“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).
Urgency, desperation, these words describe how I feel. Certainly the early Ephesian church served Christ during desperate, evil days. Their trouble began with riotous businessmen. The Gospel of Jesus Christ threatened the livelihood of those making and selling idols of the god Artemis. Idol making was big business. The Ephesian temple to Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and housed the world’s largest bank. As the church in Ephesus grew, idol selling plunged, and that brought trouble to the church.
The churches in our nation are facing trouble too. We live in evil days. In June our nation witnessed the celebration, normalization and institutionalization of sexual perversion with the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Failure to participate in the celebration can cost you your job, your business, even your ministry, as those serving in the Kentucky prison system have learned. Ministry inside the church house is safe for now. But those serving as chaplains, or serving in educational institutions, are at risk.
Added to this, nine videos were released this summer showing Planned Parenthood workers discussing and negotiating the sale of aborted baby body-parts. The moral swamp that is PP has its snout deep in the federal trough, receiving over $500 million annually from U.S. taxpayers.
This summer we have witnessed the verbal and physical assault on police officers. As I write, four police officers have been murdered in the last nine days.
Then, this morning, I saw a video of ISIS hog-tying four men, suspending them over a fire, and roasting them in the flames. We are witnessing the eradication of the Church in much of the Islamic-dominated world. Maybe I watch too much news, but I feel as though it’s been a summer of evil.
So what does all of this mean for Northwest Baptists and for you? First, it means that we need you. Your community needs you. Our neighbors need your love and witness and confidence that, despite how things might seem, Jesus wins. Indeed, He has already won. “The prince of this world now stands condemned,” said Jesus (John 16:11). When Jesus Christ rose from the grave He shouted to the world, “I’m in charge. I am history’s champion. And anybody else who lays claim to your life, or seeks to dominate your life, is an illegitimate authority.” Our God is never at His wit’s end. Our God never wonders, “What shall I do?” He knows what he is doing, and our confidence in Him is what the Bible calls “faith.”
Second, as the text in Ephesians says, we must be careful, exercising wisdom. We must pray, speak and act with wisdom. Wisdom requires that our minds be saturated with God’s Word and that we be Spirit-filled. Living for Jesus in an evil world is impossible apart from abiding in Him. This enables us to make “the most of every opportunity.” Believers and churches that create and seize gospel opportunities are those who will win the day. With every problem there is a gospel opportunity – an opportunity to pray, love, and speak truth.
Yes, at times I feel desperate. But more than that, I feel a sense of urgency. Time is short. Heaven is real. But so too is hell. We must be about our Father’s business.