(Originally published May 17, 2019)
... When it seems
... He tarries
Introduction:
What an amazing journey ... through the darkness of this fallen world ... the Bride of Christ has traveled
... learning to depend on the Light of the Holy Spirit ... radiating from the blessed Lamp ... of the most Holy Word of God ... that she carries in her hand ... and in her heart ... holding fast ... her crown
... listening for the Voice of Jesus ... calling her to Himself
... watching for His return ... any moment now.
Matthew 24:
Matthew 24:
42
Watch therefore:
for ye know not what hour
your Lord doth come.
"watch"
[G1127]
= pay attention .. be cautious
= be vigilant .. take heed
= stay awake (to avoid destruction)
43
But know this,
that if the goodman
of the house had known
in what watch
the thief would come,
he would have watched,
and would not have suffered
his house to be broken up.
"suffered"
[G1439]
= allowed .. permitted .. let
"broken up"
[G1358]
= with intention to take away
"Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."
-Rev.3:11
44
Therefore be ye also ready:
for in such an hour
as ye think not
the Son of man cometh.
The Lord, Jesus Christ ... our King has commanded us to be "ready"
... and has defined what it means ... to be "ready"...
45
Who then is
a faithful and wise servant,
whom his lord
hath made ruler
over his household,
to give them meat
in due season?
"faithful"
[G4103]
= trustworthy .. keeps faith
= believing .. genuine believer
= true
The first requirement for readiness
... is "faith."
Our entire spiritual life is built on ... the faith to remain faithful
... which is completely dependent on God's Word and Holy Spirit for:
... "faith comes by hearing
... and hearing
... by the Word of God."
We can only be "ready"... by the power of God's Word ... working in and through us.
We ... ourselves ... do not possess the strength to be ready ... it is a gift of God ... and not something ... for which we can take any credit.
So the first step ... in providing this power to be ready
... is built on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ ... through His Blood sacrifice ... and the power of His Word
... because His Name is "the Word of God."
[To secure this relationship with our Creator ... scroll to the top of this page ... click on the gift wrapped in gold ... and follow the instructions ... with your entire heart engaged.]
Through this personal relationship we can have with our Creator ... faith will provide the power to be faithful ... as His Word is understood and followed
... and that will take us to the next step ... to develop "wisdom."
"wise"
[5429]
= intelligent
= knowledgeable (of Word of God)
= prudent
= mindful of interests .. (good sense)
Once "wisdom" is being developed ... it will reveal ... individually and specifically ... how to serve our King ... by serving others ... as He has outlined in His Word ...
... leading us to follow His ... self-sacrificing example ... of helping ... spiritually ... physically ... mentally ... and emotionally ... those who have no help
... setting captives free ... enabling them to become good "servants" as well.
This is how ... through wisdom ... we qualify as a "servant."
However ... take note ... there are two types of servants:
A servant can be either "a voluntary servant" or "an involuntary servant."
If the first step ..."faith"... has been missed ... one may be "serving"... but in his heart ... not really a genuine servant of the King at all
... for this type of "servant"... serving is just a "job"... it isn't about a real ... loving ... "relationship"... where one's whole heart is engaged
... so he "serves"... but is really not spiritually equipped to heal and help restore anyone
... since he has skipped over the first step
... of "faith"
... which provides the power ... wisdom ... and love ... to successfully minister to the "household" of God ... God's people ... brothers and sisters in Christ
... nourishing ... and nurturing ... with the "meat" ... deeper understanding ... of the Word of God ... which serves as food for our spiritual life
... as we are led by His Spirit to share at the specific times He has appointed.
"servant"
[G1401]
= one who serves
= works for others
(voluntarily .. or involuntarily)
[G2323]
= heal .. restore
= (minister to needs)
"household"
[G2322]
= body .. members
"meat"
[G5160]
= give (spiritual) food .. nourishment
[G5142]
= feed .. nurture .. support
"season"
[G2540]
= appointed time .. proper time
46
Blessed is that servant,
whom his lord
when he cometh
shall find so doing.
47
47
Verily I say unto you,
That he shall make him
ruler over all his goods.
48
48
But and if that evil servant
shall say in his heart,
My lord delayeth his coming;
HOWEVER ... the "faithless"... those who have neglected the first step of "faith"... Jesus also labels ..."evil."
And ... the "evil servants"... these "faithless" ones ... begin to question the Word of God ... thinking that He is tarrying ... that somehow ... He is not on time ... in their opinion.
"delayeth"
[G5549]
= linger .. tarry .. delay
49
And shall begin to smite
his fellowservants,
and to eat and drink
with the drunken;
The "evil servants" use this false accusation of "tarrying" to attack genuine believers ... as a means of attempting to degrade the spiritual position in Christ genuine believers possess
... which has always threatened to expose their own hypocrisy ... as in any case ... whenever the genuine ... stands next to the counterfeit.
So this idea of "tarrying" ... provides the excuse they are looking for ... to "smite"... launch verbal ... as well as ... physical attacks against true believers.
Because this attitude reveals hatred in the heart ... which Jesus has defined as "murder"... they prove ... once and for all ... that they qualify as fakes and hypocrites
... because "no murderer has eternal life" ... the Word of God ... has established.
"smite"
[G5180]
= beat .. inflict pain
= physically attack
= punish .. wound
= (cause damage to body)
= disquiet one's conscience
= (disturb one's peaceful state)
"fellowservants"
[G4889]
= associate server
= one who serves beside
= one who acknowledges who master is
[G3326]
= but can also be against
[G1401]
= voluntarily .. or ... involuntarily
"drink"
[G4095]
= literally .. or .. figuratively
= to receive into the soul
= (seek spiritual strength from
world ... instead of God's
Word)
When the Master seems to tarry ... in their opinion ... the evil servants ... seal their own condemnation and judgment ... validating ... that they are guilty of murder ... by embracing the behavior of intoxicated worldlings.
Because intoxication can be accomplished through a wide variety of means ... the Greek expounds this Word from God ... in greater detail than we might first consider
... when we understand that "drink"... can include anything that can be received into the soul ... into the body ... anything ... man can use in an attempt to try to make one's self feel better
... anything to make one intoxicated ... "drunken"... even something that in Greek and German ... sounds just like a manmade chemical drug today ... that is known for its ability to summon demons ... of hatred and murder ... according to the daily newspapers.
"drunken"
[G3184 & G3178]
= "methyo"... (Greek)
= "meth"... (c.f. German)
= intoxication
= murder
By now ... there shouldn't be any doubts regarding the identity ... and spiritual condition of the "evil servants."
It's time to stop trying to justify these wicked ones ... and somehow make them out to be just backslidden believers.
Jesus calls them ... "evil murders"...on their way to hell ... let's not try to correct God's definition of who they really are
... those who do evil are evil.
50
The lord of that servant
shall come in a day
when he looketh not for him,
and in an hour
that he is not aware of,
51
And
shall cut him asunder,
and
appoint him his portion
with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping
and
gnashing of teeth.
-Matt. 24:42-51
"cut asunder"
[G1370]
= cut into two pieces
[G1267]
= "division"... spoken of in Lk.12:51 :
"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division..."
= a parting distribution
= dissension
[G1266]
= cut in pieces
= dividing opposite parts
"portion"
[G3313]
= lot .. part .. destiny
= particular measure
.. (of what he has coming)
"hypocrites"
[G5273]
= actors .. pretenders
= dissemblers
.. (hiding under false appearance)
= fake .. counterfeit .. not genuine
The wicked ... evil "servants"... will be getting the hypocrites' "portion" of God's coming wrath ... because they are hypocrites ... fakes
...those who lurk in secret places to slow kill God's people ... or come out of their dark holes long enough ... to carry out an instantaneous murder.
These are the ones ... Jesus tells us ... will be "weeping and gnashing" their teeth when they are "cut out"... "divided out"... "separated out"... left behind
... when genuine servants of God ... are Raptured out ... of this wicked world.
♡♡♡
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