It was an eight second knockout in the first round of the Junior Olympics. A stunning feat. A dazzling display of athleticism. There

have been some great boxers in history: Mike Tyson with his 8 second knockout, Muhammad Ali with his Rope A Dope at the

Rumble in the Jungle; but I contend that the world’s greatest boxer is neither Tyson nor Ali. No, the world’s greatest boxer is none

other than Jesus Christ.

 No boxer has ever gone up against, not one, not two, but three undefeated champions at the same time. Not only had these champions

never been knocked out, they’d never even been knocked down! But there was Jesus at the right hand of the Father, studying His

opponents, learning their weaknesses, considering His chances; and then one day He said, “Father, put me in, my heart is ready to doYour will–I will knock them out.”

So Jesus came, born of a virgin; He grew in wisdom and favor with God and man, and tangoed toe to toe with sin, death, and Satan.

So tonight I want to talk to you about the results of that epic boxing match for the fate of the world and for that we’ll start inZechariah 3:1.

The Undefeated Champions:

Satan: (Zechariah 3:1) The Trash Talker, the Father of Lies.

Muhammad Ali, best trash talker of all time. “Is that all you got?” - to George Foreman.Sin: (Genesis 4:7) The Dirty Fighter, turning strengths into weaknesses.

Bugs Bunny against the Crusher, pretends to faint and then wham! Right in the kisser. (Romans 7:8)Death: (Psalm 18:4) The Lurker, the one you can’t shake.

Rocky about Mr. T. “I can’t get him off of me.” Fear in his eyes.

Their Initial Knockdowns:

Satan: (Luke 10:17-19) Jesus dropped him like a sack of potatoes; he hit the mat and the first number in the ten count that he heard

was five. How’d He do it? v17 - His Name - John 17:11-12

Result for you? Protection from Satan’s trash talk (Zechariah 3:1-2) - God uses His Name to rebuke Satan; you should too.

Sin: (Romans 6:1-4, 11-14) Free from being slaves to sin. How’d He do it? His crucifixion and our joining Him in it (Galatians 2:20)

Result for you? No longer a slave to sin, his dirty fighting won’t master you any longer (1 John 5:18)

Death: (Matthew 27:45-46) - death is winning, it’s got Jesus on the ropes v50 - it looks like death won; Jesus is knocked down. v51-

53 - but no! Jesus gets up, laughs at death, and resurrects many holy people. How’d He do it? Hebrews 2:14-15 - shared our humanity

and then died. The classic Rope A Dope - death wasted its energy on Jesus.

Result for you? Free from the fear of death (Psalm 23:4) he’s no longer the one you can’t shake and need to fear .

Their Second Round Knockdowns:

Satan: (Revelation 20:1-3) Not a ten count, but a thousand year count! How’d He do it? His Second Coming. (Revelation 19:11-16)

Result for you? You come with Jesus and witness this great knockdown and lock up.

Sin: (Romans 5:21) Sin reigns through death - the wages of sin is death. But we will be set free from sin’s power through

resurrection. How’d He do it? 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - in a flash, at the resurrection

Result for you? v53 mortal becomes immortal, if the power of sin is death then immortality destroys sin.

Death: (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) I can see death saying “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and Jesus clocks him in the face and

says, “where oh death is your victory? where oh death is your sting?” How’d He do it? Isaiah 25:8 by swallowing up death forever Result for you? v9 an eternal salvation.

Their Third Round Knockouts:

Satan: (Revelation 20:7-10) Satan is KO’d by Jesus once and for all. Thrown into the lake of fire forever. How’d He do it? He’s the

King!

Result for you? (See Matthew 13:40-43 but wait until after talking about sin’s KO.)

Sin: (Revelation 20:11-13) sin in all its forms is judged once and for all. Sin is KO’d. How’d He do it? Through His Judgment Day.Result for you? Matthew 13:40-43 - Sin and Satan are weeded out forever, and the righteous shine like the sun.

Death: (1 Corinthians 15:26) Death is KO’d last. How’d He do it? Revelation 20:13-15 death is thrown into the lake of fire.

Result for you? Revelation 22:17 - no more death, no more curse, only trees and rivers of life.

Closing: Rocky movies - sometimes Rocky doesn’t have much motivation to fight but then Adrianne shows up and he’s like “whoa,

my love!” And he trains super hard and knocks out the unbeatable opponent. Well Jesus took one look at us and said, “Whoa! my

love! Let me go knock the brains out of sin, death, and Satan so we can be together forever!”