Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1 v 5: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."
The times we are living in today are tough, but permitted by God to prepare us for what is coming upon this world soon. The state of the world causes people to draw near to our Saviour for assurance of rescue. It also informs us of greater hardships to come as government slogans are saying A Better Life For All. It's a lie from Hell.
The "last days" refers to the last two days equal to 2000 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus. (One day is like a 1000 years). In these last days the Holy Ghost has been sent as the Father promised, to equip us with gifts like tongues and prophecy to help us through the tough times.
Our gospel comes with power. Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, opened blind eyes while walking among the people of Israel. Then He preached to them because He had their attention. He healed incurable diseases like leprosy, epilepsy and blindness. These miracles gave them hope and gave His gospel power.
Acts 1 v 9 - 11: "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Jesus told them He would come back but even He did not know the exact timing of it. There were four blood moons in September 2015 that got people predicting His coming was imminent. Ten years later another eclipse and blood moon has people expecting His return at the Feast of Trumpets on 23-24the of this month too. Anything can happen but the prophecy of Joel has not been fulfilled yet.
Joel 2 v 28 - 31: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come."
God has said He will pour out the Holy Spirit on all flesh. That will be an utterly amazing revival that would give hope and assurance to the whole world. We are seeing it happen in prisons, on campuses, and especially in the youth. It's not "all flesh" yet but things are looking up.
That last verse speaks of the great and terrible day of the Lord. The Tribulation will last about 7 years. Jesus did say the days would be shortened to save lives. The last half of Great Tribulation is called "The Wrath of the Lamb". Jesus is the Lamb of God and His anger is going to be poured out on those millions or billions that rejected Him as the Son of God and their Saviour. It is going to be a terrible time of suffering here.
The assurance is that the faithful followers of Jesus will be taken to meet Jesus in the skies above Earth. We will be united with Him ready to come back to rescue Israel at the time of Armageddon.
After He ascended 2000 years ago the Holy Ghost came down upon His disciples in the Upper Room. They heard a sound of a mighty wind but the air was still. With all His gifts came the ability to do all Jesus had done and even greater works than these.
Jesus was confined to one place and time without any modern media. We have Jesus in our hearts; many millions of hearts everywhere. We have social media which has enhanced the spread of the truth about Jesus into lands where Bibles and missionaries are forbidden.
We have much assurance from our Lord that our prayers are heard and answered; we witness the healings; deliverance from drugs and alcohol and other problems. We know Jesus will return as He promised and we know the time is not far off. Many do not know or understand what is happening or the significance of it. That is our work for the kingdom - to be ambassadors who spread the advantages of our home country (Heaven) around the world.
We need to share the gospel; the power; the Holy Spirit to give them much assurance for the trials which lie ahead. We have a testimony, a faith, a love that will uplift and encourage those in need. If you have been saved many years and your only testimony is about how you got saved, you need to be more pro-active. Share these Bible studies or study the Bible and write your own but don't vegetate.
The Holy Spirit gives us much assurance that He is with us. His gifts are powerful and the more we use them the more powerful they become. The Antichrist is rattling his weapons that bring fear, doubt, panic and worry, however Jesus assures us that He has everything under control. We are His army with far more powerful weapons that are indestructible.
Those who had the Ark of the Covenant could never be defeated. We have One greater than the Ark who will live forever and so will we. We must not be passive in this spiritual war that has raged since before Eden. We must find our part to play and do it with diligence. We must continue to rescue souls out of enemy hands and give them much assurance of salvation.
Our only passport into Heaven is our personal relationship with Jesus. I know Jesus and He knows me, personally. It's literally not what you know but Who you know!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have kept every promise to us and this gives us much assurance. Help us to spread this assurance to the fearful and the lost. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to teach, comfort and help us. In Jesus' name. Amen.