Believers in Jesus Christ, that Holy One of God, have the unique position and possibility of keeping their New Year’s Resolutions because they have the greatest known to man on their side:
“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
And, this:
“…Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
It is no wonder that the enemy of our souls would target our foundations of faith. The psalmist acknowledges this when he notes, “If the foundationsare destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). The bottom line, the knot in the end of the rope for us is what Peter declared after many turned away, and Jesus asked, “Will you also go away?”
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68-69).
Let’s reach back, though, into eternity, before time began, and hook into those foundations that are detailed for us in the Holy Word and underlie all time and eternity:
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
“…In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:2).
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
It may appear to be a bit redundant that I repeatedly return to these particular verses for the truths they hold, but it is likewise testimony that those truths have not changed since the last time I quoted them.
Let’s go on, lest we forget other important essentials of our foundation:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).
And now, as for things to come:
“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13).
This promise, I believe, is the New Testament equivalent to Amos 3:7, above. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into “all” truth, not fragments here and there. Is that not what Paul relayed to the Ephesian elders, that he had not neglected to impart to them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)?
Then He says the Holy Spirit will tell us “things to come.” That is so worded that it cannot be missed—He will tell us things in advance of their appearance. No doubt but that is the foundation for Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”
What are some things, then, which have come to pass that were told of ahead of time? Two come to mind so gigantic that they must be acknowledged:
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’
“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’
“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’
“And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren, for with God nothing will be impossible’” (Luke 1:26-37).
Couched in the middle of this passage is also an advanced notification that this One to be born will also reign over a kingdom that will endure forever and ever, telling us of a millennial kingdom to come, followed by an endless eternity in His reigning authority. This is historical fact, that Jesus Christ was born into this world of mankind, prophesied centuries before His advent, a foundational center piece.
Another truth couched in that passage is the truth of the source of life in the womb and when it begins. If that which was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary was not the beginning of life for this mortal Person, then it is an issue beyond any conclusion of medical science.
Here this, liberal pro-abortionists, the life of Jesus Christ began in the womb at that moment of miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. To refute that, you have to refute the very Word of God, a position no sane person should ever want to embrace!
That second event that was told beforehand and now has come to pass is that promised restoration of the Hebrew people to their ancient homeland. They were scattered among the nations because of their rebellion against God.
We are reminded of God’s unchangeable promises that that physical land would be the inheritance of the physical offspring of Abraham through his son, Isaac, the son of promise. It raises the question that the “naysayers” must answer: Has God ever made a promise He did not intend to keep? (remember, He knows all things from the beginning.)
The long history of the Hebrew people and their on-again, off-again submission to God’s authority and His punishments for their disobedience make up the content of the Old Testament after the time of David. We see His promise of restoration never wavering because it was based on the integrity of God’s name and not their obedience:
“But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,’ says the Lord God, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes’” (Ezekiel 36:21-23).
“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all…” (Ezekiel 37:21-22a).
These two historical events, the birth of Jesus Christ on which our calendar and recording of time (i.e. B.C. – A.D.) is made, and the return of the Jews from the nations to their ancient homeland with a dated statehood declaration of May 14, 1948, testify of God’s integrity to keep His promises.
Things to come that the Holy Spirit has told us already are looming on the near horizon, waiting for God’s “appointed time”:
A confirmation of a covenant with many (Daniel 9:27);
The Rapture of the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:19—to 5:4);
The emergence of a man on a white horse, promising peace but bent on conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2);
The Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39.
Our enduring foundation is that Blessed Hope of His coming, a hope both sure and steadfast, an anchor of the soul, and which enters into that holy place of God’s presence (Titus 2:13 & Hebrews 6:19).
Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com