Do You Ever Wish Jesus Would Come Back Today and Fix This Broken World?

Consider a parable Jesus told:

A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, “Engage in business until I come.” (Luke 19:12–13)

We are being commanded to do the business of the King until he returns.

Jesus is the nobleman, and we are the servants. Jesus entrusted resources to the servants. He entrusts resources to us, whether material resources or gifts of teaching, preaching, music, or the numerous other gifts and talents he has bestowed on people. Jesus ascended to heaven after his death and resurrection. Here in Luke 19, we are commanded to do the business of the King until he returns. This means we need to use whatever gifts, talents, and other resources we have been entrusted with to do the best we can to proclaim the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel, no matter how bleak things look.

We are to “redeem the time.” We have to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28). That’s why at Answers in Genesis and through our two attractions, the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, we do all we can to reach as many as possible with the most important message in the universe: the saving gospel.

The Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians still applies regardless of how bad things get. Christ wants us to take every opportunity to boldly confront our pagan culture so lost people can be redeemed.

Like many of the Apostle Paul’s letters, the book of Ephesians is divided into beliefs (chapters 1–3) and practice (chapters 4–6). One of the “practice” verses I remember my father using is Ephesians 5:16: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

My parents took this verse to heart and did their best to take whatever opportunity arose to proclaim God’s Word and the saving gospel message.

As a young boy, when we visited my grandparent’s farmhouse in North Queensland, I remember my mother telling us how as a young teen, she would ride her bicycle to pick up two young girls who didn’t have any other way of getting to Sunday school. She would ride five miles with these children on her bike to ensure they could be taught God’s Word. That story had a great impact on my life. My mother’s example challenged me to do whatever I could to ensure people heard the gospel message.

So that I could help our children and our children’s children understand their heritage, I interviewed my mother on video in Australia when she was 87 years old. I specifically asked her about those two girls. She had met them again just a couple of years before my interview. One of them was really “going on for” the Lord, and the other said she was going to come back to the Lord. Those Sunday school lessons had a real impact on them.

Since my father was a teacher and transferred every three years as he was promoted, I watched my parents start Sunday schools in several different country areas, as well as bring in evangelists so that families could hear the truth of the Bible and the salvation message.

As I look back on this, I realize that my parents were doing what God through Paul instructs us to do in Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Look at the verse and the meanings of the three main Greek words:

• Redeem has a meaning akin to buying someone out of slavery, just as Christ redeemed us out of slavery because of our sin. We need to buy up every opportunity to help people out of their bad situation.
• Time. Now the original Greek word used here for “time” isn’t about hours, minutes, and seconds. It really means “opportunity.”
• Evil. This Greek word means “hurtful, evil in effect, calamitous, diseased, derelict and vicious.” These same adjectives could certainly be applied in our own culture when we look at the news headlines!

So, we are being told in this verse to make the best of every opportunity, to do what we can to see people taken out of their bad situation. They are on the road to eternal separation from God as a consequence of sin and the effects of the evil world we live in.

And that’s my challenge to each of us. What are we doing to “redeem the time”?

What are we doing to “redeem the time”?

The church at Ephesus (the church to which the book of Ephesians was originally addressed) is mentioned specifically among the seven churches that received letters from the Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation (2:1–7). The Christians in this church were diligent to hold to the doctrines of the faith. But our Lord warned, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

I believe this means they no longer had the zeal to reach the culture as they once had. In Ephesians chapters 4–6, Paul told these Christians to apply their beliefs practically in three areas: in the local church (which Revelation chapter 2 indicates they were still doing), in their homes (and I believe they were doing this also), and in the world (and this is where I believe they had lost their first love).

Paul set the example when he first visited Ephesus. He boldly preached against the idolatry of the day. According to Acts 19, many turned away from their idols when Paul unashamedly confronted the pagan religion of his day. But this caused an uproar within the city. Paul was persecuted because of his boldness in doing whatever he could to “redeem the time” so people would leave their evil ways and receive Christ’s free gift of salvation.

Perhaps the Ephesians were no longer being bold in confronting the idolatry in their culture as Paul did. I suggest this is why they “left their first love.”

Yes, “the days are evil,” and our time here on earth is short. But reaching others with the saving gospel while we are here has eternal importance.

The battle between God’s Word and man’s word (the battle between good and evil), which started in Genesis chapter 3, hasn’t changed. The gospel message hasn’t changed. The book of Ephesians is as much for individuals as it is for the whole church today. We need to stand on God’s Word and adhere to the doctrines God has revealed to us. And we need to apply God’s Word daily in our homes, in our local churches, and in the world.

Let’s do the business of the King till he returns.

Are we using every opportunity that comes before us to affect hearts and minds for the Lord, prayerful that many will receive his free gift of salvation and live in heaven with their Creator and Savior forever?

Let’s do the business of the King till he returns.

“Redeeming” Womanhood to the Glory of God

In our day and age, it’s not only time that needs to be redeemed. We also need to “redeem,” or, more rightly, reclaim the biblical teaching of male and female (and the goodness and uniqueness of each) for God’s glory. And that’s exactly what we’re doing at our 2024 Answers for Women conference, Reclaim: Overcoming the War on Women for the Glory of God.

This 2024 conference basically sold out (about 2,000 registrations) before tickets were made available to the general public—I am thrilled by the enthusiasm so many women have for biblical truth and their hunger for answers to equip themselves and their daughters, granddaughters, and churches. But we know many women were disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to attend in person—so we’re offering a second identical “weekday” conference, April 1–3, 2024, at the Ark Encounter, south of Cincinnati. Yes, we can accommodate another 2,000 women to hear the exact same conference.

Come and hear from:

• Ruth Chou Simons of GraceLaced Co. and its podcast
• Jinger Vuolo, author of Becoming Free Indeed
• Laura Perry, author of Transgender to Transformed
• Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly
• Monica Cline, former comprehensive sex educator
• Mary Kassian, author of many books, including The Feminist Mistake
• pastor and author Costi Hinn
• Australian lawyer and social commentator Martyn Iles
• musician Michael O’Brien and his wife, Heidi
• and Dr. Georgia Purdom and me of Answers in Genesis

The early-bird price for this conference is now available, and it’s very likely this event will also be a sell-out, so make your plans to attend right away. Women of God need to rise up, reclaim, and live out God’s good design for women for his glory. Indeed, “a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). This conference is a wonderful opportunity to help yourself, your daughters, your granddaughters, and the women in your church to rely on God’s all-sufficient Word for womanhood. And you’ll be blessed by touring the Ark Encounter attraction. Register today.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.