Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Watch

32“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

It is days like today that men fail to watch and instead their hearts are weighed down by the anxieties of life. We have been commanded to watch. If you've been reading the contents of this blog for any time, you remember the attention that has been paid to "doors." The Lord is piecing together a puzzle for us and He hides the pieces in plain sight. Notice what it says in verse 34 above:

34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

We know that there are no idle words in the bible. Each word was used for a purpose to communicate a specific message. The words our Lord uses also piece together the mysteries of the bible for us. In this case, the word "door" is used in conjuction with the word "watch." Where else have we seen these words used?

Luke 21:34“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Can people "escape" through doors? Gee, I wonder how Noah escaped all of the flood in his day? Oh yea, he went through the "door" of the ark and the Lord shut him in:

The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

Noah? Escape? Doors? Yep...

Luke 17:26 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be ...
"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also willit be in the days of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the ...
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

The Bible tells us to be always on the watch....always...I am amazed at how many "christians" today cannot grasp the meaning of a simple word. What does "always" mean? If these people cannot figure out what one word means, how will they find the wisdom to determine what a whole sentence means? I'm not trying to be overly sarcastic here but really, if the Lord said we must watch always, and people calling themselves christians refuse to watch always, what does that mean? It means those christians are going to find that they have major, major problems with consequences they cannot begin to fathom today. They refuse to take the Word at face value, therefore they refuse to obey, and why? They have chosen doctrines taught by men over the plain meaning of scripture. In this case, one word is more than these people can handle...they refuse to accept the plain meaning of the word "always."

We are to be watching always, because there is a door that we are sitting by that is going to be opened by our Lord Jesus... 34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

He tells the one at the door to keep watch. Where else do we see this "door?"

Rev 3:8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

The Lord has placed before this church an "open door."

Again here we see the same thing, an open door...

Matt 25:10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The virgins who were ready "went in with him" through the open door that is later shut for the foolish virgins, and there it is again, we are warned to "keep watch" together with an open door that is later closed, just as it was in the days of Noah....

Yes, I know the satanic psycopaths like to muddy the water and tell us that what we read here is not until some future time far far away. If it was some future time far far away, the Lord would not have to given us an unconditional command...that is, there is no precondition that must occur before we are to watch, we are simply told to "keep watch." That means NOW.

The foolish virgins will tell you not to bother watching now. They will write you a 200 page e-book explaining to you why you do not need to watch now. That's always the way they work. Instead of accepting the plain truth of scripture as a little child would accept it, they get "creative" with the Word and muddy the water until everything is so murky that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face with an WW2 anti-aircraft searchlight focused on it.

If we do not accept the truths in the bible like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. If you need to write an essay to explain away a truth like what the word "always" means, then you have bigger problems than I could ever fix. We have been called to a simple faith in Jesus Christ. We have been called to enter the kingdom like little children:

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

There are way too many people calling themselves christians today are way way too "grown up" to make it into the kingdom of heaven. They have degrees, and big buildings and large social circles, and worldly respect and egos to match it all. They have these things because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. If, one day they ever embraced the truth, their degrees would be revoked, their big buildings would empty, their social circles would abandon them, their worldly respect would be dashed and their egos would be devastated.

Our Lord came to this world preaching the truth and they crucified Him for it. Think mankind has changed? Think again. The best way to lose all your friends, all your popularity, and all your worldly status is to preach the truth. Don't take my word for it, read your bibles. What happened to the prophets? What happened to the apostles? What happened to our Lord? Get the picture?

We have been commanded to watch...always. This brother is reminding you again today (because I have been reminded) to do what our Lord told us to do: WATCH. We must watch with patience. Many will be those who fall along the path because the Lord did not return soon enough for them. They believe for a little while, then they fall away:

Mark 4:3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

Be found watching when our Lord comes back for us. It may be tonight, or we may have decades to wait for Him. What matters is that when He shows up for us, we are found watching like obedient children. grace and peace