The siege on the San Antonio mission lasted from february 23 to March 6,1836. Under General Santa Anna, 5,000 Mexican troops surrounded the Alamo and attacked it for thirteen days. Outnumbered almost 30 to 1, the Texas volunteers stood alone and fought valiantly. One by one, their ranks were thinned by the enemy's bullet and cannonballs. As the battle climaxed with a massive attacked over the mission walls, all 182 men were killed.
The volunteers strategy had been to delay the Mexican forces long enough for the Texas settlers to organize an army. And their supreme sacrifice did just that, Ashort time late, Texas troops under General Sam Houston mounted a suprise attacked at San Jacinto, captured Santa Ana, and secured independence for Texas. Even though the battle of the Alamo was lost, the war for Texas independence was won---all because of a band of dedicated men who were not afraid to stand alone when outnumbered.
Standing Alone against the world
Standing alone is never easy. Yet we have the assurance that "if God is for us, who can be against us? (Roman8:31b).God plus one always equal a majority; and, though we may lose some of the battles in this life, we know that the war will ultimately be won in eternity. The world may storm our walls, but it can't conquer our souls.
In (Roman 12:1-2) (Deuteronomy 6:10-15) Paul urgently pleads with believers to break away from the herd instinct--to stand alone with God instead of following the majority.
"I urge you therefore, brethen, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Note that the passage is not referring to the Salvation of the unsaved---"brethen"; nor is it suggesting an optional course of action---"I urge you"; nor is it implying that it will be easy "sacrifice." Instead, standing alone will take all that we have, our inner selves as well as our physical bodies, which is found in the word "present." "There is both the body to be presented and the self that does the presenting."
Putting each of these piece together, Barnhouse remarks on this passage:
Not conformed, but transformed... this is the life of the true believer in Christ. The first of these two
Illogical words, conformed, is the translation of a Greek word in the Testament and it means that we are not to go along with world's scheme. The second of these words, transformed, is the Greek word which means a very radical change from one nature and life to another. It is the word metamorphoomai which has given us our metamorphosis. When a tadpole is changed into frog or when a grub become a butterfly, we speak of it as metamorphosis. There has been a marked and more or less abrupt change in the form and structure of the creature.
The Explanation
For the believer, that change isn't cosmetic surgery but readical reconstruction---from a human shaped by the world to one being conformed to God's image, which is Jesus Christ (see Roman 8:29;1 John3:2). In others words, consecrating our lives to Christ involves our complete metaamorphosis.
Metamorphosis is seen most dramatically and beautifully in butterflies, where the larval stage differs greatly from the adult. This transformation occurs during the inactive pupal stage, in which the organsand tissues break down into liquid and are reorganized into an adult structure.
In human terms, we can sometimes grovel in the world's dirt, worming around in our little vermicular routines. But if we want more than just a seasonal changing of skins, if God is going to truly transform our lives, we'll have to lie down on the altar. Because before God can ever give us wings, He must dissolve our old self and restructure it according to His design.
Sizing Up the World's Mold
The Phillips translation of Roman 12:2 reads: "Don't let the world around you squeeze you i to its own mould." The contours of the world's mold flow along the lines of fortune---money and materialism: fame-- popularity and acceptance; power - - influence and control; and pleasure---sensual desires. If our inner conviction lie lumped in a pliable, amorphous mass, we'll be shaped by our peers instead of by God. "Do not be deceived," Paul warns in 1Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good morals." The wisdom of Solomon reflects the same conclusion concerning the pervasive influence of our associates:
He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm
(Proverb13:20)
Stampeded by the Herd
If you're following the herd, before you knowit, you may findyouself caughtup in a stampede, running with the crowd at break-neck speed. And if you're not careful, hou may just find yourself plunging headlong off the sked of a moral cliff. Moses warned the Israelites of just such a peril as they were about to enter the Promised Land, where they would encounter a wild herd of Canaanites.
"Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall fear the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name. You shall not follow others gods, any of the gods of the people who surround you, for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth." (Deut. 6:10-15).
Don't think for a moment that God doesn't care about the conduct of His children. Like a protective parent, He watches for dangers to which we are oblivious. How easy it would be for the Isrealites to follow the wrong role models. How easy it would be to forget who gave them the roof over their heads, the food on their plates, and the keys to their camels. Between the lines, Moses urges the adolescent nation to stand alone...to not yield to peer pressure...to not follow the pack.
Standing against the herd
Four principle emerge from this passage:
1.getting something for nothing breeds irresponsibility;
2.this,then, creates a careless attitude;
3.this,in turn, can lead to a loss of standards;
4.that lack of standardsprompts insecurity--which drives us into the "safety" of conformity.
No illustration of this stands out so clearly as the generation that entered the Promised Land. They forgot their Father and succumbed to the pressure of their peers.
How do we keep from forgetting God when the pressire of the world squeezes hard against our lives? In (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).Moses gave the Israelites a string to tie around their mental fingers.
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Moses' advice is just as timely today. If we will take it to heart, it will help us remember God in our daily lives so that we will be able to stand alone--even when outnumbered by a herd of Canaanites!
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