Luke 21:34
"But take heed to yourselves, lest your
hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and
that Day come on you unexpectedly.”
That
Day. What is “that day”? It’s the
Day of the Lord. The Day of His
return. In Luke 21, Jesus
describes the events leading up to his return. (See also Matthew 24).
People have
many opinions regarding when the return of Jesus will be. For example, will it be before the
tribulation, in the middle, after, etc.
I personally believe He will return at the seventh trumpet (seals,
trumpets, bowls) to come down with the saints and make war on injustice and
take His rightful place as King.
If you would like to discuss – I am more than happy to discuss the issue
… just not on this blog. I want to focus this blog on being ready.
Jesus tells
us to take heed to ourselves - be careful, beware, be watchful, attend to
yourself. Why? Because if we aren’t cautious, we will get weighed down. If we aren’t careful, we will get
pulled into carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life.
Years ago, I
felt like the Lord gave me an analogy.
Our walk with the Lord is like running up an escalator that is going down. Have you ever tried? Or have you
watched someone else try? If you aren’t running up at a faster pace than the
escalator is going down, you will either appear to make no movement, or you
will go down with the escalator.
If we stop running or stop with our effort, naturally, we will go down
with the escalator. The default would be going down on the escalator unless we
put in intense effort to run up to the top.
Life’s
natural pull on us is to be weighed down.
It is totally “normal” for us to party, get drunk, and be consumed with
image, money, and material things. If we do not keep watch, if we are not
careful, that will be the life we will live – and our focus will be skewed.
Similar to
that, our natural instinct when we are tired is to fall asleep. You can try your hardest, but unless
you are actively doing something to stay awake, you will fall asleep whether
you are driving or sitting if you are exhausted.
Our
Christian walk requires movement. It requires pouring ourselves into obedience
and walking out what Jesus has called us to. In this escalator of life that pulls us down, we have got to
run the Christian race with a devotion and a zeal that does not get distracted
by obstacles and will press on.
On that
note, I would like to address the obstacles that Jesus warns of getting weighed
down with.
Carousing
and Drunkenness.
Unrepentant
drunkenness and partying will send you to hell. Just like idolatry and hatred that has not been repented of
will send you to hell. Look at these verse below:
Rom 13:12-14
The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of
light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness,
not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to [fulfill its] lusts.
Gal 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident,
which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the
like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told [you] in time
past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1Pe 4:1-3
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in
the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in
the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of [his]
time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we [have
spent] enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we
walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and
abominable idolatries.
This sin can
certainly weigh us down. And unless we are actively working to oppose it, it is
easy to get sucked into.
Cares of
this life.
When we are
consumed with this life instead of eternity, our focus is off and we will
become weighed down and unfruitful.
There are many cares that can weigh us down: worry, love of riches,
material things, fleshly desires, etc.
Mat 13:22
"Now he who received seed among the
thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
If we are
not careful, we will get weighed down - we will get pulled down in the works of
the flesh. And if we get weighed
down, we will be caught off guard by the most important day of our lives. We
must watch. Watch and be waiting and earnestly praying for the Lord’s
return.
There is
nothing more important than earnestly waiting and expecting the Lord’s
return. We must be watching. We
must stay ready. Matthew
24-25 tells us of that. The parable of the virgins is a good example.
If Jesus
really meant that we must stay alert and watchful, why aren’t we? If Jesus
really was concerned that if we were not taking heed that we would fall into
drunkenness and the cares of this world, why could we care less if we fall into
those things? If Jesus was so concerned that the Day not fall on us unexpectedly
why aren’t we focused more on it?
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