Luke 21 34Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.
For some time now, I have been concerned about this idea of preparing for the kind of days described in Matthew Chapter 24 and Luke Chapter 21. The ideas in these two Chapters describe great perplexing times, turbulence in the earth and in the heavens, and people will be on edge perpetually. I believe we are experiencing the early stages of this today, and there is little hope it will get better soon. The COVID-19 pandemic was a recent eye-opener as to how deceptive the world became over vaccines, lies about the safety of such medications, and the fear-mongering that went on in our media. Fear was the number one advertisement that everyone felt … some still feel fear today. The wars that broke out in Ukraine and Israel have people questioning our government’s commitments overseas. Antisemitism has reached an all-time high due to Israel’s retaliation against Hamas. People on the left hate Israel, and think the Israelis are as bad or worse than what Hitler was doing in WWII.
Again, Jesus foresaw our day and knew that people would replace the Judeo-Christian values and beliefs with their own philosophy of Marxism-like beliefs to empower people toward equality and equity. It is almost like the tower of Babel, where people were building their own empire without God. Our society has fostered a spirit of ungodliness and harlotry that pervaded the land of Israel during the day of Hosea.
Hosea 4 1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land. There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
This would be the same charge He would bring against our land. Look at it, no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God, how can a people survive with these conditions pervading the land? People will lose hope, and lose perspective of ever seeing a land where people work together for the good of society. America today is so fractured, with people on two sides of a political philosophy that are as far apart as they could be, so America is constantly in turmoil. Hosea asks why there was turmoil in Israel, which I feel mirrors America today. Here is what Hosea says is the reason for the turmoil:
Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.
Hosea brings the blame back to the spiritual dimension in the land. The priests refuse to know God, therefore what they teach is from their own minds and hearts. Many pastors have made the same claim about what is happening in America. Dr. Robert Jeffress, from Dallas First Baptist Church, has made this claim on many occasions. I would continue that thought by saying that the spiritual poverty in America is due to the spiritual bankruptcy of the pulpits in America.
When you listen to Sunday sermons on the Internet, it is no wonder we are spiritually bankrupt. You cannot sustain a spiritual life by the philosophical message people are getting … masquerading as the Gospel in many of our churches across our land. So, was Hosea right to blame the priests for delivering a message from God based on His Word? I believe so.
Until our pulpits begin to have the power ignited by the Holy Spirit, we will remain in this la-la-land of nice Christianity that offends no one. When I read the Scriptures, I know that the words were written by the Holy Spirit. Time and time again, there is a confrontation of the human spirit vs. the Divine spirit. God does not mince words to get His point across, and neither should the pulpits of our day. Our churches must allow the Holy Spirit access to the pulpits again to prepare the Church for what we read in Matthew Chapter 24 and Luke Chapter 21. The warning in Luke is:
Luke 21:36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.
Keeping alert at all times should be the battle cry of the modern Church. Nothing will prepare us like the conviction of knowing Jesus could return at any time, and the world will not get better until He comes. There is no hope for our world because it is in the hands of the evil one, and He can only be defeated by the One who defeated him on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago.
How do you prepare? Read the Scriptures every day. Have a reading plan that brings you into all the Prophetic Scriptures in the Scriptures. This will help you understand the times we live in according to God’s perspective. Pray that your heart will receive the Word, and surrender your life to the Holy Spirit … He will guide you to do God’s will in these days. Don’t be a normal church-going Christian, accepting all the nonsense some pulpits preach, but instead be bold, be strong, be courageous … which comes from being informed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Take your place in history and be a voice for truth and the justice of a soon coming King.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler