Do This - Knowing The Time

Transcript

Wake Up From Spiritual Sleep

SPEAKER_00 0:07

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Perilous Times And Last Days

Revelation And Walking In Light

Wise Walking And Redeeming Time

Lay Aside Darkness Put On Light

Fruitfulness Visitation Restoration

The Armor Of Light Not Saul’s

Unbelief Versus Exceptional Faith

Put On Christ Step Into Nearness

SPEAKER_01 0:13

The spiritual conditions that pose a threat to believers if we do not awake out of our slumber. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in latter times, that's where we are right now, latter times, some shall depart from the faith. And we wonder how that could be. How could some depart? They go to sleep, they walk in darkness, they do not walk in light, and they become duller and duller, their spiritual senses. That is a great danger. And this is something that we have to be wary of in this day and age. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. 2 Timothy 3 1. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. And we look at and we're thinking about it could be wars, could be famines, it could be all kinds of things that is a threat to humankind. But how many times have we looked at this and wondered or thought about this? Could this relate in any way to our spiritual being in our spiritual life? We live in perilous times, and we need to awaken from sleep, and we need to get on and be about and do what our Father wants us to do. And we have to walk in revelation. Every believer has their own path. You have yours, I have mine. But that path is dark many times, and we need revelation. Ephesians chapter 5, verses 13 through 17. But all things become visible when they are exposed to the light. In other words, we have revelation. Or we'll say, God showed me something. For everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason, it says, awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. This is exactly how faith works. Faith works when we take that step. We might not know what's going to be involved in the step, but as we take it, everything is illuminated to us. And as we step out in God, the darkness flees and we can see. Therefore, be careful how you walk. Not as unwise men, but as wise. When God gives us light on something, and we step out, and we're going to say, I don't think I'm going to walk there. I'm going to walk over here. We have to be very careful because God has a path for us to walk on. When my life comes to an end, I want to be able to look back and think that I did your will, oh God. That I walked not only where he wanted me to walk, but I walked how he wanted me to walk. And sometimes people say, How will we know that? Step out, come out of the darkness, stop standing in the shadows, come out and start walking and be very wise. And the wise man will win souls, the wise man will minister to his fellow man. The wise man will worship the Lord. The wise man will make sure that he's always available to God. Verse 16 of Ephesians chapter 5, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. When we start a project, or when we do what God wants us to do, make the best of your time. Don't allow the enemy to rob you. Don't let them take away from you. Verse 17, so then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And we need to know the will of God. We've been trying to press in. What I have found is, for some, it seems to be that when they start to step out, they have a hard time pressing in. Or they think that the vision that God has given, it seems like I can't just quite do it. Verse 12 should be an encouragement to us in Romans chapter 13. The night is almost gone, the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. The reason that some people have a difficult time in believing and walking in God is they try to hang on to the things of darkness. They have a hard time letting go of what took place in the dark life, in the life in the flesh or life out there in the world. And we need to let that go. The Bible says, let us lay aside and put on the armor of life. The day is near. When it says the day is near, and right away my mind would think, this could be tomorrow, it could be next year, it could be a few months down the road. I don't know how close near is. But when it says the day is near, I believe it's right there for us. It's not something that's going to come and overtake us. It's something that we're going to step into. We're going to arise and we're going to step in to the light. It's right there. It's that easy. God does not sleep. God doesn't sit back at ease. Christ made the way for us to enter. And I want you to think of this: my ministry, what God would have me to do, taking my place in the body. Don't think it's going to happen months from now. It's right there. All you have to do is to get up and to step into it. And when you step into it, it's just like putting the light switch on in a dark room or walking into a dark room with your flashlight or your torch, and suddenly it lights up and things that you didn't even know was there. That's what it's like when it talks about the day is being near. Do you know what's going on in the kingdom? People are coming back to church and they're gathering. Souls are being saved. God is doing great and mighty things. And it's a time of fruitfulness. This is not a time of barrenness. The enemy is trying to convince us and trying to tell us that, oh, it's barren. There's nothing out there. Nobody is interested. That's a lie. See, the devil is trying to shut us down. People don't know where to go. We have to break that thinking, thinking that nothing is going, nothing is happening. That is not true. There's a great harvest of souls that's taking place. This is a day of incredible fruitfulness. We are going to see an explosion of souls coming into the body of Christ. This is a time of visitation. God said that he would come down and that he would speak to his people and that he would visit his people. I believe we are in a new flow, a new trend, a new wave where the Lord is going to speak and reveal things to his people. They're going to be in prayer. And while they're praying, they're going to get this overwhelming sense of what God is wanting to pray for, what God is showing them is going to take place. And God will visit them. Their ear is going to be open to what God is saying. It's a day of visitation. God hasn't forsaken you. The devil tries to tell you that God's forsaken you, but that is not true. This is a day of visitation. It's also a day of restoration. It's a day of restoration, and the enemy has robbed some people. He's taken some things away. He's put scales over their eyes. The enemy has plugged up their ears. I've had them tell me, oh, one time, Brother Carpenter, God used me for this, and I was able to do that, and I would do this, and great things would take place, but it hasn't been happening. God wants to restore that back to us. And how close is it? How soon will that happen? It happens right now. It can happen at this moment. We have to step into that. Restoration. The one step that you have to make is step in to the nearness of God. We're going to see things restored, and God is going to do it in a great way. We read this passage in verse 12. Put on the armor of light. Think about this. The right man, the right Christian, the right believer, can have the wrong armor. And then there's the right armor, put on the wrong worker. We have to know and we have to move into that which we are fit, which we are prepared for. Remember when David and there was a giant threatening Israel by the name of Goliath? And Saul put his armor on David, and David standing there, and all this armor. David never worked with that armor. He didn't know what in the world he was supposed to do with that. But the king said, No, this is what you have to wear if you're going to fight that. And he put the helmet of brass on his head, and he had all that armor. He had the sword, this is in 1 Samuel 17, 39. But David said, I can't go with this. This isn't me. I can't do that. I haven't proved this. So David took it off because that was not the armor for David. But the armor that you and I, every believer, the armor of light, when we think about the armor of light, is when we can see. Light is when we have that revelation. Every believer wears that armor if they're going to be effective in the kingdom. We're going to be able to see that. We have to wear the appropriate armor. And in Romans 13, verse 12, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Verse 13, let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. Let us behave properly. God's people flee the old, follow the new. That never changes. We have some idea that we live in a certain culture, we're now in a certain time frame. We no longer live that way, we no longer walk that way. No, we do not stay in the old life. We enter into the new. And our challenge in our ministry is to persuade the people of God to enter in. So why don't we do it? Why, why do believers hear, hear the word and never walk in it? Why? Is it because they're lazy? No. Is it because they can't hear? No. Why then? What is the problem? Unbelief. They do not believe that they can properly do what God wants them to do. Do not disqualify yourself through unbelief. When you have belief, you believe you can do anything. When you are walking in faith and believing, you believe that you are invincible. You believe that when you step out there, everything is going to be provided and made for you. So I am not going to disqualify myself through unbelief. When we cannot believe, when we are not persuaded this is of God and that we should do it, or when we feel we don't have the faith, what unbelief dares to do is to question the truthfulness of God's promise. That's what it means. Unbelief will always tell you that this is a new thing, this sudden thing, that can't be true. You didn't see that before. It wasn't there. What makes you think that you can do that? Goliath just suddenly appeared one morning, was never there before to defy the armies of Israel. He did it 40 mornings in a row. Goliath was enjoying himself, and the enemy has learned that if I stand up and challenge them and tell them that it can't be true, they won't step out. What Goliath did not count on was this that God had a man who believed him. God had somebody who believed what God said. And that somebody is you. You have that ability. And do not allow unbelief to rule. Unbelief will tell you there's no way that you can accomplish what you've got to do. No way. When you believe, you just start moving ahead, and it's going to be so. Unbelief will say, there's only one way that God can do this. God will show you the way. I want to tell you is that the work of God that you are called to do, you can do it. Unbelief will say, even if God did do something, it's not going to be enough. I have found that whatever I need to accomplish, God has always had enough. I can tell you that in my own personal life. And this unbelief controls so many people. But I'm going to tell you right now, as you speak the word of faith, something within you is going to build you and give you hope. Anytime the word of God comes, you're going to step out there. God is no respecter of persons. That we have to understand. God does not love one of us more than he loves the other. God loves you as much as he loves me. God will give you the strength. Ordinary is what holds us back. When David went out to fight that giant Goliath, all tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp of Israel, when he looked about, every one of them was shaking in fear. Every one of them said, We're finished. You're exceptional. When you believe and have faith in God and step out, I want you to know you are exceptional. That is an exceptional thing. There will be people that they want the easy way. And they'll get stuck in wherever they are, whatever they're wrestling with, and they'll give up and they'll just stay there. But I'm here to tell you that, according to verse 14, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh in regard to its loss. Paul said in Galatians 2.20, nevertheless I live, yet not I. He put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When you get saved, Jesus comes into your life and you put him on, and he now becomes your new garment. He now becomes your whole being in life. And you will find yourself growing and developing. The kingdom of God is the most important thing in your life as a believer. And what I'm trying to tell you, it's very near. Very near. Just step into it. When I put this jacket on to come to the meeting today, I all I had to do was put it on. It was there. It was right there for me. All I had to do was just put it on. The kingdom of God. It's right there. Just step into it. Walk it out. Be exceptional.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

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