Prayer
Father God, Lord Jesus, we come to You acknowledging our weaknesses and asking for Your strength in times like these. We come with a grateful heart, thanking You for all that You do. We thank You for supplying our needs: a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, food on our tables, family and friends. We come graciously asking for a fresh anointing of Your knowledge and wisdom for ourselves and others who You deem worthy at this time. Lord, guide us and give us the knowledge and strength to refrain from the temptations of this world. Please cleanse our hearts of any desire for vengeance and remove bitterness and malicious thoughts from our minds. Help us follow Your Way and Truth now and henceforth. Lord, help us be patient and understanding, as we endure trials and tribulations. Lord, let Your will be done to heal the sick, comfort those in distress, and give wisdom to those who ask. Thank You, Lord, for the privilege to serve. We pray and ask all things in the name of Jesus. Amen!
MESSAGE – Live Life Today in the Hope of Tomorrow
By faith, believers understand that death is not the end. Listen, as the Lord speaks through the Word of God. Death will be swallowed up in victory as the mortal puts on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53-54). This will happen in a tomorrow that has yet to be because God is patient and is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). With God, we can conceive it. However, we need to be fully confident in our own minds that there is life after death. If we can achieve that level of confidence, we need to “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18, NIV). “The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12, NIV). Just like Governor Felix, many people in the past did not want to hear preaching about ungodliness or about the need to exercise self-control in their lives. Felix did not want to hear it, so he dismissed Paul when he talked about righteousness and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25).
How many of us dismiss God’s Word because the truth is frightening or inconvenient? The hope given to us by the Spirit brings joy to our hearts and peace to our minds. Many people are sane because they have hope for tomorrow, and many are insane because they have no hope. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where many people have lost hope for a better tomorrow, and the hope in the Lord, the omnipotent God, is waning as well. Many unbelievers go so far as to call believers crazy and tell us to quit believing in mystical gods and fairy tales. I use the word “many” because not all non-believers think the same way; some are civil and open-minded. However, like many other groups, some can be convinced to put their malicious thoughts into action.
Doubt, confusion, mind control (groupthink), and disobedience are not new concepts. However, it is time for believers (God’s elect/chosen ones) to thoroughly study God’s Word and completely embrace the Lord’s Truth. As a result, they should “lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). We need to be confident in our beliefs and give bold testimonies about the Lord’s Way, Truth, and Life. Do not be like the people in Noah’s time who continued their way, even when they recognized that wickedness, imagination, and thoughts from their hearts were evil (Gen. 6:5). We need to understand that when people are hopeful, they usually have an open mind and are motivated to learn and be creative.
However, we do not want you to be caught off guard, as it appears the world continues to do what it always has. From the days of Noah to times like these, we witness wars and rumors of wars, corruption in high places, and false prophets arising among the people, teaching destructive heresies. Even so, in too many places, those called by His name see no urgency to get their house in order. There are those who say they believe but think they have all the time in the world to get right, even though Scripture says: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30, ESV).
The times are changing, but things just are not as they seem. Too many people are not recognizing that leaders are speaking visions from their own minds that are not congruent with the Lord’s Truth. We need to recognize that we have been warned that men will rise up and distort the truth (Acts 20:30). When we see lawlessness, we should quickly recognize that what is being done aligns with Satan’s work, and Satan was a murderer and liar from the beginning. Do you know anyone who constantly lies or perverts the truth? Satan’s disciples masquerade as servants of righteousness.
This is also not new! Scripture relates a story about “a man named Simon, who had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery” (Acts 8:9-11). You have been made aware that there are demonic spirits that perform great signs and wonders; these spirits will try to convince other earthly kings and leaders to do battle in the name of Jesus Christ.
Daniel also describes a man like Simon who would cause terrible destruction and cause deceit to prosper to make himself great (Dan. 8:24-25). It is incumbent on believers to train their minds in the ways of the Lord. Be alert and “do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 Jn. 1:4). Yes, we understand that “the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1), do not be one of them. We need to encourage believers to share the Good News of the Gospel with a world that appears to still be walking in darkness. Keep watch; even though “it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:7). Be that as it may, we need to wake up; the time is near.
Benediction
May God fill His people with knowledge and wisdom as we reconcile ourselves to stay alert because the time of reckoning is near. Amen!
