Hope As An Anchor

After a couple months away, we’re back with a powerful new episode: “Hope As An Anchor.”

In a world filled with uncertainty, struggle, and shifting ground, we dive into what it truly means to anchor our lives in something unshakable. This episode points us back to Scripture, reminding us that real, lasting hope isn’t found in circumstances—but in Jesus Christ alone.

No matter what you’re facing, there is an anchor that holds. ⚓️

Episode brought to you by Christ Community Church of Davis County & Pulaski Mennonite Church

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello everyone and welcome back to a new episode of Learning Theology. My name is Pastor Jacob Stanholm, and alongside with me, my partner in the gospel, my partner in Christ, my brother in Christ, Pastor Jeff Cummings. This podcast is brought to you by the Christ Community Church of Davis County, as well as the Pulaski Mennonite Church. And it has been a long time since we've been able to record and release an episode. And so we do apologize for that, but man, life came like a lion the last month for both of us. It's been so busy. I'm dealing with some sickness and some other things that we'll get into here in a little bit. But before we continue, I do want to ask you, Jeff, since it's been so long, how are you doing? I'm doing good.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Um, there's a lot going on. I was at a conference and I'm taking a class right now, but things are going well. And it's always good to remember that no matter what is thrown at us, we have Jesus Christ with us that walks alongside of us in the midst of the ups and downs and the good times and bad times of life.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Amen. Well, it's a pleasure to record this episode again with you, Jeff. I'm so glad that we've been able to find the time again to come together and to record this. And that's the focus for today is even in the midst of busyness, of hardships, and tribulations that we go through, understanding the importance of sticking with Jesus. But before we get too far into that, I want to encourage us to say a word of prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell with us in this episode. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you and we praise you for giving us this opportunity to speak your truth and Lord to have this awesome conversation with each other and for others in the community and all around who would listen to this episode. Lord, I do pray for your Holy Spirit to dwell within us, God, that that your Holy Spirit will speak through us, that that He will give us the right words to say, and that anytime we discuss theology or the Word of God, that it will be words of truth that are spoken, not words of falsehood, God. And so we thank you so much for this opportunity. And Lord, I pray that those who listen to this will grow closer with Christ, God, and that you receive the glory from it. We don't want the glory, we don't want the money, we don't want anything that comes with something like this or with having any sort of a platform. God, we want you to have the platform. And so, Holy Spirit, we we give you this episode, we give you this next hour. Um, do with it, Lord, as you see fit. Thank you, Lord, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. All right. Well, as we said a little bit ago, it has been super busy. A lot has happened within the last month, and as I'm looking at my calendar, we are, as many churches celebrate it, or remember it, I guess you could say, on February 18th, we did start the season of Lent. I like to call it the resurrection season. February 18th was Ash Wednesday. And I always say, when when this season starts, when we come closer to Easter and Resurrection Day, spiritual warfare increases. Because I believe this is the devil's least favorite time of the year because we are remembering when he was conquered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But even before that, let me go back even farther. January 1st, 2026, we have a new year, and every time we have a new year, there's new excitement in the air. There's disciplines that we want to follow. But what I have found, I was talking with my sister at the beginning of February, and this year has been heavy. For example, I'll just speak on it myself, on some of the things that that I've been going through. So right before Christmas, this one's minor, but right before Christmas, I was being foolish, and these two bone and pork chops would not come apart. And so I'm like, I put it in the microwave, I'm running under hot water, I'm doing all these things, and then here I get a knife, and I'm gonna be I'm and I'm always I used to work in the meat department, and so I know never put your hand underneath the knife, never cut towards you. But in my impatience, I was trying to trying to cut the pork chops apart, and then for one second, I put my hand underneath the pork chops and the knife cuts my ring finger. And so I go into the ER for that, I get stitches for that. A couple weeks later, I have this insane amount of pain on my right side, and it was so painful. I was on December 21st, I remember. I I had to go into the hospital on the ER and found out that I had a kidney stone. So I was out for a couple days there. By the grace of God, he gave me strength and healing to make it through the Christmas season and New Year's. But then on January 4th, I realized that kidney stone hadn't come out yet. And after church, I had even more pain. And so I had to go back to the ER for that. Finally, that kidney stone is gone. A few weeks later, my grandfather passes away. And we go up to Sheldon to remember him. I was given the opportunity to give his eulogy, and so that was an honor, but also it was challenging. And then one month later, my wife and I go through some painful things. And I'm just to respect her, I'm not gonna go into great detail on this podcast, but as a family, we went through some tough things, and and then our community. We've dealt with a lot of loss within our community here in Davis County recently, and it's just it's been heavy. And now the most recently, not just individually or local community, um, but we are we also see what's going on nationally, we see what's going on globally. Minneapolis has been in the the news so much last month with everything going on there. Right now, with the global conflict happening with Israel, America, and Iran, there are so many things that have caused my mind to just be so blurry and cloudy. But nonetheless, some of those personal issues, um, and like Pastor Jeff said, he went to a conference. Those are the reasons why we just couldn't have our podcast the last month. There's been a lot of stuff going on. Um, but today I want to focus on hope. Um, but before we we do that, I do want to let Pastor Jeff say a few words too. I want to ask him, how has your year been so far, 2026?

SPEAKER_01 7:00

So far, I think things are going pretty well. Life comes at you so many different ways. As we see with the things that you're talking about, the challenges of life, and things happen. You know, you get caught with a knife, you know, things are unpredictable, and and life is sometimes unpredictable. And it's um about perspective. Um, and we all have to navigate challenges. My life's been pretty good. It'll start off the year 2026. I feel like the the church that I'm at, I see God moving in it, and my prayer is that I can help that to kindle that fire, but also that it continues to grow. And I know you have similar experiences in your church, Pastor Jacob. So that's that's all good stuff. And then there's been some sickness in my family, but that's to be expected with winter months and flus going around. And I know a lot of people in the community have been sick. So we just keep praying, you know, that God will move in the midst of it. The conference I went to was awesome, talking about Jesus Christ, talking about his death and resurrection, and talking about the hope that he gives us, and that we need to be sharing that good news with as many people as we possibly can each and every day. And it was encouraging and inspiring and uplifting. The class I'm taking, it never hurts to be challenged in in what you believe or what you think. So it's always good to be challenged and to discern and to contemplate what we believe about any given thing, and good to learn. So those that that's kind of what's going on in my circle at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Awesome. Yeah. Well, I'm so glad that things are going well, but having the flu, being sick, that's not fun. Because I know you were on vacation too when you got the flu. So yeah, that's no fun at all. And yeah, the Holy Spirit is definitely moving. You know, in the midst, I was just talking with our secretary at our church yesterday. Yeah, there's been a lot of darkness happening, um, there's been a lot of struggle, but there has also been a lot of great things too. God is still there, and the Holy Spirit really is moving. There are some awesome things happening at our church too. And yeah, I've heard of a lot of a lot of awesome things happening at at the Pulaski and Mennonite Church. And I know from other churches here in the community. I mean, the the spirit is definitely moving, and for that, we can be grateful. And all the things I went through, I know don't even measure up to some of the things that many have gone through, of course. But you know, regardless of what we go through, the old saying is true. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And I'll even take one further. If you know Jesus, even what does physically kill you only changes your address and you start life eternity. I mean, that's so really, as Paul said, to live is Christ and to die is gain. For I long, this is in Philippians 1, for I long to be with Christ, which is by far better, but because I am still here, it is for your benefit. We are still here because God has a purpose for us, and that's why we are gonna keep glorifying and praising him and hoping to be obedient towards him. I do want to ask you another question, Jeff. I I'm not gonna ask you at all to get political. I'm not gonna ask you to talk about prophecy right now or anything, but I just want to get your feeling on what's happening in our nation, what's happening on a global scale. Because we're talking about hope today. I I guess for me, what I have seen on social media, and there have been some little things that have happened for me that have really I've had to check myself to ensure where my hope lies. So I guess how are you feeling about everything going on?

SPEAKER_01 10:49

The world is a challenging place, you know. In 2025, we saw a lot of chaos going on in the world, and we see there's chaos going on today. There's wars and rumors of wars, and we see that playing itself out with Ukraine, we see that playing itself out right now with the United States and Israel and Iran. Um, sadly, that's the reality of this world, but we pray that we as the body of Christ, we're to pray for peace and we're to pray that that God moves in the midst, and that's our hope. So even with all the challenges that are going on in the world right now, and even with all the chaos going on in the midst, and even the challenges with leaders in the world, we don't put our hope in them, we put our hope in Christ. So I I I guess that's the perspective I try to come at it with. Now, some days I'm more successful than others with that. Sometimes I don't feel that as much hope in what's going on in the world than other times. And and sadly, you know, you always have to decipher out what's true and what's not. Sometimes it's easier to do than others. So, you know, put our hope in Christ and pray that our leaders and representatives of this country and leaders and representatives around the world will humble themselves and acknowledge Christ.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Amen. That's what it's all about. So I want to use that segue, as you said, you know, there are a lot of people. Well, we have to make sure that we're not being deceived, is what you said. So I'm gonna segue that here into our first scripture today in Matthew 24. And there is a pattern when I preach and when I speak, I like to start off with the heavy things, the hard things, and I like to walk into the glory and into the good things. All right. So I want to start with this as well as 2 Timothy 3, because I do think there is some as a believer in Jesus Christ, when we if we believe in what the word says, then I do believe we have to understand that what's going on around us is not unheard of. All right. This was written that this this was gonna happen. But I also have something else I want to say after I read it. But this is in Matthew chapter 24. I'm gonna read a few verses here. The disciples are asking Jesus, when do we know when the temple is gonna be destroyed and brought back up? When do we know when when you are gonna return in the end of the age? And Jesus says to them, See to it. This is Matthew 24, verse 4. See to it that no one deceives you. So, right there, as you said, we have to make sure we're not deceived. Um, verse 5, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed. That's a big line right there, the underline. For those things must take place. But that is not yet the end. I'm gonna say that again. That is not yet the end. Okay? For nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there are merely the beginning of birth pains. This is the beginning of birth pains. Then they will deliver you to tribulation and they will kill you, and you will be hand hated by all nations because of my name. Now understand Jesus is speaking to the disciples directly right here, and all the disciples, except for the disciple John, who has attempted to be martyred, all of them were martyred. Okay, they were killed in brutal ways. Um, they were delivered to tribulation. Um, and then verse 10 and at that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. We're seeing that today. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many. I was just telling Pastor Jeff um in September and October, the rapture is supposed to take place. We're still here. So many false prophets saying that the rapture, that the day of the Lord is coming, it didn't come. And that's because in Matthew 24, verse 36, he tells us no one knows the hour, including us, including you. And because lawlessness is multiplied, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Praise God. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed to the whole world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. So, what I want to say about this, Matthew 24, I am seeing this all over the place. Pastor Jeff and I were just talking about when things like this happen, when when countries start bombing other countries, when we start seeing people in our own nation, we start seeing these horrible things like shootings and and stabbings, and people were hating each other. Democrats, Republicans, we just hate each other. We think, oh, Jesus is coming tomorrow. Like he's coming so soon. Well, two things I want to say to that. Number one, you have to realize horrible things that we just read have been happening for a long time. Look at our nation as America, because it seems like we are very close-minded in thinking of the end of times. We put America as the top echelon. Um, the American went through a civil war. Way back when, you know, the love of many will grow cold, they will kill each other, they will hate each other. Well, that's what happened back in the time of the Civil War. You look at World War I, you look at World War II, wars and rumors of wars. I'm sure at many times people who followed Christ back then were reading that and reading Matthew chapter 24 and thinking perhaps Jesus is coming soon. Now, I do know though, we are continuing to see more earthquakes, we are continuing to see the love of people grow very cold. We're seeing people celebrate and laugh at people's death. That grosses me out. And the reason why we're seeing all these things in a grander scale is because of technology, it's because of social media. And so we have a better, we can see it more. We're understanding really how cold the world has been for a long time. And so, what I want to say is, I don't want you as a believer to be so caught up in the devastation that we miss out on the glory of what God is doing in our lives right now. What's most important right now is coming to know Jesus. It's not figuring out when he's returning. I think we should all be prepared for his return as if it's coming in an hour. I think we should come to know Jesus. So if I were to skip ahead a little bit, verse 36 of Matthew 24, no one will know the day or the hour. Not even the angels of the heaven, nor even the Son, Jesus, but the Father alone knows. And he goes on to say that we need to be ready. You know, if a person knew when so in verse 42, stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. If some if someone who lived in the house knew when the thief was gonna come, he was gonna he would stay up all night waiting and preparing for the robber to come to his house. That's what Jesus is saying in this parable. But the thing is, we if we believe that Jesus is returning, we need to live like he's coming at any moment. That's the thing. He could come tomorrow. Are you ready? He could come in one thousand years. Will your ancestors be ready? And so we need to be careful of focusing so much on the end times, and right now we need to be focusing on Jesus Christ because he is the hope. And I was gonna dig into 2 Timothy 3, but that's just continuing on. Paul speaks to Timothy about all the things that will come when the end times come. And every single one of them that Paul speaks to Timothy is happening. We see it today. And so, Pastor Jeff, I'm gonna say this I believe we're in the end times. Okay? I believe we are in the end times, but I am not so sure that the seven-year tribulation has kickstarted yet, if that makes sense. I think we're seeing the beginning of the birth pains. I think we are seeing signs. I mean, it's been over 2,000 years since Christ died and resurrected and ascended into heaven. It's been a couple thousand years, but I've talked to so many people about you know about time. I am not gonna fall into the trap of trying to guess when he's returning. My focus is trying to help others in the church, in this community around the world come to know Jesus in case he comes tomorrow. But what are your thoughts on this? What are your thoughts on Matthew 24? What are your thoughts on what the believer should do right now as we prepare for his coming?

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Well, I believe Matthew 24, verse 14 kind of gives us the script of what we should be focusing on. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached into the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come. We need to be focusing on getting the gospel message out into the world. That's what that's what we can do, that's what we can put our energy in. And we also have to be aware that sometimes when you start talking about prophecy, we we can get very isolated into your little niche of the world. And we got to be careful with that because there's other parts of the world where there are Christians being slaughtered. In 2025, I believe more Christians were slaughtered in 2025 than in 2024, and probably 2026, we're gonna see probably the same pattern.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Um I mean, sorry to interrupt, but I mean, here in America, we have it so much easier than a lot of other nations, a lot of Christians that live in other nations. We haven't even touched the surface on what persecution can look like, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Correct. I mean, persecution can get very bad, very ugly, and very quick. Um, no, and we we we are very blessed to live in this country. Um, but when you talk, when you start talking about end times and all of that, I think I think our culture has been so inundated with end time prophecy and end time type stuff that it's easy to get kind of um hardened to some of it because it's always constantly, oh, it's tomorrow, oh it's next day, oh when's it gonna happen? You know, and we're always on on foot for it to happen. And I and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but we have to always keep in mind the the heart of what we're looking for. We're excited for Jesus to come back because we're excited to live in his kingdom. We're excited for that kingdom to be the full reality of that kingdom that God calls the kingdom to be. And we are in the midst of actually creating that that kingdom is being created on earth right now. Um, those people that are coming to be to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, that spirit that is indwelled in our spirit, that Holy Spirit that lives and dwells in us, that it talks about in Ephesians, I believe, that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit. That that should be our focus, that should be our energy. And also to have urgency for the gospel because we don't know the day and time of when he's coming. Exactly. I mean, I mean, we can look at the signs of the world and things that are going on in the world, and we can obviously say, yes, we are definitely moving towards the end times because. Jesus even said himself that him coming into the world, you know, it's kicking it off. So we know that we're, you know, moving in the direction of the end times, but we also have to remember who's in charge of how that plays itself out. And that is God that's on the throne. And it's easy to get so caught up into the world things and what's going on with all these leaders and representatives in the UN and all the stuff going on in our world that we get caught up into the worldly component of the end times and lose sight of the fact of what God's doing in order to establish his kingdom. And that should, I think that should be the more of the focus is establishing God's kingdom here, now on earth, so that when the end times do come, we're ready.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

That's awesome. I think so many people, when we think of Jesus Christ returning, we think, well, that kingdom of heaven, that's not coming at all until Jesus returns. But like you said, we are preparing people. That's what we're called to do. Mark 16, 15, Jesus speaks to his disciples, the call to or yeah, the commission. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. We as believers, we need to believe first. But when will we become disciples? When will we become followers of Jesus? Because if we are focusing so much on worldly things, everything we think about, everything we talk about, I mean, what's in our heart is fews out of the mouth, right? That's what defiles it. And so where we are putting our focus is is what we're gonna be all about. But we are called as disciples, as believers, to go into all the world and preach the gospel of Christ to all creation. Now there's something that stops us from doing that though, Pastor Jeff. And I wrote this down because I didn't want to forget to ask you. I want to get your take on it. There is this fear right now. There's a fear. I mean we're seeing all these global things happening. We're seeing things happen in our own nation. There's this fear to preach the gospel. There's a fear well what if I tell someone about Jesus and he pulls a knife out on me. Sorry to get intense but I mean that's I've you know I hear stories about this in our own country this is happening. We hear shootings almost three times a week of someone coming into nightclubs or bars or schools or churches and doing these things and we have this spirit of fear. I remember I was talking to someone inviting them to our church and they said yeah I don't really like going to church anymore because they're such a target. That's what they told me.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

And so there is I I think the devil I mean fear comes from the enemy but I think the enemy has really used fear right now to to get people away from Christ but also to stop disciples from preaching him what are your thoughts on that about that fear oh I totally agree and that's been the kind of the Satan's playbook from before Jesus even came into the world right I mean we we see that in the Old Testament um Nebuchadnezzar you know Daniel um these nations that destroyed um the Hebrew people um the sin of the nation of Israel throughout the scripture uh we see this you know we see it beginning in Genesis you know this corruption and and evil in the world and all this type of stuff and fear as being a part of that um so yeah that's why that's why we got to focus on what we have control over we have control over how we how we view the world we have control over what our perspective is in terms of the gospel we have control over how we respond to violence there are things that we are able to do in the world to to bring the the light of christ so so yes definitely there's uh uh uh the devil and his dominion want to bring fear and chaos and cause us to be afraid but we got to remember who's in us that that it's the spirit that lives and dwells in us I also wanted to highlight too we talk about the kingdom how the kingdom coming but I I just want to highlight in Matthew chapter four verse 17 Jesus is beginning his ministry and what's the first things that come out of his mouth from that time Jesus began to preach and say repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand when we come together as the body of Christ and I think it's so easy to lose focus of this when we come together as the body of Christ we are instituting and coming together as part of the kingdom of God and the goal is for the kingdom of God to be revealed on the earth as it is in heaven that's that's part of the job of a Christian right so that we can emulate Christ and so that we become one as Christ is one with us right that that's that's our goal that's that's the focus of church life that's the focus of being a disciple of Jesus that's the vision and it's so easy to get so caught up into end time stuff and what's going on in the world and all the chaos but then we lose focus on the kingdom.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

And Pastor Jacob in your perspective what is the kingdom the kingdom of heaven is where the Holy One dwells I mean it's where the throne room is Hebrews 4 16 the author of Hebrews tells us to go boldly to the throne where we can obtain mercy and grace that mercy and grace comes from the Father through Jesus Christ. And so through our belief in Jesus through our faith in Jesus we can be saved and we have that grace we have that mercy. And Matthew is it Matthew 18 verse 20 I believe that says where two or three are gathered together in my name there I will be in the midst. So it's just like what you said as a church our goal is to come together as the body of believers to give a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven when you and I are together doing this podcast I think you said this on another episode actually but when we are doing this together on this podcast I believe the Holy Spirit is with us. I believe that as we're going trying to give God glory you know we're giving this all to him this is a part of what that's all about that community of believers. In Revelation 4 and 5 we see this definition of the throne room and thousands and thousands and ten thousands on ten thousands are there worshiping the Father I mean that's what this kingdom is all about. But we've been so bogged down by so many logistical and legal things within the church that the church has become so much of a social club or a physical entity and not a dwelling place um for the Lord. Right now off the top of my head I think of Acts chapter four after Peter and John were arrested and they were sent um away from the Sanhedrin they went back to their dwelling place with all the other people um with the other believers they all prayed for even more boldness to go and preach the the name Jesus Christ and what happened in that room when they were all praying the room it was shaking the room was shaky because of the praying that was happening there. Like that's what the church is called to be a glimpse of heaven and I just think I think that's so powerful. And that's the biggest thing to take about this fear and about everything that's going on realizing that Jesus is with us that's the prosperity that we can receive and that's the riches I want I want Jesus you know not I don't need all the money I don't need all the cards I don't need all these things I just want Jesus because it's in Jesus where I have my hope.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Amen I I cannot agree more. I love in Hebrews chapter 9 and chapter 10 and throughout the book of Hebrews you know it's it's talking about the reality of Jesus Christ being our high priest but in there there's another aspect that I think is important that we can enter into the kingdom of we can we can experience a piece of the kingdom on earth and and that's our goal right now it's not that we experience the fullness of the kingdom of heaven that we that we won't experience fully until Jesus comes back but on now on earth it says that we can enter into the holies of holies through a new and living way which is the body of Christ that veil his body was the veil that was separate that was torn in half into the holies of holies so we can enter in and have intimacy with God and experience God on earth today and that is experiencing a piece of the kingdom. The problem is so much of the time in this world we go through the motions. It's so easy to go through the motions of doing church and all these things but is the goal to actually experience the kingdom not and that's not to say that we're always striving for this out of body experience type thing. No but it's the reality of that if God lives and dwells in of a if if if we are a temple for the all my for the spirit of God to live and dwell in then that means that the presence of God is near and if the presence of God is near then the kingdom is near and and um I just think that's so powerful. And and I think that that that that should be more so our focus than trying to decipher out oh this is happening in the world this is happening in the world this is happening in the world this is happening in the world the end's coming the end's coming the end's coming that's fine and and I don't think that's all bad. I think there's some good in doing that because it it in it's anticipation for Jesus to come and that anticipation should drive us to be all that more concerned with being having an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

No that's that's the issue right there. It's okay to be ready and to see the signs but then you have to draw the line say okay so what's more important now is it more important to worry and physically get ready for for something to happen to my family or is it more important to make sure my family knows Jesus more important to make sure my church knows Jesus that that my that that that that neighbor knows Jesus that's what's most important and as we're talking about this fear we talk about the some of the struggles we've had already in 2026 Psalm 23 Psalm 23 verse 4 even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death look at this part look what David says I will fear no evil I will not fear I will fear no evil why because you are with me your rod your staff they comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you have anointed my head with oil and my cup overflows so surely surely for sure the goodness and the loving kindness will pursue me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of Yahweh in the house of the Lord forever Psalm 23 reminds us of the love and the compassion and the passion itself that God has for us. The book of Hebrews also says he is an all-consuming fire. He wants all of us he wants all of you and he is willing more than willing to take all the burdens off your shoulders you don't have to worry about when Jesus is coming back. God does he has that on his shoulders you should not as a human being have the weight of thinking well since he has to be coming very soon I need to get everything in order and everything in check I need to put this on my on my shoulders no you can't you're not strong enough you're not a God and even if you were a God you're not the God of gods all right you're not Yahweh it's up to him and so we need to understand no matter what uh what human beings can do to the body we should not be fearing that okay we should not be scared to leave our homes we should not be scared to tell people about Jesus I have a shirt on and on the shirt I recently got it says those who in Latin those who fear death don't believe in the resurrection death used to be the most permanent thing anyone's ever thought about but when Jesus died and rose when he conquered death it wasn't permanent anymore I love I love the analogy of it being a doorway um from this life into everlasting life and it is such an honor to be able to be in ministry and just understanding and knowing that I and you don't have to be a pastor to do this anyone can and everyone should do this to go and to tell people about Jesus you know help them understand and know who he is if you are called to do so go and tell someone about Jesus because this these are our eternal souls and in terms of the office of pastor and the office of shepherd I know you do too Jeff but I take that so seriously because these this is souls that we're talking about I don't want people to be deceived. I don't want people to be scared about the end times but I what but what I want is for people to be prepared and that preparation starts today.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

And you look at the disciples before Jesus was resurrected to after he was resurrected and look at how they celebrated I mean Paul celebrated being whipped for Christ like that's a different mindset than I think than I even have at times I think in terms of you know do I do I really want to be whipped no I I really don't but the there's this mindset of what I can do for the gospel. And that was the disciples' mindset and I asked the question you know is that our mindset what are we willing to sacrifice and to give up for the gospel and I think those are the questions that need to be we need to be asking ourselves and that and that's not undermining the end times and that's not undermining studying the end times or looking at the world and seeing what's going on in the world and to examine it and to say let's discern you know what is going on. Where is the state of the world? What can we do in order to promote the coming of Jesus it's all about our mindsets. That's why in Matthew 24 I like to focus on verse 14 because there's something in there that says okay the Jesus said when he started his ministry repent for the kingdom of God has come near. Well I want to be near the kingdom of God now. I don't want to wait till I enter into heaven for the kingdom of God to be near I want to be near the kingdom of God now. I want to experience God on earth today not tomorrow so like that's my focus. And then in that I still want to be aware and knowledgeable about what's going on in the world. I still want to discern what's going on in the world but in that discernment I have to be careful myself of not allowing myself to get bogged down with fear of what humans can do to humans and not fear that more so fear the idea of those that don't know Jesus and what could happen to them. That's kind of scary to me to think about that piece. But again God is in control.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Absolutely God is in control and he gave us his son Jesus Christ John 3 that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life that is the hope. Psalm 23 David says I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord walks with me in the valley in Hebrews it says we do not have a high priest that cannot sympathize with our weakness with our temptations Jesus went through it he went through hell and back on earth man he did. And he did it because he loved us so much. So you know you say oh Jesus never went through COVID. He went through plagues Jesus never went through racism Jesus saw racism Jesus I mean Jesus saw all the hate that we are seeing today Jesus saw people being slaughtered Jesus saw hatred Jesus saw people using their power to use and abuse people Jesus saw all of these things that we are seeing today it is not new but it's in Jesus that's where our hope lies Hebrews chapter 6 verse 19 this hope this is speaking of Jesus the author of Hebrews says this hope we have as an anchor of the soul a hope both that is sure and confirmed and one which enters within the veil of the most holy of holies that's Jesus he went in there on our behalf and he's the hope he's the anchor he sticks us he he lets us stay firmly even when the storm comes we can stay and stand firm in him and know we're we are right where we need to be when you talk about Jesus experiencing this look at his conversation with Pontius Pilate before he was crucified you know Pontius Pilate saying don't you recognize who you're standing before you're standing before the Roman Empire like you really want to go up against Roman Empire. And what's Jesus' response Jesus' response is you don't have power over me for my kingdom's not of this world so we see right there that encounter between Pontius Pilate and Christ we see this friction of worldly power but we also see and Jesus I I believe is when he was going to Jerusalem over those many multiple years that he would go to celebrate Passover I would imagine he saw people hanging on crosses because that's the way that they would punish criminals so I'm assuming he saw that and he saw the brutality of humanity not just as a human but as God yeah that's never really thought of that before just see thinking of what Jesus saw he probably saw that was the worst form of death that they did but they did it multiple times that's why two of them were crucified right next to Jesus it's interesting to what you say about Pontius Pilate about that conversation my kingdom is not of the earth Jesus is saying right here he's not worried about what one of the strongest empires in the world at that time could do to him because his kingdom was stronger than the Roman Empire. Look at Egypt too you know Egypt the kingdom of God said no my people will get out of Egypt with Moses he put the 10 plagues on Egypt and the kingdom of Egypt was just in disarray because of the kingdom of God.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

And what did Jesus say to Bonjour Pilate? He said if I so desired I could call town 10 legions of angels or something to that effect and this would be over so it it puts it in perspective for us in that conversation with Pontius Pilate. He gives us the understanding that yes we as humans are stuck to this earth until we die Jesus was not Jesus had a much bigger frame of understanding than that and he recognized he said you had no you have no authority and power over me other than what has been given to you by King of heaven by the Father right that's what he says to them so he in that conversation right there it should help us to have a clearer picture of the reality of the world like Stephen when he was being stoned to death Stephen experienced the spirit of God and I believe where there's persecution in the world the spirit is that much heavier and that much stronger because how did so many people during the time of Nero and when persecution's thriving in the world like in Iran and other places in North Korea and places like this guess what believers are there how'd that happen it didn't happen by human strength not at all think about what Jesus said I could call down legions of angels to come and save me I love that because how many times on this earth have we said when we're in our hardships why doesn't God just stop he has the power to do so but he God did not stop it when his son Jesus went through it too he felt God felt what you are feeling he felt what you were when you say well did Jesus feel the suffering of losing a loved one yes when Lazarus died he was troubled he was grieving again Jesus has felt it all he put it all on himself so that we would know we are not alone but because of what Jesus said and because of what he went through that is the promise that even though we go through hardship here and we go through the valley here there is glory on the other side and that is what is so exciting Tertellian an old old theologian he said the blood of the martyr

SPEAKER_00 44:00

Is the seed of the church. That's what we've seen in our history. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

And it's so true. But I don't think I think it's it's hard to grasp that thinking in America in the West.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

But that's the truth. Why is that? Is that because we don't have all the persecution? Is that because we have all these things at our disposal?

SPEAKER_01 44:21

You're not having the weeding out of true believers versus non-believers. You're not having that weeding out happening because we're not under threat of death or prison for what we believe. When you're under threat of death or prison, it kind of has a way of ciphering out what you truly believe versus what you don't.

SPEAKER_00 44:42

And that's why right now, obviously, in a human sense, we hope not to have to go through suffering. But at the same time, we know the power behind martyrdom. We know what happens. Devastating things like that happen. It is my hope that we prepare for Christ. I want to know Jesus so much. I want to help other people know Jesus so much that, and this is the point I was trying to make and get to that if that time were to come, if that were to come in America, do you have the faith? Have you been have you built it up enough where you will have the faith to say, Yes, I believe in Jesus no matter what's going to come next? That's the hope. We've been giving this interesting opportunity in America where you can grow as a baby until you die knowing Jesus without being hated for it. We have this opportunity. So if that opportunity is taken away, this is the importance of being a disciple. This is the importance of telling people, telling your church, telling your friends, your strangers all about Jesus. That way you know for yourself what you would say in a circumstance like that, but you also know and you're confident in what they would say too. But whenever we get to the gates of heaven, I always think of that question. I saw it on social media once. What will you say when you get to heaven? Um, if they ask you, so why should we welcome you in? The hope is that you would say, I don't deserve to be in here, but it's by the blood of Jesus Christ, it's by Jesus and by God's grace that this is even possible. That's what it's all about. It's nothing we can do, it's all what He did. Jeff, do you have anything else? Any final comments you want to share before we close?

SPEAKER_01 46:32

I just think that's why we as preachers and as pastors, we encourage fellowship, we encourage discipleship, because we want people to have a knowledge of Jesus Christ. We want them to have that personal, intimate relationship with God so that when all hell literally breaks loose in the world, if that happens while in our generation, then we can stand firm because we have an intimate knowledge of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. But without that, it's gonna be really hard to stand firm if we don't have that.

SPEAKER_00 47:17

Amen. So, as Paul says in Ephesians 6, let's put on the full armor of God and take our stand against the dark powers and the principalities. The enemy wants your soul too, he wants to take you away from God, but God created you in his image and with Jesus Christ on our side. First John chapter 4, verse 4 the one who lives in you is greater than he who is in the world. So let us live with that fact, let us put on the full armor, and let's go and find that hope. It's amazing to me how when you have that hope in Jesus Christ, your strength is increased.

SPEAKER_01 47:57

Last thing, what is hope? Like a lot of times people will think of hope as something like winning the lottery. And that's not hope, that's luck. That's what we call luck. And we're not talking about luck, we're talking about a confident expectation in a future event. And that confident expectation is a confidence and an expectation that Jesus will come back, that Jesus is Lord of Lords and Kings of Kings, and that he actually is sitting on the throne in heaven right now, and he actually is rolling from heaven and he's in control and he's all powerful, he's God and human, fully God, fully man on earth. And that's the confident, it's confident expectation. It's not wishful thinking, it's not trying to pin the tail on a donkey, it's not grasping at straws, it is that confident expectation of a future reality.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

And so you could almost put hope and faith very, very close together. They go hand in hand. Yeah, because isn't faith, Hebrews 11, faith is the confidence that was hoped for, the assurance of what is to come, which is what you say. Amen. So I had someone send this to me today, right before you came in. The difference between trust and belief. We can believe in Christ but still be filled with fear, and we can believe in Christ but refuse to evangelize. We can be filled with Christ and just not have hope. We can look at this. Trust isn't just belief, it's choosing to step forward, especially when the path looks uncertain. Belief says, I think that the bridge will hold. Trust is the moment you actually walk across it.

SPEAKER_01 49:44

Amen. I love that. I love that analogy because I have a similar one. It's sitting in a chair. That confidence to be able to sit in a chair and know that chair will hold you up. The question is, do you have that same confidence? Do you have that trust in God that you can sit in him and with him and know that he holds you up? And the leg aren't gonna fall out from under you. That's the question. And that question also answers the question of what you're gonna do when persecution hits. If you don't practice putting your trust in Jesus now and allowing him to hold you up in this life now, it's gonna be really hard when everything goes kebunk to allow him to hold you up when the real trial comes.

SPEAKER_00 50:27

Amen. And so, like I said before, let's put on the full armor. Church, believe brothers and sisters in Christ, the time is today to put our full trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Jeff, I'm gonna have you pray us out and then we'll close.

SPEAKER_01 50:42

Almighty God, we come before you. We thank you so much for the blessing and opportunity it is to be able to have conversations about your love and your grace and all the things that you offer us because of what your son has done for us, dying and rising again on the cross, um, taking our sins away from us, um, being a new creation in Him. And then how we can have this trust and belief, and believe in you and put our trust in you so that you can hold us up, that you can give us all the tools that we need in order to live and to grow closer to you in this life. Because that's the ultimate goal and the ultimate purpose is to come closer to you each and every day, to allow your spirit to move and to work in our spirits so that we become Christ-like. And we can't do that on our own. And we need your help to do that each and every day to grow and to become more like you. But we also come and pray that you be with us and continue to lead and guide us, help us to have the courage and the strength to be aware of what's going on around us in the world, but also to know that the ultimate thing that we have control over is how we live our lives today and how we share that good news, that message of the kingdom to the world around us. Help us to do that boldly and faithfully to you, and help us to stand firm in our faith and to put our trust and our hope in you each and every day. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 52:13

Amen. Man, it feels good to be back. It feels good to be back. Pastor Jeff, thank you so much, as always, for your words of wisdom and for your conversation. We want to thank you all who are tuning in to this next episode of Learning Theology. My name is Pastor Jacob Sandholm with Pastor Jeff Cummings. This episode, this podcast, is brought to you by Christ Community Church of Davis County and by the Pulaski Mennonite Church. Find a local church, open the Word of God, put on the full armor of God, and let's get prepared for what Jesus calls us to do. Thank you so much, and we'll see you next time on Learning the Out.