BOAST IN THE LORD

Time with Jesus - 18 Aug 2013

Cassius Clay in his Prime

Hi all,

The first time I heard the voice of Cassius Clay as he was then, was in a motor car. We were driving back to Thundersley in Essex after a brief visit to the shops (I think). It must have been in 1962. The “Louisville Lip” as he was nicknamed back in those days, was talking about how he was going to deal with the next opponent on his list. 

The Louisville Lip

At the time, Cassius Marcellus Clay was beginning to climb the ladder of success to becoming the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. “I’ll fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee! The guy is “gonner go” in three!” These were the words, or something very like them, which came over the radio waves from the mouth of this “braggart”.

To the best of my knowledge, no boxer had spoken out like this on radio. We’d heard similar comments from wrestlers. It was part of their “performance”. Hearing a boxer boast this way was something brand new. Most of the listening audience thought it was some sort of a joke. But he kept up the “patter”. Then, on the night, in round three of the boxing match, Clay put him away!

Boast only in God

In the after fight boxing interview, Clay told the listeners. “I’m the greatest! No one can beat me. I’m the best!” The folk in UK thought he was crazy. But what do you do with a “crazy man” who proves to be right! Furthermore, as he continued his boxing career, he carried on with his boastful predictions. Then he did exactly what he had said. 

Henry Cooper

At that time, Clay went head to head with one of Britain’s favourite sons. Henry Cooper was a very good boxer. To be honest, he was more like a fighter. His boxing career had been mostly successful. But he had a real boxer’s face. It looked as though his nose had been broken. The skin above and around his eyes was thin. Too many blows in this area had given him a reputation for profuse bleeding. His corner knew all about it and they were always ready to step in between each round and “fix things up”. He was called “Enry the Ammer” because he had a “lethal” left hook. If Henry managed to “land his left hook” most fights were over.

The 2 Contestants

Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay, later to be known as Mohammed Ali, in Round Four at Wembley Stadium 50 years ago. "Enry's 'Ammer" felled Clay in the dying seconds of the 1963 non-title fight's fourth round. Ali eloquently said later on British television, Cooper "had hit me so hard that my ancestors in Africa felt it". With Clay withering, his trainer Angelo Dundee opened a small tear in one of his gloves. When noticed by the referee, Clay was told he required a new pair of gloves and the fifth round was delayed. (Courtesy Huffington Post Sport)

Cooper Knocks down Clay

Ali had a wonderful boxing career. Sadly he has also been bruised and battered. Age has caught up with him and he is only a shadow of the man he once was.

After the big fight

In Romans 10, Paul wrote, ⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Rom 10:9-10 NLT

There’s a fascinating principle here worth examining. Paul was writing specifically about the words and beliefs of a Christian. Certainly, Phyllida and I have used this verse to assist others who doubted their own salvation. 

Romans 10:9-10 brings clarity to the mind of doubters. But there is little doubt that this is a universal principle. It’s not only confined to Christianity. The principle is that if and when your confession (what you say with your mouth) begins to be believed in your heart, you will get what you say. In essence it’s the very substance of faith.

If you boast,boast in the Lord

God created the world. He did it by speaking. “Light be!” God said and it was so. Now what God says He believes. Actually in His case, there is no question concerning whether or not it will happen. I suspect it happens not just because He is God. God believes what He says in every respect. It is not accidental. His commands are irresistible.

Lord, I am "nothing" - You are everything!

Scripture suggests that God wants His people to do the same. We must believe it and speak it! When they come together, that mountain will be cast into the sea. You and I are able to say it. But do we believe it? You will have to settle that in your own heart.

Cassius Clay persisted saying “I’m the greatest!” He also believed it. Put these two factors together and you have dynamite. How do men of flesh and blood come up against such a combination? I’ve heard it said that Sony Liston was beaten before he went into the ring. Not just by a superb and super fit boxer, but by a man with such a powerful confession. It literally blew him away. It was a “no contest”.

Henry years later

Shalom,

Mohammed Ali Now

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 18 August 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	BOAST IN THE LORD
At the beginning of 1981, I had no Christian books. All I had was an old KJV Bible. It was a bit dog-eared. Not surprising since my parents gave it to me as a Christmas present in 1950. I’ve had it ever since. It’s fairly well marked dating back to my early days as a Christian in 1960. It had one or two notes which go back to those days. It may have been that I wrote them while attending training sessions for Billy Graham’s evangelistic campaign in Manchester. Looking back at the contents of this Bible, I’m convicted of some of the things I did from 1965 until 1981. I had been a naughty boy! In 1981, the very first Christian book I bought was “Confess It!” In those days we were all very much “into” believing with the heart and confession with the mouth. Len Jones wrote the book. He was related to William Wigglesworth. Those days were fascinating particularly regarding “What you say is what you get”. Most of us, myself included, were so intimidated by this, we forgot the importance of truth. People went to extreme lengths to avoid anything which might be used by the devil as an entrance into their life. I recall going through a time of great testing while experiencing divorce. It was tough. But if anyone asked me how I was, I would smile and say, “I’m fine!” It was an absolute lie. I felt like “death warmed up”. But I wouldn’t say anything about it to anyone. On reflection it seems to me that we had made a superstition out of what God was saying. Perhaps the best illustration I can think of was the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They originated from the days after the Babylonian captivity. The people rightly decided that their captivity was because they had failed to keep the Mosaic Law. In particular, with reference to the worship of idols. You will find that from then on, idols did not become an issue in Israel. What happened was they made an idol of the law. They made dozens of “fence laws” associated with the Mosaic law. The purpose was not so much how to keep them, but how to avoid breaking them. There are huge differences. Differences which Jesus addressed with them. A reading of Luke 11 indicates this. Len’s book looks at “What you get is what you say”. He then looks at the words and “confessions” of Cassius Clay, now Muhammad Ali. He points back to the days of the fight with Sonny Liston – the “big ugly bear” according to Cassius Clay. Len then makes a very interesting comment. He stated that the world in general and Sonny Liston in particular, had never come across a confession like Cassius Clay’s. In spite of all the odds against him winning, Clay’s confession was so powerful that it literally swept him along to victory. Clay had stumbled upon a “spiritual principle”. One that defies human understanding. The principle is that if you say something often enough, you will start to believe it. Thus, what Cassius Clay was saying with his mouth, became that which he believed in his heart. That sort of “confessions” is hard to beat. Sonny Liston got “caught up” in this spiritual principle. So, as we all know, Cassius Clay became the world heavyweight champion. There’s no question that he had remarkable talent and ability as a boxer. He may have become the champion another way. But his confession trashed Sony Liston. If you believe in you heart and confess with your mouth….. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let those who boast, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31 TNIV	Who of us remember what’s called “The good old days?” A young man was in boxing. His name – Cassius Clay. He said, “I am the greatest. I’ll knock him out in three.” And strangely as it sounds to us, that’s just what came to be. He really was a boaster. He never really cared. But most of his protagonists were quickly running scared. He “took on” Sonny Liston, an “Ugly bear” he said. And when the fight was over, Liston looked like he was dead. “I float in like a butterfly and sting just like a bee. There ain’t no boxer anywhere can beat the likes of me”! Boxer after boxer came and put him to the test. And when the match was over he’d proved he was the best. Muhammad Ali was the name he took when he converted. He became Muslim, but his quest was not diverted. And looking back upon it, I’m sure he was the best. But time has done its damage; he’s just like all the rest. No longer fast and nimble; he has “Parkinson’s disease”. And when you hear him talking now, no longer does he please. We look back at his history, when boxing was his game. He really was the greatest and deserved his boxing fame. But like so many boasters, God’s judgement came along; And he became a member of the “boastful people throng”. It is a sorry story, a very dismal tale. This happens to a braggart. They ultimately fail. I can’t forget the boasting of “the lip from Louisville”. He continued boasting and went over the hill. A shadow of the man he was; and crippled now with age. He got his fame and fortune, but with it came his wage. So when we look upon him now, it’s very sad to see, A man with so much talent, consigned to history. The moral of this story, is do not ever boast. You may get fame and fortune, but the Lord of heaven’s host, Will start a downward cycle and you’ll end up with defeat; That never, in your life time, you ever would repeat. When you do your boasting, boast only in the Lord. Only He is worthy, to be worshipped and adored. Boast of His achievements and what Jesus Christ has done! Tell the world you’re nobody compares with God’s own Son. Thank Him for salvation and praise Him for His care. That’s the sort of boasting we may do anywhere. He deserves the honour, the glory and the fame. Compared with Him, we’re nothing; and life is just a game. Jim Strickland Written 18th August 2012
			23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV
			8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ Philippians 3:8 NLT
			16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:16 NLT
			17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. Romans 15:17 ESV
			25 I don't have anyone in heaven but you. I don't want anything on earth besides you. Psalms 73:25 NIrV
			1 Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the LORD! The LORD has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because You rescued me. 1 Samuel 2:1 NLT
			1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalms 115:1 NLT