Finding Peace and Purpose in Life with Jesus Christ

God encourages believers to trust in Him during times of trouble.

He promises to strengthen and harden them to difficulties.

God's people should not be dismayed or alarmed by troubles, but instead, trust in Him.

God's power and strength are available to believers through prayer and trust.

Thank you. In the time of trouble, especially in this new year of 2021, where all about us seems to be falling apart, but as believers in Jesus Christ, we must remember how our Heavenly Father has given us encouragement and hope straight out of His book of life. In Isaiah chapter 41, verses 10 through 13, some of these very encouraging words the Lord would say to those who trust in Him are, Fear not, there is nothing to fear, for I am with you. Do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to the difficulties. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you and retain you with my victorious right hand of righteousness and justice. Behold, all they who are enraged and inflamed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. They who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but shall not find them. They who war against you shall be as nothing, as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. I am the Lord, who says to you, Fear not, I will help you. The Lord says to us, fear not, there's nothing to fear, for I am with you. God says, don't look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God, and I will strengthen and harden you to these difficulties if you put your trust in me. God tells us that he will harden us to the difficulties that surround us. This means that he will give us divine power and strength to go through these trials and troubles. Pray and ask the Lord to harden your heart to the difficulties that surround you. God tells us not to be dismayed. Dismayed in the Hebrew dictionary means to be in a state of alarm or danger. Dear believer, pray that the Lord will strengthen you by his almighty power and surround you not to be alarmed by troubles that suddenly come in life. God is telling us that when our hope and eyes are on him, we should have no sense of alarm. We should be calm and should have no apprehensions from what harm our adversaries may do to us or bring to us in ways of trouble and trials. There is a wonderful, heartfelt, simple testimony of trusting in God, and it starts like this. There was a ripple of excitement all through the orphanage, for a great lady had come to take little Jane home with her. The little girl herself was bewildered with the thought, Do you want to go with me and be my child? The lady asked in gentle tones. I don't know, said Jane timidly. But I'm going to give you beautiful clothes and a lot of things. A room of your own with a beautiful bed and table and chairs. After a moment of silence, the little one said anxiously, But what am I to do for, for all of this? The lady burst into tears and said, only to love me and be my child, she said, as she folded the little girl in her arms. You see, God adopts us, protects us, and gives us an inheritance in glory. And all he asks in return is that we should love him and be his children. What a merciful God and Father we have, dear ones. He is telling us to trust in him and not to let what the unknown may hold for us because we cannot visually see it. But we are to put all of our trust and care in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and He will deal with the adversaries on our part. Trust is a big word and a big commitment on our part. But in God's care it is very small and nothing is impossible for Him. In trusting God, we have to be habitually reliant upon Him at all times, not sporadic or occasionally in our Christian responsibilities, but at all times, 24-7. King David cried out to the Lord, saying in Psalms 22, verse 19, Be not far from me, O Lord. O my help, hasten aid to me. David prays to the Lord and asks Him to hurry divine help to Him. Hurry Lord, be speedy, help me please. It is so comforting that God has promised to give us His strength in our times of trial. He will preserve and strengthen us as we come through them by trusting in Him and holding fast to Him with all that is within us. The God of all creation has all power Nothing is impossible for God Jesus himself spoke those words in Luke chapter 1 verse 37 Nothing at all is impossible for God to do or accomplish He holds all power to accomplish what he needs to do in your life and in the world Did you hear that? He was the God of Abraham, Moses, the prophets, David and all the people of the Old Testament whom he had empowered and protected to fulfill what he had created them for. He lifted them up through all their trials and we read about it throughout all the scriptures. He was the faithful, all-powerful God and Father of Apostle Paul, Peter, and all of our brothers and sisters in the New Testament, whom our great God had empowered and protected to fulfill what he had created them for, and they had nothing to fear because God was with them. God is a God who never lies, and he never changes. continuing in our opening scripture in Isaiah chapter 41 verse 11 which says behold all they who are enraged and inflamed against you shall be put to shame and confounded they who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish God tells us that all who are incensed or enraged against us for what and who we stand for shall be brought to nothing, and those who strive or come against us shall perish. Yes, it is our Christian responsibility to pray for their souls, but the outcome and their final judgment is solely in God's hands. These people will be ashamed and confounded of their sinful attack on God's people, which means figuratively they will be overcome and destroyed by the almighty power of God. God is a God who never changes. In Acts chapter 18, beginning in verse 9, Apostle Paul was making great and huge inroads with the gospel, and people everywhere were being baptized and converted to the truth found in Jesus Christ. The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision of the night, saying, in Acts chapter 18, verse 9, Have no fear, but speak, and do not keep silent, for I am with you, and no man shall assault you or harm you, for I have many people in this city. So he settled down among them for a year and six months, teaching the word of God concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. What a comforting word and assurance that Paul needed in times of turbulence and danger. Do not be afraid or discouraged by the violent opposition around you. And Jesus comforted Paul with these words, For I am with you, and no man shall assault you or harm you. You see, all-powerful and mighty Lord and Master assured Paul that no man should be permitted to lay violent hands on him. The Jews, no doubt, had conspired to end his life. God overruled the enemy's plan because his plan for Paul was good and had eternal purposes for the multitudes of millions of people throughout their generations of time. I read a testimony of a godly man long ago expressing what characterizes in men and women the life and power and enthusiasm in the Holy Book of Life. This individual explained, Another element in a forceful character is heat, the fire of an unquenchable enthusiasm. The acts of the apostles is a burning book, he said. There is no cold or lukewarm spot, morsel or crumb from end to end. The disciples had been baptized with fire with a holy glowing enthusiasm caught from the altar of God. They had this central fire from which every other purpose and faculty in life gets its strength. This fire in the apostles souls was like a furnace fire in a great ocean liner which drives earth through the storm and through the unforgiving engulfing deep Nothing could stop these men. Nothing could hinder their continuous work for the Lord. The apostles said, We cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard. We must obey God rather than men. This strong mandate rings throughout all their doings, and all their teachings, they have a fire, and they have light because they were baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit. Praise God! What an encouraging word! The power of the Holy Spirit in a true believer's life can move mountains. This is faith in action. This is figurative, that nothing is impossible for God because supernatural faith is at work to overcome the seemingly impossible. I previously made the statement that our God never changes. There are some denominations that say some things such as divine healing or God speaking to his people's heart or God-given dreams do not happen anymore. But they believe these gifts and ways that God relates to his people has ended with the apostles in the book of Acts and that he only speaks to us by his word in the Bible. This belief system that limits God is called the cessation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Cessation means to cease. These people believe that God does not relate the way he did in the book of Acts church. I don't know about you, but personally I have experienced divine healings from God. I have heard his urgent voice in which he told me to tell everyone in the car in which we were traveling on the interstate that day to pray immediately because Satan the devil has an assignment on your life. We all started to pray and in a few minutes a car speeding past us on the interstate hit the car in front of us and it went rolling over in the median two to three times over. Excuse me, please. If the Holy Spirit wouldn't have spoken and told us to pray, we would have been the car rolling over in the median and possibly we would be dead from the assignment of hell to take us out. And personally, in 1987, I was in a serious car accident where my first cervical vertebrae was broken. I was in treatment for six and a half years and told I would live with the pain and discomfort. I was considered 100% disabled. To lift my arms above my head was difficult and painful and exhausting. Then, a miracle began to unfold. It started when my husband Lee and I were on our way from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, North Carolina to see a well-known neck and back specialist who agreed to see me. This specialist was previously with Mayo Clinic for years and was the chief neck and back specialist there. After he ordered a CAT scan and read the results, he put it up in the magnified window in his office for us all to see. And he said, folks, what we see here is a hen from somewhere who has divinely healed you. Excuse me again, please. God miraculously healed me on the way to see the specialist because two weeks before that, I had CAT scans taken which showed the fracture and damage in my neck. Doctors called me a walking miracle because of the divine and supernatural hand of God upon my life. They said two things about my case. They said I should have been paralyzed from the neck down or I should have died from an injury of this kind. What an awesome God. Oh, what an awesome God we serve, dear believer. What a privilege and an honor it is to know that you belong to our wonderful Creator. What love He has for us. One doctor even went so far to say, Lady, God must have a real plan for your life to bring you through all of this. and little did I know back at that time that God did have a plan for my life and that was to teach and preach His word and encourage people in their faith since that time God's word through Shining Light 7 Ministries which is a husband and wife ministry has gone around the world 24-7 we praise God and we give Him the glory for He alone is due that glory being missionaries in the Lord's Vineyard we have seen many in various ways that the Holy Spirit moves and gives us his people comfort in the times of trouble and trials and sickness and death of a loved one and yes even in death as it approaches our door or the door of a loved one people today especially need encouragement and comfort as the world all together is in great flux and transition. It cannot be stated enough. It cannot be said loud enough that God has a plan for your life too, dear listener. And what a comfort in God's word that we have the hope and promise through the very mouth of God who has declared by oath to care and comfort us. He has plans to give us a hope and a future, plans to prosper us in our endeavors in life as we seek him with all of our hearts. Do not miss this. With all of our hearts. Jeremiah chapter 29 beginning in verse 11. For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you says the Lord. Thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil. To give you hope in your final outcome. And then you will call upon me and you will come to me and pray. And I will hear you and heed you. Then you will seek me. Inquire for it. And require me as a vital necessity. And find me when you search for me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord. And I will release you from captivity. What a comforting word from our great God and Father. In Psalms chapter 138, verses 6 through 8, King David prays. For though the Lord is high, yet he has respect to the lonely. bringing them into fellowship with him. But the proud and the haughty he knows and recognizes only at a distance. Verse 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble you will revive me. You will stretch forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand shall save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Your mercy and loving kindness, O Lord, endure forever. Forsake not the works of your own hands. In Psalms chapter 23, verses 3 through 6, the Lord declares, He refreshes and restores my life, myself. He leads me in the path of righteousness, uprightness, and right standing with Him. Not for my earning it, but for His namesake. Yes, though I walk through the deep, sinless valley, the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me. Your rod to protect and your staff to guide, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy. You anoint my head with oil. My brimming cup runs over. Surely only goodness and mercy, unfailing love, shall follow me all the days of my life. Through the great length of my days, the house of the Lord and his presence shall be my dwelling place. Dear one, what a Savior we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. What a loving God and Father we have, dear listener. What a mighty King we have. Glory be to the King of Kings forevermore for the comfort and the encouragement at all times that He provides for us. Let us be encouraged in God's Word with some scripture that will feed our spirits and souls as the wonderful divine Word of God permeates our hearts and makes his promises living within our depths. 2 Corinthians 1, verses 3 and 4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purposes. John chapter 14, verse 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Isaiah chapter 41 verse 10 Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be anxious. Look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Psalms chapter 23 verse 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me Psalms chapter 34 verse 18 declares the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your plans straight. Matthew chapter 5 verse 4. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted Revelation chapter 21 verse 4 tells us He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain for the first things have passed away Matthew 11 verse 28 Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Psalms, chapter 18, verse 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. John, chapter 16, verse 33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage. I have overcome the world. The meaning of comfort in biblical terms, according to the way that we are relating to in this subject, is found in a Bible dictionary and means to literally comfort or console. that translates into giving relief and help and find release for their pent up sorrow and emotion sounds very fitting in our day today doesn't it people need the comfort and encouragement which is found in Jesus Christ alone and through his word which is a promise to those who love him with all of their hearts an encouraging scripture in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 Verse 3 says to us, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Praise God. He is so wonderful. He is so precious and almighty. Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 and 2 declare, Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her time of service and warfare are ended, that her punishment is accepted and her iniquity is a pardon, that she has received punishment from the Lord's hand double for all of her sins. Isaiah chapter 50 verse 10 tells us Who is among you who reverently fears the Lord who obeys the voice of his servant yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor in his heart let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. Dear believer in Jesus Christ, people right around you need the encouragement and comfort of knowing that Jesus loves them and has a plan for their lives too. As a genuine believer continues in their habitual and faithful walk with our Lord Jesus Christ, they too shall be effective to do what God has designed and created them for. and that is ultimately to bring consolation to a hurting world around us. It means to brighten up their lives with the truth of scripture. A fitting true story was told many years ago about a young man who was on the edge of a nervous collapse as he lay up on the operating table among the nurses he noticed when watching him very intently. He thought he knew her and called her to him. She said, yes, we have met before. And then he whispered back to her, would you mind holding my hand? And she gripped it as he lay calmly in peace, waiting for the operation. What a kind act or comfort and compassion this was on the part of this dear nurse. one encouraging touch and kind act of human compassion can conquer a man's fear even in the face of life's most serious crisis. You know, many times it's not what we say, but it is what we do in regards to giving or bringing comfort and compassion. And ultimately, the only way a Christian can be effective in this endeavor is to share Jesus Christ and the reason he came to this earth. 2 Corinthians 5, beginning in verse 17. The word declares, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. You see, being reconciled to God and renewed in his image and considered righteous in his sight, the ambassador of Christ then comforts and brings consolation to a dying, struggling world around them. This is called the ministry of reconciliation. This ability to do what is seemingly impossible is the direct result of an inward supernatural force that allows an individual to share God's truth and parlay it to an individual who is uninformed about so great a salvation found alone in Jesus Christ. Jesus died to make reconciliation possible. You and I must live a righteous life in Christ in order to make reconciliation personal. God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. We are to be his ambassadors of peace. Scripture tells us that our feet should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Jesus said in Matthew's gospel, chapter 5, verse 9, Blessed are the peacemakers For they shall be called the children of God You know by now That I love fitting, encouraging testimonies This next one is a true testimony A missionary was preaching in a village market And some of the people were laughing at him Because he was not a very handsome man He took the mockery and insults About his appearance for a time And then he said to the crowd It is true that I do not have beautiful hair, for I am almost bald, nor do I have beautiful teeth, for they are really not mine. They are made by a dentist. I do not have a beautiful face, nor can I afford to wear beautiful clothes. But this I know, I have beautiful feet. And then he quoted the verse from Isaiah 52, verse 7, which said, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. And then he asks the crowd, Do you have beautiful feet? This missionary man displayed the ultimate purpose in life as why we as God's children were created. The beautiful feet was a symbolic statement because it was a joyful message of salvation and redemption which is brought within their hearing. It is only through the staying power of the Holy Spirit living within this kind missionary man that he could endure this kind of humiliation and ill treatment. The deep love that he had for his Savior and the heart that he had to see others come to Christ and enjoy the peace he had was truly a perfecting work of the Holy Spirit within this man. The Holy Spirit is the greatest and most important New Testament work in the Greek and many times his name in scripture is called the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is given to believers in Christ Jesus who have confessed and repented of their sins and habitually live in Christ. The Holy Spirit in Greek is called the Paraclete. This Greek word means one who speaks in favor of. It also means an intercessor, advocate, or legal assistant. Other names for the Holy Spirit are Encourager, Counselor, Comforter, and the Consolation. In the book of Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 21 Paul tells the church that he is sending a faithful brother to them Verse 21 Now that you may know how I am and what I am doing not just the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord and his service, I will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may console and cheer and encourage and strengthen your hearts. This brother was a mature Christian whom the Lord used to bring great comfort and encouragement to the church at Ephesus. You have to know that this brother was filled with the Holy Spirit in order to bring godly encouragement and comfort to his people. Jesus himself rejoiced in the Holy Spirit in Luke's Gospel, chapter 10, verse 21. Saying, at that very time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in your sight. Acts 13, verse 52 declares, the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 6 tells us, And you set yourselves to become imitators of us, and through us of the Lord himself. For you welcome our message in spite of much persecution, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit. You see, without the Holy Spirit being active in our lives, there would be no real joy. Our brothers and sisters in the New Testament church underwent many trials and tribulations as they received the gospel. However numerous and long they endured in sufferings and afflictions, they embraced it. And there was a blessing of supernatural divine joy in their lives as they went through these hard times. and this is where we are today dear listener we can comfort ourselves with listening to the peaceful words of scripture and at the same time we can understand and see what God's plan for our lives is as we journey through this short word of encouragement today only sincere and genuine followers of Jesus Christ will understand and enjoy the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit such as joy, peace, comfort, and hope. And this is part of the privilege of being a child of God. These virtues of the Holy Spirit are not earthly, but rather they are heavenly, divine, supernaturally given to those who love the Lord their God with all of their hearts as he commanded in Deuteronomy 6, verse 4, which states, You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul, and with all of your strength. The role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a very important role that we should never underestimate. Precious Holy Spirit reveals the deep things of God to His beloved children who love Him and seek after Him with all their hearts. He is also called the Comforter who gives us comfort. He reveals the mysteries and the secrets of the Kingdom of God. We read this in Luke's Gospel, chapter 8, verse 10, where Jesus was teaching his disciples about a particular parable. and he said to them to you it's been given to come progressively to know and recognize and understand more strongly and clearly the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God but for others they are in parables so that though looking they may not see and hearing they may not comprehend Jesus in speaking to his disciples was telling them that they were acknowledging that his message was true and would be privileged to understand the secrets of the kingdom of God. But others who were not sincere or responding to his message would not understand the parable. The majority who followed Jesus at that time were rather repelled than attracted to his divine message of salvation and love. They did not want to have to change or depart with the baggage of sin which they preferred. and this is saying that they did not desire to be healed as Jesus would have healed them and delivered them from their spiritual bondage people like this will never know the good plans that God has for them our master spoke his parables with the intention of veiling his divine message of love from these careless and indifferent people because his teaching for the most part repelled them those who did not follow our Lord refused eternal salvation. These people wished to remain sinners. They were absolutely dead in their sin without the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And this, in effect, is saying that the sinner's deeply rooted desire is that they wish to remain ignorant and not see or understand the life-saving message Jesus offers. Apostle Paul prayed a powerful prayer, revealing prayer, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This prayer of Paul is probably one of my favorite prayers in Scripture besides the prayers of our Lord Jesus Christ. The prayer of Paul is found in Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 17. For I always pray to God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that he may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into the mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of him by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light so you can know and understand the hope to which he has called you and how rich is his glorious inheritance in the saints his set apart ones so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of his power in and for us who believe as demonstrated in the working of his mighty strength. Verse 20, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. When the Holy Spirit supernaturally opens our eyes to see and understand the divine mysteries and secrets, he opens up the window of eternity and the depth of understanding in the scripture. the word of God literally becomes living within your spirit and soul. The truth comes alive and the understanding of what your Savior did for you personally upon the cross will absolutely break your heart and cause you to truly love him with all that is within you. This is the first and the greatest commandment dear listener. This is the main purpose in yours and my life this is the main plan and purpose of God for all of his people to love him with all of our hearts let us all run to the Lord in these difficult times with open arms as he waits for us to come like a loving father who cares deeply for his children Isaiah chapter 30 verse 18 tenderly speaks to us saying yet the Lord waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love. He will conquer you to bless you, just as he said he would. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them. Let us pray. O precious love, who gave your Holy Spirit to lead us into the very depths of your heart, make your burning love unquenchably irresistible in our hearts, dear Master. Make us witnesses for you, Lord Jesus. Veil the world before our eyes and let us see the lovely and the beautiful and most of all the selfless beauty in your supreme sacrifice and death for us personally whom you created for your glory. Help us please to be faithful and obedient to your commands and precepts so that we might glorify you in all of our actions, deeds, and words. O God, pour out your grace, your peace, and comfort in our lives. In these turbulent days, we solemnly pray. Help us, precious love. Please help us, sweet Holy Spirit, to be faithful in the work that you have for us to do as workers in the vineyard. O Lord, we know this is the plan you have for us, and it is very good as we grow in maturity and perfection. Father in heaven, as King David prayed in Psalms 20, verse 7, saying, Some nations boast of armies and weaponry, but our boast is in the Lord our God. Those nations will collapse and perish, and we will arise to stand firm and sure. give victory to our king oh Lord oh hear our prayer for Jesus we ask that David's prayer once again arise in this so great a nation and freedom not be sullen from us and that you will reign supreme and victorious for the sake of truth and freedom and for your people oh God Amen Thank you.

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