LUKE 21:1-24 HE LOOKED UP AND SAW... That week before the Passover was filled with teaching from the Lord Jesus Christ as He prepared His disciples for the work ahead of them after He left. It may have been with a sense of grief He was looking down as the well-dressed scribes strutted about the crowded courtyard of the temple looking very important. The fact is, men look on the outside - only God can see the heart and what is behind our actions and words. If I am conscious of the knowledge of God about my every action and motive, it will preserve me from pride and haughtiness. It will make me conscious of all I do. God Knows that, but He also knows the motive behind it.
When the Lord raised His head and saw those affluent people putting their tithes into the boxes in the temple, He not only knew the amount they gave, but He also knew the amount they kept. Even more important, He knew the motive behind the giving. "He saw also a poor widow" and even though no one else would have known, He knew she gave everything she had out of love and appreciation for God. She was a true daughter of Abraham who was committed to living by faith. When you have nothing left, to whom do you turn? She knew God well enough to entrust her future to Him. A willing gift of everything is a true sacrifice to God. The way we view our money tells a lot more about us than all of our well thought out words. Quiet, sacrificial, joyful giving to the Lord is of great value to God. Dollars and cents don't give the true value of things in the kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus looked up and saw what all of those people gave, and there must have been hundreds putting money into those boxes, He said this certain widow woman gave more than all of the others put together. The lesson of giving and keeping is one we need to think about every day as we make decisions regarding the money God has trusted us with.
Many things are happening in our day that has awakened the world to the potential dangers that are everywhere. Some people talk about the wonders of the accomplishments of mankind. We are amazed at the changes that come about so very quickly. A computer, instead of filling a huge room in a building as it once did, now fits in a person's hand. A journey around the world that once took months can now be accomplished in a day. People who once would have died young from disease are able to be helped to live to old age. None of those great advances of mankind is able to stop the things "which will come to pass." The promise of coming judgment and tribulation can not be avoided. The beautiful temple Herod financed was destroyed before all those who saw it completed had died. The future is not secured as a time of peace nor are human beings getting better or becoming more moral and righteous as time passes.
Coming events are casting their shadows before them and the increasing evidence of moral decay and spiritual darkness just makes us more conscious of the teaching of the Lord during those days just before He was crucified. There is an increasing opposition against those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Persecution is on the increase in many parts of the world against Christians by other religions of men. There has been a marked increase in the number of destructive earthquakes and other natural disasters. Between the nations of the world there is a lot of tension, and civil wars in countries are going on with terrible consequences. And yet with all of these things happening even in our day, there are worse times coming.
People in families as well as the general population are opposing those who "turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven." Leading up to His betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection, the Lord Jesus gave the disciples a preview of what they could expect when the Roman armies under the leadership of Titus would level Jerusalem in 70 AD and kill thousands of Jewish people. Included in that warning, the Lord gave a preview of events that will take place in the distant future. Whether for those living in that time, those living now in the shadow of coming cataclysmic events, or those living in tribulation times yet to come - the reality of salvation is manifest by the way we present what we have as believers to watching people who want to know how we "possess our souls." The Lord watched the people when He was here and knew the motives behind their actions. Under severe testing time unbelieving people watch the people of God, the saints, the children of the Living God to see if they are truly people who live by faith and what and what their faith is in. People in the time when the Lord Jesus was here had their faith in Him because they thought He would restore Israel to its former glory. Only a few had faith in Him as their personal Savior. Today many want to see proof of the existence of God if He brings peace to the nations of earth. Very few put their faith in Him alone to save their soul from hell.
The "times of the Gentiles" began many generations ago when the Jews were carried away as captives to Babylon. From time to time some of them have been able to return to their promised land, but the times of the Gentiles are still not fulfilled. Occasionally something happens in Israel to make people think the children of Israel are finally in control of their own place in God's plan of things. And then again, the pressure comes on them and those nations, even like the United States, lets them down in the face of pressure and they again struggle to maintain their identity.
This type of existence for Israel will continue even after the rapture of the Church. The antichrist and false prophet will appear to favor Israel for awhile but in the last three and a half years of the tribulation, Israel will be in danger of being annihilated. That is when the Son of Man will come in glory and will take the throne of David. Then the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled.
There is nothing I can give to God that I have not received from Him. Everything I possess and call "mine" - even life and breath from Him did begin. So, whatever comes into my hand is only a trust from Him to me to use. What I get in life and use right, is gain, what I spend wrong, I lose.
The eyes of the Lord are not condemning as such, we really have nothing to fear As long as we maintain His stewardship well, recognizing that He is near -
Nothing is hidden from the eyes of Him, our Lord and Savior with whom we have to do. The motives behind all we do in our life, can be blessed if they are true.
"Little is much if God is in it," is a song we occasionally sing. The Lord who watched giving in the past knows what from our bounty we bring. There is no point in me pretending, God knows the motive behind each act. In His omniscient wisdom, He can easily assess each fact.
Unfolding before our eyes now is what the Lord could always see, Sometimes I don't understand how these events have any effect on me. Then comes a "wake-up call," and opposition begins to flourish. It is in times like that I need to make sure my faith I nourish.
Then when the time comes and I am called by others to make a defense - The Holy Spirit can use what's been given so what I say makes sense. Accusers will expect me to fail under the pressure they apply to my soul. But God can make my words to convict when of the Spirit I'm full.
No matter what others say and do, greater is He this is within - Then he that is in the world with a determination to make me sin. By God's grace imparted, His strength is perfected in weakness. He can be glorified in me when I show a Christ-like spirit of meekness.
There is no need to be distressed though times get worse and worse. The downfall of men and nations is inevitable; all are under sin's curse. The end of the times of the Gentiles will be when Christ appears in His glory. God graciously gives us victory now, because we know the end of the story.
O God my Father, there is no question in my mind as to the outcome of history. The unfolding of Thy plans isn't just fascinating to me but it also challenges me to step ahead in faith and keep involved in the march of grace and glory that is going on in these troubled times. What joy it is to hear of others coming into Thy kingdom. I praise Thee for all of this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."