As I listen in to what I sense the Holy Spirit saying to His ekklesia today, I think of Psalm 110:1-3, titled “A Psalm of David.” David writes, “The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The Lord shall send your mighty scepter out of Zion; rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will follow you in the day of your battle; on the holy mountains at dawn of the morning, the dew of your youth belongs to you.”
The Hebrew word used for the phrase “rule in the midst of your enemies” is radah. It is the same word used in the first chapter of Genesis when God told Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth. While Adam and Eve lost authority to rule over the earth as God originally designed, Jesus took back that authority, once again giving us full rights to rule in the midst of our enemies.
When we look at the nations, it is clear that the end times are upon us. Jesus warned us of this, and He gave clear signs of what we would see. In Matthew 24:10-13, Jesus says, “Many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise and will deceive many. Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” And in verse 37, He adds, “As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
The apostle Paul described it this way: “Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:2-4).
It is clear that the earth’s systems—both economic and governmental that rule in nations—are insufficient for today’s end-times crisis. We have seen the effects of a worldwide pandemic with the coronavirus as governments told their people to stay home. The economy has been significantly impacted, from small business owners struggling to pay their bills to the crash of the U.S. stock market from an all-time high. Fear and unsettledness have increased in our society.
We have watched human trafficking soar alongside an ongoing opioid crisis. Homelessness is on the rise as economies fail and jobs are lost. Young people are struggling with an identity crisis. We have seen governments grapple to get their footing in this ever-changing world. And in addition to all of this, we have seen rising rates of Christians being persecuted and even murdered for their faith over the last 15 years.
It is as though you can hear all creation groaning with the earnest expectation, eagerly awaiting the revealing of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19).
The body of Christ must rise to the challenge of our day and speak into this vacuum. Jesus clearly gave us both power and authority over all the attempted schemes and plots of Satan. It is time that the body of Christ, the ekklesia, arises as one around the world and becomes a visual model and representation of what God intended from the beginning for mankind.
I believe that God looked down through time, and He saw each one who would be alive today. I believe that we are living in the day of God’s power and that it will be seen as His people rise up in the authority given to us by Christ. I firmly believe that He has prepared a group of people alive today who are able to overcome the giants of the day. We are that group of people.
I firmly believe that His love must be poured out through His body on earth. We can agree to disagree, but His love coming through us is nonnegotiable. It will appeal to the lost. It will comfort the brokenhearted and restore their joy. It will draw the wounded and sick to receive healing. His unconditional love flowing through us will be winsome in this time of doubt, unbelief, hatred and fear. By His love, we will rule in the midst of every enemy.
We were born for this!
Jane Hansen Hoyt is CEO and president of Aglow International.
This article was excerpted from the August issue of Charisma magazine. If you don’t subscribe to Charisma, click here to get every issue delivered to your mailbox. During this time of change, your subscription is a vote of confidence for the kind of Spirit-filled content we offer. In the same way you would support a ministry with a donation, subscribing is your way to support Charisma. Also, we encourage you to give gift subscriptions at shop.charismamag.com, and share our articles on social media.
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