An Urgency In This Hour | Jentezen Franklin
Monday, November 24
Is your life defined by passion or passivity? This message encourages us to shake off complacency and approach our worship, families and calling with a renewed sense of urgency. God’s greatest work in your life is still ahead!
Key Points
· Hell is in revival. Hell cannot be in an expansion program while the Church is shrinking. The pit of Hell was never created for man, but without Christ, men and women will go there. People are under attack, and the Church must pluck people out of the fire of Hell before it’s too late.
· There is an outside opposition. You have an enemy. But when the attacks come, you can make Hell pay for what it has done.
· There’s an inside calling. There is a calling greater than the confusion you’re in right now. There is a prophecy greater than the pressure you’re under. The problem is real, but so is your purpose.
· There’s limited time. You are the anchor runner for the Church. You are the light of the world, and God wants to use you in this hour. The eyes of eternity’s elders are watching you to see how urgent you will be about serving God in this last generation. Don’t discard the dream God has given you.
· Passion isn’t pretty. God doesn’t call you what you are; He calls you as He sees you. If you live urgently, it may not look pretty, but there is an eternal purpose in it all. If you’re going to drink from the river of the Holy Spirit, lap it up with urgency!
Final Thoughts:
Don’t let your memories be greater than your dreams. It’s time to live urgently for the King’s business, as you stand between the living and the dead. Get ready for holy surprises from Heaven!
Introduction
Today we’ll explore the message, An Urgency In This Hour, by Pastor Jentezen Franklin. In this powerful sermon, we’re reminded that the King’s business requires haste—winning souls, living holy, giving, praying, and worshiping cannot be done casually. Pastor Jentezen delivers a passionate wake-up call that hell is urgent, time is short, and Jesus is coming soon—so God’s people must rise with urgency.
This urgency isn’t just a feeling—it’s fueled by three undeniable realities we can’t ignore: fierce outside opposition from an enemy who never sleeps, an inside calling that’s bigger than any attack we’re facing, and the ticking clock of limited time before Jesus returns.
· Before dive into the first reality, what stood out to you from Sunday’s message?
Outside Opposition
Hell is aggressively expanding its influence, building new "compartments" to pull in more souls, while too many churches remain relaxed and complacent. According to Isaiah 5:14, hell has enlarged itself and opened its mouth wide to devour generations through broken families, addictions, and despair. Satan isn't holding back—he's deploying his top forces to attack marriages, children, mental health, cities, and campuses with relentless intensity. As Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, our battle isn't against people but against spiritual powers of darkness. When the enemy strikes your family or life, that's the exact moment to rise up, declare "Hell is going to pay for this!" and push back harder with prayer, fasting, and faith. We're called to pluck people from the fire, as Jude 1:23 urges, rescuing the lost with the same urgency hell uses to destroy.
Isaiah 5:14 (NIV) Therefore hell has enlarged itself and opened wide its mouth; its appetite is without limit, and their multitudes, their pomp, and their revelry go down into it.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Jude 1:23 (NIV) Save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
This outside opposition demands we wake up and match hell's revival with a holy urgency in our own lives and churches. Instead of cursing the darkness, let's turn on the light by actively fighting for souls and standing firm against the enemy's schemes.
· How have you seen hell "enlarging itself" in today's world, like through attacks on families or mental health? What can we do as a group to push back?
· When has pressure from outside opposition made you want to declare "Hell is going to pay for this!"? How did you respond, and what happened?
· Based on Jude 1:23, who in your life might God be calling you to "pluck from the fire" right now, and what's one urgent step you can take?
Inside Calling
Every believer carries a God-given purpose—an inside calling—that towers above any pressure, pain, or problem you’re facing right now. Pastor Jentezen reminds us that our battles aren’t random—they’re the very platform God can use to display His glory through us.
Esther 4:14 (NIV) “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther was told she had come to the kingdom “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14); the same Holy Spirit who spoke that over her life is speaking it over you.
· What “for such a time as this” moment do you sense God has placed you in right now—at work, in your family, in your city?
This same truth runs all the way through Scripture and connects us to the great relay of faith.
Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV) “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
The Old Testament heroes of faith endured incredible hardship without quitting. God never abandoned them—every one was commended for their faith—yet they never saw the full promise in their lifetime because they died before Christ came. They stayed faithful by refusing to settle for this world’s rewards, keeping their eyes fixed on a future fulfillment that is now ours in Jesus.
That’s why the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11 is now leaning over heaven’s balconies, cheering us on. They ran their lap with passion; we hold the baton that completes God’s story for their leg of the race.
Philippians 3:14 (NIV) “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Pastor Jentezen also reminds us that Paul pressed toward the high calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14), refusing to let yesterday’s failures or today’s opposition define him.
Remember Pastor Jentezen’s quote from Sunday, “Your prophecy is bigger than your pressure!”
The elders in heaven, the great cloud of witnesses, and even the angels are watching how we run in these last days. Don’t shrink back—lean in. The same God who sustained the saints of old is ready to sustain you and do something through you that will echo into eternity.
· When pressure feels overwhelming, how does remembering that your calling is bigger than your crisis help you keep running?
As believers, we must ‘press on toward the goal’ (Philippians 3:14) that God has called us to and refuse yesterday’s failures or today’s oppositions to define or stop us.
The King is Coming
We’re running out of time. The signs are all around us—moral collapse, artificial intelligence and digital tracking rising just like Revelation described, governments unstable. Pastor said the COVID years felt like a trial run for things the Bible already warned about. The King is coming soon, and the King’s business requires haste.
The early church didn’t greet each other casually. They said one word: Maranatha! – “Our Lord, come!” They lived every day expecting the trumpet to sound at any moment.
Remember Gideon? 32,000 men showed up, but God took them to the river. Most scooped water with their hands—casual, no intensity. God sent them home. Only 300 lapped like desperate dogs—water dripping off their faces, licking the bowl clean, acting like they might never drink again. That’s the passionate, messy urgency God kept and used to win the impossible victory.
Passion isn’t always pretty, but it’s urgent. Lap it up like a dog—this might be our last drink before Jesus comes.
· When you hear “Jesus could come back this week,” does it light a fire under you or make you uncomfortable? Why?
· Where is God asking you to stop scooping casually and start lapping like a desperate dog—prayer, giving, worship, witnessing?
Conclusion
Pastor’s message brings us back to a threefold urgency:
1. Outside opposition—hell is working overtime, and spiritual warfare is real.2. Inside calling—God has placed a divine purpose and prophecy over our lives.3. Limited time—Jesus is coming soon, and the King’s business requires haste.
So today, let a fresh spirit of urgency grip our hearts. Urgency in prayer. Urgency in giving. Urgency in worship. Urgency in witnessing. Urgency in parenting. Urgency in loving people and plucking souls out of the fire. We are the anchor runners in this generation, and heaven is watching us finish strong.
Let Pastor’s prophetic word settle in your spirit:“For My hand is upon you, I will surprise you, and I will strengthen you—do not grow weary, for I am with you.”
Lord, stir fresh urgency in our hearts, our homes, and our church. Awaken us to the King’s business and fill us with boldness to pray, give, love, and witness like never before. Let revival fire burn in us, and let our lives shine with passion in these final hours. Strengthen us to run our race with holy urgency. Amen.
· What is one area of your Christian life where you will choose greater urgency this week?
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