Welcome to another edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that you all are having a very good week. As always, I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity that He has given me to post these messages.
I had a very busy week at my new job. I am having a good time at this job, and I am thankful to the Lord for providing this job for me. I am also having a good week in writing, and I thank the Lord for that as well.
In prayer this week, let us all pray for those who are experiencing difficulties due to natural disasters. In the United States, there has been a lot of flooding in central Texas. Those in Florida and the Southeastern United States are still recovering from the damage caused by the hurricanes. Those in Indonesia are still recovering from the earthquake and the tsunami. Please pray that all of these people will receive the aid that they need.
Please continue to pray for peace in the war torn areas of this world. Let us pray for peace in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya and South Sudan. If you know of a place where there is conflict, please pray for peace in that area.
For our prayer focus countries of the week, let us pray for Gambia and Mongolia. Please pray that many in these nations will hear about the love that Jesus has for them.
For the past several Weekend Sermons, we've been in a series on the last few chapters of the book of Romans. Today, we will focus on the last verse of Romans chapter 12. This is an important verse for all Christians to understand and to put into practice.
Romans 12:21 states, "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." This verse is simple yet profound.
First of all, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we must guard against letting sin come into our lives. If we yield to temptation and do those things that the Lord has taught us not to do, we will have difficulties in our lives. We need to be those who are following the commands and teachings of the Lord Jesus. We should be obedient to Him. We should be actively engaged in doing what He has called us to do.
We live in a world that is filled with temptations to sin. The powers of darkness are constantly trying to get us to slip up so that we are ineffective in our witness and work for the Lord. The powers of evil do not want us to have the lives that we are supposed to have. If we yield to temptation, we will be overcome with evil.
I think that there is another way that we can be overcome with evil that doesn't have anything to do with those sins that might beset us. We can be overcome with evil because evil is all around us, and it seems to be overwhelming. Sometimes it seems like the powers of evil are winning the battle.
I find this to be true in regard to many of the issues that are important to me. I've worked for many years to get people to care about animals and the environment. Just when I think that the tide might be turning, something happens to make me think that people will never care. It seems like the forces that want to destroy the planet and the wildlife on this planet just keep growing stronger and stronger.
When there are setbacks to the good, it makes people who have worked to make the world a better place lose heart. You feel like giving up, and you feel like nothing that you do makes any difference. When this happens, the wrong way wins. When the forces that are against what is good get good people to give up, they've won the battle. In this way, good is overcome by evil.
In this passage, we as Christians are called to overcome evil with good. We are to be actively engaged in the struggle against the powers of evil.
I believe that there are at least three ways in which we overcome evil with good. First of all, we do this in the personal sense. All of struggle at times with sinful behaviors. We want to overcome these behaviors, but sometime it proves to be difficult. The best way to overcome a sinful behavior is to do as much good as possible. If we are engaged in doing what is good and right, there isn't time to engage in sinful behaviors. We overcome evil in our lives by replacing it with doing what is good.
We also overcome evil with good when we are witnesses for the Lord Jesus. When we share with others what Jesus has done, we are sowing the seeds of the Word into their hearts. When a person hears the Word of the Lord, that person will come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If a person makes the decision to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, that person is transformed and becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old has passed away, and the new has come. That person has been removed from darkness, and that person has come to the light of the love of Jesus Christ.
The final way that we overcome evil with good is by actively working to do what is good in the world. There is abundant need in this world. People don't have enough to eat. Many people need medical care. Homelessness is a major problem in my country and in other countries. The world is a mess. Good people are needed to work to make this world a better place.
Thanks be to God, there are people working hard each and every day to change things. They are working to overcome evil with good. This is what all of us who are Christians need to be doing. Each of us needs to find some way to help others and to help to make this world better. In that way, we will overcome evil, and good will come in this world.
Ultimately, good will overcome evil when Jesus returns in power and great glory at His Second Coming. Until Jesus does come, we have to be engaged in doing all that we can to do good in the world.
Next week, we will begin studying Romans 13. I will post the sermon on Saturday. On Monday, I will post the verses, and on Wednesday, I will post the next chapter of my book about my friend Toby. May God bless you all. Amen.
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