Ho Kairos Mou - "My Appointed Time" Series

How do we respond to such an awesome fact? When our puny human brains try to contemplate such an awesome fact, it leads some to despair. They throw up their hands and wonder, "Why try anything if God already knows what’s going to happen?" Other like Judas revolt and say, "I’ll show God who’s in charge. I don’t believe it. I am the master of my own destiny!" Then again, others just ignore this fact of the Scriptures and try not to think about it. But how do we respond in the right way? Is there a right way to respond?

We know there is a wrong way. I wouldn’t doubt that Judas was trying to control Jesus’ future - to make him either fish or cut bait by forcing his arrest. His guilt after Jesus’ arrest seems to show us that he didn’t fully think or realize that Jesus would not fight back. Judas was probably frustrated at the way Jesus was acting - and wanted to take matters into his own hands. When he stopped trusting God and tried to make his own actions - look at where it led him to - betrayal of the worst sort. When we don’t trust the fact that our times are in God’s hands - we do the same thing. When we try and force the issue with God - draw a line in the sand and say to God - "you have to answer my prayer NOW" - we end up like Judas. The times are not in OUR hands. When we try to make them ours, we only end up trying to play God! Imagine if a farmer planted his seeds in fall and then was bound and determined to gather his crop in winter time. All of the other farmers would call him a complete idiot - an impatient fool! A farmer has to wait for the appointed time - spring time and summer and fall - to gather his harvest. He is under the mercy of the sun. That is the way that God calls on us to live as Christians - you are under the mercy of the Son. You cannot achieve anything until God has determined that it is your time to happen. Riches, marriage, job, home - your times are in God’s hands.

So how do we live then? Do we not even think about the times or concern ourselves with them? No. Jesus rebuked the disciples in Luke 12 for NOT knowing their times.

He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ’It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ’It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

They should have known that with the coming of Jesus something earth shattering - life changing was happening. Yet they didn’t get it! They sat and wondered who Jesus was - when it was OBVIOUS He was the Christ. They should have been able to see the signs and know the times - that the Messiah had come as promised.

As we live in the times we live in, you would have to be ignorant or blind not to see how the times are progressing exactly as how Jesus predicted in Matthew 24 - going from "bad to worse." As we see the deterioration of our society, which is only following upon the deterioration of the European society, we can see a global meltdown of epoch proportions. You’d have to be blind not to understand and see that Satan is being loosed more and more, just as Jesus predicted. Know your times. Ignorance is not bliss. Don’t stick your head in the sand and try and convince yourself that things are only getting better. With terrorism and liberalism and the ecumenical movement on the rise - it’s not going to get better - even if partial birth abortion is repealed and conservative ideals are voted through in our government.