Saturday, March 26, 2016

SORROW AND SIGHING SHALL FLEE AWAY

(Isaiah 35:10) And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 51:11-15
(11) And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(12) "I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,
(13) and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
(14) He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.
(15) I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of hosts is his name.

There is a day coming when Israel will be restored to God, and all they have endured of God's wrath, as well as the oppression of the nations who all come against them, will be turned around, and God Himself will comfort, secure, and forever wipe away their tears. These promises were to the nation of Israel. And God never fails to keep His promises. His promises to His church also assure us that there is coming a day when every tear will be wiped away from our eyes...all those who have come to know Jesus Christ, as well as the remnant of Israel, will in that day, find His everlasting salvation through Christ alone. Ultimately God brings all things together under Christ in the end (Ephesians 1:9-10). There will be an end. That is, there will be an end to sorrow and sighing and all things evil and everything that causes oppression, depression, anguish, and despair.

Revelation 21:1-7
(1) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
(2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
(4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
(5) And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
(6) And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
(7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

There is a resurrection, and that only because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was the only One able to save us. He alone was perfect, holy, and true. He alone was able to take on our sin, in our place, and fulfill all the righteousness of the law. Now He is risen. And those who trust in Him are risen with Him, even now in their stand before Him, with the promise of eternal life that no man can take away. No one is able to snatch us out of His hands. They would have to reach up into Heaven itself and somehow destroy the work of Christ, which can never be done. It is finished! Praise the Lord! What is risen in Heaven, is risen forever. It cannot be thrown back down to earth or undone because it is hidden in Christ Himself and His resurrection (Colossians 3:1-4). Our life is in Him, and it is there secured forever. So now we rejoice in that hope of glory, even as we suffer in our unredeemed fleshly bodies here below awaiting His return and that final redemption.

Romans 5:1-5
(1) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(3) Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
(4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
(5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

This is why Christians for centuries would rather face unspeakable tortures and death rather than deny Him. This is why communists, socialists, fascists, and ISIS can never defeat Christianity no matter how many Christians they slaughter. This is why we face the tsunami of evil forces in this world right now and the blindness and the unspeakable craziness and do not give up hope and do not fear what is coming. If we are in His Word, we know what is coming. It saddens us, because we see their judgment and their horrible end is coming soon for them even though they are having their evil day now. Rather than give in to the anger and rage against them, we fight them with spiritual weapons of warfare, with truth, with prayer, with His love, with standing in the full armor of God against the evil day, because we are sure and firm in the finished work of Jesus Christ, knowing nothing they do can hurt us. They can't even take us out of this world unless the Lord says, "time to come home my child." It may appear they are winning but they are not. God's purposes will prevail. The enemy thought He was destroying God's plan in Jesus Christ when he crucified Him. But what he meant for evil God turned for good, and for salvation of the world...whosoever will. In the unspeakable evil of the Holocaust, which was a work of satan and his hosts, God brought forth the nation of Israel once again, in order to fulfill His promises of salvation to His chosen people in the end times, and finish the salvation and redemption of the world. Even now, what the enemy means for his unspeakable evil and terror, as we trust in God, He will use for good, to reveal Himself to mankind - as a Savior to those who believe in Him, and as a righteous judge to those who refused.

We have the hope of His glory through the power of His resurrection. We not only have that hope for one day in the future, but we have that living hope with us day by day as we walk this earth. That hope and that resurrection power lives in us. The more we let go of this world the more we realize it's power and the more power we have in our lives to stand against fear, against evil, and against all that would come against Jesus Christ. The enemies greatest weapons are his lies and deceptions, and fear. Once we have victory over these, there is not one thing He can do to us. This is true freedom. This is the freedom that comes through the power of His resurrection when He lives in our hearts.

Many people talk about a loved one living in their heart. "Aunt Mildred is not gone, she'll always live in my heart." But Aunt Mildred is not present, and she is not capable of giving you her spirit, and she cannot live in your heart, really. You may retain your memory of her and that memory lives in your heart. But when Jesus comes to live in our hearts, it is not His memory. It is not a mental thing or an emotional thing. It is reality. He gives His Holy Spirit to those who put their faith in His forgiveness through His blood, and in His resurrection for their justification. When He arose from the dead, He did not leave us alone in this world to make it ourselves, just on our own power. He gave us His own power. He gave us His Spirit to indwell us, so that just as He walked in this earth, relying on that power and on His Heavenly Father, we have the very same access and power. The very same Spirit in Christ that raised Him from the dead now dwells in every true born again child of God, enabling Him to overcome the powers of death in this world (Ephesians 1:11-2:9).

Don't place your hope in things that will fail you. The arm of man will fail you. Political leaders will fail you. Laws of men will fail you and be disregarded, broken, and changed. But there is One Who will not change, and Who knows all, and Who will do just what He foretold He will do, carrying out every promise and every Word to the end, until sorrow and sighing shall flee away, and all things that hurt will be destroyed.

It is only because of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior that we can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. That glory is our glory, and our hope, and our eternal promise. Praise the Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

If you want to know more about this salvation and are not sure you are going to Heaven, you can know. His Word assures us how we can know. Click here to read more.

2 comments:

  1. How can I get your recipes on the low-0 carb foods

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