DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE TIMES?

By Doug Pierce

 “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had UNDERSTANDING OF THE TIMES, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.”

I Chronicles 12:32

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

The wisest man who ever lived was Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. He was not wise because he was a great intellect, however. He was wise due to a specific prayer request: “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). God loved this prayer, and He answered it far beyond what Solomon had asked. He made Solomon the wisest man of his day.

Do you ever pray for discernment, the ability to understand and perceive situations and conditions? It seems now more than ever we need people with discernment, people like the sons of Issachar who have an “understanding of the times” and know what to do.

THE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE

If you want to know the current moral, spiritual, and social climate in America and see how far we’ve drifted from God as a nation, all you need to do is read Romans 1:18-32. We are a society that has, for the most part, turned its back on God and His Word. It’s not a popular thing to honor or acknowledge God on the public scene. Since the Scripture says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,”[1] it makes sense that we no longer have any wisdom, even on the most basic of questions. It has gotten so pathetic in America that we can’t even understand the difference between males and females. We’ve even decided to teach our children if they’re not happy with how they were born, they can choose to change their gender. Its considered transphobic to say only a woman can have a baby. What?!?

May God have mercy!

AMERICA’S SLIPPERY SLOPE

Today I’m simply going to read down through these verses from Romans 1:18-32 where God tells us what happens to a society that makes the decision to reject His wisdom for their own. I’m only citing just a few of the truths in this passage that describe the path a nation heads down as they forsake the Lord…we’re definitely on a slippery slope:

1. THEY BECOME FOOLS – “Professing to be wise, they become fools”. We scratch our heads daily trying to figure out what our president and leaders could be thinking to make the idiotic decisions they’re making (v. 22). Our leaders and society as a whole have become wise in their own eyes . . . ignoring God’s Word.

2. THEY BECOME IDOLATERS – “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever”.(vs. 25) We’re more focused today on “climate change” and “global warming” than the One Who created the globe!

3. THEY BECOME CORRUPT AND DEPRAVED IN THEIR MINDS – We, as a nation, have been given over to impurity (sexual lust and immorality that defiles the body). “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them (homosexuality that defiles and diseases the body). For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (v.26-27). We’re calling, “..evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). We have a president and leaders who recently called the decision to overturn Roe verses Wade by the SCOTUS, “a sad day in our country.” That wasn’t a sad day that was a glad day! How can there be anything good in murdering the unborn . . . even up until nine months? Murdering the unborn is the greatest and most tragic of all of our nation’s sins. On the list of abominations that God hates, “the shedding of innocent blood “(Proverbs 6:17) has to be the worst.

4. THEY ARE GIVEN OVER BY GOD –We read on down,  “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind …” (v. 28). At least three times the Bible says, “…God gave them over…” That phrase is God saying, “Okay, America — if that’s the way you want it — I ’ll let you go — have it your way!” The worst thing that can happen to a nation or individual is for God to let us go our own way and reject His ways! Do you understand that these are the times in which we live? Romans 1:18-32 is as fresh as this morning’s news on Fox.

WHAT CAN WE DO? 

That’s the question we must answer. First, we need to get right with God while there is still time. It is not His ways that are not right; it is our ways that are not right (see Ezekiel 18:29). We desperately need to turn from sin and the wisdom of the world and humbly embrace God as King and His Word as truth. We need to spend time in the Book. To know the truth that sets us free, we have to spend time reading the Bible and evaluating situations, circumstances, and decisions through the lenses of the Word of God. That’s the only way we can become men and women who understand the times! We need to stand up and be counted! We are called to be salt and light. Salt preserves against corruption when it is applied to the fresh fish, meat, or poultry. Light illuminates when it shines on the darkness. May God wake us up to the truth so that we can discern the times and do what is necessary to make a difference!

Think it over…

Doug Pierce is a Church planter and a pastor. In 2003 he started, and continues to pastor First Independent Methodist Church in Madison, Mississippi. His #1 priority is to glorify God in all aspects of ministry. He does this through teaching his congregation to Love God, Love One Another, and Love Others to God. Prayer, outreach, and church growth through evangelism are vital parts of his ministry. He and his wife Suzanne live in Madison, Mississippi where they also enjoy their children and grandchildren. To find out more about Doug‘s ministry visit the FIMC Website

Feature Photo by Wallpaper Access