KEEP WATCH OR BE ALERT
2 Tim. 4:5
Morning Meditation 1/4/17
Verse 4 says, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
The word “watch” translates “nepho” and means “to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit, to be temperate, circumspect.” It is a present active imperative verb. It means, “This is a command. Be sober continually. Be calm and collected in spirit continually. It is urgent.” We are soldiers in an army. We have real enemies. There are casualties everywhere to prove the seriousness of the spiritual warfare. This word speaks of alertness. I served on guard duty in the Korean War. While the rest of our company slept, I walked a guard post and calmly and diligently watched for any signs of the enemy. The men rested in comfort knowing that someone was watching to alert them in case of an enemy attack. You had to be sober on that guard post. The officer of the day would check periodically. One would be in serious trouble if he were caught not performing his duty correctly. The life of every man in the company depended on him. Paul expresses urgency in this command.
The words “all things” give the scope of our watch area. Any area of our lives that we leave unwatched, is a weak link in the chain. Someone has said that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. That is very true. I believe that strong men have fallen because they left one small area of their lives unguarded. They were over confident because they minimized the risk in that small area of their lives. The word is “Watch.” How do we watch? I want to suggest the following ways:
WATCH WITH ENDURANCE. Paul says, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions . . .” The words “endure afflictions” translate “kakopatheo” and means “to suffer (endure) evils (hardships, troubles).” The word “kakopatheo” is made up of two words, “kakos,” meaning “of a bad nature or evil,” and “pathos,” meaning, “whatever befalls one, a calamity.” It is an aorist active imperative verb. The aorist tense anticipates an event or a point of time that this will occur. The imperative mood is a command expressing urgency. We are under orders to endure. You have heard of the captain in one of our past wars who was commanding a company of men during a fierce battle. He announced to the men, “Men we are completely surrounded by the enemy. Don’t let a one of them escape!” That is the spirit of “enduring afflictions.” The Psalmist said, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psa. 34:19).
One of the great comforts I have in times of affliction where endurance is necessary is to rest in the truth of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Only God could take the worse case scenario that could possibly happen to you and use it to conform you to the image of Christ. How often I have prayed, “Oh Lord, make me more like Christ.” Then resist the means (afflictions) He uses to accomplish this. You will also notice the word “afflictions” is in the plural. There are many different kinds of affliction. Have you had bad things happen to you? Did it cause you to think you were out of the will of God? You do understand that bad things happen to godly people don’t you? If God is using the affliction to correct us, we should not have to endure long before repentance! I don’t. I start repenting at the first signs! If I can’t think of anything to repent of, I repent of not knowing what to repent of!!! No, I say this to illustrate in my own experience how we take it for granted that if something bad is happening and it is God punishing us for some wrong we have done. That is not what the Bible teaches. The afflictions are God’s fashioning tools that He uses to conform us to the image of Christ (Rom.. 8:28-29). The tools must be endured while they are doing their molding work. He is the Potter we the clay.
WE ARE TO WATCH WITH SWORD IN HAND. There is a great story in the Book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 4:17 says, “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.” The Jews under Ezra and Nehemiah had returned to build the walls of Jerusalem. They ran into fierce opposition from the people who had occupied the land after the Babylonian captivity. They got the job done but it wasn’t easy. They built the walls with one hand and handled the sword with the other.
The Word of God is our sword (Eph. 6:17). Jesus used this sword against Satan in the wilderness temptation. There are four things that this Sword of the Spirit will do for us when we are baptized in affliction. First, the Word will give ENLIGHTENMENT. Psa. 119:71 says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” The next is CLEANSING. During times of trial and affliction Satan is constantly accusing God to us and telling us we are not being treated fairly. The Word will bring us to the cross for cleansing inwardly (1 John 1:9) and outwardly (Eph. 5:26). Next there is the STRENGTHENING OF OUR FAITH. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Then there is COMFORT in the Word. Ps 119:143 says, “Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.” The word “delights” means “enjoyments.” Through the Word, even in the midst of affliction, the Word of God gives us a reprieve from the affliction. We can be in a state of delight in the midst of all of it. I will never forget Richard Wurmbrand’s testimony of his experience of ecstatic joy in a solitary confinement cell where God lighted up the cell with His glory and Wurmbrand danced for joy around that small cell. Wurmbrand spent fourteen years in a communist prison in Romania for his faith in Christ.
WATCH WITH CAUTION FOR THE ROARING LION. Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). He is our “adversary.” Peter says, “your” meaning us as Christians. The word “adversary” means, “opponent..” He opposes the believer. He opposed Job with the lost of loved ones, the lost of property, the loss of the support of his wife, friends who accused him of having some secret sin for which he was being punished, and the complete loss of health. That is opposition, folks! Peter says that he is walking about “as a roaring lion.” The roar of the lion petrifies its prey with fear. Have you every experience fear in your Christian life? I wonder if it is the “roar of the lion?” Don’t respond to the roar of the lion, respond to the cooing of the Dove! Then Peter says that Satan is “seeking.” This implies that he is not able to devour just ANY Christian. I believe that he is seeking those who are not watching. They are not alert. He catches them off guard. The word “devour” translates “katapino” and means “to swallow down.” It is an aorist active subjunctive verb. The aorist tense and the subjunctive mood refers to a POTENTIAL ACT. This means “TO SWALLOW DOWN IN ONE GULP!” Some one said that the Lord has taken the teeth out of the lion and all he can do is “roar and gum you.” You might get a laugh out of that. But before you laugh too long, don’t let him catch you off guard, or you may get a chance to examine his tonsils on your way into his stomach in the “gulp down process!
WATCH FOR DISTRACTIONS. I believe one of the most effective tools of Satan is distractions. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica . . .” Demas was distracted by love for this present world. Before you get too hard on Demas, you need to study what the love of the world is. John said in First John “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). When we think of the love of the world we say as Christians, “I do not love the world.” What about “the things of the world?” Here is where the discipline comes for me. We can easily become too attached to a hobby, sports, making money, passing the time on TV, etc. The love of the world is abstract. The things of the world are not. I know people who are absolutely useless in the service of the Lord because they have been distracted by interests that have nothing to do with the Christian life. Paul says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Am I saying hobbies are wrong? No. It is your attitude toward them and the time you spend. If they occupy your time so that you do not have time to spend with the Lord and perform your duty to him as a Christian, they are wrong. I can just hear someone say, “I have my quiet time and fellowship with the Lord while I am doing things I enjoy.” Yeah, right! Please don’t treat me like I came in on the last load of turnips!
Paul says, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions . . .” Are we watchers? Are we alert? Are we at our post of duty? If Jesus came today, would He catch us by surprise?
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
