Hebrews 12:1 Now faith is being
sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2This is what the ancients were commended
for
The Heroes we
read about in the Bible believed God’s promises and, when God speaks
of them, He commends them for their faith. But, they didn’t always
have faith. That’s reassuring to me because there have been times in
my life when my faith was not very active—when my views of the
future were pretty dismal.
But God has
changed that. I have begun to envision a good future like God
promises in Jeremiah 29:11.
But, this message is not
primarily about faith—although all messages are about some aspect of
faith. This message is about turnaround…reversal, which is
defined as: “the changing of something to an opposite
direction or state”.
Our lives are about to turn
around---make a u-turn. God is getting ready to reverse the
suffering and bring about the promise.
There is a
time of Turnaround in the life of every hero we read about in the
Bible. Likewise, there’s a time of turnaround for each of us.
Acts
7:9-10 9And the patriarchs, moved with
envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10And
delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and
wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him
governor over Egypt and all his house.
Joseph had a dream-and
then suffered incredibly. His dream was a big dream and he
really had to grow into it. He also had to be positioned for it. His life seemed to get worse and worse—from the
pit to slavery, from slavery to prison, but then came the time of
turnaround and he went from the prison to the palace. It was a
complete turnaround.
Jacob was a schemer and his
scheming brought upon him the very trickery and deception that he
used on others. But, God had given him a promise and Jacob had a
destiny. His time of turnaround came and Jacob the schemer became
Israel—a Prince with God. It certainly was a turnaround for him.
Abraham and Sarah were called out
and given a promise, but the years went by and the promise hadn’t
come yet. They tried to create it for themselves and, out of that,
came Ishmael. That didn’t work. Finally, when all hope seemed to be
gone, God did a creative miracle---or should I say "re-creative".
God restored Sarah's dead womb to life. Their time of turnaround had
come. Abraham looked at Sarah and Sarah looked at Abraham and out of
their love, the promise was conceived. Isaac was born nine months
later.
They all waited a long time
for their time of Reversal, but they didn’t wait in vain. Their
time came. And, here’s the great thing about it---their lives NEVER
went back to the way it had been before the Turnaround. Joseph never
went back to prison or slavery. Israel never went back to being the
schemer. Abraham and Sarah never again became childless (even though
God required Abraham to put Isaac on the altar).
Like the others, their lives completely turned around
YOU HAVE A TIME OF TURNAROUND
COMING. Your God-give dreams will be reborn and your destiny
will be fulfilled. You’ll go from the prison to the palace---from
barrenness to fruitfulness, and from being a Jacob to being an
Israel. Whatever stage of this you are in, it will be completed in
your life.
There are times and seasons in
our lives and there are also times and seasons in history. The
people who were alive when Jesus was born lived in a crucial
time—things were about to change. The world would never be the same.
They would never be the same.
We are living at a crucial time
in mankind’s history too. All you have to do is watch the news and
look at what’s happening in the world. I’ve read a lot of
prophecy—Daniel, Revelation, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Zechariah…etc.
I’ve also read quite a few books about eschatology---end time
studies. And, I’ve enjoyed reading fictional works about the time of
Christ’s return. What’s really eerie about that is that I’d be
reading something in one of the books and then turn on the TV and
watch the news; the very thing I was reading about would be
happening. It gave me the chills. But, not in a fearful way because
Jesus said when you see these things happening, “look
up, for your redemption draweth nigh”.
We are living in a time of
transition. We are living in a time of REVERSAL. Things are going to
change for us. Wait and see. You’ve gone through the things you’ve
experienced because God has been preparing you. It’s almost time for
things to change dramatically—for the good for us. Not for the good
for those who don’t know God, which is why, no matter what we are
going through personally, we have to be ready and willing to share
our faith—to share the Gospel, because God is not willing for any to
perish. He’s committed the Gospel to us and we have a debt to pay.
I’ll be honest with you; as much
as I look forward to all the wonderful things God is going to do in
my life and yours, I’d leave it behind in a heartbeat in order to be
with Jesus face to face. Wouldn’t you? But, I want Him to be able to
say to me “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the
Joy that I have prepared for you.” I want to know that I have run my
race and finished my course. I want to please God. So, I will be
content to wait and to “be not weary in well doing, for in due
season I will reap, if I faint not”.
WE WILL ALL REAP IN DUE
SEASON. It will be impossible to miss our purpose and our
destiny. Jacob was a schemer. Joseph had a bit of a problem with
pride and a big mouth. Abraham had quite a few problems with fear,
Moses was a murderer, and Paul was too. None of that stopped God
from working out His will in their lives. None of that stopped the
time of Turnaround in their lives.
The thing I’m going to urge in
this message is just wait, hope, and believe---even if you have to
say “I believe, help my unbelief”.
You are a child of God and God
is the author and FINISHER of your faith. He is the God of
restoration. He makes the barren womb to be fruitful and He changes
our character. He brings resurrection out of death and healing out
of sickness. He brings victory out of defeat.
You just wait. Your time is
coming. And while you’re waiting, love God, EAT His Word, pray
for those who are also suffering. And do all you can to encourage
others. Oh, and one other thing: don't be hard on yourself.
Sometimes we just need to have mercy on ourselves. God
loves you, so love yourself. Then you can love others.
If you really want to be blessed, check out
Bishop's Message:
