WNS-23
050515AM
Short Clip
The approach of the Pale Rider may be on the horizon according to the special report delivered at the United Nations on March 30th of this year.
Two-thirds of the world’s resources ‘used up’
The sound of the pale horse’s hoofbeats is getting louder. The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries – some of the world leaders in their fields, concludes that the human race has used up two-thirds of the world’s resources, most of it in just the last sixty years.
Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, claims that mankind is using up all of our natural resources. He produced a six-point indictment against the human race and declares that it will lead to the extinction of all life on earth.
Our God is a God of hope.
Living in hope is Christ’s plan for our lives today. But when we dig into the prophetic portions of God’s Word the future looks very bleak and hopeless.
So to balance what is coming–that Jesus so vividly describes, Paul exhorts the New Testament saints to learn to live in the hope that the Old Testament Scriptures can teach.
Paul never avoided explaining the prophetic events that were coming. He even teaches through the same passage we are studying (Matthew 24) in his very first epistles (to the Thessalonians). But he always balances those prophecies of doom with comfort and hope to live by. Turn with me to Romans 15:4, and please stand as we read God’s Holy Word to us this Lord’s Day.
Romans 15:4, 13 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Might have hope, the God of hope, and you may abound in hope! What a grand way to live!
The Hebrew language of the Old Testament [the “things were written before were written for our learning” in Romans 15:4] is a rich storehouse of words that define hope.
There are four Hebrew words that give us valuable insights into the many ways God can make us live in hope. Let’s examine these words and see how words were written thousands of years ago leap right into the twenty-first century and our lives.
• There is waiting or recharging hope.
Hope that waits until renewal comes.
Just like a charger for your phone, a cradle for your PDA—we plug into God’s truth, believe His Word waiting upon the Lord. Then He renews and recharges and refills us with His strength. Have you plugged into God’s Word and been still before Him this week on a regular basis and gotten your strength renewed?
• There is trusting or enduring hope.
Hope that trusts until understanding comes.
Are you unsure where you are today as far as God’s plan for your life? Do you ever wonder where God is headed with what He has planned for your future? Do you struggle with His timing and sometimes feel trapped? Then it is time to let His Word show you what to do while you wait just like Job, Noah, David, and Ezra learned. Have you found the rewards that come as you endure in faith, waiting in hope? This is like getting all packed and sitting on the bench for your flight. You know that when it is time you will go.