Discerning The Signs Of The Times

 COMMENTARY FAITH WND NEWS CENTER

A NEW BEGINNING

Exclusive: Greg Laurie warns against a disconnect between personal life and spiritual life

By Greg Laurie
Published June 7, 2024 at 6:10pm

I like to check the latest weather forecast every morning. 

I want to know what to expect for the day. 

I don't know why I do this, because I probably could predict the weather more accurately on my own. 

That's because bald men are always the first to know when it's raining.

Jesus warned, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times" (Matthew 16:2–3 NKJV).

And writing to the church in Thessalonica, the apostle Paul said, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 NKJV).

Bible prophecy is a fascinating subject to explore. 

But we must never study prophecy or the events the Bible describes as happening during the end times in a merely academic way. 

When we read about these events, it should always move us and give us a sense of compassion, because we're reading about a real judgment that will come upon the world.

We see in the Old Testament that when God revealed to Daniel how end times events would play out, Daniel was stunned and unable to say a word. 

It moved him. And it should move us as well.

As we consider the nearness of Christ's return, it should cause us to want to reach out to unbelieving friends, family and loved ones. 

It should affect the way that we live and motivate us to live more godly lives.

John wrote, "Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure" (1 John 3:2–3 NLT).

All around us are signs of the times telling us that Jesus Christ is coming back at any time. 

It's like a storm that is brewing. 

You don't know when it will happen, but you know it's coming. 

In the same way, we can interpret the times and the seasons. 

As we see what is happening in the world and the state it's in right now, we know that Christ's return is near.

Paul went on to say, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:6–8 NKJV).

"Therefore let us not sleep, as others do." 

It seems like some people in the church are perpetually jet-lagged. They aren't watching the times and seasons. 

There's a passiveness, even a laziness, and a disconnect between their personal life and their spiritual life. 

Instead of walking in the Spirit, they're walking in their sleep.

Paul was saying, "Look, you need to awaken from your spiritual sleep, from unresponsiveness and inactivity concerning the things of God. Wake up! Pay attention!"

Sometimes we can be lulled into a spiritual slumber. 

We can become content, well-fed Christians as we read the Bible and go to church, constantly taking it all in. 

The problem is that we need an outlet for the truth we've received in our lives. 

God doesn't give us these truths to merely hoard. 

He gives us these truths to share.

"But let us watch and be sober." 

When I became a Christian, I met some believers who thought I needed to be more sober, because I was always joking and trying to have fun. 

But being sober doesn't mean that we can never smile or laugh. 

It simply means that we are to be clearheaded, alert and steady. 

It means living with our eyes open.

Some people assert that Christians are out of touch, that we are so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. 

What nonsense. No one does more for the world than those who are heavenly minded. 

As I have often said, wherever you see great relief organizations, you see Christians reaching out to people, regardless of their beliefs or lack thereof. 

It is the Christians who are showing compassion in every practical way.

"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." 

The apostle Paul spent a good deal of time under house arrest, chained to a Roman soldier. 

He could closely observe their armor, and in this text, he mentions two pieces in particular: the breastplate and the helmet.

The breastplate generally was made of leather and protected the soldier's vital organs. 

And notice that Paul referred to it as a breastplate of "faith and love" not a breastplate of feelings. 

We are to live the Christian life by faith, not by fickle emotions that come and go. 

We are to have faith and love for God and his people.

Next was the helmet, which obviously was of vital importance. 

We need to put our helmets on and protect command central, because most temptations that come to us will come in the realm of our minds. 

It's in our minds that we reason, contemplate and imagine. 

We can reach into the past through memory and into the future through imagination. 

That is why we need to guard our minds.

Not only that, but "the hope of salvation" Paul referred to is the hope that salvation gives us. 

Our eternal destiny is secure. 

And we are to take the salvation that God has given us and live it out, applying it in every area of our lives as we await the return of Christ.

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