October 15, 2022
“You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore, settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.” Luke 21:12b-15
These words of Jesus given to prepare us for His return make perfect sense to the disciple who is totally yielded to Him. But for the average follower of Christ, there are instructions which, at first, appear unreasonable. This is partly because we are planners, which is not a sin unless our planning is not submitted to Him; and also because there are things in our life which He has already shown us that we have not obeyed, which is sin (James 4:17). If we are anxious about what to say when occasion for testimony comes, then we need to check for aspects of our life that contradict His word. You are likely correct on many points, but do not stop learning!
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to patiently pursue and what to “kick out of your life”. He will do it! But then you must be ready to obey with your whole heart. The cause of calluses in our hearts is our own disobedience to the Lord, who went on to say, “By your patience possess your souls.” (v.19)
As we move rapidly toward the end of earth’s history, there is no time to waste with things that do not help us—or those around us—to rise above the world’s miry confusion of bad habits, unholy entertainment, wrong attitudes, and false teachings.
It is a mistake to understand patience as passivity or inaction. An accurate view of this word includes the attributes of alert focus upon Jesus and His word, a spirit of perseverance, and a steadfast determination to honor Him through love, loyalty, and faithful obedience. While He walked upon the earth in human flesh, He experienced temptation just as we do. His way of honoring us was to keep Himself pure, that He would go on to be the spotless Passover Lamb who would efficaciously die the death that we deserved.
In contrast to the multitude of end-time mouths from which a profusion of counterfeit messages and deceptions are coming (Revelation 9:17; 16:13), may we, by His grace, endeavor to live out God’s truth, so settled in [our] hearts, that we are supernaturally enabled to glorify Him through our witness on a moment’s notice, for He has promised, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.”
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12