If In This Life Only

Praise the Lord, everyone. If you want to know where Eurasia is, just look at the book of Acts and uh ask ChatGPT and uh you can start to underline a lot of locations in the book of Acts. I did that exercise just the other day. I got a new Bible and and I took a purple highlighter and I just wanted to every time I read one of those words, I wanted to know that that was the country that I lived and worked in. And so you can put all that together, but we're so thankful for what God is doing in uh Eurasia, throughout all of our part of the world. Uh this church is a book of Acts church. And the book of Acts is happening all over the world. The book of Acts is happening all over the world. The gospel came at a key time in the kingdom. Jesus came the hope the spirit was poured out at a key time and some time has passed and we are once again >> >> at a key time when preparations have been made, roads have been built, methods have been worked on and it is all coming together for this pivotal moment that you and I find ourselves in. The other day I got a phone call from the other missionary that works with us and or that we work with and and uh to make a summary of a long story, they were gathered uh having a prayer meeting and and um some church or some police officers came and in course of time they left and left a padlock on the door. And uh that hasn't happened in quite some time if that has ever happened before for us. And so not knowing what to do, the missionary reached out to a pastor and the pastor was in a state assembly here in the United States and again to make the story much shorter, it was just a matter of hours that assembly prayed together. A senator came up and said well I can make some phone calls and it was just a couple of hours after that lock had been placed that uh my co-worker got the call saying we've taken care of it, we've made the phone calls and the lock will be off the door in the morning. >> >> When God orchestrates a thing, it's just taken care of. When we look at uh I can I can say some more things to put some other puzzle pieces in your mind that you can put together. When we begin to look at what is going on in our world today, yesterday, last couple of evenings, it may look like the chaos that the Bible talks about in the last days. It looks like the chaos. It looks like the uncertainty. And I'll be honest with you. Can I take a moment and be honest with you? As I begin to go and work with these people and minister to people who to be honest, live and lead a very different life, have a very different background than than mine. I thought, "Who am I? Who am I to to say these things to these people? Who am I to have a message of hope when I've not suffered like they've suffered? When I've not bore the pains that they've borne? When I've not necessarily lived in the fear that other people have lived in? But roads have been made and and things have been orchestrated and and I am no one. I am no one. But I am a representative of someone. 1 Corinthians 15:19 says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." There's some things that are implied in there. Yes, it will ask you to be taught from the summary of the whole, but there's some things that imply that are implied in there. >> >> And what's implied is that we do have hope in this life. We do have hope in this life. We can live a victorious life here on earth. We can live a life forever changed. We can live a life uh that has been healed. We can live a life that has been restored. We can be live a life that has just been utterly changed by the power of Jesus. In this life, we can have In this life, we do have hope. That is what Jesus came for. But if in this life only we have hope we are of all men most miserable. And so yes, we do preach hope in this life. Yes, we do preach redemption in this life. Yes, we do preach healing and provision and supernatural walking and following after Jesus in this life. But if in this life only if in this life only we had hope we are of all men most miserable. Colossians 3:1, this is this is the message. This is what changes lives. This is what the roads have been built for. And I'm telling you there are roads being built right now. There are roads being built right now that it doesn't look like it's a road being built, but I'm telling you that it is. And there are people rejoicing because there is about to be a harvest in the kingdom of God that nobody thought was possible. That nobody could have seen coming. Only thing we had was question marks, but God knew the end from the beginning. And there's doors being opened. There's lives that are ready to be transformed. >> >> You understand what I'm talking about. Colossians 3:1, if ye then being risen with Christ. That's in this life. If ye then being risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on the things of the earth. For ye are dead and your life is hid in Christ. Hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life no matter what happens to this immortal body, no matter what end our life comes to when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. If in this life only we had hope in Christ, do you have hope? Do you have hope in this life? We are not miserable. We are not miserable because our hope is not only in this life, but it is an eternal hope. We will live forever with Jesus, and I'm so thankful for that today.