OVERCOME THE WORLD
INTENTION:
There is so much that
happens in this world that wears on us and tries to constantly bring us down—often
us trying to get out from all that happens to us from our conception,
upbringing, and adulthood.
“The thief comes to
steal, kill, and destroy; Christ came to bring us abundant life.”
Because of all He
accomplished through the Cross, sending the Holy Spirit, living in us, and
blessing us with all Spiritual blessings, we have that ability to overcome
anything that came our way, is in our way, or will come our way.
Christ overcame all
He suffered, and so can we!
And from that, bring
healing to ourself, for ourself and others.
I.
TOPIC:
We want to look at what it means for
us that Christ has “Overcome the World”.
There is so much
depth to the ministry of Jesus when He was on this earth. As we have read in
these Bible Lessons, Jesus Christ came to this earth to be an exact duplicate
of who God our Father is. Anything that may have been shared from the Law and
the Prophets about God cannot express the accurate fullness of who He is.
This was the God
aspect of Jesus—representing all of whom the Lord is.
But Jesus was also
a human—representing who we were originally created and designed to be.
Looking at Jesus is
not only looking at who He is as God, but who He is as a human.
This is how we can
relate to Him and Him to us. Jesus isn’t a representation for us, but of us.
We may not have
been born with the sinless flesh as Jesus was, but that does not negate the
trails, temptations, and suffering He went through. We too going through our
own similar (relatable) sufferings.
Yet, in it all,
Jesus never faltered; never shied away from His emotions and feelings, always
went to the Father for support; and never stopped believing in His God-Given
purpose (fully manifesting that belief as faith).
During Jesus’s
final supper with His disciples, He shared with them that because of what they
were called to be and do, that they too would face persecution and suffering.
And though what they went through was unique to them, it does not distance
itself from what we each (individually) go through in this world.
For you and I, we
may not feel we can relate to Jesus or the Disciples because we put them on a
“higher pedestal” or think of them as being “saints” above what we are (making
them into some kind of “superhero”). Yet, you and I are the ones also called
“saints” (Holy). This doubt we have in relating to Jesus or the Disciples is
also why we have “such a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 11 & 12) that can testify to us on suffering and
overcoming.
Christ overcame the
temptation to quit. The Disciples overcame the temptation to quit.
And the reason why
we can hold the Disciples and so many from the Old Testament in high regard is
because they never did quit. They all overcame the obstacles in their way—even
their own hubris alongside the persecutions.
You and I are no
different—they are the same type of human we are. They didn’t have any other
special ability we ourselves have not also been given. The same Spirit that
lived in them, lives in us. So, for them, you, and I: “in Christ we are more
than conquerors” (Romans 8:37).
Let’s first look into and understand
what is meant by Jesus saying that we overcome and are a victor:
Overcome – G3528: nikaō
1.
to conquer
a.
to carry off the victory, come off victorious
i.
of Christ, victorious over all His foes
ii. of Christians, that
hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and
temptations and persecutions
iii. when one is arraigned
or goes to law, to win the case, maintain one's cause
νικάω nikáō, nik-ah'-o;
from G3529; to subdue (literally or figuratively):—conquer,
overcome, prevail, get the victory.
Victory – G3529: nikē
1.
victory
νίκη níkē, nee'-kay; apparently a
primary word; conquest (abstractly), i.e. (figuratively) the means of
success:—victory
Victory – G3534: nikos
1.
victory
2.
to utterly vanquish
νῖκος nîkos, nee'-kos; from G3529; a conquest (concretely), i.e. (by implication)
triumph:—victory
This is our
promise (to overcome), no matter what we face.
Then, to know more
about some of what we are overcoming (per our reading in John below)—the
“trials and sorrows” (tribulations) we go through—we can break down that
meaning as well:
Tribulation
– G2347: thlipsis
1.
a pressing, pressing together, pressure
2.
metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation,
distress, straits
θλῖψις thlîpsis, thlip'-sis;
from G2346; pressure (literally
or figuratively):—afflicted(-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution,
tribulation, trouble
Pressed – G2346: thlibō
1.
to press (as grapes), press hard upon
2. a compressed way
a.
narrow straitened, contracted
3.
metaph. to trouble, afflict, distress
θλίβω thlíbō, thlee'-bo; akin to the
base of G5147; to crowd (literally
or figuratively):—afflict, narrow, throng, suffer tribulation, trouble
Worn
– G5147: tribos
1.
a worn way, a path
τρίβος tríbos, tree'-bos;
from τρίβω tríbō (to "rub"; akin to τείρω teírō, τρύω trýō, and the
base of G5131, G5134); a rut or worn
track:—path.
Wound – G5134: trauma
1. a wound
τραῦμα traûma, trow'-mah;
from the base of τιτρώσκω titrṓskō (to wound; akin to the base of G2352, G5147, G5149, etc.); a
wound:—wound.
Break
– G2352: thrauō
1.
to break, break in pieces, shatter, smite through
θραύω thraúō, throw'-o; a primary
verb; to crush:—bruise. Compare G4486.
Gnash
– G5149: trizō
1.
to squeak, make a shrill cry
2.
to gnash or grind one's teeth
τρίζω trízō, trid'-zo; apparently a primary
verb; to creak (squeak), i.e. (by analogy) to grate the teeth (in
frenzy):—gnash.
These tribulations we are trying to overcome can be: our own
past (childhood / complex traumas, abandonments, rejections, abuses, etc.); our
own strongholds (people-pleasing, fawning, co-dependency, mental / emotional
struggles, etc.); personal sickness, disease, disabilities, etc.; or the
realities of this world (war, famine, natural disasters, governments,
injustices, discriminations, etc.). These are all things that are trying to
destroy us.
Thus, let us read here below where Jesus shared with us (His
Disciples) that we will not only face persecution (whatever form it may be for
us), but overcome it. And from there, we will get into these persecution and
overcoming promises.
II.
READING: John
15:16-26; 16:1-33 (TLB)
“You didn’t choose me! I chose you! I appointed you to go
and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the
Father, using my name, he will give it to you. 17 I demand that you love each
other, 18 for you get enough hate from the world! But then, it hated me before
it hated you. 19 The world would love you if you belonged to it; but you
don’t—for I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. 20 Do you
remember what I told you? ‘A slave isn’t greater than his master!’ So since
they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened
to me, they would listen to you! 21 The people of the world will persecute you
because you belong to me, for they don’t know God who sent me.
22 “They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to
them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone hating me is also
hating my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such mighty miracles among them they
would not be counted guilty. But as it is, they saw these miracles and yet they
hated both of us—me and my Father. 25 This has fulfilled what the prophets said
concerning the Messiah, ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “But I will send you the Comforter—the Holy Spirit, the
source of all truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all
about me.”
1 “I have told you these things so
that you won’t be staggered by all that lies ahead. 2 For you will be
excommunicated from the synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when those
who kill you will think they are doing God a service. 3 This is because they
have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now so
that when they happen you will remember I warned you. I didn’t tell you earlier
because I was going to be with you for a while longer.
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me; and none
of you seems interested in the purpose of my going; none wonders why. 6 Instead
you are only filled with sorrow. 7 But the fact of the matter is that it is
best for you that I go away, for if I don’t, the Comforter won’t come. If I do,
he will—for I will send him to you.
8 “And when he has come he will convince the world of its
sin, and of the availability of God’s goodness, and of deliverance from
judgment. 9 The world’s sin is unbelief in me; 10 there is righteousness
available because I go to the Father and you shall see me no more; 11 there is
deliverance from judgment because the prince of this world has already been
judged.
12 “Oh, there is so much
more I want to tell you, but you can’t understand it now. 13 When the Holy
Spirit, who is truth, comes, he shall guide you into all truth, for he will not
be presenting his own ideas, but will be passing on to you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future. 14 He shall praise me and bring me great
honour by showing you my glory. 15 All the Father’s glory is mine; this is what
I mean when I say that he will show you my glory.
16 “In just a little while I will be gone, and you will see
me no more; but just a little while after that, and you will see me again!”
17-18 “Whatever is he saying?” some of his disciples asked.
“What is this about ‘going to the Father’? We don’t know what he means.”
19 Jesus realized they
wanted to ask him so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I mean? 20 The
world will greatly rejoice over what is going to happen to me, and you will
weep. But your weeping shall suddenly be turned to wonderful joy when you see
me again. 21 It will be the same joy as that of a woman in labour when her
child is born—her anguish gives place to rapturous joy and the pain is
forgotten. 22 You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and then you will
rejoice; and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won’t need to
ask me for anything, for you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he
will give you what you ask for because you use my name. 24 You haven’t tried
this before, but begin now. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and your
cup of joy will overflow.
25 “I have spoken of these matters very guardedly, but the
time will come when this will not be necessary and I will tell you plainly all
about the Father. 26 Then you will present your petitions over my signature!
And I won’t need to ask the Father to grant you these requests, 27 for the
Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came
from the Father. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world and will leave
the world and return to the Father.”
29 “At last you are speaking plainly,” his disciples said,
“and not in riddles. 30 Now we understand that you know everything and don’t
need anyone to tell you anything. From this we believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you finally believe this?” Jesus asked. 32 “But the
time is coming—in fact, it is here—when you will be scattered, each one
returning to his own home, leaving me alone. Yet I will not be alone, for the
Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you will have peace of
heart and mind. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer
up, for I have overcome the world.”
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Overcoming
the world is overcoming anything of this world that keeps you from experiencing
the Life-Freedoms the Lord longs for you to have. When we hold onto our
flesh-parts (all those strongholds and unhealed parts of us), we end up
unintentionally opposing that Life-Freedom for ourself. But because we can
learn to hold the Lord in higher regard than the world (and those unhealthy
parts of us), we can hold true our ability to overcome whatever that may be. No
matter where you are in your life, the Lord will help you overcome anything
that you face (of yourself or of others). He helps us do this through His Gift
of Faith, because faith is the manifestation of God in our lives. When we
choose to keep doing as the Lord instructs, that Faith overcomes anything that
comes our way (even reprogramming / reparenting us) in life—for whatever is of
the Lord will always create victory!
1
John 4:4-6a (TLB) {PoG}
Dear young friends, you
belong to God and have already won your fight with {overcome (G3528)}
those who are against Christ because there is someone in your hearts who is
stronger than any evil teacher in this wicked world. 5 These men belong to this
world, so, quite naturally, they are concerned about worldly affairs and the
world pays attention to them. 6 But we are children of God.
1
John 5:1-5 (TLB) {PoG}
If you believe that Jesus
is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Saviour—then you are a child of
God. And all who love the Father love his children too. 2 So you can find out
how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how
much you love and obey God. 3 Loving God means doing what he tells us to do,
and really, that isn’t hard at all; 4 for every child of God can obey him,
defeating {overcoming (G3528)} in
and evil pleasure {the world} by {the victory of our faith}.
5 But who could possibly
fight and win {overcome (G3528)}
this battle {the world} except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God?
Question: Do you really feel you can overcome
what this world throws at you, raised you up in, or any of the mistakes you
also make?
B. Part
of how we overcome is knowing that the Lord is always looking out for us.
Remember, we can ask Him anything. Since the Lord knows all of it anyway, we
can welcome Them into every part of us (body, mind, soul, and heart)—without
fear or worry that He will shame or blame us. And He helps us both directly and
through His ability given to us to not give into temptation—even when that
temptation (wrong desire) is our own habits / programming / flesh-responses
(unhealthy / unhealed parts of ourself).
1
Corinthians 10:13 (TLB)
But remember this—the
wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many
others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is
irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong
that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what
he says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear
up patiently against it.
Hebrews
2:17-18 (TLB)
And it was necessary for
Jesus to be like us, his brothers, so that he could be our merciful and
faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and
faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself
has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we
suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us.
James
1:12-14 (TLB)
Happy is the man who
doesn’t give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get as
his reward the crown of life that God has promised those who love him. 13 And
remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him,
for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it. 14
Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes.
2
Peter 2:9a (TLB)
So also, the Lord can
rescue you and me from the temptations that surround us.
Question: What are the temptations you struggle
with (even if it’s a character trait or behaviour you have)?
C. Much
of our lives growing up, we become trained in relying on only ourselves (often
in those unhealthy / unhealed parts) and/or on unhealthy things / people. When
we do this (unintentionally), we are giving more credit to that than the Lord
(also unintentional). As such, to “humble ourselves under the Lord” is not
neglecting or rejecting our worth, but just us letting Him be the One that we learn
(become aware of) to give trust to over anything / anyone else (even our
programming).
1
Peter 5:6-11 (TLB)
If you will humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.
7 Let him have all your
worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything
that concerns you.
8 Be careful—watch out for
attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring
lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. 9 Stand firm when he attacks.
Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are
going through these sufferings too.
10 After you have suffered
a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you
his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly
in place, and make you stronger than ever. 11 To him be all power over all
things, forever and ever. Amen.
Question: Do you find you try and fight your
battles without letting the Lord in to help you? Or is it that you rely on what
feels right / natural to you—which, feeling that way, may not actually be the
correct / Lord’s way?
D. As
we have tackled in other Lessons here, the Lord cannot violate our free will to
do harm to ourselves (like self-sabotage or self-neglect) or to others
(intentional or unintentional); nor violate someone else’s free will to trouble
us. “God’s Grace is sufficient” in that it becomes the Lord’s ability and
glory, not our own (nor our own vengeance). Again, being humble to giving Lord
the authority and ability to persevere through.
Reminder for the
following verses: Paul’s “thorn” was not sickness, nor was it sent by God—it
was most likely the person of Alexander the coppersmith (Bible Study Lesson 008).
2
Corinthians 12:9-10 (TLB)
Each time he said, “No.
But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak
people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living
demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and
abilities. 10 Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about
“the thorn,” and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties;
for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him.
Question: What does Grace mean to you when
facing difficulty? Can you find Grace (from yourself and the Lord) for both the
one offended and the one offending?
E. No
matter what we do or don’t do in this world, we will never escape persecution
to some extent. But we also have to hold onto the promise that He does provide (restoring)
when we give up so much of our life for Him. Sometimes, the hardest thing we
give up is family. This may look like you turning from them because they are
the ones who persecute you for following the Lord; or it may be you turning
from them because you are breaking those family traumas and generational
iniquities.
Mark
10:28-30 (TLB) {PoG}
Then Peter began to
mention all that he and the other disciples had left behind. “We’ve given up
everything to follow you,” he said.
29 And Jesus
replied, “Let me assure you that no one has ever given up anything—home,
brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or property—for love of me and to
tell others the Good News, 30 who won’t be given back, a hundred times over {in
this life now}, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—with
persecutions!
“All these will be his
here on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life.
Question: Are you willing to give up what you
value most (what is possibly holding onto you by / from family), for the
greater value of Life here now and eternally through Christ Jesus?
F. The
Lord adamantly provides victories in our life here on earth. This desire for
the Lord to provide the best life on earth we can is continuous. Yet, no matter
how long our struggles last, they will ALWAYS be temporary compared to the
Eternal Life we will get along with our new bodies. So never give up hope, even
when you cannot see an end to your hardships and sorrows! And even when our
struggles last until our death, we also know that death cannot hold us down.
Yes, we feel the stings of death in our lives from the sin that we and others
do. Yet, death isn’t our saviour from sin and pain; Christ Jesus is.
1
Corinthians 15:51-58 (TLB)
But I am telling you this
strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given
new bodies! 52 It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when
the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and
all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies
that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have
new bodies too. 53 For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die,
must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live
forever.
54 When this happens, then
at last this Scripture will come true—“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55-56
O death, where then your victory? Where then your sting? For sin—the sting that
causes death—will all be gone; and the law, which reveals our sins, will no
longer be our judge. 57 How we thank God for all of this! It is he who makes us
victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord!
58 So, my dear brothers,
since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the
Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it
would be if there were no resurrection.
Question: Have you ever wanted to quit this life
to escape the pain, sorrow, and suffering?
·
Refer also: https://cbadenhorst.blogspot.com/2023/10/suicide-awareness-prevention.html
G. It
is His Salvation (all Christ accomplished) that causes us to triumph in this
life as we “work out our own salvation” (Philippians
2:12) from the things we were into who we are. And even when we doubt or
faulter, we must remind ourself that, not only did He take care of all of our sins
of the flesh, but paraded His conquest over the “principalities and powers”
behind the causes of our sufferings. Our overcoming of our old selves and of
what destruction this world can bring, shows others what Christ has
accomplished for all—this Gospel.
2
Corinthians 2:14 (TLB)
But thanks be to God! For
through what Christ has done, he has triumphed over us so that now wherever we
go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a
sweet perfume.
Colossians
2:9-15 (TLB)
For in Christ there is all
of God in a human body; 10 so you have everything when you have Christ, and you
are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler,
with authority over every other power.
11 When you came to
Christ, he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of
circumcision but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. 12 For in
baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with him;
and then you came up out of death with him into a new life because you trusted
the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead in sins,
and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the
very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins, 14 and blotted out the
charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed.
He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. 15
In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly
displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were
all taken away.
Question: How can you feel triumphant in the
middle of hardship—or even when failures come?
H. Jesus
faced daily affliction. Even as God, He was not able to convince people that He
was the Messiah. If even God cannot convince people to stop persecution against
Him, we have to understand that we too cannot control how other people will
react and respond to us (in our good and in our bad). For Jesus, He always
found a way to seek His Father in Heaven—sometimes up in the middle of the
night, or isolating Himself in prayer for long periods; or seeing the Father in
the moment, or just speaking openly about His own troubles. We always have an
open connection to the same Father in Heaven for our support. Remember, prayer
is just a conversation (Bible Study Lesson 025)—and the Father does not
distance Himself from us. Have a conversation with Him expecting an answer—too
often I find myself going to Him to vent my frustration without waiting (or
wanting) an answer from Him. He wants to provide, and has, all the answers we
need (even when we may not want to hear something that is different from what
we think / want to hear).
Mark
1:35 (TLB)
The next morning he was up
long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.
Luke
6:12 (TLB)
One day
soon afterwards he went out into the mountains to pray, and prayed all night.
John
5:19-20a (TLB)
Jesus
replied, “The Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the
Father doing, and in the same way. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and tells
him everything he is doing.
John
12:27-30 (TLB)
Now my soul is deeply
troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what lies ahead’? But that is the
very reason why I came! 28 Father, bring glory and honour to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from
heaven saying, “I have already done this, and I will do it again.” 29 When the
crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others
declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them,
“The voice was for your benefit, not mine”.
Question: How does your personal fellowship
(conversations) with the Lord help you in your everyday life?
I.
Jesus also gave guidance to how we must respond
to evils that befall us (people that cause hurts and pains in our life). This
includes not judging others—because we truly don’t know all the reasons why
they do what they do—they might not even know they are doing wrong (just as you
and I do not always know we are doing wrong).
Luke
6:27-38 (TLB)
“Listen, all of you. Love
your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Pray for the happiness of those
who curse you; implore God’s blessing on those who hurt you.
29 “If someone slaps you
on one cheek, let him slap the other too! If someone demands your coat, give
him your shirt besides. 30 Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it;
and when things are taken away from you, don’t worry about getting them back.
31 Treat others as you want them to treat you.
32 “Do you think you
deserve credit for merely loving those who love you? Even the godless do that!
33 And if you do good only to those who do you good—is that so wonderful? Even
sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you,
what good is that? Even the most wicked will lend to their own kind for full
return!
35 “Love your enemies! Do
good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned about the fact that they
won’t repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will
truly be acting as sons of God: for he is kind to the unthankful and to those
who are very wicked.
36 “Try to show as much
compassion as your Father does.
37 “Never criticize or
condemn—or it will all come back on you. Go easy on others; then they will do
the same for you. 38 For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to
you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room
for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or
small—will be use.
Question: How hard is it on you to love your
enemies, not judge their actions, or hold them accountable?
J.
It is easy for us to get “swallowed up” by the
hurts this world can bring us (the hurts we give out too). We have to strive to
continue to make choices that lead to Life, not Death—even when it feels
impossible to do. Which, when it does feel impossible, that is where we have to
call the Lord in to help us (overriding our programming). The way Jesus lived
to overcome all He suffered was through Love and Forgiveness. The same is what
we are instructed to do. And He would not tell us to do the same if He didn’t
also give us the ability to do so as well.
Colossians
3:12-17 (TLB)
Since you have been chosen
by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love
and concern for you, you should practice tender-hearted mercy and kindness to
others. Don’t worry about making a good impression on them, but be ready to
suffer quietly and patiently. 13 Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold
grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
14 Most of all, let love
guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect
harmony. 15 Let the peace of heart that comes from Christ be always present in
your hearts and lives, for this is your responsibility and privilege as members
of his body. And always be thankful.
16 Remember what Christ
taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to
each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
to the Lord with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a
representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God
the Father to give him your thanks.
1
Peter 4:8 (TLB) {PoG}
Most important of all,
continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of {our} faults.
Question: How are we able to always love and
forgive—first our own self, then others?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. Philippians
4:4-9 (TLB) {PoG}
Always be full of joy in
the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are unselfish
and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and
don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 7 If you do this, you will
experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can
understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest
as you trust in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, brothers, as I
close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts {number
them and meditate on them (G3049)} on
what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely,
and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise
God for and be glad about. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me
and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.
Thoughts: The problems we face with loss,
suffering, and abandonment (all forms of persecution) is that it can drain the
hope from our lives. It becomes easy for our flesh to focus on what we DON’T
have over what we DO have (and what the Lord will give us still). This is why
we are instructed to focus on the good things in life—our choice to actually do
so (and make a habit of).
So, write down as many
things as you can that are “true and good and right”. Then remind yourself of
them (let them fill your mind over the fears that fight for your attention).
B. Romans
8:28 (TLB) {PoG}
And we know that all that
happens to us {the Lord} is working for our good {because} we love God
and are fitting into his plans.
Thoughts: Too often, we lose sight of the
reality that the Lord is actually taking everything that is happening to us, by
us, and around us to make the best of it. He won’t let anything go to waste to
help us grow, change, love, and overcome. I feel that when our focus can be on
the good that the Lord will bring out of it, it truly makes us know that we can
overcome this world. It really is a knowing that He isn’t bringing the bad, but
overcoming the bad by bringing all the good He can from it all.
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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