Jesus is coming back, and when the righteous are removed… the world will be left with nothing but the sound of their own breath and what remains of the world around them… how will it all look if there are no God-infused people around?
The clock is ticking… within everyone, everywhere, there is a deep awareness that days are going by, chaos is slowly surrounding the world thicker than ever before. If everyone on earth could listen deep in their hearts, way down deep in their foundations, they would hear the steady tick of God’s countdown clock just clicking the seconds away towards the days of conclusion…
Sit back and watch the people. There is a growing desperation in all their actions… look at the news. For lack of a better word, everyone, everywhere has a sense of an approaching “badness”, and on some level, we’re all aware that somewhere, the MOST important clock is ticking.
The news is horrible every day. The media is so biased about everything, who knows what the real truth is behind anything except the Living God and His Word? Really… think about it. Everything that comes out of the mouth of the governing bodies of every country has a pre-determined spin put on it in order to sound believable, leaving out self-condemning information, and glorifying agenda-promoting information, if any, as if it’s all the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help them God. Only for us to find out later, many times years later, what was handed us as the truth was only a spin on the real circumstances in order to gain public confidence, votes, and of course, as always, more money.
The clock is ticking… can you hear it? Jesus Christ is returning, and there’s the countdown to the Lord drawing this entire mess of a world to a conclusion… His conclusion for His glory.
There is a real conflict of all conflicts at the heart of all unbelievers just as there is also a very real opportunity for wonderful resolve to that conflict. So i’m compelled to ask you a question: Who’s side are you on? It’s a good question… Are you on God’s side of redemption and reconciliation, or the world’s side (or your own side) which only leaves you with the law and condemnation? You say you don’t believe in God? Well, it doesn’t matter if you do or not, it doesn’t stop the Lord from being who He is and it doesn’t stop the clock from ticking.
There is an opportunity to do righteousness in every conflict… an opportunity to portray God’s character of honesty, telling the truth even if it’s to our own hurt, and being strong and courageous every time conflict presents itself. In this world of increasing chaos, darkness, and the multitudes of people with mobile boundaries (meaning what they say they won’t do today they might do tomorrow… and THAT means there is rarely a firm stance on right, wrong, or righteousness), Jesus is coming back… there is a countdown going on and the clock is ticking.
Isaiah 2:20-22, “On that Day men and women will take the sticks and stones They’ve decked out in gold and silver to look like gods and then worshiped, And they will dump them in any ditch or gully, Then run for rock caves and cliff hideouts To hide from the terror of GOD, from his dazzling presence, When he assumes his full stature on earth, towering and terrifying. Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans, so full of themselves, so full of hot air! Can’t you see there’s nothing to them?”
In 2 Samuel 16, there was this guy named Shimei (Shim-ee’) who had been part of the house of Saul and as David and his procession were going by his house, Shimei came out angry and cursing and throwing stones at David and all his servants. In vs 7 scripture says he was all blustering and mad, yelling, “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty, worthless man, you rogue! The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil because you are a bloodthirsty man!”
At that point one of David’s main men, Abishai (Ab-ee-shi’) suggested the King allow him to cut the man’s head off. David was faced with a serious conflict with many roads of possible reactions to be taken, but instead of retaliation, giving the man what he deserved, by law, he chose to take an alternate opportunity and let the guy off the hook. Now, Shimei, by all rights, deserved to be killed because by no means did anyone treat the king like that, but David took the opportunity to exercise righteousness.
The days are counting down, are we choosing a righteous response instead of the alternative of retaliation… which is do bad to me and i’ll definitely do bad to you, or do good to me and i might do good to you? Where are you? How will you be found when Jesus cracks the sky and returns for the saints?
Our lives are conflicted over so many things… whether to turn left to the beer store or right to church, conflicted about unkind circumstances which were impinged upon us and we are conflicted over our response. We are conflicted over turning the computer off or watching a little porn while we foolishly believe no one can see us. If we believe someone has verbally gouged us, we are conflicted as to if we should subtly gouge back, or just smile and let it go. And oh, how often do we gouge back and feel smugly satisfied that we really let them have it, just like they deserved. Who decided you are the judge and executioner of what other people deserve and don’t deserve? Did the Lord give you what you deserve? That answer is a two-letter word… NO. Romans 14:4, “Who do you think you are to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
With EVERY conflict comes opportunity, and every opportunity represents a choice that must be made.
2 Tim 4:5 says to “endure afflictions”. Scripture reads, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” The word “you” there points to us, the believers; the Hebrew word for “endure” quite literally means to get a foothold and keep it, and the Hebrew concept of “persist” is to strengthen yourself and keep on keeping on. Stand fast in the Lord, keep your ground and go forward. Stand up Church! In that verse i see, what i call, the “Conflict of Affliction”… meaning in the conflict there was the opportunity to do things God’s way or my way, and Paul is saying to pick God’s way, take God’s opportunity to reflect righteous conduct, character, and conversation… endure and persist.
Hebrews 9:27-28, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Jesus IS coming back. If people don’t believe it, Jesus IS coming back. If nobody likes it, Jesus IS coming back, and even if we can’t agree on when and how, even so, Jesus IS coming back. Where will you be? The clock is ticking… Can you hear it? Listen carefully, God’s clock is there… ticking away. Tick-tock baby, the clock is ticking. And where will you be on that day?
1 Corinthians 4:12-13, “And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”
Do you see it? The conflict and the opportunity. There was an internal conflict about labor, and they chose the Godly opportunity … rather than complaining and demanding the church give them a raise in pay and better living arrangements, they considered it an opportunity to demonstrate the righteous action of working with their own hands, not gouging the sheep to give more money, shaving the sheep so closely it makes them bleed. Friends that’s not right; there was conflict over being criticized, i mean, what well-thinking person is not tempted to defend themselves to escape pointed criticism and berating? Instead, they took the opportunity to reflect grace, and so blessed those who scorned and chided them. Instead of running away or drawing swords against their neighbors, they took God’s opportunity to demonstrate the Love of God, they found their foothold in Christ and kept on keeping on. Stand UP Church! Get to your feet. Jesus is coming back and this is no time to be pouting in the back, grumbling about the leadership, or quitting only to go home and sit in the dark wishing you were anywhere but where you are.
James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
If we endure temptation… and there truly is conflict in temptation for every person… if we endure the temptation and take God’s opportunity to endure until it goes away, and it WILL go away, the payoff is that there is a crown of life and the crown of a good name… i want you to know i use the word “payoff” carefully because there are those amongst us who need a reward to endure, they’ve got a “what’s in it for me” attitude.
We can endure the conflict of temptation, true we can capitulate and let it in the door, even so, the opportunity is real, and the conflict within us is real. i choose to
be free and NOT sin as best i know how, and the more i resist the better i get at resisting. i am no longer a slave to fear but i am a child of God and i choose to go with God. By the power of the Holy Ghost, He strengthens me to turn my feet in the way they should go. We all suffer temptation and are conflicted about whether to dream all the wrong things or not… to be honest about myself, my flesh likes it and it likes the dream as well as anyone else.
But, today, as yesterday, as tomorrow, i will choose the opportunity to not participate in satan’s bait and will take God’s opportunity, i choose to NOT participate. In every conflict there is opportunity. And you, where do you stand? What will the Lord of the Star fields find you doing when He returns? i’m sure some of us are tired of hearing that, but man, it’s a good question, and too many are simply not answering it. We are getting down to the wire where “no reply” is an insufficient answer. The clock is ticking… how will we reply to the Lord?
1 Corinthians 10:13-14, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
i believe temptation draws conflict out of hiding, and fleeing idolatry is taking God’s opportunity to resolve our conflict.
True, i did not get to choose my strengths, but over the years the Lord has grown a suppleness in me which inspires me to take God’s opportunity rather than to try and press into what was not my path and be conflicted. i did not get to choose when my hair would turn grey, but if i am conflicted about my hair color (and i’m not) i also have the opportunity to choose Godly character over not having an internal struggle over the fact that outwardly i am aging.
i fully believe i have the choice to sin or not. Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
i may be conflicted about the “yes/no” of it all, but in the moment of “to sin or not to sin”, in the moment of my internal conflict, God also has provided me a way to escape the bondage and slavery which comes with choosing to wound my conscience and give power to my flesh over my spirit – God has given me an opportunity to choose escape or bondage. Romans 6:18, “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Oh yes, we do have a choice on many things, and so does the world. In everything that is conflict… and sin is direct conflict with God, there is the opportunity to do something different. We may be so dull and dead we can’t see the opportunity; we may be so indifferent and depressed we can’t hear the call of God’s opportunity, but it is there nonetheless. The opportunity MUST be offered lest men die and satan accuse God of not caring or giving all mankind the same opportunity. If God did not offer every man who comes into this world the opportunity to sin, or not, love has not done its work, nor has grace been established in the foundations of God’s heart.
Does any of that come close to hitting a nail somewhere? The clock is ticking. Jesus is coming back, are you sitting in a pew biding your time just cruising, kinda luke warm and you’re ok with that… you know, neither really in nor actually out, always measuring how bad is too bad and how good is good enough, being careful to not get “too Bible literate in case it clutters up your mind”. Yea, one fellow actually told me that was his concern. Where are you? Stand up church!
Matthew 24:30-31 30, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Many of us have a constant challenge in setting priorities, and deciding what are the important things… but, have you noticed too many “important things” water down everything else, and we quickly find ourselves just as over-committed and stretched for time as before. If you are too busy, remember, you are the one who said “yes”. What is truly important to you? Good parking spaces at church?… or being sunk down in the love of pomp and circumstances to the point of being far more involved with formality and grandeur than with Jesus? He is coming back for what is His, will you ask Him to wait a minute while you run up and put on your “I’ll fly away” clothes?
Franklin Graham wrote: “As I read the news, I can’t help but wonder if we are in the last hours before our Lord Jesus Christ returns to rescue His church and the world suffers the results for the rejection of His Son. I don’t know if we have hours, days, months, or years—but as Christians, God calls us to take the truth of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Our job is to warn sinners of the consequences of sin and show them that God is loving and gracious, willing to forgive if we come to Him in repentance and faith. We have to accept God’s provision for our sins—the shedding of Christ’s Blood on the cross.”
We don’t have to be so constantly conflicted. Our lives are made up of conflicts and resolutions, it’s the stuff good stories are made of, and the Lord has many stories to tell of our overcoming conflict in the power of Christ. One day in Heaven, the Lord will tell our stories… our names are written on His hands and He does not forget not one of our struggles and victories. Don’t you know every good story has tension and release and that it’s created through the rise and fall of a good plot, the conflict and the opportunity to resolve it?
Where are you? Whose side are you on? Are you enduring and persisting? Are you just surviving or are you thriving? i think many of us are just surviving when we should be prospering. Take inventory, where do you stand… consider carefully, and if you’re found wanting, make it right with the Lord and persist in Him. Amen.
Like i said, conflict is necessary for a good story. But many Christians assume faithfully following Jesus means their lives will somehow be conflict-free. We expect the church to be a place where everyone gets along peacefully, where nothing is ever troubling, and where no relationships ever get out of sync, then we’re often surprised when conflict hits. Shalom peace doesn’t mean there is a lack of violence, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any conflict. Shalom peace means when the world is spinning around us, when our fingers are searching to find their grip, in our heart of hearts we are at peace. The truth is, if we’re going to be around people, we’re going to deal with conflict. And as believers, we must resist “bailing out” every time conflicts arise.
If we think the best way to resolve conflict is either to avoid it in the first place or run away as soon as things get difficult, we’ll sacrifice forward movement for superficial peace.
The Lord is coming back, the clock is ticking… within everyone, everywhere, there is a deep awareness that days are going by, chaos is surrounding people even thicker than ever before. If everyone on earth could listen deep in their hearts, way down deep in their foundations, they would hear the steady tick of God’s countdown clock just clicking the seconds away towards the days of conclusion… we can stay conflicted or we can receive God’s opportunity to resolve our heart problems. i’ll ask that prickly question again: Who’s side are you on? C’mon, really, it’s a good question… are you on God’s side of redemption and reconciliation (that’s the resolution of the conflict), or on the world’s side (or your own side) which only leaves you with the law and condemnation (that’s the conflict part)? You say you don’t believe in God? Well, it doesn’t matter if you do or not, it doesn’t stop the Lord from being who He is and it doesn’t stop the clock from ticking.
Find some purchase for your feet this week, and tell the Lord all that’s on your mind, He will hear your prayer and answer by and by. Drive carefully and be at peace my family, peace in the name of Jesus. Amen!