HOW WOULD YOU RATHER BE FOUND…?
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Ezekiel 33: 1- 9; 1 Peter 4:7
MEMORY VERSE
1 Peter 4:7
But the end of
all
Things is at
hand:
be ye therefore
sober, and watch
unto prayer.
Introduction:
Almost everyone here is in the field of working except those
who are still studying. I remember my first job outside the Christian world or
company. There was really a huge difference; that was a great adjustment for
me. The way the employees talked, the way they dressed, the way they treated
people, the songs they sang, the program they made, and everything. I endured
all those because of God’s guidance. I saw that job as a part of my journey
that you needed to overcome. It was a two-month tutorial, but the company will
lessen their teachers after a month because other students will go back to
their country. I didn’t expect to be chosen for a 1-month extension because I
know that was my first-time teaching tutorial to Koreans. When my name was
called to stay for a month I was wondering why, then before the meeting ended,
the meeting facilitator gave a
thankful message to those who gave their best. He had shown a
booklet that was left by one of the students who already went back to Korea.
That booklet was one of the activities we made for my students to understand vocabulary. He mentioned my name and gave thanks; now I know why I was chosen.
In the field of work, it’s quite a difference when we work with and without the
presence of our boss. Some don’t work hard when their bosses aren’t there.
Another experience in my previous work was on how to deal with your fellow
teachers. I saw them talking and when I approached them, they stopped; they
were talking about me but one thing that I learned was to be patient and let God
do it for you. Before I leave the company, they have treated me well. Being a
Christian employees, you need to work with or without your boss because you are
paid for it. If you do this, you have no
problem with always paying attention to your boss’s presence.
Our lesson for today titled, “HOW
WOULD YOU RATHER BE FOUND…? AT JESUS’S SECOND COMING?
If you ask yourself, “How would I rather be found at Jesus
Christ’s Second Coming?” Maybe we are: eating, drinking at our favorite place,
gossiping at a salon or barber (anywhere else), playing our favorite sports, shouting
at our loved ones, sleeping, posing at a camera, shopping, singing of your
fleshly desires, sharing the gospel, worshipping and many more. Our memory
verse for today says, “…watch unto prayer.” Another verse from Revelation 3:3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received
and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou
shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Like what we heard from our pastor’s sermon, Christians have a
warfare to accomplish in this world. That’s why we need to watch; a Christian
should watch. According to Ephesians 6: 12, “For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Let me
ask you and I need your ideas; base from personal experience, how can you say
that you’re in the battle or warfare? (allow few people to respond)
Israel has always had
many enemies (then and now, unfortunately) and historically the city of
Jerusalem had thick high walls around the entire city. In fact, many great
cities in olden days had walls around them for protection. For example, we read
in scripture about the walls surrounding Babylon and the great walls of
Jericho. Now Israel’s watchmen were guards who would stand upon the walls of
Jerusalem and in the towers and look out upon the land. The Hebrew word for
watchman is ‘tsaphah’ and it has the meaning ‘to lean forward, to peer
into the distance; by implication means to observe, behold, spy out, wait for,
keep the watch.’ So they would be in their towers and upon the walls
and would literally be peering forward, looking out into the distance, on the watch
for messengers, unusual activity, or most importantly, any sign of an enemy
or approaching army.
How would you rather be found at Jesus coming? It is so blessed to
be found we are WATCHING unto PRAYER!
LESSON POINTS:
As
part of our watching let’s consider these points:
I.
WATCHING IS OPPOSED TO INSECURITY AND SLEEPING (JUDGES 18:7-10;
1 PETER 5:8)
§ The watchman must keep his eyes open but
sometimes when we cease from our labor and our life is in better condition we
begin to sleep and not watching like what happened to the people of Laish. Let’s
read Judges 18:7-10. These verses explain why
Laish was vulnerable to an attack. However, in looking at these verses, we are
not just reading something of historical note. As we consider these points, we
can make a spiritual application. Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because of your
adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). With the devil seeking a suitable target, we do
not want to be in the same vulnerable state as the inhabitants of Laish against
the Danites.
-
The people of Laish were
secure and thought they were in no danger.
We must never allow ourselves to become complacent. Paul wrote, “Wherefore let
him that thinketh standeth take heed lest ye fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
If we believe that there is no danger around us, we are more susceptible to the
devil’s attacks.
-
The people of Laish were
unsuspecting and not watching for threats. We
already noticed Peter’s warning about how the devil “the
devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). John warned that “many deceivers are entered
into the world” and said, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those
things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (2 John
7-8).
-
The people of Laish were
isolated and far from help. We need encouragement
and strength from our brethren. The Hebrew writer explained that “lest any
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” can develop within us
(Hebrews 3:12). To help prevent this from happening, we are to “But exhort
one another daily,” (Hebrews 3:13) and “provoke unto love and to good
works…but exhorting one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25). If we are isolated
from faithful brethren, we are vulnerable (from google search).
§ We are all prone to danger and we must be aware of this. All of
us feel this way; being complacent in our spiritual condition. We think we are
always okay and not being observant of the possible snare of the enemy.
Before we recognize it, we are already there with the enemy. (Optional: give
your own testimony about this)
II.
TO WATCH IS TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS (ISAIAH
56:10)
§ Isaiah 56:10 says, “His watchmen are blind: they are all
ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down,
loving to slumber.”
You can probably imagine how the
the job interview went for one of the watchmen described above...
Do
you think such a person’s description would get the job? Not exactly attributes
that look good on the CV, are they? Yet that was God’s assessment of Israel’s
watchmen
in the days of Isaiah! Now obviously God was talking about more than just the
watchmen upon the walls here. This was His assessment concerning Israel’s
spiritual leaders at the time of Isaiah. This was His assessment of those whose
responsibility it was to spiritually guard God’s very own people. Let’s quickly
run through those impressive attributes again:
§ This is a special point of the watchman’s duty, to let nothing
pass without observation, whatever object would come in, to ask at it from
whence, and whither. The heart is a highway-side that all things travel
through. If the Christian then is not exact in this to know what comes in, and
what is its errand, he may be surprised. He should observe all the motions of
the enemy. He must know his own spirit, or his thoughts, he should also observe
all the Lord’s movements and dealings. It concerns him also to know what is his
enemy or friend.
III.
THE WATCHMAN GIVES WARNING (EZEKIEL 3:17; 33:4,8)
§ The job of
the watchmen really just two-fold – Firstly to see the enemy and then,
secondly, to alert the people of the coming danger. When
they saw the work of an enemy but do nothing, their blood shall be upon the
watchman’s head. In today's church time what watching means and who are watchful
in the church. They are not the people who judge everyone but see the dangers.
They are the leaders and pastors; also, we have our own responsibility to watch
our own selves. When we see things lead people away from the Lord, we should
warn them through God’s word. It’s blessed, using God’s word, that you have the
discernment to see what is good and evil in a hidden situation or agenda.
§ Have you experienced something unusual situations and you use your
discernment through the dealing of God with His word? Are we watchful about the
possible dangers the church may encounter or the dividers of the church?
IV.
THERE MUST NO INTERRUPTION IN THIS WATCHING (MARK 14:38)
§ How
easy it is to sleep or become careless in our Christian walk. Temptation
strikes when we are most vulnerable. When we neglect certain areas of our
spiritual lives—such as prayer and Bible study—we become drowsy and let our
guard down, making us easy targets for our enemy, Satan, to strike (1 Peter
5:8).
We
need to be alert to the possibilities of an attack and pray to maintain
vigilance. If we remain watchful and pray—for ourselves and for others—the
Spirit will enable us to resist temptation. https://odb.org/2016/08/24/watch-and-pray/
§ One of the main tasks of
the watchmen in the Old Testament was to be on the lookout for any signs of
disturbance or the activities and schemes of the enemy. Remember in the days of
Nehemiah, when the wall was being rebuilt, there were still gaps in the wall
that were called ‘the exposed places’. Obviously, this was a very tempting area
through which to attack for any half-serious enemy. So let’s ask ourselves –
what is our/your exposed place? What is the area that the enemy is more likely
to attack you in? What is the area of weakness that you repeatedly trip up in?
You will have one. We are all hopelessly flawed. We have common struggles yet
we all have specific individual struggles in particular areas of weakness which
the enemy will love to exploit.
What was Nehemiah’s advice? Everyone
be on the watch. Everyone be on guard. And specifically, at the exposed places!
Where are you weakest? Some have problems with greed and the pleasures of this
world. Some with lust. Some with pride and some with fear... I’m hoping that
you haven’t been nodding at all of those! Whatever your exposed place or places
are, be aware that that is an area that the enemy would like to exploit. Be on
the watch.
http://jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Isaiah56-10-12.htm
WE HAVE SEEN THE ROLE OF WATCHMAN IN THE BIBLE AND WE’RE
REMINDED TO BE WATCHFUL UNTO PRAYER. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
1.
TO
WATCH UNTO PRAYER IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY ALERT
2.
TO
WATCH UNTO PRAYER IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY AWAKE
-
As we
live closer to the time of Christ's return, we must not be in a state of
spiritual stupor or slumber. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He
came to His disciples expecting to find them awake and praying for Him, but
instead He found them all asleep! Then He chided them, 'What, could ye not
watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' (Matthew 26:40,41).
When Jesus returns from Heaven soon, will He also find us in a state of slumber? How shameful it would be for us if He were to find us in this state!
When Jesus returns from Heaven soon, will He also find us in a state of slumber? How shameful it would be for us if He were to find us in this state!
CONCLUSION:
How long has it been since you last had real quality quiet time
with the Lord? How long has it been since you last experienced God's presence
in your life in a wonderful way? How long has it been since your Bible study
was a great delight to you and were discovering marvelous gems from God's Word
that thrilled your soul? How long has it been since you were moved to tears by
the thought of the grace of the Lord to you, a sinner? If it has been a long
time and cannot even remember when it was, it is certainly high time for you to
wake up from your spiritual slumber, and to watch unto prayer!
This is not the time to be spiritually asleep, but the time to be fully revived. This is the time for us all to lay aside every sin and anything in our lives that may hinder our spiritual growth, and run the race that is set before us. This is the time for us to draw closer to God, and to seek His face. Please do not say to yourself that this can wait a little longer, since after all, the Lord has been so patient and with His children. The Lord is indeed longsuffering toward us, but that does not give us an excuse to try His patience further, and expect Him to wait a little longer. According to Romans 2:4, the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of God must lead us to swift repentance.
Let us begin today to change our lifestyle. Ask the Lord right now to help you to change to a lifestyle that is characterized by sober-mindedness and a fully alert and revived spiritual life! And, that is not all that should change in our lifestyle. We go on now to look at the change that should take place:
This is not the time to be spiritually asleep, but the time to be fully revived. This is the time for us all to lay aside every sin and anything in our lives that may hinder our spiritual growth, and run the race that is set before us. This is the time for us to draw closer to God, and to seek His face. Please do not say to yourself that this can wait a little longer, since after all, the Lord has been so patient and with His children. The Lord is indeed longsuffering toward us, but that does not give us an excuse to try His patience further, and expect Him to wait a little longer. According to Romans 2:4, the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of God must lead us to swift repentance.
Let us begin today to change our lifestyle. Ask the Lord right now to help you to change to a lifestyle that is characterized by sober-mindedness and a fully alert and revived spiritual life! And, that is not all that should change in our lifestyle. We go on now to look at the change that should take place:
https://www.lifebpc.com/resources/treasury-of-sermons/74-1-2-peter/623-1-peter-4-7-11-what-should-our-lifestyle-be-in-these-last-days
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