THREE TIMES A DAY

THREE TIMES A DAY

(Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55:17)

this picture was taken from Google

September 23, 2018T

Lesson prepared by krisha of Solomon wisdom FB page

Memory verse

PSALM 55:17

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

INTRODUCTION:

Introduction taken: http://heartsongworship.org/abalsamo/DanielAndPraying.html

 

What are the things we do three times a day?  Do we take a shower three times a day? Do we drink coffee three times a day? Do we play games three times a day? I think most of our answers are “eating.” This is the common thing we do and sometimes some of us eat more than thrice. How about in prayer, do we do it three times a day? Is it hard to find a quiet time to pray? Finding the time to pray when you have a regular job and you’re not in your comfort zone is hard. Waking up early thinking the things you needed to do like: preparing for work and cooking for breakfast and your “baon” at work, is hard to focus in prayer especially if you wake up late. Honestly, yes, it’s hard and there’s dilemma but what if you have a rare disease which you couldn’t imagine why you have that? Do you see the urgency to pray? In our lesson for today, let’s see why Daniel prayed three times a day.

 

LESSON POINTS:

1.   DANIEL KNEW HOW DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE TO RESIST THE OPPOSITION AND REALIZED HE COULD ONLY FIND STRENGTH IN GOD (DANIEL 6:6-9).

 

-      In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we read that he lived under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian empire. Daniel was an Israelite who followed the laws God had handed over to Moses. King Nebuchadnezzar did not follow Daniel's God in any way, shape or form, and while captive in Babylon Daniel was asked to do certain things he knew were not pleasing to his God. He did not conform to the requests of his captors to eat foods he knew were forbidden by God, nor did he relent in his desire to continue praying and worshiping with the Lord. Instead, we read that he prayed before the Lord three times a day although he was living during a difficult regime and very trying circumstances. How many of us can say the same? What do you do when pressed on all sides? Complain to your spouse/friends like everyone else? Mumble under your breath? Do you conform ever so slightly to the behavior of those around you?

Not so with Daniel. Here was a man truly set with his heart on God regardless of the prospect of certain death and many difficulties. He didn't succumb to the requests of a foreign King. He could have. It would have been easier to do that rather than risk the possibility of death, but no, not Daniel. He remained steadfast and firm in his desire to follow the Lord. So how did Daniel remain so sure in his walk? He prayed to his God; our God, three times a day. Not just a quick morning prayer before setting off to work, or an even quicker prayer before sleep. No, he prayed long and hard three times a day.

 

-      In this world we live, we know how hard to live in accordance with God’s will. Maybe we thought, the heroes of faith in the Bible hadn’t suffered the dilemma of living in this world as we live in this kind of modern world. Their experiences are the same as ours: working every day with our co-workers with a different spiritual view, the dress we need to wear for the nature of our work, the way we make “pakikisama” (Filipino culture) in order to have a good working atmosphere, and the jobs or any paper work our boss wants us to do which are against our conscience. These are just simple things compare to the experience Daniel had experienced; he was ordered to pray to a statue.

 

-      As I always mention in some of our lessons, my first time to experience working outside the Christian company was very hard but I treat those are part of my Christian life. Before, since I received Christ my Savior, I have been surrounded by Christian people, I lived with the same house with my pastor and his family, I also lived in the church as a full-time worker for so long. And after so many years of praying, my family became Christians as well, so I decided to live with them and also for financial reasons and my plan to study. Then I worked in Christian schools. Since that time, I have told myself “this is my world, my Christian world.” These, working in a different company was really hard for me. I once wrote a lesson titled, “The World Outside my World.” These experiences help me understand Christians and we couldn’t live in a Christian way with our own strength; we need God.

 

-      Daniel knew he was fighting against the leaders, therefore, he cannot do it by himself. Another lesson that can see in this situation is when we knew that in this life we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness (Eph.6:12) then we would lean on the Lord and be prayerful, but we are not that sensitive with the urgency of prayer in our lives. Daniel saw the urgency that was the reason why he prayed three times a day.

 

-      Prayerlessness is pride. Revelation 3:17 says, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

These are penetrating words from Jesus to his people, specifically the church in Laodicea, who were a self-sufficient people, or so they thought. They thought they had it all together. They thought they had all that they needed. “You say, I am rich,” Jesus says, “I have prospered. I need nothing.” It’s a pretty potent picture of pride in Revelation 3:17, a people who think they can do it on their own, a people who think they have all they need, a people who were prayer less, who were not pursuing God, who were prideful before him.

 

When we do not pray, we show that we believe we are self-sufficient. God help us to see that apart from Him we can do nothing. Like Daniel, God helped him to see that apart from Him He can do nothing and that’s why he prayed three times a day.

 

2.   HE KNEW HE WAS JUST AS HUMAN AS THE OTHERS WHO WERE IN CAPTIVITY AND JUST AS PRONE TO SIN AS THEY WERE (DANIEL 6:3).

 

-      Are we strong all the time? No, we are not! We are all prone to stumble and the Bible warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls.”

-      Daniel was in his native country and he was in a faraway country. He was taken captive by the enemy. Most of the Christians when they are in another country they compromise on how the people live in that country but it’s not the case with Daniel. He didn’t compromise his faith even though for the sake of his life. Also, he was given the task of being a president and this position is prone to sin, but he has remained faithful.

 

-      He had that strong faith not having that by himself but because on how treated his prayer life well. Prayer is power.

 

-      The power of prayer does not flow from us; it is not special words we say or the special way we say them or even how often we say them. The power of prayer is not based on a certain direction we face or a certain position of our bodies. The power of prayer comes from the omnipotent One who hears our prayers and answers them.

Luke 1:37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 

3.   HE RELIED ON THE LORD FOR THE GRACE TO WALK IN TRUTH AND NOT SUBMIT into THE REQUESTS OF LEADERS AROUND HIM (DANIEL 6:11).

 

-      It’s hard to stand in the truth if all people are against you. Have you seen the struggles Daniel had? This was not just a simple struggle; it was huge. I remember some situations in our church wherein we were devastated and hopeless with one simple struggle we experience. Our countenance is already sorrowful. Compare to Daniel, his struggles were the leaders of the government, but he didn’t lose hope. He continued praying.

-      After He heard that the writing was signed, he went to his house and prayed. Daniel 6:10-11

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

¹¹ Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

Tagalog (Daniel6:10) At nang maalaman ni Daniel na ang kasulatan ay nalagdaan ng pangalan siya'y pumasok sa kaniyang bahay (ang kaniya ngang mga dungawan ay bukas sa dakong Jerusalem); at siya'y lumuhod ng kaniyang mga tuhod na makaitlo isang araw, at dumalangin, at nagpasalamat sa harap ng kaniyang Dios, gaya ng kaniyang dating ginagawa.

 

As humans this problem Daniel had is a worrisome, right? We can see that Daniel went to his house right away to pray. Some of us or most of us, the reaction we do is cry, very emotional and talk to people who we think would help us solve the problem. It’s okay to cry but it’s better to cry in prayer. When we pray, we become less worry. Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7,

Tagalog: “Huwag kayong mabalisa patungkol sa anumang bagay. Sa halip, ipaalam ninyo ang inyong mga kahilingan sa Diyos na may pasasalamat sa pamamagitan ng panalangin at ng panalanging may paghiling. ⁷ At ang kapayapaang mula sa Diyos, na higit sa anumang pang-unawa, ang siyang mag-iingat sa inyong mga puso at pag-iisip sa pamamagitan ni Cristo Jesus.”

 

Another thing, in the last line of verse 10 we can see that the three times of prayer Daniel did it says, “as he did aforetime” which means he just not did it every time he was in trials or problems. He did it often. What lesson we could get on this? Whether we accept it or not, we only have the frequent prayer time if we are under trials and there’s urgent need we ask God to answer. I hope this verse would give us the thinking that talking to God in prayer is not occasionally done but often.

 

4.   HE PROBABLY KNEW IF HE DIDN’T PRAY OFTEN, HE WOULD BE WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE IN HIS WITNESS AS WELL (DANIEL 6:4- 5)

 

-      I know every one of us could relate on this, “A day without prayer is incomplete.” Our life here in earth is not perfect. Personally, we can see that our everyday life is not always prepared and began with prayer. We can compare those days with prayer and nothing can compare the day with prayer. The Holy Spirit urges us to pray too and if we don’t, we feel gloomy inside. Prayer prepares us facing the day with spiritual thoughts in mind so that even negative things happen, your heart is ready.

 

-      Daniel was supported by prayer and we can see in verses 4and 5 that his co-workers found no fault against him. He becomes faithful in his work and God’s guidance was there. He became faithful because he was prayerful.

 

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

 

-      He was committed to walk with god and prayer was where he knew he would gather the strength to continue to be faithful (Daniel 6:11).

Christians love to commit in a certain ministry especially if it is new-opened ministry but when times pass the commitment is longer there. Most Christians are having a hard time to continue. Yes! It’s hard to continue because we have no strength to continue. We need God that’s why prayer is very important in our lives. Like Daniel, we see in the verses we read that He always in prayer because the strength is from above.

 

-      Rice is life for Filipinos; rice flows in our blood. We can’t make it a few days without rice. It makes us stay strong in a few hours of working so it’s a bit cheaper, you’re no longer need a snack between meals. That’s the reason why we buy a sack of rice if we have extra budget for future use especially in times like this, pandemic. Why I say this? My point is we are afraid to get starving; we need rice. What if our mindset of prayer is like the food we need to take in and if we don’t partake we’ll be weak? Great possible, we all become prayerful like Daniel; we pray three times a day.

 

 

 CONCLUSION:

Daniel’s godly lifestyle confirms the significance of drawing close to God in prayer three times per day.  He believed it was so important that even under the threat of death he would not stop praying three times per day.  Daniel 6:10 records his mindset and practice; let’s read again: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”  We already knew how he was arrested for this and thrown into the lion’s den, and yet was delivered by God and restored to his place at the side of the king. 

 

If Daniel felt it was worthy to risk death to keep praying three times per day, it’s worth considering that this should be the modern Christian’s practice as well.

 

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYING THROUGH

This picture was taken from Google

2 Chronicles 20: 1 - 30

Lesson Prepared by: krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Some points are taken from:

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/standing-firm-in-persistent-prayer.html

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

September 9, 2018

MEMORY VERSE:

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

 

INTRODUCTION:

Our lesson for today titled “Persistence in Praying Through.” What does it mean? “Praying Through” is an expression and it actually means “you pray until you receive the breakthrough, you pray until the answer comes or you pray until the circumstances changes” (Dr.Brown of https://askdrbrown.org/library/what-does-it-mean-%E2%80%9Cpray-through%E2%80%9D ). While persistence means the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people (Webster).  In Filipino means “Pagpupursigi sa Patuloy na Pananalangin.”

Let me ask you, do you see the urgency of persistence? Base on your experience, what motivates you to persist in prayer?

lesson points:

1)       PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER COMES WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE HAVE NOTHING (2 CHRONICLES 20: 1 – 30)

Are we persistent in our prayers? Are we destitute? Have we reached the place where we say, “God you must answer this prayer because I have nothing? God said in the Bible, “Without me, you can do nothing.” And we can say, “But Lord, I can do lots of things. I can teach a Sunday School class. I can even get up and speak at a conference. I can have a Bible study with men. I can sing and teach the choir. I can play musical instruments. I can teach in kids at any level. I can do the programs and do slideshows and many more.” But the problem is, without Him, we accomplish nothing – and it’s when we realize this that we begin to be persistent in our prayer life. Sometimes it takes us to nothing before we realize that we can’t do it by ourselves.

In the Old Testament record, King Jehoshaphat’s remarkable military victory over a coalition of enemy nations came about by God’s direct intervention, but that doesn’t mean that Judah’s king needed only to sit back and watch this victory happen (2 Chronicles 20). His urgent prayers appear to be a critical element.

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was in the south end of ancient Israel. Some men came and told him that a huge number of the soldiers of surrounding kingdoms had already amassed a vast army to wage war against him. These enemy states included – Moab, Ammon, Edom, and several other peoples, all located in present-day Arab lands of the Middle East.

The massive coalition was already on the march around the southern region of the Dead Sea and was moving northward toward Judah’s southern border.

The king was understandably alarmed. His first move was to proclaim a fast for the whole nation. The people responded and gathered in Jerusalem from every town to seek the Lord’s help.

King Jehoshaphat recognized the great company of the enemies and he said in verse 12 “… neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” In verse 18, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all the Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

A prophet named Jahaziel then stepped forward to announce the word of the Lord: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s.”

The story moves quickly to the conclusion. The king appoints singers to lead the troops with singing. The Lord at the same time creates a mysterious ambush against the enemy coalition which throws their fighting forces into confusion. In their chaos, they begin to kill each other.

Jehoshaphat’s troops gather the spoils of battle. They return to Jerusalem with joy. The fear of the Lord falls on surrounding nations, “when they heard the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:29).

https://justcallmepastor.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/let-us-pray-with-fresh-urgency/amp/

Sometimes it takes a painful situation before we realize that we need to be persistent. Don’t wait for the time we have nothing before we realize we need God to have a successful ministry in this world.

2)      PERSISTENCE IS REALITY (MATTHEW 26:36-46)

Have we experienced the excitement in doing our ministry? Most people like to live and serve God when everything is exciting. Mostly the first three months in the ministry is full of excitement. I remember when I decided to be in full-time ministry, the excitement and the good plans were there. At first, you see that you have the time in doing the ministry: you can visit, you can have more time in Bible studies, you can receive free food from members, others offer you to sleep over, they gave you gifts during Christmas and you can do lots in spiritual things. But time went on and all the glamour quickly wore off. Suddenly, you missed your family, you saw your budget was not enough to buy yourself some personal things, you noticed that you have no privacy because your room was visited always by young people and sometimes the church was used for basketball so it was noisy, you started to get irritating to your fellow workers, though you have companions, you started feeling alone doing the church work or cleaning and you started to think of your future. To press my point, church life has a lot of persistence and endurance.  No matter who we are or what job we have, if we are going to reach the world for Christ we will have to persist. Persistence is a reality. The real world is not always exciting. It may have exciting moments but in between those mountaintop experiences, there is a lot of persistence.

If we all stop and think about it, life is not easy for anyone. Every job includes endurance and persistence. Prayer takes persistence. There are wilderness and dry times when you think you are the only one praying. There are times when you feel as if you’ve prayed a thousand times without an answer. Real purposeful ministry takes time and persistence as it develops. Everything good takes endurance.

When we are praying for something big, we need great patience. It takes both faith and patience to inherit the promise. We read in Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That be ye not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The greater the purpose, the greater the faith and patience are required.

In Matthew 26: 36-46, Jesus even prayed three times regarding the cross. Following God’s will, takes persistence but sad to say the disciples were found sleeping; they were reminded three times, but they were very sleepy. We can conclude that persistence is a reality.

3)      PERSISTENT PRAYER DOES NOT GIVE UP (LUKE 11: 5-13)

Beginning with verse 5, Jesus makes a practical application. He said to His disciples, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

This is the situation. Here’s Man A, and Friend B has come to visit him, but Man A has no bread, and this is in the Middle Eastern culture, where hospitality is huge. So Man A says to himself, I know what I’ll do. I’ll go to my next-door neighbor and I will ask him for some bread. So he rushes over to his neighbor’s house, and he knocks on the door and says, “Lend me three loaves of bread,” and he explains his predicament. But his neighbor says, “I can’t do it. I’m already in bed. Don’t bother me.” Jesus continues in verse 8: “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

Not to give up means not to faint or lose heart. It is a steady prayer. It’s long-term and not for the faint-hearted. It stands firm. It displays a trust in God that says, “I am going to believe you for the answer in your way and your timing.” When we persist in prayer, we cover every aspect of the need from a variety of perspectives. We see it from the big perspective and from the tiniest aspect. We don’t forget the prayer because we carry it with us, and it’s in our routine. We knock and knock at heaven’s door. We are passionate about it. 

When the neighbor said, “Don’t bother me. I’m already in bed with my children,” the man who needed the bread didn’t just hang his head and go home. He kept knocking. Hey, I need something. He argued with the man: “A friend of mine has come on a journey. I’m in a dire predicament.”

CONCLUSION:

We know that God is good and that He desires to give us good gifts (Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:13). We can continue to seek Him through prayer and to make our requests known to Him (Philippians 4:6). But in our persistence, we must be willing to submit to God's will. God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). We know that whatever we ask in His will is granted (1 John 5:14-15). We also know that sometimes our hearts do not understand His will or His timing. At times we must be willing to wait for God's yes to manifest. Other times we must be willing to accept no for an answer. When we know God and trust His good character, we can repeatedly bring Him the same request and rest in the fact that His response will be best for us. God desires both our persistence and our submission.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/persistent-prayer.html

HOW WOULD YOU RATHER BE FOUND…?

This picture was taken from Google

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.

http://jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Isaiah56-10-12.htm

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! 

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:

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