War! We live in a time of war—in a time of uncertainty!
Russia and Ukraine, a global pandemic (or endemic), culture battles here at home, and an increased cost of living. Is this end? Maybe. Some preachers and internet prophets are eager to make their predictions known on YouTube and TikTok alike or wherever they can find a listening ear. “This is it!” they say. “We’re at the end! No question about it.” Of course, others have said the same before them and guess what? They were all wrong.
I need not remind you, but Jesus said, “About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).
Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not against hearing from God. People at Northgate hear from the Holy Spirit all the time, as do I. As a church, we teach that the gifts of the Spirit are fully operational—alive and well—just like they were in the days of the apostles. In fact, I’ll be teaching a class on how to operate in the Spirit on Tuesday at Northgate, April 5 and 12, 6:30 to 8:30 PM -- you can check that out here. I’m not against hearing from God. What I am against is people claiming to know things that Jesus says only the Father will know. Feel free to disagree. Lots of people do.
At our men’s advance a couple of weeks back, both of our presenters had a word for Northgate. One good and one not so good—or at least that’s how it seemed when initially given.
Two words:
First, Northgate will grow. God’s increasing our influence and thousands will be reached through our church. Hallelujah! My prayer continues to be, “God, give us influence, not fame!”
Second, war is coming! Uh-oh! Added to that, “You’re going to be alright.”
It goes without saying, I liked the first word much better than the second. I wasn’t the only one. Like any western thinker, I’ll take growth over war any day. So, I asked for some clarification from the trusted person who delivered it (I do trust him and his relationship with Jesus). I’ll paraphrase a little, but here’s what he had to say:
As a culture and a country, we’ve entered a time of war. The past seventy years or so have brought great prosperity and health to our nation. It hasn’t been all ups, by any means, but the truth is, we’ve had more ups than downs. The past couple of years and the ones ahead will bring the opposite.
That rings true, doesn’t it? Objectively speaking, we seem to be headed in the wrong direction. Almost every American agrees. Less people are going to church—not to mention a divisive culture, countless broken relationships, run-away inflation, and the rapidly deteriorating global scene.
A person’s posture in war is different than in peacetime. When there’s peace, soldiers are at ease. When there’s war, they stand ready. As a church, therefore, WE must learn to embrace a posture of war. People are dying and many of them without Jesus.
One of my great frustrations these past two years has been the witness of the Church in this country. I’ve made no secret about that. As Christians, we moved from fighting the enemy to fighting each other. We changed from an attitude of service—love God and love your neighbor as yourself—to a posture of survival—let’s fight for our rights and do everything within OUR power to preserve our 21st century understanding of Christian living.
That’s not a wartime posture. It’s naval gazing, at best. Again, don’t get me wrong. The Christian world needs every stripe. While some of us promote peace, at the same time, we need others who will fight for us as we’re promoting peace. But for the Christian, the goal is never simply to survive. It’s to serve.
Northgate, we may in fact be living in the end times. I wouldn’t be surprised at all, even though the Bible says I will be. In a way, we’ve been living in the end days for some 2000 years now.
Jesus IS coming. No doubt about it. We’re just not sure when that will happen and, as a preacher, I’m personally unwilling to speculate in the meantime.
Whether Jesus is returning today or tomorrow, or even a hundred years from now, our critical mission remains the same: to help people become who God purposed them to be. That’s it. Our mission is to lead as many people as possible into relationship with Jesus in the difficult days ahead—not by arguing with them or trying to win a battle, but by loving them.
Besides, with war comes opportunity. In times of peace, people don’t think they need God. In times of war, well, they find out just how much they do.
So, here’s my forecast for what’s it worth: partly cloudy. A little bit of sun. A little bit of a rain. A mix of good weather and bad, all at the same time. Sounds like life, doesn’t it? Whatever happens, as God promised, we’re going to be okay. After all, he said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Church, let’s quit worrying about surviving and where the world’s headed and the rest. Let’s just serve. Let’s shovel driveways, give rides, donate goods, and help at our kids’ schools. Let’s send cards, give compliments, volunteer, add money to expired meters, and buy all the Girl Scout cookies we can afford. And as we fill this surrounding community with love through service, let’s credit each and every act to Jesus, turning hearts to him as fast as we can.
You’re good at that, Northgate. You model that. A lot of churches could learn from you.
And in the meantime, we do pray expectedly, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
I love you and Jesus loves you.