Luke 19:44 “They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
“Because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” To me this is a warning. I need to make sure that I recognize God’s timing. Ecclesiastes states that there is a timing for everything. I need to be aware of His timing. Opportunities come by, but they do not linger and if I do not take advantage of them they pass on.
Mark 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”
Luke 12:56 “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”
One of the complaints that Jesus had with the people of His day is that they did not recognize signs of the times and His coming. What was true in Jesus day is also true in our day as well. Do we recognize what is taking place all around us locally as well as globally?
I read many articles written by Bible scholars telling us that we are in the last days; that this is the last generation and I believe that they are right. We see the alignment of nations according to Ezekiel 38 and 39. We see how the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey is re-emerging. One could go on and bring out many other things taking place today, but I wonder if we see what the Lord is doing in opening doors for us (the Body of Christ) to evangelize the world to finish the task that He gave us two thousand years ago.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Amen.
For example, the turmoil in the Middle East today is also being used of God to bring many Muslims to the Lord. Those who have been working among these people say that more Muslims are coming to the Lord than during all of the other centuries put together. Do we see the open door?
We are told that people are not apt to change unless motivated by some sort of pain. Could this be what the Lord is doing today with so many upheavals that we are reading about, taking place all over the world?
Decades ago my wife and I were on the O.M. Ship Logos in India when war broke out between India and Pakistan and a new country called Bangladesh was born. It used to be East Pakistan with over 100 million Muslims, the third largest Muslim country in the world. It all started when a tidal wave in the Bay of Bengal swept into East Pakistan killing thousands. This led to a war with West Pakistan and ten million refugees fled into the Calcutta area of India. This was costing the Indian government almost one million dollars a day and so India decided it would be cheaper to go to war with West Pakistan and see East Pakistan become a free country. Hence, out of the fire of the war Bangladesh was born and because their lives had been shaken many Bangladeshis were opened to the Gospel.
I was getting ready to speak (I forget what country it was that I was speaking in), but before I was called to the pulpit I was writing down all of the countries that I had been in over the past few years where there had been war, riots or some sort of uprising and how many people were killed in the process. It numbered in the millions.
Yes, we can look at this and say ‘the time is at hand for the Lord’s return’ and I would agree, but my main question would be: do we recognize God’s timing when it comes to evangelizing a people, a nation, or even our neighbor? Because we did not, or do not recognize what the Lord is doing, how many opportunities have we missed in not seeing God’s work being done?
There is a great need for the anointing the sons of Issachar had: “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)
I wonder how many opportunities did I miss because I was lazy, sleeping when I should have been awake, busy with worldly pursuits, not attentive to God and the move of the Holy Spirit, busy building my own kingdom or reputation, etc.? I do not know, but one of these days I will see. Will I be ashamed?
“Father, give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand the signs of the times and have a knowledge of what to do. I ask this in Jesus Name. Amen.”