Ep 128: Checkmate (w/ Chris McCurley)

For Your Sunday Morning Drive

Episode 128: Checkmate

What can a chess match teach us about the final victory?

Our guest this morning will tell us all about that here in a bit.

But first, I want to welcome you to the show. I'm Daniel Dalp, and this is For Your Sunday Morning Drive. And I'm here simply to provide a little bit of encouragement and focus on your drive to worship.

Before I hand the episode over to this week's guest, I do have just a little bit of housekeeping to take care of.

First, I'd like to ask your prayers for a young lady named Courtnee Coplea. Courtney has recently gone through surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor, and she's developed mutism. That procedure has also had a major impact on her motor skills.

Along with your prayers, I'd ask you to check out the crowdfunding page that has been set up by her husband, Zach. The funds from this will go a long way toward helping with some of their medical bills. I've thrown a link in today's show notes if you want to check it out.

I'd also like to say thanks to listener Paul, who left an encouraging voicemail through the website. Paul, I really appreciate it. Thank you for listening, and I'm glad you enjoyed the show.

Now I'm excited to introduce our guest for this morning, Brother Chris McCurley. Chris is the preaching minister for the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Dickson, Tennessee. He's also the host of the Dear Church Podcast. It's a fantastic show, and I've left a link in the show notes. I hope you check it out and subscribe.

Chris also serves on the board of directors for the Red River Family Encampment, and he's also the chaplain for the Dickson Fire Department.

Chris, thank you. I'm honored that you took time to be on the show today.

Well, enough chatter. Let's go ahead and get the show on the road.

This is Episode 128, "Checkmate."

Let's go to church.

The story is told of a famous chess champion who was on vacation in Europe. Because he loved art, he decided to visit several art galleries during his trip.

It was on a visit to one particular gallery that he came across a painting that both mesmerized and stupefied the chess champion. It was a painting of a chess match in progress, and seated on one side of the board was the devil. And the devil was filled with joy as he was sitting back in his chair, laughing hysterically.

On the other side of the chessboard was a young man sweating profusely, tears streaming down his face. He looked terrified as he chewed on his fingernails and surveyed the chessboard.

It wasn't hard to discern the message being conveyed in the painting, especially when the man on vacation read the title above the painting, which simply stated, "Checkmate."

The devil was about to make the final move to win the young man's soul. Victory was all but guaranteed, and the devil could hardly control his excitement.

The chess champion was highly intrigued, and he stood there staring at the painting for quite some time. And after what seemed like hours of studying the painting, the chess champion began to smile.

He found the proprietor of the art gallery and asked if he had a chessboard. The proprietor said that he did, and so he brought it to the vacationer, who laid it out beneath the painting itself and laid out the chessboard perfectly, resembling what was happening in the painting itself.

And the chess champion looked down at his own chessboard and looked up at the painting, looked down at his own board, then looked up at the painting.

He did this numerous times until finally he started to laugh, and he began a conversation with the young man in the picture.

He said, "Mr., I sure wish you could hear me right now because I've got good news."

He went on to say, "It only looks like the devil's winning. There's still one move left on the board, and you get to make it."

You see, the enemy had miscalculated, and therefore the nervous young man could wipe the sweat from his forehead, he could dry his tears, and he could take his fingers out of his mouth because it wasn't over.

There was one more move left on the board, and it was his to make.

There are far too many Christians who have been duped into thinking that the devil is in control of the board. Many have been duped into believing that the devil is calling all the shots and that we as humans are just puppets. Many have been duped into thinking that he has the final move.

I've got some good news for you today.

You can wipe that sweat from your forehead, you can dry your tears, and you can take your fingers out of your mouth because there's one more move left on the board, and you get to make it.

You ever noticed how the whole Old Testament looks like a chess match?

I mean, God made the first move when He created angels. There was rebellion in heaven led by Satan, leading to his removal and being ousted from God's presence.

God countered that move by creating man in His own image, a little lower than the angels. Satan stepped in once again and convinced Adam and Eve to listen to him rather than to God.

But God countered that move by allowing Adam and Eve to continue to live, albeit outside of paradise, and kick-start His redemptive plan.

Of course, Satan tried to counter that move by infiltrating Cain's heart, who committed the first murder in history when he killed his own brother Abel.

But God countered that move through the birth of Seth, so that men began to call on the name of the Lord again.

Then Satan countered that move through the birth of Nimrod, who built the nations of Babylon and Assyria, which rebelled against God.

Of course, God countered that move by calling a man by the name of Abraham to be the father of nations.

Satan countered with Egyptian slavery.

And God countered that move by raising up Moses to deliver His people and lead them toward a land flowing with milk and honey.

There's this move, counter, move, move, counter, move, and sometimes it's hard to tell who's actually winning the game.

But then you have this period of silence for several hundred years between the Testaments, and it's as if the two opponents are just staring at the board.

Then the New Testament essentially opens with God saying, "You know what? I'm tired of this mess. I'll just come down there and take care of it myself."

Of course, the truth is Jesus Christ was a part of the plan all along, and Satan tried to counter that move by tempting Jesus in the wilderness.

Jesus overcomes that with the Word of God, and eventually Satan makes his final move, filling the hearts of the religious leaders with hatred and maliciousness and having the Son of God nailed to a cross.

Then God makes the final move: the empty tomb, resurrection.

And please hear me on this, folks: that move is your move. You have the final move.

What are you going to do with it?

We have to understand that the devil operates by consent and cooperation. The devil needs permission to bring hell into your life. He needs a carrier.

That's precisely what he got with Adam and Eve. They gave him permission to ruin their paradise, and nothing has changed.

That old, worn-out phrase, "The devil made me do it," is never true.

The devil is a formidable foe with powerful influence, but he doesn't have authority. He needs consent and cooperation.

So don't give it to him.

Don't give the devil and his demons permission to drive you crazy.

The opposite of Adam and Eve is Jesus.

After His baptism, He goes into the wilderness for 40 days. He's tempted by Satan, and He ultimately defeats the devil and passes the test.

And His major weapon in the fight against Satan is the Word of God.

His strategy was to fight Satan's words with God's Word. In other words, God's voice was the loudest in His life.

And so He succeeds where Adam and Eve failed.

The devil needed a vehicle. He needed a carrier. And Jesus refused to be one.

You know, just hours before the first airstrikes on Baghdad, President George W. Bush was in contact with all of his commanders. And after hearing their briefings and recommendations, the responsibility fell on him to make the final call.

And before he proceeded, he asked each commander one very straightforward question:

"Do you have what you need to win?"

And each one of them answered, "Yes."

Church, Scripture is crystal clear that we have everything we need to win.

You have the final move.

What are you going to do with it?

Chris shared some excellent thoughts with us this morning. Now it's time to talk about them.

Our discussion questions for today are:

Why is it dangerous to believe that Satan has complete control over our lives?

How did Jesus respond to Satan's temptations, and what can we learn from His example?

If we have the final move, what should we do with the choices God has given us?

And I'll throw it over to Evelyn for this week's kids question.

Who's in control of our actions?

Thank you for listening. Thank you for taking time out of your week to listen to the show.

Big thanks to Chris McCurley for being on the show today.

Don't lose sight of the fact that Christ has already won us the victory.

I hope you have a fantastic day. Keep striving for God, and I'll see you Sunday.