11/07/2025
Good morning!
When New Testament authors use the word āworldā there is a great deal of scholarship that suggests they are speaking about the āRoman world.ā
Into that āworldā of empire and victory through capital and military gain.
This is the āworldā that following the sermon on the mount separates you out of.
The Roman world put more focus on the leaders of empire and dividing humanity for political gain.
Sounds a lot like the American āworld.ā
Where is our hope as a church?
Truth is Iām not always joyful and optimistic about the present moment. But if I ever am, it is because of Jesus.
The world is messed upā¦
I donāt care what bubble you live in, somewhere near you people are suffering right now and being oppressed by evil.
Children are sold into s*x trafficking
Slavery still exists
Cancer runs rampant in our world
The cannons of war are always firing
And someday we are going to die
According to the story in the garden of Eden NONE of this should happen in Godās kingdom.
I say it often, that without Jesus, none of this would make sense.
If God had abandoned us to the evil of this world all hope would be lost and you would find me right there with the worst of themā¦
But God did not abandon us ā¦
God is literally on a rescue mission and you my friend are who He is seeking to save.
He is trying to save all of us from this world!
āFor God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.ā
āāJohnā¬ ā3ā¬:ā17ā¬ āESVā¬ā¬
Godās salvation is not of this world
What do I mean?
The world we live in is a world of empire and not of the kingdom of God.
Even with full belief in God and Jesus coming here to rescue us all, we are all left with the sober realization that things are still messed up down here in this world and in this kingdom.
Suffering is not just a possibility, itās a promise.
Itās hard for our sunshine western Christianity to understand that.
Godās salvation is not of this world, it is FOR this world.
Read that line againšš»
It is trusting in the idea that things are so totally messed up down here while at the same time, Trusting God is not going to leave it that way. Human and spiritual evil have become so intertwined that God literally needs to resurrect and re-create our whole world.
Or as Jesus saidā¦
āJesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'ā
āāJohnā¬ ā3ā¬:ā5ā¬-ā7ā¬ āESVā¬ā¬
Jesus understood that our hope is in the next world as He entered into our sufferingā¦
His suffering.
Jesus taught us to seek out āthe joy that is set before usā
The Joy in that next world, which is Godās kingdom here on earth as in heaven. This concept is all over the gospels.
ālooking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.ā
āāHebrewsā¬ ā12ā¬:ā2ā¬ āESVā¬ā¬
So back to the point of being joyful and optimistic.
We can rejoice now and here in the midst of all of this suffering because of the promise of the resurrection.
God gives us pockets of Eden and the ability to create them for others in this world as we wait for his kingdom to come here on earth like it is in heaven.
Iām grateful for each one of you that support this ministry so we can be about this work of creating pockets of Eden!
We have Hope when others are failing in the service of others.
Even in the face of death we can rejoice.
We can stare evil in the face and call out its ultimate defeat even as it still tries to ravage our world.
We are the bride and body of Christ working presently in this evil age as if we have already been transported to the Next with Jesus.
āeven when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christāby grace you have been savedā and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.ā
āāEphesiansā¬ ā2ā¬:ā5ā¬-ā7ā¬ āESVā¬ā¬
So today be joyful and optimistic not because of who you are or the world we live inā¦
Be joyful and optimistic because Jesus the king of Kings is on a rescue mission to save all of us and our world from the supernatural evil that has deceived us through empire.
Iām rejoicing because I get to experience this with awesome human beings just like you. This is a community and we are all a part of this together.
Please know that I pray for you and Iām so grateful for all the support and encouragement that comes in from across the globe.
