The biblical day began with evening and then morning. Likewise, throughout Scripture it usually became darker before the light would be given. Therefore, when troubles come we should always look expectantly for the light.
Because of wrong or extreme applications of some teachings on faith, there are many Christians who will not listen to warnings about anything bad happening. They believe that if they have enough faith nothing bad will happen. They are usually the least prepared for troubles and the least able to cope with them when they do come, proving ultimately to have the weakest faith of all. The Bible is quite clear about why bad things happen to even the best people, like King David.
When Samuel prophesied over David that he would be the next king of Israel, it was not long before those that he was prophesied to rule over, were seeking to kill him! It looked as if the opposite of what Samuel had prophesied was coming to pass. However, it was these trials that made David into the great man of God that he became.
Faith can calm storms and avert disasters, but it can also navigate through them. Because there are biblical prophecies, even made by the Son of God Himself, the end of this age will be the greatest time of trouble the world has ever known, and no amount of faith is going to change that because "it is written." However, the light will always follow the darkness, and the greatest light usually follows the greatest darkness. We have the light within us, and therefore should be able to see regardless of what conditions we are in.
Even so, the greatest sign of the end of the age is not the tribulation or what the devil is doing, but what God is doing. The greatest sign of the end of the age is going to be the church becoming all that she is called to be, prepared as a worthy bride for the King of kings. That is why the Lord, when asked about the signs of the end of the age, responded with the signs that were almost all great troubles. However, He also said in Luke 17:20-21, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
With all of the focus on the outward signs, many are missing the most important one of all—what is taking place right in our midst. There is something so remarkable going on in the church, and few, even in the church, seem to be seeing it. There is a mighty army such as the world has never seen before, or will see again, starting to come together. What we should be looking for more than anything else is for the Lord to come forth in His people.
The way we know that someone is called as a teacher is not by their knowledge, degrees, or how articulate they are, but by seeing the Teacher in them. Likewise, the way we know that someone is a true pastor is not by their certificates or even their compassion for people, but when we see our Shepherd in them. The way I know that someone is called to leadership in the church is when I see my King coming forth in them. We only have true spiritual authority by abiding in the King.
The Lord really is starting to come forth in His people. We are seeing true teachers, shepherds, pastors, prophets, and I believe soon, true last-day apostles, some of whom are among us now. As I shared last week, we will see even the feeble in the body of Christ rise up as mighty warriors like David. We are going to see the great men and women of God who were raised up throughout church history like seeds, with a thousand like Martin Luther, a thousand like John Calvin, a thousand like John Knox, a thousand like John Wesley, a thousand like Zinzendorf, and a thousand like Billy Graham, and so on. These were all seeds and we are going to see the harvest at the end of the age. However, the greatest of all is to see Jesus coming forth in His people.
When the Lord created man, He commanded us to "be fruitful and multiply" (see Genesis 1:22). Jesus, the Son of man, will have obeyed this more than any other. We are coming to the time when all of the seeds that He has sown into man will come to full maturity. It is true that the seeds the evil one has sown in mankind will also be coming to full maturity, which is what happens at the harvest—the wheat and tares are mature. Even so, we are going to see the power and glory of the wheat greatly overwhelming the tares. Truth is going to prevail over every lie, and life is going to prevail over death. This will be a witness for all of eternity that the One will prevail over any challenge.
There is no question about who is going to win the contest. If we abide in Him we cannot lose, even if we die. In fact, death is swallowed up in victory—the victory of the resurrection. Therefore, no Christian should ever fear death. If we don't fear death, then all other fears should be much easier to overcome. Christians are called to die to this life and to die physically when it is required to stand for the truth of the gospel. However, there is not a Christian who has died that does not feel very sorry for those of us who are still alive. To be in the Lord's very presence should be the greatest desire of every Christian, but while we are here in this life, we must do His will.
To do His will as we should, we must settle the death issue, and we must live by dying to this world every day, just as Paul said that he died daily. He did not live for himself, and he did not live for what he could gain in this world, but in the world to come. We will not be able to live as we should in this life without dying as we should to this life.
Those who have truly died to this life will be the most free and happy people on this earth. Every day is a gift. How would you live if you knew today was your last day on this earth? All of the things that are truly the main priorities of your life would become your focus, and the things that are not that important, which probably now consume most of your time and attention, would no longer be able to do that.
If most of the attention, resources, and energy of the church are being consumed by what is probably the least important, or is bearing the least fruit, it is because that is the state of most Christian's lives, so it carries over into what we do together. One of the greatest gifts we have been given is time. How are we using our time? How would our lives be changed if we lived each day as if it were our last day on this earth? We would live the way Jesus did.
There are some ways that living each day as if it were our last are not practical. There is planning for the future which is required for many things we do. Jesus did this too, teaching and prophesying about the future, and spending much of His time preparing those who would lead. The point is that we need to be the best stewards of what we have been entrusted with. However, as an exercise, try to live one day as if you really think it is your last. It will help you to at least see that which is truly important.
We must be born again to see the kingdom of God, but not all who are born again can see the kingdom. If they did, they would not live lives that are so consumed with the temporary things of this present life. The true leaders who are preparing the way for the kingdom are living from a perspective of the coming kingdom, not this present age.