The Hour Of Destiny...
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
(Rev 9:13-15 NKJV) Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice
from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, {14}
saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four
angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." {15} So the four
angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year,
were released to kill a third of mankind.
(John 12:27 NKJV) "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?
'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this
hour.
Imagine you were one of the four angels. Bound for centuries by the
great River Euphrates.The hour for which God has prepared you comes
and you go out to order the slaughter of a third of the world. Your
whole life is lived to obey just one command. You have stood at your
post - bound there, until the time was ripe. Now think of Jesus who
was "perfected through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10) for 33 years to
endure 6 hours on the cross without sin and die as our perfect
substitute.There is an hour of destiny, an hour when the whole life
is summed up and reaches its climax. When Paul stood before Caesar
and gave his defense - that was the hour God prepared him for.
[The "hour" is not 60 minutes by a quartz chronometer. It is a unit
of time, one distinct event on God's calendar. The "hour" Jesus
refers to in John 12 lasted a number of days between when He uttered
those words and his death on the cross. An hour is the time of a
meeting. Its the time God uses to accomplish just one thing. A "day"
has many events in it but an "hour" (when used symbolically) has just
one.]
All Christians will have an hour of destiny when Jesus returns and we
stand before the judgement seat of Christ and we must be alert and
prepared for that. (Mat 24:42-44 NKJV) "Watch therefore, for you do
not know what hour your Lord is coming. {43} "But know this, that if
the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he
would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. {44}
"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
you do not expect.
There seems to me to be a second meaning as well - there is also an
"hour" in this life (or a number of such events) when when we
completely fulfil a part in His plans and purposes. It seems to me
that those who "seek the interests of Christ Jesus" and pray "thy
Kingdom come" find themselves swept up into moments of destiny that
they could only dream of. They lead people to Christ, start prayer
movements or begin a Reformation. Those who are self-absorbed and
who have little interest in God's plans and purposes miss out. Their
hour comes and goes and they are playing the fool. I cannot prove it
for sure but I think God would like each of us to have an hour in
which we contribute grandly to the advancement of the Kingdom of
God. I think God wants our lives to count even more than we do. But
the hour comes to those who stick to their tasks and keep to their
stations. It is the awake sentry that alerts the town and becomes
the hero. The sleeping sentries are shot!
However the hour of destiny is brief and life is long. The
preparation for God's hour can seem so dull and pointless. The
discipline too arduous and harsh. The waiting to become significant
too long to endure. We need to patiently wait until God finally uses
us for the grand purpose that He has prepared us for. Patient steady
daily consecration is the key to being useful to the Master - a
vessel purified and ready for use. (2 Tim 2:20-21 NKJV) But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also
of wood and clay, some for honour and some for dishonour. {21}
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a
vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work.
You do not know when God may have an appointed hour ready for you.
Tomorrow someone could ask you to lead them to Jesus - are you
ready? You could be called on to speak to a soul in deep pain -will
you notice? It is often in the most domestic moments that God's grand
purposes arrive - moments like having dinner (as the disciples on
the Emmaus road found out) or taking in a stranger "(Heb 13:2 NKJV)
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have
unwittingly entertained angels." Are you consecrated to Jesus? Will
you be ready when God's hour of destiny arrives?
Prayer:
Lord awaken our hearts to the grand possibilities of each new day and
the surprises that you can bring in the midst of the most mundane
tasks. Help us Lord to focus on Your interests and not our own and to
be totally consecrated, obedient and ready to do your will when the
hour of destiny arrives.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!