Anyone who is even slightly familiar
with public speaking knows that people training people to give
speeches or to speak in public emphasize the importance of two
things a great deal. I tell you that the most important
things about any public address is the first thing you say and
the last thing you say. And there's good reason for that.
People tend to remember the first thing and the last thing that's
spoken. And another reason is that if
you don't get somebody's attention when you first start, you're
not likely to get it along the way. So those two things are
very important. And we were taught that when
I was in college. It is an old adage that colleges generally
hire folks to teach the courses who can't really do the work.
In Bible College, I found that was certainly the case. Those
who couldn't possibly pastor a church or conduct a regular
ministry were given the responsibility of teaching the courses. And
I didn't have many good teachers, very few good professors, but
I did have a few. And one of them, one of the very
best professors I had was our pastoral homiletics theology
professor. He used to tell us over and over
and over again how very important it was that an introduction to
a message be done with great care and the conclusion. In fact, he insisted that any
sermons that we would write out to turn in for him to look over,
he insisted that we do the introduction last. He considered it to be
the most important part of a message. And then next to that, the conclusion. If you'll turn to John chapter
16 and hold your Bibles open at this chapter, you will find
the conclusion of our Lord's last sermon before he suffered
and died as our substitute. The sermon begins in chapter
13. goes through chapters 14, 15, and now in chapter 16, the
conclusion of his sermon. He has the introduction given
by a picture. He washed his disciples' feet
and established the Lord's Supper. And in the establishing of the
Lord's Supper shows a picture of redemption accomplished by
the sacrifice of himself. The bread representing his holy
humanity, the wine representing his perfect blood by which he
brought in righteousness and by the sacrifice of himself obtained
eternal redemption for us. Then in chapter 14 and 15, The
Lord gives us the body of his message, his doctrine, the exposition
of his doctrine. In chapter 14, he promises the
abiding, immutable grace of his spirit and goodness to all who
trust him. Then he tells us about faith,
encouraging us to believe him, to trust him in all of our circumstances,
assuring us repeatedly of his unfailing goodness. And then
the Lord Jesus promised that he would send his spirit to be
an abiding comforter in us and with us, teaching us those things
that he himself had taught, applying them effectually to our hearts.
And in the 15th chapter, he tells us about the wonder of our union
with him, telling us that we are indeed as the branches in
divine one with him, even as he is one with the father. And
then when he comes to chapter 16, we have the conclusion of
this great sermon. Here, our Savior graciously applies
to our lives all that he has been teaching us. As we look
at this 16th chapter of John's gospel, the Savior applies the
message to us with distinct clarity. Our dear Redeemer here tells
us that our departure or his departure out of this world would
be expedient for us, needful for us. His sacrifice of himself
upon the cursed tree would be that expediency by which he would
accomplish redemption and send his spirit unto us. He said it
is expedient for you that I go away. Now as we read this chapter,
I want you to notice that our Lord's attention And I encourage
you to go home and read all 33 verses. I'm just going to pick
out some highlights. But read this whole chapter together
and notice our Lord's attention. It is all directed toward us. He speaks only concerning ourselves
and the things we must face in this world. There's not a word
here about his joy to which he was going. Not a word here about
him returning home to his father's house and the joy that awaits
him there. But rather, he speaks these things
that our joy may be full. He's concerned that you and I
living in this world of woe, in this world of sorrow, in this
world of care, be prepared and equipped to face and deal with
those things that we meet along the way in our pilgrimage here.
His concern is for our joy, not for himself. Now, you can imagine
the things he must have had on his mind with regard to himself. Surely, he had some thought with
regard to the joy of returning to his father's house. Can you
imagine the welcome that awaited him? The joy that would meet
him whenever those saints already in glory, when Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob would see the Redeemer coming fresh from the accomplishment
of redemption by the sacrifice of himself. The joy of the holy
angels who announced his incarnation now awaiting him as he comes
back to glory. But his concern is for his people. Oh, what a delight. How blessed
to understand that his whole heart, his whole heart is taken
up with care for you and for me. His whole being consumed with
concern for us. Hold your hands here in John
16 and turn back to the 69th Psalm. I want you to see this.
As he was about to endure all the agonies of his sufferings
and death as our substitute, as he's about to enter into his
glory as our mediator king, our savior focused his entire concern
upon us. I find that amazing. In his hour
of greatest sorrow and in anticipation of his greatest glory, his heart
was on us. Look at the 69th Psalm. The Lord
Jesus is speaking here. Save me, O God, for the waters
are coming in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there's
no standing. I'm coming to deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I'm weary of my crying. My throat
is dried. Mine eyes fail while I wait for
my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy
me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I restored that
which I took not away. Now this is the psalm he refers
to in chapter 15 we looked at just recently. Look at verse
5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness. My sins are not hid from thee.
When he's made sin for us, he acknowledges our sin to be his
before God. Now look at verse 6. Let not
them that wait on thee, O Lord. Now, Merle Hart, that's you and
me. His concern, even as he is about
to endure the horrid wrath of God as our substitute, is for
us. Watch this. Let not them that
wait for thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek thee
be confounded for my sake. Oh, God of Israel. All right. Now let's go back
to John 16. And I want you to hold your Bibles open here at
this chapter. And I'm going to talk to you
as the Lord will enable me on a subject that I believe will
be profitable to your souls. The title of my message is Equipped
for Trouble. Equipped for Trouble. As our
Lord concludes his last sermon before his crucifixion, he tells
us the reason for all that he's taught us in these chapters 13,
14, 15, and 16. In the very first verse, these
things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended. All that he'd been telling us.
All that he's been teaching us, he tells us in this 16th chapter
are for three specific reasons. One is that you'd be not offended,
verse one. Then in verse four, that you
might remember I told you these things. Because I'm telling you,
and I'm telling you these things often repeating things within
this message again and again. He says, I want you to remember
this is what I taught you. And then in verse 33, he says,
I've told you these things that you may have my peace, that you
might have peace in me. Our Lord's intention here is
that all who follow him. All who believe him, all who
trust him, all who seek to live for his glory in this present
evil world might be equipped for the trials, temptations,
and troubles of this world. That we might be equipped for
the heartache, the pain, the suffering we must deal with as
we go through this world. And to equip us for these things,
he makes seven great promises. We'll begin at verse one. These
things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended.
How considerate he is. We might presume, we might reasonably
presume that if he saw in us a tendency to be offended by
his sufferings, by his shame as our substitute, or to be offended
by his doctrine, or to be offended by the things that we might suffer
in his stead. We might presume that that would
cause him to be angry toward us, but our presumption would
be wrong. He knoweth our frame. He remembereth
that we are dust. And as he anticipates our tendency
because of the weakness of our flesh, he urges us not to give
way to that tendency to be offended in him, but rather he gives us
these words of promise and words of grace to secure our hearts.
Look at verse two. They shall put you out of the
synagogues, throw you out of the church, Well, folks wouldn't do that.
Oh, they do. Oh, they do. Put you out of the
church. The time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think
that it doeth God's service. The religious world now, folks
you go to church with, folks that you count your friends,
your family, folks you've been raised up with. They'll put you
out of the church, deliver you up to the judges, and even put
you to death in the name of God. But you don't. And these things
will they do unto you, because they've not known the Father,
nor me. But these things have I told
you, that when the time come you may remember, that I told
you of them. And these things I said not unto
you at the beginning, because I was with you. As long as the
Lord Jesus was physically present with his disciples and manifestly
concerned for them, he was like a wall of fire about them. They
didn't need any other protection. They didn't need any other care.
As long as they were aware that he was aware, that was sufficient
for them. You remember when he was asleep
in the ship, they cried, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Because he appeared not to care. But as long as he's present,
as long as he is manifestly concerned for them, that's all they needed.
But now he's about to depart. And our Lord told us of these
difficulties and troubles. And he said, I'm telling you
these things that you might remember what I've taught you. He says
the trials will come. and come by divine appointment.
But when the trial comes, my grace is sufficient for you. My grace is sufficient for you,
whatever the trial. Now, preacher, learn what you
preach. In every condition, in sickness,
in health, in poverty's veil, or abounding in wealth at home
or abroad on the land, on the sea, as your days may demand,
so your succor shall be. I sometimes hear believing men
or women speak and talk about, as they see someone else die,
being afraid they can't die peacefully. Perhaps you dread death. You think that I just I can't
face that. The fact is, if you're the Lord's,
he will supply you with the grace needed when it's needed. Never before. He'll supply you with grace that's
needed when it's needed. Never before. He said, sufficient
to the day is the evil thereof. Don't fret about tomorrow's evil. Sufficient to the day is the
evil thereof. And sufficient to the evil is
the grace that he gives in that day. Look at verse five. But
now I go my way to him that sent me. And none of you asketh me,
whither goest thou? But because I have said these
things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. He told them
he was going away, and they were troubled. They were sorrowful.
They were pressed anxiously. The disciples were filled with
concern because the Lord told them that he was going away.
But no one thought to ask him why. No one thought to ask him
why. You've told us you're going away.
Why are you going away? They didn't hear him when he
told them he must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die and rise again
the third day. They didn't understand his doctrine
and they didn't ask him why he must go away. Had they known,
had they understood that which he was going to accomplish, had
they understood what he would do when he went away, what he
would perform going away for them and for us. As they looked
back on it, you'll remember the joy that filled their hearts.
He said, your sorrow shall be turned to joy. And it was. Oh,
how they rejoiced and how we rejoice that the Savior died
for us. Is there anybody in this building
who regrets the fact that Jesus Christ died at Calvary? Anybody here? religious idiots talk about the
death of Christ and lament the fact that he died. Who can lament
his death? Who knows what he accomplished
for us? We lament our sin for which he
died, but not the fact of his death. His death is the source
of all joy, not sorrow. Now, if those disciples could
have looked forward with confidence to tomorrow. As they looked back
upon yesterday, how easy things would have been. And this is
what the master is teaching us. Children of God, trust me with
tomorrow as you trusted as you trust me with yesterday. Larry, it's easy enough for us
to look back yesterday. That was good. That's good. look
forward to tomorrow in just the same way. He who brought to pass
yesterday brings to pass tomorrow and all that's connected with
yesterday and tomorrow is by his hand and for our good. Now
look at verse seven. Nevertheless, oh, I've learned
to rejoice in that word. David said, I'm cut off before thine eyes. Nevertheless, thou heardest the
voice of my supplication. He said, so foolish was I, I
was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee. The Lord Jesus here gives us
a word of promise. Nevertheless. Now let's look
at the promises. First, in verses 7 through 11,
Our Lord promised to give us, to give his redeemed, his chosen,
a divine comforter. Of course, you know who the comforter
is. All who even casually read this book, even have a casual
familiarity with this book, know that the comforter refers to
God, the Holy Spirit. But very, very few people have
any understanding of how he comforts. Very, very few people have any
understanding of how he comforts. There's no need for the misunderstanding.
If you read the promise and that which is stated in the context
of the promise, he tells us plainly how it is that the Spirit of
God comforts his people. Look at verse 7. Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. It's
needful for you. For if I go not away, the comforter,
will not come unto you. The comforter, that's the spirit
of truth. That's the blessing of Abraham
that comes as a result of Christ's redemptive work promised in the
covenant God made with Abraham as described by Paul in Galatians
3.14. The Comforter. This is He by whom God seals
to us all the blessings of His covenant. As in the Old Testament,
by circumcision, a child was circumcised in his flesh, and
by that circumcision, he was made an heir of the covenant.
So that he is a child of Abraham, an Israelite, to whom God made
a covenant, with whom God made promises in the covenant. So
we being circumcised in the heart, being given the spirit of God
in regeneration, have all the blessings of God's everlasting
covenant sealed to us so that when he creates faith in us,
he assures us that all the blessedness described in this book is ours
in Christ Jesus. All right. Now let's look at
the comfort. It's expedient for you that I go away. If I go not
away, the Holy Spirit will not come unto you. But if I depart,
I will send him unto you. Send him as the messenger of
grace, as the result of my redemptive work. Christ redeeming us from
the curse of the law now sends his spirit to us on an errand
of mercy to call out his elect. Read on. I'll send him unto you. And when he is come, he will
reprove the world. That is, he will reprove God's
elect, scattered in all the four corners of the world, of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment. This is how he comforts. The
word reprove is convince. And the first thing he does when
he comes to comfort is to trouble you. He convinces you of sin
because you believe not on me. That's what he said in of sin,
because you believe not on me. You see what the Holy Spirit
does in conviction when it calls the center giving in faith. First
thing he does is convinces you you're an unbeliever. Convinces
you that you have no hope before God of your sin. Not convincing you of this thing
or that. People talk about Holy Spirit
convictions. The Holy Spirit convicted me, I ought not to
wear a red sweater like Fred Tuttle got on. No, he didn't.
No, he didn't. That was some preacher who did
that, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicted me,
I ought not to eat pork. No, he didn't convict you of that.
A doctor might have, but not the Holy Spirit. Not the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit convinces folks of three things, sin, righteousness,
and judgment. If He convinces you of your sin,
then He ministers comfort convincing you of righteousness. Not that
you ought to act righteous. You know that. You know that. The youngest child here knows
he ought to behave right. You know that. That's not the
conviction of the Spirit of God. Everybody knows that by nature.
God stamped it on your conscience. You can't escape it. What He
does convince you of is righteousness Jesus Christ, by his obedience
unto God as my substitute, has brought in everlasting righteousness.
And he convinces you of something else. Oh, the comfort. Oh, the comfort. Oh, the comfort
for a tormented conscience. Oh, the comfort for a guilty
soul. Judgment. not the judgments coming. I've known that all my life.
I spent nights tossing in fear on my
bed, week after week, month after month, terrified by the consciousness
of judgment. That's not it. He convinces you
that judgment is over because the prince of this world is judged.
God Almighty has no reason to be angry with me. Can you get
hold of that? God himself has no reason to
be angry with me because Christ has borne all the judgment and
wrath of God Almighty in my stead. Now, that's the comfort of the
Spirit. Oh, may he give it to you. Look
at verses 12 and 13. The Lord promises a second thing. He promises us spiritual discernment. I have yet many things to say
unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. What's he talking about? Oh,
what's that word truth mean? What's that word truth mean?
A friend of mine out in San Leandro, California did a video report
for classes taking and he's catching on the video at Berkeley, California
University. Do you know what they've got
over top of the door going into the library? You shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you free. And you'd be amazed
at the number of public buildings in universities and in government
around the country that have that statement made by our Redeemer
over top of their buildings. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. And so he went around asking
folks, what do you think this means? Nobody's got a clue. Nobody's got a clue. Tell the
truth all the time and make you free. Just always state the truth
to make you free. Not if you just start a debate,
it won't. Tell the truth and make you free. What's he talking
about? You don't have to guess. He said,
I am the truth. When the spirit of God comes,
he'll guide you into all truth. He'll cause you to know Christ.
He'll reveal Christ to you. He'll make you to know who Christ
is and what he's accomplished. He'll guide you into all truth,
for he shall not speak of himself. That is the Holy Spirit's not
going to come talking about himself. Oh, these days, folks go to church
and they talk about the Spirit and they talk about the Holy
Spirit and they talk about the Holy Ghost and getting the Holy
Ghost and living in the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues
by the Holy Ghost and feeling the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost
ain't around. He's not there. He's not there.
Where the Holy Spirit is, folks speak about Christ, for he speaks
of Christ. He'll speak of me. He shall hear,
I'm sorry, he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he
shall hear, that shall he speak. And he will show you things to
come. That does not mean he will show you what God's purpose is
for the future and give you calendar dates to tell you when the Lord's
coming again. That does not mean that does not mean that our Lord
makes that plain as nose on your face. Somebody said, well, the
Lord, the Holy Spirit will guide us into into all truth. And he'll
he'll show us what God's going to do in the future. No, that's
not what it means. He will show you things to come. He will show you me. And when
the spirit of God comes and reveals Christ to you, He convinces you
of what Christ accomplished by the sacrifice of himself upon
the cursed tree. He'll show you things to come.
Those things that were to come when our Lord spoke this word.
Verse 14, He shall glorify me. The Holy Spirit always glorifies
Christ. Always focuses your heart on
Christ. Always directs your attention
to Christ, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto
you. All things that the Father hath
are mine. Therefore said I, he shall take
of mine and shall show it unto you. The Savior's promise ought
to make our hearts rejoice. In this world of religious confusion
and chaos, The spirit of truth guides us into all truth. He
shows us what Christ accomplished at Calvary and he glorifies Christ. Then the third promise is a promise
of sweet reunion. Verses 16 through 22, our Savior
promises his sorrowing disciples that shortly after his departure,
they should look forward to a sweet reunion with him. Look at verse
16. A little while, and you shall
not see me. And again, a little while, and
you shall see me, because I go to the Father. You read the chapter,
go down a few verses, you'll see the disciples, they're scratching
their chins, they say, what on earth is he talking about? You
shall not see me, but you shall see me, because I'm going to
the Father. Look at verse 20. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
that you shall weep and lament, But the world shall rejoice.
The world's going to rejoice because the Son of God has been
nailed to the cursed tree and we're rid of him now. And you
shall be sorrowful. But your sorrow shall be turned
into joy. Verse 22. And ye now therefore
have sorrow. But I will see you again. and
your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."
What's he talking about? This word would be fulfilled
in just a few days. The Lord's risen from the grave,
and those women are at the tomb, Mark 16. And the angel says,
he's not here, he's risen. You go your way and tell his
disciples, He'll meet them in Galilee like he said he would.
And be sure you tell Peter. Be sure you tell Peter. Oh, what
joy when the Lord met Peter that day and convinced Peter that
Peter really loved him after all. Oh, what joy! when the Lord Jesus
wrought this sweet reunion. What joy when the disciples saw
him in their midst again. And yet there is a wider, more
complete fulfillment of this yet to come. We see him now. And sadly, we see through a glass
darkly. But soon, our Lord Jesus and
we shall be reunited in resurrection glory. And our sorrow, all the
sorrow we experience in this world shall be turned into joy. And then our Lord makes another
promise. He promises us that our prayers will never fall on
deaf ears. He equips us for trial and temptation
and heartache and sorrow and trouble, telling us things we
must endure and yet at the same time assuring our hearts that
our prayers will always be heard in heaven and will always be
effectual. Verse 23, in that day you shall
ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give
it you. Hitherto have you asked nothing
in my name. Ask, and you shall receive, that
your joy may be full. What on earth is he saying? Hitherto
you've asked nothing in my name. You mean the disciples didn't
pray in Jesus' name beforehand? No, they didn't. Not while he's
walking with them. They spoke directly to him. And
they sought mercy from Him. And they sought protection from
Him. And they sought daily bread from Him. They sought understanding
from Him. And now He says, I'm going to
the Father, and you won't ask Me for anything. You'll speak
to My Father. And you'll speak to My Father
in My Name. In My Name. By My authority,
by My righteousness, by My blood, by My merit, as one with me,
as the children of God, whom the Father must hear. And whatever
you ask, I'll do it. It shall be done to you." Now,
this promise is made three times in this one sermon. He made the
promise in chapter 14. He made the promise in chapter
15. He made the promise again here in chapter 16. Mark, I reckon
he intends for us to understand that whatever we seek from God,
we shall have. Now, I've said this repeatedly
the last few weeks, and it needs repetition. What is it that you
want from God? What is it you want from God?
I want total consecration to my God. Rex Bartley, I want that more
than I want life itself. Total consecration to my God. Total. I want perfect communion with
my Redeemer. Uninterrupted, perfect communion. Nothing between my soul and my
Savior. That's what I want. I want to
be conformed perfectly to Jesus Christ. Body, soul, and spirit. Heart, mind, word, and deed.
I want to be just like Him. Do you know what I fully expect
to have? Soon, I fully expect to be perfectly
consecrated to God. to have perfect communion with
Christ and to be perfectly conformed to him. That's the hope of complete
salvation in resurrection glory. All right. Here's the fifth promise.
Verse 26. Our savior assures us. Of his
blessed advocacy on our behalf. As our intercessor in heaven.
At that day, you shall ask in my name And I say not unto you
that I will pray the Father for you." Isn't that a strange thing
for a mediator to say? I say not that I will pray the
Father for you. He didn't need to say it. He'd
been telling us already, repeatedly, just as he had with regard to
prayer. He said, I pray not. I'll say not I'll pray the Father
for you. Understand, I am your advocate. For the Father himself
loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that
I came out from God. You remember the picture given
of our Lord's advocacy in Zechariah chapter 3? Jude refers to it
in Jude verse 9. We talk about Satan contending
over the body of Moses. That's not talking about contending
about where the Lord buried Moses. as if it would do somebody some
good or some harm for Moses physical body to be raised up. The body
of Moses told about the law. And Satan attempts to put you
who believe God on the footing of works all the time, thereby
robbing you and me of the blessedness of peace and assurance before
God. And so when Satan comes to accuse,
you see the angel of the Lord standing by. He doesn't say a
word. There's Joshua, filthy, clothed
with filthy garments. And the angel of the Lord stood
by. What does he do? Nothing. He's just there. That's all it takes for God to
accept Eric Richard and Don Fortner. We're there with him. And the
angel of the Lord standing by Joshua is clothed with the garments
of salvation and peace bestowed by the merit of Jesus Christ,
our Redeemer. Oh, children of God, what thanksgiving
and confidence this ought to bring to our hearts. Christ's
presence in glory pleads with the Father who loves us. and
nothing in heaven, earth, or hell can harm or prevent His
will from being done in us, for us, and with us. Then in verse
33, here's the sixth promise. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. He made peace for us by the blood
of his cross. He sends his spirit, convicting
us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, reconciling us to God,
and speaks peace in our hearts. The peace that he gives is not
of ourselves. It's not the result of something
we do. It's not conditioned by our tribulations
or our troubles or our prosperity. It is not a conditional peace.
It's peace that he gives. The world can't give it. And
the world can't take it away. For Christ is our peace. Peace
from God, peace with God, and the peace of God. He gives us
the peace of complete, perfect atonement. He gives us the peace of just
forgiveness and absolute pardon of all our sins. He gives us
the peace of his wise, good, unerring providence. When all else crumbles and the
world seems to be falling beneath your feet, Here's our peace. We fall back
in the arms of an all-sufficient Savior who rules all things and
rules all things well. And that's peace. Peace the world
can't understand. Peace the world can't give. Peace
the world can never take away. This peace is real, as real and
abiding, as real and eternal as Jesus Christ himself. He says,
in me ye shall have peace. And here's the second thing,
or the seventh thing. The very last statement in verse
33. In the world you shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Victory is sure. Victory is sure. We are made more than conquerors
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That's what Paul says in Romans
8, 37. More than conquerors. My dear friend, Brother Harry
Graham, I was sitting on his hearth one night. Shelby and
Nola were sitting at the table discussing the pot roast or putting
up corn or something. And Harry and I were sitting
discussing things in the scriptures. He's much older than me. Harry
was at least 35 years older than I am. He's with the Lord now.
And he got to Romans chapter 8, verse 37, read that statement,
more than conquerors. He said, what do you reckon that
means? And by that time, I had learned that when he asked the
question, he was intending to teach me something. I said, I
don't know. What does it mean, Harry? He said, more than conquerors. To be more than a conqueror means
that the foe has been whipped. and so thoroughly whipped, he
shall never rise again." Never again. When I was a boy, I got into a few scrapes, as
most boys do, and usually one of them. But I was always aware
that the fellow I whipped might have a bigger brother or a bigger
buddy. And frequently, the bigger brother
or the bigger buddy came to get revenge, and I got whipped. So
whenever you whip a fella, you're looking over your shoulder to
see who's coming after you. Learn this, children of God.
There's no need to look over your shoulder. Satan is a defeated
foe. Sin has been nailed to the tree.
The curse has been taken away and nothing shall harm you who
are his. Nothing. But rather, the God
of peace shall bruise Satan under your heels shortly. Amen.