English Service by Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso

HOW TO OVERCOME LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES

SERIES: WE SHALL OVERCOME.

TEXT: ROMANS 8:14-18.

 

The first name that was given to christians in the 1st century was the name “Overcomers.” Jesus Christ in the seven letters to the seven churches of Asia minor in Revelations 1-3, uses the term “overcomer” for those who were born again. Today’s message is to help you see that God has always wanted us to be overcomers. He wants us to overcome life’s difficulties.

We all have had our share of difficulties and some of us feel we have had more than our share.

Many times we feel like the man who was married to a very beautiful woman, but they had difficulties in their marriage. Nothing seemed to be going right for him.

But one day as he was walking along he came across this frog that said to him, “hey mister, kiss me and I will turn into a beautiful princess.” The man looked at the frog, he picked it up and put it in his pocket without saying a word.

Later the frog stuck its head out of his pocket and said, “I am not kidding mister, kiss me and I will turn into a beautiful princess.”

The man ignored the frog and put her head back into the pocket.

Later that day, the frog again said “Really mister, kiss me and I will turn into a beautiful princess.” The man looked at the frog and said, “listen frog, I don’t doubt what you are saying, but at this stage in my life, I believe I would just as soon have a talking frog as a lovely princess in my life.”

A lot of us are like that man. We are at a place where we are not sure what we want or what we need.

Let us look at two things about life’s difficulties. Let us learn:-

OVERLAPPING OF DIFFICULTIES.

  • It seems that life is filled with one difficult after another.
  • It matters not where you live, who you know, what you have or what family you belong to, everyone experiences difficulties in this life.
  • Even kings, presidents and the very rich are not exempt from this.
  • All of us suffer problems and difficulties in this life.
  • The members of the royal family of Britain have the best of what life has to offer.
  • We hear of reports difficulties they experience.
  • Prince William and Prince Harry are not talking to each other.
  • Camila and King Charles 3 are divorcing.
  • Princes Diana died a terrible death with a man who was not her husband!!
  • The late Queen Elizabeth 2 confessed that she spend nights without sleep.
  • Money can buy a bed but it can’t but sleep.
  • Money can buy medicine buy it can’t buy good health.
  • Money can buy some happiness but it can’t buy joy. It can buy knowledge but not wisdom.
  • There are many difficulties we have no control, whatsoever over.
  • But we can be overcomers over unavoidable difficulties.
  • There are also some difficulties that come our way as a result of our own doings.
  • Some difficulties come because we simply don’t face reality:-
  1. The myth problem.
  • That is many of us have been raised in a “fairy tale” world.
  • For example a young girl often starts life having her parents tell her Cinderella stories.
  • Remember that Cinderella had some problems, then one day a young handsome prince came along and whisked her away.
  • All the difficulties that she had vanished and she and her princess lived happily ever after.
  • A young woman who hears these fairly tales, grow up, meets her handsome prince. He marries her and surprise!! She has more difficulties than she ever had.
  • Her beautiful face become a net of wringles. All her dreams are shattered because she believed that the man she married would take care of everything and they would live happily ever after.
  • The same thing happens to young men.
  • A boy is told “son, you need to get a good education.”
  • The boy asks “why dad?” the dad says “so you can live happily ever after.”
  • Years later the young man grows up, gets education and all of a sudden difficulties.
  • Let us live in a world of reality not fantasy.
  • It doesn’t matter who you marry.
  • You can have more degrees than a thermometer etc.
  • These things are not going to determine whether or not you will live “happily ever after.”
  • No one is exempt from problems and difficulties of life-Job 5:7, “yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upwards.”
  • “Fairly tale” life does not exist for anyone. This is not heaven, but one day we will live there-Rev. 21:4.
  • Until then God’s word says Job 5:7.
  • This is the myth problem.
  1. The mental problem.
  • We must understand that we live in a changing world.
  • Everything in this world is constantly changing.
  • The moment you buy a brand new car, but the day you buy it, it begins to deteriorate.
  • You build a brand new house, the moment you move in it begins to deteriorate.
  • A girl or wife can be so gorgeous that she wins every beauty contest.
  • She can walk down the streets and make heads turn, but very soon she starts to deteriorate. A day is coming when she is not very attractive.
  • She may have her face “lifted” but our bodies deteriorate. Everything in the world is constantly changing.
  • The stock market might go through the ceiling one day and fall through the floor the next.
  • The only thing in our lives that doesn’t change from day today is the God we worship. Malachi 3:6, “For I the Lord, I change not.”
  • In this changing world, God doesn’t change, His promises doens’t change.

OVERCOMING DISAPPOINTMENTS.

  • How do we overcome the disappointments we face each day?
  • Let us look at….
  1. Our reality.
  • We must accept the fact that we are going to have difficulties in this life.
  • Even getting saved does not mean there will be no difficulties and disappointments-John 16:33.
  • When we suffer there is nothing wrong with it. Difficulties are as much a part of our lives as breathing is. 
  • The apostle Paul considered this issue in Romans 8:18, “for I reckon that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
  • In heaven there will be no difficulties or disappointments.
  • Until then, we have to face reality and understand that as long as we are on this earth it will not be easy.
  • If we are going to overcome disappointments we need to look at:-
  1. His word.
  • God has not placed us here on earth without instructions.
  • God has given us His word which tells us how to overcome the difficulties of life-Psalm 119:105.
  • “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
  • God’s word shows us clearly:-
  1. We don’t earn our salvation. It is by grace we are saved.
  2. It is not a religion; it is a relationship with Jesus Christ-Acts 17:11.
  • The Berean christians were noble than those in Thessalonica. They searched the word. They looked at the word for direction.

The searched the scriptures:-

  • They did not just hear the word, they searched the scriptures daily to find the real truth and real solutions to their problems.
  • In the word of God we can find solutions to our problems.

CONCLUSION

  • Every person here today faces life’s difficulties.
  • Some of the difficulties we face are unavoidable, when this is the case we accept the reality and search the scriptures to find how to overcome them.
  • Some difficulties overlap, but God has given us the power to overcome disappointments-John 16:33.
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Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso

Rev, Dr. Willy Mutiso is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Athiriver. He is widely known for his practical and dynamic teaching style which helps people apply the timeless truths of Scripture to their everyday lives.

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