OMBS7/ Our only Hope is in Jesus

PRAYER - "Don't Settle For "Yes Or No" - Wait Till God Says "Yes"" The Corinthian Church was very dear to Paul. He wanted to visit them frequently. But he carefully weighed the will of God first. "When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? ...do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?" Paul refused uncertainty. We should resist ambiguous "yes or no" actions. Wait until God gives a definite "yes." God may want you to be somewhere else. 2 Corinthians 1:20 - "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God." PRINCIPAL - "A Spectacle To The World - Fools For Christ" Most modern "Christians" do not want to be a spectacle to the world. They do not want to be considered "different" or "weird." They want to blend in, be relevant, accepted, popular, compatible with their worldly friends. Worldliness loathes holiness. Holiness loathes worldliness. 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 - "God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake. ...we are despised. ...we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things." PRINCIPLE - "Required In Stewards: That A Man Be Found Faithful" A "minister" is "a subordinate, a servant." To whom? To Jesus Christ! Every minister of Christ is a SERVANT, a SUBORDINATE. That requires every whim and every desire to be in submission to the Lord. We are "stewards" (overseers, governors) of the mysteries of God. That demands absolute faithfulness - no double allegiances, no double standards, no betrayals. Are you a faithful servant and steward? 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 - "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." PROPHECY - "Saints Of God Will Judge Men And Angels" The Saints of God - washed in the Blood of Jesus, baptized in His name, filled with His Spirit, and begotten by His Word - will someday judge all other men and angels. 1 Corinthians 6:1-3 - "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?"

Our Only Hope Is Jesus Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. - Acts 2:26-27 More than 21 years ago, God said something to me that will mark my ministry forever. It was this: The only hope that any man has anywhere in the world is faith in Jesus Christ. In light of what's happening around us today, the truth of that statement is more painfully obvious than ever before. We are a generation with diseases no man can heal, with problems no man can solve. What fleeting successes we have are quickly overshadowed by new and greater crises. All too often, that's as true for believers as it is for unbelievers. It shouldn't be. But it is. Believers are being killed by the same diseases that are devastating the rest of the world. They're being plagued by the same problems. And many are walking around without hope—just like the rest of the world. Why? Because the only hope that any man has is faith in Jesus Christ. And the majority of Christians don't know how to live by faith. Instead of being filled with the Word and with faith, they've been stuffed full of religious tradition and superstition. And they're suffering. When the devil hits them with sickness and disease, with poverty or depression or divorce, they often stand by helplessly as it destroys them. They simply don't know what else to do. The Bible says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6). But you know. Your hope is in Jesus. Trust Him. And tell the world—their hope is in Him too.

Plan of Salvation read acts 2:38