Titus 2:13  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

It makes me cringe when I hear a fellow Christian say there’s no hope for our country. The first thing that pops into my mind is where’s their faith, are they just lip-service Christian? Those thoughts are what inspired me to write this message. Let’s see what God has to say about HOPE, I hope it helps those living in fear.

 Although Faith & Hope are closely linked together, they should be clearly distinguished.

Faith has work to perform today; Hope cheers faith along the way and points to rewards of service.

 Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17 So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. );

Hope comes by experience. (Rom.5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ). 

Faith accepts the gift of promise; Hope confidently expects the fulfillment of the promise.

The Word of God says much about HOPE, but never does it use the term to mean uncertainty or doubt. It is wrong to use the Scriptural term to say, “I hope I am a Christian” as much as it would be for me to say, “I hope I am an American.” I do not hope to be something that I KNOW I already am!

 Let us examine three classes in the world today with respect to their relations to HOPE. There are those who have No Hope; those who have False Hope; and those who have True Hope.

I. NO HOPE (Eph. 2:11-12  Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.)

 According to God’s Word, there are those today who are described as having NO HOPE – and without God in the world. While you may think that there are many who have No Hope, I disagree. Hope is as essential to the human soul as Faith is to society. A life without hope becomes an unendurable misery, a burden too grievous to be borne.

 God, Himself recognized the necessity of HOPE for the human soul In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve had sinned, they were without HOPE. God condescended to the need of man and gave Adam HOPE – Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

 In Ephesians 2:11-12 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world., Paul discussed those who had No Hope – being without God in the world. Ever since the origin of man, man has put his HOPE in either one or more gods.

However, we must admit that there are still those who are distraught – “Without HOPE and without God in the world.”

Sadly, one of the major causes of death among teenagers is still SUICIDE!

 Just today, the news spoke of a young man who committed suicide by jumping from a bridge. What a terrible tragedy for young and old alike to be without HOPE!

II. FALSE HOPE (Matt. 7:21-27  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’)

 Sadly, those who have False Hope are more numerous and worse off than those having No Hope.

 They are not found only in the dark corners of Africa or the deepest jungles of South America. Many who have False Hope can be found right in our own communities. 

False Hope is far worse than No Hope at all! A man who finds himself hopeless may be inclined to accept True Hope, but one who has a False Hope must admit his hope was vain before he will accept another. False Hope seems to be self-sufficient – UNTIL times of testing come! Many men and women have found that their hope was mere vanity when troubles arise.

Those who have False Hope, not built upon a firm foundation, are like the “foolish man who built his house upon the sand!”

The drunkard who thinks that he can quit any time he likes has- False Hope.

 The dope addict who thinks that he can escape his problems by getting high has- False Hope.

 The thief who thinks he can steal without consequence has- False Hope.

 The church member who thinks that baptism, membership, or deeds are all that is necessary to escape hell has- False Hope.

 The rebellious child who disobeys his or her parents and thinks that he or she has gotten away with their actions has- False Hope.

The husband or wife who is unfaithful, yet thinks they are clever enough to get away with their actions has- False Hope.

 There are also those who believe in religions without Christ they have- False Hope.

 In God’s Word, Eli’s sons were evil but thought that since they were born into a prominent family, they could get away with their actions – False Hope. Even wisdom that is not founded upon the fear of God is vanity and vexation of spirit. Eccl. 1:18  Because in much wisdom there is much grief and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

There are those who believe in a 2nd chance beyond our present life. They believe that repentance can be made after one dies – False Hope.

There are those who believe that IF they marry an infidel, they can lead them to Christ – False Hope. Most women who marry unsaved men wind up failing in their own Christian lives.

 

 

 

When there is Something Wrong

2 Timothy 3:1-5
2Timothy 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Timothy 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Timothy 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Timothy 3:4  Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Timothy 3:5  Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Have you ever taken a look inside you? I don’t mean physically, I mean your real feelings, faith, commitment, your true belief. I don’t mean what other people see, or should I say, what you show them.

Let me tell you a little story, it might help you to understand what God is showing me.

These two guys lived next door to each other in a middle-class neighborhood in the small-town U.S.A.

One guy really spent a lot of time in his yard, taking care of his flowers, and lawn, but he really paid special attention to this big gorgeous tree, watering, fertilizing, and trimming it, the tree was magnificent! He even built a fence around his yard with a locking gate to protect it.

The other guy who lived next door admired it, as did all the neighbors. His yard was a well-kept, average yard, as were his trees, but it couldn’t compare to his neighbor’s park-like yard.

One day while outside he saw a city truck pull up to his neighbor’s house. He knew one of the men in the crew and as they were getting their equipment out his curiosity got the better of him so he wandered next door.

“Hey!” he asks his friend as the crew was rigging lines and ladders on that gorgeous tree. “It looks like you’re going to some trimming, my neighbor usually does his own”.

“Not this time”, said his friend. ” The whole tree is coming down!”

“What? I can’t believe it. Why? ” His neighbor asks in disbelief.

“Just stand over there out of the way and I’ll show you when we bring it down.”

Limb by limb the beautiful tree was stripped down until all the beauty was gone and only the bare ugly trunk was exposed. When they had felled this remaining part of the once beautiful attention-getting tree, my friend called me over.

He said, “as he pointed to the base of the tree, look here”…

I  couldn’t believe my eyes, it was practically hollowed out and what was left of the heart was infested with termites. The tree had become a danger to people passing on the sidewalk and to the people in the house.

Even though the tree, for all appearances, looked healthy and green it was dead and dangerous to others.

Yes, there was something wrong, so workers were called to cut it down.

There is a lesson here for us as Christians.  Despite the protections built around us the enemy can enter and destroy us.  When we are unaware and complacent the enemy can cause something to be desperately wrong.
Today I am going to ask every one of us to look inside and see if there is something desperately wrong inside.

I. When you fail to remember the blessings of God.

I love the 103rd Psalm.

David says:
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

He starts out praising God for blessings and then he names them one after another.

The other day I was talking with a friend and he was saying that we should be praising God continually because of all he has given.  And I agree.  We should praise God for life – and every one of us here today has that.  And even if you don’t have life – praise God that you are on your way to heaven.  Thank God for your family, for your church, for your salvation – in everything give thanks to the Lord.

Have you been taking God’s blessings for granted?  Cultivate an attitude of praise for every good thing that God gives to you. 

And I think it right . . . 2 Peter. 1:13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 

I would suggest that there is something wrong:

II.  When you are serving God because of duty and not love.

Colossian 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

When you are doing something for the duty you do the bare minimum – just enough to get by.  But to act from love you ask, “How much can I do, and how much can I give?

• Lack of Prayer shows there is something wrong.
• Lack of Giving shows there is something wrong.

God says, Haggai 2:4 But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

Jesus says, John 9:4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Here’s another little story for you…

Forsake All… there was a Christian wife who prayed faithfully for her unsaved husband. There was something wrong with him. With a broken heart, she cried to God. At long last, the husband was saved. Then he became more and more concerned about soul winning. At last, he gave up a profitable business and laid his life on the altar to preach the Gospel.

Was the wife pleased?

No, she was not!

She wanted her husband to be saved. She wanted him to quit his drunkenness. She wanted him to quit following after lewd women. She wanted him to bring home his paycheck… But she did not want him to be a preacher. She did not want him to be counted as a fanatic and a fool. She did not want poverty for Jesus’ sake.

You see, many people would be glad to have you be a Christian and be moral and honest, but they will not want you to be an out-and-out Christian, a “fanatical” Christian, a radical Christian.

There was something wrong with her. But you see what the world does not want you to be, Jesus Christ demands that you be.

Luke 14:33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

Does that mean selling everything and becoming a pauper and becoming destitute? I don’t think so, but it is a test. If you have money, earned or inherited what are you doing with it?

Do you live modestly and use the lion’s share to help the poor or use it to help support a serving ministry trying to lead people to Christ? Or … are you building your little kingdom here on earth.

Remember that big beautiful tree? It had everybody fooled and lived in its own little kingdom but Something was wrong, it ended up in the fire!

How about you, have you checked, I mean really checked before your cut down because if you haven’t when the end comes it will be too late to change the outcome. you know what I’m about? The other fire, the pervertible fire, the one that lasts forever… eternity.

I pray what God has given me to give to you has you thinking. Through His Son, Jesus, He’s given us a way to fix those wrongs you might be discovering as you read and think about this message… We all fall short, the problem is some of us are worshiping a lifestyle instead of the life-giving Savior, that’s called living in the now, it’s all fake, designed by satan to destroy your life and drag you to hell, your time here is but a vapor and then eternity, and eternity is forever…

Well, what do you think? It’s your choice, it’s always been your choice, you can make sure you won’t be in the lake of fire. call on God, His grace, and forgiveness abound and it’s free, it just takes commitment, a real commitment, the most important you’ll ever make by receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Do you want to learn more? contact us we’ll help you, no strings attached.

Go to the bottom of this page, make a comment, or make a prayer request, and let us know how we can help.

We love each of you with the love of Jesus and I pray you give serious consideration today to what I’ve written.

Stay safe and KEEP LOOKING UP!

Semper Fidelis

    Dusty   

       My prayer for you;

Heavenly Father, please forgive our sins and heal our land. Lord, touch hearts that need to know the truth. expose the followers of satan and bring to light the ones wishing to destroy this country.

I pray for the sick and needy, I pray for the ones that don’t know you come to the knowledge of the living God, Jesus Christ. He is the answer, the only answer for a falling nation.

We thank you, Lord, for hearing our petitions and we ask these things in the name above all names, the name of Jesus Christ.

                 AMEN

Email: prospectorsforgod@gmail.com …

keep going to the bottom of the page to make a comment…

 

In Romans 13:8 it says to love one another and to owe no one nothing …

So far, How’s that been working for you?

Here’s another simple question, do you even know your neighbors’ names?

Tomorrow is Easter, for some, it will be one of the two Sundays you enter a church, you’ll put on your best suit or dress so those neighbors (name unknown) will see how refined you are going on this pilgrimage to make an appearance at your church. 

Wow! you ask yourself why does that sound so familiar? 

When you get to church and settled in a pew the preacher steps up to the pulpit and welcomes everybody, saying nothing about the oversized crowd, he knew in advance there would be strangers amongst the regular congregation.

It’s then that you realize he sure looks familiar and you’re puzzled about where you know him from?

As the sermon progresses you wonder why the Pastor hasn’t said anything about the bunny or an Easter egg hunt after church? Instead, he keeps referring to this restriction thing. You’re thinking who’s dumb enough to believe anyone could come back from the dead, but as you look around it was easy to see by the look on some of the faces, people were believing every word the Pastor was saying.

When the Pastor was concluding he reassured all of us that God loves us, that’s why He sacrificed His Son, in essence, he says, that’s what Easter is all about and the Lord was willing to forgive our sins and welcome us into the kingdom of God because Jesus went to the cross for our sins and on the third day was resurrected.

As you make your way to the door everyone stops to greet the Pastor and shake his hand. When it’s your turn he greets you warmly and it surprises you when he calls you by your name. He sees the look on your face, he says with a smile … we’ve never been introduced, I live next door to you, I’m your neighbor. Maybe we can get together for a cup of coffee sometime?

You, for some reason, agree and even ask when. You tell him you have some questions that needed answering.

All this came out of you from nowhere and then you hear the Pastor saying he was free Monday so a time was set…

Until we get together again … stay and KEEP LOOKING UP!

Semper Fidelis 

       Dusty

My prayer for you; 

Father God, I pray all will come to your Son as Lord and  Savior. This country, the world, and all people everywhere need your help and forgiveness.

I pray for my sisters and brothers to come before you in agreement that we ALL need you.

Lord, I pray for a revival like none ever seen before, a miracle with signs and wonders leavening no doubt that you are Lord. 

I pray these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

                                              AMEN

An Easter song for you …