Time presents two problems that we must cope with in these last days. One, Satan knows that he has but a short time, and therefore he rages against the inhabitants of the earth (Revelation 12:12); two, unless these days are shortened, no flesh will be saved alive (Matthew 24:22).
Because of this, Ephesians 5:16 urges us to redeem the time because the days are evil, indicating that we will be slowed down in our progress and in our ministry because of the prevalence of evil.
No people since the dawn of history have ever faced this problem as we do. The days seem to go by so fast that we do not know what has happened to them. As we get older, we often think back to the days of our childhood and relive pleasant experiences. In those days, time seemed to pass much more slowly.
During this end time, time will be a problem, but a day will come when the problem will end. One of the redemptive blessings will be the angel who will stand, with one foot on the land and one foot on the sea, and declare that time shall no longer be (Revelation 10:5–6).
Time can be very deceptive. It is something we must adjust to and find an answer to from the Lord. Days seem to slip by. Even though we work hard, at the end of the day it seems that there is more work to be done than when we started. With a sense of frustration, we look about and see how much is still to be done. What happened to the “good old days” when we were often bored because there was not enough to do? What happened to the days when we could just sit and rest?
We are praying for deliverances from physical infirmity, from demonic harassment, from oppressions, circumstances, principalities and powers. Could it be that Satan, knowing that the time is short, is raging against us and changing God’s whole timetable so that the prophecy in Matthew 24:22 is coming to pass? Something must happen to shorten the time span, or no one will be saved alive.
Things that should have happened many years ago have not yet come to pass. Because of that, we may find it difficult to be patient with God, and that is not a good feeling to have in our hearts.
We know that the Lord loves us, but we seem to be haunted by delays. The days race by like a movie that has been speeded up, and as we contend before the Lord and bombard heaven for answers long overdue, we wonder just what is delaying them. There is a mix-up in the whole matter of time. Some things come to pass quickly, while other things are hindered by Satan. He is doing everything he can to delay, and we must find a way to bind his efforts.
Ephesians 5:15–16 gives us an answer: 15 See then that ye walk perfectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Redeeming the time means to not allow the suitable moment to pass by unheeded but to make it one’s own.
We have seen the restoration of the pattern of the Church, the restoration of gifts and ministries, the restoration of divine order, and the restoration of teaching that has an emphasis upon the Kingdom coming forth.
This is all very good; however, it always seems as if we are moving into it too slowly, that we will not get there until it is all over. It seems as if we are in a boat race, yet we have only a canoe. We must find the key that allows us to redeem the time so that we will see the Kingdom established on the earth within our lifetime. Our cry must be, “Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). The Kingdom of God is ahead of us, but to get into it, we must redeem the time.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him. Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check… Psalm 32:6–9.
The people of God are not like horses or mules that need a strong rein to keep them in check. The worship leaders should not have to exhort you to get you started. Be ready and eager to worship when you come to church. Every service is to be esteemed as very important. Redeem the time because it is God’s time to act. It is the accepted time.
God has laid many things before us. The greatest works are just before us, and so are the greatest judgments. We are facing this problem with time. The burden of it must disturb you, even in the middle of the night. As we get in step with it and keep praising the Lord and keep moving, many things will happen. Let there be a liberty in your worship of the Lord. Make the worship deep and intense.
The Apostle James expressed something in his Epistle that has not been interpreted correctly and clearly in many people’s thinking. In James 4:13–15 he wrote: “You say that tomorrow you will go into such and such a city and engage in business. But you know not what a day brings forth. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. You should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will do it.’ ”
That is not a passive response. It does not mean that you are not to make any plans for the future, for the Lord is showing us what will happen in the Kingdom and in your life. You are loosing God’s will into the fulfillment that He wants it to have. With real faith you must determine to do what the Lord wills. You do not submit to drifting down a river or being swept off by an undertow, but you determine to do the will of the Lord.
Now is the accepted time. You are not to be like a horse that has to have a bridle on him to guide him. You should be extremely sensitive to respond immediately when the Lord speaks. God wants you to be like a sensitive, beautiful horse that will respond to just a word: doing what He wants you to do and not being stubborn and backing off from everything He tells you to do.
Do you want the kind of teaching that holds a firm rein on you and tells you exactly what you are to do? Or would you rather become so sensitive that when the Lord moves, there is something within you that is eager to respond and to do anything He wants?
There is to be liberty and a freedom, and yet a restraint by the Holy Spirit that holds you in check until you get the word of the Lord; and then you act! There is a lot of work to do, but it will not be done if your energies are extended and you are always wondering what you are supposed to do next.
We are continually faced with the problem of not having enough time. The same was true in the ministry of Christ. Things seemed to explode, and there was no way to get everything done.
The Lord is going to show us how to redeem the time so that one miracle will interrupt another miracle; one great deliverance will interrupt another deliverance. There will be a massive pile up of blessings and anointings because the Lord is going to show us what to do.
There must be an answer, because we do not want to follow the route of Moses, who finally prayed for the Lord to kill him. Then the Lord showed him how to impart the anointing to seventy other elders (Exodus 18); but what good were even seventy elders among several million people? Even they could not get the job done.
However, that was a lesser day. We do not realize how much could be done—how many countries and churches could be blessed and set on the right track in a short period of time—if only God’s people knew how to redeem the time.
Heavy responsibilities are laid upon the shepherds, yet they must also be accessible to the whole Body. To withdraw from that would be a sin against Christ. We need to find out how to redeem the time and enter into the rest of the Lord. These two objectives, mingled with a great deal of praise and worship, are before us.
Kick off the leg chains that are slowing you down in the race. Learn how to wait on the Lord by running with Jesus.
A hundred times a day, in the midst of work that you would not have believed possible, look up and tell Him that you are running right at His side. Stop coming to church just to get a blessing. With the anointing of the Lord upon you, enter into a live service that blesses you and blasts you right into the next step.
We are being accelerated into a new pace. Time is going to change. We are going to change. We will learn how to redeem the time. We will do exploits. We are in the breakthrough that belongs to the sons of God. Those who know their God will be strong and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). Jesus said, “Greater works than these shall ye do” (John 14:12). We will see principalities and powers crushed and brought down. We need to redeem the time because the days are evil.
Keep the clouds of oppression away, or they will cloud you; and you will wake up, a week or four weeks or several months later, wondering what happened to you. Even though the enemy may not defeat you, he could steal from you several precious hours or days or weeks that you cannot afford to lose. Believe for a redeeming of the time. Every morning when you get up, command the day to conform to God’s will.
You do not want to lose two or three years out of your life, do you? That has happened to several men who were called of God to be apostles and prophets. They felt that the Lord was leading them to separate themselves from God’s end-time walk for a while, and they ended up in confusion. Every year their pride makes it more difficult to come back and take the humble place. They will never make any progress where they are.
Many new truths are being revealed to us. We have a schedule to keep, and we must redeem the time in order to keep it. Become very impatient with anything that is hindering your progress. Raise your voice to heaven in protest. Time is ravaging the people of God. Do not be submissive to it. Worship and praise the Lord. Read the Scriptures in the light of this teaching.
Jesus once made the remark, “The law and the prophets were until John, but now the Kingdom is being preached, and everyone is pressing in to it” (Luke 16:16). We are finishing the race started by the cloud of witnesses, and we run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). We must get with it and finish it up.
Be dedicated to live or to die, whatever the Lord would be pleased with; but above all, be dedicated to move in God as fast as you can. We have reached a turning point. God has raised us up as a people to do His will, but now could we find ourselves caught in a turmoil of satanic ingenuity, so that all we have done would be in vain? It is possible. Matthew 25:1–13 tells the story of the five virgins who came too late, pleading to get in. They were virgins; they were pure, but the door was not opened to them. Matthew 27:3–5 tells about Judas wanting a place of repentance and not being able to repent; so he went out and hanged himself. Esau, too, could find no place for repentance though he sought it carefully with tears (Hebrews 12:17). Saul grabbed hold of Samuel’s garment, pleading with him not to turn away, but Samuel moved on until the garment was torn; then he turned around and said, “So is the kingdom rent from you.” Saul played the fool and he knew it (I Samuel 15:27–30).
Do not think that it is impossible for a man to repent too late. Although this is a day of grace, still there is a certain time when the door will close and it will all be over.
There is only a certain allotted period, and God is cutting it short. The days are being shortened for the elect’s sake, so that Satan’s schemes will be nullified; otherwise he could bring about a nuclear war or some other catastrophe.
Satan wants to destroy the whole human race because out of it will come the sons of God. The defeat of Satan must come from people who are living; they will bring down principalities and powers. If the time is being shortened to thwart Satan’s schemes, it is also being shortened for God’s elect. They have less time to get the job done. They must redeem the time. It is the time problem that we need to be concerned about. The days are evil.
The fulfillment of what God has for you has been delayed too long already. By the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, find a way to redeem the time. Find a way to get yourself moving. Do not live your life, and then when it is finally finished, find that you have run just half the race you were scheduled to run. Do the job you are supposed to do. Be determined to fulfill the purpose that God has for you.