2
Corinthians 6:4,5
4 But in all things approving
ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in
necessities, in distresses,5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in
labours, in watchings, in fastings;
As we
labor and work we should also watch for the coming of our Lord Jesus. He told
us of the signs to watch for in Matthew 24:3 it says,
3 And as he sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of
the world?
Jesus
then goes on to describe all the signs we should be looking for, but before He
gives us the signs to look for He says, Take heed that no man deceive you. Here
are the signs listed in Matthew 24:
1) Many
will claim to be Christ and deceive many
2) Wars
and rumors of wars
3)
Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes
4) Believers
will be afflicted, killed and hated of all nations
5)
Believers will be offended and betray one another and hate one another
6) Many
false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many
7)
Iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold
8) The
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
9) Then
shall the end come
10)
Abomination of desolation (Man of sin or
Antichrist declares himself to be God in the temple of God) 2 Thessalonians
2:1-4
11) Then
shall be great tribulation
12)
False Christs, and false prophets, shall show great signs and wonders
13)
Matthew 24: 29 Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the (13)sun be darkened, and
the (14)moon shall not give her light, and (15)the stars shall fall
from heaven, and the (16) powers of the heavens shall be shaken:Matt. 24:30 And(17) then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven
So Jesus
tells us exactly what signs to look for before he returns in the clouds of
heaven. The parallel passages for Jesus
end times teaching here is Mark 13 and Luke 21, for more details and comparison.
He then goes on to command us to watch for these signs and to be ready for His
return.
Matthew
25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the
hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
We are
specifically told that no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return, more
specifically that only the Father knows in Mark 13:32, but we do know the signs
to look for. We should understand that all of these signs must take place in
sequence before the end comes. For more details on the signs to look for
compare Matthew 24 with Revelation 6 and the opening of the seven seals, you
will see that it is the same sequence of end times events laid out in Matthew
24.
Mark
14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Of course
the signs of the end times are not the only things we, as followers of Jesus
Christ should be watching for.
Ezekiel
33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow
not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any
person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at the watchman's hand.
This
passage in Ezekiel 33 is a very famous warning to the watchman on the wall. Men
of God need to be the spiritual watchmen over their households, Pastors need to
be spiritual watchmen over their congregations, and every believer needs to be
a spiritual watchman over their own heart, mind, and body. We do have an enemy
with his own army who is set out to destroy us as churches, families and
individuals.
1 Peter
5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
God
tells us to be vigilant, meaning watch closely for the evil spirits of this
world that are working to destroy our faith. We shouldn’t fear the devils that
fight us but we should be aware of their tactics. Our three main adversaries
that we should be vigilantly watching out for are the world, the flesh and the
devil.
1 John
2:16 For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
2
Corinthians 2:11 Lest
Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
1
Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like
men, be strong.
2
Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
So we end here for today, where we started a few
weeks ago in 2 Corinthians 6:4, approving ourselves as the ministers of God, or making full proof of
thy ministry. This is another spiritual commandment we must learn to
obey in order to fulfill God’s calling on our Christian life to minister to
others, we must watch
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