Bible Prophecy Watcher

Do Not Be Found Spiritually Sleeping!!!

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming..” -Matt 24:42 (ESV)

Too many professing Christians are asleep at the spiritual wheel these days and their number is increasing. They’re asleep in their faith that Jesus is returning soon and therefore pay little attention of the signs of the times. Many are not like the Sons of Issachar.

“Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.” -1 Chron 12:32 (NASB)

The hour is late as it was when Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took Peter and the two Sons of Zebedee with him and as He went farther on to pray as He was very sorrowful for what lay ahead, He asked His disciples to stay back but “watch” with Him (Matt 26:36-46). They were to watch and pray as we are asked to do today. So what are we to pray for now, you may ask? What are we to watch for now?

Jesus told His disciples to keep a constant watch for His return then and as we are supposed to do now. He spoke these alarming words, 2000 years have lapsed but the sincere truth of His warnings are to be realized in His coming again. We are therefore commanded to watch and pray to be ready with our lamps lit. We are not to be dragged down by careless living, worries and doubts. Consider the commands the Lord gave us in Luke 21:34-36…

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35- For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36- But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” -Luke 21:34-36 (ESV)

When Jesus returned from praying the first time, He found His disciples asleep and then again the second and third time. They couldn’t even watch with Him for an hour! What about us, what would we have done… what are we doing now? He chastised His disciples (our chastisement too) – “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41- Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” -Matt 26:40-41 (ESV). Don’t be weighed down with the cares of this world. Don’t be focused more on worldly things than heavenly things. Don’t be wrapped up in your work that you push prayer and watchfulness out of your life. Be advised as Heb 9:28 says … He is coming again a second time for those that are watching for Him, those eagerly waiting for him.

A most startling warning can be found in the following verses concerning our spiritual sleep and watchfulness…

“You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36- Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37- I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” -Mark 13:35-37 (NLT)

Friends, the time is short and the signs are increasing all around us that His return is near. We should be reading our Bibles, developing a daily personal relationship with the Lord. We should do everything we can to know Him more. Remember, just because you attend church regularly and do good things, your entry into His rest, His home in heaven is not guaranteed. We MUST do His will, confess our sins and repent as often as daily. And these NOT to a mere man but to Almighty God. We must read His word and follow what it says. Our source for Biblical understanding must not lie solely in a priest, Pope, Bishop, pastor or anyone else. Instead, we MUST rely on the truth confirmed through His word through our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Church leaders can help in understanding but you MUST seek the truth based on your studying of God’s word.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32 (NKJV)

Please do not be found sleeping as the disciples did in the Garden three times! Let’s all heed this example and learn not to do the same.

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” -Jer 8:20 (KJV)

BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman

GLORY TO GOD!

“…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” -Acts 16:30 (KJV)

Paul and Silas where ministering at Philippi and because of their preaching and healing of a demon-possessed girl they were beaten by order of the magistrates and threw them into prison. They also had their feet locked down in the stocks. But at midnight they prayed and sang hymns to God. Then suddenly there was an earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains fell off. This in itself is a miracle worth  further study bit for today we will focus in on what the jailer of the prison said next.

Thinking that all the prisoners escaped the jailer was ready to kill himself but Paul said hold on don’t do anything we are all still here. The jailer went immediately to Paul and Silas trembling before them and asked one question – “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?“. Now we don’t know if the jailer heard them praying and singing but I suspect he did and was moved in his spirit to ask them this question as the earth shook beneath his feet.

Paul answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household“. Paul and Silas then ministered the word of the Lord to him and he became saved.  You see the jailer wanted to know what he had to do to escape the future judgment as he was now aware of the power of God. One must have faith and believe that the Lord was/is who He claimed to be and believe in the things He did – 1 Cor 15:3-4.

“but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” -John 20:31 (ESV)

Friends to be saved you must profess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and believe in your heart (soul) that God raised Jesus from the dead. You must then confess your sin and repent and start living in holiness (Heb 12:14). For without repentance no man shall see the Kingdom of God – Luke 13:3. These are our instructions for obtaining eternal life. We must be born again (saved) in order to live with the Lord in His kingdom forever. There is nothing else on the face of the earth that will get you saved.

But you may ask “saved from what?“. I say, saved from the terrible consequences of our sin. And saved from His wrath which is surely coming. And then, saved from hell – which is certainly a reality and certainly a place of endless torment.

Once Saved, Always Saved False Teaching (an absolute lie)

Salvation is not about a one-time canned prayer that you have said at one time in your life. Salvation is about living and believing in Christ, His word, His teachings, His Bible … daily! Some big named preachers and evangelists teach that you are saved by grace and once you are saved you cannot lose your salvation. They would argue that if a person claims to be a Christian and then falls back into the world, then they were never a Christian to begin with. Hogwash! And this is false teaching. Consider Paul’s words in 2 Th 2:3, where he describes that before the Day of the Lord arrives there will be a great falling away from the faith. Friends, if you fall away, you had to be part of the faith to begin with.

Scripture speaks plainly about the false doctrine of Once Saved, Always Saved. Consider carefully – 1 Tim 4:1; Matt 24:10; Heb 6:4-6; 1 Tim 6:10, 21; 1 Tim 1:19; Act 20:29-30,  for starters. Here’s a decisive one –  2 Peter 2:20–21. And what about Rev 22:19 … if your name can be blotted out of the Book, it must have been in the Book to begin with. Also in: Ex 32:32-33; Rev 3:5. There many verses about being removed or blotted out of the Book of Life but not one having your name in this Book and never being removed. Again, to fall away from the faith strongly makes a case that you had to be of the faith to begin with. Now, a true Christian will live a life of holiness and repentance. But what if after living like this a true Christian falls back into the world and forgets God? Nations do this, why can’t people? My friends, DO NOT adhere to this Once Saved Always Saved foolishness as it a lie that will lead many astray and cause them to believe in a “hyper-graced” Gospel. One where grace has you covered in everything you do, which many take as a Get-Out-of-Hell free Card.

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10- For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.:” -Rom 10:9-10 (ESV)

So there it is and now the big question is what will you do about it if you are not really saved today? Do you claim to be a Christian but live like the world? Do you never find time to: pray, read His word, tell others about the Gospel, or live a life of faith? Are you living for the things of this world? This being said will you answer His call and follow Him or keep rejecting Him and procrastinating until some future time which may never come? Today’s the day of salvation, not tomorrow or next week. Today! Seek Him beloved for we never know when we will take our last breath and by then your fate and mine are sealed – for heaven or for … hell!

Stay the Course, Steadfast in Your Faith, Be Strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might!

-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher, and Bible Prophecy Watchman

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” -2 Peter 3:11-12

HE IS LORD!