We have heard many times that history repeats itself. If that is true, we can be sure of one thing in the future, and that is this: We cannot be sure of anything that depends on the promises of mankind.

The nations of the world have signed many peace treaties, but most treaties are eventually broken by one contracting party or the other.

During the French and Indian war the United States loved the British and hated the French. Less than one generation later we were hating the British and loving the French.

In 1904 when Russia was fighting Japan, the Americans took sides with the Japanese. In 1941 Japan was an enemy that had to be destroyed. Now Japan is our close ally in the Far East.

We live in a topsy-turvy world where there is so much confusion. The average person on the street is more bewildered today than at any time in history. The events of the past few years are a shining example of the utter depravity of the human heart. The props have been knocked out from under the idealists who said that all people are brothers and sisters and the world is getting better and better. You don’t hear that kind of talk much these days.

Behind all the confusion in the world today is the plan and program of Satan. The Book of Revelation tells us that Satan is the great deceiver, and his main business in this age is to deceive the nations of the world.

There Is an Answer

As you read your newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio, remember this one thing–the only reasonable explanation of the awful conditions that face us today is the answer given in the ancient book we call the Bible. In it you will find the answer to the multitudes of problems you face every day.

This world is sick. It is filled with anger, anguish, brutality, crime and doubt. Despair and death stalk every country. Sorrow, suffering and sin abound. War and wickedness have made our generation wild. Tragedy and sorrow are on every hand.

I wish you could read some of the hundreds of letters that come to us weekly from people who hear us on radio, television or through our other ministries. Alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, gambling addicts, hundreds crushed by sorrow or broken homes–people of every walk of life burdened with a thousand problems–all asking for an answer to their particular problem.

Over and over again I am asked the question, “What is the world coming to?”

The Bible teaches that this world is coming to a crisis, and just beyond that crisis is judgment. But thanks be unto God, our God has never faced a crisis! Nothing has ever taken God by surprise. God has never come to a time of panic. He has always followed a perfect program. Satan has never frustrated God’s plans nor hindered His cause in the course of all ages. Our God is sovereign and in Him is all sufficiency. This is our message. This is the rainbow of hope that I give to you today.

Unsolved Problems

The troubles we face are not new. They may come upon us in a new way, but basically and fundamentally we are facing the same temptations, the same troubles, the same trials that have always confronted mankind. Since the Garden of Eden, men and women have been plagued with three problems. These problems deal with the past, the present and the future of every individual.

The unsolved problems of the human race are depravity, disease and death. Depravity has filled our jails. Disease fills our hospitals. Death fills our cemeteries. Because of our depraved sinful nature, we are filled with hate, greed and jealousy. The curse of sin is upon our bodies, and we are forever haunted by the fear of death. With all of our inventive genius, we have been able to change everything but ourselves.

We all know how the world has radically changed. Technology, fashions, languages, customs, morals, values, social conditions and a thousand other changes have taken place in the last few years. But with all of our progress, mankind has not solved the basic problems of the human race. These problems have not changed. They have plagued humanity throughout its history and are continuing to do so this very moment.

Unchanged Enemies

Sin has not changed. Men and women endeavor to change its name. We’ve put new labels on the bottle of poison. We’ve tried to whitewash the old barn. We’ve tried to clean up the depraved human nature, but sin has not changed. We have put new names on present-day evils and have sought to salve our conscience. But sin is the same. We are still sinners and the results of sin are still disease, disappointment, despair, disillusionment and hell.

Sorrow has not changed. Sorrow is the universal language of the world today. The greatest tragedies are rarely those on the front pages of our newspapers. They are the personal, crushing sorrows that come to individuals. We all know something about tears, sorrow and suffering. Job said, “Man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7, NKJV).

Death has not changed. We have tried to change its appearance. We place bodies in “caskets” rather than “coffins.” We try to dress up the funeral. But regardless of what we may call death or how we may dress it, death is real, hard, cruel, and it has not changed.

Our past is filled with sin; our present is overrun with sorrow; and the certainty of death faces us in the future. It all seems rather hopeless when we begin to think about it. We have psychiatrists, philosophers and new religions by the score, but there seems to be no answer.

The Rainbow of Hope

However, let me put a rainbow of hope in your heart. Jesus Christ can meet and solve these basic problems of your life. Hebrews 13:8 reads, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (NKJV).

Yesterday, the past, when Christ was on earth–He made atonement, He forgave and covered your sin. Today, now, in heaven–He is an advocate, representing before God those who place their trust in Him. He is right now willing to solve your problems, lift your burdens, wipe your tears away, and bring joy, peace and satisfaction such as you have never known. Tomorrow, in the future–He will return to be King of kings and Lord of lords.

Other things may change, but Christ will never change. We are living in an age of grace in which God promises that whosoever will may come and receive His Son.

However, I warn you that God’s kindness to us will not continue much longer. We are already living on borrowed time. Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost, predicted the next event in God’s dealing with mankind would be the judgment of God. When this age of grace ends, the judgment of God will strike.

But today I can point you to an unchanging Christ who can forgive your past sin, lift your present burdens and give you hope for the future. He will take your sins and bury them in the depth of the sea.

Come to the Unchanging Christ!

You can cast all your care upon Christ for He cares for you. Concerning the future, He promises: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).

I beg you to commit your past, your present and your future to Christ. What you have done in the past can be erased by the Lord Jesus Christ. As Savior, He can settle your sin problem. As the Shepherd, He can meet your every need, lift every burden, solve every problem. As the coming sovereign King, He can give you hope.

Let Him deliver you from the perils of the present trouble. Let Him deliver you from the fear of the future.

Turn to Christ today!