 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. - John 16: 33
Suppose Jesus had come, but failed to complete His assignment. What if Jesus had become one of us through incarnation and then, been defeated by the Devil, like so many of the rest of us? If so, then His coming would have been for naught and we would yet be in our sins. But, thanks be to God that Jesus not only came and became, He overcame! 1. He overcame anxiety and fear. (These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.) On the eve of His crucifixion, the Lord assured His anxious disciples that whatever they were about to face, He had already overcome. In spite of rumors of war, they would have peace. Without regard to rumblings of economic doom, they would have prosperity. Never mind the ranting and railing of oppressors, they would have protection. Because He overcame, they could relax in the confidence that they would too. 2. He overcame depression and sorrow. (...but be of good cheer...) Often a battle is lost long before it has even begun because the spirit of the warrior has been broken and defeated. The odds seem overwhelming. The tasks seem impossible. Loss seems inevitable. Sorrow, mourning, grief and depression seem quite normal. Still, Jesus declares: "Be of good cheer!" Not bad cheer which is like whistling through a cemetery at night. Good cheer is a real and sincere joy based on the love, grace and power of God to see you through. 3. He overcame the world. (I have overcome the world.) Have you forgotten Psalm 24: 1? "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." The whole earth and everything in it belongs to Him. It obeys Him. It serves Him. It is subject to Him. When the Master says: "I have overcome the world," that means it and everybody and everything in it. Period. Full stop. End of discussion. Thank God He overcame! Pastor Benjamin Morris🙏🏽
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 “But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” (Jeremiah 7:24, ESV)
There’s a fable about two goats frisking gaily on the rocky steeps of a mountain valley, chanced to meet, one on each side of a deep chasm through which poured a mighty mountain torrent. The trunk of a fallen tree formed the only means of crossing the chasm, and on this not even two squirrels could have passed each other in safety. The narrow path would have made the bravest tremble but not these two goats. Their pride would not permit either to stand aside for the other. One set her foot on the log. The other did likewise. In the middle they met horn to horn. Neither would give way, and so they both fell, to be swept away by the roaring waters below. Stubbornness is hard on relationships, which can cause one individual to feel they have a controlling partner or both parties constantly buck heads, neither making room for the other, as in the case of the goats. The remedy for stubbornness is a responsive and tender heart. We then learn to understand that just because it’s not being done the way we want or envision it, doesn’t mean that we have lost anything. We are just moving aside so that the other person can get by. We are giving space to consider another’s opinion, experience, feelings, and emotions so that we both feel heard and seen and prevent the relationship from falling into the roaring waters. GiGi❤️  Part of change for our future begins with us, individually. We have to change too! We have to be forgiving, we have to extend patience, we have to be willing to reach across the aisle to teach and love the way God calls us to love one another. This is referenced over and over in scripture. Here’s just a few:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12-13, NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV) “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9, NIV) We have a responsibility as followers of Christ to make the first move. It can be small gestures! Smile with your eyes when masked, people will feel that warmth! Smile when not masked! Ask a stranger how they are! A quick, “How’s it going today?” will work nicely if you’re not in a rush. Wish a stranger a great day! Offer to take the cart back to the store, offer to pay for someone’s coffee, or just make a space for someone to merge ahead of you with a smile. Help the process of healing by making the first move beyond the lines of division. Find a way to let others who don’t look like you know, “I’m approachable.” These are just ice breakers to chisel walls and loosen hesitation. It’s just a start! We have to begin somewhere and people who claim to love the Lord are responsible for facilitating Godly interactions. Let’s pour out love to all of God’s people when the opportunity presents itself. You may take someone by surprise and change the trajectory of their lives. God is able! May He use us to complete His work. Nikkie💕  I admire how people stop to think before they respond. In the space of quietness you can see them weighing what they will say, or deciding if speaking any words at all is warranted. Our 44th president of the United States, President Barack Obama has mastered this art of silence. His pauses are priceless. We witnessed the art of pausing and self-control, before speaking in Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson as she reflected before answering certain questions during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Silence can be an indicator that we are listening, waiting, and resisting the compulsion to fill a void with unnecessary words. Scripture reveals that silence conveys wisdom and intelligence: “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” (Psalm 17:28) “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Psalm 29:11). Silence is also an example of restraint. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3) Then there’s the issue of self control: “Think how much more in control you'd not only appear but actually be if your first response upon hearing or seeing something that sparks a strong reaction in you wasn't to lash out emotionally but instead to become—silent.” (Dr. Alex Lickerman) The whole idea of silence may seem foreign in an era of cell phones, text messages, emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Throughout the day these platforms scream at us for a response. Yet, I don’t know about you but my soul cries out for silence, to sit before God, listen and wait. GiGi❤️  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12: 3)
Faith is not some special commodity which is only given to a select few. According to this passage, to each person, God has dealt a measure of faith. Therefore, the question is never whether or not we have faith. The question is what are we doing with the faith we have? A measure of faith is like a seed which, if properly cultivated, can grow into a huge tree. A measure of faith is like a caterpillar which after a period of incubation comes forth transformed into a beautiful butterfly. A measure of faith is like a baby conceived in a womb that grows into a wonderful woman or a mighty man. The focus should not be on the size of the measure, but on the fact that we all have a measure. Hence, the measure of a person is not how much faith he or she has. The true test is how much he or she feeds and develops that measure into miracles. Pastor Benjamin Morris🙏🏽  For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4) In times of attack, in times of tribulations… do not fear. Even when we see so much going on, do not fear! The news seems to increasingly have so much attention on challenges that can feel numerous in varying concerns, outright scary and overwhelming. However, we are equipped with our faith, we are wrapped in His protection, His love and we are covered. He will work it out for our good. Trust Him, maintain your faith! “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT) We are on the winning side of it all. Do not fear! Our angels carry the authority of God and surround us, every day. Not just some days, but every day, every hour, every second, we are protected! No weapon formed shall prosper, speak it & believe it! We are so powerful through God with the use of our faith. He is for us! Be aggressive! Let’s stand firm in our faith and speak the word of the Lord over Covid, over Ukraine, Haiti, over the Taliban, over our homes, over our children, over our marriages, over mental illnesses, over our travels, over our jobs! We magnify Your Name today! We thank you Lord for all that You’ve done, all that You’re doing and all that You will continue to do! Thank you for this constant and very present seal of protection. The devil is bound! We speak it so, in Jesus’s precious Name. Nikkie💕  Jesus demonstrated self control throughout his ministry but, oh how exemplary it was as he entered the last phase of his purpose. He provided us an example of how to be prepared for whatever life throws at us, the importance of prayer for self control and continued focus.
The disciples had already displayed their inability to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Twice he found them asleep when they should have been praying. Thus, when Judas plants the kiss, they are ready to fight as the soldiers move in to take Jesus away. Peter even cuts off a soldier's ear. Jesus’ answer is one that we should tuck away as a constant reminder of the power we have that diminishes any type of human control we think we have. "Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53-54) Jesus was letting us know how much power we have. If we would just slow down and submit ourselves to God we will remember the power of prayer and the host of angels that the Lord has given charge over us. Not just praying when we need something but a life of prayer. Jesus was cognizant of how His life was the fulfillment of scripture. We must also be aware that we have purpose. Therefore, we can’t say and do what we want to. Words and actions matter. Either we are building or tearing down. Therefore, our lives will be a reflection of our Garden of Gethsemane prayer time. GiGi❤️  For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 37:9)
The child of God must not conduct him/herself as the individual in the world does. We can’t just see something and decide that we are going to have it. Not all things edify. All of our needs will be supplied but not necessarily when we want or expect it. We cannot give in to every emotion. Even, when we are in trouble and distress, we might not get our deliverance right away just because we feel we need to be delivered right in that moment. The child of God is subject to the things of God. We must learn to wait on him, exercise submission to his will and he will manifest his blessings and deliver us in due season. Frequently we may have to wait for temporal blessings. It may not be safe for us to obtain the desire of our heart, because our heart is as yet too much occupied with the world and the things thereof. We may have to wait for deliverance from trouble, for as yet the furnace may not have accomplished its refining work. You may be ill, and you may pray to God to make you well, but he may still allow his beloved to be sick; to you sickness may be healthier than health. You are very poor, and you would like to struggle out of abject penury. By all means struggle on; but do not murmur if you should not be successful; poverty may be a richer state for you than wealth. There may be something in your character which cannot be perfected except by suffering and labour; and it is better that your character be perfected than your substance increased. None of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials. As the sycamore fig never ripens if it be not bruised, as the corn does not leave the husk without threshing, and as wheat makes no fine flour till it be ground, so are of little use till we are afflicted. Why should we be so eager to escape such benefits? We shall have to wait with patience, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” He waited to give grace to us, let us wait to give glory to him. Charles Spurgeon GiGi❤️  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Even after Peter knew the Lord and walked with Him, and was taught of Him, he was still impulsive. He still had a tendency to act first and think later. That was his nature, something he had to constantly work at until he grew restraint and strength of character. We learn from Peter’s character challenges that what we say and what we do, matters. We can’t take the words back once they are spoken or undo the act once it is done. When Peter acted before thinking, it resulted in him cutting off a soldier’s ear. It took a miracle to correct his error. “Perhaps you think that, when you were converted you lost your old selves altogether. I can assure you that you did not: the hasty temper, the sluggish constitution, the gloomy tendency, or the fickle humour, will be there as long as you are here. You received a new self, and a better self, but the old self is there still. Your mother will be able to recognize you, she will know that it is the same John, or the same Mary, for your foibles and weaknesses will crop up. You must keep watch.” Charles Spurgeon Yes, we must keep watch, and be diligent because “character is not forged with a single event.” Character is developed over time. Peter had to go through as he suffered beatings and infractions before he developed the character that would never deny Jesus again as he had, 3 times, in the courtyard. (Matthew 26:75) Perhaps you wonder why you keep going through, why so many challenges, why it seems you are always having to prove yourself to people? We may not be able to see it now but the Lord is building character in us through our hardship, if we will let him. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5–8) The Lord will remind us that what we are facing is not about us, not to take it personally, and to keep our eyes on Him. Stop, listen, whatever it is that we are facing today will serve to build our character. The man who denied Jesus 3 times became a leader among the disciples because he had learned restraint from denying himself through his hardships. GiGi❤️  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11: 1)
Scientists never confirm the validity of a principle or proposition until that which is under consideration is objectively observable and independently replicable. In other words, according to science, nothing is real unless someone besides you is able to see it and do it! This is the very reason why faith and science often bump heads. The scientist can't see what the person of faith declares and the person of faith refuses to deny what the scientist can't see. This conflict can be resolved when we recognize that having faith is not an excuse for an inability to see. Instead, faith is simply another way of seeing. As such, faith becomes the evidence of things seen with spiritual eyes and not seen by the instruments of science or commonly accepted fact. It becomes our proof that the impossible is possible. When all you have is faith, just know that your evidence is not inferior. Faith is the reason you know it. Faith is the reason you believe it. Faith is the reason you will receive it. Case closed! Pastor Benjamin Morris |
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