“Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”   1 Timothy 6:19

Hard Times Are Coming — Thy Will Be Done

Hard times are soon to befall the entire world — especially in America.

The difficult times ahead will be especially tough for this country, due to the fact that we have been accustomed to ease for such a long time.

It will be quite a dramatic shock when we make the transition from ease and comfort to hard times and tribulation.

Most do not want to think about — let alone dwell upon — the thought of hard times coming.  However, this is a symptom of lukewarmness and love for the world.

We are to either think about these things ahead of time and make preparations, or neglect that which The Spirit is saying to The Church for this present hour — thereby suffering the consequences later.

Many claim hard times will never come, especially in America and/or the Western world; or, if they do arise, that The Church will be taken out of the way before God would allow this to happen.

I interject what kind of commitment, dedication, and attitude toward one’s Christian walk is displayed in such a stance as this?

Do Christians really think that they can dictate to God what is, or what is not to occur?

I find this quite arrogant to say such a thing, considering the millions of saints which have suffered previously in times past — and even as we speak.

My purpose in this writing is not to dispute or argue over anything.  However, I believe that it is these same attitudes towards the thought of potentially hard times occurring that will reflect ultimately in how we submit ourselves unto God and to His will.

I will show later how total submission to our Heavenly Father is so very needful.

What is coming?  Well, we know what 2 Timothy 3:1 says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

Perilous times are here now, and are sure to only increase as we go on.  Of a certainty I can say, things will continue to wax worse and worse until — and only until — The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, finally returns!

Until then, what can we expect?

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”   Matthew 24:12

Update

Over the years we’ve seen an influx of mass shootings.  What used to be only in the big cities is now in the small towns.

When I originally wrote this message –– which is evident in the paragraph below — Columbine had just happened and was fresh in everyone’s mind.

Think about what all has happened since that time!  We’ve seen one shooting after another.  It wasn’t long after that we witnessed Jonesboro, Arkansas, West Paducah, Kentucky, university campuses, and countless others.

Friends, this is happening now!  Today, I read in the newspaper of yet another incident of a student killing other students and teachers.

Never have we witnessed so many incidents of children killing children, children killing adults, and children killing themselves.

It is horrible enough for adults to be committing these acts.  But, when a child participates in such vile acts, one can only conclude that the hedge of God’s protection has been lifted and mankind is falling victim to the most depraved of demonic influence.

The Holy Bible speaks of children exercising rule over a people as a result of decaying sin and wickedness,

“And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable”   Isaiah 3:4-5

Verse 12 starts by saying,

“As for my people, children are their oppressors…….”   Isaiah 3:12

Why again?

“For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against The LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”   Isaiah 3:8-9

It is evident that sin is abounding.  Thank God that during these times, “…….grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

But, the multiplication of sin, evil, and wickedness seems to be exponentially growing at an unstoppable rate.

We are on a collision course with the days of Noah,

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all”   Luke 17:26-27

Besides the people being drunk for the things of this life, what else characterized these days?

“……..and the earth was filled with violence”   Genesis 6:11

We are in these days now….

Revelation 13 describes an end time beast system that will exercise power over all that dwell upon the earth.

This beast will have the worship of those,

“…….whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”   Revelation 13:8

We are rapidly approaching witnessing the time when this prophecy of nearly 2000 years ago will come to fruition.

Granted, this passage of Scripture may have been on the minds of the early Christians under the rule of the likes of Nero, Diocletian, Titus, and the rest of the Roman emperors; but we will see its complete fulfillment in the not-so-distant future.

This beast system points to a worldwide dictatorship under the rule of a man and a false prophet.  We are only a few years, if not months away, from the unveiling of the new world order which will introduce a global government, global economy, and a one world religion.

Globalists are now referring to it as the great reset.  Organizations such as the United Nations, the United Religions Organization, and the WEF are expediting this process and bringing it to pass.

The world is so interdependent now that we are practically already living in the prophesied global system.

When this system comes to fruition, Revelation 13:7 states that the beast will, “………make war with the saints, and (to) overcome them………”

Some Christians claim that they are not part of this group of “saints” — that this is a later group of believers found during the tribulation hour.

I will only say this: I would be absolutely terrified to pick and choose just where in The Bible that I was found as a saint.

For one to say that this group of “saints” categorizes me here, but does not categorize me there, might just exclude one from being categorized as a saint at all!

After all, isn’t it most appropriate for a Christian to simply say, “The Word of God talks about the saints — that’s me!”

If you pick and choose where you are found as a saint in The Holy Word of God, God may just eventually pick and choose your name right out of The Lamb’s Book of Life,

“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book”   Revelation 22:19

Strong?  Yes!  But The Word of God cannot be picked over.  We cannot receive that which appeals to our flesh, while discarding that which appears unpleasant.

The Word of God cannot be compromised!  Our soul’s salvation is far too important to play Russian Roulette with!

That leads me to the central point of this message.  Undoubtedly, perilous times are ahead.  As stated, the beast system is gearing up to, “………devour the whole earth………” (Daniel 7:23); foreign troops have been known to be housed on our soil; the threat of nuclear war is real; plagues and diseases (now what we call the global pandemic) are multiplying; we are on the verge of the most gigantic economic collapse in the history of the world; the natural disasters and calamities only continue to increase with greater rapidity and strength; and the list goes on and on.

The only thing I could add to this would be food shortages and famine is on the horizon.

As far as what is precisely going to transpire remains to be seen.  We can only be certain of that which is found written in the Scriptures.

What is written will be fulfilled.  I am firmly convinced, however, that God has shown me indeed that truly hard times are coming to the world very soon.

How do we respond to these warnings?  It is convenient for many to simply dismiss such messages and continue on as if life will go on forever.

It is rather sad to say, but often, professing Christians are far more likely to dismiss such warnings than the average sinner on the street.

Jesus confronted such of His day,

“………..O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”   Matthew 16:3

I believe that Our Lord would have us to respond to such warnings of hard times and peril in the same way that He once did in the Garden of Gethsemane,

“………Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”   Luke 22:42

This attitude of submission should not only be applied to the outlook we have regarding the days ahead of us, but also to our daily walk with Christ in general.  Submission unto the will of The Father should be our first priority— above all else!

That is exactly the example Jesus gave us in the garden.  In the midst of extreme sorrow and heaviness, Jesus exemplifies perfect submission unto the will of The Father,

“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”“  Matthew 26:37-39

Scripture tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are while He was on the earth,

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are………”   Hebrews 4:15.

In the garden, He was probably persevering His most challenging temptation yet.  But, even as Hebrews also finishes by telling us that He,

“………..was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (vs. 15), He accordingly overcame in the garden, “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done”   Matthew 26:42.

His test was complete.  He had submitted perfectly unto the will of The Father.  He had overcome the temptation of His flesh to not yield to what He knew was to be a most suffering trial ahead.

He was exchanging His will for that of The Father’s.  That, dear saints of God, is also what our God expects from us today.

In the same way that Jesus said, “Father, thy will be done,” He also expects us to follow His example and say unto Him today,

“LORD, Your will be done in my life. No matter what the consequences, no matter what the cost, no matter what I lose or gain, whether it be sorrow or gladness, whether it be good times or bad, whether it be life or death, Your Will be done!”

Didn’t the Apostle Paul give a similar example of submission unto God?

“By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live, as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things”    2 Corinthians 6:8-10

Hallelujah!  Isn’t our God Wonderful! With Christ living in our souls, it does not matter what circumstance we are presently facing in life.

Even in the midst of having seemingly nothing, we can be assured of the fact that we actually possess all things!

It is going to require this same attitude of submission to withstand in the evil days ahead of us.  We must be willing to say, “Dear Lord Jesus, no matter what happens, I am going to trust You,” thereby submitting ourselves unto whatsoever He desires for us in this last hour, for we do not want to be one of those that shall, “……….be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:10), due to the beginning of sorrows and tribulation coming upon the world.

As I often refer to, we need to be like Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him”  (Job 13:15).

If we put our lives completely into God’s Hands, and submit unto His will, He will truly work out all things for our good.

He promises to never leave us nor forsake us.  He will be with us through all things — thick and thin!

We must learn to say, “Yes, Lord,” even when we are unsure of the circumstances.  We must trust in His sovereign Hand of protection and provision.

We may truly come boldly to the throne of grace to ask for help in our time of need.  He will help us, providing that we have previously submitted our lives unto His will.

If we have indeed submitted ourselves unto His will, then our prayers should always be right on target.

Then, we may truly ask anything in His Name and He will do it, “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

I often hear this Scripture so terribly abused by especially prosperity teachers and preachers.  You cannot just ask God for anything and expect to receive it, if you are not found in perfect subjection unto His will.

You see, if you are in perfect subjection unto the will of The Father, then your number one prayer will always be to remain in just that — His perfect Will!   Everything else will pale in comparison!

Your prayers cannot revolve around the things of this world.  If you are in subjection unto The Will of The LORD, then your number one desire will consistently be to be found pleasing to Him and to have His will done in your life.

What is His common will for all of us?

Simple, “………..seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”   (Matthew 6:33)

If our sights are set on the Kingdom of Heaven and on being in perfect subjection unto the will of The Father, then our prayers will generally reflect that which is in accordance with His will.

Hence, again, “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

He will be able to answer our prayers because it has already been prayed and asked for in accordance with His will. If we seek and desire for His will, we will know His Will — which is laid out for us in His Word.

The opposite end of the spectrum is praying for the purposes of expending on one’s lusts,

“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not”   James 4:2

I often hear the last part of this Scripture commonly misused as well.  People really like to quote, “……….ye have not, because ye ask not.”

That’s a favorite with many. However, they also mistakenly forget to add on verse 3, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

And this is the exact opposite of submitting oneself unto the will of God!

Ultimately, it is our choice: we can either serve God or serve ourselves — or Satan, for that matter.  But, serving God will always put us on the victorious side.

Man’s knowledge and wisdom is limited.  And God says that even that is foolishness to Him.  God is able to take care of His people — if we will only allow Him to.

We may not always know what is ahead of us, or be able to easily accept that which is on the horizon, or we may even be hesitant to obey at times.

But, ultimately, we still need to be able to say, “Father, thy will be done.”

This is how He taught us to pray, and this is how He will bring us through victorious!

Hallelujah To His Holy Name!

 

~ Rich Fyke

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Rich Fyke of Eternal Life Ministries is a watchmen, pastor, and Bible teacher, with a specific calling to wake up the end time Church.  His desire is to prepare the people of God for The Coming of The LORD and for the things leading up to His Coming.
Eternal Life Ministries also operates on YouTube and Facebook.

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