Sunday, December 14, 2014 pm
WATCH
1 Corinthians 16:13
a.
1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch,
stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”
b.
Ephesians 6:18, in
describing “the gospel armor” Paul reminds us to be “praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being
watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
c.
1 Peter 4:7, “But the
end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and
watchful in your prayers.”
d.
2 Tim. 4:5 – Timothy was
told to be
watchful in all things as
he did his work.
e.
Revelation 3:2-3 – the
church at Sardis was told, “Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to
die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember
therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.
Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what
hour I will come upon you.”
f.
These are just a handful
of passages that call for us to WATCH in various aspects of our lives.
a.
The devil is at work –
1Peter 5:8, while not using the word “watch” we are warned to be sober
and vigilant (WATCH) because our adversary, the devil, walks about like
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour
2 Cor. 2:11 challenges us to not be ignorant of the devices of Satan.
b.
Because the Lord is
returning
-
From time to time, we have heard lessons addressing false attempts to
set the time of our Lord’s return.
We have identified the failures both by example and as they
contradict clear scriptural teaching.
BUT, even though such efforts are error that does not change the
fact that as Christians we need to be watchful.
Dealing with the Lord’s return 1 Thess. 5:6 says, “Therefore let us
not sleep, as others do, but let us
watch and be sober.”
In Matt. 24:42-43, Jesus said in a passage I believe to be about His 2nd
coming, “Watch
therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know
this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief
would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken
into.” (Matthew 24:42–43, NKJV)
c.
Because error is just around the corner – we are always just one generation away from
apostasy. All it takes is a
generation that does not ground the next generation in the truth of
God’s word. Sadly, we are
seeing it all around us.
Acts 20:31, Paul warned
the elders at Ephesus to WATCH because savage wolves would enter and
devour the flock. Heb. 13:17
– we are to respect our elders because they watch out for our souls.
Colossians 2:8 tells us, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men,
according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to
Christ.”
d.
Lest we fall away
WE have to be careful that we do not let down our guard in our lives.
We need to guard against complacency .
Hebrews 3:12 says, “Beware,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living God;”
“Therefore we must
give the more earnest heed to
the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 2:1
Peter warned His audience to be steadfast noting, “You therefore,
beloved, since you know this beforehand,
beware lest you also fall
from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the
wicked;” (2 Peter 3:17)
(NOTE: In preparing this
lesson, I came across an outline which described 5 areas that we need to
WATCH). They include our:
a.
Words
–
We ought to read James 3:1-12 frequently.
In it we find the danger of the tongue.
James warns us of the dangers of failing to control our tongues.
He also notes how it becomes a gauge for the rest of our lives.
IF we can control our tongues, we can control our whole bodies.
There are so many ways that our tongues can get us into trouble – lying,
gossip, filthy language, criticism, hurtful words, etc.
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is
good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
(Ephesians 4:29)
Prov. 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In
settings of silver.”
Matt. 25:36-37 warns us that for every idle word we speak, we will give
an accounting.
Proverbs 21:23 says, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his
soul from troubles.”
David prayed, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over
the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
b.
Actions –
What we do is equally important as what we say.
That is why we need to watch our actions.
This morning we discussed how we will stand before God in judgment for
what we do – He will consider our deeds – the way we live our lives (2
Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11-12)
A cursory study of the New Testament reveals that the life of a
Christian is about being busy.
It consists of things that you do and things that you are not to
do.
Matthew 7:21-23 – it is he who does the will of the Father in heaven.
Mathew 5:16 – Let you light so shine that they see your good works.
Our example – which includes our actions definitely affect
others.
In dealing with brethren 1 Cor. 8:9 (and other passages)
tell us how our actions affect
others.
c.
Thoughts
-
What we think is emphasized in scripture.
Philippians 4:8 gives us a list of things we ought to “meditate”
on (KJV – “think on these things”).
2 Cor. 10:4-5 speaks of bringing our thoughts into captivity.
The way we think has a bearing on what we become and how we react in
given circumstances. There
is something to be said about being optimistic (though not prideful or
arrogant).
ALSO, how often do we jump to conclusions because of what we think
without investigating?
Truly, we need to WATCH our thoughts.
d.
Company -
We need to WATCH the company we keep as well.
1 Cor. 15:33 warns us that evil company corrupts good habits.
Prov. 1:10-15 finds Solomon warning his son to consider his friends
carefully
Similarly, we need to seek to be with our brethren.
Eph. 5:21 calls for us to submit to one another.
Gal 6:1 – we seek to restore a brother who is overtaken in sin.
To do this, we need to be watchful.
e.
Heart –
WE have engaged in extensive study of the heart.
It is something we need to be concerned about.
Prov. 4:23 tells us that out of the heart springs the issues of life.
It concerns our words – Matt. 12:34-35, out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks.
It concerns our actions – Prov. 16:9 - “A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.”
It concerns our thoughts – Matt. 15:19, out of the heart we find evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc.
The things that defile a man.
It concerns our company - Prov. 16:19, “Better to be of a humble
spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
Jesus taught us that the pure in heart will see God – Matt. 5:8
Many other things could be added to this list (our prayers, watching
ourselves as we deal with brethren overtaken in sin, etc.), but these
are sufficient to show us that we need to be watchful in all things (cf.
2 Tim. 4:5). What
about you? Are you alert and
watching so that God is pleased with you?
Consider and remember!