I have Faith in God, I Hope...

FAITH AND BELIEVING IN THE LAST DAYS

Chapter 2

I Have Faith in God, I Hope...

How do we know we believe God?

Because we demonstrate hope, the evidence of our faith.

Little God, little faith, little hope.

Great God, great faith, great hope.

But what is hope?

Hope possesses a great expectation.

Hope is expecting God to do something great!

In order to possess hope you must first possess faith.

Faith is the evidence of things hoped for.

Like faith without works is dead,

Faith without hope is pointless.

What is the point of having faith if you don’t possess a great expectation from your faith?

You do have a reason, what we would call evidence, for your faith, don’t you?

You can put your faith and hope into words right?

You can explain it can’t you?

1 Peter 3:15 tells us…

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Let’s break this verse down.

Sanctify is to acknowledge the holiness of God who lives within your heart.

To give a defense is to make a speech about it.

To ask for a reason is to give account, to say it so it makes sense to the hearer.

Just a note on hope and witnessing.

The hope that is in you is the expectation that sets this hope apart from any other hope or expectation. In other words, what makes what you believe, so different or so special from what others believe?

Meekness is gentleness displayed through a calm mind that is not easily provoked.

Fear is reverence for your husband. (Interesting as we all are called the bride of Christ)

We should be ready, willing and able to represent God at anytime. Not only that, but we should be careful how we represent God. We are to represent God with meekness and fear. Meekness is for the hearer, appeal to them, be humble, it should be your desire for them to know the freedom and peace and new life that comes from a relationship with Jesus.

Do everything for the purpose of drawing the hearer closer to God. Fear is for you. This is God Almighty that you are speaking for, be careful what you say and how you say it.

Moses beat the rock and he was not allowed into the Promised Land as a result. It’s not a threat, but it is a warning. Always be led by the Spirit and not by selfish ambition.

Believe it or not, the issue we are addressing is, were all the believers who thought that Jesus was coming back in their lifetime wrong?

The answer is no. they were NOT wrong.

Matter of fact, YOU should believe that Jesus will come back in YOUR lifetime too!

Now, should you believe that Jesus is coming back in your lifetime based on the evidence of His coming return or should your belief be based on your faith and hope in His return?

In Luke 17 we are told

Luke 17:20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; (meaning, signs to be observed)

21 "nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Say that out loud to yourself.

Indeed, the kingdom of God is within me.

Do you believe that?

Do you believe that the living God lives within you?

Do you believe that God has established His kingdom in your heart?

Apparently He has, because it was Jesus who said

Indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Are the words of Jesus true for you?

22 Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

There it is.

There is a major reason they all desired, hoped and believed that Jesus would come in their lifetime.

Evil days where men will be… 2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Can you agree that the above characteristics are evident in mankind today?

What was another sign of Christ’s coming?

Look at verse 27.

27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

No one was repenting… No one was turning to God…

Because no one saw their lives as wrong or sinful, that there was more to life and that life didn’t stop with our death, and ultimately, no one felt a need for God.

Its not that Christians want to see people perish in their sins, it’s because this fallen world is not repenting from its sinful ways. 

It’s hard to live in a fallen world, especially when your own flesh is at war against the Spirit of God who is within you.

Who wants to be where they don’t belong?

Who wants to be separated from the one they love?

Do you?

Think about our soldiers in foreign countries separated from their loved ones. They are there because they have made a commitment that they have got to fulfill, not because they want to be there. They want to get the job done and then they want to just go home. I believe that Jesus is coming back in my lifetime because I know that I do not belong in this world. My home is in Heaven.  I want to go home.

 I want to be with Jesus.

Jesus said in John 14:1

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Now isn’t that enough to give you the desire for Jesus to come back in your lifetime? Jesus the carpenters son (in the flesh), is preparing a place in Heaven for you right now!

That is soooo cool!

Look at verse 5, what is the Spirit of God saying though Paul?

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Look at all the characteristics listed in verses 2 through 4 and then in verse 5 the Spirit says that they “having a form of godliness, but denying its power”?

Since when is being a traitor godly?

Since when is being unloving godly?

Since when is being proud godly?

Are you seeing a problem here?

Mankind is making a choice, but it is choosing itself.