ANCHORS OF HOPE |
|
By Reverend William Claire Greiner |
|
Romans 12:12 "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer." Hebrews 6:19 -- "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." I. GOD STILL REIGNS.Throughout history God permits different leaders to appear on the stage and come into power. Daniel 4:17 -- "God gives the kingdoms of this world to whomever He wills... and sets up over it the basest of men." It makes no difference what kind of leader we may have, God still reigns. He is in full control. Oh, He’s angry at the evil men do, but He sees the total picture. He is not wringing His hands and saying, "Now what am I going to do?" God is sovereign and Almighty. 1 Corinthians 15:25 -- "For He must reign, until He has put all enemies under His feet."
One day the crowned and reigning Christ will rise from His seat the Father’s right hand. He will step directly into the action of earth once again. Man will have had his fullest opportunity to trust Him. And He will establish His kingdom and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. II. GOD’S WORD IS STILL TRUEPsalm 119:89 -- "Forever O Lord, Thy Word is settled (established, fixed) in heaven." We must faithfully study God’s Word and teach it to our children. Our lives should daily be governed by God’s Word in everything we do and say. Children today have no absolutes, and thus need the foundation of Scripture. III. THE SAINTS ARE STILL PRECIOUS.1 Peter 2:9 -- "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Regardless of what happens, the saints are still number one on God’s list of things to ttake care of in the universe. Christ died for us. Our names are written in Heaven. Through all eternity the Church is going to display the everlasting wisdom and greatness of almighty God. "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7). IV. OUR MISSION IS STILL CLEAR.1 Peter 2:9 -- We are to "show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." We are to "proclaim the excellencies of our God." We are to do this by our works: "That they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12). "That with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" (1 Peter 2:15). By our Walk (Behavior). "When you do well, and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable to with God" (1 Peter 2:20). Live lovingly without compromise. By our words: "Having your conversation honest" (1Peter 2:12). Never has it become so important for Christians to know what they believe and to give a reason for the hope that is in them. The time has come when sitting and listening to sermons and music is not enough. Our goal should be to touch and transform lives with the gospel through a consistent godly lifestyle. God says we are the salt of the earth. His Sovereign hand has sprinkled His saints across the land in farms, offices, schools, communities, homes, etc. It is crucial that that every grain of salt be everything God intended it to be. There is no guarantee that all things in our nation will be reversed (the morals, the evil, the decay), but the final outcome is certain. God will triumph one day. "The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). When the enemy seems to be winning, don’t keep your eye on the score, keep your eye on the coach. The issue at hand is our faithfulness. The victory is the Lord’s. Winning is up to Him. What we need is the proper perspective of victory. Think of the Anabaptists when entire villages were attacked and Christians were massacred because of their faith, when women with babies in their arms walked out of their homes right into the swords of waiting armies. They were hacked to bits. Were they successful? Not from the human standpoint of this life, being martyred like that. But as believers we do not have such a narrow view of success. We know that it is god’s purpose that’s really being accomplished. When we think of Calvary, we have to add in the resurrection, the ascension, and the glorious exaltation at the right hand of the father. Then tell me whether our Lord was successful on the cross. V. OUR FOCUS IS STILL HEAVEN."By faith Abraham, when he was called...obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went. By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents...For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:9). "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13-16). It is not easy to see a city you’ve never seen, especially when the road is bumpy and the hour is late and you are tired. But it is necessary. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:18 to "Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." We don’t minimize the difficulties of the journey. The road is long and difficult. We bid farewell to life-long partners. We are robbed of life-long dreams. Our bodies become broken in health. We have bills that outnumber the paychecks. We are tired! It is hard to see the city in the midst of the storm. But God will get us home. And as Max Lucado said, "The trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast." "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Thessalonians 4:17). GOD’S DIRECTIVES FOR PILGRIMS ARE CLEAR1 Peter 2:11 -- "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). God people need to clean up their lives, and get their homes in order. If we ourselves are not a pure church what do we really have to say to the world? How can we rescue someone who is drowning if our own boat is going under. Before we can bring a holy influence in society, we must first be a holy people. We need to be men and women of prayer, because God is our only hope, our defender. Our struggle is "not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Sin in all its wretchedness is the sickness that infects humanity. All the political action in the world will not cleanse one hideous stain from our beleaguered nation. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that marvelous work. We are His Ambassadors and representatives to be an influence in the world around us. We are to be salt and light. We must make a commitment to be faithful to our Lord. We must hide His word in our hearts. We must bind ourselves to a godly church. We must fortify ourselves with prayer. We must strengthen the family unit. We must give our children and grandchildren anchors of hope for the troubled seas ahead. We must train them to have courage in Christ and to put on the whole armor of God. We must march to the drum beat of eternity. Then with the Psalmist we can say, "I will hope continually, and will yet praise Thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day" (Psalm 71:14,15). "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace unbelieving, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Romans 15:13). |