HOW TO WATCH

Matt 24v42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Luke 21v34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 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.”

It struck me that in these two passages, if we are really watching as we should be, that it will mean that we are continually serving the Lord, and that this service is not just confined to a few whom the Lord has gifted. The Luke passage puts all His people in the category of those that are gifted and those that should be actively serving with the gift given to them, because both those things are needed in order to obey what the Lord is telling us to do here, in actively feeding His people. Often, as Christians, we have believed that there are only a few who are called to serve the Lord specifically, and so, wittingly or unwittingly, we have given most of our attention, and the prime place of our hearts not to the things of God, but to the things of men. But here we have been mistaken and sadly deceived, and there is a specific scripture that reveals just how. When Paul explained what gifts were used for the service of God, he ended on a very interesting note- 1 Cor 12v29 'Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts.' Because this passage repeats the phrase, 'Are all....', often men have said that this shows that all are not necessarily gifted in any sense in these ways. But notice how the passage ends, 'BUT earnestly desire the best gifts.' The point of the passage wasn't to say that some cannot be gifted in any of the senses listed in this chapter, but that EVERYONE should desire the best (best in the sense that they are the most helpful for others) gifts. In other words there shouldn't be anyone in the Church that doesn't desire the best gifts of God, so that they may be able to serve Him and benefit His Church (by His grace and power). Yes, no doubt in some cases the Lord gives special and particular grace to some, in using them in greater capacities than others, and yet that in no way means that others are left out, or that they are less important in the Kingdom of God, or in His service. Every Christian must realise that they are called to serve, and to feed His people!

One of the best things about the Corinthian Church was that they were so keen to be obedient in this way- 1 Cor 14v31: For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Every Christian can feed their fellow brother or sister in this way, because we all need encouragement, even on a daily basis: 1 Thess 5v11: 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.' And in Hebrews 10v24-25 'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.' As time has gone on in the Kingdom, really His people should be more and more increasing in this area of feeding His people and encouraging them. Not in the sense that we should be encouraging each other to follow our own hearts, and follow those things in life whose only goal is our own happiness, but that we should be encouraging each other all the more to watch our own spiritual house, and to see how we can stir each other up to encourage each other. If we are taken up with the possessions in this life, physical or otherwise, then we will have very little care whether Jesus makes us rulers of His possessions in the future, because we will have very little love for them (v47). But if we have very much love for His possessions now (His people and His Kingdom), then our aim in life right now will be for those things, and will be set on how best we can serve and encourage each other to follow Jesus in our lives. 

When we stop being fruitful in this area, it is because our hearts are becoming weighed down, either with the anxieties of life, or the pleasures the world is throwing our way. When spiritual things aren't really our love, we will have no desire or love of serving the Lord, and no real care if we are encouraging and feeding our brothers and sisters. All our care will be will be for ourselves and how best we can please ourselves. There is a place for looking after ourselves for sure, but if service for the Kingdom isn't our number one priority, then our looking after ourselves will become disproportionate to what it should be, and so will all other loves in our lives. When we let our spiritual house be broken into, it slowly becomes a fleshly house, till all its furniture only reflects the fashion of the world, and not the fashion of the Kingdom. One day all desires within Christians will be Godly, or will be hellish, because that is what some have truly wanted. If we check our hearts now, and check our service now, we'll be living for what truly matters in the light of eternity. God is desiring that we watch, and one of the main ways we are to do this effectively is to be serving Him now, feeding His people with continual encouragement. God is desiring that we should not let our spiritual houses be broken into because of the anxieties of life, but that we should realise that our Lord is coming soon, and He wants us to be ready to rule and reign with Him!