So
2016 comes to an end and the Church is still here. If you are a watcher like I am, I am sure you
are more than aware of all of the failed dreams, visions, and predictions of
the past year that claimed we would be gone by now. Something I learned as a small child and
something I am equally sure most of you have learned by now is that the greater
your expectations are, the more disappointed you are when it doesn’t come to
pass. As believers, our hope and
expectation is in the Lord and the rapture of the Church to be with Him forever
in our heavenly home. Yet although the
signs are all around us we finish another year still here on this earth
struggling with our feelings.
As
I thought about this, it occurred to me that there are three steps leading downward
we need to avoid at all costs, and by understanding what they are we can begin
to maintain our perspective and better cope with the situation we find
ourselves in as we wait patiently for our Lord.
It would appear to me that Paul might have been dealing with this in his
letter to the church at Philippi, and his advice to them certainly seems to me
to provide us some help while struggling with our feelings as we watch and
wait.
Disappointment
For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be
conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able
even to subdue all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:20-21 NKJV
Paul’s
first reminder to the church is that we have a promise from God that Jesus will
return to take us to heaven, the place prepared for us to live for eternity
with Him. When we accepted His gift of
eternal life, we became citizens of heaven and although we may be living on
this earth right now, it is but temporary and we have a promise from God
Himself that we need to remind ourselves of daily in order to avoid the
disappointment which can come from our having to wait. This earth is not our home, and we need to
focus on His promise rather than the disappointment of still being here.
Discouragement
Rejoice
in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness
be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:4-7 NKJV
Have
you found yourself becoming discouraged by having to wait so long for our
deliverance from this world? Have you
considered that discouragement is one of Satan’s best weapons against believers
who choose to watch for Christ’s return?
Disappointment, if left unchecked, leads directly to
discouragement. Have you ever noticed
that inside of the word discouragement is the word courage? One of the first
things that can happen to a discouraged believer is losing the courage to speak
of what he or she believes in. Paul says
to rejoice always! Have you talked with
God about your struggles? Have you told
Him you are disappointed and discouraged?
Paul says if we do, His peace will surround us and help us guard against
this downward spiral.
Despair
Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and
heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV
To
me, despair is the bottom of the emotional hole Satan wants all of us to fall
into. Despair is a total lack of hope,
and it is a result of focusing solely on the negative, and ignoring all of the
positive promises of God that are available to us as believers. Paul says here to meditate, the Greek word
for number, all the things God has done and promised to do for us. To combat despair, believers need to number
the many blessings we do have, and the future blessings we have been promised which
will help us regain the trust that we will receive that which has yet to be
given.
I
began this article by mentioning there were a few failed predictions of this
past year. To be truthful, I think I can
safely say that this year will also give rise to many failed predictions. As believers, we need to be especially
careful to focus solely on what the Word of God says, rather than what man
might say based on his own calculations and observations. Many predictions for this coming year are
already making news, and many of them concern astrological signs. I thought I would leave you with an excerpt
from an article by Jack Kelley written back in 2011 which contains some advice
many of us should take to heart as we watch for the rapture of the Church.
So how could an idea
like this one become so easily accepted by so many? It’s because as a Church we
are a people of zeal without knowledge. For several generations now our leaders
have consistently misinformed and misled us and we’ve been too lazy to search
the Scriptures on our own to see if the things they’re teaching us about the
End Times are true. As a result some who should know better can be fooled into
believing that applying astrology to the interpretation of Scripture is a
legitimate approach, even though its practice was a sin in Old Testament times
(Lev. 19:26 KJV).
Some of us want the
rapture to come so badly that we’ll believe anything we’re told that points to
an early fulfillment even though it’s certain to result in disappointment. Sure
the Bible says there’ll be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, but there have
always been such things, and history has shown that seeing them is no excuse
for ignoring sound doctrine. These signs are meant to support what the Bible
says, not replace what it says.
This is an
application of Paul’s warning that in the last days people would not put up
with sound doctrine but would gather around themselves teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth
and turn aside to myths. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)
So when someone comes
out with a new idea based on eclipses, or comets, or even Scripture, don’t
assume he’s done his homework. And that includes articles you find on this
site. Do what Paul told you to do and search the scriptures daily to prove
whether these things be true (Acts 17:11).
As the time grows
shorter there will be all kinds of false information bombarding us. Some will
be out of ignorance and some will be out of malevolence. Either way you could
easily become confused or discouraged. Do your homework. Make sure you
understand why no part of Daniel’s 70th Week, which begins in Rev.6, can take
place until the Church is gone.
I
can’t help but remember the words of an old hymn I learned in church as a young
believer which says simply, “I’m standing on the
promises of God.” Amen.
Keep
watching.
