What Are You Watching?

What do you watch? You know, we watch certain TV programs, movies, to be either entertained or educated, or sometimes we just watch shows to kill some time. It has been shown by the medical field neuroscience that actually watching a TV program that you have seen once, twice, three times, that there is less brain activity while you're watching that show than there is when you sleep. That's why some people love to, as they say, veg out and just watch, because their minds and their bodies can be totally relaxed even more than sleep. You know, we watch news broadcasts from CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, BBC. There's something for everybody, no matter your thoughts when it comes to news programs. And we do it to keep up with the news. What is going on in the world? Many people turn in to find out from a news program. Some people watch the news religiously. It is basically their religion they have to tune into every day. Do we watch what we watch? Now, no, this is not a sermon on what you're watching on TV. What you're watching on TV. Not going to do a survey on that.

You know, we watch world events. We keep up, typically, with certain world events. We watch world news to see what's going on. But do we watch world news and world events as part of our Christian duty? Some people think that. Do you think that? Christ specifically told us, as I touch on Mr. Lavender's message, told us to watch. Did he not? He told us in Matthew 24, watch! And then he tells us in Matthew 25, watch! And we all know that because that's at the Olivet prophecy. Matthew 24, talking about the end time. But Luke gives us another Scripture that hopefully you will find unique. If you will, go with me to Luke 21, verse 36. You don't have your Bible. You can read it. This is from the new King James version. Look what it says, verse 36. Watch, 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. Do you watch? This is a parallel chapter to Matthew 24, and it's about end time prophecy. Like I say, it was the Olivet prophecy. But do you really understand this? You understand there is a difference between this verse and Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, where it says watch. Perhaps. Eschatology. You know what it is? I talked about it before here. It's end time dramatics.

Eschatology. It's a theological term that refers to, or the study of, last things, last days, the end days, the end times. It's what eschatology is. It's a fancy word to make theologians feel important in my own mind, but it helps you to see, and that's what's important to them. They can't just talk about end time or prophecy. They have a name for it. Eschatology, last, ology, study of. Pretty simple. Like theology, the ill, God, study of. Well, this is Luke's account of Christ's prophecy of what would happen before His return in the last days. But I'd like you to look at this. Go back to verse 36. It says, watch therefore. Watch what? This verse has been commandeered, confiscated, and if I can use the word, kidnapped, and used as a basis for entire church movements and mantras. Yes, this verse, because if you go back to Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, they're very short verses about watch. And their watch in Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, they are about these. So now I can see who's sleeping in the very back row and where I need to raise my voice nope nobody's sleeping well there's Mary no. Watch. Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 is about looking, seeing with your eyes, and watching this. This is what you were talking about. That is not what this verse is about. Yet it has the same word, watch. That's why we're doing this knee-deep in eschatology today. We're going to look at that verse because it's good for us to know. You see, with some people that buy into these end-time movements, and I know one time I bought books, I can't remember the guy's name, he's the harbinger out there by Jonathan Cahn and various people, and after reading the book I was fired up and then I realized where he got his last name from. Because he gave all these things that were supposed to happen and he laid the dates out and it was like, oh yes, this is it! No. All these things that he laid out so eloquently in his book. Now I'm not down on him because he's one of many that sell these books. But it's like, wow, I saw him on a show not long ago and he's a Sabbatarian. He's a messianic Jew or he's Jewish or whatever Jonathan Cahn is, and he's on a Sunday keeping church just preaching the daylights out of his books, trying to sell his books to those who hadn't already read his books. Books were already dated, so now he has to have new books to take the place of the other books. Well, there are a lot of people that do this, and with some people they're hanging on to every word from books, magazines, YouTube, and preaching as they want this help to watch for signs that we may be living in the last days. Signs to see that they can escape all these things that will come to pass, as the Scriptures say. Is that what our Christian walk is about? Look at all the thousands, hundreds of thousands, can I even say millions that have come before us?

What did their life come? The who have lived and died. Was it so important that they... boy, can I see something out there? But you see, you see so many people who did that, and who continue to do that. And it reminds me, for hundreds of years, for hundreds of years in not only the United States and in England, preachers gave fire and brimstone sermons to people sitting in the pulpits, with the intent to save your souls from hellfire, to scare you, to instill fear into you.

What's going on that table over there? But imagine that, sitting through those messages, right, telling you that you better straighten up. As my dad used to say in flyright, never knew what that was. Straighten up in flyright. But, you can imagine, they didn't have... they had these scriptures, but there was no way that they could even tell that 200 years ago, 300 years ago, that there anything was a nuclear bomb, a hydrogen bomb, that would destroy all mankind. And they came in 60, 70 years ago here. So what they had to sell was fear. You'd better do what's right. But you see, these were tough people. 200 years ago, 300 years ago, they were tough people. They knew what pain was. They knew what hard work was. They had gone through a lot. Just take those who settled this country. So they'd gone through a lot. So how are you going to reach them? Fire. Fire. I've never really been burnt really bad. Burned a few times. But I remember I was working a job. I was 19 years old. I was working out on a job and I had to drill through concrete. Hammer drill played out, so I had to do it with a regular drill. And I just had to get it done. I was drilling this and drilling this. And I had to bear down so hard. And that bit got so red-hocked. And the bit broke. And my arm slid on that bit. And I still have scars. Not as bad now as they were. Just scars of a masonry drill bit. And it burnt. Oh, and I couldn't get it off me. Couldn't get it off because it had melted in my skin. And you could smell nothing like burnt skin. And it stung. Man. And I thought, if I believed in an everlasting hellfire, and that this is what we're going to, this is what's going to happen to us, if you don't behave, if you don't act right, if you don't become religious, that you're going to burn and have pain like that. Mine ended in about 24 hours. Okay? Still was sore, but it was a... But the preachers would say, no, it's going to be the worst thing you've ever felt. And it's going to go on and on and on and God's going to keep you alive so you can go through this, the worst pain you've ever gone through forever. If you don't straighten up, if you don't get religion, that's what's taught. You have to go back in history. You can read the... You can read various ministers who had their works published. And they scared a lot of people, as you can think of your worst pain you've ever gone through and then thought it would never end, would never end. I remember my uncle. I was 17 or 18 at the time he came through and my dad said he was sick, really sick. I always liked him. Got along fine and so I saw him and he wasn't talking much and he always joked. I came up there and he had cancer. He was dying. And I said, well, what does it really feel like? And he said, have you ever gotten up in the morning and you feel so bad? It's the worst day you've ever felt in your entire life. And he just, oh, you just want to go back to bed because you're so sick and you feel so bad. He said, that's what it's like for me every day. He didn't last long after that. But can you imagine that thought? Can you imagine a God that would do that to you? It's hard to believe, but this was preached from the pulpits.

But this is supposed to be the same one that says he loves you. You know, for the last 60 or 70 years, it's been the same fervor. But to save you from the great tribulation and the hell on earth that will take place just before Christ returns. This verse has been used as the catalyst for doomsday preachers.

I want to do some expository preaching today, as they call it, perform an exegesis. Now, before you get up and run, I said exegesis, not exorcism. Okay. Because I want to pull out out of this verse, this verse 36, what it means to us is that we study this very unique verse. Because it's interesting, in the Gospels, the word watch is used 27 times. Three times the different Greek word that's used here is used. It's not the same as Matthew 24. It's not this kind of watch. The Greek word isn't the same. I won't go deep into the Greek word since I have only a split here. But does this verse really mean for us to have our fingers on the pulse of news and world events that we need to check the internet every few hours for the latest breaking news? Isn't it amazing the news stories today? No matter when I turn it on, if I turn it on during the day, there's breaking news. And so you want to say, what? It's breaking news. No, it isn't. It's the same news you gave, but you have a different guy giving it, or you have different little spin on it. That's what we get. That we should all become news junkies to find out.

Let's go back if I can. Look at this. What's it say? Watch, therefore. It's unique. Luke wrote this after Matthew, of course. Watch, therefore. It's telling us because it says, therefore, it's doing what? It's telling us that this thought is tied to the previous verse, or verses, previous thought. Even like watch, therefore, concluding a point. Concluding a point. Now, what do we always say when we want to understand the Bible? Context, context, context. Because you can take one verse out of something and just the people made a whole religion out of one verse without even looking at the other verses that God is talking about. So, let us read because it says, watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that come to pass and stand before the Son of Man. But what's it really saying to us? Watch. Let's go, if you will, with me to Luke 21. And let's look at the two previous verses. The two previous verses about that that is concluded with watch, therefore. Watch what? Watch what? The Greek word used watch for this is not to visually see something. That's what Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 and that's what the 27 other verses. It's about visual. This Greek word means to keep awake, to be alert. That's what this word watch means. To be alert, to wake up, to be watching what? Well, let's see what it says. Verse 34, Luke 21 verse 34. But take heed. What's that mean?

To watch yourself. Take heed. Pay attention to yourselves. Lest your hearts be weighed down with my new King James says, carousing. Is that what most of you say? Carousing. You ever known a carouser? Are you a carouser? Are you going to spend the night tonight carousing? Okay. I wanted to know because I'd always heard, well, we're going to go carousing around. What did carousing mean? Because it says over here, carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. What's interesting, that word carousing. I looked it up. Synonyms of partying, going on a bender, revelry, drunkenness. Well, it said drunkenness, so I'm going, why would that be in there then, if it's about drunkenness? Well, it lays out in the etymology of this word that the German part of it was garse, which means to go all out. To go all out. The British word was tied to drinking and meaning to turn it all up. To drink to the bottom. If you've ever drank a drink and you were so thirsty that you yet you drank all of it. It's what this word carousing came from. It's related to people who want to go to New Orleans. Related to people like Mardi Gras. How about Vegas? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, you know? It's like New Year's Eve. You know, people go, well, you know, I'm going to have a nice New Year's Eve party and I'm going to have one glass of wine. Or perhaps I'll have a half a beer. You ever heard that one? No! It's like we're partying, man! Yeah, where's the cake? Where's it? You know, what do you mean one beer? What do you mean one glass of wine? It's New Year's Eve! Oh, what about St. Patrick's Day, right? People, oh, give me a beer, but make it green, you know, and have plenty of it. But everybody goes out to get what? Wasted, carousing. And so God is talking to us because we will be not only watching what's going on, we'll be watching ourselves. He said, take heed, take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness. Are we? Do we need to watch what we drink? I think it's more important we watch how much we drink. I know some people, they can't drink just one or two drinks. They have to drink more. But He's saying, take heed because at the end, this is going to be happening. People are more about just enjoying life, being what you want to be, doing what you want to do. And who are you to judge me? Huh? Heard that one before? Nothing wrong with partying, they expect it. Even the New Year's Eve, they even have people from churches line up to drive people from the bar parties back home. Huh? I know. But He says, this will happen and we have to make sure. Because He's speaking to us almost 2,000 years later, that we are responsible. And then not only carousing drunkenness, but the cares of this life. Is that not a sign of the times? What's in it for me? What's good for me? Or, you know, I'm all about taking care of myself. Hmm.

Brethren, we have been called to make a difference, to make a difference in people's lives. We've been called to make a difference in this world. It may only be a small one. We've been called to make whatever difference we can make. Can you imagine if everybody knew you because you were the best part of your work? Huh? Because you could growl better than anyone. Yeah, that guy goes to church. Yes. But Saturday night after his sundown? Hmm. That guy can do it. You can do it. Right? I mean, I worked with guys like that in construction. Remember a guy, he had no real religion at all, but he would just be like, Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday. He would do this all afternoon. And then by four o'clock, five o'clock, when he was off, man, he said, it's time to party. Name was Randall. My wife knows him. And Randall would party like... It wasn't 1999, but he thought it was. He could party and did, and you know, he'd come in Monday morning. Oh, oh, man. Oh, I had such a tough weekend. Well, Randall, why don't you do that? Oh, man, I had such a good time. Friday night, Saturday night got even better.

That was a good time to him. And this is how he lived his life. Cost him his first wife. Because at first, she wanted to party too. But then she got another job, and she started thinking about children, and she just, you know, she wanted to live in a grown-up world. But her husband, party guy. And I ran into him probably 20 years later. I guess it was. And he said, can you help me? I had my company at that time, and I said, well, I knew I didn't want to hire him. But I said, well, what's going on? He was living in his car. Living in his car, looking for a place to stay. Crowsing. Imagine.

But the cares of this world, do we watch our cares of this world? Or do we care more about the things of this world and the physical than the spiritual and our spiritual lives? The example we set, plus how we're able to help people. I hope so. That's what we're supposedly working on. Do you realize that we, as followers of Christ, we have a responsibility? We have a Christian responsibility since that's part of our name? That should be a name we can go by. Chuck Smith. Christian. Bruce, whatever. Christian.

Mike Hamill. Corrouser. I mean, can you see that? Well, he was okay till he moved two doors down from Bruce. And then that's just like it. That's what it is. But no, you can see how that attaches. I mean, we need to wear that Christian banner, proudly, because a Christian is what? A Christ-like person. We need to be like that. We've been called to do the work of God, haven't we? As the priesthood in training, the mikizadec priesthood in training, you've been called to do the work of God. There's just one problem with that. Before we can do the work of God, we must be the work of God. We must be the work of God. That's what this verse is about, to watch ourselves and examine ourselves as we'll get into that. Examine ourselves to say, hey, none of us are perfect, but boy, we can be better. I can. There's so many aspects of my life I can be better. I can do better than that. This is what God wants from us. And as I wrap this up today, like you go with me to. Hebrews 13. This is the second time this word watch is used. Back in Hebrews 13, he's about to wrap up Hebrews, and he's telling this Hebrews 13.

Verse 17. "'Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they who?" Pastors. Overseers. It's interesting here that this is instruction given to me. It says, it says, "'For they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.'" I am going to have to give an account for you, for those who I teach, for those who God has blessed me with, and he has blessed me with this church. And I take that very seriously because I love all of you. Well, most of you. You know that I do. I love serving you. I love serving you. But you see, I have but four things that I have to do as your pastor, as your overseer, as one to help you. The first thing, number one, I pray for you. It's my job every day to pray for every one of you. The second, my responsibility is to teach you. Third, to listen to you. It's my job to listen to you. Because, guess what? You're going to help me. You're going to teach me some things. We had a Bible study over at Face the other day. It was, Face said something I had never even thought about before. I want to talk in Scripture. But that's why it's good to listen to you and listen when you need something. Know what you need, like these two wonderful people sitting on the front row. I've listened to him. I've listened to her. So I can pray better. So, I have to pray. I have to teach. I have to listen. And then, last of all, as this word, watch over you, I have to serve you. That's the fourth thing. I have to serve you. You may say, wow, you know, sometimes it must not be good to be you. But you know what?

I'm talking about gunfire and guns in Miami, and I'm like, I got the Super Bowl. It was over. But your obligation, brethren, is the same as mine, isn't it? Think about it. Your obligation to each other. So it's not just, yes, it's my job and responsibility to try to, you know, hurt all you cats in one room. Okay? But to bring us all together because we all have the same goal. We all have the same father. We all want to do the same thing. Is praise our God and help each other make the world a better place. Channeling Michael Jackson for a minute. But shouldn't you pray for each other? I know you have prayed for these two, and I know them. They have prayed for us. So it's not just the pastor's job. And you teach, you know, where does iron sharpen iron? It's when you guys share scriptures, you share what you're studying, you share this. You teach each other. And then you listen to each other. And I know we have some great listeners in here who have helped me do my job because some people can't come to the pastor about things, but they've come to other members, and you've been able to help them. And finally, serve each other. Brethren, that's what we do. So what do you... it's more than what you watch. We must watch our walk, not only for your sakes, for this church, for the people around you, but because Christ died so that you could have him in you so that you can continue this walk. So take time to examine your spiritual lives because a Christian is more often seen than they're heard.