IN WHAT TIME ARE WE IN? (IV)

I want to quickly wrap up what we have been studying this week wrap up quickly what we have been studying this week and highlight the majesty of our Lord and Savior. Undoubtedly, there are many right now who are worried, scared, and depressed with 2021. The future so far looks pretty grim, we see pastors completely ignore the subject, others make jokes of it, while some have taken their entire ministry into analyzing the references of the antichrist. However, today I want to speak to you as my brothers and sisters in Christ. For if you are in Christ, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28. This should be encouraging to us! Our God has not forgotten us but has rather embraced us all the more in times of trouble likes these. We need to remember what Paul said in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We need to understand that when the world will call us to claim what is good by their standards, we are instead to claim what is good by God’s standards. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality” Romans 12:9-13.

You see God has clearly outlined to us that while we are on this earth, we need to be about His business. We are His ambassadors. We are never to payback evil for evil towards anyone. We are to, if at all possible, live at peace with all men. We are not to take revenge! With the persecution going on and the worsening of this world many might be tempted to take out revenge, do not be one of those. This does not mean there will not be a day of reckoning. For why would Christ call us to repentance if not for the escaping of wrath? There is a day of justified wrath that will come. That day will not be by your hand nor by mine, but by the Lord Himself! “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” Romans 12:19. We as believers must remember that we will be labeled, identified, and treated as the enemy, as those who have persecuted the innocent. The Roman Emperor Nero set fire to the city of Rome and blamed it on the Christians for political support to persecute them. The political system of the time targeted believers, today we see the same weaponization by some. 

However, I want to identify a trap! A mirage of peace and safety that believers should not follow. This is of the Laodicea church. Over the next months and years, you will see “churches” that have bought into the lies. They will conform to the world, and will be rewarded by the world for doing so. They will say “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” Revelation 3:17. These so called churches will pander to the cancel culture and ideology of the world. Do not conform to them, stay the course and inline with what the Word of God says. Jesus has already judged such churches and will “spit” them out of His mouth as described in Revelation 3:16. The icons in the church community have already started down this path, many who are so called “champions of the faith” are no more than paper mache for the fires of an angry righteous God. That’s right! There are many who are labeled leaders of the faith who are not born again, these wolves in sheep’s clothing need to be identified and left to their own devices. You might have realized I did not say, “dealt with” that is because in the Lord’s own unique timeline those individuals will have their day of judgement. We are to keep to the Word of God and seek Him first. For those who are believers in Christ, who are of the true Church, we have a song to which we will one day sing, “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10. I am very eager to stand before the Lord and bless His name! For Jesus Christ is worthy to be praised and worshiped, no other name in heaven, on earth or under the earth is capable of such worship. He lived a perfect life, He died for our sins and has risen to sit on the right hand of God as our intercession. Now you might be wondering, what does this mean for us living who are born again? We tend to forget that Jesus Christ is also the God who shut the lion’s mouth with Daniel, or designed the very Ark needed to save humanity, or His healing power to transform the lives of Moses, David, Peter and Paul. We have a God who is very much with us. I would encourage you to read the book of Revelation and see that Jesus actually walks in the Churches! He is active in His Churches! 

So while the signs of the Tribulation are coming close, it is not yet that time. We are still in the Church age and need to treat it as such! We are in the final hours of this age and we need to recognize that this is our GAME DAY to which we need to be actively playing our part, listening to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as He directs the calls and plays and heck even blocks for us. So the next time you are wondering what time we are living in, just remember that if the Rapture hasn’t happened, you are in the Church age. This age is designed for us to be about our Father’s work, this age has an expiration date which is getting very close, and yet while we do our Father’s work we need to be looking up for our snatching away is coming ever closer. 

Until that time remember we hold until relieved, we hold until we are told to “come up here” which is our Blessed Hope! 

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL