Message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron OH, Sunday, January 21, 2024.
For the “Live in Church” audio version of this message, select here.
In my early teens I often took car rides with my parents, but I found myself getting carsick when I was not looking outside the windows. It prompted me to sit in the back seat in the middle so that I could see straight ahead and look out at everything in front of us as we moved. I grew to like that spot a lot. I knew that it was a cure for being carsick, but it also gave me appreciation for seeing where we were going and imagining what it would be like when I learned to drive. Fast forward about ten years later to the day when I was hired as a sales rep and retail merchandiser for Activision video games. The job was originally based in Cincinnati and had a territory where I covered southern Ohio and much of Kentucky. These were all places that I had never been before, and it gave me a myriad of new experiences. I heard southern accents for the first time when I went to Cincinnati and Kentucky. I drove through many places there, and it gave me the bug to travel from that very moment.
I did not face any barriers to travel. I had no issues when I rented a room at a Motel 6 in Louisville and ate supper at the Steak-N-Shake next door. In contrast, my parents didn’t travel very much, and I’m pretty sure that my grandparents didn’t either, especially during the days when Jim Crow laws existed. In those days, it was not convenient nor expedient to travel in certain areas because of the restrictions that were in place. There were sundown towns where blacks could walk the streets during the day but were not allowed there after dark. In fact, if a person or a family wanted to travel for business, leisure or even to visit a sick or dying relative, it was a very stressful trip if you were going into unfamiliar places. If you wanted to get something to eat, you would most likely encounter restaurants that would only serve white people. Thanks to a special man named Victor Hugo Green, a Harlem postal carrier who also had an interest in travel, he helped others with information as to where blacks could travel freely and bypass places where there were restrictions. He compiled a list of recommendations for blacks of the best places to go and see. Green is famous for the Green Book, a guidebook that was originally published in 1936 in order for African Americans to safely navigate the roads of a segregated country. Green wrote in the introduction to the 1949 edition: “With the introduction of this travel guide in 1936, it has been our idea to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable.”1 He identified services and places that were relatively friendly to blacks so they could find lodging, businesses and gas stations that would serve them along the road.2 Green even opened his own travel agency in New York City in 1947. The Green Book grew to the point where over two million of them were sold, and they were published every year until 1966. Green once said that he hoped there would be a day when his book was no longer needed. He died in 1960, but he was responsible for helping blacks everywhere to move about more freely and live peacefully during a very stressful time in our country.
How do you combat the stresses of life? Take a few deep breaths and keep calm.
There’s no better feeling than hitting the open road and taking in deep breaths of fresh air as you explore the roads or even hit the beach. This is why doing something different every once in a while is very good for you. We all need to experience the calming presence of the beauty of nature. It all begins with unplugging from your routine and centering yourself on the calming presence of Jesus Christ.
Have you ever considered that the time you spend before the Lord should be a time that involves peace and quiet? I’ve never really understood people who take a vacation and then take their work laptop with them to keep in touch with what’s going on at work. That isn’t calming or peaceful to me! Now, for me and my lovely bride, who are creatives, we often make the declaration “Have iPad—Will Travel!” We take our gear with us and use it during our down time in the hotel because it is relaxing and peaceful as we draw, read and write. We need to ensure that our down time is best used to seek the Lord’s presence and express ourselves in a manner that truly invites Him in.
Keep calm and chill out (!).
Now this is not all about taking the Lord with you when you go on vacation. This is about ensuring that your personal relationship in Jesus continues to grow, no matter where we are, throughout the day. The calming presence of Jesus is always appropriate and should always be an important part of your life’s pursuits.
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
We have enough burdens in life where if we take on ONE MORE THING, we would collapse. Jesus makes it clear that He is not heavy at all. He’s there to help you deal with your burdens. That alone should help you to breathe easier.
I love Jesus because He is always there, but I need to go to Him to experience His peace and rest. I have to go to Him and learn from Him. I have to sit still with Him from time to time as I need to be in tune with His will for my life and receive His reassurance as He addresses my prayers and petitions.
Jesus loves you and cares very much for you, and yet you and I could do a much better job of returning that love directly to Him. His attributes of humility and gentleness are what needs to become more natural for each of us. Our challenge is to draw near to Him as much as we can while living in today’s world.
Today’s message is all about keeping calm and trusting Jesus with the results.
Now, we have heard all of these things before, but I’m compelled to use a verse here to qualify if we are all on the same page.
Romans 8:28-29 NLT
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
This verse is often used to affirm that God loves you and that He is working everything for our ultimate good (note that not everything that happens to us on the surface is good), but when God is in it, He is the One who is glorified. But there is a conditional statement within these verses. Here it is: “Do you love God?” How are we to love God? We love Him by being obedient to Him and keeping His commands.
John 14:15 ESV
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
1 John 4:7-8 ESV
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God’s love for you is not conditional. He loved you BEFORE you loved Him (1 John 4:19). Your love for God begins with your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Keep calm and keep Christ in your heart.
Let’s keep CALM by recognizing and maintaining these Christlike attributes:
C – Composure
In a world of craziness, we have fewer and fewer examples of those who maintain their composure. As a follower of Jesus, you have got to keep your cool. Your testimony of Jesus will be undermined if you are known to be a “hothead” or if you can’t seem to control your potty mouth. In other words, don’t succumb to the temptation of responding as the world dictates. (For some, it might be the toughest lesson for today and for every day!)
Luke 6:27-36 NIV
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Notice how Jesus makes the comment, “to you who are listening,” which implies that there were people in the audience during His Sermon on the Mount (also in Matthew Chapter 5) who were not paying attention to His words. If you choose not to listen to Him, that’s your prerogative, but a true believer in Jesus relies upon His wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Keep calm and remember the words of Jesus:
John 14:21 NLT
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
A – Assurance
I’ll provide two definitions for assurance. First, per Merriam-Webster, the word assurance (a noun) is confidence of mind or manner; easy freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty.3 In a theological sense, assurance refers to a believer’s confidence in God, a confidence that God responds to prayer, and confidence in eternal security through salvation. The resurrection of Jesus is the confidence that we have through faith. Assurance is the absence of doubt through faith in the works of Jesus Christ.4
Keep calm and take assurance that salvation awaits for all who trust and believe in Jesus.
Blessed Assurance by Fanny Crosby
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.5
L – Long suffering
Jesus promises us that there will be problems in this world but wants you to trust Him in that He already has the victory.
John 16:33 NIV
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Every believer has the capability of patience and long suffering through the enabling of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Long suffering in Christ is directly associated with the changing, sanctifying power within your relationship with Jesus.
Romans 5:3-5 NIV
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
James 1:2-4 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Keep calm and persevere, for our prize is eternal life with Jesus.
And for those of you who have not yet decided to wholeheartedly follow Jesus, give this your immediate consideration today. Why?
2 Peter 3:9 ESV
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Romans 2:4 NIV
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Those who hesitate in this matter are subject to great loss. I’ll leave it there.
M – Mildness
Mildness is not a sign of weakness. It is to carry a gentle disposition. Mildness is a reflection of one’s character. It requires a humble heart. From the definition of mildness, it involves the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Keep calm and live in humility as your Savior did.
You may have noticed throughout this message that there is an element of self-care that is part of this message. Keeping calm is actively quieting yourself down when things get difficult. In doing this, it also provides the opportunity to reflect upon the goodness and timeliness of Jesus in your life. Have you often asked yourself where you would be without Jesus? I know that I have.
Keep your composure.
Live with assurance that Jesus is for you.
Remain patient in your long suffering as you represent Christ.
Live in the Spirit with mildness and humility.
Philippians 2:14-16 NLT
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
In a fast-paced world, you will find that the best place to park yourself is in God’s Word and trusting in your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Keep calm and trust Jesus—for life.
Copyright © 2024 Melvin Gaines
1 Hasso, J. (2021). The green book. Jim Crow Museum. https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2021/september.htm
2 Koss, M. (2021, July 7). The importance of “The green book: Guide to freedom.” United Way of Central Indiana. https://www.uwci.org/blog/the-importance-of-the-green-book-guide-to-freedom#:~:text=The%20annual%20guidebook%20was%20first,serve%20them%20along%20the%20road.
3 Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Assurance definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assurance
4 Galea, R. (n.d.). Assurance. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/assurance/#:~:text=As%20a%20loving%20Father%2C%20God,10%3A25-30).
5 Crosby, F. (n.d.). Blessed assurance. Hymnary.org. https://hymnary.org/text/blessed_assurance_jesus_is_mine
Melvin Gaines 