Keep Alert

(Ephesians 6:18-24)

As we close this study in the book of Ephesians we see Paul make an important plea to the church in Ephesus, which carries down to today.

The second half of verse 18 tells us to “keep alert with all perseverance.

Paul has just previously been talking about the spiritual war we are engaged in as Christians, so the need to be alert is heightened. There are also other warnings in the Bible about the need to remain alert at all times, so let us examine some of those things as we end this study in Ephesians.

Why Keep Alert

Paul tells the church to remain and keep alert as they continue their walk. But why do we need to keep alert?

There are many scriptures that should give us pause to keep alert. For example, consider these words.

Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. (John 12:35)

These words from Jesus tell us of the need to always keep alert. We are called to walk with Christ, and “walking” indicates a constant movement forward.

The problem we face is that we cannot remain stationary. There is no stopping as we walk with the Lord but we must continue forward, learning, growing and applying the things of the Lord in our lives. This scripture tells us that the darkness is also on the move and so if we stop in our walk with Christ, we are in danger of being overtaken by the darkness.

So we must keep alert to walk and keep on walking with Christ to stay ahead of the darkness.

We also need to keep alert and look out for the attacks of the devil, as Paul indicated in his discussion about the matters of spiritual warfare and needing to take the whole armour of God to stand. We are also warned by Peter about the need to keep alert.

8 Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

We need to keep alert because it is the devil who inhabits the darkness waiting to overtake us.

The devil prowls around seeking to devour any Christians and to attack them if they let their guard down. This is why we need to keep alert at all times, watching for the attacks that will come. He devil will attack the people of God for he hates it whenever anyone turns to Christ, and the devil will do all manner of devious activities to try and destroy the people of God.

Finally we see Jesus telling His disciples, and that includes us today, to keep alert and to watch for His second coming.

32 “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch therefore–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning– 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” (Mark 13:32-37)

Jesus gave the disciples a range of signs to keep alert for that would herald His second coming. He spoke of wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, pestilence and the crashing of waves of the sea that would drive fear and perplexity into the hearts of men, and these and other things would be the signs of His second coming.

We are instructed to keep alert and watch for these signs so that we can be ready for His return.

And of interest, the increase in the number of wars, earthquakes, pestilence, tsunamis and other natural phenomena is increasing exponentially and there is no sign of it abating in this time.

So we must keep alert and remain alert today more than ever, for the Day of His return is fast approaching.

How we Keep Alert

In the scriptures at the end of Ephesians 6, Paul tells us to keep alert through prayer and supplication, and that we will need to persevere in keeping alert. In our prayers we need to seek the Lord for instruction, guidance, wisdom and insight into what is happening to understand His will in all things.

We need to also continue to study and learn the words of Christ so that we are able to stand in His word. The only way we will find the truth and be able to stand, especially to stand in the whole armour of God, is to study the word and to seek the truth. The Lord has promised to open the truth to those who seek, but the onus is on us to do the work to learn His words.

Finally we need to watch for the signs Jesus gave us in the Bible to indicate the times we are in. And there are other signs in the prophecies of Revelation, Daniel and the other prophets who wrote of the times of the end, and these need to be watched and watched for.

So closing this section of Ephesians, we should take Paul’s words to heart and keep alert and as Jesus said, “Watch” so that we are ready for Him and entry into His eternal kingdom.

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