SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7

2 Thessalonians 2:1-7 says, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” It is obvious that the job of the Holy Spirit in the last days is to restrain the advance of evil. Now the question we have to ask ourselves in the church is, how does the Holy Spirit biblically restrain the advance of evil? It seems the answer to that question is simple because it consistently appears throughout Scripture. God’s judgment restrains the advancement of evil in Scripture. If part of our assignment is to restrain evil, then we have to expect that the Spirit is going to lead God’s people to pray specific judicial interventions that have a primary purpose of restraining evil. The church needs to understand that its job is to gain a greater harvest, which at times involves standing against darkness. But ushering in God’s harvest requires the believers follow the Spirit in prayers for divine interventions that restrain evil! This principle is in our New Testament and it is as clear as it can possibly be. The question is, are we willing to say yes to it and enter into this dimension with the Holy Spirit?