Transcript: Finding Hope in a Broken World: Christian Faith and Love Prevail

Music Music This is the new year of 2021. Whoever thought in the United States of America that as a believer in Jesus Christ, we would ever see such chaos in the world, especially in our own nation. Try as I might as a promoter of the gospel of Jesus Christ to use a generic language to avoid being suspended, banned, and censored from the Internet, as many are today who are endeavoring to stay under the wire, so to speak, so we may reach the multitudes around the world 24-7 via internet radio on our internet channels. Shining Light 7 Ministries has already experienced being removed after 10 years purely for the truth of the gospel's sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. For years, we have read about nations who enforce dictatorship and communism on the people. But this new year of 2021, our beautiful nation called the United States of America is facing the same struggle against losing her freedoms and becoming a nation such as Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, China, North Korea, and the list goes on. Living in freedom in the United States of America is swaying in the balance at this very time in which I speak to you. Our founding fathers provided everything in the Constitution to prevent what was possible in the overthrow of our government, provided that both parties followed the rule of law which governs the freedom of this nation. But however, when the evil intent of purposeful cheating, stealing, and lying are involved by one evil party from within this government, due to allowing the infiltration of foreign governments, lying media, corrupt politicians in the voting process, which aim to steal the freedoms on which this nation was founded, than just as it was stated at this time in our American history, the freedoms that we hold stand in the balance, which means everything is very uncertain and stands at a critical stage. As many of its nations are in league with the atrocious evil connivers and designers to bring about what they call a great reset, which will be a new world economic forum, which says this forum will improve the state of the world. In simple terms, in my vocabulary and understanding, this means this urgent new forum will improve the pocketbooks, the bank accounts, the standards of living for the global elite who will agree to go along with the new world order agenda. This vile underground scheme has been at work for years to bring about today what we see and are experiencing in the United States of America as an evil, vile takeover. Using a planned pandemic, coronavirus 19, to control the populations of the earth was the major key in controlling the masses by dictating lockdowns, curfews for buying and shopping, causing fear, wearing masks, social distancing, and the list goes on. This plandemic is being used to dictate and infringe upon our many religious freedoms and liberties that we have experienced since our Constitution was put into effect. Using the plandemic of COVID-19, the outlaws say they will address the urgent need for the Great Reset at the World Economic Forum in order to improve the state of the world. For your information, this forum partners with 647 companies globally spanning various industries from financial institutions to automobiles and technology, including the likes of Facebook and Google. It is said that the urgent Great Reset is essentially global socialism. One man who was a leading authority on this matter said it will change the way businesses are evaluated and will force them to embrace left-wing causes. He says as well that technocrats are the most educated people who will be at the helm of society, who will be controlling and manipulating it. Technocrat meaning is technical expert, one who exercises managerial authority. Today the mainstream news media blazes the headlines of the one who has stolen the foremost principal role of leading this nation along with other cohorts who are gleeful at their heinous evil robbery, saying the opponents who oppose their view of running this government are considered to be Marxists, traitors, and domestic terrorists who need to be purged from this earth. They reverse their verbiage to make the innocent sound guilty. This is the way the communists take over. Unless in these last eight days remaining before the inauguration happens, unless the leading man in charge of this nation trumpets the sound by using executive powers given to him by the founding fathers, we as a free nation will be no more. Let us keep this man lifted up in prayer, that the divine realm and powers of heaven will surround and protect him while he battles on behalf of this nation's freedom in which there is only approximately eight days left before his term ends. As Christians living in what we love as a free nation, these grievous troubles present a formidable and alarming censor and challenge to our daily lives. America, as she stands, is the last vestige of freedom in the world where people are free to believe and worship the almighty God, the God of all creation. creation, it cannot be stressed enough in what the profound impact of this crisis will be, not only in this nation, but in the world and the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many people all around the world who are Americans are enduring the most painful suffering in ways of emotional unstableness, physical pain, spiritual uncertainties, which the unrest of this crisis situation in our nation inescapably causes. Let us remember to be diligent, to pray for God's people in this time of turmoil. Let us remember to pray for people all around the world. At this time, when we need most to be united and close to one another in Christian love, the world forces would endeavor to isolate us and cause us to believe that we are alone and being forced to be dependent upon the secular evil forces which will make us slaves to their antichrist, murderous, and perverse agenda. But dear fellow believer in Jesus Christ, you and I have a mandate from scripture that tells us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ The word also tells us to have confidence in God promises and moreover especially in the promise of salvation The key word for this great miracle's ability in the promises and the promise of salvation to be effective and happen in our lives is called faith. The doctrine of faith, of access to the Father's heart, is one of the most important ingredients in Christian theology. Hebrews 11.6 tells us, But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. You see, as a believer in Jesus Christ, if we do not have faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of salvation, we do not have hope of eternal life. This is saying that we do not have access to our God, nor will we receive his wonderful grace or favor in our lives. We need to understand that our Christian faith must prevail while living in this evil world. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 5, show us clearly that with faith in God and his son Jesus Christ and his promises, we can rejoice in the midst of our trials and problems. Let's start in Romans chapter 5, verse 1. So since now we've been made right in God's sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. for because of our faith he has brought us into a place of highest privilege which we now stand and are confidently and joyously looking forward to actually becoming all that God has in mind for us to be we can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us they help us to learn to be patient these scriptures show us that even though we presently live in an evil world and are presently experiencing difficulties in our mess, which can be quite surmountable and leave us feeling defenseless because of the assault on our Christian freedoms and our freedoms overall as citizens of the United States, but this scripture in effect tells us that faith triumphs in the midst of troubles. Jesus paid the penalty for us to be rescued from this present wicked age. In Galatians chapter 1 verse 3, Apostle Paul tells us, Grace and spiritual blessing be to you, and soul, peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 4, who gave, yielded himself up to atone for our sins and to save and sanctify us in order to rescue and deliver us from this present evil, wicked age and world order in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father. We must know that this world was not always evil. In the book of Genesis, we learn that everything God created was good. That included man, whom he created after the creation of the universe, cosmos, which the world defines as an orderly, harmonious, systematic universe. The world became evil through man's disobedience to God. Since the fall of man, the good and beauty in the world can be at best discerned and enjoyed by those who have God's Holy Spirit within them. Theirs and our hope is indeed in the God of hope. In the New Testament, hope is not always something in the future. Many scriptures indicate that hope is something strong, certain, fixed, unmovable, anchored to the very throne of God. Listen to what Hebrews 6.19 declares. now we have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul it cannot slip it cannot break down under that whoever steps out on it a hope that reaches further and enters into the very certainty of the presence within the veil this is very encouraging for the believer in jesus christ this is not an idle dream, but rather this is an absolute reality. Hope for the believer is a sense of expectation and seeing beyond the natural. And therefore, not only is God our help in time of trouble, but he is our present strength and support, our advocate and comforter. He is the God who will bring into full view that day, that future day, which will know no sunset, that place called eternity that has no time. But in terms of time, the scripture declares that one day on this earth as is a thousand years in heaven. Our future is as bright as the promises of God, which are yes and amen in God himself. Listen to this. God has bound himself to us by oath to do all that he has promised us that he would do. Shouldn't we place our trust in our loving Father and God, in his promises, and place our trust and faith and hope in his word, especially as we journey through these perilous times, as our beautiful nation struggles through losing our freedoms, which ultimately affect each and every one of us in some capacity or another? In Psalms chapter 12, verses 7 and 8, King David declares, You will keep them, O Lord. You will preserve them. You will guard and keep us from this evil generation forever. The wicked walk or prowl on every side, as vileness is exalted and baseness is rated high among the sons of men. The comfort that we have today is the same comfort that King David had as he trusted in God's word in his day. David trusted God to keep him and his people safe in the midst of proud people who strutted about in smug self-confidence, who placed high value on things that are vile, perverse, and wicked. David said the wicked walk on every side and the vilest of men are exalted. Today we see the land full of wicked and vile people who exalt themselves and lift others up who are as rotten as they are. But let it be a comfort for you to know that this evil generation will continue only for a time and a season. Our Christian hope and faith in God's promises must prevail and be the very fabric of our being while we live presently in this evil world. Our precious Lord did not come the first time to put an end to this generation. He came and he died a horrible death upon the cross in order to take away the sins of the world and offer salvation to all those whomsoever would choose him as their eternal savior. He will put an end to this wicked generation at a specific time in the future when he will come again in his glory and splendor. It is for this reason Apostle Paul called the time this present evil world. Jesus saves those individuals within the world but he does not take them out of the world In John chapter 17 verse 15 Jesus said as he was praying to his heavenly Father My prayer, Father, that it is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. Verse 16, they are not of the world, even as I am not a part of it. Sanctify them by truth. Your word is truth. Jesus protects and shields his precious redeemed people in the midst of this evil world. Look what Peter declares in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy has given us new birth into the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. verse 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade and kept in heaven for you verse 5 you who through faith are shielded by god's power until the coming of salvation that is necessary to be revealed in the last time verse 6 in this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials these have come to you so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and you are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It needs to be personally understood that our loving God reached down and redeemed us from the clutches of hell for the purpose of forming his son Jesus Christ within us and has left us in the world to reveal the power and life of Jesus wherever we may go. we need to ask ourselves individually how am I doing with my salvation? What kind of an example am I being with those whom I come in contact with? And more so, what kind of an example do I present those in my family and my household? Am I showing Christian love and the example of Christ's life within me? Let us realize that when we call ourselves a Christian, this ought not to be a flippant self-serving utterance of words that have no real depth or understanding or meaning as to the basis of the meaning of Christian. Jesus Christ's death saves us while we still live in this evil world. Jesus' death was a voluntary gift on his part. And out of obedience to his Father in heaven, Jesus willingly came to this earth and gave of himself for sinners, all those who would repent of their sins and choose him as Savior and accept his offer of eternal life and obey what his commands tell us to do. Jesus' love prompted him to give of himself and willingly die a horrible death for us while we were still ungodly enemies of God who loved this evil world, who live in this evil world. Romans 5, verses 6 and 8 declares, while we were still yet in weakness, powerless to help ourselves, at the fitting time Christ died for in behalf of the ungodly. And now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life, even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves for his own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, died for us. dare we take this confession of ours lightly when we say we are a christian after christ so great is suffering for us personally because of our sins as christians our hope must prevail because of what our precious savior did for us personally our sins were buried in the depths of the sea so to speak, as Micah chapter 7 verse 19 declares. He will again have compassion on us. He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea. Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection are the reasons that our sins can be forgiven and removed from us. How dare we take that fact lightly? How dare we act like hypocrites, wearing a mask of disguise, and use Christianese language and live in strife and contention in the body of Christ. Jesus Christ gave his own body to be beaten for the sake of sinners, which we all were and still are at times as we work to overcome issues in our lives. As a believer living in this body, we must continually throw ourselves on the mercy of God to keep us and continually renew our faith and hope every morning as we depend on him while walking through this evil world. The Spirit of God living within us, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our hearts, is continually raising us up into the fullness of the newness of life in Christ. And if we do not recognize our own sinfulness and are doing something to overcome it, Jesus' death for us is ineffective and worthless. My recognition of the fact that I am a sinner when I sin is absolutely necessary if I am a confessing Christian who is desirous and dependent on Christ's death on the cross to acquire salvation for me. When Jesus removes our sin, he changes us completely. And this is where our faith and hope begin to soar and take flight in a new lump that we have never known before. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17 tells us, Therefore, if any person is engrafted in Christ, he is a new creation, a new creature altogether. The old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold the fresh and the new has come. In the book of Revelation, chapter 21, verse 5, Jesus declares, Behold, I make all things new. Our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ has provided us everything we need to overcome this evil world. As our great physician, the one who heals us, he offers us new life and divine spiritual help. As our bridegroom Jesus offers us a new love, he gives us peace and joy that is unexplainable and indescribable to anyone who is unredeemed in this fallen, evil world. This supernatural peace and joy is considered an honor and a privilege to have and protect the one who labors for the Lord in this renewal of this new divine life or garment that is increasing within them. Jesus wears the kingly robe and crown but promises those who are faithful and prevail in overcoming that they are given the robe of righteousness and an eternal crown that will never wither or fade away this crown is called the crown of life in James chapter 1 verse 12 blessed is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation for when he has stood the test and been approved he will receive the victor crown of life which God has promised to give to those who love him. The chief apostle tells us in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 17, do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be ever filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit. The new wine that Jesus gives according to the word through his Holy Spirit is to be filled with God's Holy Spirit. If we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit, then we will know and understand what the Lord's perfect will is for us. Life in Christ through the power of his Holy Spirit is a lifelong continual feast. Jesus Christ is the only one who can make a difference of this kind or this difference in our lives. Being a new creature in Christ, we now have a hope of living forever in an eternal world that is not of this earth. The world and age as we know it must live and remain until Christ takes us home and continues to be the place where the unredeemed and the fallen live. We have been given hope through Christ's sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, and he's now seated next to his heavenly Father on the throne. Because of our dear Savior's sacrifice and death, he can now deliver every true believer in Christ from this evil age. Galatians 1.4 declares, He who yielded himself up to atone for our sins and to save and sanctify us in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father. To him be ascribed all glory through the ages of ages and eternities of eternities. Amen. What a promise, if you believe it. and live in. There is a true story, a testimony told to a longtime believer by a seaman who was very experienced and earned his living at sea. The testimony is called The Hope Which Does Not Fail. A very experienced seaman once said to me, in fierce storms we have but one resource. We have to keep the ship in a certain position. We cannot act in any way but this. We fix her head to the wind, and in this way only do we weather the storm. This is a picture of the Christian. He endeavors to put himself in a certain position. My hope and my help are in God alone. The man who has learned this piece of heavenly navigation shall weather the storms of time and eternity. And his confidence has supported thousands in perilous situations where others would have given up in despair. You see, today, we who live in America, the greatest free nation on the earth, are faced with the atrocities that other communist nations live in right now. Jesus said that we live in this evil world, but we are not a part of it because he alone gives us the victory against sin and its temptations to choose the easy way out. Jesus prayed to his heavenly father by saying, Father, I pray that you will keep them from evil. Dear ones, Jesus will keep us from evil if we are doing our part in remaining faithful to him and to him alone, and not someone who will intimidate us or cause us to fear for our lives if we do not agree to their evil agendas. Remember, although we are surrounded by evil, we should never blame God for it or by what he may allow us to go through, just as he has with our brothers and sisters in other communist nations. Remember also, In spite of all the evil that presently surrounds us today in our nation called America the Beautiful, our God is our Heavenly Father, and he will fully protect us while we are in the world until he sends his Son to take us home. The wicked people who are presently endeavoring to take over are calling for the death of Jews, Christians and all others who do not embrace their evil agenda. Remember, they may kill our bodies, but they cannot kill our souls. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 verse 28, do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but rather be afraid of him who can destroy both the soul and the body in hell. The promise, dear believer, is that Jesus will protect our souls from eternal death if we are faithful to the end to confess our faith that he is our savior and to do what he commands in the living word called the Bible. We can be assured of this hope if we are continuing habitually living in Jesus Christ. An assured hope in God is a true and scriptural hope that must prevail, continue, and win. When we confidently live in Jesus Christ, We believe with all of our hearts that what he speaks is to be unconditionally believed. This must rule in your hearts because this is God's promise. To have a sure persuasion of pardon and peace reside in the living word of God and his promises, which are the oaths from the very mouth of God. He never changes. A professing believer may never arrive at this assured hope of which Paul speaks of. They may never be saved. Shocking, isn't it? And reasons why this may be so is because of a distorted view of the doctrine of the gospel salvation message, such as an error that is found in the lie called once saved, always saved. And another reason is just being lazy in one's Christian world. where there's no real growth, there's no real love for Jesus Christ. The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your mind, all that is within you. People who have no real hope or love for their Savior have an inconsistent walk in life because true faith of the things of God were not at work in their lives. When we have true hope and assurance in our relationship with our Savior, It is demonstrated by the internal peace and joy and comfort that he gives us by way of precious Holy Spirit. The peace and comfort in our Christian lives today must be founded on Jesus Christ alone. As trouble mounts up in the world, this peace, joy, and comfort will sustain us even if we are faced with death because our belief is solidly in Jesus Christ. It is now the time that we must be a decided Christian. Now is the time. Our Christian hope must prevail while living in this evil world. Let us remember these life-giving words from King David in Psalms 16, verse 8. I have set the Lord always before me. because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. I will not be shaken. I will not be shaken. Thank you.