As believers, we are the light of the world, because the Light of the world lives in us (Matthew 5:14-16; John 8:12). That Light is Jesus, and everywhere we go we spread the Light and life of Jesus. What’s more, Jesus said that whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness (John 8:12). But there is no question that the world in which we live is growing darker and darker. That’s because we are living in the end times, in the last days. The question is, how do we live in the end times, but still walk victorious, full of peace and joy?
When Paul wrote to Timothy about this time, he said, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1, NKJV). The Greek word for perilous means “difficult, dangerous, furious, fierce, troublesome, harsh, and savage.” In the AMPC it adds the understanding that there will be “times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].” The NIV says, “There will be terrible times in the last days.”
We are living in a time when we’re seeing things we’ve never seen before. Times are stressful and troublesome; and many people are going through things that are hard to deal with and difficult to bear. You may be in a time like that now. The good news is that we, as faith-filled believers, stand above all this. We stand above perilous times. We stand above times of stress and trouble; times that are hard to deal with and hard to bear.
Jesus told us that while we are in this world, we are not of this world, meaning we don’t have to be subject to this world and what’s happening in this world. “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as Weare.… I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John17:11, 14-16, NKJV).
What hope! What good news! Even better is that this all points to Jesus imminent return. We are living in the narrow band of time marking the time and season before the catching away of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). This is the time of the final outpouring, where we will see signs, wonders and miracles in our everyday lives. What an opportunity! What a privilege!
Now, more than ever, we need to live as wise believers. We need to understand these times and respond properly. We need to prepare ourselves spiritually and naturally so we can walk through these end times with joy, peace and the full victory that God provided us through Jesus.
God Is Preparing Us
In August 2010, Kenneth Copeland delivered a word from the Lord that came with an assuring promise:
The world is in serious trouble, but for the household of faith, and those who will cling to My WORD, everything is going to be all right. The world is in serious trouble. Some very hard things are coming in different places around the world. They are that way now, and they are not going to get better. They will continue to get worse and worse. It is on a downhill run that the world cannot stop. But for the household of faith, everything is going to be all right.
Stand on My WORD and it will not come near you. Don’t feed on fear and trouble your life through your mouth. Quit living in that house. Get back over there in my household of faith. Feed on My WORD and not on the bread of sorrow. Look in My face, praise and worship and preach The WORD. Everything is going to be all right.
This is what God desires for us to know today. To help you be ready in these times, consider these five end-time instructions so you can live as God intended: prepared for Jesus’ soon return and rejoicing in His victory!
1. Cling to the Word
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” –Hebrews 10:23, NKJV)
We are the household of faith, and we will be all right, but we will have to cling to the Word. The word cling is “to hold on tightly, to not let go.” When you are tempted to let go, don’t let go. Don’t miss church. Don’t skip meetings. Don’t miss a day reading your Bible. Don’t stop listening to the Word of God. That’s what clinging to the Word means. When we let go of the Word, we lose our courage. We lose our ability to face all that’s happening in our lives and in the world right now—and God wants us to face it with His Word.
Hebrews 10:23 in The Message says, “Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going.” That’s clinging to the Word.
2. Stand on God’s Word
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore….” –Ephesians 6:11-15 (NKJV)
As believers, we are not subject to the collateral damage of the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10-14). In fact, in Luke 6, Jesus tells the story of a man who built his house on the sand and a man who built his house on the rock. When the storm came, the house on sand was swept away and the house on the rock stood. Both houses experienced the same storm, the same conditions, but they had different results. When we stand on the Word, even in perilous times, we will get a different result. If we stand on the Word, our house will not be shaken. Our household of faith will be all right.
3. Fight the Good Fight of Faith
“Fight the good fight of faith….” –1 Timothy 6:12 (NJKV)
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). He knew the time was nearing that he was to leave this earth, but as long as we are on this earth, we are to stay in the fight. Yes, God has already done all He’s going to do. He’s done the work. But we have to continually take our stand and fight the good fight of faith.
To fight the good fight of faith, you will have to exercise the spiritual strength that is on the inside of you. You will have to cling to God’s Word, stand on God’s Word, and speak and declare the Word of God—the Word of Faith. You will have to be strong in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
4. Praise, Worship and Preach the Word
“I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence.” –Psalm 9:1-3 (NKJV)
God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3)! Praise and worship are the voice of faith. Right in the midst of everything taking place in this world, right in the midst of any mess, we look to Jesus. We turn our faces to God. And we praise Him! The Lord is our strength (Psalm 28:7). We boldly declare like the prophet Habakkuk, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17, NKJV).
What’s more, we preach the Word of God in season and out. Romans 10:8 reminds us, ‘“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach)” (NKJV). Keep the Word coming out your mouth.
5. Don’t Feed on Fear
“I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” –Psalm 34:4 (NKJV.
God wants us to have zero tolerance for fear. We’re literally to have no fear. Not about anything going on in this world and in our lives. No fear for our health. No fear regarding our children. No fear about our finances. No fear about our safety. No fear about the crime rates in our cities, the wars in this world, or the political climate where we live. We’re only to prepare.
Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). We do not have a spirit of fear, therefore, we don’t have to fear. And when we detect fear in our hearts and minds, we have authority over it; we can tell it to go and it must go, in Jesus’ Name (Luke 10:19).
As you implement these instructions on How To Live Victoriously In the End Times into your life, declare God’s truth. That’s how we strengthen ourselves in the Lord, just like David did (1 Samuel 30:6). We declare God’s Word. To help you with this, speak the following confession and make it part of your walk of faith.
In the Name of Jesus, I cling to the Word. I take my stand on the Word. I fight the good fight of faith. I praise. I worship. And I preach the Word. I don’t feed on fear or trouble or the bread of sorrows. I refuse to fear! I feed on God’s Word. And because of that, everything is going to be all right in the household of faith.
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