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“…and He made from one man every
nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
having determined their appointed times and the
boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they
might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far
from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and [exist…” Acts 17: 26-28, NASB
A wise man I have always
respected once said, “There are no emergencies in the Kingdom of God”. His name
was (is) Derek Prince, who passed on to glory in 2003. For me, he was one of
the best Bible teachers I have ever known. He would teach the Word of God in
ways I and others could fully understand. Thank you, Derek.
As I listened to the
wonderful worship song by Elevation Worship, “Always On Time”,
thinking back to what I have been taught, our Lord God the Father, His Son
Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, proved that there are no emergencies in the
Kingdom of God, and they truly, the Holy Trinity, are always on time. When
there seems to be an emergency, or even a time of indecision or “nothing
happening”, the Lord proves He has us right in the palm of His hand.
He has always been on
time when I needed some encouragement, a decision made, a way to go when the
going looked bleak, the seemingly impossible, “never going to happen” moments.
And I know you have had those times too. As you look back, you can say “Yes,
You were there.” Right?
Our Good Lord has always
been faithful. He can be no other. He can do no other. He knows all, sees all, will
give faith for all, as we call on His Name. We will find, as we seek Him, the
amazing Lord He is, the One Who is worthy of our life that we give to Him, that
He has the best for us. And as we offer
up our life to Him in faith and trust, we can know His will for us more fully. And
later we will look back and say, “You were always on time.”
“Never been a minute, never
been a moment, that You weren’t in it. There’s never been a time that You
didn’t see me through God, so I worship You.” (Some of the lyrics to the noted song
as sung by Bello Cordero. I share the full lyrics below.)
Trust Him. Continually
give yourself to Him. The One Who loves you is always on time.
Message #18 in my series (2025): “Always On Time" –
Sept. 27, 2025
Lyrics of “Always On Time”, Elevation Worship, as sung by
Bella Cordero.
“I remember how You provided, how You held me through
the night. I remember how You sustained me when You stepped in to save my life.
If I knew then what I know now I would be still, and let You
work it out. Jesus, I was tossed in the water, but I never went under. You were
always on time. Jesus, when I went through the fire. You were right there
beside me. You were always on time.
Growing up in a country like America where we get to vote and influence the government, it’s difficult to imagine what it would feel like to live under an absolute monarchy. Or a tyrannical dictatorship. Or an oppressive, all-controlling regime. Yet the early followers of Jesus not only lived in such environments, but they flourished and grew. What can we learn from these early believers? What would they each us today?
First, they would teach us that no matter who leads the nation, no one can stop the gospel. And no matter what form of government we have, the church can grow and thrive.
I do imagine that these Christians would be amazed at the liberties we enjoy. (Obviously, they would be amazed by a lot of other things too.) They would likely tell us to do our best to guard these liberties.
But they would remind us to put our trust in God not in government and not to confuse patriotism with the kingdom of God.
Second, they would encourage us not to get caught up in partisan politics, a concept that would have been largely unknown to them.
You see, in the Roman Empire, there were not rival political parties, with your vote making a difference between which candidate would come into power. You did not have Democrat vs. Republican (or the equivalent). And while there were different social and philosophical factions, there was not a political divide. For the most part, the emperor was supreme.
For the early Christian, then, the divisions were more basic. There was light and darkness. There was the church and the world. There was the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. There was heaven and hell. And there were saved people and lost people.
That is how these early believers saw their world, and that is how they saw their mission. Put another way, although they brought about powerful cultural change through the gospel, their focus was not on reforming the Roman Empire. Their focus was the Great Commission.
They still had to deal with the distractions of the flesh and the world, just as we do today. But partisan politics did not vie for their attention. Or consume their emotions. Or divide them as believers.
That’s why I say that they would encourage us not to get caught up in partisan politics.
Again, they might well encourage us to exploit our democratic liberties to the full and even to run for office, if some of us were called to do so. But I believe they would help us to step above the political frenzy that so dominates and divides our nation.
Third, they would remind us that the church is not a building, especially at a time like this when our church buildings are shut during the COVID-19 crisis.
In my just-released book When the World Stops, I have an entire chapter devoted to this subject, titled, “What Is Church and How Do We Do It?” And I am convinced that this is one of the major lessons we must learn during this forced lockdown: The church is not a building, and Christianity is not a spectator sport.
I would think that these first believers would be stunned to see our large church buildings and cathedrals. But it would not be because they had never seen magnificent buildings. To the contrary, those who were alive to see the second temple (which was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70) would have seen something far more spectacular than our largest megachurch facility. And the Romans themselves knew how to build.
It’s just that the believers met in homes back then. There was no such thing as a church building. Consequently, a greater emphasis was put on being the church more than on going to church (although they certainly emphasized the importance of meeting together).
In this context, they would remind us that the preacher is not a performer. And the body is not an audience. And, to say it again, Christianity is not a spectator sport.
This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t welcome church meetings of all sizes and buildings of all sizes. It’s just that their emphasis would be put on every member of the body being connected and activated. It would be on the priesthood of every believer.
Fourth, these early Christians would remind us of the need to rely on the power of the Spirit. While they would rejoice in the many ways the gospel can spread today, ways that would have been unimaginable to them, they would encourage us not to lean on technology. Or human personality. Or worldly techniques.
Instead they would urge us to remember the words of Jesus, who said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
It is by the power of the Spirit that they rocked their world. It is by the power of the Spirit that we can rock ours.
What other lessons do you think these first believers could teach us today?
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(This is fictional, based on truth. I am not prone to have long conversations with the enemy.)
I was talking to the devil the other day. I said, "So, the Lord is doing great things in our congregation." To which he responded, "Yes, but it won't last if I can help it."
I felt a cold wave of fear come over me. "How do you plan to stop it?" I asked.
"It's quite simple" he said. "Passover's just around the corner—just look at what I did during the Exodus to turn people against Moses. First, I started with fear. Sure, things were fine when they left Egypt, but look what happened when they saw an army coming after them. I will fill your congregation with fear just as I did back then. I will tell them that they were better off before. And then I will tell them that this all the fault of Moses ... or in your congregation, the leadership!"
When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and indeed, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were extremely terrified, so the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness" (Ex. 14:10-12).
"Next, I will try and stir up division amongst the elders. I will plant seeds of judgment in their minds against each other. Remember when Aaron and Miriam judged their brother Moses even after God has used him so powerfully?"
"And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he married, for he had married a Cushite woman. They said, 'Has the Lord spoken only by Moses? Has He not spoken also by us?' And the Lord heard it" (Num. 12:1-2).
"And they were in the same family! Look how I stirred up trouble.
"If that doesn't work. I will plant seeds of distrust in the other leaders. Remember the story of Korah? He spoke against Moses and turned many people against him."
Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up before Moses and men of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the assembly, famous in the assembly, well-known men. They assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" (Num. 16:1-3).
"If they resist that, I will seek to use pride as I did with the disciples. In fact, most of the time, I don't even need to get involved. I was hardly involved when Jacob (James' real name in the Bible) and John began to think of themselves as better than the others."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want that whatever we may ask, You would do for us."
He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
They said to Him, "Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and the other at Your left hand, in Your glory" (Mark 10:35-37).
"I remember thinking:
(This is fictional, based on truth. I am not prone to have long conversations with the enemy.)
I was talking to the devil the other day. I said, "So, the Lord is doing great things in our congregation." To which he responded, "Yes, but it won't last if I can help it."
I felt a cold wave of fear come over me. "How do you plan to stop it?" I asked.
"It's quite simple" he said. "Passover's just around the corner—just look at what I did during the Exodus to turn people against Moses. First, I started with fear. Sure, things were fine when they left Egypt, but look what happened when they saw an army coming after them. I will fill your congregation with fear just as I did back then. I will tell them that they were better off before. And then I will tell them that this all the fault of Moses ... or in your congregation, the leadership!"
When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and indeed, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were extremely terrified, so the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness" (Ex. 14:10-12).
"Next, I will try and stir up division amongst the elders. I will plant seeds of judgment in their minds against each other. Remember when Aaron and Miriam judged their brother Moses even after God has used him so powerfully?"
"And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he married, for he had married a Cushite woman. They said, 'Has the Lord spoken only by Moses? Has He not spoken also by us?' And the Lord heard it" (Num. 12:1-2).
"And they were in the same family! Look how I stirred up trouble.
"If that doesn't work. I will plant seeds of distrust in the other leaders. Remember the story of Korah? He spoke against Moses and turned many people against him."
Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up before Moses and men of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the assembly, famous in the assembly, well-known men. They assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" (Num. 16:1-3).
"If they resist that, I will seek to use pride as I did with the disciples. In fact, most of the time, I don't even need to get involved. I was hardly involved when Jacob (James' real name in the Bible) and John began to think of themselves as better than the others."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want that whatever we may ask, You would do for us."
He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
They said to Him, "Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and the other at Your left hand, in Your glory" (Mark 10:35-37).
"I remember thinking: These are the guys he is going to use to spread His message?
I boldly interjected, "Well, He did! They grew and matured, and they took the gospel all over the world. They became humble men and raised up humble leaders to shepherd God's flock."
Angered, he hissed, "Yes they did, but I can give you thousands of success stories where I used jealousy, pride, miscommunications and gossip to destroy congregations. I would tell assistant leaders, 'You should be in charge! The senior leader doesn't appreciate you. You should have your own congregation.'
And after I prepared them by forming a stronghold of pride in their minds—with their permission—I would tell them, 'In fact, you should lead this congregation or start a new one down the road. I am sure there are plenty of people who would follow you if you started a new congregation. Maybe they would all leave with you.' It was so easy to deceive them, given their hunger for promotion and popularity.
"I would do everything I could to keep the foolish leader from understanding how devastating and divisive a split would be. Families would be separated and friendships would be destroyed, but I would fill his mind with illusions of grandeur. It really has been so easy at times. I was even able to separate Barnabas and Saul!
"Of course, I must admit there have been other cases where no matter how hard I tried, I could not sow division. In these congregations, there was always a strong eldership team who loved and respected each other. Each of them would function in their own gifting without being jealous each other. They would often begin their meeting with intense prayer. Oh, how I hated that and them!
"But what was worse was that the younger leaders, who are always easier to distract with a jealousy or pride, would actually copy the example of love and mutual respect. And even if I could get a foothold in one of the younger leaders, these elders would deal them with such humility and tenderness that often, my plans to turn small rumbles into earthquakes were foiled.
"When I could really stir someone up against the leadership, these elders were so united that those who would seek to usurp would just end up leaving—or God forbid—learning their lesson! Fortunately, those in the former group, I could always send somewhere else to cause trouble.
"Mark my words," he declared, "I will do everything in my power to cause division, stir up jealousy and accuse the brethren through judgments. In time, we will see if you can stand or not."
And he left.
Under my breath, I said, "By the grace of God."
Ron Cantoris an Israeli evangelist. He blogs at messiahsmandate.org, and you can get his book, The Coming End-Time Awakening free at roncantor.com. Ron is on the leadership team of Tiferet Yeshua Congregation in Tel Aviv and is also the director of communications for Tikkun Global. He is the author of several books, including Identity Theft: How Jesus Was Robbed of His Jewishness.
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“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24, NKJV)
One would think that when a certain age is reached in this human life, the need to press on in faith is not as great, or as needful as when one is just starting out in a younger age. I for one am finding that that is not necessarily so. The call to walk in faith, on a daily scale, seems to be just as needed as when I was young and raring to go, full of energy and vigor - to conquer the world for God.
It isn’t done until it is done.
It seems to be true that in this life we are not meant to reach that point where we can sit back and say, “I am finished. I did it all. No need to press on any further. There is no more for me, so I can relax and watch the remaining days go by, with ease and full pleasure.”
For me, it isn’t so. I find myself just as often these days, my “golden years”, visualizing my hands raised, open to the heavens, saying to the Lord, “I need You today. I need You to guide my steps. I need my heart to be open to your plans and purposes in my life for this hour, as they were in my past years, to accomplish what You want.”
Did not the Lord Himself advise the one who thought he had accomplished it all, by speaking these words of truth to him? “'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, ' You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:19-21, NASU)
Looks like we must never come to the point when we sit back and basically say to ourselves that we no longer need to seek, ask, or find what the Lord has yet in store for us. He is always calling us to Himself, to expect more from Him, to rest not in our accomplished laurels but in finishing strong to the end the full package He has in mind for each.
My heart is open to going further in the ways of the Lord, to have Him even more so perform the works of the Holy Spirit through me, bringing light and glory to the ones around me, and in the nations. Though I am content with what has come, what has been completed, grateful for what has been achieved in these past years, I will yet desire to press on to full completion.
Retirement in the Kingdom of God doesn’t seem to be found written in the Word of God.
You yourself may be one, like myself, who has reached the late 50’s, 60’s, or beyond. At times we have grown very weary in the pursuit and the fulfillment of it all, but with the strength of the Almighty One we serve, we have yet more to do. In His might we will accomplish it.
Keep your hands open and your heart also. Be encouraged in your pressing on. The reward is great. There is much yet to be won. And then we can sit back and enjoy the mansion in heaven that even now is being built for us.
Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.
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A customer registers his handprint before proceeding on the world's first-ever permanent bitcoin ATM. (REUTERS/Andy Clark )
Note: This is a guest column by my friend David Hoffman.
If you had bought $100 in bitcoin in 2010 and didn't sell, it would now be worth almost $73 million. That is an incredible return.
Last year on November 29, 2016, the price of one Bitcoin closed out at $732.62. That means in the past year, it really grew.
We are living in a time where there is great opportunity to invest in a lot of different things. With great opportunity, there is great risk involved as well.
Bitcoin was arguably one of the best financial investments of the past 5 years, just as Apple was a great financial investment over the past decade.
Though these were good financial investments for many, there is a much better investment that a person can make. That is investment in the kingdom of God. God wants us to invest our time and energy in serving Him and promoting His kingdom. It has infinitely more benefit and returns than the best investments on this earth.
One of the biggest blessings when investing into the kingdom of God is that there is no risk of loss. Even if you invest the slightest amount of your life in God, it is never for a loss. If you invest in a person by sharing the Gospel with them and taking the time to disciple them, you will never be at a loss.
In the world we live in, there are many things vying for our resources, time and energy. The believer faces a unique financial temptation. There are many things promising that if we invest in them. we will have what we need to be free to better serve the Lord. It doesn't work that way. It is a big temptation.
The Bible is clear. It says in Matt. 6:33 "but seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you." The devil and the world system want it to be the other way around for the believer. "Seek first your financial stability and future security and the kingdom of God and His righteousness will be added to you."
In light of all of the buzz around bitcoin, and even the recent soaring stock prices, many Christians have become very interested and pulled towards a mentality that posits "I have to have financial security to serve the Lord." Increasingly, I have seen Christians putting greater emphasis on investing in some of these new investment opportunities as a good way to make money, and with money, financial freedom to better serve the Lord. The idea is "You need money if you are going to do anything great for God."
I recently saw a video with one of the wealthiest ministers in the world sharing about this. He said:
"In Satan's eyes, there is nothing more dangerous than a preacher who has got enough money in his bank account to do what God has called him to do."
That is not true. It is just plain false. Elijah did not have money in the bank, and yet he called down fire on the Baal prophets and led Israel to repent. Jeremiah, had no money in the bank, and yet he served the Lord faithfully as the only true prophetic voice in Judah during a season of great wickedness and deception. John the Baptist really had no money, and yet he prepared the way for the Lord and is considered the greatest prophet of all time before Christ. The disciples were not rich, and yet they were able to heal the sick, cast out demons, and advance the Kingdom of God. The Bible is full of countless examples.
We must not forget what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:26-29
For observe your calling, brothers. Among you, not many wise men according to the flesh, not many mighty men, and not many noble men were called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And God has chosen the base things of the world and things which are despised. Yes, and He chose things which did not exist to bring to nothing things that do, so that no flesh should boast in His presence.
The greatest threat to the devil is not a Christian with money, it's a Christian with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That is what will change the world. That is what will open the door for greater ministry. The reason the apostles could be "the men who have turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) was because they had an encounter with the living God on the Day of Pentecost that so transformed them, and so filled them, that regardless of their lack of finances, they were able to operate in the power of God. God doesn't rely on physical resources to accomplish His purposes.
This observation is not coming from someone who is detached from dealing with finances and ministry. I do full-time ministry, and I often feel like I wish a had a lot more money to do what I feel God is calling me to do. So, I understand the temptation of feeling like more finances are necessary to better serve the Lord; nevertheless, it is a temptation. I understand the feeling that comes from seeing a lot of money used inappropriately on ministry initiatives, agendas and items that don't help to transform communities and the culture with the gospel.
There have been times where I wished my ministry had the amount of money that I saw being used inappropriately elsewhere. I have thoughts things like "If only I had that much then...." However, I am growing to see that what Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13 about contentment in all things is a necessary attitude that God wants me to embrace in my life. It is wrong to think "If only I had that much money then....." Jesus' ministry was nothing like that. I am learning that the key to success is to be "full of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit changes things. Many ministries have millions of dollars, and yet they are not changing the world for Christ.
Phil 4:13 says "I can do all things because of Christ who strengthens me." Christ, not finances, is the believer's strength. It is the power of God that brings the change, not money. We need the power of God. We don't need physical riches. We need spiritual riches. We need to be rich in faith, rich in truth, and rich in love.
Invest in God, invest in His kingdom.
Empires have risen, and empires have fallen. Stocks have soared and stocks have dived. People have gained wealth only to go on to lose it.
Bitcoin will one day bottom out and leave everyone who invested lacking and regretful. The dollar will one day bottom out. Everything in this world that seems to offer security, offers no true security. Invest in Jesus. Invest in His kingdom. Invest in love and truth. When this world fades away, when everything else fails, Jesus Christ and His Kingdom will not fail. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken. Investing in the kingdom of God is the only investment with a sure return, and it is the only investment with eternal benefits.
David Hoffmanis an evangelist and the director of Kingdom Enterprises, an outreach and evangelism ministry in Tucson, Arizona. His passions are to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ, ignite a passion for evangelism within the lives of believers and to help equip them to live Spirit-filled and Spirit-empowered lives. For more information or to contact him, please go to HisKingdomEnterprises.com or IgniteAmerica.org.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries, has authored several books with an emphasis on helping to restore the true spirit of Christianity in the Church today, including the newly released, Passing on The Move of God to The Next Generation and the highly sacred book, The Journal Of A Journey To His Holiness. An anointing of fire marks his ministry with frequent demonstrations of the Spirit and power of God. He ministers interdenominationally and cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, on the streets and in homes. He and his wife Carolyn also host The Holy Ghost Forum – a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook and @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
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