These Are The Days!
2 Cor 6:2
2 For He says:
"In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you."
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (NKJV)
2 Cor 6:2
2 God says, …
…Listen, now is God’s acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
(God’s Word Translation)
In the back of my mind, I remember a TV show that had a theme song called “Those Were the Days.”
“Boy the way Glenn Miller played,
Songs that made the hit parade.
Guys like us we had it made.
Those were the days.”
Have you ever had a time when you thought about how things were when you were a kid, then said the words, “Those were the days”? I’m sure we all have those moments.
Tonight, I want to challenge you not to look back at those days, but to see today, 2009, & realize that “These are the days!”
Title: ~~~
What days are these?
These are the days of…
I) Elijah
Elijah shaped the history of his day and dominated Hebrew thinking for centuries afterward.
Elijah’s prophetic activities emphasized the unconditional loyalty to God required of the nation of Israel. His strange dress and appearance (2 Kings 1:8), his fleetness of foot (1 Kings 18:46), his rugged constitution that resisted famine (1 Kings 19:8), and his cave-dwelling habits (1 Kings 17:3; 19:9) all suggest that he was a robust, outdoors-type personality.
Elijah was opposed to the accepted standards of his day, when belief in many gods was normal. He appears in the role of God’s instrument of judgment upon a wayward Israel because of the nation’s widespread idolatry. The miracles that Elijah performed occurred during the period when a life-or-death struggle took place between the religion of Jehovah and BAAL worship.
Elijah’s views were in conflict with those of King Ahab. Ahab had attempted to cultivate economic ties with Israel’s neighbors, especially Tyre. One of the consequences was that he had married Jezebel, a daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre. Ahab saw no harm in participating in the religion of his neighbors, particularly the religion of his wife. Therefore, he established a center of BAAL worship at Samaria. Influenced by Jezebel, Ahab gave himself to the worship of Baal. Suddenly Elijah appeared on the scene.
Elijah understood that the nation of Israel had a mission to preserve its religious system-the worship of the one true God-in a pure form without any mixture with idol worship. Elijah was strongly opposed to the worship of pagan gods such as Baal and Asherah. This uncompromising stand often endangered his life by bringing him into conflict with those in positions of power, especially Queen Jezebel and her followers.
Elijah’s impact on the prophetic movement among the Hebrew people was extensive. He stands as the transitional figure between Samuel (the adviser and anointer of kings) and the later writing prophets. Like the prophets who followed him, Elijah emphasized Israel’s responsibility for total commitment to their God and the covenant responsibilities which God and His people had sworn to each other.
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
These are the days that believers must stand in boldness & prophetically declare what thus saith the Lord! Declare His Word in the midst of a dark sinful world. When a President is sworn in that stands against everything we stand for & believe in, dare to declare the truth! Declare His Word even though it’s not popular. In a time when the church for the most part thinks that in order to reach the world we must become like them, I say stand up & be different.
I still believe what the Word declares in…
Rom 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (KJV)
If anyone can bring about change, it’s the church under the anointing of the Holy Ghost!
These are the days of…
II) Ezekiel
The name Ezekiel in the Hebrew means, “God will strengthen.”
He was a prophet to the captive children of Israel. I believe the Lord is saying that these are the days that the Church must rise up & prophesy to those held captive by sin & distress, “Your deliverance has come!”
Ezek 37:1-10
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. (KJV)
It’s time for the Church to rise up on their feet, an exceeding great army.
These are the days of…
III) The Harvest
John 4:35
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
(KJV)
Church, the harvest is ready!
It’s time to reap the harvest!
He needs laborers in the field.
Matt 9:37-38
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (KJV)
Notice he said the harvest is “plenteous.” In Luke it says, “Great.” I believe the harvest He’s talking about, the harvest we’re going to see compares to that in the days of Acts. I believe we’re going to see souls come in by the hundreds & even thousands.
We must pray for laborers. However, we must first be willing to say, “here am I, send me.” These are the days that we must grab our sickle (the Word) & thrust it into the harvest field.
Mark 4:29
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. (KJV)
(Close)
The time would fail for me to tell of Moses, the restorer of righteousness. What about David rebuilding the temple of praise, as the song says.
The point is, as our text says, “Now is God’s acceptable time.”
These are the days!
These are the days of the Church!
Today is the day of Salvation!
