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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Dare to Believe   CURRENT TV SERIES Dare to Believe

You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  --James 5:8 Yesterday we talked about how the great story of Noah and the ark illustrates the truth that Christ is our ark of salvation and deliverance in whom we find safety and security. Today I want us to look outside of the ark, so to speak, and see that just like Noah was delivered from the flood that beat upon the ark (which was God’s judgment and wrath against an evil world) so we will be delivered from His wrath that will be poured out against sin in the last days. Just as God spared Noah and his family in the ark, God will spare believers from the wrath of the end times. The Bible tells us that Christ will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  It also tells us that there will be no condemnation for those who are in Christ! The Bible also reminds us that believers will be caught up and rescued from the judgment that is to come. Christ wants us to know that there is absolutely nothing in this world or below it that will stop Him from coming for His people. But until that time comes, we are to live steadfastly and prepare for it by establishing our hearts firm in the Lord and His promises. Nobody but God the Father knows the exact hour when Christ will return, but we can be sure of the results! I hope you will live today as if you know the end of the story . . . because you do! Those who are in Christ will be safe in Him when He returns to judge this world. Assurance of Salvation by Dr. Paul Chappell “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:27–30 The noted evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman said that though he had been saved as a young boy, he struggled with assurance of his salvation. After hearing D. L. Moody preach, Chapman talked to him about his concern. Chapman said he was not sure of his salvation because, “I don’t believe I have faith enough.” Moody responded, “Who is it you don’t have faith in? Are you doubting Jesus Christ?” “Oh no! Oh, no! I’m doubting myself,” Chapman said. Moody replied, “Well, you are not the one who does the saving. If you don’t doubt Jesus, then leave it with Him.” With the culture around us fully committed to the task of undermining people’s belief in actual, objective, unchanging truth, Christians are tempted to begin doubting things that were once considered settled. And since Satan knows that a doubting Christian is unlikely to have any positive influence on the world around him, he does everything he can to reinforce doubt and uncertainty. The bedrock on which our assurance rests can never be shaken, for it is the unfailing promise of Almighty God. Since we did not do anything to earn or merit our salvation, we need not fear that we will do something to lose it. We do not have to live with the scourge of doubt and uncertainty regarding our destiny. Every child of God is completely and totally secure in His care on Earth just as surely as if we were already in Heaven.   Today’s Growth Principle:  When we recognize that our salvation is utterly dependent on Jesus, it allows us to rest fully in Him.