Episode Transcript
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
1 John 5:5 (NIV)
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
CONSIDER
Today’s text makes one thing clear: there is no such thing as a trouble-free life. There is only the promise of overcoming.
I once heard a preacher remark that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are facing trouble and those who are about to be facing trouble.
So the world is filled with trouble. From the trouble of temptation to the trouble of tragedy, our lives are riddled with struggle and hardship. There are troubled marriages and troubled children. There’s being in trouble with the law. Then there’s the proverbial bridge over troubled waters. There’s even a board game called Trouble.
What’s surprising to me is the way we seem to be continually surprised by the presence of trouble in our lives. Many people believe Jesus is their “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Ask the early Christians and they will tell you Jesus was more like a “Go Straight to Jail. Do Not Pass Go and Do Not Collect $200” card. Trouble affects everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, or wealth. When you think about it, the only real difference between rich people and poor people is that rich people can afford to hold their troubles at bay longer.
Jesus didn’t mince words when it came to trouble. Here’s how he put it near the end of his life: “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).
Isn’t it encouraging to see how John connects the dots between Jesus and us in this area of our lives?
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
To follow Jesus means to see trouble completely differently than the world sees trouble. We tend to have it backward. We are surprised when we have trouble and doubtful that we can overcome it. Jesus says not to be surprised when you have trouble; just expect to overcome it. It’s not a fatalistic or even pessimistic outlook on life, but it is a profound mind shift.
I remember being in a rural church in deep East Texas one night some years back. The song leader was leading the familiar old chorus “There’s Something about That Name” by Bill and Gloria Gaither. Right in the middle of the song, the worship leader suddenly stopped playing. He began telling a story as though he had just remembered it, of how his mother had taught him as a child that the simplest and most powerful prayer a person could say was simply the name Jesus—that his very name is a prayer.
The name of Jesus is not a magic word, but it is the name above all names. It will only be at the sound of this name that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. On that day, not only will all the trouble in the world be over and done with, but it will all have been worth it.
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
PRAY
Lord Jesus, thank you for telling us the truth about trouble. And thank you for your promise to be with us in the midst of trouble. Give me the faith and courage to follow you on the journey of overcoming. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
