Be Ready For Any Event, Through The Lessons Learned In The Bible
Word-Of-The-Day: ’<Jesus said,>” Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”’ (Luke 21:36); ‘The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.’ (Proverbs 22:3); ‘Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.’ (1 Timothy 5:8)
The societal pendulum is swinging, in various speeds depending on the topic, toward a more conservative and Christian stance. The re-election of President Trump and the slim margin of Republican majorities won in both House in the last election are part of this, but we are also seeing in the media a reduction in the emphasis of ‘woke’, anti-Christian rhetoric. The impending cancellation of CBS’ Late Show with Steven Colbert and the rise of more conservative, pro-Christian entertainment and news sources are evidence of this trend. It does not mean that the ungodly offerings are gone, but it does show a growing resentment of these ungodly offerings by the American general public and a greater desire today for Truth.
It is hoped the pendulum will continue swinging in the proper direction, but unfortunately, as I’ve mentioned before, the cycle throughout history, like the seasons, has always been:
- Hard times create strong (Godly) people (In the recent sermon series, ‘Cycle of Judges’, the step referred to as, ‘Call on the Lord’)
- Strong people create good times (‘Blessings’)
- Good times create weak (and ungodly) people (‘Idolatry’)
- Weak people create hard times (‘Consequences’)
It is hoped that corporately as a society in America we are leaving ‘step 4’ and are returning to ‘step 1’, as the societal pendulum has seemed to have swung all the way to the left and is now starting to swing to the right. American confidence appears to be returning, and there is movement afoot in rejecting ‘woke’ principles for more rooted-in-reality’ principles that should actually produce positive results. Prayerfully, this also will provide a positive swing toward growing the American people toward the Gospel of Jesus, though a growth away from the lies and falsehoods of ‘wokeness’ do not necessarily correlate with a similar growth in Christian belief. In the past, revivals in Faith are not always beholden to politics or national outlook, and they certainly do not have to be.
Eventually, however, as history and the Bible shows us, eventually the steps will be repeated. They may repeat quickly or at a snail’s pace, but we will be back to ‘step 4’ at some point. Regardless of what step we are encountering; there are events related to those steps that will occur. Some will be positive and pro-Christian, others will be negative and ungodly. We will need to handle these events to either weather the storm or take advantage of the sunny days to accomplish the Godly tasks the Lord places in front of us.
So, what does God say about how to handle the events that are unfolding? There are a lot of verses one can go and point out, but these three emphasized in today’s WOTD put it all together. First, be vigilant. Knowledge leads to Wisdom, both in knowing God’s Word leads to Godly Wisdom, and knowledge of what is happening around you leads to preparing yourself (and others) what is in store. As I mentioned yesterday, our best plans will not overcome every possibility.
Will we escape what will happen? Not likely; Jesus did not necessarily mean we would escape events through death, but through perseverance in following His Word. Escaping means not falling into the trap of ‘going along to get along’, as some may want to do. There will be those who will try to avoid persecution or public humiliation by ‘going with the flow’.
It has happened to some denominations who think Christian worship is perhaps too strict in its application (not allowing gays to have positions of leadership, for example), so they go ‘woke’ and become ‘mainstream’ while going against the Word of God.
This leads into the second point; be prudent, but be strong. We need to be smart enough to avoid conflicts when we can, but this does not mean we stop actively worshipping God. The point regarding the Chinese and North Koreans who wait until nightfall, and walk miles to meet in a cave or a secluded area to worship is valid. The refuge we are to take is not to sit in our homes and twiddle our thumbs or to leave for the ‘Great American Redoubt’, but we are to take refuge under our Lord as our Shield (Proverbs 18:10).
We have to be wise and brave enough to avoid the conflicts as much as we can without avoiding or being ashamed to worshipping our Lord. If we are caught one day, active in the ‘crime’ of worshipping our Lord, we must also be brave and unashamed to say, ‘Yes, I am a Child of God and I worship our Lord Jesus Christ!’ The penalty spoken in Proverbs is not our earthly death if caught worshipping Christ, but in the eternal separation from God should we turn away and reject Him, out of saving ourselves from an earthly penalty.
The third point is in order to help strengthen ourselves by sticking together as a group of Believers. While 1 Timothy 5:8 is referring to ‘blood relatives’, it is also true that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We must be willing to help out each other, to do our part to protect and take care of our MBC and MNL family. When trouble begins, we must be able to come together and stay together.
COVID is a great example; despite the restrictions placed upon us through the ‘lockdown’ and social distancing five years ago we as a church today have not only stuck together but we’ve added some new members. It is true some members did not return, but the core of believers who stuck together have made MBC more closely knit – and this holds true in other churches, as well.
We want to be there to share, not just God’s Word but help each other and our neighbors, perhaps in food distribution or simply being there to talk out issues we may have. When the situation gets to be worse, we must stick together as a family would, and be ready to help each other, and if necessary, defending each other from the tyranny coming to persecute us.
Our foundation is in God and His Word, and in our belief in Jesus as our Lord who sacrificed Himself so that we may be saved. We are called upon to be vigilant, to be ‘our brother’s keeper’ and be there for each other. BE PREPARED, BE AWARE, & PLAN ACCORDINGLY – all within God’s Word and Direction.
