In The Right Place At The Right Time

IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

By Pastor Jim May

In December of 1944, the German Army had mounted an offensive in the dead of winter as a last ditch effort to cut off the Allied armies from their sources of provisions coming into Europe. Known as the Battle of the Bulge, this attack found one American division, the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne, completely surrounded by the Germans at a little village that was founded at a railroad junction in France. The town’s name was Bastogne. The German commander sent a note to Gen. MacAuliffe of the Americans demanding that the Americans surrender or face annihilation. The answer to that German request has forever been recorded in the annals of history. One single word signaled the determination of the 101st Airborne to never surrender and never quit. He simply said, “Nuts”.

That’s the kind of fighting spirit we need in the church right now. At a time when it seems that the devil has declared all-out war against God’s people, and even seems to be advancing on all fronts, it’s time for those who are truly born again to stand up and send the answer back to hell and refuse to surrender.

Certainly we are going to have a battle on our hands. As time draws ever nearer to the coming of the Lord, Satan is making a last ditch effort to destroy the gospel message in the earth.

But he cannot win. The church is triumphant. How can we lose with God on our side? I almost feel sorry for the devil, but not really.

When I think of the multiplied millions of people who will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire because of Satan’s lies and deceitfulness, I can’t help but rejoice when I read about his final demise in the Book of Revelation. There we are told that the archangel of God will lay hold on him and cast him into the bottomless pit where he will be held prisoner until he is released for the last time, only to be utterly defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire along with all his fallen angels and sinful men.

We are living in some exciting times. You and I are God’s chosen generation who are at the right time, and in the right place, to see all of these things come to pass.

In 1 Peter 2:9 we are called, "… a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light…"

How many of you are peculiar? If you really want to know, don’t determine the answer for yourself; just ask your family, friends and neighbors. I guarantee that most of them will think that you are really strange.

Who else in your neighborhood will wake up in the middle of the night and go pray for someone? Who else in your neighborhood will get up early on a Sunday morning, get all dressed nicely, get into the car, rain or shine, and go down to a church where some preacher will stand and preach for an hour? Who else in your neighborhood is happy, and at peace with all men? Who else in your neighborhood displays any of the fruits of righteousness and gets involved in ministry to people that they don’t know?

I’m telling you that you are a peculiar bunch, because you love the Lord with all your heart, and your lives reflect that love in everything you do. Your whole life is a shining example of praise and service to the Lord Jesus Christ, and you make everyone around you feel most uncomfortable because they don’t know Him like you do.

Because we are at war with the devil, God has especially equipped the church in these last days. He has given us power to tread on that old serpent, and crush his head into the ground.

We sang that chorus last night declared over and over again that, “We went to the enemy’s camp and we took back what he stole from us.”

We took back the souls of our loved ones who were stolen from right within the church. And we will continue to take them back by the power of the Holy Ghost.

We took back the victory that Satan snatched from our hands, and we will not surrender that victory again.

We took back the joy of the Lord that was stolen through trials, tests and temptations, and we will not lose that joy again.

We took back the mercy and grace of God that Satan told us was gone.

And we took back the truth when he tried to substitute it with a lie.