Watch&Believe

Penned by: Kevin K O’Connor

Date penned: July 28, 2017

Thought: To examine two commands from our Lord & King Jesus

Two clear and distinct commands given by our Lord one to enter Heaven, the other to enter via the Rapture or Catching Away. This thought is related to two other thoughts our Lord has laid on my heart with one being titled “In the Fullness of Time” and is located here; https://www.rubornagain.com/In_The_Fullness_of_Time.htm And the other one being “Parable of the Doggies” and is located here; https://www.rubornagain.com/Doggies.htm. So this thought, since these are commands of our Lord, is to examine just what these words mean “to believe and “to watch”?

The command to watch is spoken in the following verses 5 being directly from our Lord, and two being through His servants. As one can tell, these are spoken NOT to the unbelieving but to those that ‘believe’ that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God Who died for our sins, was buried and Who rose again the third day (1 Cor 15:3&4). Those verses spoken to believers are as follows;

Mat_24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mat_25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Mar_13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Luk_21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

1Th_5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

1Pe_4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

Rev_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.

Notice verse 1 Thes 5:6 which says not to sleep which I believe refers to those who are unbelieving. But, while this may be the case, I also feel that those who confess a relationship with Jesus, can also be

asleep spiritually and miss the upcoming Rapture as noted from the foolish virgins in Matt 25:1-13. The Strong’s concordance word (being G1127) for ‘watch’ in these verses mean to keep awake, that is,

watch (literally or figuratively): - be vigilant, wake, (be) watch (-ful). Note, I feel one can watch and NOT be saved as well as being saved and NOT be watchful. In the first instance (to watch and yet NOT be

saved) would be kind of rare and yet it does happen due to those who reply to the Lord in Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger,

or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? In other words, these are those focusing on their efforts (like watching) and yet don’t even know Him for look at His reply here in Mat

25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. Then again, there can also be those who are saved and in a

relationship with Jesus (a virgin as noted in Matt 25:1-13) BUT because they aren’t ‘actively’ watching for their Lord & King, will miss the Rapture or Catching away and will be caught like being

surprised by a thief as noted here in Rev_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. As well as being annotated as a foolish virgin in Matt 25:3 & 7-13.

So, the command to watch is given directly from our Lord to those who believe He is Lord. Why is He so concerned with us to be watching if we already believe? Because He is very much aware of what will

happen to those who miss His upcoming ‘Catching Away’ just prior to the Tribulation, for during it (the Tribulation) the world will be a HORRIFIC place to be when satan is free to cut the heads off of

ALL those that confess Jesus is Lord. I for one don’t even like to entertain the idea, let alone live it!

And, seeing that this ‘penning’ is about believe or faith as well as watching, let’s discuss belief or faith. Here are 5 scriptures that reference that thought as follows;

Joh_14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 

Jas 2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 

Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 

So God’s Word seems to be clear that watching and faith are more than mere words, they are words with meaning. In other words, to be watchful means to be vigilant for what you’re watching for (the wise virgins came prepared for the long haul) AND to believe means more than naming and claiming Him, it means to love as He loved (love is a verb), and for one to do that, that must know Him personally.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word that commands those who confess Your Son as Lord & Savior to watch and to pray. Ever teach us to listen to You Blessed Holy Spirit so that we may become all that the Father desires of us to be so we may reflect Jesus His Anointed Holy One. For it’s in His Glorious, Eternal, Matchless name, Jesus, we pray, Amen.

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