AMERICAN APOCALYPSE
PART 3
Prologue
We are talking
about the four heavenly horsemen in this series, and have covered the first two--Salvation and Faith. If you have
studied the Book of Revelation, you know about the four evil horsemen.
They are described in Rev. 6:1-8. We are examining the four good
horsemen,
Salvation, Faith, Hope and Charity. We can liken this simile
to our Christian attempt to mount, ride and complete our journey.
Mounting is accepting Christ and Faith is learning to ride properly.
This third horse, Hope, is where we can get in trouble. You might fall
off while learning to ride, but in this advanced stage, you have to be
careful or you might be bucked off.
Part 3
Hope is described
as things desired or your wishes for things that may be obtainable. Like the other horses, Hope is spiritual
and thus cannot be seen. Everyone has hopes, and some of them may
cause a Christian grief. For example, have you ever had a serious
episode or disagreement with someone? If they were extremely
obnoxious, you may have some black cloud thoughts about them and their
future. Thoughts such as I "hope" they break a leg, or I
"hope" they fail miserably, or damnation, I "hope" they die. It is
difficult to control the carnal mind when we are in a state of distress.
Following in the footsteps of Christ is challenging at times. This situation
offers you an opportunity to grow in the Word. You may not be able to
stop the
wicked thoughts, but you can realize your problem and pray
for forgiveness and repent. You need to get a handle on the
carnal temper.
We usually equate
hopes with desires for good things we want to happen. God can do anything, so nothing is off the board.
However, we should be realistic to understand that certain hope
fulfillment depends on reason and God's plan and will. A short boy with
average
skills would be a long shot to become a player in the
National Basketball Association. God could use such a boy to
demonstrate His power and guide the boy to something spectacular with the
ball, which would exalt God and lift up others as well as the boy.
This actually happened a couple of times last year when a
challenged high school boy with the team as a helper rather than a
player got to play a couple of minutes at the end of a game. He was on
fire, and canned every shot he took from all over the court. This was
a one time occurrence, but illustrates how easy it is for God to
fulfill a hope. The boy didn't expect to play in the NBA, and what he was
able to do in that brief exhibition served to inspire those who
watched. It also strengthened the boy to BELIEVE (have Faith) in being able
to accomplish other things in life.
We are warned to
be careful what we wish or hope for. There are sometimes consequences we don't foresee in the future
because we don't have any experience in the subject. To be a success as
a movie star or singer requires a rigid regimen and lots of time.
Your work may actually control your life. It's rare that a star
performer has a satisfying personal life. Money and fame are not in themselves satisfying. Personal relationships suffer. The hope to be
rich is quite common. Having lots of material wealth is no guarantee you
will have peace and satisfaction. If there is no specific purpose for
fulfillment of your hope, God may not grant it.
As a Christian, we
usually forget that there are two players in the subject of Hope. Both are invisible, and both have
"super" powers. Do you remember the other player from Matt. 4:1-11? Satan
can bless those who follow him, and he can give a person almost
anything. If Satan tempted Jesus, don't you think he will go after
everyone, especially a person who is willing to accept Christ? Satan
can richly reward someone who agrees to worship him, including, money,
power and fame. If Satan knows your specific hope, he can zero in
on you. He will use you as long as you perform well for him, but you
should know the end isn't eternal life, but endless hell.
If your hope is
something that will serve the Lord and place Him as the One who is exalted, you are on the correct track. If
the hope gives you the opportunity that will exalt you, there is need
for study of the four gospels. Christ gave all the credit for things
He did to the Father. If we can't do that, we are not Christians. That's
why it is wrong for a wealthy person to have his/her name on a
building built with his/her money. That is exalting the person. After all,
all things, including money, are God's. And, it's a good bet the wealthy
person used the donation as a tax write off. It wasn't a sacrifice
or a tithe. God knows the reasons and the intent. He warns us in the Ten Commandments that He is a jealous God. When we claim credit for something, we establish an "idol" situation.
How many times have you heard "I idolize him/her?"
Hope is important
in a Christian's life. You see, however, there are pitfalls if you aren't careful to stick to Christ's
teaching. Your first and most important goal should be to be Christlike.
Most of us, including me, tend to move a few other things to the top
and concentrate more on specific carnal things. This is
especially true for younger people who are learning about the carnal world.
There are certain attractions that move Christ and scripture to
second
place upon occasion. I'm guilty of this, but I have
discovered that most of these attractions become muted or lost with age. The
older we get, the more likely we understand the fleeting
"glory" of such things as a football game. There's nothing wrong with
entertainment as long as the hope to watch a game or television program
doesn't overshadow a Christian duty.
Keeping in mind
that becoming Christlike is the top priority for Hope, there is no limit on other possibilities. You should
consider that God will not likely fulfill a particular hope unless
you are properly prepared for any responsibilities that fulfillment
will require. We all have at least one gift of the spirit, and
development of a gift can fulfill a hope. Like anything else, a gift of
the spirit should include preparation and continued effort to improve
your ability to use the gift. If you hope to be a teacher, and
you possess the gift of teaching, you need to study the material you
will be teaching. There are more common hopes such as hoping to find a husband or wife, raising children to be positive citizens,
having a comfortable home and good job. These do not usually
require special training, but fulfillment may be enhanced by
spending time
reading others' experiences or taking courses in subjects
such as child rearing.
This is not to say
you shouldn't have what we shall call "exotic" hopes such as becoming a recording artist, actor or
professional athlete. These may be gifts but, like others, probably will
require extensive training. Common sense needs to be applied as
well. For example, you should think twice before hoping to become
the president of our country or a similar position. For some
things like these, your hope must be matched with extremely hard work to prepare you for unknown rigors. This means you must keep in
sight your primary responsibility of serving God before adding a
further responsibility to fulfill a possible career hope. This is
especially
important if you have hopes of becoming a leader in
anything.
A leader must
follow Christ's teaching in the four gospels and control personal desires for leadership. The power of being
a leader is similar to the power of money. It tends to corrupt. In
both instances, a person must overcome the carnal satisfaction of having
others agree to a strict position and attitude. This is a mistake,
because Christ taught that religion and human rights are by choice,
not by rules and laws. Some hopes, such as a specific career, can
cancel out other hopes, including happiness, marriage and family.
There is much truth in the adage "be careful what you wish
(hope) for, because it may come true." All the conditions that
accompany the fulfillment may not be pleasant. There is only one hope
that will always be free of unwanted conditions, and that is
Salvation and being Christ-like. If you follow Christ's footsteps, you
will be led to eternal life. That is the Hope to hope for. Part four
of this study will be on Charity, the most misunderstood of the four
good horsemen.
Rev. Walbear
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