Touré Roberts - Time to Lean In

As crazy as these times are, these are times that God actually wants us to lean into and not pull back from. I hear God saying that, as crazy as things seem, you have to understand that this is your time. You have to understand that this is your moment. This is not a time for you to shrink back; this is a time for you to fight back. We’re going to talk about that as we unpack these things today. So, as we read it together, I’m not going to take it verse by verse necessarily, but again, the disciples are asking God what some of the signs of the times will be—some of the signs of the end of the age, some of the times when you will begin to make your way back and make all the crooked paths straight, so to speak. He talks about how there are going to be many people who come along and say, «I am Christ.» What’s interesting is that some of them may not directly come out and say, «I am Christ.» Christ means anointed; Christ means Messiah. There will be some people who say, «Hey, this thing right here is anointed. Feel the Spirit of God.» This is so true. The anointing is going to have counterfeit anointings, and sadly enough, you’ll see religious people calling things anointed that are not. Let me tell you something: I don’t use that word loosely. My applause and my celebration, although I celebrate humanity, I don’t applaud something as anointed without truly knowing that it is anointing. The scriptures say that in the last days, false prophets will rise up and false things will emerge, and these things will be so convincing that they will even be able to appeal to the very elect. Deception in these times will be at an all-time high, so we have to be personally close to God and aligned in such a way that we walk in the anointing and can identify what is truly anointing and what isn’t, so we don’t end up being deceived. Are you tracking with me? He talks about how there are going to be wars and rumors of wars, and we are already seeing this. He discusses how nations will rise against nations, and rising against nations does not necessarily mean countries; it is ethnos, which means ethnicities. So, Jesus spoke about some division and really some racial tension in the last days, or in the days that will precede a great move of the Spirit. Are you tracking with me? He talks about how there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. All these things are happening, and he says all these are the beginning of sorrows. That word «sorrows» literally means «birth pains.» So, while all these things are happening, Jesus in that passage says that these things must come to pass. In other words, on the way to birthing what God is birthing, all these difficult things have to transpire. So, watch this: many of the things that we are praying away—and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray away things, we should—but just know that it is possible that some of the things you and I are praying away are things that must come to pass to create the appropriate birth canal for what God wants to put in the earth. Are you tracking with me? It is what it is, my friend. Bishop Kenneth Omer would say it’s tight, but it’s right. Then he talks about how they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. Some of this has already happened before; of course, we know many of his disciples were persecuted, even to death. In many places around the world, we see great persecution and people being killed because of their faith. In fact, here in America, I think that we have it good as it stands. He talks about how many people will be offended, and that word «offended» is pretty interesting because it can mean personally offended, but ultimately the idea is bigger than just being offended or upset. The idea is that you are either causing someone to stumble or something is causing you to stumble. One of the things I know about offense and being offended is that being offended often causes you to stumble. Your footing is not what it needs to be when you are offended. When you get offended, you are taken off of the appropriate footing. You can’t walk in ordered steps when you’re offended. That’s why one of the things that I do is I try not to make a decision when I am angry because when I am angry, my footing is improper. I’m stumbling. Even when you throw a punch, you have to plant yourself before you throw it because if you’re all wobbly, you can’t get that punch off. In fact, as you throw a punch, you might get knocked off balance because you’re out of balance. When you’re offended, you’re out of balance. That’s why it’s important to have the type of relationship with God and with yourself that allows you to recognize where you are at all times, and if you’re offended, you have to learn how to release that offense so that you can see clearly in order to move forward.