With Us To The End of the Age
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Picture the disciples frustrated, depressed and confused after the crucifixion, exclaiming, “What are we to do now that the Master is gone?” Suddenly there’s a desperate banging on the door. It’s Mary. “I’ve seen Him, I’ve seen My Lord.”, she cries elatedly. Soon afterwards they go to Galilee in response to His message that He would meet them there. Imagine how their faces must have dropped when He told them He would soon ascend to the Father …They must have been greatly relieved when He promised “…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (NLT) Jesus told them that even though He wasn’t going to be there bodily He would be with them by the Holy Spirit always.
The Reality of the Presence of the Holy Spirit
That means that, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, the Holy Spirit is right there, available to us, with us. Sometimes we think that the Holy Spirit is only really with us when we feel His presence. But we’ve got to stop relying on feelings and really start believing the fact that it doesn’t matter how spiritual you are feeling, or whether or not you feel His presence, that God Himself is right there with you all the time.
In Extreme Darkness Light stands out even more
There A missionary I met in the Philippines told me that she had been ministering in a village for seven years with no one accepting Jesus as Lord. Everything changed for her when one night the Assistant to the village spiritist came to her house. The Assistant told the missionary that she couldn’t take that lifestyle anymore but everyone who had tried to leave the spiritist’s service had been found mysteriously killed the next day with no human intervention, but by the evil spirits that the spiritist cursed them with. The missionary explained that she could come into her house and they could pray all night and that the name of Jesus is powerful enough to protect her if she asked Him into her life. So the girl agreed. News got around the village that she had left the spiritist and so they all waited nearby the house in the morning to see if in fact the girl had survived. When the girl burst out the front door completely healthy, many people in the village immediately wanted to know who this Jesus was and committed their lives to Christ. It’s important to be relevant, but let’s never just have relevance and no power, let’s have relevance and power.
So even if God sends us to the darkest, most corrupt and spiritually unclean places on earth we should go with confidence that His presence goes with us. That doesn’t mean we should impulsively rush off trying to shut down witches covens! When we go to places that God sends us, led by the Holy Spirit, we are not alone and don’t go in our own strength. Thank God the promised Holy Spirit is the very presence of God Himself.
May we all be even more aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our daily lives and may many lives be impacted as a result.
With our love and prayers,
Pastors Phil and Caroline.
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