Dear brethren and sisters, I salute you at this wonderful day. I believe, God has prepared for you some fresh manna from heaven today, so let your soul be filled with His mercy and grace.For several weeks in a row we´ve been talking about God´s weapons required in order to have victory at the battle of the last days. As you already know, the last days will be special due to the multiplying unrighteousness and betrayal. Jesus warned that this would be the reason why love in many people will grow cold. Though, God prophesied His light and glory would be shining over His children, those who live according to God´s word at the time when the darkness covers the Earth and gross darkness the people. It´s necessary to arm yourself with God´s weapons for the battle of the last days in order to bring this prophesy into real life. Those weapons are listed in Thessalonians 5:8-10.
«But let us, since we belong to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.».
We have already talked a lot about the role of faith and walking in love last time. Today we begin to discuss the role of hope of salvation. We need faith today. By faith we possess peace today, regardless of what is happening around us. By faith we enter God´s rest even nowadays.«For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world..» (Hebrews 4:3).
On the other hand, faith is effective only when we walk in love. There will be no reward for our faith without walking in love, because faith doesn´t work without love. Hope helps us to stay in peace when we think about our future. Hope tells us about expectation – waiting for something in the future, something that already sets right priorities and your way of life today. This is exactly what Abraham did:«By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.» (Hebrews 11:9-10).
Abraham lived by faith on this Earth, faith longing for the city of the future built on the foundation designed and laid by God. The very same expectation (hope) influenced Abraham´s way of life in the promised land. He lived there like a stranger, dwelling in tents, not in castles, waiting for the better city. What does it mean to us today? According to the Bible we are foreigners and pilgrims on this Earth.«Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;» (1 Peter 2:11).
Jesus also mentioned that:«They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.» (John 17:16).
True believers in Jesus Christ do not belong to this world. As children of God we represent a different homeland called heaven. I am talking about true believers, not those many who just call themselves Christians, while loving this world more than God, they are seeking pleasures of this world not the Kingdom of Heaven, instead.«You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.» (James 4:4)
First letter of John, in its turn, warns us about the following problem:«Don’t love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.» (1 John 2:15-16).
In these verses God definitely and clearly reveals His will to us. If you call yourself a Christian, you should treat these words of warning very seriously, since these neither contain a reasoning nor an offer.«The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.» (1 John 2:17).
So we live in this world, but we do not belong to it. Teach yourselves to set borders and make a decision to stay within those borders. Abraham understood these things, so it helped him to stay away from the worries of this world.Hope of salvation is an expectation of the glory of the Lord. Hope prevents us from despair and don´t let us lose our focus nowadays, it helps us to reach out to the highest rank in Christ instead.We are going to continue tomorrow.God bless you and keep you today!Rufus Adjiboye, pastor
