November already?! This year has flown past so quickly, and what a year it has been! Looking where we are now, and the way this year has panned out, it’s easy to recognise that this world has certainly been launched into the last of the last days of the church age.
Jesus warned that these days will be extremely dangerous as we face challenges that will literally cause our faith to be shaken – if we allow it to be. 2 Timothy 3:1 says, “BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].” It will be a time where there is increased wickedness, lawlessness, sin, hatred of good, and people being lovers of self and pleasure rather than God.
According to 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Matthew 24:12, there are significant signs we are to expect that will tell us we are indeed in these last of the last days:
- Wars and rumours of wars, with a heightened rise in conflicts and global instability.
- An increase of intensity of natural disasters, such as earthquakes.
- An increase in deception and false prophets who will spew their convincing, deceptive teachings, leading many astray from the truth of the Gospel.
- The restoration of Israel as a nation, where the world recognises her as a sovereign state.
- The rapid spread of the Gospel across every nation in the world.
- An increase in scoffers who mock the promise of Christ’s return, and ignore the urgency of living a life-style that is ready for Him.
While all of these things are taking place, exactly as the Bible predicted, the reality of us facing challenges that have the ability to shake our faith must not be taken lightly. It’s to this point that we want to encourage you today.
Romans 8:34, in The Passion Translation tells us that our victorious Savior, Jesus Christ, is alive and full of authority, interceding before the Father for our triumph! “Who then is left to condemn us? Certainly not Jesus, the Anointed One! For He gave His life for us, and even more than that, He has conquered death and is now risen, exalted, and enthroned by God at His right hand. So how could he possibly condemn us since He is continually praying for our triumph?”
Hebrews 7:25 and 1 John 2:1 both testify of Jesus’ continuous work for us in heaven, right now! Praise God! Even though the ‘finished work of the cross’ was the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, until His return, He is still vigorously working on our behalf in the realm of the spirit – the realm where we are in Christ Jesus! He is interceding for us to experience everything He died for! What He accomplished, He is continually enforcing before the Father.
No matter what struggle or seemingly impossible difficulty you may be facing, we want to remind you of this truth: As you determine to place your focus wholly on what the Word of God says concerning you being in Christ, and what it says about Him, as a resurrected man, being at the right hand of the Father, your faith will become unshakable!
Here’s another angle of this marvelous truth: God put everything of Himself into Christ, and then He put Christ into us – by His indwelling Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:10, in The Passion Translation says, “And our own completeness is now found in Him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us…”. This means there is nothing we will ever face that we don’t have the answer for, or the power to overcome, because our spirit-man is flooded with the fullness of God!
In 1 John 2:20 we are told that by means of the indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, we have received the unction or anointing to know everything pertaining to what we are facing. In verse 27, we are told that He will teach and instruct us on what to do. This is His commitment to us – He is our Divine Helper! This is how: In Romans 8:26, we are told that even when we don’t know what to pray for, or how to pray as we should concerning the trouble we are experiencing – He will super-intercede for us, as we pray in the Holy Ghost! “And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.” (TPT) Hallelujah! Are you seeing this today?! You have 2 members of the God-Head interceding for your victory!
Now, this is the crucial part of this encouragement to you: To the degree that we renew our minds to these truths and believe them, we will experience their reality in our lives. So, keep your mind focused on these truths, speak in line with them all the time, and you will find the faith of God rise up from within your spirit-man and saturate your soul. You will be able to recognise and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you each step of the way. As you remain grateful and obey everything He tells you to do – you will sense His overwhelming peace and joy and see His favour at work in every detail of your situation.
The last part of Colossians 2:10 says, “He is the Head of every kingdom and authority in the universe!” This means, no-one else gets a vote concerning you. Not the devil, no demon, not even any human opinion has a say concerning your outcome. Jesus is the Head of all authority and He has declared your victory! Remember this, as one church father wrote, “His intercession must be as powerful as His satisfaction!” Everything Jesus accomplished on the cross for our redemption and triumph must be met to the fullest measure in our lives! This is what will satisfy Him concerning us, and it’s with this fervency that He intercedes on our behalf! Just stop and think about the enormity of this!
Dearest partner, lift up your head, take your mind off of the natural circumstances and turn your attention towards these truths – they have the power to save your soul, and deliver it from all fear of failure! Between Jesus and the Holy Spirit – praying and declaring God’s perfect will over your life – it’s impossible for you to not win!
On this victorious note, Jenny and I want to ensure you of our love and appreciation of you! We want to thank you for your continued love, prayers and financial support for this ministry. Please know that as a team, we pray for you too! We are convinced that together, we will see the church of Jesus Christ strengthened and empowered in these last or the last days! The message and mandate of this ministry is to see the Gospel preached to the lost and to cause the faith of Believers’ everywhere, to be unshakable, as we prepare for our Redeemer’s return!
Remain steadfast and unshakable in Him!
