What do you do when the world turns away and no longer wants to hear the messages from God through the indwelling Spirit? When this happens it will be a most difficult time, cutting deep within your heart, especially if it comes from old, trusted friends and family members. I believe we all know why this is happening if we have truly understood the days in which we are living. The Bible talks about this day when there will be a great falling away. Simply put, people no longer have time for God and the things of God. They no longer have time for deep prayer and meditation that can take hours at a time. They no longer have time to read their Bible or read the Spirit-filled messages from mature believers in Christ. They no longer have time to put the old life off and put the new life on in Christ through transformation. They no longer have time for the deep things of God, yet they have plenty of time to chase after every news article from the world or contemplate the latest conspiracy theory. If we are faithfully following Christ, then people will turn away. So, what do we do when the world turns away?

This is a very delicate subject because not everyone turning away is going to be of the same persuasion. We will paint with rather broad strokes because not everyone is going to fit uniquely together in the same boat. We will only examine four possible reasons why people turn away from the faithful remnant in the Last Days. Perhaps the first reason will encompass the largest number of people. This group of people vehemently refuse to hear anything about Christianity and our beliefs about God. Typically these people either have a very strong faith in their chosen deity (other than our God) or they believe that there is no God, aligning themselves with heathenism. The good news is that this group can still be reached with the power of the Gospel at least until the time of the Antichrist. It will be very difficult to reach these people after the whole world is forced to worship the Antichrist. At this point, however, we should not limit the power of the Gospel to open their eyes to the truth bringing great conviction to their hearts. Let’s be very clear, just sharing your adopted theological teachings with this group will do you little good. They need only to hear the Gospel along with our personal testimony, which is the power unto salvation (Romans 1:16). This group will not only turn away from the faithful remnant but could easily be used as the instruments of their persecution.

The second group of people may very well have had an upbringing in Christianity and familiar with much of its teachings. I believe this to be the most difficult group because they have adapted to the teachings of the world causing them to supplant many of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Spirit-filled writers of the New Testament. They say they believe in God and the teachings of Christ, but their actions prove otherwise. They say they believe that God has given them everything they need for life and godliness, yet they seek psychological counsel from the world. They say they believe that God created everything that exists in seven days, yet they believe every new scientific discovery, that teaches humanity where and how they have evolved over millions of years. They say they believe that we have been given the indwelling Spirit to guide us in our decision-making and into all truth, yet they search the internet endlessly to make all of their decisions always seeking counsel from the world. They say they believe in the loving providence of God, yet they get angry when things don’t work out or they face one catastrophe after another. Yes, this will be the most difficult group who has so integrated the ways of the world into their path, it seems as though they are always on the precipice of falling away as they more aggressively turn away from the faithful remnant.

The third group of people, to me anyway, are the most to be pitied. This group tends to have a solid theological foundation and tries desperately to let their light shine brightly. They as a rule try to walk closer to the Lord than most, but they have one very serious problem. This problem in time will eat away like gangrene causing them to falter in their walk with the Lord. When things start to fall apart in the world around them, they are quick to quote the many verses in Scripture that God will work all things out, but deep down in their hearts, the pain is almost unbearable. In time they begin to question God silently as to why they must face so many obstacles that are bringing them so much anxiety and frustration. They suffer silently when death and destruction come so close to them. Finally, it gets to the point where they begin to question why God is leaving them to suffer so greatly in the midst of the Great Tribulation. When this questioning begins their faith begins to falter, which allows the antagonizing voice of Satan and his powers of darkness to grow deafeningly louder. I have great pity for this group who has allowed the voice of the false prophecy to lead them to believe that God would deliver them before the Great Tribulation before things got too bad. Now, the final blow comes when they start blaming God, which opens the door to their falling away and their aggressively strong rhetoric against the faithful remnant.

This fourth group of people, in the world, that turns their back on us is most often caused by our own doing.  No, it is not typically about our theology or our belief system. It is about our attitude or our seemingly bad behavior. This one can be the most heart-wrenching because we need to take a hard look within to make sure that we are displaying the right attitude that mirrors Jesus Christ. Although we may be restricted from sharing the Gospel or Spiritual writings to assist them in their Spiritual growth, we still have an opportunity to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), which could give us an open door of opportunity, if it avails itself. When this group of people come out from among us, we should not allow it to affect us in a diverse way. Some may be true believers, and some may not, but we can start by acknowledging their request to come out from among us and no longer hear about our walk with Christ. Yes, I know this will hurt deeply if they are members of our family or old friends, but God will give us the grace to overcome. Just keep in step with the Spirit being the best Christian you can be with love and forgiveness in your heart as you look for any valid opportunity to share the truth.

Let me very clear. As the faithful remnant, we should never rudely depart from those who refuse to listen to what we have to offer in Christ. We should never get into a heated argument with those who disagree with the knowledge that God has given to us through the Spirit. Moreover, we must never agree with their misunderstanding of the truth, which will only solidify their error. We can politely disagree with sincere love and forbearance. Even as the early Christians suffered persecution to death they continued their loving witness, not to win an argument, but to demonstrate their sincere desire to help their tormentors. Finally, it’s imperative to understand that the closer we get to the end most people will turn away from you or they will persecute you either themselves or report you to the authorities. Make no mistake this will happen, so we need to be very careful seeking to make deeper relationships with only those of the faithful remnant. I know this will be a very difficult thing to do and will garner the question, So, what are the faithful remnant supposed to do during the great falling away when the church has become so integrated with the world, which may cause the faithful remnant to become rather isolated and alone in the world? I can tell you plainly, that the answer does not lie in joining a social media platform that’s run by the powers of darkness.

To answer this question above, what will the faithful remnant do, we need to seek God’s guidance in many hours of prayer and meditation. We will not be long in prayer before we realize, once again, that the main reason social media is not an option for the faithful remnant is that it purposely spreads confusion and division among God’s children. This is especially disturbing to the faithful remnant who have become disillusioned with the local church because they have strayed from the teachings of the Bible and have embraced the teachings in the world. Perhaps the time has come for the underground house churches to once again dot the landscape of fallen humanity. Perhaps it’s time for the faithful remnant to come out from among the fallen churches and establish fellowships in the established underground house churches. Perhaps it’s time to gather with other faithful believers who don’t fear silence and solitude as they seek the Lord in deep prayer. When the world falls apart, and it will, then God’s faithful remnant must already be established in underground home fellowships so that they can strengthen one another in the Spirit. God, please help your dear children to find some solace and comfort in deep abiding face-to-face fellowship with one another as we faithfully await your coming at the end of the age.