What shall we do in this time?

The Bible said before the Saviour's Second Coming there will be signs and wonders and many will fall into problems they would have never dreamt of falling into.

But hope is not to be killed and the Church must remain a beacon on the hill, according to Pastor Conroy Shakes, who presented his sermon at a local Seventh-day Adventist Church in south Manchester.

"The world is turning upside down; everything is going in the wrong direction. Even the Church of God seems to be doing the things that should not be done. The Church that should be a light in the community fails to show that light that the sinner may see," he said.

Shakes said we often look around us and question why things aren't changing, but it is because we are not in communication with God.

"We seek to do things on our own. When problems perplex us on every side, we look to our own strength without looking to God. I want us to understand that when we go down on our knees to pray, the devil is listening and God is listening. The devil is seeking ways to attack you as you get up off your knees, but God is already answering prayers."

None of us are immune to problems in the Church, he said, and if that notion exists, it should be done away with.

Stay focus

"You will even have problems with your church members, but you cannot allow anyone or anything to let you lose focus on Jesus who died for you. Satan manifests himself in persons, and it's not always in people who are far from you, but those who are very close, those who many of us call good friends. Once you are a child of God, expect problems to come, but Jesus is the great problem solver."

Pastor Shakes added: "When you do good and speak truth, always expect problems. Many of us Christians will be dragged in the streets and we will be tried. We are living in the last days. Some of us will be thrown into prison, some of us will be killed, but in that time when we ask the question, 'what shall we do?' the bigger question will be 'what will we do with Jesus'?"

He said while we are not immune to problems and persecution, there is one stronger and greater force lobbying on our behalf.

"Sometimes when you are faced with your problems, all you need to do is relax and give God praise. While Paul and Silas were praising God at midnight, the devil was confused. When God touches down to deliver His children, He will move everything out of His way because He will not allow anyone or anything to hinder Him. When we maintain our dignity, those who try to destroy us will understand that we serve a big God. They will say to themselves, 'We cannot touch this one'," Pastor Shakes said.