As it has been stated earlier and as we continue to meditate on the fact that God reveals Himself through His names and that these names –Elohim [Mighty One], El Shaddai [God Almighty, or All Sufficient One], Jehovah Jireh [The Lord will provide], Jehovah Rophe [The Lord who heals], Jehovah Nissi [The Lord is my banner], Jehovah Qadesh [The Lord who makes holy or sanctifies] –reveal some different facet of God’s character and the ways God do His things in the midst of men. At the moment we are considering the occasion when, during a period of Israel’s history in which there was great restlessness and fear, God appeared to one of His discouraged and restless servants, Gideon, as the God who dispenses perfect peace. Recall that Gideon was or became a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in Judges 6-8 of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, born 1252BC in Canaan and his children are Abimelech and Jotham. Gideon’s calling and work was a juxtaposition of two traditional accounts in order to emphasize Israel’s monotheism and its duty to destroy idolatry. Now connecting Gideon’s calling to our topic Peace, and knowing that true peace comes only from God, the question is asked, why did God pick Gideon who was always afraid and fearful? It is important to know that God sees in us the things we humans cannot see. Gideon’s humble and fearful situation that disqualifies him in his own eyes and that of men was one of the reasons God chose him because Fear, especially the fear of God they say is the beginning of wisdom. The Lord called Gideon a mighty hero with strength even though he was insecure and fearful judging from the situation surrounding him; in like manner Lord Jesus called Peter a rock even though he was a pebble and kept crumbling every time he is faced with challenges of life! Before we look further into this matter of peace, let us get one thing straight; it is important to settle whether we are looking for perfect peace or just rest. More and more in these troubled days people are looking to various religious rituals as a means of obtaining peace of mind. In fact, the very phrase ‘peace of mind’ reveals the flaw in that kind of thinking or way of seeking it. You cannot have peace of mind until you have something deeper than peace of mind. Then the question is what is it that is deeper than peace of mind? When you have peace in the depths of your spirit then peace of mind is an outcome of that deeper peace in spirit. In other words, you cannot experience the peace of God until you have experienced peace with God because peace with God is the real peace from where the other peace, like peace of mind comes from. No one can experience real peace if there is a conflict in his or her spirit, in relation of God’s Spirit. We must first experience the joy of sins forgiven, our sins forgiven and then, and only then, can we know the peace that Apostle Paul, in today’s text, describes as ‘the peace… which transcends all understanding’. And, for that matter, all understanding also is not comparable with the Peace that comes from our Lord God Almighty. Those who attempt to find peace by different techniques or means of mental adjustment or diverse ritualizations are doomed to disappointment because that which they appear to have is not real peace! As a result of these techniques or rituals they may experience a little or what is called a momentary peace of mind because it will not last. A crisis quickly dispels this kind of peace because it is not founded and anchored in Christ meaning it is not deeply rooted in Christ! Our true faith in Christ is what gives deep-rootedness to our trusting and relying in Christ Jesus and His finished work of grace to humanity. This is why we have got to constantly train our mind and heart to constantly follow the divine way God does things in our life because that is what will build in us our sincere reliability in Christ whether good or bad, we will not shake or waver no matter the degree of the storms that comes our way, we will be steady especially in mind and heart knowing that our God is in control having made peace with Him! Making peace with God partly means that you are living your life in accordance with His Scripture and His Gospel even in the midst of your fellow man on earth in your everyday activities peacefully and in love.

Now let us read Philippians 4:1-13; Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and yearn to see, my delight and crown (wreath of victory), thus stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I entreat and advise Euodia and I entreat and advise Syntyche to agree and to work in harmony in the Lord. 3 And I exhort you too, [my] genuine yokefellow, help these [two women to keep on cooperating], for they have toiled along with me in [the spreading of] the good news (the Gospel), as have Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! 5 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is [a]coming soon]. 6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ([b]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. 7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that [c]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [d]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. 9 Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of [e]untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you. 10 I was made very happy in the Lord that now you have revived your interest in my welfare after so long a time; you were indeed thinking of me, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be [f] content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. 12 I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. 13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [g]infuses inner strength into me; I am [h]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

What is the message of Philippians 4:1-13? Thus in this message we have seen how Lord Jesus Christ is our source of joy to cope with hostility and persecution, our source of peace to cope with worry and anxiety, and also our source of contentment to cope with poverty and prosperity! Through Him, we can surely cope with every situation in life. Remember that when we talk about Christ being our source of true peace, we mean that every individual has Christ in him Who is God in you from birth, the Spirit of God in you, giving you life, protecting you, guiding you, leading you to all things especially in terms of providence and security; this Christ Who is God in you keys into your personal spirit through which He does all these things and more for you and your mind and heart is His center of abode in you and He talks to and guides you through your mind and heart via your personal spirit which is why you should train yourself to be heart and mind centered and controlled making efforts to see to it that your heart and your mind is not at any time troubled which means that you have to be at peace with God in your deeds and you can only achieve this if you are grounded in God’s Word and living it in all your dealings with men on earth! One of the blessings of coming to Church every Lord's Day, is that as you hear God's Word being preached, you discover the answers to many questions that have been bothering you. The Word of God gives us the best answers on any question of life, eg. Is there life after death? How can I know about God? Why is there so much trouble in the world today? This day, we will hear the Word of God answering an important question for us: How can a person cope with every situation in life and have peace of mind on earth? If you were to go out on the streets and ask anyone you meet this question, you will probably get different answers. Some of them will say, 'You can cope with every situation in life by knowing how to relax and just enjoy yourself' And this is why when things go badly for many people you will find them turning to recreation, or meditation. Some others turn to intoxicating liquor, drugs, gambling, entertainment, or immoral relationships just to get their mind/heart off their trials, problems and difficulties. But these things provide only a quick temporary relief for them, and sometimes they make the problems even worse especially when you have gotten addicted to them. Others who are asked the question may say: 'Well, you can cope with every situation in life by having good friends who can help you at the time of needs.' And so they make sure that they have a good friend who is a doctor to heal them when they fall sick, they make friends with a lawyer, in case they ever have to face a lawsuit, and with a computer specialist as a technician/technologist/scientist, in case their PC with their most vital information crashes. But the main problem with this solution is that friends sometimes let us down or mislead us. We know that friends change as the years go by. Someone who may be very warm, helpful and close to you now may become cold and uncaring later on with passage of time. In vv.2-3 of our text we can see a sad example of this, where Paul says: '2 I entreat and advise Euodia and I entreat and advise Syntyche to agree and to work in harmony in the Lord. 3 And I exhort you too, [my] genuine yokefellow, help these [two women to keep on cooperating], for they have toiled along with me in [the spreading of] the good news (the Gospel), as have Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life.’ Here were two Christian women, named Euodias and Syntyche, who once worked very closely together with Paul and were probably good friends before. But now some disagreement has arisen between them and they were now at odds with each other. Since close friendships even among Christians can end up like this, it would not be wise for you to depend on friends to help you cope with every situation in life. Another suggested answer to the question is to have much material wealth and possessions. Some people will say, 'Make as much money as you can now, while you can, so that when things go badly for you, you will have nothing to worry about. Money can solve everything for you.' But the main problem with this solution or answer is that when the real crunch comes, one will discover that money does not solve everything. Life crunch is a critical moment or situation, especially one that occurs because of a shortage of time or resources or money or material; and remember that the word crunch has the sound of being crushed or grounded! A person may have all the money in the world, and still not be able to cope with every situation in life. Now that we have seen that pleasure, friends and money cannot enable us to cope with every situation in life; we wonder if anyone can give us an answer. And the answer comes from a prisoner in Rome. Listen to what he wrote: '11 Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be [f] content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. 12 I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want’ as seen in Philippians 4:11,12. Now here was a person who had truly learned how to cope with every situation in life through Christ! And he was none other than the Apostle Paul. To him it made no difference whether he had much or little unlike us, which is why we have to emulate him and train ourselves to live such life. His joy, peace and contentment were always the same no matter what happened, whether he was safe or shipwrecked, free or imprisoned, alone or with many friends. If you were to read the whole story of Paul's life as told in chapters 9-28 of the book of Acts, you would see how calm and peaceful he always remained in any situation, which is part of our difficulties today to remain calm in all situations. It takes a good knowledge of God’s Word coupled with constant and consistent effort and life training to be able to get use to this type of life of calm and peace and being able to live it amid numerous bombardments and problems and difficulties that we face. And so we must turn to Paul to ask him about how one can cope with every situation in life. And as we listen to his words of wisdom that comes from God Himself, this is what he would say: '4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! (v.4) Now please note that the most important words in this answer are the words 'in the Lord'. The Lord Jesus Christ is the source of this profound joy. Let us look also at v.7, ‘7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that [c]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [d]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’ Here we see Paul talking now about the peace of God which passes all understanding and is able to keep hearts and minds from being troubled by worry and fear and needs. Where does this peace come from? The answer is found at the end of that verse: Christ Jesus! Now look at vv.11-13. Here we see the Apostle Paul talking about his ability to be contented in whatever state he was in. And what was the source of his contentment? The answer is found in v.13, '13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [g]infuses inner strength into me; I am [h]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].’ Let us look now at v.19. Here Paul spoke confidently about God's supply for the needs of the Philippians, for the needs of individuals and for the needs of mankind in general. And what were the grounds for the sufficient supply of the Philippians? The answer at the end of the verse is: Christ Jesus! Once you are truly in Christ Jesus, whatever is your needs as an individual, as a Philippians or as a human being, our God will surely supply it to you in His Way and at His Time, always know this fact! But the trouble is that we often want God to supply in our way and time which is making us the decider instead of God! Which is not possible, know it very well. And therefore we have now finally found the full answer we are looking for to the question, 'How can a person cope with every situation in life on earth?' It is through Lord Jesus Christ! Christ is the ultimate source of a Christian's joy, peace, contentment, supply and sufficiency. It is through Him that we can cope well with every kind of situation that confronts us in life. But know that the enemy knows that Christ is the source of your supply and once you have your Christ content intact and pure, you become the ample of God eye and that is why the devil aims at trying to spoil the purity of your Christ content through spirit contamination which makes it very necessary that you should guide your spirit purity! Now let us study our text further and consider each of the situations given here in a more detailed form. The first situation is found in vv.4-5 and it is:

In v.5 the Philippians are told, 5 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is [a]coming soon].’ The background for this is that the Philippian Christians were facing persecution from men outside the Church just as it is still ongoing today in diverse form. According to Philippians 1:28 the persecution was so intense that some Christians were even terrified or frightened by it ('And in nothing terrified by your adversaries'). There may have been threats and abuse hurled against the Church. In 2:15 we can see how hostile the environment of the Philippian Church was, when Paul described it as a 'crooked and perverse nation’ and I ask, is it different from what we have today whereby even though in the midst of the so called Christians, you still find disharmony, disagreement, fight, quarrels and even abuses of all type and kinds! When faced with such opposition, Christians may be tempted to fret and retaliate or take certain defensive measures that would make the situation even worse. But Paul wanted them to show moderation toward these hostile people, and 'moderation' here is a word that means gentle forbearance, the willingness to be kind and considerate no matter what. Now it would be quite impossible for the Christians to do this, unless they dealt first with their own unsettled feelings toward their persecutors by rejoicing in the Lord even in the mist of it and know that the reality of it is that it takes years of being trained by the Lord through reading His Scripture and His Gospel for you to perfect this godly attitude and character in you, and even when you have, sometimes you could have some outburst, this is why we have to be very careful, asking our Lord Christ Jesus through His Holy Spirit to constantly help us through, otherwise it is not an easy godly life to live and practice day in day out following the dictates of the Scripture and the Gospel. Thus, Paul said in v.4 '4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! What does it mean for one to rejoice in the Lord? One verse where the same words are found is in Psalm 33:1 'Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.' This shows us quite clearly that rejoicing in the Lord involves praising Him. When we rejoice in the Lord, our minds must be directed to praise God for all that He is, the infinite and eternal God Who is unchangeable in His Being, Way, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness and Truth. Once you are at peace with God, it gives the assurance that He will surely fulfill His word. When you praise the Lord, you will soon realize how much Greater He is than all the difficulties and problems that may plague your life. When you praise the Lord, you will also realize that He is in sovereign control of all the circumstances of your life even when you are not aware of it. A few weeks ago someone sent me an SMS message that read like this: 'In times of difficulties don't ever say, 'God, I have a big problem.' But instead, say, ‘Hey Mr problem, I have a Big God!’ And so, dearly beloved, let us really learn to rejoice in the Lord always. Let your heart be lifted up with praises to God when you face any difficult situation in life. Your whole perspective of the difficult and problematic situation will be changed once you sincerely bring God into it. Rejoicing in the Lord always can keep you going and going in times of sickness, sorrow, setback, and disappointments. In the case of the Philippians, rejoicing in the Lord enabled them to give a moderate, kind and forbearing response to those who were hostile and terrifying toward them. Rejoicing in the Lord kept them from being terrified by their oppression. This is exactly the lesson we are required to learn and practice as we read and learn how they handled theirs. Now, to give even more encouragement to the Philippians to be moderate, kind and forbearing to their persecutors, Paul adds 'The Lord is at hand.' Or in other words: 'Lord Jesus is coming very soon.' Why did he say this? Because when the Lord comes, all this hostility against Christians will stop. Hence, a new meaning is now given to rejoicing in the Lord - rejoicing in the hope of His soon return! Let us go on now to another situation which we often need help to cope with, and this is the situation of: II. Coping with Worry and Anxiety (vv.6-9); Look at vv. 6-7. Here Paul tells us to '6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ([b]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. 7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that [c]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [d]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’ The words 'do not fret or have any anxiety about anything’ really means 'do not worry about anything.' Do you know that worrying is one of the worst habits that has afflicted mankind? It causes people to lose sleep, lose their appetite and lose their effectiveness. Medical research has proven that worry breaks down our body's resistance to disease, and causes stomach ulcers, headaches and heart problems. When carried to an extreme, worrying brings about severe depression; irrational behavior and it may even drive a person to suicide. If you have a bad habit of worrying a lot, the Word of God says that you should counteract it by cultivating the good habit of praying a lot and casting all your cares upon the Lord our God. As you pray, your worrying will gradually give way to a wonderful sense of serene calmness and peace. This is an inward peace that comes from God, a wonderful peace that passes all understanding. This is the peace that Lord Jesus promised in John 14:27 when He said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' There is nothing in this world that can ever bring such perfect calmness and peace to the anxious or worried Christian, than sincere prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ for help! Some have likened this peace that comes from praying, to the miracle that Lord Jesus performed in calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The strong winds and the waves threatened to sink the boat with Lord Jesus and His disciples in it. And as the disciples called on Lord Jesus to help them, He just said, ‘Peace, be still.’ And immediately all was calm and quiet. One good illustration of this change that only sincere and faithful prayer brings can be found in the prayer made by Hannah, the mother of Prophet Samuel. According to 1 Samuel chapter 1, Hannah was married but had no children. This troubled situation bothered Hannah so much that she sincerely cried to our Lord Jesus Christ with a grieved heart and refused to eat and remember that King David did the same thing refusing to eat when he was calling upon God. Then Hannah went up to the Lord's house to pray, and there she poured out her heart to the Lord so emotionally there that the priest thought that she was drunk with wine. But after she had prayed, the Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 1:18 that she 'went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.' The storm in her heart had been lifted and calmed by the Lord after her prayers with divine assurance, and this is exactly what our Lord Jesus aims at doing for us when we sincerely call upon Him. The peace of God which passes all understanding was keeping Hannah’s heart and mind after she has prayed to God. And God even answered her prayers by giving her a son named Samuel! Today do we have such faith in God? Do we believe that God will do exactly what we want in His own way and at His own time but because we give God the way we want it and the exact time that we want it, our faith and reliance in God seem to fail us! We have got to reorientate ourselves in God so that God leads us not we wanting to lead God or to tell Him what we want and how we want Him to do it and when, too bad! Returning to our text in Philippians, we go on to the next two verses where Paul continues to prescribe practical helps to keep oneself from worrying. Very often, the problem of worrying and anxiety is started by a wrong thinking process, just as said above where we want to dictate for God: dwelling on very negative and unrealistic thoughts that are not rooted in the Scripture and the Gospel. To counteract this, the Apostle Paul tells us in v.8, '8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].’ Do you hear that? Some have called this short passage, 'the charter for Christian thought.' If we discipline our thought life and pattern along these lines, we will find it a lot easier to cope with life difficulties, troubles and challenges. Let us study briefly each of the terms that are found here: The word 'true' has the sense of valid, reliable and honest - the opposite of false. Truth is a characteristic of our Lord. The word 'honest' refers to a quality that earns respect and honor from others. The word 'just' refers to what is upright, conformable to the Lord's moral standards. The word 'pure' emphasizes moral purity. The word 'lovely' relates to what is pleasing, agreeable or amiable. The words 'good report' denotes what is attractive. The word 'virtue' means excellence, and the word 'praise' means ‘worthy of praise.’ Now I want you to note that all these terms or words can easily be used to describe the things that are related to the Lord Jesus Christ. All that is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, attractive, virtuous and praiseworthy can easily be found in our Lord Jesus Teaching, His Kingdom, His work in our lives and even Christ Himself. And so we should make it a point to think about these things. Learn to make Lord Jesus Christ the centre of your thinking. Don't let your mind dwell on negative things, things that are sinful and worldly. But let your mind dwell instead on Lord Jesus Christ and on things that are related to Him as often as you can, things that have the above terms or words in them, continuously have your mind/heart focused and centered on them! This idea is reinforced by the next verse where Paul refers to what the Philippians have learned, received, seen and heard from Paul, which would probably be all about Christ, His teachings, His kingdom, and His work. And Paul wanted them not just to think about them, but also to put them into practice. Hence he said, '9 Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of [e]untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.’ (v.9). Right thinking is not of much use unless it leads to right action. To summarize this section, we can say that: Christian living begins with the mind and the heart centered on the Scripture and the Gospel. If you want to live as a Christian you must first think as a Christian and thinking as a Christian involves doing things in line or in conformity with the Scripture and the Gospel. And you also need to guard your heart and mind well by praying your worries and anxieties away and by letting your mind dwell on things that are related to Lord Jesus Christ after your prayers, meaning that if you really pray through, praise will take you over after your prayers and your sad moments will change into joyful and praise moment. Having seen how to cope with the situations of persecution and worrying, we now proceed to look at the next situation where we sometimes need to cope with: This is the situation of:

Let us read v.10 '10 I was made very happy in the Lord that now you have revived your interest in my welfare after so long a time; you were indeed thinking of me, but you had no opportunity to show it. Here Paul took the opportunity to thank the Philippians for sending him a generous gift to take care of his personal needs. But he very quickly emphasizes in the next verse that his joy in the Lord was not at all dependent upon how rich or poor he was. '11Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be [f] content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.’ (v.11) Paul had learnt to be content with whatever he had. He found that he could be contented with much, and he could also be contented with little. And Paul himself would also never be able to be content on his own strength. He actually needed help from our Lord Jesus Christ to be content just as it is with every one of us. The contentment that he mentioned here came through Lord Jesus Christ, as he says in v.13 '13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [g]infuses inner strength into me; I am [h]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].’ It was only through Lord Jesus Christ alone that he coped very well with any personal situation - whether it was poverty or prosperity. And since Paul is set by the Lord as an example for us to follow, let us learn to be content with whatever state we find ourselves in. Like him, we should know how to abound and how to be abased. We too can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And we really need this strength now from our Lord, to keep ourselves contented in a materialistic world. Sometimes we see our contemporaries moving up to higher standards of living and we do not want to feel 'left behind.' We are tempted to be discontented with our present standard of living. When that temptation comes please remind yourself that this is all part of the world's value system. Christ our Lord Himself warns us in Luke 12:15, saying 'Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.' Dearly beloved, your lifetime is too precious to be wasted on merely gathering more and more material possessions or great wealth, motivated by unceasing feelings of discontentment in us. Human life was meant for much better and nobler purposes than this. We were created to fulfill the supreme purpose of serving and worshipping the Lord. Let us then use this precious life we have wisely: Let us live to serve and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, and let us learn to be content with whatever material provisions He provides for us. The Word of God tells us in 1 Timothy 6:6 'Godliness with contentment is great gain.' And how can we be content? V.13 says: Through Christ Jesus who strengthens us! Thus in this message we have seen how Lord Jesus Christ is our source of Joy to cope with hostility and persecution, our source of Peace to cope with worry and anxiety, and also our source of Contentment to cope with poverty and prosperity! Through Him, we can surely cope with every situation in life, this is why it is important we know God’s Word very well and be living it. As we partake of the Lord's Supper this day let us listen to the assurances and promises that the Lord gives us through His Word to strengthen us to cope with whatever situation you may be facing right now. Remember that the Lord’s Supper could be likened to the gathering of true believers feeding on every Word that comes out from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ!