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Part 7 of 20
Understanding the Present Time
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Paul writes in Romans 13:11, "And do this understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber." As believers, we don't live isolated lives divorced from the world around us. We're called to develop a worldview that honors God and understand the present times critically.
To be a believer who does not walk through life thinking critically about the world you live in and how you participate is only going to set yourself up to miss the mark and function in unproductive ways. Many ways you will sacrifice your potential and leave so much of what God can do in your life on the table. Much of the discipline is being attentive: God, help me understand the present times.
We live in times marked by a rise of tribalism that goes far beyond political polarization. This is proud ignorance—we are doing away with fundamental things like humility and integrity because everybody's trying to win an argument and nobody wants to give up leverage. We endorse and even turn a blind eye to the foolishness in our camps because we don't want to acknowledge it in a way that would give up leverage to those we see as opposition. This creates a major, unproductive, unhealthy, and dysfunctional tribalism.
At the present time, there is a collapse of truth. So many vogue ideas and so many differing opinions compete for attention. Whoever marries the spirit of the age will eventually become a widow. So much of this stuff has a shelf life and expires pretty quickly. But the Word of God has stood the test of time. Therefore, it is worth your time to lean in and discover the source of truth.
We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. The assumption was that through the worldwide web and social media, we would all be more connected. What we're discovering at alarming rates is it's actually the opposite. We are becoming more and more isolated and we are growing numb to the superficial interactions we have with people through digital mediums.
At the present time, there is a devaluing of human life. There is a disregard taking place from the womb to the tomb when it comes to human life.
We are living at the present time where there is a mental health crisis. Anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, and they are getting younger and younger. As a responsible believer trying to understand the present times, this is something you should be mindful of.
At the present time, there is an excess of information. The amount of information now at our fingertips is accelerating the rate of change within our world. What once took years to double information now takes hours. What once took a couple decades for a generation to integrate into their behaviors and characteristics now happens overnight.
The problem is: we are over-informed yet simultaneously we are becoming under-formed. We do not need more information. If anything, we need more interpretation. What do I make of this? We need someone with the imprint of heaven and some brokenness in their life to be a vessel and help interpret what God is saying.
At the present time, there is a cheapening of words. A very obvious example is the overuse of the word love. You love your spouse, but you also love pizza. We apply the same word to completely different things. We live in times where we are redefining fundamental words, overusing fundamental words, and misusing fundamental words.
At the present time, there is a normalizing of chaos. Very practically speaking, this is the parent who says, "Oh, my kid just cussed me out, but they're just being a teenager." No—that's just us normalizing dysfunction. We're normalizing chaos. We're saying, "Well, this is now the way our world functions and operates," and suddenly we are becoming numb and okay with things that a few decades ago would have jolted everybody and gripped us in our heart.
We are living at the present time where there is a branding of identity. Daily agendas—think about all the marketing information that bombards you every single day. The messaging: You need to buy this. You need to do this. This is how you need to look. This is how you need to behave. These are the people you need to hang out with. It is constantly trying to move all of us into some mold of conformity where we start to take on the world's identity rather than looking to our creator to understand: Why did you make me and what on earth did you place me here for this moment in purpose?
If you do not wake up every single day asking God, "Why am I here and what do you want to do in my life?" you're going to step out the front door and get a thousand opinions as to what you should do, and it's going to come with an agenda and strategy. It's alarming.
At the present time, there is a displacement of God. The more prideful a generation becomes, the more arrogant we become, the more we feel we can just push God aside. That's what we would call ego—edging God out. You've gotten yourself so puffed up that you think you can do this on your own and you do not need the help of an almighty, righteous God who split the skies and provided a remedy for our brokenness. No—you've displaced that and now you are settling for lesser things.
Here is the one that is encouraging: the spread of the gospel. Simultaneously, despite all these concerning themes, the gospel is going forward in a mighty way. You are seeing revival in unexpected places all around the world.
You are seeing in places throughout Africa, even in places like Iran and India where there is at times hostility towards the faith, revival breaking out and underground churches taking place. The gospel is being spread. The next generation coming up is looking at millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers and thinking, "Why'd you get so comfortable? Why'd you become so superficial in your faith? I don't want a performance. I want substance. I want truth. I want an experience with the living God. Give me something I can anchor my life to."
These kids are serious about their faith. They are not falling to peer pressure the way some of us did. They don't care if it's popular. There is an awakening taking place across the globe, not just in our society. It is being driven by hungry young people who are so tired of the artificial—they want a real experience. It is amazing to see what is happening.
We live in a tension—the tension of darkness and light. We live in the tension between giving ourselves over to gratify our flesh or to live in accordance with the spirit that is now at work within us. God has the ability to weave his redemptive plan in and through the world and to continue moving forward, fulfilling his promises and accomplishing everything he said he would accomplish despite our brokenness, despite all the wickedness, despite all the things that should be concerning.
If you track church history, what you cannot ignore is that things are continuing to trend in God's favor. This movement started out with a rag-tag group of uneducated fishermen who followed Jesus for a few years. They listened to him predict his death and resurrection, and then they saw him pull it off—though they too were doubtful. But they told the next person, and the next person told the next person, and before long this began to spread. It jumped outside Galilee and toppled the Roman Empire. It jumped over oceans, and now the gospel is proclaimed on every continent around the world because it continues despite the darkness.
Light is breaking through, and we're thankful that God is still on the move. He's still breaking through. There is a tendency for you and I to develop apathy, to become distracted, to develop numbness in our soul. And for whatever reason, we stop living as agents of change and as a reflection of Christ. We too wander aimlessly through life in the dark.
But the question is: Are you going to be someone who lives your entire life in the dark, or are you going to be someone who says, "No, I've surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and I am living as a reflection of him in the light"? That is an amazing thing.
Paul makes a clear statement about our present moment: "The night is nearly over and the day is almost here. So, put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." The world contains both discouraging things and good things happening simultaneously, but here's the critical truth: the darkness does not have the final word. In the end, light will triumph over darkness, and it will be defeated.
You can live with optimism, passion, urgency, and confidence knowing that evil, wickedness, hatred, and sickness will be overcome. The night is almost over. You don't have to have full control over everything, but you know the one who does, and you can trust him resolutely.
When Paul refers to "the day being almost here," he's talking about the second coming of Christ. This is not negotiable. The belief that Christ will return is an unshakable truth of our faith. Christ showed up once—he punished sin and preserved the sinner—and he will show up again to redeem all things. He's faithful. He doesn't abandon us or leave us as orphans. He honors his words, and he will split the sky with a shout and a trumpet, and all of us will witness the coming king.
How exactly that looks, we don't need to know. We only need to be on the lookout and be ready for it.
There's a tendency for people to fall into unproductive calculation—trying to pinpoint the exact times and seasons. Scripture is clear: nobody will know the day and time. It's not about calculation; it's about cultivation. The question is: How do I ready myself? How do I prepare for this moment that is drawing near?
Every generation has had voices saying, "We're living in the end times." The era after the resurrection is categorically known as the "end times" or "last days," but whether we're living in the last days of the last days is not something we need to feel pressed to explain. What matters is this: whether Christ returns in our lifetime or not is somewhat irrelevant, because every single day you and I live moves us in the direction of our grave, toward our final moments. This is a universal fact—we were all born to die.
As Christians, we believe that the moment you breathe your last breath, you stand in the presence of a holy, righteous, and almighty God who sits on the judgment seat. This is a big deal. No Christian should ever speak casually about the death or loss of life of any person, because we understand the magnitude of what has just happened—that person stepped into the presence of the Almighty.
Whether Christ is showing up on our doorstep or whether we're about to show up on his, the day is drawing near where we will meet our maker. Paul is sounding an alarm: Wake up. Eternity is real. Everyone spends forever somewhere. For the Christian, this present world is as close to hell as you'll ever be. For the non-believer, this is as close to heaven as you'll ever be. That's a weighty tension.
We don't take these matters lightly. We don't go through life passively. We don't operate with misplaced urgency, giving all our time and energy to meaningless secondary things while overlooking the fact that the day is drawing near when I will meet my maker, and I want to be ready for that day.
Some people are pushing their luck and procrastinating, and they're going to have a jarring wake-up call. It's like that alarm clock that rolled off the dresser—the only way to stop it was to get out of bed and hunt it down. Before long, your blood's flowing, and you're awake.
Paul isn't whispering a gentle recommendation. He's saying, "No, wake up. I'm sounding the alarm."
"Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." There's something about carrying virtue and Christlikeness—taking on his character—that readies you for the battles you're going to face. It readies you for the inconvenience, trials, and suffering coming your way.
To be a Christian doesn't mean God will wave a wand over your life and make everything perfect. It's probably going to be the opposite. When you anchor your life to the living Word of God and live in step with the Savior of the world, you become a threat to darkness's agenda. And so the birthmark of a Christian is a target.
But when you walk in the light and anchor your life to the virtues of Christ, living according to God's Word, you stand with armor ready for whatever's coming your way.
Think about homecoming—all the preparation that goes into that day. The dresses, flowers, pictures, dinner plans, the car. Now imagine: a well-prepared date shows up on the doorstep—dressed sharp, flowers in hand, ready for the evening. He's standing in the entryway, waiting. Then the daughter comes around the corner still in her pajamas with bed head and morning breath.
That would be awkward. You committed to this date. You knew it was coming. How are you not ready? Your date is here, and he's impressive. But you're not ready.
During this season, consider this: We will all have a homecoming, and we will meet the Bridegroom who is world class. As a Christian, you know that day is coming. You've committed to this date. The day is drawing near, but you can't go through life with nappy hair, bad breath, and pajamas, not living on mission, not readying yourself.
This isn't so that God will love you more when you step into that moment—he already loves you more than you can imagine. If you're in Christ, you're secure. But it's about wanting to stand in that moment and have the most exhilarating, successful experience with your heavenly Father that you possibly can. You're not just going through the motions. You're not falling into apathy.
Here's the critical insight: You can get really obsessed with the what that the gospel informs and overlook the who that the gospel introduces. If you don't anchor your what in a who, living this out with faithfulness and longevity becomes very difficult.
Why do we get ready? Why do we put on the armor of light? Because we know who's coming. One of the best exercises in your faith is to get really familiar with the names, aliases, and nicknames of Christ—because your identity shapes your activity.
When you understand how robust, magnificent, and mind-stretching he is, it opens your heart with confidence, faith, and passion:
That's who's coming. When you know that the arrival of a king is imminent, you don't passively wander aimlessly in the dark. You orient your life the best you can for the biggest moment of your life—when you meet your maker.
For some of you, the most important choice you could possibly make is this: I am choosing to step out of darkness and into light by embracing a relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This shifts eternity in your favor. You are adopted into the family of God—not because you're impressive, but because God is that good.
The day is drawing near. Will you be ready?
