WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.479 Well, good morning and happy Friday. 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:09.039 Hopefully you had a fantastic week and you've got big exciting weekend plans and even spring break plans. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:18.239 Today we're looking and continuing our devotion series, and we're looking at Matthew chapter twenty-four, and the title for this devotion is called Keep Watch. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:24.320 We're looking specifically at verses forty-five through fifty-one, and I'm going to read this morning from the message. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:28.320 Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:33.039 A person the master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:38.240 Someone the master can drop in unannounced and always find him doing his job. 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:46.560 A God blessed man or woman, I tell you, it won't be long before the master will put his person in charge of the whole operation. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:01:00.719 But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the master is away does what he pleases, abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends, the master is going to show up when he least expects it. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:02.079 And it won't be pretty. 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:09.760 He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold, shivering, teeth chattering. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.719 When I was a kid, my parents didn't have a lot of money. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:21.040 We weren't poor, but my parents had looked for ways to save any penny they could so we could have enough. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:25.920 My dad was raised in an old farmhouse that was heated by a wood burning stove. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:37.840 He would talk about having to keep the wood pile stocked up near the furnace, about how hard it would be to get the fire going, and how you had to tend to the fire every few minutes to keep the flames burning. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:46.079 And when the fire was tended properly, the warmth of the stove would keep the whole house so warm that cold nights were never a worry. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:53.519 As I entered my middle school years, my parents made the decision to install a wood-burning stove in our home to save money. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.719 My dad taught us all the things that we needed to know to start the fire and to keep it going. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:01.920 We all took turns helping with the fire night after night. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:07.680 My freshman year of high school, my parents left me in charge of tending the stove on a cold January night. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:17.599 My dad made sure to remind me to keep the wood stocked, use the poker to move the coals around, keep watch over the flames, and tend the fire so I wouldn't go out. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.520 He knew they would be returning late and the night would be cold. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.719 Being a typical teenager, I got sidetracked by my new telephone and talking with my friends. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:31.199 I was distracted from the work I was charged with, distracted by my world. 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:37.199 I laughed and talked into the night until there was a loud bang on my bedroom door and the door flew open. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:46.159 My dad, filled with anger, burst through the bedroom door with a fire poker, the same poker that I was supposed to be using to tend to the coals to keep the fire going. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:54.240 I was supposed to be keeping watch, tending the flame, working the coals to keep the house warm, adding the wood to increase the flames. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:58.960 I was supposed to be mindful of my task, yet I was distracted by the world. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.120 And the punishment was cold. 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:06.800 My father is a loving man who would never harm his children, just as our heavenly father is loving. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:11.360 However, he's given me an important responsibility and I had let him down. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:23.039 Jesus says in Matthew chapter 24 that a faithful servant can be trusted to oversee the house, keep watch, be mindful of their duties, tend to others, fan the kingdom flames with love. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:35.280 But the evil one or the selfish think that the master won't return for a long time, and they spend their time on selfish tasks, consumed by the world, and they forget the flame that keeps them warm. 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:45.520 Just as I lay in bed that evening, cold and shivering, without a fire for warmth, we too shall be left in the cold if we aren't filled with anxious anticipation for his return. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:55.039 When we are foolish and give no regard to the time of Jesus' time, we will miss the opportunity to fan the flame that will keep us warm for eternity. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:57.280 And so our action for today is this. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:58.960 Today, keep watch. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:02.000 Watch for opportunities to tend to someone in need. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:06.000 Watch for a flame that needs the tender care of love and compassion. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:17.120 Be mindful that our work here on earth is ever constant and should be filled with the important responsibilities of growing God's kingdom through worship, sharing, teaching, and helping those in need. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.639 And so we pray this morning. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:26.399 Lord Jesus, you give us such a responsibility to love others, yet we often fail and anger you in our own selfishness. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:31.600 Today and until your return, set my mind on you while I wait. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:39.920 Help my thoughts and actions be solely on how I can serve and love others, no matter how long my time on earth may be. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:43.920 Thank you for your constant warmth of love I don't deserve. 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.199 Thank you so much for joining us again this morning. 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.800 We pray that you have a great rest of your Friday and a great weekend. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:55.040 We'll see you back tomorrow, and then we can't wait to see you on Sunday at church.