And I guess if anybody had a right to be discouraged, Sue and I did. We helped build the Montgomery Boulevard church of Christ. I see that building every day. [The home of Harvey and Sue Porter is located very close to the building and property of the Montgomery congregation that we left.] We gave of our money on all special drives—special calls for money to finance the building of a place to worship or special collections to help needy brothers and sisters in the Lord around the world—and a lot of you did also. We started with 27 people, including ourselves. There are two or three of you here that were part of that very beginning at the original San Pedro street location. And we didn’t lose courage! We were small! In fact, when 5th and Marble church of Christ turned the payments over to us on that property, we didn’t know whether we’d be able to make those payments on that building and that property. And the house that was built next door was where Sue and I lived. I wish we could buy it for $9,000.00 like they bought it then! Isn’t that something? And the church building cost about $76,000.00, not counting the property. Even when we outgrew that building and property and came to the Montgomery Boulevard location, we came with courage. I can remember when four elders dug the first shovel full of dirt out there. There were only eight of us that were there, and I took pictures of it. And while they were digging, I could look all the way to the Sandia Mountains down Montgomery Boulevard. Montgomery was only one little paved slot, and there was a street on the other side unpaved. Then I turned, and I looked all the way to Santa Fe [a city north of Albuquerque]. But God blessed us. And I have no reason to believe that He won’t bless us right here today.! [Several in the congregation said, “Amen.”] He knows and blesses what we’re trying to do—our hopes and aspirations. And it’s not a building that’s important! It’s you and you and you and you and you [Harvey points out into the congregation], and our children. That’s what God is looking at, and that’s what He loves. I believe He’s with us!

And so, David said to Solomon, “be courageous to build the Temple of God.” We need to be courageous to build what we think God wants us to build. That’s US—that’s a congregation of God’s people. And what I’m saying here, I hope, builds us and strengthens us. That is the kind of building that we want to be first of all. And secondly, we want to build a place where we can meet.

Nehemiah says, after the Israelites came back from the Babylonian captivity, “Let us rise up and build,” [Nehemiah 2:18]. That beautiful book says, “The people had a mind to work,” [Nehemiah 4:6]. Isn’t that beautiful? They said, “we will—we’ve got a mind to do that.” And they were all headed in the same direction, being of one mind.

Now, I’m reading from John, the 16th chapter, verse 33—John’s Gospel: “Jesus said, ‘I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but take heart…’” There’s our word. The New International Version of the Bible translated it “take heart” instead of “have courage.” It’s the word for “courage”. “‘…I have overcome the world.’” And I guess the thing that I want you to see is, He says, “…so that in Me you may have peace.” “In ME you may have peace.” Why? Jesus says, “I’ve overcome the world. You’re going to have trouble, but I’m going to help you.”

You know you’re baptized into Christ? “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit,” [1 Corinthians 12:13, King James Version of the Bible]. We were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. We were united with Him [Christ] in a spiritual sense. Isn’t it interesting that the Bible says that a man and a woman, when they are married, shall become ONE flesh? [Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:8; Ephesians 5:31]. We become ONE with Jesus Christ!

And Jesus is saying right here, “IN Me you have peace,” [John 16:33]. “I have overcome the world.” He has indeed! We are victors already because of joining ourselves in a spiritual way to our Lord Jesus Christ! Is Jesus courageous? ALL through His life, He was courageous! Man, He said things that cost Him His life! “But take courage. I have overcome the world.”

The devil never caused Jesus to sin. Oh, he tried! He never left Jesus alone. But Jesus’ resurrection is the victory because He overcame death for ALL OF US. And there is the heart and the center of our faith—our Christianity! We’re going to live again! We want to live in His presence. We’re in His presence now. We’re strengthened and helped by Him now. We have His Word. We’re seeking to follow that Word—to be of one heart and one mind with our Lord, but to ALSO be courageous as our Lord was—to walk right into the jaws of death, and say, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thy Will be done,” [Matthew 26:39]. In the resurrection, we have the promise of overcoming the world! We will be COURAGEOUS soldiers of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what a life that will be!

You don’t want to live with doubt! You don’t want to live with discouragement! You don’t want to live down—feeling depressed; dejected, sad, lonely and afraid—all of the time! We don’t want to see all of the things that are wrong with the church of Christ. But we MUST see, and then take a stand for what is right in the sight of God. Friends, we’ve got a good situation here! We love each other. We’re trying to know each other. We’re trying to DO what we know the Lord wants us to DO! So, “be of good courage. I have overcome the world.”