THE GREAT OVERCOMING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You know, every day I am blessed to be alive I realize one thing more and more.

I’m glad this world is not my final destination point.

Yes, there are many things to love about the world, particularly the gift of family and the service one gets to perform in the name of the Lord through the church or other opportunities. But there are the other matters of the world that offset these blessings, major matters like sin and evil. These forces are growing stronger by the minute and it’s of little surprise when we consider that less and less people are placing their belief and Jesus. Refuse to believe in the Lord and you are asking Satan to rule and reign in your life instead. And a world where Satan is having his way is no world I want to remain a part of.

Indeed, in our world today, we find trouble and ample amounts of it. The same was true more than 2,000 years ago as Jesus concluded His final message to His disciples. We see Him promise His followers that they would have trouble while in the world but they could find peace in Him, the One who Isaiah foretold would be the Prince of Peace.

Bad times were just ahead for Jesus and after His crucifixion, the spotlight of persecution and elimination would be shifted onto the disciples by the Jewish religious authorities. Emboldened by their assumed eradication of Jesus, the next logical step would be to get rid of all His followers. If this could be accomplished, Christianity could be stopped in its tracks, or at least that was the hope of the Sanhedrin comprised of the Jewish religious leaders.

Did Jesus mention that there would be trouble for His followers?

Well, trouble did come as the disciples began carrying on the work of Jesus following His ascension. After the stoning of Stephen, a broader persecution ensued and this caused the disciples to disperse and move into the regions of Judea and Samaria. And with persecution still running rampant, we find the apostle Paul moving the gospel outside Judea and Samaria to other parts of the world during his missionary journeys, parts of the world where people weren’t always ready for a new religious philosophy to move in and threaten the status quo.

Yes, since those days until now, persecution has been synonymous with Christians doing the work of Jesus. Christ believers still experience great trouble in the world, sometimes at the cost of their lives and this shouldn’t be a shock to anyone. For Jesus Himself foretold this when He proclaimed His followers would be hated because people hated Him first. It was a proverbial trickle-down effect.

It’s all quite depressing if you think about it. After all, why would anyone want to be a Christian if they are signing up for mistreatment and abuse at the hands of others, simply because of what they believe?

Well, the answer to this question comes in the final part of the closing verse of John 16.

For although Jesus suffered greatly, falsely accused and tried before the Sanhedrin before being brutally beaten and nailed to a cross to hang and die, in the end He experienced a great overcoming. The world was not His home and so God brought Him to where He belonged, sitting at the right hand of His throne in authority over everything in heaven and on earth.  

Friends, this is why we can take heart while in this world, despite all the trouble it brings, just as the disciples could in Jesus’ day. For just as Jesus overcame the world, so too will everyone who places their belief, hope, and trust in Him as Savior. In Christ, His followers know that no matter how bad things might get, the best is yet to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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