There is something stirring in me that needs to be said before I bring to conclusion my topic- A Nation of POW’s. Matthew 24:37 (ESV), “But as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” What was it like in the days of Noah? What did God see? Genesis 6:5 (ESV), “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [my emphasis] continually.” Can that be an accurate description of what we are witnessing in our nation today? Almost daily, an act of evil makes headline news locally, nationally, or internationally. Atrocities have always been a part of the history of mankind; however, in our day, we are seeing and witnessing repeatedly atrocious incidents of murder, terrorism, and brutalities throughout the world. Let us stop dodging the source of the problem. The issue is the heart of man. Jesus said that prior to his return conditions will be like the days of Noah when God saw “…that every intention of the thoughts [of man] of his heart was only evil continually. What can we expect? This will continue until the return of the Lord. I guess that means we must just bury our heads in the sand, suck it up, and whine, right? WRONG! What is the elephant in the room that no one [most people] do not want to admit is there? The elephant in the room is SIN. As an evangelist would say, that is the bad news, but the good news is the preaching of the GOSPEL. God’s intent of the gospel is summarized in John 3:16,17. John 3:16,17 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The glorious gospel of grace is true, and it needs to be preached; but the church needs to be awakened to a need in the hour in which we live, NOW. I encourage you to read Ephesians 5:1-21. The admonition is clear. Ephesians 5;8 (ESV), “…for at one time you were darkness, but now, you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”…(vs.11,12) “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things they do in secret. “ (vs 14) “,Therefore it says, “Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.[give you light, NKJV]” Get up church and live as the church; you are on resurrection ground in Christ; you are on the other side of the cross, Continuing with Ephesians 5:15 (ESV), “ Look carefully[intentionally, purposively, accurately], not as unwise but as wise…” Look for what? Why? Ephesians 5:16 (ESV), “…making the best use of the time[redeeming the time, NKJV], because the days are evil.”
Let me regroup. The days are evil. The thoughts and intents of man’s heart are only evil. Jesus said that this is what it was going to be like prior to His personal return. We are witnessing the manifestation of the intents of the evil intentions in man’s heart. These are evil the acts we are witnessing being committed in our nation and throughout the world. Added to this is the daily bombardment of words that are being spewed forth from evil hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18,19 (ESV), “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” We have identified the source of our evil. It is an evil heart. It is a sinful heart. This is our elephant in the room [in each one of us]. An evil heart, that is the condition of all mankind. That is why God sent His Son into the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV), “For our sake he[God] made him[Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him[Jesus] we might become the righteous of God.” This is the GRACE of God-God’s Redemptive Activity Changed Everything.
As we get closer to the return of Christ, believers find themselves grappling with a serious spiritual battle that is being perpetrated by the evil spiritual forces of darkness. Until Christ returns, the two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of light[Kingdom of God] will each be maturing and at war against one another. This war will continue to escalate. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? This is what needs to awaken in the Body of Christ. We are at WAR. This is the mindset that Paul sets forth in Ephesians 6. This is the conflict that Jesus presented to His disciples and taught during His earthly ministry. We need to grasp this and understand its implications in our lives and the life of the church. Please do think that I personally understand all the implications of what this means for individual believers and the universal church. I do not. Like you, I need to go before the Lord, seek His face, and ask Him to prepare me for the battle that we are facing, and will continue to face until He returns; in the conjunction with this, I believe that the Lord is asking us to come before Him and pray for this nation. Our prayers can be a restraining force against the onslaught of destructive words that are incarcerating God’s people making them POWs-Prisoners of Words. This said, now I can return to concluding my posts.
Living Words of Encouragement 