The Time is Now

John 4:23

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

May I suggest, the hour is now. We are in the hour of which John spoke. Do you have any doubt about that? One good thing the year 2020 has done for us, or should have done for us, is to focus us on that which is important. We should have clarity about the focus of our lives. We are nearing the end of days. This is the time God spoke about through the Apostle John. We have been called to true worship. There is a call out for true worshippers. There is no room remaining for the players. Paper dolls will fold. When we don’t have on our make-up and our Sunday best, what do we look like? Who are we?

I suggest we are the “new” breed of Christians, but when I say that, I think back about the old fashion saints who are our models; people who were, and are, devout in their service to the Lord and dedicated to worship and prayer. True worshippers are not Baptist, Methodist or Catholic. They are every denomination and no denomination. They are sold out Christians who love God and are committed to Christ. And, they are the people the Father seeks.

Regardless of our denominational title we are emerging as a devoted group. There is no room left for pretend Christians whose service to God is superficial. Instead, what you are going to begin to see is people who cash in all their chips on Jesus. They will shed their outer garments and reveal their super-Christian prayer robes. They will worship God in the midst of their friends and family. Their workplaces will become temples of the Holy One.

These are the days. This is the hour. Join the wave and let your true colors show. Lead in true worship from a pure heart.

See also John 4: 24

Live in the Light

John 8: 12

Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Recently another minister and I were to teach on the spiritual realm and believers’ participation therein. We discussed many aspects of the integration of our lives beyond the physical realm. Of course a part of that conversation dealt with communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The scripture says that God is spirit (John 4: 24). Therefore, if we are to commune with God we must engage the spiritual realm. That’s pretty simple logic isn’t it?

The next part of the discussion had to do with angels. Do you know that angels are real beings? They, of course, are spiritual beings, i.e. they are spirits. Well, no big deal there, we are too. Our essential self and that which will never perish is our spirit. The conclusion was that we should certainly be able to recognize angels and the role they play in our everyday life.

Invariably a discussion about angels leads to a discussion about demons. Demons are very real also. They interact with human beings and have throughout human history. Some people deny their existence, some people are afraid of them. Both are inappropriate responses and I imagine that the truth is that those who deny the existence of demons are in truth just afraid and too overcome to admit it. There is no reason for us to fear though. Jesus has overcome all of the powers of darkness. That is part of the good news of the gospel. Fear not!

There is another group of Christians though. These are the ones that obsess on demons and demonology. They see demons everywhere and behind everything. We know by now that balance is always supposed to be a key factor. Any time we are overly involved in any one aspect of life there is probably a balance issue. Here is what this other minister and I discovered as we dialogued. We decided not to discuss demons at all in the soon to follow talk. The reason is that we have discovered that hanging out in the light means that we won’t have to deal as much with the darkness. In other words, when we focus our attention and intention on the light, i.e. Jesus, we do not have to spend as much time fighting demons. They flee from us because they cannot bear the light. If we abide in Christ and he abides in us then we become like a sun storm in the darkness. 

Satan’s forces recognize Jesus. That was evident in the New Testament gospels. When, therefore, we don Jesus as I have been encouraging you to do, you will find that there are fewer issues with pestering demons. I do want to say, though, that there are times when demons have to be dealt with and we are well able to do that. The gospels show us the way. Also, there are people whose ministries specialize in demonology. They have an anointing and calling for that service and we are glad to have them in the body of Christ. For most of us though, we just need to bathe in the light. Jesus’ brother, James, gave us the key to living in a world populated with evil, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4: 7). Resist evil and it will flee but don’t ignore the first part of the prescription, submit to God. If we pitch our tents in the throne room of God and spend time communing with our father, then we will have little worry or trouble from the pawns of evil.