Apostle Dr. Derrick L. Wallace

United States were not only affirmed but protected as well as the strides made by many nations throughout Africa, central and South America, the middle east and other parts of the world which obtained their independence from decades, if not centuries of colonization devolved into violence, division, war, corruption and brutality. All of which served to intensify the overwhelming sense that the world has and is becoming an increasingly dark and ungodly place as if the forces of darkness with their social and political agendas gain an increasing powerful grip on society. Even the governments of the world seems to have abandoned a sense of common decency as they promote policies and practices that become less and less aligned with what we once knew to be the foundations of not only our culture but more importantly our basic sense of who we are and what we stand for not just as Americans, but as humans and most certainly as Christians. 

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Even the increased political involvement of some with the Body of Christ has done little if anything to stem the tide of darkness which pushes us closer and closer to the spiritual adyss as the most immoral behavior that used to be hidden from the public view is now intentionally and proudly show cased and in some cases applauded as a form of self expression without regard to the dangers they pose or the consequences to either our moral fiber.  For many this has resulted in longing for “the good old days” or “the old Church” both of which represent a place in time when society was governed by both spoken and unspoken rules that served to protect us from the worst of mankind or at least keep it hidden so that we could close our eyes and pretend that it did not exist or in the alternative a time when social norms and spiritual traditions ensure that those who violated our traditions or our sense of what is appropriateness when sufficiently shamed and ostracized that the darkness would remain in it closet. Which in turn help assure us that we were not only righteous but also and perhaps more importantly morally superior. 

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However, what some have discovered and other refused to admit is that the our hope in both our societies and the norms upon which it is, or at least was based has always been misplaced and what is worse the seemingly consistent dismantling of everything we placed our hope in was inevitable. Although few will publicly acknowledge this fact and fewer still understand why. In some circles the realization of the devolution of society has given way to a new hope, a hope not based on the spiritual renewal of this world but rather a hope to its rapid end. Many who find themselves with this group look at what they view as the collapse of society and the series of global events that fill the news as support for their belief that we are now in the last days and the second coming of Christ is on the horizon, so much so the there has emerged with the Church an entire vein of prophets and prophetic people who search scripture in an attempt to line current events up with Biblical prophecy in order to determine when Christ is schedule to return in an effort to provide hope to those who believe that have lost hope in the Church and believe that society has become so dark that the only hope is their immediate rescue. However, this hope is equally misplaced because regardless of how desperate some may feel many of the Key Biblical prophecies have not been fulfilled, and the idea that any prophet has the ability to predict or has been given the revelation of the timing of Christ’s return is without Biblical support. 

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In both of these instances for those who want to hold society and the world to standards which they believe will produce righteousness and those who simply hope to escape it their struggles stem from the same condition, a condition that far too many in the Body of Christ suffer from, the disappointment that comes from placing hope in something other than Christ Himself. As Christians any hope we place in anything other than Christ is not only misplaced but borders on idolatry and will lead us into disappointment, disillusionment and despair, whether we place our hope in the economy, the government, society, or even or religious tradition, whatever we place our hope in other than Christ will fail.  In the Body of Christ today the Church has placed it hope money, success, fame, love, the government even ourselves and each and everyone has and will fail. Not only is Christ our only hope He is the hope of glory. 

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The Bible declares in Isaiah 43:7 that “even everyone that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” and Christ is the hope of that glory.  One of the most basis yet most comprehensive teachings in scripture is that we were made in the image of God, which is to be made in the image of Christ because Christ is the Glory of God and as a result all that we should hope to be and all we hope to accomplish is in Him. What that means is that our hope, our faith, out attentions should not be based on what is going on around us, but rather what is going on within us and from within us. What many in the Body have yet to realize is that while we are searching for external things in which to place our hope, it is God’s intentions that the world find their hope in Christ through us. God is calling us to shift our focus from the things in this world that we placed our hope in to assume our position as the avenue of their hope, a hope that the world cannot provide and apart from Christ will never understand. In Romans 12:1-2 the Apostle Paul speaks directly to this point when he admonished us to not be conformed to the image, (ways, customs, values, etc) of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can demonstrate the good, acceptable and perfect will of God and it is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God that we both see in Christ and that the world should see in us as Christ moves through us. The world is and will remain without hope as long as it is without Christ because within Christ are the mysteries of God revealed and it is these mysteries that the world longs for but cannot obtain and it is the absence of these mysteries that has resulted in the darkness that we are experiences and God foretold of in Isaiah 60: 1-4.  The prophet Isaiah draws a very clear distinction between those who are covered in darkness and those who live under the light of Christ and in the glory of God and if we look at the world in which we live we cannot deny the truth of his declarative word when he declared “ Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.” This the hope of His Glory, that we will be able to rise that despite the darkness that surrounds us, the darkness at consumes them we are called to rise, not because of who we are but because of who HE is and who we are called to be in Him and as we rise in Him His light will shine in us and His light shines in us they will be drawn to Him. This should be our hope that through us Christ will be glorified as He is seen in us.

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