Finding Hope in a Broken World: Christian Perseverance and Faith

Understanding the current state of the world and the threat to freedom in the US

The concept of the Great Reset and its implications for society

The role of faith in overcoming challenges and maintaining hope in a broken world

The importance of prayer and unity in the face of adversity

This 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 follow 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. 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's 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 have 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's 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 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 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 a 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' 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's 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 it. 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 air 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. There's a scripture I've pondered and meditated upon quite some time. And as it is with God's word, understanding comes a little at a time in the depth and richness of any word. And the scripture I have read and reread so often that has been stirring in my heart is found in Ephesians 3.17. Ephesians 3.17. May Christ through your faith actually dwell, settle down, abide, make his permanent home in your hearts. And may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. The word says that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. And that you will be found rooted deep in this love and grounded securely on this love. And I'd like to tell you that this is the substance of Christianity. This is the summary or the whole of Christianity, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, and that you'll be rooted deep in love and founded securely on this love of Christ. It seems that scripture always uses some vivid description in word and type that we can visualize in picture form or see it like a painting And the word through the illumination of the Spirit of God makes it live in our hearts And Paul uses the term rooted. And rooted is an image from a tree. And grounded means foundational, like the piles or foundations of a building. Nevertheless, whether a tree or a building, these roots or pilings go very, very deep in its being established and firmly set and founded. And since our faith is founded on our Lord Jesus Christ, we must see him as our tree of life in whom we are rooted, in our foundation whom we are built upon. As a little girl growing up, I remember a tree my father planted by our home many, many, many years ago. And today this tree is so big around and so high and old. And it has shown its age during these years and has withstood many storms, cold Montana winters and hot summers. and it's withstood five of us children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well, climbing up into its branches and even a treehouse being nailed to it. My father used to tell me that as far as you could see to the top of the tree, its roots would go as deep as that tree was high. And there were other roots of that tree which would spread out beneath the ground to meet that same circumference of the tree below. That tree by my father's house must have had very deep, deep roots. It certainly is a mighty tree. This word Paul speaks of is an eternal word with eternal consequences for every believer. And this love, this faith comes from one source and it is unseen. Jesus Christ is the one in whom our faith is anchored to on and in. Let us read Ephesians 3 from verse 12 and catch the scripture above what we have just read. Ephesians 3, 12. In whom, because of our faith in him, we dare to have the boldness, courage, and the confidence of free access, of unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear. So I ask you not to lose heart or not to faint or become despondent through fear at what I am suffering in your behalf. Rather glory in it, for it is an honor to you. Verse 14. For this reason, seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ, I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that father from whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name. Verse 16. May he grant you out of the rich treasury of his glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit himself indwelling your innermost being and personality. Verse 17. and length and height and depth of it. Verse 19, that you may really come to know practically through experience for yourselves the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being unto all fullness of God, may have the rich measure of the divine presence and become a body totally filled and flooded with God himself. Jesus made it possible for his mighty power and love to dwell richly within each one of us. And just like that treehouse at my father's house, which was nailed to the big oak tree and nestled in its branches, Jesus made it possible for us to be firmly fixed in his arms of love and dwell permanently in his presence and power. Our scripture in verse 16 said, May he grant you out of the rich treasury of his glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit himself, indwelling your innermost being and personality. May Christ through your faith, verse 17, actually dwell, settle down, abide, make his permanent home in your heart, and may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power to be strong, to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, God's devoted people, the experience of that love. What is the breadth and length and height and depth of it? The mighty power in verse 16 speaks it for us. The Holy Spirit is God, and he is the power who strengthens and establishes us inwardly, and he is the one who stirs up your faith and increases love in your hearts as you hunger after him. the first fruit of the spirit flowing from the love of Jesus is realized in your soul and is the basis on which should rest all understanding in the great vastness and price of Christ's love let us understand Jesus was the first fruit of the spirit's work of love in our hearts. And this is the reason Jesus came. And when he went away to be with his father, he sent us his spirit. First John 4, 7. In first John 4, 7, let's look at that. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is, it springs from God. And he who loves his fellow man is begotten or born of God and is coming progressively, progressively to know and understand God and to perceive and recognize and get better acquainted and clear knowledge of him. Verse 8, and he who does not love has not become acquainted with God, does not, never did know him, For God is love. Verse 9. In this, the love of God was made manifest, displayed where we are concerned, in that God sent his Son, the only begotten or unique Son, into the world so that we might live through him. In this love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Verse 11. Beloved, if God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No man has at any time yet seen God. But if we love one another, God abides, lives, and remains in us. And his love, that love which is essentially his, is brought to completion, to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected in us. Verse 13, and by this we come to know, perceive, recognize, and understand that we abide, live, and remain in him and he in us. Because he has given, imparted to us, his Holy Spirit. So we are instructed here that we need to abide, to live in, to remain in him. There within our souls, Christ lives because his spirit lives in us. And the only way of this abiding in love brings us back to one word called faith. And if we have no faith, we do not have love, nor do we have Christ, nor his spirit. And if these have grown cold, nor have ever been established and rooted in your hearts, then there is a clear warning at the end of the book as a solemn warning for such believers. Revelation 3, verse 1. Revelation 3, verse 1. And to the angel messenger of the assembly church in Sardis, write, These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God, the sevenfold Holy Spirit and the seven stars. I know your record and what you are doing. You are supposed to be alive, but in reality, you are dead. Rouse yourself and keep awake and strengthen and invigorate what remains and what is on the point of dying. For I have not found a thing that you have done, any work of yours meeting the requirements of my God or perfect in his sight. So call to mind the lessons you received and heard. Continually lay them to heart and obey them and repent. And in case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief and you will not know or expect what hour I will come. Verse four. Yet you still have a few persons names in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes and they shall walk with me in white because they are worthy and deserving. 5. Thus shall he who conquers is victorious, be clad in white garments, and I will not erase or blot out his name from the book of life. I will acknowledge him as mine, and I will confess his name openly before my Father and before his angels. 6. He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Holy Spirit says to the assemblies. Since love is founded on faith in Christ We dare not that he be just an empty expression on our tongue Or the thought of him flipped through our brain But a deep and abiding understanding through his spirit Be properly seated in the walls of our hearts Which comes again from Christ dwelling there through his spirit This deep love, which comes through faith in Christ, and love which flows from the Spirit, gives us the understanding and the power to be settled in his love, never being removed from its rooting. We are given strength and insight, precious church, to apprehend, to grasp along with others, to understand that love is a tangible experience, that it is the substance and the weight of God's presence, which is his glory and the expression of his love to his creation. Ephesians 3, 17. May Christ, through your faith, actually dwell, settle down, abide, make his permanent home in your hearts. And may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth of that love is. That you may come, really come to know practically through experience for yourselves, the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience. That you may be filled through all your being unto all the fullness of God. And may the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body totally filled and flooded with God himself. This is experience. This is real. And the weight and the presence of God filling and flooding your whole being. This was God's design and plan for all of his children, that they live and move and have their being in him. And this is being steadfastly fixed in your love to God. That is God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. And to all the saints, the beloved of our Lord. Many people have some love to God and to his servants. But it is as fleeting to say the least. Like fireworks that goes off in loud and great bursts of noise and flashes. But it's gone just as quickly as it bursts forth. It's not lasting. Dear church, we should earnestly desire that love be established in us, that we may be rooted and grounded and founded in God's love, which is fixed in faith and brought about and birthed and made real by God's Holy Spirit. We love him because he first loved us. The family of God is love, and this love is God's expression constantly being manifested by his spirit to his children and then demonstrated as well by his children to others and each other. This is personal fellowship in your heart To the Lord Jesus Christ Who is our supreme head And lover of our soul Receiving Christ by faith And if you continue to receive him Then he will dwell richly in your hearts By faith through the power of his Holy Spirit That is by heart sanctifying love. This is consecration of your heart. This is total devotion to your Lord. This is saying all of my desires I now lay at your feet, dear Jesus. I even give you my eyes, my mouth, my ears, my heart, my hands, my feet. I give you my thought life and ask you to purify them, everyone. You see, to enjoy this anchoring in the love of God, there can be no substitute. Any other substitute for this is a prostitute or spiritual adultery. A prostitute has many lovers, and she is not devoted to anyone. There can be no real Christianity for the one who does not personally take Christ's sacrifice by faith. And there's no substitute for this personal experience because it is the only way for any to come to God the Father, and that is through his Son. These are the conditions for all true believers. Total dedication of our carnal desires. Our appetites and senses to be put on the altar of God in order to truly know him to love him and come to him by faith is called renewal of our minds our whole being to be prepared to house the power and the presence of God Almighty. Read with me again, and please bear with me while I make my point in this word today in Ephesians 3, verse 17. May Christ, through your faith, actually dwell, settle down, abide, and make his permanent home in your hearts. And may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, God's devoted people, the experience of that love. which is the breadth and length and height and depth of it, that you may really come to know and practically through experience for yourselves the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being and to all the fullness of God and may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body totally filled and flooded with God himself. Doesn't it make sense then, dear church, since God is love that the foundation or the ground of everything is anchored on his love? The book of Romans declares, God shows and clearly proves his own love for us. By the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And because God is love, his love goes forth to sinners. And because his love went forth to sinners, he's provided a way by which he would restore sinners back again to happiness and to himself. And this was through his son Jesus Christ, death, burial, and resurrection. This was a great cost and price for our heavenly father in giving his son. A great cost and price. He gave his son willingly to sinners, that is to you and me. This was truly a love the world could never understand or know in its depth, width, or length. God our Father at the time his Son hung bloody and naked upon the cross with all of our sins and wretchedness upon himself and in himself had to turn his back on his Son whom he loved so much their love, precious ones, is the ultimate of all love And the love of God is an ever-flowing fountain which never ends. This fountain of God's love flows freely from his veins. From his veins. Jesus shed his blood for sinners. Jesus died for sinners. And Jesus provided the way by which he would restore sinners back to his father's love. Therefore, I can now say, God chose me He drew me, and he pardoned me, and he spoke peace to me You could say that too You and I are now pardoned and loved with this undying one-time act of grace and mercy which drew us into and anchored us in faith by divine roots of affection. God has not withheld anything from us. Jesus did not struggle against his father's will to go to the cross for us. He didn't struggle against that. It was like a lamb, the word says, who went to the slaughter. And when he did cry out, please remember his words were, Oh my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And this cry was in the moment in which he regretted the most. And this precious church was spiritual separation from his beloved father. This is why he cried in the garden. God the Father and God the Son withheld nothing at all from us. Jesus came and died for us so that we too would have the opportunity to be anchored and grounded and rooted in his father's love. And this is truly where our affections rest. In this great love and act of kindness for a better life hereafter. This is individually worked out in the heart of every member of the God family. And you must apprehend the greatness of this love for yourself. You must desire to know this love. But it will cost you something. When you personally accepted our Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice for eternal life, upon the repentance and forgiveness of your sins, You then by faith, through the Spirit of God given you, began to wind this precious truth like a golden thread through your whole being. And this precious thread is like the root of the tree which anchors itself, its affections down into the character and the very being of God. Your desire should be that you want his attributes, his presence, and his love so much in your life. That you go after him. You become God hungry. And you will not settle for anything less. And you begin to taste holy zeal. And this is the drawing of the spirit of God within you who gives you every one of these desires. you wind these around and about yourself with the help of the one given you and you begin to strike these attributes into his promises and drive them deep into his faithfulness ah now there are roots and this is where the roots of your affections lie Oh, the roots of these affections begin to drink in the nature of the love they live in now. And oh, the silent cries and joy and sweetness, which these little golden threads are always running to after their source, the fountain. Receiving the nourishment from that tree of life. my words my actions my whole being now cannot help but desire and choose to be molded and shaped into this precious love and to drink continually from the source and fountain you can't see it but your whole being is rooted and anchored in Christ's love I now love because I'm established and rooted in love. And my heart draws the tenderness from the root I am grounded in, which is necessary for my new nature. And my intellect rests upon its foundation, and my heart longs for greater attachment to its root. I grow by resting, and I am confident in this love. and I'm assured by the word of God first that I belong to him. I belong to him. I am his and he is mine. And my spirit and the spirit of God within me cry out in agreement that Abba Father is my God and I am his. In Romans 8, 15, please. Romans 8, 15. For the spirit which you have now received is not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear. But you have received the spirit of adoption and the spirit producing sonship in the bliss of which we cry, Abba, Father, Father. The spirit himself thus testifies with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God. Verse 17. And if we are his children, then we are his heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing in his inheritance with him. Only we must share his suffering if we are to share his glory. And you see this love being established is a divine process of every level. And the Spirit of God is so jealous over us in presenting us to Christ that he goes to great lengths to keep us in each level of rooting and establishing. And even the winds and the storms of time, which come unexpectedly, cannot play havoc with our minds and drag us back to the former doubt life we once muddled in. And the spirit of the Lord's work is to adopt us higher and higher in this redemptive process. Colossians 121. Colossians 121. Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. Verse 22. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Hallelujah. And if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel, this is the gospel that you've heard. And it has been promised. It has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. I can only think of that great old tree I knew as a little girl growing up, how massive and an enormous column or trunk that tree has. That huge tree has such great and strong branches, which have gone through generations and provided shade and comfort to many a people. and how often the storms over the years have struck it and wrestled with it, but still it stood. And the lessons of this old tree has been that it withstands the storms that come, and yet it remains. It has received its nourishment from the hidden and secret streams, as its taproot has gone very deep to seek out its source of life. Oh, that we too may be so rooted in the love of God and grounded in our faith in Jesus Christ, his son. That we will stand and be firmly fixed and established thereto so that any storm or torrent that may come our way will not shake us. Colossians 2.6, please. Colossians 2.6. So then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Oh, such a key. And overflowing with thankfulness. Verse 8. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depend on human tradition and basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Though you see not, precious one, be encouraged that as long as you stay connected to him, you remain in faith through spiritual eyes which do see. And this divine life is being built in your soul and spirit through the great and powerful mighty helper given you and me. Holy Spirit is busy at work, developing his nature and godly character in your members. And just as any parent looks for growth and progress in their child, And if they do not see the growth they expect to, it is a reasonable thing for them to be concerned, is it not? Every good parent looks for progression and perfection in their children. And even as a farmer looks for growth in the seed which he has scattered in the soil which he's prepared. The Spirit of God within the believer strengthens us by the might of his Spirit. These aren't idle words I'm speaking to you. These are not idle words. Please understand the might of the Holy Spirit is the greatest power you and I will ever know. There is no greater power. And the spirit of Christ in us is greater than the spirit of Antichrist in the world. God's word says greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Rejoice. He is strong and he strengthens you by the power of his spirit because he lives within you. Jesus Christ dwells in your heart by faith. and you being rooted and grounded in his love, he makes you strong. He makes you strong in the form of sound words in scripture, which is life to your bones. And he makes you strong in contending for the faith once delivered to the saints and cleaving to the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. And he makes you strong in your real, very real and personal, close and abiding love in him. He who is in you and me is God. God abiding in you and giving you his spirit. He is in you, not merely on your side or at your right hand or around you, but he is within you. And he's working in you. And he's working in you to make your home going safe and triumphant in this great fight of truth against all air, over the devil, over the world, and yes, even yourself. and he's busy in your life, building and increasing your faith, your trust, your confidence in his mighty love. So you, even this day, today, will be established in him more greatly than you were yesterday, so you can come before his throne of grace and mercy in the mercy seat and make your petitions known. He awaits your entrance and your request and your love in return. Ephesians 3.12, please. Ephesians 3.12. Bear with me through this word. Feast on this word. Ask the Spirit of God in your hearts to give you clearer understanding that you be rooted deep in this word today and understanding. Ephesians 3.12 In whom, because of our faith in him, we dare to have the boldness and the courage and confidence of free access, an unreserved approach to God with freedom without fear. So I ask you not to lose heart, not to faint or become despondent through fear at what I'm suffering in your behalf. For it is an honor to you. For this reason, seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ, I bow my knee before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. That father from whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name. And may he grant you out of the rich treasury of his glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit himself indwelling your innermost being and personality. 17. May Christ through your faith. May Christ through your faith. Actually dwell. Settle down. Abide, make his permanent home in your hearts. And may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, God's devoted people, the experience of that love. What is the breadth and length and height and depth of it. that you may really come to know practically through experience for yourselves, that you may have the experience yourselves to know the love of Christ, which is far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being unto the fullness of God and may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself. I believe through the various ways and angles that we have looked at this word today, you are better able to see the work of God's spirit in your life to anchor you in his love. such a great heart cry of Paul through these scriptures we've just read today and reread, which is really the cry of the spirit of grace through him in great appeal and desire to adopt us all upward and inward into this incomprehensible, infinite, and undying love. His desire is that we be filled with the fullness of Christ's love, his presence, and our whole beings become overwhelmed with God himself. Ephesians 3.19, one more time. Ephesians 3.19. That you may really come to know. practically through experience for yourself. The love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being unto all fullness of God, may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body totally filled and flooded with God himself. Let me leave you with the question. Should we all individually not be concerned about our own growth? Should you not be concerned with your own growth? I ask myself that question as well. Should we not grieve the spirit of God within if we do not view the lackadaisical or indifference to any sin issue we may have? And the older we are as children of God, the longer we have had the opportunity to develop a sweet and pure fellowship with God's spirit given to us. And for that very reason, for this very reason, we should have grown to hate everything that is sinful. Shall we not be concerned if we are not gaining greater power over sin, which easily besets us? Should we not be concerned? And should we not be concerned if we have not grown more humble, more heavenly minded, more gentle in spirit? And yes, even more forgiving, more like, more Christ-like than we were. Remember, precious one, God our Father gave us his Son, and Jesus gave us his Spirit. How kind. How loving. He did this all for one reason. I repeat that. He did this all for one reason. Ephesians 3.19 That you may really come to know practically through experience for yourselves the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being unto the fullness of God, that you may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body totally filled and flooded with God himself. What love. The whole purpose and plan of God in calling us his child was to fill us with himself and anchor us in his love. This is the summary of our Christianity. This is the substance of Christianity. And this is Divine Love in Motion. Good afternoon, everyone. Let's bow our heads and open this word with prayer. Father of all glory, most merciful God to whom all praise and honor is due, it is our prayer today, Lord, that you would send and release your Holy Spirit to lavish us with your grace and abounding love as we have gathered together in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that you would open our spiritual eyes and ears to both see and hear the truths in this word today as your Holy Spirit ministers life to our hearts so that we may, as your children, grow in wisdom, revelation, and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and mature into the kingdom of priests that you have called us to, declaring the praises of him who ransomed us out of the kingdom of darkness and translated us into the marvelous kingdom of light. Heavenly Father, we ask this all in the wonderful and most precious name of Jesus. Amen. Let's open our Bibles to 2 Timothy 1.9. Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Lord and Savior who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel to which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher of the Gentiles. Verse 12. For this reason I also suffer these things and nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. These words of Paul's, for I know whom I have believed, were not idle words that he offered off the top of his head, but they were words by which he had a track record to be able to say them because he had actually practiced what he had preached without fear. And he had no shame in the mention of the name of Jesus Christ and his testimony of Jesus telling who he is and what he has done and what he has provided and promised. Paul's faith was rooted in the person of Jesus Christ. And he was established in the love of God. And his passion was pleasing in doing the will of the Lord and his master. This is truly a bold statement of Apostle Paul's faith. But let us understand that it is more than just a statement of his faith. Paul's faith arose out of his believing someone who was greater than he. And his faith and contentment in this statement arose not only out of his hope or his heart being set on his heavenly home, nor on his faith alone. But he had experiences which tried him. Paul's painful experiences gave strength to his contentment in this statement, for I know whom I have believed. and these trials taught Paul as well to say when I am weak then I am strong and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me you see in these trials Paul learned by experience a sensitivity to the divine hand of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit as he was in the midst of the testing or trial as he was serving God Paul always saw God in his trials and said Thy will be done, O Lord He always saw these trials as God's divine commission or appointment and submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit We don't read, precious ones, that he ran away from God or complained or went and sat under a tree and sulked he knew God to be the God of all wisdom, of goodness and grace. Dear ones, this man hoped in God. No man or woman can have the contentment in a statement that Apostle Paul did when he was at the end of his life speaking the words, I know whom I have believed. and he is in effect saying I know him I know him by personal experience and the love I have for him is deeply rooted in intimate fellowship with him Paul knew his treasure awaited him in heaven and he knew the abounding riches were just ahead as he finished his commission on this earth and his experiences we read about tried and tested him but Jesus Christ always remained the object of his faith and are obvious when he spoke I know whom I have believed dear church if you will allow me to provoke you and encourage you today in this word by asking the question Have you made Christ Jesus the object of your faith? Do you know whom you have believed? Who have you believed? Have you believed anyone other than Jesus Christ and his gospel? Do you believe a mix? Do you live a mix? That is having one foot in the world and one foot in your Christian profession. many Christians do. Many people justify living this double standard. The most recent statistics regarding a survey of the church, which was published in the USA today, these statistics showing that Christians everywhere have compromised their faith by living a double standard. I'm not saying all, but it is showing, according to these statistics, that these people have fallen for an apostate lie, either by saying that there is more than one path to salvation, or other path than through Jesus Christ, or that they are saved by their good actions and deeds. And the number of those who have said there is more than one way to heaven or another than through Christ is 52% of those who call themselves Christians. That's astounding, and that's appalling at the same time. The number of professing Christians who claim they are saved by their good deeds and actions are 29%. Living a double standard or lie will eventually lead down the wrong road or path called the broad way, which is the pathway to perdition. these people did not make Jesus the object of their faith they did not know him whom they should have believed Jesus Christ is the covenant head of his church and Paul said I have believed him Jesus said in John 3.36 he who believes in the son has everlasting life and he who does not believe in the son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on him. Can we understand here that where there is no believing of a saving knowledge upon the person of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation. It is just like that. Jesus said, He who believes in me shall have eternal life. This means on the day that you personally were saved, Jesus reached out and redeemed you He saved you His redeeming hand ransomed you from the clutches of hell And he told Satan you were marked with a seal And to get away from you Jesus Christ has paid a high price for you and me And this beautiful act of salvation began The process of change in your life Mine too this act was to begin as a reversal of all things in your life precious ones and you were called out of Babylon which is called confusion and darkness and you were given the call the clarion call the clear call at that time to arise and come forth and come to Christ and you've been redeemed from the earth and delivered from the long captivity of bondage in which you had grown. And we must understand that salvation is not from Jesus Christ, but salvation is in Jesus Christ. And Jesus wants to be in you, precious one. He wants to become your life. He wants to be your life. You see, Jesus is not our Savior because He's in heaven. He is our salvation when He lives in us But when people do not live in Christ They really do not know Him Paul said, I know, I know whom I have believed Too many Christians talk about what they know But they do not talk about the one who was given to them to bring about the wonderful transforming change in their life producing the same fruit of love and evidencing the new and royal family they now belong to You see, it is really futile to talk about the knowledge I have and may know about someone. It is written, I can have all knowledge But if I have not love, I am nothing I can have a good philosophy about the one I know Whom I have believed But it will just be a prideful boast And I will be called a pretender of the faith And will only have paved a road to hell for myself because my practice did not conform to my profession. There is no such thing as salvation, no such thing as assurance for safety anywhere else for time and eternity but by believing on and in the Son of God. I know whom I have believed. This is not a mental remark or a mustering up by positive self-effort. It is not a statement of I hope or I trust or I can or I may or I shall believe. But dear one, it is a real statement of assurance by my experience that I know, that I know, that I know whom I have believed. Do you know for yourself, by personal experience from hearing the gospel and reading the word that God is faithful and he never changes? Do you know that you know that God is a God of love and he is merciful and kind? Do you know by personal and honest experience that you can say, yes, I do know him? or do you say yes I know him when you only know about him and if you say yes I know him then if I may provoke you by saying then what really do you know of him you might say well I know that Jesus is eternally God and I know him to be one who came from God and he was sinless and he died to become my Savior. And I know that he is mediator between God and man. And I know that he is the head of the church. But still, precious one, can you say that you really know him personally? And this is what Paul challenges us with. I know whom I have believed. The word believe speaks about placing one's trust in God's truth. It is one who takes God at his word and trusts him for salvation. You must believe what God's word tells you before you can have faith. And your faith is born out of your believing in God's truth and Christ's finished work on the cross. This is not mental assent, dear one. but this is truly trusting in God alone for salvation. This believing is entrusting your will as well as your mind and your heart, your eyes and your ears to God's Holy Spirit so that he can renew you and make you into the creature he purposed you to be. This work is ongoing and progressive. Romans 1.16 Romans 1.16 Paul declares For I am not ashamed of the gospel the good news of Christ for it is God's power working unto salvation for deliverance from eternal death to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance to the Jew first and also the Greek verse 17 For in the gospel, a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. Well, this believing in which Paul speaks of so confidently is personal confidence in God and his son Jesus Christ. This believing or trusting in God and being faithful to him is the evidence or fruit in the believer's trust in God and his promises. This believing has produced the fruit of righteousness which comes from God through his son Jesus and produces a steadfastness in the believer. This believing that Paul speaks of is firm reliance upon the person of Jesus Christ This is also called trust Trust and believing are synonymous This believing has produced a sanctifying faith That comprehends the knowledge of God's word And trust in your position in Christ by your personal experience by living in that position. This sanctifying faith, or we could call it as well, this sustaining faith or belief, it appropriates the power of God in conforming to the nature and character of Christ by which means you will enjoy the blessings and promises of this position in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So we can sum up and say that believing is trusting and trusting is believing. They are so interchangeable. In our opening scripture in 2 Timothy 1, Apostle Paul declares, For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. Well, Paul says, I'm convinced. I am convinced that he is able to guard what I've entrusted or committed to him until that day. And this statement is not a one-time statement, dear one, but a daily practice that has come again by Paul's personal experience in his trusting and committing everything to God. Think of the bountiful joy that we would have as God's children if we would learn to give God the reins in our lives. Paul is actually saying here, God, I commit my soul and my soul's concerns to you this day. my soul's concern would be for the need for assurance of God's safety his salvation eternal life and also my soul's concern in regards to my spiritual existence and spiritual prosperity and this is what Paul was actually convinced of when he spoke the words in our scripture when he said I'm convinced that he's able to guard what I've entrusted to him until that day He's saying, in effect, I commit and entrust my soul to you, O God, my rock, and I know whom I have believed. And this is more than a saving faith, dear church. What Paul is speaking of

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