NW Bible Study - Bible Quiz #25, Watch and Pray

(11) Bible Study Bible Quiz #25 Watch and Pray - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y2s1_Hz3pE

Transcript:
(00:06) I want to welcome you to another Wednesday night Bible study. We're beginning the new season now and I'm uh pleased to be able to present uh the next episode, the next question in our Bible literacy test. You can find the test itself, which if you if you've been following this series, you know that it's that I've we've been we're quite deep on this.
(00:28) We're on question number 25. So, we've done quite a bit of these. Uh, you can find that under posts on the YouTube channel, the United Church of God Tacoma YouTube channel. So, just want to encourage you to download that if you haven't and and follow along uh answering the questions as they are presented.
(00:46) So, tonight we'll be dealing with question 25, which begins watch therefore and pray always. So, I'll go ahead and open with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so very much that you give us the opportunity during these Wednesday Bible studies to carefully look at your word. We ask, Father, for your inspiration to be on this study tonight, that you would bless our understanding and help us, Father, to learn the the lessons that we need to learn.
(01:09) Help us to embed your truth into our hearts. And we thank you so much for that. And we commit this study into your hands through Jesus Christ's holy and righteous name. Amen. So I'll begin the way that I always do uh in this series I should say. So the question is watch therefore and pray always. And where would we where do we find that? Well, we're going to find that in Luke 21.
(01:34) Luke chapter 21 and verse 36. So, let me get over here to Luke chapter 21 and we will read verse 36. Just to have our context here for the specific answer, which is, "Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the son of man.
(02:00) " You know, we live in an age of uncertainty around the world. events are unfolding that seem to push humanity closer to the edge. We're seeing wars. Uh obviously Russia Ukraine is still uh very much on the world scene. Uh despite the negotiations of the president with the president of Russia as well as the leader of Ukraine. Uh so but we're watching wars in other places.
(02:28) We're watching moral collapse all around us and we see it every day. Uh it's on the news. It's shoved in our face. We can't miss it. Uh there's questions about economic stability. Is the economy the way that it's supposed to be? What is the effect of tariffs? Is it real? Is it helping? Is it hurting? Uh natural disasters. We've got another hurricane blowing across the eastern seabboard.
(02:49) Um and so it seems like we're the these things are really only increasing in their frequency and their scale. And the Bible plainly tells us that really these things are supposed to do that. And we're going to see this kind of increase before Christ's return. But you know, it also tells us something else, something that a lot of people overlook.
(03:08) What exactly did Jesus mean by escape all these things? Was he talking about a spiritual mindset? Or is this a literal deliverance from real world events? Does this promise apply to all who claim to follow him or only to certain people? And if so, how does he decide who is counted worthy? Throughout scripture, God has acted to protect his people in times of judgment.
(03:34) For example, Noah and his family were protected from the flood that destroyed the whole world. Lot and his family were saved by God before he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You you'll recall Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were protected in the fiery furnace itself.
(03:56) And Peter miraculously escaped prison and certain death by the Pharisees because of God's deliverance. Paul miraculously survived a shipwreck that should have killed him and everyone else. But over and over again throughout the Bible, we see God protecting his faithful people.
(04:17) But does that pattern hold true for the end of the age? If so, what would that protection look like? Where would it be? And perhaps most importantly, what would God require of us to be included in it? The questions are not academic. The events Christ warned of will directly impact every living person on this planet. So, we have to understand his promise and the conditions that come with it.
(04:44) because this could make the difference between being preserved through the most dangerous time in human history or facing it without God's protection. So I want to begin analyzing this question by looking at Isaiah chapter 26 20- 21. So Isaiah 26 verses 20 and 21. You know the idea of God protecting his people during times of judgment that's not new. It appears throughout scripture and it's not some kind of vague image but it's a consistent pattern.
(05:25) One of the clearest passages is what we'll read here. So Isaiah 26 20 and 21 it says, "Come my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself as it were for a little moment until the indignation has passed. For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
(05:55) the earth will also disclose her blood and will no more cover her slain. What did Isaiah mean by this? Was he only speaking of his own time, warning Judah of a specific invasion that's coming? Or does his language point beyond his day to a time when God will once again call his people to hide until his judgment has passed? And if it does point forward, could this be describing the same protection Jesus promised in Luke 21:36? The imagery Isaiah uses is deliberate.
(06:30) The word chambers here refers to an inner room. That's a private, secure place where one is shut in away from danger. The command to shut your doors echoes the night of the first Passover when Israel stayed inside their homes while the death angel passed over Egypt. And notice the reason for the hiding. It says, "Until the indignation is passed.
(06:53) " And this indignation is a term the prophets use for the period of God's wrath on a sinful world. Let's notice Daniel 8: Daniel 8 verse 19. And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation. For at that appointed time, the end shall be." Notice Daniel calls it the latter time and the appointed time of the end.
(07:43) That means Isaiah's words cannot be confined only to his own generation. They carry a prophetic reach that extends to the end of the age. If God's consistent, and of course we know he is, then this picture in Isaiah should be telling us that there will be a time yet in the future when God will need to protect his people again.
(08:06) This is why what is recorded in Revelation chapter 3 is very significant. Notice Revelation chapter 3 and verse 10. Revel. Now here this is Revelation 2 and 3 is when God is speaking to the churches. So we get to revelation chapter 3 and first he begins by talking to the church in Sardis. And then he moves to speaking to the church in Philadelphia. And we get to verse 10.
(08:34) And he and he writes of this church. Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. The Greek phrase here means to guard or preserve out of something.
(09:04) So when it says here that he will keep you from, it means to preserve out of. It carries the sense of being spared from entering into the trial itself. Not just enduring it with extra strength or something. This is a promise of actual deliverance. And it's given to a specific group. Those Christ calls the Philadelphiaians.
(09:26) When we look at prophecy, we see that the time ahead will be unlike anything humanity has ever faced. Christ himself spoke the warning of this time in Matthew chapter 24. You'll remember in a previous Bible study in this series, we covered Matthew 24 in detail. But let's notice verses 21 and 22 of Matthew 24. Verse 21 and 22. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
(10:07) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. So this is a global event. Jesus said it would threaten all life on Earth. So it's not focused on a single area such as just Jerusalem. This is the whole planet. Daniel confirms it will be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. And you can read that in Daniel 12:1. I'll just reference that for now.
(10:40) In the face of such destruction, God promises protection. And of course, that's no small comfort. It's vital. I mean, we, his people, are going to need that protection from what's happening and what's going to happen in the end time. Notice that Revelation paints a picture of God's church symbolized by a woman being moved to a location prepared by God himself. Let's notice this in Revelation 12 and verse 14.
(11:07) Revelation 12 and verse 14. Well, let's pick it up in verse 13. Says, "Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child." Now that's Christ. And verse 14 says, "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent.
(11:41) " To her place is an interesting statement, isn't it? It's a place prepared for her. That's the definite article, by the way. her place is a the her is a definite article and that points to a specific location already appointed by God and there she is nourished, she's fed, she's sheltered and she's sustained for three and a half years.
(12:06) And of course, this matches the prophetic duration of the great tribulation. This is physical protection, not a metaphor. But scripture also makes a sobering point. Not everyone is included. Let's go back to Revelation here where we are. Uh we're going to read verse 17 here because after the woman is spared, it says here in verse 17 of Revelation 12, "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
(12:44) " This is also the people of God, but they're not called Philadelphiaians because if they were Philadelphiaians, they wouldn't be a remnant left behind. The Philadelphiaians, identified by Jesus Christ, will be preserved in some kind of place separated or designated as safety.
(13:04) What we see here then is that God's people, those who still keep his commandments, but which are not Philadelphiaians because they're still here, they're therefore not taken to a place of safety. Instead, they face direct persecution. This shows us that protection is conditional. God himself decides who is counted worthy. As we read in Luke 21:36, the Philadelphiaian promise in Revelation 3 is unique among the seven churches. Christ says, "They have kept his word. They've not denied his name.
(13:37) They held fast even with little strength." It's a mindset of steadfast obedience and humble endurance. That is who he promises to keep from the hour of trial coming on the whole world. This isn't some kind of rapture into heaven. I'm going to be dealing with that here in a few weeks. The protection happens right here on earth in a location prepared for the purpose of protecting these people just as God has done before.
(14:11) And this is not a promise that we can claim by default just because we're part of the church. It's given to those God deems spiritually ready. those already living in faithfulness when the time comes. The place of safety is not an emergency shelter for lastminut repentance. It's a provision for those who walk with God right now.
(14:36) So the question for us is whether we will be the kind of people he chooses to protect. It's important for us then to note that the promise of God's protection in the end time is one of the most well it's probably the most comforting assurance that we can have that there is the possibility of being protected if we are counted worthy and that's what's so sobering about it because it's not given to everyone who identifies as a believer in Jesus Christ. The Bible shows a sharp contrast between those whom God takes to safety and those who must endure the
(15:12) full force of endtime persecution. We read that in Revelation 12:14-17 which describes both of these groups of God's people. Verse 14, we see the woman symbolic that's symbolic of God's faithful people taken to a wilderness location prepared by God where she is sustained for three and a half years away from Satan's reach.
(15:39) But then the scene shifts over and in verse 17 we read that the dragon enraged by the escaping of the Philadelphiaians turns to attack the rest of her offspring. These are also God's people. They still keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Yet, they're not taken to this place of safety.
(15:59) This isn't a question about whether they lose salvation right now. It's a question of testing. These people are still Christ's disciples, but they have to go down a different road. Instead of receiving protection at the end time, they must endure the end time trials directly. And of course, this is what tells us that protection is conditional. God himself decides who will be preserved and who will be tested more directly.
(16:25) When we turn to Christ's own words to the church in Revelation 3 and:e 10, we find that the promise of protection is directed to one group in particular, those Christ identifies as Philadelphiaians. And of course, that's not about geography. It's not about age. It's not about social standing. This is about spiritual character.
(16:50) Christ describes these people as those who have kept his word without compromise, have not denied his name, and have held fast even with little strength. These qualities define the kind of faithfulness God deems worthy of protection. By contrast, the leadyans in the same chapter. Let's go back here to Revelation 3 and verse 14. Revelation 3:14. And then we're going to drop down and pick up 17-19.
(17:21) So we see here in verse 14, and to the angel of the church of the Leadyans, right? And so now we know who he's talking to. And now in verse 17-19, it says, "Because you say,"I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
(17:39) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyes, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasen. Therefore, be zealous and repent. So, these people are not being cast away. They're being tested.
(18:11) He calls them his people, but they're warned that they have to repent. So, instead of being spared from the trials, they're told to expect refining through these very trials. That refining is described as being tested in the fire, symbolizing the intense pressure and suffering that will force them to see their true spiritual condition.
(18:36) And of course, this contrast ought to be very sobering to us. Both groups belong to God. Both keep his commandments. Yet, their experiences in the time of trouble are radically different. One group is protected, the other is purified through hardship. The difference is found in their spiritual state when the crisis comes. For those who will be counted worthy of protection, two qualities truly stand out.
(19:02) First, their spiritual alertness. Christ told his his disciples to watch. As we read in Luke 21:36, not merely for prophetic events. He said to watch. So, what are they supposed to be watching for? Well, we'll see that God wants them to watch for their spiritual condition. This is what he wants all of his people to do.
(19:26) You might recall in Matthew 25, the parable of the 10 virgins, which shows this exact situation very vividly, very vividly, excuse me. All 10 expected the bridegroom, but only five were prepared when he came. The others tried to make up for lost time, but it was too late.
(19:50) And of course, the principle then is preparation must happen right now, not when the door is about to close. So being spiritually awake means regularly examining ourselves against God's word, staying alert to the dangers of compromise, and guarding against the creeping influence of the world. The second quality that stands out is their perseverance in obedience. The Philadelphiaians are commended for keeping Christ's word despite having little strength.
(20:17) So this is not about dramatic displays of power or even influence. It's about being steady, being consistent in faithfulness in the face of pressure. God values the believer who quietly endures, who will not bend under temptation, and who keeps the truth no matter how unpopular it becomes. God is merciful and just, but he's also purposeful.
(20:44) When he withholds physical protection from some people, it's not because he's abandoned them. It's because he knows the spiritual refining they need can only come through trials. For others, whose faith has already been tested and proven, he chooses to shield them from that same storm. But the choice is his. This means our responsibility now is not to try to guess where the place of safety might or might not be, but instead how will God provide it? Because to focus on the spiritual condition he says he's looking for is how we will be chosen. If we are chosen,
(21:23) it will be because we focused correctly on what he wants us to be doing right now. Are we steadfast in obedience? Are we humble in spirit? Are we holding fast to the truth without compromise? These are the questions that determine whether we will be among those who God protects or among those he refineses through the tribulation.
(21:50) The truth is that both paths require faith. Those taken to safety trust God to sustain them in an unfamiliar place cut off from normal life. Those left to endure must trust God for strength to remain faithful under persecution. The difference is not in their salvation, but in their role during the most dangerous time in human history. We can't control God's decision.
(22:15) But we can control our readiness. We can choose today to live as the Philadelphiaians, loyal to God's word, steadfast in faith, and unyielding in obedience. If we do that, we place ourselves in the best possible position for God to count us worthy to escape to benefit from the promise that he made to protect his faithful in the hour of trial.
(22:46) Which means we must remain ready until the very end. It's that's not a one-time decision. That's a mindset, a focus that we have to have because we have to maintain that condition over time. The promise of God's protection is not for those who were faithful in the past, but for those who are faithful when the moment comes.
(23:09) That means the most important question is not only am I ready now, but really, will I be ready when the hour of trial arrives? The Bible's clear that spiritual momentum can be lost. Israel began their journey out of Egypt with zeal and gratitude, thankfulness, excitement. Yet many fell in the wilderness through disobedience and unbelief.
(23:35) And their story is a reminder that a good start does not guarantee a strong finish. The Philadelphiaians in Revelation 3 are commended for holding fast, not just for having been faithful. God values perseverance. So let's let's finish this message with a reminder of how to stay ready until the end. That begins with maintaining a consistent and purposeful prayer life.
(24:01) We have to maintain a consistent and purposeful prayer life. Prayer keeps our minds connected to God and sensitive to his direction. Without it, well, we drift. we become spiritually dull. We're not talking to the creator. We're not talking to the father of all creation.
(24:24) We have access to him through Jesus Christ and we have to take advantage of that because it is his very spirit that enables us to overcome to stay focused as we need to be. So we need to stay connected to him in prayer. Christ gave us the example by making prayer a constant part of his life. Notice Paul's instruction to us also in Colossians chapter 4 and verse 2. Colossians 4 and verse 2.
(24:57) For Paul says as is in instructions to us, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. And so you notice here that Paul connects prayer with vigilance. That same alertness Christ commanded in Luke 21:36. It is in regular heartfelt prayer that we align our priorities with God's will and remain spiritually awake. We also have to feed daily on God's word. The word of God is not just information.
(25:33) It's not just interesting. It's nourishment for the mind and heart. If we neglect it, our thinking will slowly conform to the world rather than to God's truth. Notice Psalms 1:es 2 and 3. Let's turn back here to Psalms 1:es 2 and 3. Psalms chapter 1:es 2 and 3 says, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.
(26:20) He shall be like a tree planted by the river, the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. Meditating on God's word produces stability, fruitfulness, and endurance. All qualities necessary for those who will who are going to be preserved in the time of trial. So, we have to be consuming God's word daily, every single day.
(26:47) Thankfully, there are Bible readers, yearly Bible readers, and other things like that. Simple tools that that can encourage us to just get up in the morning and read our scriptures. I do that with a couple of different types of of uh yearly readers. One is a chronological. The other one I kind of that I'm reading right now presents the New Testament, the Old Testament, the Psalms, and the Proverbs every single day. Some of all four of those.
(27:11) So, I've been enjoying that as my daily reader this year. But prayer alone and reading our Bibles alone is not enough. We have to practice active obedience in our daily lives. Readiness is proven in the everyday choices that we make. Choices that show whether we truly submit to God's authority.
(27:35) Notice James instruction in James chapter 1 and verse 22. James chapter 1 and verse 22 or James says, "But we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves." And so we read the word and we need to do that. But then what we read we must do. It's possible to know the truth intellectually and still fail to live it.
(28:08) Obedience is the in the small matters is what trains us for faithfulness in the big ones. We also have to guard against spiritual fatigue. We are a church that has a lot of older members. It's just a reality of of people that have been in this for a long long time and God having called many so many years ago.
(28:33) So really the the challenge for a church with so many aging members is to remain faithful over the long haul and to guard against spiritual fatigue because the pressures of life and the constant pull of the world can wear down our zeal. Christ warned about this in his parables and Paul of course reinforced the same principle. Notice Galatians chapter 6 and verse 9.
(28:58) Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Weariness leads to compromise. Endurance ensures we are still faithful when God decides the time for protection has come. We need to endure our present trials with the right spirit.
(29:23) Smaller trials now are preparation for larger ones ahead. If we resist God's refining in these moments right now, we will not be ready for the bigger test. 1 Peter chapter 1 6 and 7. 1 Peter 1 6 and 7. He says here, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you've been grieved by various trials, that the genuiness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(30:10) Every trial met with faith strengthens the very qualities God will honor in the day of his decision. We need to keep our focus on the kingdom, not just survival. The place of safety is a means to an end. The real goal is entering the kingdom of God.
(30:34) If we fixate on avoiding hardship, we may lose sight of why God protects us in the first place. Notice Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12:es 1 and two. Hebrews 12:es 1 and 2 says, "Therefore, we also," and now he's talking about us, "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," he's talking about that whole group of people that he has described in Hebrews chap 11. They serve as witnesses to us.
(31:02) He says, "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ens snares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(31:26) " Endurance comes from keeping our eyes on Christ and the joy that is set before us, not just on escaping trouble. So, you can see that these are not just one-time actions, but this is a way of life we have to stay dedicated to. We've got to keep our focus on doing every single day those things that are going to get us recognized by God.
(31:50) if I can say it that way, that God will recognize proves that we are worthy to escape by our actions, by how we live, by staying faithful right up until the end. By making prayer and Bible study and obedience and endurance and the kingdom of God part of our daily walk, we put ourselves in the best position for God to count us worthy if we do do these things.
(32:19) The choice is his, but our part is in being ready and presenting ourselves as being ready to God. There's no question that God has promised protection for some of his people during the most dangerous time in human history, the end time. The Bible shows that this promise very clearly, but it also shows that not all are going to receive that protection.
(32:43) It shows us that the difference will not be determined by who can predict prophetic events, who can figure out where the place of safety is. Our focus must not be on trying to figure out where that place of safety is. That's God's responsibility. And he's already appointed it. If we're watchful, steadfast, and obedient now, then when the time comes, he's going to know exactly where to find us, and we will be protected.
(33:13) The real preparation for us then is spiritual. It's walking faithfully with God every single day. It's keeping his word when it's hard, holding fast when we feel weak, and staying humble when we are tempted to think too much of ourselves. If those qualities define us, we will be ready.
(33:32) Whether God's plan is to protect us in a place of safety or to strengthen us through the trial of the tribulation, the time is coming when the line between the protected and the tested will be drawn. We cannot control which path God chooses for us. But we can make sure that when he looks at our lives, he finds faith, endurance, and loyalty to his truth.
(33:55) That is what will matter in the hour of his decision.