Watch, Pray and Listen

We know that in these last days we should all be watching, and praying:

Mark 14:38

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

Luke 21:36

Be 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. In addition to watching and praying, we need to be listening for the Lord's voice: Rev 2:7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it And the Lord says the same thing to all the churches.... Why is it so important to hear what the Spirit is saying today? As events in the world become more extreme, it will become more important for us to hear the Lord's voice. He is the commander, we are His servants. When He gives a command, we need to hear and obey instantly. I have been asking the Lord why it is He did not place more end time detail in His Word for us. His answer was something to the effect that we need to listen to the Spirit's voice for the million and one different details necessary for the infinitely different things we each need to do-as individuals. What I need to do, when I need to do it, where I need to go, and when I need to go there are going to be completely different for me than it will be for you. Details were left out to make us completely dependent on our relationship with the Lord for everything we really need in our day to day lives. No hearing the Spirit's voice means we are completely lost and adrift in this world. The Lord speaks to us in a small, still, quiet voice so if we want to hear Him we need to adjust ourselves, quiet ourselves, seek Him, persist in inquiring of Him etc. The end result is a strong relationship based completely on seeking the Lord. This requires patience, faith and trust. The Lord speaks to us in many different ways at many different times. His sheep know His voice. We must be able to discern the Lord's voice from all the background noise in this world. This fall it appears that more earth destruction is coming. I have written to you about the incoming comets as one example of what I see coming. It should not be a surprise that this fall severe earth changes might take place, look around you right now! If this fall is only an extension of what has been happening since Jan 1, 2011 then this world is in for a beating. The Lord could come back for us today or He may tarry for years. It is for us to have great endurance and patience to watch and wait and listen until He does come for us. These are the thoughts this writer believes the Lord has impressed upon him over the past few days. Keep the faith, grace and peace.

Watch, Pray and Be Ready

Mark 13:33 Take heed, watch and pray, for ye have not known when the time is; 34 as a man who is gone abroad, having left his house, and given to his servants the authority, and to each one his work, did command also the porter that he may watch; 35 watch ye, therefore, for ye have not known when the lord of the house doth come, at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or at the morning; 36 lest, having come suddenly, he may find you sleeping; 37 and what I say to you, I say to all, Watch.'

I'm not sure the Lord could have fit the word "watch" in there any more than He did. Do you think He is trying to make a point to us? I certainly do. We are to watch and pray, not tomorrow, not next week, not at the mid point of the tribulation, not at the pre-wrath rapture point, not after the tribulation....NOW. And this is at the heart of the matter these days when so many have taken a broad path that leads to destruction. Many have chosen not to watch for the Lord's return today and I am sure that will work to their detriment.

We are to be watching now....in every season:

Luke 21:36
... But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

We are given a very clear, very direct command to "watch at every season." Every season means there is no one season that we can "take off" from watching. It means we are watching always. What are we watching for? The Lord also makes this very clear, we are watching for His return. We are not watching for the anti-christ, the tribulation, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, etc etc. We are watching for our Lord each and every day. I don't care what your rapture timing doctrine is, if you are not watching for the Lord today and every day, you are wrong. Not because I say so, but because of the Lord's clear command.

This command we have to watch also illustrates why it is that so many remain on the broad path that leads to destruction instead of the narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7:13-28). If people choose the doctrines of men over the clear commands of God (in this case to watch), then how many other things are people choosing to do in disobedience to the Lord's command? Obedience is a big deal. You do not want to know what the consequences will be for living a disobedient life. I don't want to know either. Will you be "cutoff from the vine?" as we are insructed in John 15? I don't know, and I don't want to find out. We are told:

John 14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command"

There it is, love and obedience. Do you think anyone will make it into heaven that does not love Jesus Christ? That's an easy one to answer. You must love the Son of God therefore you must obey the Son of God. If you do not love Him you will not obey Him, and if you neither love nor obey His clear commands, what will become of you? Again, I am not your judge, these questions I ask myself as well as you. We are to test ourselves:

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.

If we are not testing and examining ourselves, then once again, we have missed the mark and it is likely we will suffer for it.

We are commanded to watch, today, tomorrow and everyday thereafter. What are we watching for? The return of our Lord and Saviour. We may have a long time to wait, or we may be face to face with Him tonight. There is coming a time when there will be an open door in heaven (Rev 3). Open doors are for people to go through are they not?

Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

We are told in Luke 17 and Matt 24 that the coming of the Son of Man will be exactly like it was in the days of Noah and Lot. Exactly, not kind of like those days, exactly like those days:

Gen 7:13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 14They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

Noah and all the animals went into the ark and the Lord shut them in. Noah, his family and all the animals entered into a place of physical separation and protection from the flood that was outside. We are watching and praying for the Lord return that will occur in days just like Noah and Lot encountered. The church in Rev 3 is told that a door has been opened for them and they will be kept from the trial that is coming on all the earth. A trial that is coming on all the earth is the time of Jacob's trouble, also known as Daniel's 70th week, also known as the tribulation. That church will be kept from it. In Luke 21:36 we are guaranteed that there is an "escape from all" coming for those who are worthy of it. What is this escape from all? Escape from all of what? Again, easy question to answer, all of the judgement and wrath coming on this world.

We are told to be watching for the Lord's return. The Lord's return for us is also known as the blessed hope. Our expectation of the Lord's return for us is to give us hope and peace. The Lord has gone to build mansions for us in heaven so that where He is we may be also. This idea clearly portrayed to us in the bible is an exact mirror of the Jewish wedding. The groom goes to prepare a place for the bride and when that place has been completed and the Father approves, the groom comes back for the bride. We, the church are the bride of Christ. We are watching and waiting for our Groom in heaven to come back for us "with a shout" just as the Hebrews have done for centuries in their wedding traditions and just as the rapture of the church, the harpazo catching away of the bride of Christ.

This world is falling into hopelessness and despair. People are spiritually empty and bankrupt. These days are the days of Philadelphia and Laodicea. The Laodicean church thinks it is rich in every way but the Lord tells it that it is absolutely bankrupt and naked. The churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea are the only 2 churches where a "door" is mentioned:

8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

and

20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The true church has an open door set before them, but the laodicean church has a closed door where the Lord is outside knocking....big difference wouldn't you say? People go through open doors to get into an ark and to escape what is coming on the entire world.

Let's be found watching for our Lord when He returns for us so that we may go through that open door in heaven and therefore escape all of what's about to happen. Let us also be obedient to the command to pray that we are found worthy of this escape, just as Noah and Lot were found righteous and worthy in their generations to escape all of the flood and all of the fire and brimstone.

These things are what I hear the Lord speaking to me today. Grace and peace

Pray, Watch, Give Thanks, The Test of Time

Here we have instruction from the Lord on things we should be doing:

Col 4:2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Same theme as we've been on here for months: pray, watch, give thanks....

These are not hard things we have been given to do. These are the things we must do daily. It's important to remember how important "daily" is in our walk with the Lord. We have no idea when our Lord will come back for us, so we must always be ready to meet him. We do not know the "day or hour" he will come to meet us in the air, nor do we know if we will live long enough on this earth to experience the escape from all.

What we do know is that if you are reading this, you have today. What can we do right now to please the Lord? Pray, watch, give thanks.

The Long Run

We are in this walk with Jesus until the Lord comes back for us (rapture), or we go back to him in heaven (death). We could be at this for years. What is going to happen when 2012 rolls around and there still has been no rapture, no time of Jacob's trouble, just our troubled life on earth year in and year out? Will people become discouraged and fall away from the faith because they have been made to wait? We must guard ourselves against such things.

I am convinced that the change of heart the Lord has brought about within me has been to set a pace that is sustainable for a lifetime. We eagerly await our adoption as sons yet the Lord has a day and hour in mind that may not be for years in the future. I have no doubt that there is an escape from all coming for those who are "in Christ" but we have no idea when that will be. I now believe that it is unwise to keep a constant drumbeat of "rapture rapture rapture" because when "rapture" does not show up year after year, people become discouraged and some may fall away.

Don't get me wrong, the rapture/harpazo/escape from all IS coming, however I believe the Lord has impressed me with a different idea of how we approach this event. We maintain a daily readiness for the escape from all by walking daily in a way that pleases our master. If we are ready for the Lord every day then that particular "day and hour" the Lord has in mind for this world will not catch us off guard. If we are living a daily life of prayer, watchfulness and giving thanks we can live in victory for a lifetime and be ready all the time to meet the Lord.

As I have aged, I have seen more clearly what our Lord has done. He tests everything with TIME. The test of time is what proves we are "in Christ" (saved), not one decision on one day of someones life. Anyone can make a 10 second decision, that's easy. What's not so easy is living out our decisions day in and day out for a lifetime. Time is the simple and effective test of things. It is not those who start the race who get the rewards, its those who finish the race.

1 Cor 9:24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

We must settle this in our minds that we are in this to the very end. We must take the attitude that Paul did so that after preaching to others, we ourselves are not disqualified for the prize. We must press on toward the goal to win the prize.....This thinking is foreign to today's "christian" teachers and preachers. Today it is widely accepted that a 5-10 second "decision for Jesus" is all that is necessary to take hold of the prize. <---and that is why we are told to pray and watch.......what does "watch" mean?

1 archaic a : not able or accustomed to sleep or rest : wakeful b : causing sleeplessness c : spent in wakefulness : sleepless 2 : carefully observant or attentive

Notice that "carefully observant" part of watchful. We are to carefully observe what is in the bible then carefully observe what is taught in this world. When the world is teaching one thing and the bible teaches us something else, what should we do? We reject the world and press forward in the truth. Those who love the world find it hard to reject the world which is why they do not leave their social circles masquerading as "churches."

How many people today are willing to shed worldly friendship, their beloved social circles in order to be found spotless and in the truth? How many are willing to stand (seemingly) alone with the Lord for the truth? Time tests these things. The Lord himself teaches us so that none of us will have an excuse on the day of judgement. When the Holy Spirit knocks on our heart and tells us to do something, but we refuse because we love this world more than we love the truth, what is the price for that?

Let's pray that we may be counted worthy of the prize. Paul was concerned about being disqualified for the prize after preaching to others, are we better than Paul? This world is full of deception, so lets be watchful. Lets especially be thankful for all that our Lord has done for us. Lets spend time every day remembering the good things our God has done for us, the brothers and the world. In a world that sings "what have you done for me lately" let us sing a song of eternal remembrance. We must praise our God for everything he has done, from the very beginning up through right now. We do not have enough time in the day to praise him for everything so lets pick something and start praising him for it now. He is worthy to receive all the praise and the glory and the honor.

done for today, grace and peace