Be Sober and Watch

 Watch, be sober, get your mind right. These are all translated terms from scripture. I have collected here scripture containing these three words:

G3525 nepho (be sober, watch)

G4993 sophroneo (be in right mind, be sober minded) from G4998; to be of sound mind

G1127 gregoreuo (vigilant, watchful) from G1453 to keep awake

Using the color codes you can see where each word is used and how it is translated in the KJV.

1Pet 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

1Thess 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

2Tim 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

1Pet 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Pet 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith...

Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35; used of demoniac now in his right mind

Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

2Cor 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.

Titus 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

Matt 26:40, 41; Mark 13:34, 35, 37; 14:34, 37, 38 Luke 12:37, 39 all as watch, in terms of vigilance.

Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

1Cor 16:13; Col 4:2; Rev 3:2,3

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Two Resurrections

Heb 6:1 "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit."

The resurrection as a fact of the gospel cannot be disputed. Paul emphasized it in all his preaching, both in his first epistle: 1 Thess 1:10 "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come"; and in his last: 2Tim 2:8 "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:"

Much can be said of the resurrection, How Jesus was raised up, how we are raised up with Him, and the fact that if Jesus is not raised up we are yet in our sins. (1 Cor 15:17) The doctrine is expounded on in detail in 1 Cor 15; Rom 4-8 and all throughout Acts; which we will not detail here.

The point of this post is to establish the fact that there are two resurrection, divided by time and containing different people. The first, of the just, a resurrection of life. The second, of the unjust, and that brings men to the second death.

Two Resurrections 

John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

There are in fact two resurrections. One for the just, and one for the evil.

Acts 24:15 "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."

Luke 14:14 "And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

The following passage in revelation speaks of the end of the first resurrection, It begins with Jesus and ends with those killed for their witness to the word of God. There is a thousand year separation between the end of the first resurrection and that for "the rest of the dead".

Rev 20:5 "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

The first resurrection brings a people who will be reigning during the thousand years that must pass before the rest of the dead will be raised to judgment.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations ...11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ...14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So, clearly, there are two resurrection, one to life and one to death. The call is to believe on Jesus and to be a part of those blessed and happy to be a part of the first resurrection.

Freedom from Sin

Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What does it mean to be free from sin? The testimony of some is that they have sin repeated in their lives, even though they are "Christians", how does this reconcile with the statements that we are made free from sin found in multiple contexts throughout the word of God.

The concept of redemption; to be bought back.

The concept of salvation; to be saved from death and bondage.

The concept of a change of life; to no longer be bound to our life, but to live in Jesus' life

To  be called OUT of darkness, and brought into marvelous light.

It is important to note, even the redeemed can backslide, or commit sin because of temptation. Even Jesus was tempted; yet he never sinned. Do not think that there are not trials and testings and assaults of the powers of darkness, there are.

The grace of God empowers us. It gives strength in time of need, strength to endure temptation. There is no endurance when temptation is succumbed to, only sin and therefore death.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

What do I do if I find myself here? Do I conclude that since I failed to resist that I have no hope of resisting? That somehow there is within me a power which prevents my endurance? 

Lets back up in Romans 6

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Grace includes the power to resist. Repentance is the power to be forgiven and brought back to right standing with God. The salvation of God is complete!

2Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

bottom line:

This is not meant to be exhaustive, just illustrative; I have been saved from sin, not to continue in bondage, but to live in the life of Christ Jesus. A life so complete that power exists for every eventuality, free from Sin and the death which results from it, not because I can sin and still be acceptable, but because I can resist sin, endure temptation and show forth the righteous ways of God, and because I can repent if I fail, and the conviction of the Holy Ghost will lead me to that repentance, and I can be restored because of the power of the blood of Jesus.

If I had wrought salvation for myself, I would have something to boast in, but boasting is excluded, because all of this was provided for me by the offering of Jesus. I in no way have earned it, but I have received it because of the God who loves me.

So rejoice in this, we have been given the power to live free from sin, not free IN sin, but free FROM it. We have been given the gift of the Holy ghost to lead us into all truth, and the empowerment of the grace of God to help us to endure temptation, and at the end of it all is a crown of life.

Trusting God

Isa 12:1 And in that day thou shalt say,

O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me,

thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

2 Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and not be afraid:

for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song;

he also is become my salvation.

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

4 And in that day shall ye say,

Praise the LORD, call upon his name,

declare his doings among the people,

make mention that his name is exalted.

5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things:

this is known in all the earth.

6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:

for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

There are many examples of trusting the Lord given to us in the Old Covenant.

We see Noah trusting for the ark to be finished before the rain, and trusting God to keep them during the great deluge.

Abraham trusting the God would fulfill his promises, even though it seemed that the answer was severely delayed and his body and that of his wife past the age of child bearing.

Isaac trusting for harvest even during famine.

Jacob trusting even though his life was threatened.

David, Jehosaphat, Hezekiah and many others throughout the threats against the kingdom of Israel.

In all these examples we see one constant, joy and praise and thanksgiving are all around. When I put my trust in God I can rejoice, for I know he will keep me, I can sing and cry and shout for he will deliver me. No matter the circumstance, no matter the "evidence" I know my God cares for me and has given me his protection. He is my strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength, and He is my song, the worship of my lips, and He will ultimately deliver; He is my salvation.

GIVING THANKS!

 Giving Thanks!

Psalm 30:11-12

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

1Thess 5:14-18

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Whatever the mountain you are facing, Grace will empower you to make it a plain. In the same way giving thanks will change the attitude of your life into the expression of the Father, The life of God manifested through you.

Psalm 42:11Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?

hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

As I give thanks to him, it quickly turns to praise, and my soul xan no longer be cast down, but lifted up into the heavenly realm.

You can search for these words all over the Bible, Thanks, Thanksgiving, Thankful(ness), and Praise. It is the attitude of thanksgiving which brings us to the remembrance of all the good things he has done for us.

The Salvation of God

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. Exodus 14:13-14

This great declaration occurs as the children of Israel are standing with the sea in front of them and the armies of Pharaoh pursuing them from behind. Their response is to remind Moses how they never wanted to leave, they told him he brought them out here to die. What a faithless response. They were "sore afraid". Fear has torment, it will cause someone to be irrational, to get carried away with false understanding. But God, and in this case his man Moses, step up. Moses believed, and God performed.

We see a similar story when Jehoshaphat stood facing the Moabites and the Ammonites in 2Chr 20 and he declared the salvation of God.

Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 2Chr 20:17

It is the Lord who stands ready to fight for us, to deliver us, even as He did Israel over and over again; when they repented and called upon the name of their God. When they would put their fear aside and trust Him.

Isaiah declares (chapter 52) the salvation of God in the face of numerous oppressions, just before the description of the servant of God who comes to suffer and be rejected, beaten and killed. As we know, Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

John the baptist testified of this, the lamb of God. He also declared in Luke 3:4-6

As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

The salvation of God has come. Not wrought by man, but performed by God. The Father sent his son, Jesus, who tasted of death for every man, that whosoever would believe on him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hear the word of Jesus, Mark 5:36b, Be not afraid, only believe.

The Name of the Lord

 Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

(Also Number 14:18)

The name of the Lord, His character, all that He is summarized here as well as Psalm 86

Psalm 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

He is the Lord

Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Gen 1:6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

He is Merciful, or full of mercy

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Prov 14:21 He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

He is gracious or full of Grace

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious

He is longsuffering

Ron 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

He is abundant in goodness and truth

The word for goodness here is also translated kindness or lovingkindness as well as mercy

Psalm 5:7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Psalm 25:6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

1Sam 12:24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Jer 10:10 But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

He keeps mercy

1Chr 16:34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Prov 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

He forgives

Psalm 130:3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

He will not clear the guilty, Sin still has its effects even unto the third generation

1Cor 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Rom 3:19-20 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 6:15-16 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?