter one and verse 33 says, speaking of Jesus, he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. How is it that when kingdoms arise in this world, one kingdom conquers another? And yet here we read of Christ's kingdom, that it will last forever? How can this be? How is it that God's kingdom can last forever? Well, we're going to discover some answers to that in our hymn for today, victory through grace. Stay with me to learn how this song can draw you nearer to the heart of God.
In this season of heavenly harmonies, we are looking at the gospel, the amazing story of God's love and how God's plan to save us goes forward against fierce and terrible opposition. And so last week we saw that today we are living right in the very thick of this battle, and yet our loved commander, Christ, has personally become a part of this warfare. You know, he personally became a human being, came down and took human flesh, while at the same time retaining, yet not relying upon his divine nature.
And so he gained tremendous victory over our adversary, Satan, who we understand was once Lucifer, the leading angel in the heavenly courts, who, with one third of the angels, has rebelled against God and is now trying to overthrow God's kingdom of truth and righteousness. And yet the Bible assures us that God will ultimately be victorious. So last week, you know, we sort of touched on, and we've looked in previous episodes at the life of Christ here on earth.
And in our series this, in this new season, what we're going to be focusing on is more. Well, we started out with last week just looking briefly at the life of Christ, how that applies to us today. But we're going to be tracing, really the last, particularly the last 2000 years of earth's history since the life, death and resurrection of Christ on earth.
And so that brings us to the time of the early church and sort of like about the first century AD. And that's really the time period that we're focusing on with our song for today because it has some imagery that particularly applies to that time period. So as we're working through our songs in this season, I am going to be applying different songs to different time periods because we're.
Because we are looking at events that have happened in history. But the songs that we're looking at are, I just would like to say that they are broader than just applying to that specific time event. In planning this series, I've tried to choose songs that, you know, particularly reflect the, you know, the particular truths that were tested and that sort of.
That came to light in those times. And so that's where our song for today, victory through grace, comes from. Because when we look at the beginning, actually, of each of the stanzas in this very old hymn, victory through grace, there is an image here that particularly applies to that early church and to that early, very pure church.
So let's get into the song, and hopefully then my ravings might make some sense. All right, so the song begins, conquering now and still to conquer rider, the king in his might, leading the host of all of the faithful into the midst of the fight. See them with courage advancing, clad in their brilliant array, shouting the name of their leader.
Hear them exultingly say, not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race, but to the true and the faithful victory is promised through grace. So this song starts out with conquering now and still to conquer. So clearly we have here a picture of God's church.
And, you know, the church is described as various different things in the Bible. It's described under various different symbols. But one of the symbols that is used for the church is as an army.
So this is the church militant that's being described in this hymn, conquering now and still to conquer rideth the king in his might. Now, this idea, this image comes from the book of revelation, and it comes from chapter six. Now, some people wonder, can we actually understand the book of revelation? Well, I would like to assure you that, yes, we can understand the book of revelation, and in fact, the very name of the book, revelation means something that's revealed today.
Many people are, sadly, under the mistaken idea that we can't really understand the book of Revelation. Or maybe you've got to be a theologian to understand the book of Revelation. No, it is true that there are symbols in the book of Revelation, and you certainly do have to study the Bible deeply.
But, you know, you don't have to go to a theological college to understand these truths in revelation. It's, you know, and you don't even have to know Greek or which is what the New Testament was originally written in. The Bible has been translated into English, and it is.
And it's been translated into many other languages, you know, and it can be understood in those different languages. And, like, if you do know, you know, ancient Greek, then that's great. You can study more deeply into the truths of the Bible.
But you do not have to be a theologian. You do not have to be a scholar, no matter who you are, you can understand the truths of revelation if with a sincere heart you pray. And you are committed to not only studying revelation as an academic book, but putting into practise the truths that the Bible reveals.
The truths that the whole of the Bible reveals. Because Revelation is a book that ties together all the other books of the Bible. All the books of the Bible meet and end in revelation.
It is the book that. It's an apocalyptic book. It's a companion to the Book of Daniel from the Old Testament.
And it shows us how the truths of the Bible fit into an end time context and into the context in which we're living today. So that's so exciting. But we'd just like to read very, very quickly a wonderful blessing that's pronounced on those who study the book of Revelation right at the beginning of the Book of Revelation.
This is Revelation one three says, blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein. For the time is at hand. So the secret there is that we should not only read, we should not only hear, but we need to keep the things which are written therein.
If we are striving to obey God in true sincerity and we are keeping and we are doing the things that are in the book of revelation and in the Bible, God can reveal to us more truth, he can entrust us with more truth. That's so exciting. But let's see.
So anyway, that's just a little bit of a, sort of a tangent to say that we can understand these amazing truths in revelation. So let's have a look at how does revelation shed light on this soul? So let's have a look at revelation chapter six. And this is a vision that was given to John.
So John, the apostle John, the disciple John, who was exiled to the isle of patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. It tells us in Revelation chapter one. So John was there, you know, not on holiday, he was being persecuted.
And yet this was the place that God gave him visions. God specially preserved the life of the apostle John so that he could be given these visions and record these visions for us living today. You know, what precious truths these amazing truths are that we have in revelation and in the whole of the Bible, in fact.
So revelation chapter six. And this is a vision that John was given. And it's a vision where in, if you look in Revelation chapter five, there was this book or a scroll as books were back in John's day.
And it was sealed up with seven seals. But no one could open the seals until the slain lamb, remember this is all in symbols, came forward and he was able to open the book. Why? Because that slain lamb we know, John 129 says, behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
So that was Christ. You know, that slain lamb that John saw in the vision was Christ. And he was able to open this book and to show John that, you know, in prophetic vision, John saw history in advance, the history of our world.
And so when the first of the seals was opened, what did John see? So revelation six, one I saw in the lamb, opened one of the seals. And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse.
And he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer. Now what does all of this represent? Does that mean when we're talking about people with bows that are going out to conquer, does that mean we're using physical weapons? Well, I think we answered that question last in our last episode when we said that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're spiritual, they're mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. They cast down our pride, our human pride, and they help us to realise our need of Christ.
And so this is actually a symbolic depiction of the early church. And you notice that this is a white horse and so resembles a church that was pure. And, you know, what was that early church like? Let's have a look because we do have a description in the Bible.
Let's have a look at acts chapter two. And that describes what this early church was like. Acts chapter two and verse 41.
Now this comes after a sermon preached by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, when there were many, many jewish people that had all gathered for this special feast, this special national jewish festival. And it says there they that gladly received his word were baptised the same day. There were added unto them about 3000 souls.
So in other words, on that day, 3000 people. 3000 people, as a result of one sermon, made the decision that they were going to follow Christ, that they were going to commit their lives to him, that they were going to stand, in other words, for truth and for righteousness. And so what was this early community like? Well, we're told in the next few verses, acts chapter two and verse 42 says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread and in prayers and fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Now verse 44 says, all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favour with all the people. And also if we look at acts chapter four and verse 32, we have a very similar description.
It says the multitude of them that believed multitude because by this time even more people, another 5000 on another day, you know, and the word of God just continued to spread. You know, every day people were choosing, they were deciding to become christians. So there were thousands and thousands of people.
So there's the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that all of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. Now when it says that now, it doesn't mean that they did not have individual possessions because, you know, Paul spoke about bringing his cloak and things like this.
So it doesn't mean that, you know, every day they just, you know, you would just go out and just grab a t shirt off the line or whatever. But you know, when they had, you know, many of them, because of their decision to follow Christ, many of them were immediately disowned by, you know, family, by friends. And so they were thrown out, they had nowhere to live.
And so this is the sense in which, you know, they all cared for each other's needs. So it doesn't mean, you know, that they didn't own anything, but it just means that they were all sharing with each other, all caring about each other. That's the way that this first vibrant community of christians that were filled with the pure love of Christ, you know, it was a very pure church symbolised by that white horse.
They went forth conquering and to conquer. And every day people were joining the church because they could see the love of Christ reflected in every person. Let's just look at another verse about that, John 1335.
And that says, and Jesus is speaking here. He says, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. And so love is the power of Christ's kingdom.
You know, it's a completely different kingdom to all of these earthly kingdoms. And that's the secret of why the kingdom of God will exist for all eternity. Whereas these other kingdoms fall so conquering now and still to conquer rideth the king in his might, leading the host of all of the faithful into the midst of the fight.
See them with courage advancing, clad in their brilliant array. And of course, that's talking about, you know, I guess that's like our spiritual armour shouting the name of their leader. Hear them exultingly say, you know, so when we think about the victories that we do gain in spiritual warfare and in this battle, sort of against sin and against ourself and our own, you know, evil desires, not that.
That doesn't mean that we can't enjoy things on earth, you know, like, it's not an evil desire to, like, be enjoying flowers and to be spending time with family and things like this. So all of those things, of course, are the sorts of pleasures that God created for us to enjoy. But, you know, when we gain victories over our own sinful pride and lust and these other sorts of things, it's not through our own strength, we gain it through Christ.
And so let's definitely look at a verse about this, because the chorus of this song, as I was saying before, yet to the true and the faithful, victory is promised through grace. Let's have a look at a beautiful Bible verse about this in Ephesians, chapter two. Ephesians, chapter two, verse eight, which says, for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So does this mean that we don't do anything as Christians? Well, no. Verse ten, the very next verse says, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
So as Christians, we are called to good works. We are called to a change of lifestyle. But, you know, we do all of those things through Christ.
And our good works are the fruit. They are not the root of our faith. Good works are the fruit, whereas faith is the root.
So to the true and faithful, victory is promised through grace. Let's go on and look at the second verse in this hymn which says, conquering now and still to conquer. Who is this wonderful king? Whence are the armies which he leadeth? While of his glory they sing, he is our lord and redeemer, saviour and monarch divine.
They are the stars that forever bright in his kingdom will shine. So at the beginning of this second verse, we have some questions here. Who is this wonderful king? When to the armies which he leadeth while of his glory they sing.
Now, when I hear these questions, this is a particular literary device and it's got a kind of a long and complicated name. It's called anthropophora, or sometimes a bit of a shorter one, is hypophora. So it's a little bit different to a rhetorical question.
With a rhetorical question, you're not actually really expecting an answer. But when we have hypophora, you do have an answer, but it's a kind of an expected answer. And you don't ask the question because you don't know the answer, but because you love to repeat the answer.
And so the question is like, it's a rhetorical device. And this is actually used in psalm 24. Psalm 24.
And in this psalm, there's actually a couple of different groups singing or saying the words of the last part of this psalm, starting from verse seven, which says, lift up your heads, o ye gates, and be ye. Lift up ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in. Now, that's from a group that's approaching Jerusalem.
This psalm was actually written by King David when they were bringing the ark into the city of Jerusalem here on earth. And so there was a group that was bringing the ark, this special golden chest that contained the law of God. And this was a very, very sacred box that no one was allowed to look at except the high priest one day per year.
And he had to have a censer with a cloud of incense. He could not look directly at it because this was where God's presence actually dwelt. It was a symbol of his throne.
And so they were bringing this sacred chest to Jerusalem. So this was the. The outside group that was saying, lift up your heads and your gates, and the king of glory shall come in.
And then there was a group inside that were, you know, had charge of the gates. And they said, who is this king of glory? Now, they did not say that because they didn't know the answer, but they said it because they loved to hear God's name exalted. And so the outside group answers, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, o ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors. And the king of glory shall come in.
And once again, the group inside says, who is this king of glory? And the outside group says, the lord of hosts. He is the king of glory. And then the gates open wide.
And so that is the type of question and the literary device that's being used here in this song. Who is this wonderful king? Where to the armies which he leadeth while of his glory they sing he is our lord and redeemer, they say, saviour and monarch divine. They are the stars that forever bright in his kingdom will shine.
That's, of course, a reference to Daniel chapter twelve, which speaks about the righteous shining like the stars. Let's go on to verse three, which says, conquering now and still to conquer Jesus, thou ruler of all thrones and their sceptres all shall perish. Crowns and their splendour shall fall.
You know, when you look in the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar was given a vision of the kingdoms of this world. And they were represented by different metals in a great statue that was like in the shape of a human being. And there was like a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay.
These were representing all the kingdoms of earth. But, you know, at the end of that dream, a great rock came and smote the image upon its feet. And all of those kingdoms were just smashed to smithereens and the wind carried them away so that no place was found for them.
That rock represents the kingdom of Christ, which is soon to be set up on this earth. And so, as this song says, thrones, their sceptres all shall perish crowns and their splendour shall fall yet shall the armies thou leadest faithful and true to the last find in thy mansions eternal rest when their warfare is past now is a time of battle it can be pretty scary at times but we so much look forward to that rest in the mansions eternal so let's listen to this wonderful song victory through grace sung by fountainview conquering now and still to conquer right at the king in his life leading the host of all the faithful into the midst of the fight see them with courage and mercy like the brilliance of rain shouting the name of heaven in an exalting we say nothing is wrong in the battle not to the swift is the rain yes, the true and the faithful victory promise to grace every hour I need o conquering now and still to conquer Jesus the ruler of all brokenness all shall perish. Crowns in their splendour shall fall yet shall we always it will turn to the last one eternal the strong in the battle nothing promise to grace yes, in the true and all faithful victory is promised through grace revelation 17:14 says that the lamb will overcome all of these other armies, all of the forces of evil for he is Lord of lords and king of kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful is it your desire to be amongst that group, will you make the decision today to stand with Christ, to stand for truth and in his strength to war against the powers of evil? Let's say a brief prayer together about this. Dear Lord, we're so grateful for Christ and how he showed us the way, how he came down to earth, emptied himself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race.
Dear Lord, how can anything that we can do for you compare with the love of Christ for us? Help us, dear Lord, to be filled with that same love for Christ and for those for whom he has died. Dear Lord, please help us today to stand for truth and to stand for righteousness, to have the love of the truth in our hearts and Christ's true love for others. And so I just pray these things.
Please, dear Lord, in the wonderful and worthy name of Jesus and for his sake. Amen. Thank you so much for joining me today on heavenly harmonies.
I hope that you will be able to join me again when we look at another rousing him. But until then, goodbye. And may you keep a song in your heart and keep near to the heart of God.
You have been listening to a production of 3ABN Australia radio.
