The Children of Issachar! Part 4

• They ‘knew what Israel ought to do”. How should we handle ‘the times’ we live in today?

1. 2 Timothy 3:5b, “Have nothing to do with them”.

In a world where peer pressure can be excruciatingly intense and being ‘different’, a crime, Apostle Paul’s advice may seem to teenagers and young adults as being between the devil and the deep blue sea. A refusal to ‘join the bandwagon’ may appear like social suicide and definitely, not ‘politically correct’.

But the word of God can never change. We are to disassociate ourselves from anything that dishonours our God. Anything that would make us feel uncomfortable, because we choose to obey our God, should be quickly discarded. We should have nothing to do with them.

How should we handle ‘the times’ we live in today?

2. Luke 21:36, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (ESV).

It will not be easy to ‘flee’ from and to ‘resist’ the wiles of the world. A new and improved skills set would be required to overcome their pressures and temptations. There will be name calling, humiliation, bullying, oppression, provocation, deprivation, persecution, threats and insults just to wear out our resistance.

At such moments, one needs to remain in the place of prayer to develop sustainable strength for the battle at hand. When we pray to the Almighty God, He provides the enablement to navigate the course of confusion, distraction and destruction.

How should we handle ‘the times’ we live in today?

3. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (NIV).

The “full armor of God” is described thus;

1. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (vs. 14)

2. “And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (vs. 15)

3. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (vs. 16)

4. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (vs. 17)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (vs. 18)

How should we handle ‘the times’ we live in today?

4. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (KJV).

We are a special breed; fearfully and wonderfully made; packaged for the unique purpose of manifesting a praise-worthy life, befitting our God. An item whose value is unknown is prone to abuse. That doesn’t describe us, for we know who we are and why we are here.

1 Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God’s” (KJV).

The Lord Jesus Christ paid a high price to redeem us from sin and ruin. In recognition of his supreme sacrifice, our body and spirit belong to him and must be guarded jealously. So, any form of immorality is not okay because they are in conflict with the Spirit of God in us. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The children of Issachar had ‘understanding of the times’. Today, anything goes. There are no rules, no moral absolutes, no restraints of any kind. In fact, nothing is sacred any longer. People want to do only what is right in their own estimation, and woe betide whoever dares to question them.

People have become more religious but less righteous. Religion has become one of the biggest and most popular ventures. There are houses of worship few distances from each other but poorly transformed lives all over the place. Is it therefore, surprising that crime and criminality abound?

Matthew 24:7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (ESV).

There’s hardly any continent that is free of conflict, war and natural disasters. Millions have lost their lives and limbs and loved ones as a result of political and religious wars. Millions more have either gone missing or are victims of dangerous migration.

Today, we have people referred to as 'the boat people' by the reason of the fact that millions have taken to cross the Mediterranean to safety and a new life, escaping death and destruction. Millions, including babies, have been washed up dead from drowning from capsized boats.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to all of today’s troubles and fears. We are nothing without God and we have nothing but for His grace and mercy. We are of no relevance outside of our God and we can do nothing without Him.

The times demand the manifestation of the “children of Issachar”; those who “understand the times” and who “know what ought to be done”. Can you be counted?

Concluded

The Children of Issachar! Part 3

1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (ESV).

Today, the teenager that has made the choice to live a holy and righteous life, totally consecrated to the service of the Almighty God, is an endangered specie!

It is not just the external environment putting pressure on the teenager to conform to worldly standards but the internal may even be worse and they include those who have been placed in the position to guide them through the right path but who, themselves, have compromised the faith.

They include parents, family and friends; community leaders; church leaders; school teachers and administrators; government policy makers and administrators, etc.

Despite the many Christian denominations and several Bible versions available, immoral conduct such as irresponsibility, bad manners, crime and evil prowl the land. There are churches spewing blasphemy and heresy, deceiving the congregation and affiliating with all kinds of demonic spirits, and offering the easy and pleasurable life to their congregation. Many have fallen, and are still falling for it.

Many churches boast of having a section for teenagers but how many truly care to provide the environment and teaching that nourish their spirit, soul and body? Some actually engage the teenagers and encourage them to participate in the activities of the church but having a running battle between the ideal taught in the church and the contradiction ‘out there’ can be a lot to handle by even the strongest teen.

Because the word of God is observed in the ‘breach’, there is a war of the Scriptures, for instance, in the home: Ephesians 6:1 versus Ephesians 6:4. I’ve heard Biblical aberrations rationalized in uncanny ways, such as;

1.      Halloween isn’t pagan

2.      Homosexuality is about love (NIV-Rom. 1:21-28; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:9-10)

3.      Even Abraham lied and he was God’s friend

4.      Tattooing isn’t bad (Lev. 19:28)

5.      How we look isn’t important, God looks at the heart

The poor performance of the global economy has brought about unimaginable suffering and poverty due to consequent job losses, business collapse, irregular payment of workers’ salaries, low purchasing power, reduced public spending, poor public infrastructure especially education and healthcare, etc. This has brought out the ‘beast’ in human beings. Domestic violence, prostitution, and crime have skyrocketed.

Parents who can no longer provide for their families have lost their children’s and the community’s respect and their families suffer because no one is willing to help. In the midst of such difficulties, teenagers watch others obscenely flaunt their wealth.

Nearly every teenager, trying to overcome low self-esteem, wants to be a celebrity; to hit the lime lights; to show ‘them’ that I’m somebody’. Getting serious with school work makes one a ‘book worm’ and a ‘bore’. In any case, show business is attracting millions of money worth of sponsorships, not scholarship. Where do we go from here?

(To be continued next week)

The Children of Issachar! Part 2

How have the ‘times’ we live in today affected teenagers?

What seems to escape the attention of parents, community leaders, religious leaders, school administrators, medical professionals, etc, is the impact that these tumultuous events have on today’s teenagers, especially teenagers who are Christians.

At nearly every point in their lives and every forum they find themselves, they are surrounded by the global confusion, distortions, liberalism and chaos totally at variance with what they have been told, taught and even their expectations. Many cannot imagine how bamboozling these can be for teenagers.

1.                  There is a collapse of the moral space. There’s so much ingratitude, selfishness, arrogance, love for money and pleasure, boastfulness, bad manners, and unforgiveness in the land. It’s like… ‘anything goes’ right now and nobody seems to care. People have become unfaithful, brash, libelous, evil, disobedient to God and their parents, abusive and lacking self-control. There is this bare-faced criminality anchored on impunity and lawlessness.

2.                  There is a breakdown of the family system. The once close and happy family unit is experiencing its own ‘tremors’. In some cultures, the extended family, which is a recognized unit of the society, is falling apart. Members are mean to one another; bat no eyelid to defraud each other; are estranged from one other; and children abandoned/neglected by their parents and/or abused right under their parent’s eyes. Marriages are no longer ‘built to last’ neither is raising children a solemn responsibility.

3.                  There is confusion in the society. Whether at home, school, church or other platforms, the line between what is right and what is wrong is thinning out. The level of hypocrisy in the society is stunning. We are becoming a ‘do-as-I-say’ kind of people, completely oblivious to the fact that teenagers are a ‘do-as-I-do’ people. Societal values have been so liberalized that sin is cast in sophistication – deliberate deceit as ‘white lies’, infidelity as ‘cheating’, stealing as ‘pilfering’, etc.

4.                  There is too much peer pressure. They say that ‘success has many fathers’ and therein lies the pressure for young people to win medals in sports, to make the best grades in school, to produce the ‘hit’ music, to be rich, to be beautiful, etc, at all cost, just to be accepted and loved. Their talent is recognized for celebrity status only if it is expressed in the arts, entertainment, fashion, sports, and technology. Young people who cannot meet up with the pressure find ‘solace’ in substance and alcohol abuse, examination malpractice, teen sex, the guilt of which lead to abortion, depression, poor anger management, eating disorders, teen suicides, etc.

5.                  There is the attraction to the occult. Young people are becoming more and more fascinated with mysticism and dark fantasies in a quest to have control over others. Membership of cult gangs can be as young as primary school age. They sometimes start as school/neighbourhood bullies, manifest obnoxious behaviour, engage in crimes such as breaking traffic laws, homicides, mugging, burglary, rape/gang rape, drug rape, kidnapping, etc. The school environment which is one of the safest places for children has become a den for molestation, shootings, stabbings, cultism, etc.

For teenagers who can easily succumb to these tension and are not strong enough to walk away (‘resist’ and/or ‘flee’), your guess is as good as mine.

(To be continued next week)

The Children of Issachar! Part 1

“And of the children of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

After the death of King Saul, Israel needed to appoint another King. In spite of the fact that everyone knew that Saul was no longer King, even before he died and that God had anointed David instead, the choice of who was to be the next king caused divisions among the tribes of Israel.

Some felt that the successor should come from the tribe of Benjamin, where Saul also came from but others preferred that it be David, as ordained by God. The matter was eventually resolved and David became the next King of Israel.

The children of the tribe of Issachar were among the supporters of David, the new King. But the text above gives us more information on their unique qualities that have become very relevant in our contemporary society;

·                     They had ‘understanding of the times’:

The Hebrew word for “understanding” is “bee-nah”. It also refers to discernment, wisdom, perception and knowledge. It means “to have insight; to act with prudence; to be familiar with”.

Apostle Paul prayed in 2 Tim. 2:7, “… may the Lord give you understanding in all things”. Meaning that it is God that gives a man understanding (Job 12:13) and that His understanding has no limit (Ps. 147:5).

The people of Israel were instructed to diligently teach their descendants the word of God (Deut. 6:6-7). The children of Issachar, being beneficiaries of such instructed history, knew that God had anointed David to be king (1 Sam. 16:1, 11-13) and that any contrary decision will be disastrous for Israel. So they supported David, not because some others did so, but because they had “understanding”.

The children of Issachar had ‘understanding of the times’. What is it about our own time? Why do we need an ‘understanding’?  

2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (ESV).

We don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that we are living in very dangerous times today. There is wickedness and incomprehensible cruelty at the helm of government; political and religious conflicts; global economic and environmental disasters; evil people designing and producing powerful and destructive products to unleash harm on the world; and people committing heinous crimes completely regardless of who they hurt.

Apostle Paul did not mince words to young Pastor Timothy. He warned that difficult times would come and to be forewarned is to be forearmed; so that no one is surprised or taken unawares when they happen. Rev. Ray Pritchard puts it thus; “The last days will be fierce, violent, dangerous and frightening. Savage times will come as men cast off all moral restraint and society begins to disintegrate”. We are beginning to witness the horror of this prophesy.

How has 'the times' we live in affected teenagers today? We will discuss that next week. Don't miss it!!!