Will you blow the whistle? Text: Even
though they cannot meet all the needs in their community they are meeting some
of the needs of some of the people. We
are not just here to help your little group, but you are there to work
to help others in the area.
While on my recent vacation at our
conference center, I met a lifeguard who asked to be baptized.
While she was responsible, for care of others she wanted to be sure to
be on the right road herself. Today’s
lifeguards are the closest things to the watchmen on the walls in the days of
Ezekiel. The watchman waited and
watched on the walls of the city to let the city inhabitants know of impending
danger.
WATCH . WHEN an army is on a campaign the
soldiers have to "bivouac." That is, they spend the night in the
open-air, and every one remains on guard. Ought not this to be the position of
the Church of Christ, now at war against the world, the flesh, and the devil?
The night is setting in. Let the Church bivouac -- every one become a
watchman. "What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch!" (Mark
13:37). By James Smith,
Handfuls on Purpose, vol. 1, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman Publishing Co.,
1971).
A seven-year-old boy had been pestering
his father for a watch, but his father was not about to give him one. After he
had asked for about the twentieth time, his father said, "My boy, that's
all I want to hear about that watch. Don't you ever bring it up again!"
At supper that night, each member of the
family shared a Scripture verse at the table. When it was time for the boy to
read his verse. After finding the verse that he wanted to read, he finally
smirked and read "The verse I have chosen today is Mark 13:37, 'What I
say to you, I say to everyone, "Watch!"'"
Scripture Text:
Ezek 3:17 (NIV)
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so
hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a
wicked man, `You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to
dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man
will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But
if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or
from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved
yourself. 20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness
and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since
you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did
will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 21
But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will
surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself."
Mark 13:33 Take
ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and
commanded the porter to watch. 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: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you
sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
1.
God’s Champions Watch.
Observe, look after, guard, take care of, be cautious about, spy on,
and survey are among the meanings of “Watch.”
Watch for the coming judgment, death, and danger.
These watchmen and women care enough and know enough to be sure to
watch for the signs of danger. They
believe in the Lord and the word that he has spoken and they take their
responsibility seriously. They
watch for those they care for. They
watch for the Lord. This is a
divine calling. It isn’t just
an Old Testament command, but it is a principle by which the called of God
choose to live by. In Mark 13
Jesus gives the command to watch and pray.
Will we watch? Will you
guard the life of those who God has given to you?
2.
God’s Champions Pray
Mark 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for
ye know not when the time is. The
watchman hears the words that God speaks and gives the warning for God.
We hear God through the reading of the word, the preaching of the word,
and through prayer. God’s
watchman must be in touch with him to give the proper warning and the right
word at the right time.
3. God’s
Champions give the warning. The
Champion realizes the seriousness of the hour, so he gives the warning when
the time is near, so that the people he cares for will be able to be saved.
We can see the spiritual world and the spiritual life. They can’t.
4.
God’s Champions are faithful and consistent.
We don’t know the day or the hour, so we
must be faithful and continuing to watch.
They don’t go to sleep on the job, but they continue to work, watch,
and pray that some may be saved.
5.
God’s Champions let God do the saving, but they give the warning.
They realize the importance of getting
the message out. They realize they will be held accountable for giving the
warning not saving the people. Jesus
is the savior but he is not the watchman.
We are.
6.
God’s Champions stand in the gap as the
watchman on the wall.
Ezek
22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy
it: but I found none. God
wants us to join him in the saving of his people.
Will you stand?
7.
Will you be God’s watchman for others?
Will you be God’s Champion?
Arthur Gordon in an article entitled "The
Rewards of Caring," tells the story of how once, as a small boy, he was
witness to a near- tragedy. At
the beach, a woman stepped off a sandbar into deep, swift water and panicked.
At least 20 adults in bathing suits watched, apparently paralyzed,
until suddenly a young man ran up, plunged in full clothed and brought the
woman out.
As Arthur Gordon described the episode later to
his parents, his admiration for the young man was matched by the contempt he
felt for those who failed to act. She
was drowning, and they didn't even seem to care.
His father looked at him thoughtfully and said,
"The world often seems divided between those who care and those who don't
care enough. But don't judge too harshly.
It takes courage to care greatly."
Do we care enough to take a risk and give the
warning to others? There is a God who loves us all, yet many don’t know Him.
Will we tell them about Jesus?