Looking closely at this scripture, the words of Jesus himself, we must take a moment to remind ourselves of what has just occurred here.
These words from the master come after one of the most famous historical events in biblical history.
The Last Supper…
And it is here, were Jesus has just identified two things that could have kind of put a damper on this meal.
He had identified the one who would betray him in Judas
And he has presented prophecy and forecasted Peter’s denial of him before the cock crowed…
And when you think of this, you have to believe that these events may have put a cloud or damper on the mood of the setting. It may have been a little tense right about now at the dinner table…
But Jesus says to them… Listen…
Let not your heart be troubled: (why) because you believe in God, and if you believe in God, believe in me also."
The right hand men of Jesus may have felt troubled at that moment, but he gave them a comforting word…
And I believe today that Jesus still seeks to provide that comforting word to ones He loves.
Oh today we live in troubling times…
Sadness, depression and a focus on the negative are everywhere in our society.
We are challenged by strained relationships with acquantances and love ones…
We are bombarded with images that challenge our hopes, challenge our dreams and even challenge our faith…
Sometimes we sit back on all this that is going on in this cruel world and just get the blues…
Well I want you to know today saints that you can beat the blues with Jesus…
As Christians, we are not immune to the disasters and evils of the world, but we do have an advantage over world, because we have Jesus.
You see, we can beat the blues with Jesus…
We can beat the blues if we first:
Believe in the positive…
The bible says (phil 4:8) " Whatsoever things are of good report… Think on these things"
To many of us think and believe more in the negative than the positive.
We focus on, fear and dwell on things we think we CAN’T DO more than what GOD has already told your us we CAN DO.
We could be focusing on the Gifts that God has given us
We could be moving ourselves in a new direction…
We could be entering new level of understanding of what God has in store for us.
Because the Word says that we should let not our heart be troubled…
Don’t let your spirit be cast down…
Don’t let your mind be pulled away from the positive…
Don’t let your circumstance take away your peace.
Because Jesus said that (v.17) the Peace I give to you, is not as the world giveth…
If I give it to you…
You don’t have to worry…
If I give it to you…
You don’t have to be afraid…
If I give it to you…
You don’t have to be concerned with what people are saying about you…
If I give it to you…
You don’t have to lose sleep over this issue…
Jesus is telling us that we can be in control of this situation…
Because He will lead us through it…
Jesus will hold your hand through this storm…
Jesus will comfort you through that moment…
Jesus will wipe the tears from your eyes…
Jesus wants his children to Beat the blues…
To beat the blues, you can’t just believe in the positive…
But you have to
L-ook for your Purpose…
Come with me to I Peter 5:10…
Look at this…
The bible says (I Peter 5:10) but the God of Grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while (repeat), Make you perfect, stablished, strengthened, settle you.
What is God saying here?
God is telling you, and you, and you and me that he has a purpose for his people in all he allows…
He has a purpose for you…
And while you seek that purpose that God has for you…
You may have a bad day…
You may be down for a minute…
You may suffer awhile
You may even get angry…
But through it all…
The Lord says: "Let not your heart be troubled, believe in me! Be faithful to me! Be diligent toward me…
Because when you are diligent in seeking the Lord
When you let the Lord move in your life…
When you let him do his work…
When you let God prove himself now in your life…
The Lord will strengthen you in the place that he wants for you
He will establish you in that place that he wants for you.
And he will settle you life so that you will glorify him
When you come out of your storm…
When that dark cloud has moved on…
When the rain has stopped falling…
And you see your silver lining
When you see your rainbow…
And you know now that God has told you…
It’s your time…
And when it’s your time…
God will make you perfect…
But we have to stay positive, We have to seek our purpose, we can’t fall prey to the negative…
You know, this reminds me of a story I read recently…
You may have heard it…
It’s a story of two duck hunters…
One was an eternal optimist, all he could see is the positive, and the other was an ever-negative pessimist. Everything he ever said was negative…
You may know somebody like this… It doesn’t matter what you say… They will bring the negative out of it…
Well one day the optimist Duck Hunter said to himself…
"I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get a positive response from this guy"…
"But I’ve got to do something different"
"Something Extraordinary"
So the next day the got the idea he was looking for. He said, "I’ve got it! I’m going train my dog to do tricks that no other dog can do"
And he did just that…
He trained and trained and trained that dog of his…
He taught the dog to do one miraculous trick after another…
And one day, while training the dog, he through a stick in the water, and yelled fetch dog.
And the dog did the most miraculous trick ever…
As the dog fetched the stick, and as he returned to his master, he walked on the water…
That’s right…
He didn’t just swim to get the ducks now. He literally walked on Water.
And the Optimist said to himself: "NOW I HAVE HIM!"
"HE WILL HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING POSITIVE NOW!"
Time passed and now it is opening day…
He couldn’t wait to show off his dog…
They hunted all morning long…
And they approached an area near the river…
Finally, he got his chance…
He saw the duck fly…
He aimed… He shot. (Bang)
He got one…
And the dog ran out to get they prey from the water…
He picked up that duck…
And started walking on the water…
Now that man was so happy, he said in his mind. "I’ve got him now."
He looked over at the negative hunter as to say: " Hey, what do you think of that?
His partner turned slowly toward him…
Looked him right in the eye…
And said: GOT A DOG THAT CAN’T SWIM HUH?
You have got to know that you can beat the blues with Jesus…
To beat the blues, you not only have to:
B-elieve the positive. and
L-ook for your purpose.
But you Have to…
U -tilize the promises that God has given us…
You know, some of us lack the victory that God has given us because we neglect the promises that God has told us he has for us…
If we neglect the promises
Or ignore the promises…
Or are skeptical about whether the promises are for you…
We aren’t opening our arms to what God has purposed in our lives…
We have be spiritually lined up with God…
Now I’ve studied this and you see the word promise comes from a Hebrew word meaning DIVINE ASSURANCE…
To promise means to have Divine Assurance.
And when we look further into these words, the word divine comes from the Hebrew meaning to "prick the ears" or to hear.
The word assurance means to be "faithful" or to "trust".
So when the preacher talks about the Promises of God…
That God has promised you something…
When you hear these words, you should not take them lightly…
When you hear these words…
You should have ears to hear.
When you read these words…
If should prick your spiritual senses…
When you take in these words…
You should release your faith…
And as you release your faith…
You must trust in the Lord…
So you must be lined up spiritually with God…
Because, if your not lined up with God…
God may be trying to bless us over here… and we are stuck over here
Discouraged…
God may be trying to bless us over here… and we are still over here…
Depressed…
God may be trying to bless us over here… and we are still in a maintenance mentality that is stuck in neutral spiritually.
But when we are on the same side with God…
When we are on the same page as God…
When we believe in God to lift you up…
When you allow God to set the crooked places straight…
When you allow God to be your comforter…
We can feel the blessings of God in our spirit…
We can taste the blessing of God in our belly…
We can touch the blessing of God because we know it is the hand of God moving in our life…
Because Jesus said, I promise…
(John 16:23) Whatsoever ye shall ask in Father in my name, he will give it to you…
And Jesus said
(John 16:24) That if you ask, you will receive, and that your Joy will be filled"
And Jesus said
That you will receive my joy and your joy will be full.
Let me assure you today, and may I submit to you today that in God’s PROMISE, may lay your PURPOSE.
You don’t think the promises are for you because of things you have done in your past…
You don’t think the promises are for you…
Because you are dishearten with the way the world is treating you…
You don’t think the promises are for you…
Because life has been frustrating…
It seems as though it’s just one thing after the other…
The Devil has been on the attack…
And sometimes he is making you feel a little less than worthy…
But the Bible says (John 14:1) let not your heart be troubled: If you he believe in God, believe also in me…
So why be down and out when we have Jesus?
Why be bothered with the problems of this world? When we have Jesus?
Why be angry when we have Jesus!
Why be bitter when we have Jesus!
Through all the trails… His grace is sufficient…
Through all the pain… His grace is sufficient…
Through all the persecution… His grace is sufficient…
He is a God of Grace and Mercy…
He is a Good God…
And He is a protector of His people…
Come with me to the Book of Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 31…As we close this:
You see, to beat the blues, you not only have to:
B-elieve the positive. and
L-ook for your purpose. and
U -tilize the promises that God has given us…
But we also have to:
E-ncourage others
And
S-ing Gods praises at all times.
We all know that positive results come from positive environments…
That if you are in the company of righteous people, you are more likely to walk around with your head high…
Fill your mind with righteous thoughts…
And have those thoughts manifested themselves in righteous living. And when you are living righteously, it encourages others to live righteously. Amen?
Well it works the other way around…
If you hang around people that whine…
If you hang around people that gossip…
If you hang around people that take short cuts in life…
If you start hanging around in the wrong places… Wrong will enter your situation
Lets look at the scripture together…
Ephesians, Chapter 4, verse 31:
Were it says (Eph 4:31) " Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."
You see, God knows that these types of emotions and behaviors start from the inside and work they’re way out.
They work on your inside, and then spread like a virus within you…
And before you know it, your spirit has been infected with anger, and bitterness, and evil thoughts…
And you can actually start to believe that your life has less meaning today, then it did yesterday, and your tomorrow has less than that…
And the Devil has you believing that it is normal to be angry with your own family…
That it is normal to harm your self with self-destructive habits…
That it is normal to reject the good and receive the bad…
God did not create our temples for the housing of such spirits…
God knows, that if we spent more time in prayer, devotion, and study of his word…
We wouldn’t get in these funks as much… We wouldn’t be floundering, wondering what our purpose is in life….
We need to learn how to step out and step up…
Step out of your circumstance and step up to the comforters’ place…
Step out of the wilderness and step up to the wonder of God…
Step out of the street and step into salvation…
Step out of gutter and step into the Glory…
Step out of the wrong and step into the right…
Step out of anger and step into the awesome presence of God…
We need to step out of that place and step into God’s place…
Some of us have been wandering spiritually…
We are sinking in an abyss of emotions…
And we lack understanding…
And you or someone you know may be seeking the true and living God…
God doesn’t want you wandering… HE WANTS YOU FOUND!
GOD DOESN’T WANT YOU ANGRY… HE WANTS JOY…
GOD DOESN’T WANT YOU SAD… HE WANTS YOU GLAD…
HE WANTS THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD TO COME UPON YOU…
HE WANTS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST TO COME IN YOU…
LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED… In the name of Jesus
LET YOUR TEARS BE FELT… In the name of Jesus
AND LET YOUR BURDENS BE LIFTED… In the name of Jesus
I sing his praise boldly in the name of Jesus…
I honor his name boldly in the name of Jesus…
I glorify his name boldly in the name of Jesus…
I encourage you today in the name of the Jesus
I lift him up today in the name of Jesus…
I ask that anger be removed in the Name of Jesus…
I ask that discouragement be removed in the name of Jesus…
I ask that a hardened heart be made soft in the name of Jesus…
Let not your heart be troubled, in the name of Jesus…
Let us tame that roaring lion in the name of Jesus…
Let Him strengthen us in the name of Jesus…
Let him settle us in the name of Jesus…
Find salvation in the name of Jesus…
Change your life in the name of Jesus…
He is the way…
He is the truth…
And He is the life…
And He promised us that:
"Whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life."
The opening scripture said (John 14:1) Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me.
But look at the next verse…
(14:2) Where Jesus says: For in my Fathers house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you so. I go to prepare a place for you.
This scripture reminds that the things we go through in life are temporary. And as we go through situations in life Jesus will always wrap his loving arms around us and remind us that he has prepared a place for us eternally…
Give your life to him today.
May God bless you and keep you.
Rev. Robert W. Parker
Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church
e-mail: cwp240@aol.com for free audio version
Tele:(314)521-3951
Reverend John Mitchell Jr. Senior Pastor and Teacher
