And then chapter 16 And verse 33, we have this amazing passage, These things have I spoken unto you that you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. He says to us, as I said to you last week because we looked at this one last week. Be of good cheer. What a wonderful thing. These things have I spoken. We have the word of God. These things I do not apologize at all for suggesting that the word these things refer not only to the Red-Letter edition of my Bible, but to everything that God has given to us, These things have I spoken unto you be of good cheer, that's a command. We're filled with trials and problems and difficulties. There's terror and anxiety because of this, because of this virus, absent from the body present with the Lord, isn't it a great way to go to, Don't you want to go? Sure, why not?

We've lived full lives. We have the blessing and promises of God in this life. We have so much more in the next life. And yet, every time we have a little cough or cold we call the doctors Oh, doctor, I'll give you all my money. If I can live another six months. The promise is that we will have conflict. In the world you will have tribulation, it may be challenges of persecution, it may be suffering physically. It may be your family, your friends, it may be your job, maybe finances I don't know what the Tribulation is in your life. But Be of good cheer. I have overcome, we are victorious over the world. Why? How Galatians chapter six, verse 14, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I am crucified unto the world, and the world is crucified unto me. We get victory over the world. By the death and resurrection of Christ and our crucifixion with him.

What is the purpose of all of this? The purpose is maturity. I can tell you that not obeying these commands, results in spiritual immaturity. Its those who are mature in the things of God, who have grown in grace in the knowledge of the Lord, that they have laid aside asking the Lord to be with Him, asking the Lord to bless them, and the persons who are mature are those the ones who has who have who would like Joshua and Caleb, have entered into the provision that God has made and they celebrate and enjoy and appreciate as Joshua did the land of Canaan. This is mine. This is mine. This mountain is mine says, Caleb, give me this mountain and God said that I've already given it to you conquer it. And it's yours. All of the spiritual blessings of our salvation are ours.

As Peter says that his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We're told that we have an inheritance in glory, but we share this the earnest of that inheritance today. That's the person of Christ. It's the presence of Christ. It's the power of Christ. It's his guidance. It's all the blessings of my salvation, and the commands that the Lord Jesus gave his disciples on this evening before he went to the cross was to help them understand that as they appreciated these blessings, as they obeyed the commands, all the resources of a risen Christ, and a present Holy Spirit would bring them to such maturity that they would reproduce the likeness of Christ. They would live like Christ lived. They would love like Christ loved. They would serve like Christ served., they would be the visible presentation of Christ, to a lost world and to believers in their local fellowship.