7 min

No Reason For Despair God’s Message Archives - incmedia.org

    • Christianity

No Reason For Despair







[Show Opens]







Brother Felmar Serreno: Do desperate times really call for desperate measures? Hi, and welcome to the podcast version of God's Message magazine, where today's topic is “No Reason For Despair.”







The prevalence of hopelessness, and of people resorting to criminal acts, when they find themselves in dire straits, can be interpreted as lack of trust in God. Sadly, many think that believing in what God can do in times of difficulties is an idea that has become outmoded or has lost its usefulness. 







"Desperate times call for desperate measures" is how some people justify their aberrant behavior, saying adverse circumstances forced them to commit their misdeed. Others, on the other hand, succumb to hopelessness, and misery. Approximately 280 million people suffer from depression, the World Health Organization says. 







But despair has no place in the lives of God's faithful servants. They believe that God who parted the Red Sea to deliver the ancient Israelites from the Egyptian army, made water gushing out of rocks, to quench their thirst, and performed other works of wonder is the same God whom they can rely on to make miracles in their lives. Apostle Paul says:







“God can do anything, you know— far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”[Ephesians 3:20 The Message]







Brother Felmar: Nothing is impossible with God. He can do anything in our wildest imagination, far more than we could ever request. His power has not diminished through the ages, for He neither faints, nor is weary. And that's based on Isaiah chapter 40, verse 28. Though we may not see today the same kind of miracles He performed during the olden times, God's omnipotence remains evident in the lives of His chosen ones today, the members of the Church Of Christ.







The Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ] is God's modern-day miracle. Facing seemingly insurmountable odds, this Church bucked the trend and made astonishing feats where others have lagged and failed. From its modest beginnings and preached by a man seen to be bereft of earthly virtues the Church has spread far and wide, with congregations in 159 countries and territories, and members from more than 147 races and ethnicities. 







Some might point out that other religious organizations have also started small and grown extensively. But what make the Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ] feats truly remarkable are the enormous odds stacked against it. It emerged in the Philippines at a time when Catholic beliefs were already widely entrenched within the archipelago, and Protestantism had deeply taken root. The surroundings were simply too hostile, and not conducive for the growth of the then budding church. Compounding the problem was the eruption of the Second World War and the subsequent foreign occupation of the Philippines. 







The Church survived those testing times flourishing and growing by leaps and bounds despite the unfavorable setting. Such expansion remains unabated even now, when the so-called religious recession has afflicted majority of Christian-professing groups. While many churches are experiencing significant drop in their membership and clergy, the opposite is happening to the Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ]. Multitudes of converts are being added continually. Hundreds of ministers are being ordained yearly. And scores of new houses of worship are built annually. 

No Reason For Despair







[Show Opens]







Brother Felmar Serreno: Do desperate times really call for desperate measures? Hi, and welcome to the podcast version of God's Message magazine, where today's topic is “No Reason For Despair.”







The prevalence of hopelessness, and of people resorting to criminal acts, when they find themselves in dire straits, can be interpreted as lack of trust in God. Sadly, many think that believing in what God can do in times of difficulties is an idea that has become outmoded or has lost its usefulness. 







"Desperate times call for desperate measures" is how some people justify their aberrant behavior, saying adverse circumstances forced them to commit their misdeed. Others, on the other hand, succumb to hopelessness, and misery. Approximately 280 million people suffer from depression, the World Health Organization says. 







But despair has no place in the lives of God's faithful servants. They believe that God who parted the Red Sea to deliver the ancient Israelites from the Egyptian army, made water gushing out of rocks, to quench their thirst, and performed other works of wonder is the same God whom they can rely on to make miracles in their lives. Apostle Paul says:







“God can do anything, you know— far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”[Ephesians 3:20 The Message]







Brother Felmar: Nothing is impossible with God. He can do anything in our wildest imagination, far more than we could ever request. His power has not diminished through the ages, for He neither faints, nor is weary. And that's based on Isaiah chapter 40, verse 28. Though we may not see today the same kind of miracles He performed during the olden times, God's omnipotence remains evident in the lives of His chosen ones today, the members of the Church Of Christ.







The Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ] is God's modern-day miracle. Facing seemingly insurmountable odds, this Church bucked the trend and made astonishing feats where others have lagged and failed. From its modest beginnings and preached by a man seen to be bereft of earthly virtues the Church has spread far and wide, with congregations in 159 countries and territories, and members from more than 147 races and ethnicities. 







Some might point out that other religious organizations have also started small and grown extensively. But what make the Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ] feats truly remarkable are the enormous odds stacked against it. It emerged in the Philippines at a time when Catholic beliefs were already widely entrenched within the archipelago, and Protestantism had deeply taken root. The surroundings were simply too hostile, and not conducive for the growth of the then budding church. Compounding the problem was the eruption of the Second World War and the subsequent foreign occupation of the Philippines. 







The Church survived those testing times flourishing and growing by leaps and bounds despite the unfavorable setting. Such expansion remains unabated even now, when the so-called religious recession has afflicted majority of Christian-professing groups. While many churches are experiencing significant drop in their membership and clergy, the opposite is happening to the Iglesia Ni Cristo [Church Of Christ]. Multitudes of converts are being added continually. Hundreds of ministers are being ordained yearly. And scores of new houses of worship are built annually. 

7 min