The Future
“It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.” Jesus – Acts 1:7
“The fix is in.” This proverbial statement refers to something that is going to happen, due to the manipulation of certain controllable circumstances that fall under the power of the manipulator. In other words, you can bet, with confidence, on a certain horse. Certain people have done certain things, to remove any uncertainty, about the odds of your horse coming in ahead of the rest of the competitors. Feel free to, “Bet the farm.” Another colloquialism, but I digress.
The fixed course is the secure course for the navigator. The arrow of his compass is placed on an immovable object, and when his eye remains fixed on that secure point of reference, the intended destination will be reached. To avoid accumulative error, keep the compass focused on a mountain range, not a leaf blowing across your path.
The Father has fixed, by His own authority, certain things that can be counted upon to happen in His way, and in His will, and in His timing. Angst, wishful thinking, and the intense opposition of dark, spiritual forces will not derail God’s will. Nothing will influence these fixed times. God has designed them to happen, and they will come about, come what may. Regardless of man’s attempt to delay them, ignore them or explain them away, they are fixed by His authority.
The simplest expression of these times are sunrise and sunset. Daylight Savings Time may appear to manipulate the rising and the setting of the sun, but it is a pathetic, cosmetic attempt to influence the inevitable. Seasons come and go. They may vary, depending on how far a person moves, north or south of the equator, but every climate reveals a Divine Design that has the hand-prints of God all over it, from beginning to end.
“It is not for you to know.” This is the bone in the throat and the rock in the shoe, to the pride and intellect of people who are always trying to explain God away, or improve on what He said. It sticks in the craw of “futurists” and purveyors of “End Times” books. God can’t possibly mean it.
When I was a boy, there was a popular TV show called, “I’ve Got a Secret.” The guest would come on the show, and the goal of the contestants was to guess what their secret was. I sometimes think I am watching constant reruns of it, when I hear people speak with great authority on what God meant when He said, “It is not for you to know.” There are those prognosticators of Global Warming who can predict the end of the world as we know it, but can’t anticipate when the next red light will turn green. Don’t follow them off the cliff. There are “End Times” predictions made in every decade since Jesus ascended into Heaven, that boldly announce, “This is it!” They haven’t guessed right yet.
Jesus honored the Roman soldier who said, “I, too, am a man under authority.” The solder recognized the hand-prints of God, on the life of Jesus, and gave Him the respect He deserved. Jesus called this respect, faith. We could place a good deal more of it in the Word of God, and a great deal less of our own speculations about it.
Jesus said, “It is not for you to know, the times and the epochs, which the Father has fixed by His own authority.” If that doesn’t sit well with you, it reveals a great deal more about you than you may want to admit. If you think you are the captain of your own ship, and can’t stand to sail into the unknown without a detailed chart, you may have set your course on your own star power, and not on The Father in Heaven. Raise your compass. You are way off course.
Jesus is coming again. That is fixed. While we wait for His return, be filled with His Spirit. He will be looking for those who reveal His character, not those who question His integrity. The power of the Holy Spirit, in the lives of His followers, will mark those who have heard and obeyed the voice of their Savior. Don’t fix your life on anything less.
Jesus did not abuse His intimacy with God, to quiz Him about non-essentials or theological trivia. Prayer was intimate communication between Jesus and His Father. By prayer, He sought to conform His will to that of His Father’s will. His prayer time was not complete, until He could say, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” Don’t race to the finish line with “Amen.” You may not be through yet.
People who make the Second Coming their first priority, fool themselves into believing they know more about God, and the future than He ever intended for them to know. They are in danger of losing sight of their first priority, and missing out on the last thing that Jesus said. Prayer keeps first things first. TO KNOW HIM, TO MAKE HIM KNOWN. Good to know. Do no less. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
copyright, Dr. Gary and Dana L. Miller
All Rights Reserved
For over 40 years, Gary and Dana Miller have invested their lives in the pastoral ministry of churches in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Georgia. Gary and Dana believe the hope of the world is the local church, and the strength of the church is sustained by praying people.
They have taught extensively on the role of prayer in spiritual awakening, counseled people to build strong marriages by equipping husbands and wives to pray together and have ministered internationally in Hong Kong, Japan, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Switzerland through their TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! Prayer Conferences.
Gary and Dana live in Fort Worth, Texas and have been married for 40 years. They are parents of two grown daughters, Ashley and Allyson.
