Living in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

By Roosevelt McPherson EdD

Living in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times—Let not Your Heart be Troubled is a volume of sermons which proclaims God’s love for a dying, sin-sick world (Second Timothy 3:1-4). In this volume, you will hear how God loved the world so much that he gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that anyone who believes in Him may not die but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973684367

Roosevelt McPherson EdD

Roosevelt McPherson is a pastor, an educator and published author. He earned a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership, a Master of Arts Degree in Education Administration and Supervision, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature, and an Associate of Arts Degree in General Education. He is a Vietnam-era/Iraq War veteran and a retired public-school administrator. He is married and is a father, grandfather and great grandfather. He is a resident and native of North Carolina.

Book preview

Chapter One

Pray Without Ceasing

Pray without ceasing (First Thessalonians 5:17).

Are you praying? God wants his children to be in constant communication with him. The Apostle Paul listed several duties in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Among the things he taught was the duty to pray. Today we want to focus on this one duty of prayer. It should go without saying that the other duties are necessary and important; but prayer is a vital key to the door of spiritual growth and heavenly blessings.

Just what is prayer? We can first define prayer by describing what prayer is not. Prayer is not just a wish list of things we present to God. Prayer is not just some kind of religious form and fashion. Prayer is not some kind of 911 that we call when we need an instant response from God. However, prayer is a divine attitude and altitude of spiritual consciousness towards God. Prayer is a personal connection to the most awesome power anywhere—God Almighty, himself.

Prayer is what keeps us going and going and going. Without prayer we won’t get very far in life. Jesus said, Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:24).

In the teachings of Jesus Christ to his disciples and followers we can see the significance he placed on a life of prayer. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Watch ye therefore, and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:32, 33, 36).

When you pray, things begin to happen. When you don’t pray, things begin to happen. Don’t stop praying. When you cease to pray, you start grumbling and complaining. Nothing is going right for you. When things go wrong, it’s always the other person’s fault. It’s easy for you to sit down at your favorite hang-out and engage in gossip. When you stop praying, the preacher ain’t right; the deacon ain’t right, the mothers of the church ain’t right; your momma ain’t right; your daddy ain’t right, the members of your church ain’t right. There’s no one right but you when you stop praying. When you stop praying, you lose your joy; you lose your love, you lose your spiritual energy. First Timothy 2:8 says, "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."

When you pray, heaven hears you. When you pray, you have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. When you pray, good things start happening around you; your flower plant begins to liven up; your dog comes back home; your children begin to act right; you can take more junk from people; your joy and hope comes alive; you’ve got a peace of mind. When you pray, all kinds of good stuff start happening in your life.

The Bible says, "If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (Second Chronicles 7:14).

Whatever you do, don’t stop praying. It’s your lifeline to God through Christ Jesus. Your very life depends upon it. You can’t, you won’t survive without it. James 5:15 and 16 tell us, "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Ephesians 2:18, "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Ephesians 3:12 says, "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." James 5:1 and 18 tell us that Elias had access to God. "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rained and the earth brought forth her fruit." Mighty things can be accomplished in your life and in the life of others when you pray.

"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our savior, be glory and majesty, dominion, and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 24 and 25).

Chapter Two

Amazing Grace

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans. 3:24).

Do you have the grace of God abounding in your life? Today I want to talk with you about the grace of God or God’s amazing grace. No doubt most, if not all, of you have heard and used this term many times—grace. In many dictionaries you will find several different definitions of the word grace. However, for our purpose today we want to use the spiritual meaning of grace. We find that God’s grace can be defined as an unmerited divine assistance given to man, woman, girl or boy for his or her regeneration and sanctification.

Jesus said to a man named Nicodemus and to you and me too, you cannot be regenerated, you cannot be sanctified, and you cannot be born again without the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8, 9 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

You can’t earn or work for grace. Grace is something that God gives to us freely by having faith in Jesus Christ. We need God’s grace to grow and become mature Christians in Christ Jesus. We receive God’s special blessings in our lives by faith through grace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s not our praying that pleases God so much. It’s our faith in our prayer that moves God. It’s not our study of the Bible that causes God to reveal his knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to us. It’s our faith in his word that brings undeserved goodness and mercy into our lives. It’s not your tithes and offerings that causes God to open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it. It’s the faith in his word which causes God to shower you with unmerited riches. Everywhere in the Bible where you see God’s word preached and believed, you see God’s grace abounding. You can’t work for or earn God’s grace. Your blessings come by faith through grace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sometimes some of us have the false notion if we pray long enough, if we sing loud enough, if we shout hard enough, if we preach good enough, if we give more than enough, we will earn God’s favor. Yes, my friends, those things are good to do but without faith in Christ they are worthless. Let the grace of God work in your life to bring about a significant, a profound, a lasting difference to the glory of God.

Let’s examine some scriptures from the Bible on grace. For our purpose today let us use the book of Acts, Romans and Hebrews. Whenever you hear God’s word preached of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you have God’s grace in abundance. Acts 4:32-35 tells us:

"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Let’s re-examine these scriptures. We see that the gospel was preached, and many believed the gospel and the apostles testified to the actual resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Because of their preaching, their believing and their testifying, God’s great divine supernatural assistance was with them all. Everything they needed was provided by God, not because they earned it, not because they worked for it, not because they were so perfect but because God is so full of amazing grace, and he loves us so. He loves us so that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him will never die but will live eternally with him. We can’t make it without his grace. Old things cannot pass away without his grace. We cannot become new creatures without his grace. We can only try to live holy, to become righteous. We can only try, to no avail, only to become hypocrites—only to become as a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol. We can only try to live right without the grace of God, to have a form of godliness and denying the power thereof. Romans 4: 1-3 tells us: What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness.

Once you become a child of God you are expected and required to be a good steward, and you will receive heavenly rewards for your good stewardship, but today we are not talking about working to receive heavenly rewards. We are talking about receiving a crown of righteousness which you cannot and never will receive through your own works. Righteousness of God comes only through your faith in Christ Jesus through the grace of God.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Sometimes we go to God in prayer and we believe Him, but we must say not my will but let his will be done.

Sometimes God allows certain things in our lives for a good reason for a good purpose, for his glory. I want to remind you of Paul’s thorn in the flesh. As you may recall Paul was a great man of God, a great apostle who had many great revelations from God. God had shown him much grace and mercy, but Paul also suffered from an infirmity, a physical affliction, or sickness.

Paul went to God in prayer three times, seeking God, asking God to remove what he called a thorn in the flesh. At Second Corinthians 12: 7, we hear Paul say, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." Paul was saying, in to order to keep him from getting or being high-minded because of the great move of God in his life, he suffered from an infirmity to keep him humble.

Perhaps, as with Paul, sometimes things are allowed in