Today is the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.  Click here to listen, read the text, and purchase a video.  It’s an amazing speech, full of the truth and rhetorical power one would expect from a devout Christian minister with a Kingdom Vision of Overcoming.

During the event of Dr. King’s speech, a 22-year old folk singer named Joan Baez led those in the Washington Mall (around 300,000 people gathered for A. Philip Randolph’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom) in singing “We Shall Overcome.” It became a signature song of the Civil Rights Movement.

“We Shall Overcome” was defensively copyrighted by fellow folk singer Pete Seeger and others in 1963, but current research suggests its origin was not in Seeger’s adaptation, but may have begun in the mind of a black woman named Louise Shropshire as “If My Jesus Wills (I Do Believe, I’ll Overcome Some Day),” click link to hear.

Shropshire and Dr. King had a personal, loyal, and Christian connection, both viewing Overcoming as being intimately tied to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  Overcoming takes a long view. “If My Jesus Wills” contains lyrics like, “Gonna sing a new song…Gonna wear a new robe…Gonna see my Lord” all of which point directly to Jesus.

About “We Shall Overcome,”  in an interview with Blank on Blank, Seeger said,

It was the only record I ever made which sold. The record was called “We Shall Overcome.” It sold 500,000 copies, which for me was a huge sale. I was singing for some young Lutheran church people in Sundance, Idaho, and there were some older people who were mistrustful of my lefty politics.  They said: ‘Who are you intending to overcome?’ I said: ‘Well, in Selma, Alabama they’re probably thinking of Chief Pritchett.; they will overcome. And I am sure Dr. King is thinking of the system of segregation across the whole country, not just the South. For me, it means the entire world. We’ll overcome our tendencies to solve our problems with killing and learn to work together to bring this world together.’

It is doubtful that Dr. King was thinking simply of ending segregation—important though that was.  His sights were set on a distant mountain.  In a speech to the Temple Israel of Hollywood, Dr. King is quoted as saying,

Oh, I know that there are still dark and difficult days ahead. Before we get there some more of us will have to get scarred up a bit. Before we reach that majestic land some more will be called bad names. Some will be called reds and communists simply because they believe in the brotherhood of man. Before we get there some more will have to be thrown into crowded, frustrating, and depressing jail cells. Before we get there maybe somebody else like a Medgar Evers and the three civil rights workers in Mississippi this summer will have to face physical death. If physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children and their white brothers from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive. Yes, we were singing about it just a few minutes ago: “We shall overcome; we shall overcome, deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome.”

And I believe it because somehow the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. We shall overcome because Carlyle is right: “No lie can live forever.” We shall overcome because William Cullen Bryant is right: “Truth crushed to earth will rise again.” We shall overcome because James Russell Lowell is right: “Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. Yet, that scaffold sways the future and behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.” With this faith we will be able to hue out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day. And in the words of prophecy,

“Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain and the crooked places straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

This will be a great day. This will be a marvelous hour. And at that moment, figuratively speaking in biblical words: “the morning stars will sing together and the sons of God will shout for joy.”

I wonder if something of the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement died along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the day he was killed:

• Shropshire’s “If My Jesus Wills…I’ll Overcome Some Day” (a vastly spiritual song of hope) had already been adapted by Seeger and others.  Jesus may have been willing, but was no longer welcome as the song became “We Shall Overcome” with no mention of Jesus or God whatsoever as our source of strength, perseverance, help, comfort, or faith.
• Dr. King’s “I’ve been to the mountaintop” focus heavenward on the triumphant glory of the Lord was pinned down with earthly shackles and worldly concerns, and the best we could do apart from Christ was linking human arms for manmade marches.
• Dr. King’s words—preached in a movement inspired by faith in Jesus Christ—were reduced to the political power of people to overpower–not actually overcome–by sheer numbers instead of by the eternally powerful “content of their characters” which truly transforms in the eternal scope.

Seeger’s view of everyone playing nicely together isn’t what Dr. King preached.  King did not preach so that we could have an imitation–a human-centered movement of earthbound people with a social conscience.  He preached Overcoming! 

He preached a message of Christian conscience for those looking to God for help.

King preached faith; he preached Truth; he preached love and service;

he reminded American blacks that they are among the world’s richest people, though some are impoverished by US standards; he preached non-violent protesting;

he lived Kingdom Actions like those of his Savior Jesus Christ; and he powerfully preached Kingdom ways of Overcoming…peacefully, truthfully, and ultimately triumphantly.

Overcomers Speak the Truth.

Jesus never lied.  Not even once.

We’re beginning our look at the kind of Kingdom Actions Jesus had–ones that teach us how to deal with sufferings and be Overcomers.  1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

Jesus set before us a high standard of conduct and the ultimate example of what perfect humanity looks like. This is what we aspire to as Overcomers: to speak the truth about everything including suffering, and never fake it for the sake of looking religious to other people, or in order to justify ourselves.

I like watching movies and thinking about them from a theological perspective (which makes me no fun to take out to the movies–we watch them in the privacy of home so I can pause and reflect and be obnoxious to my husband who would probably prefer just to watch the film).  In Baby Mama, Kate Holbrook and her surrogate Angie (who is hiding a secret) have a conversation about honesty:

Kate: I don’t want to… This is why I can’t lie to him. 

Angie: You’re not lying to him, you’re just not telling him the truth, there’s a big difference.

Kate:  Is there?

Lying has become such a huge part of American culture that one might suspect it has supplanted baseball as our national pastime.  Its zenith not-so-amazingly coincides with the approaching nadir of Christian discipleship, moral standards, and social ethics. Christians throw up a million defenses so as not to speak the truth…even in love. 

What do we do instead? 

• We hide from the truth, acting as if truth is as relative as the world tells us it is.
• We may speak boldly and say it’s the truth even when it displays our ignorance because it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with what God says is the truth.
• We throw accusations at other people to keep them from speaking the truth we’d rather not hear. 
• We beat around the bush and never point out the lies out of fear of being branded (Christian, Evangelical, Zealot, Closed Minded Bible Thumper) or worse being thrust into the pejorative political realm or a specific party (Right-winger, Conservative, Republican, Ditto-Head, Tea Party Patriot) even when the Bible isn’t the GOP Handbook on a wide variety of social, political, and economic issues.   Bill Kristol could tell you that one.  The truth is Liberals, Progressives, Socialists, Libertarians don’t have the Bible as their handbook either, just ask John Stossel and Bill Clinton.

Blow the dust of the Ol’Bible and we find that Scripture says something about that:

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

The truth is hard to come by.  Much harder to see than lying.  Of course everyone is careful not to call lying…lying.  It’s called spin, misinforming, disingenuousness, prevaricating, falsifying, misstating, fabricating, mendacity, unreliability, unsubstantiated information, unproven allegations, partisan accusations, misleading statements, or even occasionally being deceitful.

So we develop a huge vocabulary and are no closer to the truth about the situation.  Maybe it’s time to honor God, open our Bibles, better yet, read in its pages what truth actually is.  Look for standards of conduct the Bible talks about, and start using the word LYING when it applies.

Jesus had no problem with using the word LIAR.

John 8:55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.

(Unfair!  Jesus was God, you protest?) 

Well, neither did the beloved disciple John who used it quite frequently.

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

It doesn’t matter what we call it.  God doesn’t want us to do it. 

He wants us to speak the truth.

Zechariah 8:16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.

Do you want to be an Overcomer and not be a prisoner to suffering?  We need to start by Speaking the Truth and having the kind of Kingdom Actions that expect suffering without spinning it inward to fatalism or victimhood; or spinning it outward by putting a pretty pious but dishonest frame around the suffering we’re going through; and without lying to ourselves and God, living in denial of the truth that suffering hurts but the story doesn’t end there.

We need to speak the truth to others and to ourselves in order to be Overcomers.

We return to the hymns as we begin another week of Overcoming to discuss Kingdom Actions, one of the 5 Kingdom Principles for Overcoming that were listed for us in 1 Peter 2:21-23.

1. Kingdom expectations; 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
2. Kingdom perspective; leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
3. Kingdom actions; 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
4. Kingdom time frame; 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
5. Kingdom power; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Today’s hymn is Forth in Thy Name, O Lord I Go by Charles Wesley.

According to numerous accounts, Charles Wesley is often considered the “forgotten Wesley” because his achievements as a prolific hymn writer seem less significant than those of his brother John whose organizational genius founded the great Methodist tradition.  You would never suspect his being forgotten based upon the familiarity of the hymns of Charles Wesley.  They are among the most famous in any hymnal, Methodist or otherwise: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today;  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Jesus, Lover of My Soul;  Love Divine, All Loves Excelling; and O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, among nearly 9,000 others.

Christianity Today shares this part of Charles Wesley’s history:

Charles Wesley was the eighteenth of Samuel and Susannah Wesley’s nineteen children (only 10 lived to maturity). He was born prematurely in December 1707 and appeared dead. He lay silent, wrapped in wool, for weeks.

When older, Charles joined his siblings as each day his mother, Susannah, who knew Greek, Latin, and French, methodically taught them for six hours. Charles then spent 13 years at Westminster School, where the only language allowed in public was Latin. He added nine years at Oxford, where he received his master’s degree. It was said that he could reel off the Latin poet Virgil by the half hour.

It was off to Oxford University next, and to counteract the spiritual tepidity of the school, Charles formed the Holy Club, and with two or three others celebrated Communion weekly and observed a strict regimen of spiritual study. Because of the group’s religious regimen, which later included early rising, Bible study, and prison ministry, members were called “methodists.”

In 1735 Charles joined his brother John (they were now both ordained), to become a missionary in the colony of Georgia—John as chaplain of the rough outpost and Charles as secretary to Governor Oglethorpe.

Shot at, slandered, suffering sickness, shunned even by Oglethorpe, Charles could have echoed brother John’s sentiments as they dejectedly returned to England the following year: “I went to America to convert the Indians, but, oh, who will convert me?”

It turned out to be the Moravians. After returning to England, Charles taught English to Moravian Peter Böhler, who prompted Charles to look at the state of his soul more deeply. During May 1738, Charles began reading Martin Luther’s volume on Galatians while ill. He wrote in his diary, “I labored, waited, and prayed to feel ‘who loved me, and gave himself for me.'” He shortly found himself convinced, and journaled, “I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoice in hope of loving Christ.” Two days later he began writing a hymn celebrating his conversion.

Charles, from his premature birth to his conversion and beyond, has been an Overcomer in the best sense.  His hymn Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go exemplifies what it means to have Kingdom Vision, Expectations, and Perspective and how they can preserve us for Kingdom Actions even in the mundane or forgotten tasks of Overcomers.  Listen on the cyberhymnal.

Forth in Thy name, O Lord, I go,

My daily labor to pursue;

Thee, only Thee, resolved to know

In all I think or speak or do.

The task Thy wisdom hath assigned,

O let me cheerfully fulfill;

In all my works Thy presence find,

And prove Thy good and perfect will.

Preserve me from my calling’s snare,

And hide my simple heart above,

Above the thorns of choking care,

The gilded baits of worldly love.

Thee may I set at my right hand,

Whose eyes mine inmost substance see,

And labor on at Thy command,

And offer all my works to Thee.

Give me to bear Thy easy yoke,

And every moment watch and pray,

And still to things eternal look,

And hasten to Thy glorious day.

For Thee delightfully employ

Whate’er Thy bounteous grace hath giv’n;

And run my course with even joy,

And closely walk with Thee to Heav’n.

I cannot think of a better way to conclude a week on having Kingdom Vision with the perspective of Christ than to use the famous hymn “It is Well with My Soul.”

We all know suffering in our own lives—in ways both small and great.   Suffering is something to be realistically expected, Jesus reminds us.  In context, however, He tells us to take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

For my own part, I tend to forget sufferings as I look to the Cross.  It’s not that they’ve gone away or that the scars are no longer visible.  I just forget them in the same way I have forgotten what the pain of childbirth is like and most of us have no accurate recollection of teething pain we knew as babies.  We sure cried a lot.  It must have hurt, but how many of us even remember it?

The human mind works in odd ways, but maybe there’s something else going on.  We look not only inward but outward, with comparison of our sufferings with the sufferings of others.  Perhaps this is why I forget.  Those who have faced persecution or starvation or assault, for example, face suffering that is far more acute than my own.  My sufferings in many ways aren’t worth comparing to those endured by so many others.  For certain my sufferings can’t begin to approach those of my Savior.

One day when I was ministering to a friend who was dealing with something I’d overcome, she told me of a couple of common acquaintances, one of whom was newly facing cancer and another who had recently given birth to a stillborn child.  She began to suggest that maybe I could offer to be a listening ear to them and help them in their grief.  At once, her face went pale and she looked up through tears and said, “I had no idea until just now that you’ve dealt with all three of these things!  I am so sorry!” I reassured her that her suggestion was fine–I wasn’t sorry at all for myself.  My heart does go out to others.

Long ago, I concluded that God allows suffering in our lives to focus our sights on the Cross and to prepare us to love others who are distraught.  In some cases, like that of our hymn writer Horatio Spafford, our sufferings produce something of such enduring beauty that we find it easier to forget the pain, by our seeing the face of Christ so plainly and feeling His presence more profoundly.

Judy Hoch has a homeschooling study on the history of Horatio Spafford’s “It is Well with My Soul” . In it, she recounts the famous losses of Horatio Spafford occurring in such a short span of time: his son, his fortune, and his four daughters.  In spite of these tragedies, Spafford’s focus remained on faith—the Kingdom perspective of Christ.  As you read the poem written by Spafford, notice his great faith, how his focus is heavenward, his gaze upon Christ, and how sure is his hope because he has Kingdom Vision.

Hoch has included a video of the Mennonite Men’s Choir singing the hymn.  But if you have more time you can set aside in quiet contemplation for Bill Graham’s favorite hymns sung by the amazing Wintley Phipps, “It is Well” begins at 12:45 in the Day of Discovery program.  In either video, Spafford’s hymn will bless your soul as it has continued to bless Overcomers for generations.

 It is Well with My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin—not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so—it is well with my soul.

In our series on Overcoming, we’ve determined so far that we want Kingdom Vision.  We need that same perspective of situations that Jesus had.  It’s more than simply seeing circumstances, it’s seeing them filtered through a Kingdom lens–a Visionary Filter of Faith–that both clarifies and widens to the bigger picture. 

We need a Visionary Filter of Faith if we’re going to be a true Overcomer.

Did you ever get one of those coded messages in cereal boxes or a coded game as a kid?  You’d have to use that special red colored film decoder to see the message hidden on the card?  While all the other symbols and markings occluded (there’s a word I haven’t used in forever!) the message, it was revealed by the right filter.

Kingdom perspective is like that filter for spiritual truth and spiritual truth is always the door to the bigger picture, to seeing what is not seen.  Let’s call that Kingdom perspective and Visionary Filter

… FAITH.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. … 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. … 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country– a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

When Jesus used the Visionary Filter, it was because He’d come from the Father.  Jesus knew the spiritual realm as being every bit as real as the physical world.

He had clear, detailed Vision of the bigger picture.

For us, the Visionary Filter of Faith shows us what is real, true, and eternal—what is truth hiding among the world’s distractions and circumstances.

Are you living today with the Visionary Filter of Faith?

What do you hope for?  What do you see?  What country are you longing for?

Read through the passage again and note how the ancients–these Overcomers–saw at a distance what was only possible with a Visionary Filter of Faith.

We are still looking at The 5 Kingdom Principles for Overcoming as found in 1 Peter 2:21-23, and gaining that Perspective we need to live fully and fruitfully.  We want more Jesus, to have the Kingdom Vision to see the Savior clearly in the midst of a million pretenders and manmade saviors.

Who are they and what do these culturally created false messiahs look like, distracting us from Jesus?  All you have to do is watch the nightly news and you see a whole bunch of pretenders, fakes, false hopes, and maybe nice people, but very shallow saviors:

• Money—if you have enough, you’ll never have to worry ever again.  You can provide for yourself!
• Power, Celebrity, Fame—if you know the right people you’ll live a happy life as master of your own destiny.  You’ll be popular!  Better yet, you’ll be someone else’s god.
• Technology—if you have the right app or the right device, you’ll have a leg up on everyone else.
• Health—if you work out, eat right, and sleep well, you’ll live almost forever!
• Drugs—if they’re legalized and you use the right one, your mind will be opened and your environment will be like paradise.  You will know total freedom!  It’s kind of like heaven…sort of.
• Politics—if you look to the government to solve all your problems, it will!  Just like magic!
• Tolerance—if you just stop having moral standards and careful discernment, I’m ok, you’re ok.  We’re better than ok.  We’re tolerant! Apply halo here and listen to the angels sing.  

* * *

Shallow saviors, to be sure.

* * *

And they are precisely the reason so many people lose hope.

People become jaded, give up, and learn to resent other people.  Following false messiahs provides distraction–they will only lead us to fatalism, victimhood, and ultimately death.

We fall into the trap of seeing ourselves in comparison to others whose Facebook statuses and curb appeal lives say that they’ve made it to the top!  And here we are at the bottom.  “What I need is more ____,” we think.  Fill in the blank with any false hope.

The Truth is: What we really need is more …Jesus!  We need Kingdom Vision that shows the way of clarity in a world of distractions.  We look to Jesus because He left an example so that we might follow in His footsteps.

Mark 8:34 Then Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

That’s Perspective that truly saves!

There is so much more to Kingdom Vision than simply seeing.  It’s focused seeing—seeing what God sees as important in an overall scene of earthly pain, discrimination, injustice, disease, hunger, and chaos.  “Focused seeing” doesn’t ignore reality, but it widens the perspective even while examining every detail for Kingdom principles.  What does this look like?

I like analogies.  Did you ever look at the Where’s Waldo pictures?  There were always a bunch of pretenders in the picture whose presence was there to make finding Waldo harder.  They served as a distraction to keep our eyes off of a focused and relentless search for Waldo.  Usually, they didn’t even look like Waldo, but you see red and white and think, “There he is!”  No.  Oooh!  Is that him?  No.  And you keep searching.

But once you see Waldo, you can pick him out right away!

Suffering is a pretender just like all the red/white scarves and skirts and flags, calling attention to itself.

What is our adversary’s singular goal in creating a larger picture of suffering, injustice, chaos, bitterness, strife, and keeping us busy with a whole host of problems?  He wants to lead us to death by distracting us from seeing the redemption God offers in Jesus Christ. Troubles, Jesus tells us, we will have many!  But to take heart, He has overcome the world! (John 16:33)

Suffering both distracts and focuses our sights–they are two sides of the same painful coin.

 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ (Luke 8:10)

Whew!  Doesn’t that seem a bit unfair?  Not when we think about it this way: For those who choose to see with Kingdom vision and not just our eyes, Jesus (who is far better than Waldo) is in plain sight.  Once you see Jesus, you really do see Him.  You know it’s Him.  Not just what He maybe looks like among a million manmade messiahs and pretenders in a world of suffering, but you see Jesus.  You know Him.

Likewise, when we have Kingdom Vision we see the Way, the Truth, and the Life—even in the midst of chaos.  Parables were just a way of affirming who had already adopted Kingdom Vision and saw the Truth of Christ plainly and clearly, and who among us were still distracted, looking for answers in any old place.  Over the next few days we’ll explore how to have this Kingdom Vision and how it helps us in overcoming suffering.

Sufferings and troubles will come.  But the real question is can you still focus on God’s Truth in Jesus Christ in spite of suffering?

This week we will continue our look at overcoming, which by definition involves something painful.  (Enduring something wonderful would be called enjoyment.) 

Overcoming always results in resumption of forward progress and with Christian overcoming, it also grows our faith, exhibits grace, and offers forgiveness.  Overcoming doesn’t always take away the pain of the memory or remove the consequence of the hurtful action.  The scars may remain, but we make peace with the pain to where it won’t torment us anymore.

With that in mind, last week we talked about 5 Kingdom principles for overcoming (from 1 Peter 2:21-23):

1. Kingdom expectations; 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
2. Kingdom perspective; leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
3. Kingdom actions; 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
4. Kingdom time frame; 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
5. Kingdom power; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

We saw that Jesus Christ expected suffering (In this world you will have trouble), but that He didn’t do so with a sense of fatalism (Take heart, I have overcome the world—John 16:33).  He was profoundly realistic which we noted differs from fatalism by seeing all of God’s possibilities, responding to those possibilities with God-honoring choices such as prayer, and with confidence in the power of God.  This, in turn, helps us to keep all of our suffering in perspective without resorting to victimhood as our identity.

Let’s look at another lovely Irish hymn, Be Thou My Vision, to set the tone as we begin exploring what that Kingdom perspective looks like…to have the vision of Christ.

Sarah McCabe has written a history of how Be Thou My Vision  came to be a cherished hymn.  She begins with telling the story of St. Patrick’s courage in lighting a fire on Easter Eve on the Hill of Slane (433 AD) despite a king’s decree forbidding any fire to be lit before the one celebrating the vernal equinox.  She continues:

Considered Ireland’s chief poet during his time, Dallan Forgaill, who was killed by pirates in 598, was known as a studious and scholarly man. It was said that he spent so much time reading, writing, and studying that he became blind.

Inspired by the events on the Hill of Slane about 100 years earlier, Dallan Forgaill wrote the original words to “Be Thou My Vision” in old Irish, as a poem entitled ” Rop tu mo baile.”

In 1905, the Gaelic words were translated into English by Mary E Byrne and then versified in 1912 by Eleanor H. Hull.  Listen to this lovely version on cello by David Abramsky 

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

By way of hitting the “pause button” for a take-away from this week’s look at Overcoming, let’s go back to the hymns.

At one point, I had a teacher whom I admired in many ways though he didn’t ever seem to think anything but poorly of me.  As a matter of fact, no encounter was complete until he’d used every theological means to reduce me to tears.  One instance surrounded today’s hymn: What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

I had selected this hymn as the theme music for a Lenten Intercessory Prayer Series I coordinated—not taught, an important distinction—at what was our local church until 2004.  I chose this hymn for its focus on the beauty, benefits, and blessing of prayer.

Prayer honors God.  It is invaluable in our Overcoming.  I believed it true then.  I believe it now.

This teacher’s disagreement was with the word Friend.  We cannot call Jesus our Friend, he said.  He cited all the right theological reasons why Abraham could be God’s friend (James 2:23) but Jesus can’t be ours, even with a capital F to show reverence.  Friendship is a one-way street apparently.  God can call us friends, but it’s improper for us to call God that even in a hymn exalting Him as Savior.  I was told so in private and then the teacher pronounced the same in a class of more than 200 students, though he spared me the humiliation of calling me out by name.  I knew who he meant.  Clearly, he didn’t view me as a “friend” but a heretic, perhaps with all caps for emphasis.

According to the cyberhymnal, What a Friend We Have in Jesus was written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriv­en:

Scriven wrote this hymn to com­fort his mo­ther, who was across the sea from him in Ire­land. It was orig­in­al­ly pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly, and Scriv­en did not re­ceive full cred­it for al­most 30 years.

But even that does not tell the full story of this Overcomer.  Scriven looked at the world with the expectations of Jesus—a world filled with God’s goodness and possibilities that invited a wholehearted response of faith which provides every ounce of Holy Spirit power needed to humbly obey the call to love one another.  Take a moment, if you will, to watch the encouraging history behind the hymn, behind the man, behind the suffering, and behind the relationship of love and trust and obedience that inspired What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

One of the principles of Kingdom vision we talked about yesterday involves expectations.  Jesus expected suffering.  But He wasn’t a fatalist.  How did He avoid fatalism while still being realistic?

The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines fatalism as “a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them; also : a belief in or attitude determined by this doctrine.”

What about Jesus’ Kingdom vision made Him different?  He was completely realistic in His expectations about the pervasiveness of suffering (John 16:33–In this world you will have trouble) without becoming fatalistic about it all (Take heart, I have overcome the world).

I submit to you that we can follow in His footsteps of suffering without becoming the world’s greatest pessimists by having the same Kingdom vision and expectations that Jesus had.  Today, let’s examine Mark 14:35-36 to see three distinctions that help us see life the way Jesus saw it.

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:35-36)

Let’s look at those three distinctions between realism and fatalism. 

First distinction:  Realism sees circumstances within a world of real possibilities.  Fatalism sees circumstances surrounded by impossibilities.

Jesus asks that the hour might pass knowing that everything is possible with God.  Had Jesus resorted to fate, He’d never have asked or believed it to be possible.  Jesus knew God to be the God of all possibilities. (Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”)

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stated what He wanted in the world of possibilities: If there was any other way, to have the cup taken from Him.   But in the end, Jesus loves the Father and submits His own will to the Father’s.

Fatalism says whatever will be will be, it’s carved in stone, and there is no way out.  You’re trapped.

Jesus didn’t view Himself as trapped.

Second distinction:  Realism offers an opportunity to respond with a choice.  Fatalism offers only resentment and victimhood in circumstances that will never change . 

Jesus realistically sees the situation.  The hour was coming of His suffering and death.  Realism looks to the possibilities, invites a response, and that response is a choice to react, often in very practical ways.  In our core passage today, how did Jesus react?  Jesus prayed.

Jesus responded with love and serving others in John 13:1-17.  He responded with forgiveness in Luke 23:34.  His responses always reflected His choice of obedience, trust, and love.

Fatalism on the other hand fosters resentment at circumstances beyond one’s control.  It highlights that one is a victim, all the circumstances are stacked against you, and you are completely without hope.

Third distinction:  Realism says power exists that can change things.  Fatalism says there is no power available to change anything.

John 10:17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life– only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus had decisive power and entrusted Himself to the Father who has all the power needed to overcome any circumstance.   Just think about how differently we’d view the Crucifixion if God the Father forced Jesus onto the Cross against Jesus’ own will.  It would have been little different than child sacrifice and Jesus would have been a victim instead of a victor!

With Kingdom vision, we can expect suffering—realistically and not fatalistically—as Scripture tells us we ought. 

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

We can know that realistic, possible, and powerful response to suffering that Jesus gives:

 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)