The Lord lays out two amazing facts all in the same breath. First He says, “You do not know this…” “But you do know that…”
Confusing? Not really, let’s go to the passage in Matthew 24:42-43:
…keep watch. You don’t know when your Lord will come. But you should know this: If the owner of a house had known his house was about to be broken into, he would have stayed up all night, vigilantly. He would have kept watch, and he would have thwarted the thief.
We do know the Lord promises us He will return. Even a causal reading of the bible leaves the reader with an earnest expectation of Jesus’ return. The warning is repeated several times, we cannot know when it is going to happen, and even angels are not privy to this event. Needless to say we are always suspect of fringe extremism that has somebody doing rapture practice. For every time the first coming of the Lord is mentioned, the second coming is mentioned eight times. He fulfilled the first without missing a dotting of the i or crossing of the t. I am confident and expecting His second coming will be just as detailed in fulfillment.
No sooner does He say to, “Watch therefore,” He follows with, “but you should know this…”
Know what? There is a thief. Jesus is never identified as the thief. Jesus said in John 10:10, “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.” Loved one, please understand the emphasis is twofold; the Lord is returning and the thief has targeted your house.
This parable instructs us to stay up all night, be vigilant, keep watch, and you will thwart the thief. With that kind of warning we remain victorious. Do not be causal in your “walk.” The house you have is destined to be a place where His glory can dwell. What does that look like? A place of peace, restoration, healing, recovery and rest. Let alone comfort, prosperity, mercy, and forgiveness from a broken and violent world. No wonder the enemy wants what you have. Seeing it is not something he can possess, he has no other recourse than to take what doesn’t belong to him. All of the aforementioned comes from a “right relationship” with heaven. The innocence of childlike faith is something Satan cannot let alone. He will undermine, dig into and under your house (i.e., where you live until he steals, kills and destroys).
The Good Shepherd lays His life down for the sheep, and leads them…
See You In Church,
Pastor Greg
0 Comments