by Kenneth Copeland
Time is running out. All you have to do is read your Bible to know it. We’ve moved into the final days of this age—days so difficult and dangerous that Jesus Himself talked about them during His earthly ministry and told us how to handle them.
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass (Matthew 24:3-6).
Notice that right in the middle of His description of these perilous times, Jesus gave us a direct and powerful command. He told us in six simple words what we must do to live safely and victoriously in these last days.
He said, “See that ye be not troubled.”
Then He went on and warned us in detail of the trouble ahead. He talked about nation rising against nation. He talked about murder and betrayal. He talked about false prophets arising and the love of many waxing cold. In other words, He talked about the very things we are seeing in the world today.
Jesus warned us about these things so they wouldn’t take us by surprise—so we would know there would be trouble. But He also commanded us to see to it that we don’t let that trouble trouble us!
Upheld by the Word of His Power
How can we possibly obey that command? How can we possibly live in the middle of a world filled with danger and distress without it troubling us?
Those are fair questions and Jesus answered them in that very passage. He said: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (verses 34-35).
Thank God, no matter what is happening around us, the Word of God remains the same. It is the unchangeable force that upholds us in every time of trouble. It is the solid rock, the foundation that, if we build our lives upon it, will bring us safely through every storm (Matthew 7:24-25).
The Word of God is far more real, far more permanent than anything in this natural world. It is, in fact, the very power by which this world and everything in it exists. The Bible tells us that Jesus upholds all things—that’s right all things!—“by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).
I used to wonder why God said it that way. Why didn’t He say that He upholds all things by the power of His Word? Then it dawned on me. If we were just depending on the power of God’s Word to see us through, we might find we needed Him to say something He hadn’t said yet. And if He hadn’t said it, the power of it wouldn’t be available to us yet.
But glory to God, He has already said everything that needs to be said! We’re not waiting on Him to say something. He’s already spoken and all things are being upheld by His words! Everything in the earth, every natural and spiritual force on this planet, is under the influence of what God has already said.
What Do You Say?
Psalm 119 confirms that fact. It says: “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants” (verses 89-91).
What does that mean to you in these troublesome times? It means a great deal!
It means that in the midst of danger it’s already been settled in heaven that “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:10). It means that in these times of financial failure it’s already been settled that you “shall not want any good thing” (Psalm 34:10). It means that when the rest of the world is failing around you, it is already settled that you will “triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Those are the words God has spoken about you as His child and they are settled forever in heaven. They are never going to change.
But here’s what you have to remember. You’re not living in heaven yet. You’re living on earth and to activate those words here, you must make sure that your heart agrees with God’s Word. Why? Because Jesus said it will be unto you according to your faith! (Matthew 9:29)
Heaven has already spoken. Now the earth is waiting to hear what you say.
Are you going to speak the Word of God? Or talk about the trouble around you? Are you going to agree with the heavenly decree? Or agree with the earthly circumstances?
Don’t Push the Envelope
You are living today in what you said yesterday. And tomorrow is waiting to hear what you say today. Your eternal destiny is being shaped and formed by your agreement with the Word of God that is upholding all things.
That’s always been true…but now that truth is becoming more crucial than ever before. The reason is simple. We’re running out of time. In years past, if we got our hearts and mouths out of line with God’s Word we had some time to get ourselves straightened out before we ran into the consequences of that disagreement. God, in His grace, would just keep dealing with us until we repented and got back into a place of faith.
Although God is still as gracious and merciful as He ever was, time is short. We’ve hit the end of the age and, frankly, many Christians are pushing the envelope. They’re letting the world fill their mouths and getting their hearts out of agreement with heaven, thinking one of these days they’ll change. One of these days (when circumstances get easier) they’ll start confessing the Word again.
But friend, we’ve hit the end times. Circumstances aren’t going to get easier. They’re going to get harder and we’re running out of days. We’re about to step into that time when we are permanently stuck with the consequences of our confession!
This is not the time to ignore Jesus’ words by saying things like, “I’m just so sick. I’m so worried.” When you say things like that you’re not agreeing with heaven—you’re agreeing with torment and trouble. You’re opening the door for those things to manifest in your life.
Jesus specifically told us not to do that. He said, “See that you be not troubled.” That wasn’t just some kind of Sunday school suggestion! It was a command from the Son of the living God instructing His disciples who would live in the last days. It was Jesus Himself speaking personally and emphatically to us!
Take Your Heritage
Now more than ever before, we must pay attention to His instructions. We must obey that command, take hold of the Word of God and refuse to let go of it. We must be like the writer of Psalm 119 who said: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (verses 105-106, 110-111).
It’s not enough for us to just lie back and say, “Well, if it’s God’s will for me to have victory I guess He’ll just give it to me. If it’s His will for me to be healed, He’ll just heal me.”
No! It is His will. He did give it to you. By His stripes you were healed. Now you must take God’s Word as your heritage. You have to aggressively pursue it and get it in your heart and mouth. You have to fight off every unbelieving devil and every troublesome circumstance that comes to steal that Word and say, “Bless God, I have taken God’s promise as my heritage. It’s my future. It’s my life. I refuse to be troubled by the temporary troubles of this world. They’ll pass away but God’s Word will never pass away. God upholds all things by the Word of His power and that Word will come to pass in my life!”
Then just stay with the Word all the way to the end. No matter what happens around you, don’t turn back. Don’t change.
Fear not. Only believe. And you will see your way through these troubled times in triumph as the end-time overcomer God destined you to be.
