The sense I have for the next year is that many things will appear to get worse, especially in national and governmental realms. Christians in the west will end up in gaol for the faith, an idea unheard of until recently. As believers stand for their faith, preaching Christ and the word boldly.
The political landscape will appear to be a moral and ethical bloodbath as people generally keep heading away from God and his righteousness. Sounds terrible doesn’t it? Yet in this we (the Church) will rise up glorious as the Lord brings His life and salvation to anyone who will listen.
Psalm 2 is a call to repentance for the nations. This is a key passage that shows the truth of what will happen in 2019 and onward. The Psalm is titled ‘The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom’ in the NKJV and is need to navigate our lives in turbulent times.
The first three verses Psalm 2:1-3 talk about the pride of man and kings; how nations rage and plot vain things; how leaders purposefully rail against the Lord. This is a clear picture of the anti-God agenda being thrown at us via the media, Godless politicians and the #leftist immoral agenda.
The next three verses Psalm 2:4-6 tell the truth of the power of God in the face of vain earthly kings. The Lord laughs, holds them in derision; then He speaks to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure. Ooops! How out leaders have it so wrong.
The next passage Psalm 2:7-9 tells of Messiah’s inheritance of the nations and His rule of the whole earth. How incredible and powerful is He! These evil rulers will be broken with a rod of iron. This is also our right as His bride, the Church.
The final passage Psalm 2:10-12 shows His mercy when we repent and the blessing we have in His salvation as we trust in Him fully.
This leads to the obvious question, how do we appropriate the overcoming victory in the mess that our society is at this time?
First, we need to be centred in Jesus and our living relationship with Him. John 16:31-33 gives us the hope we need.
Secondly, we need to pray like Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18 and 2 Kings 19 (these chapters should be read in full). Hezekiah was facing a huge threat as the Assyrians were planning to invade Judah and destroy Jerusalem.
The Assyrians tried to bribe and threaten the people of God but Hezekiah stood strong and took the letter the Assyrians had sent with its unholy threats to the temple (the main place of worship), the courts of the Lord, and laid that letter before the Lord. He also called on the prophet of the Lord (Isaiah) who gave Hezekiah God’s word.
So in humble prayer, in the presence of the Lord, acting on God’s word, Hezekiah called out for his nation. The Lord answered! 2 Kings 19:35-37 one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians were destroyed. Hezekiah and Isaiah had sought the Lord and had a huge victory.
We need to use the key of David (Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7), that is we need to worship and praise the Lord; and then we overcome. The battle is the Lord’s, we just need to obey Him and His word.
2019 will appear to be a bad year from a natural perspective, yet as we stand in Him and on His word there will be awesome breakthroughs, salvation, healing, miracles, and a national transformative work of the Gospel of The Kingdom.