Matthew 5:44-45 (KJV)
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Psalm 20: 7 (AMP)
“Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.”
Whether you are a Christian or not, we are all affected by the consequences which are a result of the decisions and laws that leaders in governments make, whether those laws are righteous or unrighteous, it rains on the believer and the unbeliever alike. As Christians, our hope is never in a government or a leader who is here today and gone tomorrow, but our hope is in a King Who was, Who is and Who is to come – His name is Jesus and He is our hope and our true leader!
As many of you look upon a world that is being shaken down to its core right now, you may be feeling anxious at what this new year of 2022 may bring. At the end of 2020, I remember hearing many people welcoming its end and looking forward to the start of a new year with a hope and a belief that the pandemic would end and everything would return back to normal, but 2021 was no better in relation to this pandemic and the way governments around the world handled things, in fact things got a whole lot worse! The truth is no worldly government knows how to deal with this pandemic: Nations are in confusion and people are in fear – some fear the pandemic itself and others fear the consequences present mandates are bringing and will continue to bring, but some also fear further unjust tyrannical laws that governments will continue to make in the future in their human efforts to bring this pandemic to its end. With all this going on, people’s lives are being destroyed and God given freedoms are being lost and this brings a measure of uncertainty and fear into the hearts of many.
Personally, it is my belief along with many others in the Body of Christ that things are not going to get better for the world. I believe 2022 holds more challenges and trials for all of us. You may be thinking right now that this is pessimistic and negative thinking, but really I think that many of us are just in tune with the prophetic times we are living in. If you are a child of God, there is no need to feel alarmed and afraid. Remember Jesus told us that we live in this world, but we are not of this world. Yes, this world is not our permanent residence; we are simply passing through on our way to our eternal home.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?
Romans 13: 11 (KJV)
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
Looking at this verse, you may be thinking, how can I be getting closer to being saved if I was saved the minute I believed? Well, yes you were saved the minute you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, but technically you were only one third saved. Let me explain: You are a three part being made up of spirit, soul and body. The minute you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believed in your heart that He was raised from the dead, He came and made His home in your spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit, therefore your spirit is fully saved. In your spirit man you are fully like Jesus because as He is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17). Your soul which is your mind, will and emotions is in the process of being saved as your mind gets renewed by the Word of God which over time transforms you effortlessly into being more and more like Jesus who is living within you. The soul like the body is only fully saved at the resurrection when we will know all things as we are also known (1 Corinthians 13:12). At the resurrection, we will receive our new immortal bodies and then we will be one hundred percent saved – spirit soul and body ready to live out our eternity reigning and ruling with Jesus. Of course, when Paul says that our salvation is nearer than when we believed, he is referring to Jesus receiving us unto Himself at the imminent catching away of the church which is what we refer to as the rapture.
Paul also makes mention in this verse that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. We know the times because all the signs are in the earth right now. Never have we lived in a time when all the signs as described by Jesus in Matthew chapter twenty four been so clear. Over the past few years I have come across Christians who are like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand. They do not want to acknowledge the times we are living in. Some are in denial to it and others are just ignorant, and the reason for this is because they are rooted more in the world than they are in an eternal kingdom. If this is you, I am not condemning you, but like Paul said that it is high time to awake from your sleep. Now is the time to draw closer to God and when you do, you will become excited by the times we are living in because you will know in your heart that He is coming soon and you will find yourself eagerly awaiting His return like a lovesick bride.
The birth pangs that Jesus spoke about in Matthew chapter twenty four are here. When a woman gets closer to giving birth, the contractions get closer together and more intense with each contraction. The birth pangs have been in the earth for some time already, but I believe they escalated since 14th May, 1948. This is the date which marks a time in our history where Israel became a nation once again. Israel is the key to the end times because Israel is God’s end time clock. The re-birth of Israel in 1948 is marked on God’s heavenly calendar as the point where end times theologically began. I believe the birth pangs have gotten closer and more intense with the great re-set which started with this pandemic end of 2019. Why? Because Jesus, our Messiah is returning soon and Satan knows it!
God is bringing everything into alignment for unfulfilled prophecies to be fulfilled which will largely take place during the tribulation years. I look at these current lockdowns, mask wearing wherever we go and vaccination mandates as a kind of type, shadow and picture of what is to come in the tribulation years, but of course it will be a whole lot worse! For the first time in history the entire world, from one corner of the globe to another is affected by this virus, lockdowns and mandates which has left many scrambling around in panic wondering what is happening and why is this happening. The spirit behind all of this is a spirit of darkness, and fear is being used to drive much of the panic and decision making in order to bring humanity under the control of governments. We have to remember that our battles are not flesh and blood, but they are spirits of darkness in high and wicked places which come to steal, kill and destroy and their key tool is fear and deception because Satan has always used fear and deception to get what he wants. God is not the author of confusion and fear, but He is the author of peace, love and joy and so we certainly know who is in the driver seat behind the great re-set.
In the tribulation years, the Anti-Christ will use fear and deception. I believe he is already on the earth and is being groomed for the position he will fulfill according to prophecy. When he rises and proclaims to be God, he will demand of every human being on the earth to take the mark of the beast and worship him or you won’t have a job, no roof over your head, no food, no buying or selling – no freedoms whatsoever! Does this sound familiar? It will get so bad for those who continue to oppose him and refuse to bow down and pay homage to him that they will face being beheaded for their opposition to him. The Anti-Christ will control every area of society – media, politics, business and trade, education, the health sector as well as control the food supply on the earth. He will use fear and deception to make people worship him because throughout history tyrannical rulers have always used fear to control people and hence get exactly what they ultimately want and crave – power and wealth! Though, for Satan, his ultimate goal will be to be worshipped as God by humanity.
NO FEAR PLEASE!
As believers in Jesus we do not have a spirit of fear like the world does and therefore we do not and should not fear anything. There are three reasons for this:
ONE:
2 Timothy 1: 7 (KJV)
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
1 John 4:18 (KJV)
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.”
The second you invited Jesus into your heart, He came and took up residence within your spirit, therefore as He is so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). If Jesus has no fear, then neither do we possess fear in our spirits. Jesus is perfect love and when His perfect love and peace came and made its home within us, fear had to go because fear and love cannot live together in the same house. Therefore that one third part of us, our spirit which possesses no fear becomes our challenge in learning how to channel His peace and love from within us to our world around us because as Christians we are called to live from our spirit and reveal the One Who lives within us. It was the late Watchman Nee who once said that the Christian’s greatest challenge is getting what is on the inside of them to the outside of them.
TWO:
You might say, okay I have no fear in my spirit, but I do still fear sometimes, and that’s perfectly okay, but the fear you are feeling is not coming from your spirit, it is coming from your flesh. Paul, the apostle gave us a key in dealing with fear when it comes to our flesh.
Philippians 4: 6-7 (NIV)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Take your worries, fears and concerns and give them to God – cast your cares and anxieties on Him for He cares for you, (1 Peter 5:7) and then wrap it in thanksgiving. Maintaining a heart and attitude of thanksgiving is powerful. There is definitely supernatural power in thanksgiving and this is why I believe Paul gave us this very important key to use.
There was a time some years back when I was still pastoring church in the Middle East when I had some worries and concerns about a number of things. I listed each of them into my journal and spoke to the Lord about them every day. I knew I was anxious about it. One day the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and told me clearly to stop giving the Lord my worries and fears and start thanking and praising Him instead. From that time onwards I exchanged my worry list into a thanksgiving list. Before I knew it my anxieties and fears lifted and a peace came over me. It was about two to three months later when I was paging through my journal looking for something when I came across the page that had my itemized worry list. My heart leapt a beat as I ran my finger down the page glancing over each worry listed because I saw that God had taken care of each one of them. While I was maintaining a heart of thanksgiving and praise, He was taking care of my worry list. Isn’t God amazing!!
When you follow these keys that Paul gave us, a supernatural peace which we cannot understand with our human brains takes over. This supernatural peace comes like a wall and builds itself up all around our hearts and minds and protects it from fear, worries and anxieties. While we are maintaining a heart of thanksgiving and praise for God trusting and resting in Him, His peace which lives within our spirits rises up and fills us and protects our hearts and minds, and all this while He is taking care of the things which we are worrying about and He does this simply because He loves us and cares for us. Isn’t He WONDERFUL!
THREE:
As a Christian you cannot be threatened with death because of the sure promise we have received of eternal life.
John 3:16 (KJV)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Whether the Lord fetches us tomorrow or if he should tarry and we go on home to be with Him in the interim, it will merely be a separation of the spirit and the soul from the body. It is so comforting to know where we are going and to whom we are going when we die. There is no other religion on the earth that can give you the assurance of eternal life like Christianity gives.
When the rapture occurs, we will be resurrected and will receive our new glorified bodies, mortality will put on immortality and death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54), we will be forever in the presence of perfect love, peace and joy where we will reign and rule with Christ our King. This is good news for the believer, but for the unbeliever, the future will be downright terrifying under the Anti-Christ system. Not only will the world be oppressed under this system, but the world will also have to endure the wrath of God which He will pour out in the last seven years called the Tribulation years before Christ’s second coming. In the Gospel of Luke chapter twenty-one, he tells us that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail them because of fear and hopelessness. We are already seeing evidences of this in our world with drug overdoses and suicides reaching an all-time high all over this world – just another sign that we are in the end times.
If you are not born again, stop putting it off, time is running out – TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION! We are still in the time of God’s favor and grace, but it will soon come to an end and then it will be too late! (2 Corinthians 6:2). This is why Paul said it is high time to awake out of our sleep, whether you are far from God or have never given your life to Him, it is TIME TO WAKE UP! The writing is on the wall!
CONCLUSION:
If you are a Christian, make this time we have left count and witness to as many people as you can for the kingdom of God. Not only should we be witnessing in word, but also in deed. The world needs to see the church for who the church was called to be, a people of power, love and unity, a church who does not fear and fall apart at the very temporal circumstances in terms of eternity, we see happening around us. Now is the time for us to stand tall and strong like the army of God, unified, because where there is unity, there is certainly power!
Lastly, it is time for us to start REJOICING! Our King of kings and our Lord of lords is returning soon – difficulties, trials and hardships may endure for a night, but let me tell you that joy unspeakable is on the horizon. Look up and lift your heads church, for our redemption draws nigh! As the world gets darker and darker, our lights are going to shine brighter and brighter as His glory rains down upon us, the church of Jesus Christ. Don’t give in and don’t give up, hold on because soon we will be caught up in a whirlwind, a one way ticket to our final destination, here one minute and gone the next. Our salvation is nearer than when we believed. Hallelujah!
Blessings,
Until my next post,
Joanne.
