The New Millennium - Is There Any Hope? YES - Luke 21:28

God's Warrior · The New Millennium - Is There Any Hope? YES - Luke 21:28

"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:2 Cool

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The New Millennium - Is There Any Hope?
Dennis Pollock...
http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_social1.php

In the midst of an ever darkening culture, one can fairly ask, "Is there any real reason for hope?" Every new decade brings forth record setting levels of corruption as the bar of decency is lowered further still. It is disheartening to think that thirty years from now, people in their fifties, sixties, and seventies, may look back to these days and consider them "the good old days" of decency and traditional values. Can you imagine someone saying about the nineties: "Things were so much simpler and more innocent then!"

Never, Never, Never, Never, Never... (Give up)
The Christian has a double dilemma when it comes to holding onto hope in the midst of an ever darkening world. Not only do our eyes and ears tell us that things are getting no better, our Bibles tell us that "In the last days perilous times will come" (2 Timothy 3:1). Throughout the Scriptures, fearful and alarming warnings are given to that generation that will live to hear the voice of the archangel and the sound of the trumpet as the Lord descends to gather His church.

Shall we, as Lyndon Johnson once remarked, (referring to how presidents must take the pressure of the office) "hunker down like a mule in a hailstorm?" This is, of course, what we who look for the Lord's return are accused of doing. While human logic might suggest such a possibility, God's wisdom commands otherwise.
God has not called His children to ever give up being the salt and the light of their generation. Though the prophecies predict terrible and wicked times on earth before Jesus returns, they also predict that God's Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh in the last days (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:2 Cool

. Our job is to represent our God and His Son on earth. This includes His love, His truth, His moral laws, and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not so foolish as to suppose that we are going to convert the whole world. Snatching souls from the fire is our business, usually one at a time. It may not make for revolutionary changes overnight, and may not even keep pace with the degree of evil in the world, but it is our business, and a good business it is. A single individual turned from darkness to light is worth more in God's economy than the wealth of the entire planet put together.
Reasons for Hope

There are some very real and very reasonable reasons for Christians to live in hope these days. These reasons are not anything especially deep. They are things every Christian knows (or should know), but we need to occasionally be reminded of them.

First, we can have hope because God is still on His throne. Yes, these are uncertain days and perilous times, but it is comforting to know that God has never yielded up His job as Ruler of the Cosmos. As Isaiah reported: "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain... He brings the princes to nothing, He makes the judges of the earth useless" (Isaiah 40: 22,23).
God may allow man a long tether with which to practice his wickedness, but the day is coming when all wrongs will be made right and wicked men will be held accountable for "the deeds done while in the body." Meanwhile even the wicked are still subject to the sovereign control of God. Behind the chaos and confusion, the people of God are comforted by the knowledge that even sparrows don't dare die without God's permission. When the dust of the tribulation has cleared, and the angels have blown their trumpets and poured out their bowls of God's wrath, not one jot or tittle of God's prophetic declarations will have failed. Our God is an awesome God.

Second, we can find great hope in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is still at work in the world. The work of evangelism goes on. Sometimes, when I consider how weak and feeble most of our efforts at soul winning are, it seems a wonder that anybody ever gets saved. Yet God's grace prevails, and the church continues to grow.
In Africa there were ten million Christians in 1900. Today there are over three hundred million Christians on that continent. Charles Spurgeon reported in 1860 that their church in London was the second largest church in Christendom, with just over 4,000 members. Today most cities in the U. S. have several churches larger than that. While many of the liberal mainline denominations are decreasing and their churches are closing, there is an explosion of growth among evangelical churches with lively worship and Biblical preaching. Despite the world's mockery and the disdain of the culturally elite, the Holy Spirit keeps right on working, and sinners continue to be drawn into the kingdom of God.

Third, we take great hope in the certainty that our Savior has not left the earth forever. He declared, "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself..." (John 14:2-3). Jesus is coming back soon!

He left us some signs to watch for. He told about great upheavals in nature, such as earthquakes, famines, and plagues. He spoke about widespread warfare and unrest among the nations. He predicted that lawlessness would increase, and people's love would grow cold. (Remember the chilling words of the Columbine killers, who laughed as they shot their fellow students and quipped, "I always wanted to know what this would feel like"?)

Jesus has guaranteed that He would not leave our world in chaos and misery forever. Though we have made this mess, He is coming to clean it up. With a powerful word from His mouth, He will banish the Antichrist and his followers to the outer darkness forever. With His saints He will preside over the universe's greatest cleanup operation. Nature shall cease her rebellion and come into subjection of the One who stills storms and commands fig trees. Jerusalem shall be made beautiful and become the joy of the whole earth, as she is honored by the presence of the great King of kings and Lord of lords.

These are exciting days in which to live. The shadow of the coming tribulation already covers the earth, but the promise of Jesus is sure: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:2 Cool

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