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Every now and then, world events trigger the thought that resides in the back of the mind of most every Christian, especially Christians in America. That thought is, “Jesus must be returning any day now!” Emphasis on the “must” as in, “by 2 o’clock tomorrow, right?”
Ahhhh, no.
Today it is the war against an eternally evil Islamic regime in Iran or, for some, getting sucked into a war by evil Israel or, on the local Minnesota level, another horrible anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-American bill passed by so-called Democratic Socialists (whose very name means “the government is God”) causing people to declare, once again, that we must be in the last days of the “last days.”
The debates about the return of Christ are many. Some churches and ministries seem to exist almost solely to deal with this issue.
When I came to Christ in October of 1969 (right after we invented fire, the wheel, and the soft rocks started turning hard), the return of Christ was “hot topic.” When I was invited to preach my first sermon about a year later, you can guess my topic. Yep, the “imminent” return of Jesus. All the signs were there: Gog and Magog, nuclear war (to destroy the world by fire), the Chinese were said to have a 200 million man army, Hal Lindsey wrote “The Late Great Planet Earth,” the Jesus Revolution was in full swing. And so much more.
I preached my heart out. Certainly Jesus must be retuning any day now!
I preached my heart out. I taught everything I “knew” about The Second Coming of Christ. I taught for nearly two hours. Certainly Jesus must be returning any day now!
It was terrible.
And, no, they never invited me back.
The one great result of that “sermon”? My grandmother, sitting there mesmerized (hypnotized?) by the “wisdom” of her grandson who was about one year-old in the Lord, gave her life to Christ. I guess there are times when even bad sermons are better than no sermons.
The topic of “The End Times” or “The Last Days” is becoming prominent again in certain quarters of Christianity.
As I sit here writing from the comfort of my home office with a raging Minnesota blizzard prowling throughout the Upper Midwest, the topic of “The End Times” or “The Last Days” is becoming prominent again in certain quarters. As far as the Church is concerned, who isn’t interested in the last days and the return of Christ? Who among us doesn’t want to be numbered with those like the tribe of Issachar who understood their times and knew what their nation should do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32)? Who among us doesn’t want Jesus to return by 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon?
As much as we would love that to happen, let’s face biblical reality. The chances of that happening are somewhere between slim and none.
Read Matthew 24. We are now within 6-7 years of every people group on the planet being reached with the Gospel of the Kingdom
of Jesus Christ.
Read Matthew 24. There would appear to be several “end times” events that must occur before King Jesus returns. Allow me to point out just one of those, namely, the necessity of the gospel of the kingdom being preached to the whole world (emphasis mine). The whole world has not yet been reached with the gospel.
However, according to world missions specialists and using the highest levels of technology to identify every people group on the planet, I was told about 5 years ago that we might only be 11-12 years away from that being accomplished. Subtract those 5 years and we are now within 6-7 years of every people group on the planet being reached with the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
What are Christians to do? What were Jesus’ instructions to the Church through the ages? Occupy and Engage.
Jesus clearly taught His followers to be prepared always for His return (Matthew 25:1-30) BUT Jesus never taught His followers to be focused on His return. What did he teach us? What are Christians to do? What were Jesus’ instructions to the Church through the ages?
One good answer is found in Luke 19:13. It teaches us to occupy or engage in business until I come.
Occupy? Engage in business? What did He mean?
The term “occupy” has a militaristic sense about it. It is the picture of one nation having defeated another nation in war and leaving behind an occupying army to re-establish law and order, and to weed out and destroy pockets of resistance that still exist. That is exactly what happened in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. God’s kingdom destroyed satan’s kingdom. Remember, this was never a battle between equal powers. Jesus is the Creator; satan the created. It was never a fair fight, but it was a righteous one. Satan was completely, fully, and totally disarmed, de-toothed, and unequivocally humiliated. His is the picture of a defeated king being paraded down the main street of the nation who whupped him.
How does that apply to you and your life today?
Occupation is still the job description of the Army of God. If you are a Christian, you are a soldier in that army.
How does that apply to you and your life today?
1. First, get militant. How? Spend more time in God’s Word and prayer. Prayer is our ultimate weapon. How much more time should we spend? That is between you and God. He has an assignment for you. Discover it. Pursue it. It is why you are here on Earth. Don’t let a defeated enemy convince you otherwise.
2. Second, understand the terms “occupy” and “engage in business.” They refer primarily to occupying your mind and engaging your life in the business of advancing the kingdom of God on earth. Learn how to do that more effectively. Live with courageous faith. Be bold. Your enemy has no teeth, just a big mouth.
3. Third, change your thinking about church and worship. Quit going with the mindset that you are part of the audience and the people on the stage are the performers or actors. In a church setting, those on the stage are the directors. Who are they directing? YOU! You are the performer. God is the audience. All of the service is worship. We don’t transition from worship to announcements to taking in the tithes and offerings to hearing a sermon. There is no transition. It is all an expression of our worship. How will this mindset change the way you approach church next Sunday?
4. Fourth, employ both a short-term and long-term mindset and strategy. If it is true that every people group on the planet will be reached with the gospel of the kingdom by 2032/2033, we need to “up” our sense of urgency. How does it affect your thinking that in 6 or 7 years from now everything Jesus said would be necessary before He returns will be fulfilled? If we knew without a doubt Jesus was retuning 6-7 years from now, how does that affect our priorities? How does it affect the way we live? How does it affect our call to lead the culture not leave the culture?
But, what if Jesus doesn’t return for another 500, 1000, 2000 years or more? As much as I don’t believe that will be the case, what if that is God’s plan? How are we to live in such a way to protect the lives of those who follow us? What kind of world do we want for our children, our grandchildren, our grandchildren’s great-grandchildren? Don’t ignore this possibility. I’m guessing my ancestral Christian great-grandfather back in 1821 didn’t know he was fighting for me when he helped lead the Greek armies in defeating the Ottoman Turks in his war for independence. I’m just glad he did.
These are just some of my thoughts as we press harder into the Lord and His plan for America in 2026.
I would be remiss if I didn’t use this “Extra Edition” to put a plug in for Restore Minnesota’s Courageous Christianity workshops. If this “Extra Edition” resonated with you, perhaps you want to take a deeper dive. Perhaps you want to be more effective in pursuing God’s call on your life whatever that might be. If that is the case, contact us at RestoreMN.org. Let’s get a Courageous Christianity workshop scheduled near you ASAP!
In the meantime, occupy and engage. The King is coming!!
Dale
Rev. Dale A. Witherington, Chief Steward
Restore Minnesota / Restore Minnesota ACTION
Dale@RestoreMN.org
www.RestoreMN.org |
