Prayer Works Morning Devotion: April 4, 2025

"Readying Our Hearts for Resurrection Sunday"

"The Coming Of The Son Of Man,

The Parable Of The Fig Tree,

The Importance Of Watching"

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Good morning Saints. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Because the God got our back, he made this day for us. So let us be happy. Even when things are not going well.  

Try, try, you know, everybody know what their situation is, what their problem is. But there will consist of but much as we can let us try and this morning, my passage will be coming from Luke 21:29-38. 

The parable of the Fig tree and the importance of watching for Jesus return. Look at the fig tree. The fig tree is just one example of a tree that bursts before summer. The idea is that when they tree bursts, there is results.  

Summer is near, as food is coming in the same way. For these signs are seeing the coming of Jesus and Glory with his church to the world would be available following. So Jesus has given us all kind of signs.  

So all these last two weeks we've been in Luke, and if they're telling us about Jesus going to Jesus crucifixion. And we can find out how the man about his crucifixion. We might not come back because Jesus took on a heavy headed load, a heavy burden that nobody else could do.  

So let us pray. Father God, we thank you for this day. We thank you for your love, your mercy, your Grace, your kindness every day. Father God your words never change because you are the same every day.  

And this is a brand new day that you have given us. It's not yesterday or day before. It is a brand new day. Everything in our world seems the same and it is, but it's still a brand new day and it's a brand new life for us. 

And you already have given us everything and everybody that we need in this day. We cannot make it on our own. Every breath that we breathe, every heartbeat that's popping, Father God, you gave it to us and help us to realize, Father God that you gave it. Our heart just don't beat, we just don't breathe on our own, it came from you.  

And help us to understand what you want is our love and our obedience. We could just do that if we just love you. If we love you, we would love everybody. And your word tell us how to be obedient. And we thank you because it's there and will always be there in Jesus name I pray, Amen.  

This morning they meet again in Luke 21:29-38 and he spoke to them a parable. Behold the fig tree and all of the trees. When they sprout leaves, it's a clear sign that summer is near.. So likewise, when people see certain signs, they will know the  Kingdom of God is not at hand.  

This generation should not pass away to all be fulfilled. Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life.  

And so that they come upon you unawareness. But if they snare, shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth. Why do ye therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all things that shall come to pass?  

And to stand before the son of man. And in the day time he was teaching at the temple and at night he went out and he bore in the mount. They just called the Mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple.  

But to hear him and listed in another meeting of those first. Behold the fig tree and all the trees. Ok and Luke 29: 21-33 tells us that Jesus tells his disciples about this parable. But clearly it's for the Christian living and this time.  

It's for us and whoever sees all these things he had just talked about would be part of that generation who will win Christ return. Jesus said that his words, which are God's word, would not pass away, which means that all that he just said.  

It was surely happen and to us, it looked like we're just waiting. When we're really not waiting because we're busy every day doing something. Thinking about something, even when we're we are in God's word. 

It's still seem like he's not going to return, but he, you know, he just giving us more time. I mean, a lot of time. We are to God and fight our hearts and not be worried. Worldly and fleshly and these in time. We are to be aware and alert and aware of what's going on in the world around us.  

Now is the time to have faith, and we need faith. We need more faith. We should be praying for more faith. We should be praying that our faith don't fill us to be praying and serving and looking for our Lord's soon return.  

To that time, when we will little risk stand before God, so it is it's going to be a time that we're going to send before God and give him an account of everything. It is so much evil in our world today. 

Our leaders and government are selfish. They break promises. They are negative behavior and they have a corrupt mindset. They don't even think about the things that God and I don't even think they listen that the things of God, they even hear the things of God.  

But qualities that they should have. I say not what they should have. They should respect of it. They should be passionate about their work. But they don't care about being. They shouldn't care about being popular.  

They should keep their minds open. But they don't have these qualities. If we as Christians are not careful, we would get caught up on what's going on in our world and there's some bad that we need somebody to fix it. 

And we will find ourselves completely, completely emotionally upset in our mind, off Jesus, we need to be focusing on God's word daily and praying to be prepared. A true Christian needs to make a choice that he or she will be wise and not foolish.  

We need to make a choice every day to do away with our spiritual laziness, time wasting activity and procrastinating. Mark 8:36, tell us, what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul. 

And that is a good question, because we see that in our world today. And being that they want more money and money and money and we see that and sometimes we set ourselves, I wish I had that. No, we need Jesus. 

It's good to have money because we know we need to live. We know we need to survive. We know we need to take care of ourselves and our family, but just don't wish to have all the money in the world. In the daytime, he was teaching in the temple.  

Being a teacher early in the morning at the most public places in Jerusalem. Jesus did not hide in these few days before his betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. And night he went out and stayed on Mount Olive and came to Jerusalem for Passover.  

Jesus centrally came out on Mount Olive, and the days leading up to Passover. We see Jesus still minister even he knew he was going to that cross. Even he know the horrible death that he was facing, but he was still doing his ministry.  

But he was still doing what his Father had called him to do. And Jesus did all of this knowing that he was human. So when we look at ourselves, what can we say about ourselves?  

That's something that focuses on every day. Jesus told his followers to pray always, that they may be found worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass. The good news is Jesus.  

The good news is Jesus, that we don't have to go through this clemency that is coming. He would take us as many as our been before this clemency begins. But it comes with us paying a price, and that price is a good price, and that price is being obedient to every word he says.  

Destruction is coming upon the whole Earth, those who listen and obey Jesus can escape the harbor disruption and real though there's power to pray about and it is, and it will keep our minds on Jesus every day.  

Who escape this? Yes, it will. And we go on and we talk about the Passover, what is the Passover? Passover in the Bible resonate from the Book of Exodus when God instructed Moses and Abraham and the Israelite peoples in Egypt to make their houses.  

To mount their houses with blood are their layouts so that the Lord will pass over their house is still their first moment son, this is found in the book of Exodus 12. And so we know about the Passover, we know people celebrated.  

They do celebrate Passover and we should be a people that's ready to celebrate the Passover too. And while we're talking about Jesus. What does unprepared looks like? We're talking about being prepared for what does unprepared looks like. And when we think of that, we think of the 10 versions.  

And then found in Matthew 25:1-13. You know, read it because it's something that something, it's something that we omit. It seemed like a small thing before the 10 version went through if I were foolish and if I were not foolish.  

But let us listen. Then shall the king of heaven be likened unto the 10 version which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. 

They that were foolish took their lamps and no vessels with them. But the wives took oil and their vessel with their lamps. While the bridegroom is delayed, they all stumbled and slept, and at midnight there was a cry made.  

Behold the bridegroom cometh, though he out to meet him. Then all of those virginity rolls and trimmed their lamps. And the fully said unto the wise, give us your all, but our lives are gone out. But the wise answer say not so this there be not enough for us and you.  

But through you rather to them themselves, and buy for yourselves. And while they went out to buy, the bridegroom came. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.  

Afterward came also the other version saying Lord, Lord open to us. And he answered and said I say to you I know you're not. Such therefore, the you know neither the they love our friend, the son of man cometh.  

So that's what I will listen the importance of watching. The only way we can watch is with the word of God. We see what's going on in the world and we know what's going on. But we are to watch because when that time comes and it's time for us to go to judgment.  

It's time for Jesus to know if we're Christians, ok, we're Christian. We're going home with him. But it is important for us to watch. It's not important that we just go every day and just do what we want to do and forget about the Lord and we're going to go to Jesus third visit during the week of his Passover.  

Well from the night he was betrayed. They even began with the Last Supper in Jerusalem and ended in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. In the last Passover meal, Jesus washes disciple feet and there revealed Judas has the betrayal.  

And the conclusion of the meal Jesus serviced the new covenant and instituted the Lord's Supper, and this is found in Matthew 26:26- 29. Then he took his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus prayed and agony and he come to play the day to come.  

So overcome by the horror of what was to experience and the crucifixion, the following day his spread was like drops of blood, Luke 22:44 God sent an Angel from heaven to strengthen him.  

So once again, can we all just imagine what Jesus went through with it could be just imagination of spiritual imaginations. I mean that was something and for us to be not contented following Jesus every day.  

It's the price that we have to pay because our Bible tell us every day, every time we open it up, they tell us what's going to happen to us. Those who follow Christ and those who don't. And it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these things.  

He said unto his disciples, you know there after 2 days there is a fiest of Passover. And the son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Being assembled together, the priest, Chief priests and scribes and the elders other people unto the place of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and consult it that they might take Jesus and kill him.  

But they see it not on the feast day, there'll begin to be uproar among the peoples. So we see as Jesus knew all of this, I mean all this step by step. It's like he knew he was going to go through this.  

When on one time we're reading his words, but he wanted go change his mind. Did they read that? And so just that alone, just read those few words alone should make us a stronger Christian to give us a native mind that we're going to follow the Lord.  

And Luke, 21:37, Why was Jesus on the mountain? Surely Jesus could have found another place to stay beside the mountain, but he needed time to be alone so that he could pray to his Father.  

And a good place was on the mountain and that way too Jesus could have found a house to live. We see that he spent a lot of time in public, but he also needed lots of time and long to pray and so do we. Or we think we just take a few minutes in the day to pray, but now is really about praying as often as you can.  

Praying all day. Even if it's Lord have mercy our. Lord, thank you. That Jesus prayed. We need to pray if y'all random went before us and made the way clear for us, the least we can do is pray least we can do is to be obedient.  

The Bible tells us that no one knows when the Lord will return, not even the angels in heaven or the son himself. Only the Father knows. It would be like it was in Noah's days and those days before the flood that people were enjoying, partying and weddings.  

Right up to the time Noah and the family enter the boat. So it shows you that these people wasn't watching at all. You know Noah was building th Ark and they were just doing what they wanted to do.  

Sometimes it's like that, just everyday common thing we just do what we want to. Not realizing that time is passing and that we cannot get that time back. And what these? What happened to these people? They got caught up in the flood.  

They got cought up, but only because they were ignorant. And the people didn't realize what was going on and what was going to happen. They didn't realize what was going to happen to them until it was too late.  

They were swept away. And this is the way that it would be when the son of man comes. And then found that in Matthew 24:36-39. I did say that's where it's going to be just like a normal time. And yes, we can see that in the world today.  

Thank God that we are not like that. Thank God we're going this word every day. Thank God we pray every day. And we pray for others. We just thank God because if the Bible saying it's going to be just like it was normal time that the people wasn't watching.  

It's true, and it will happen, but it seemed like we ever since we've been here, people say, well, the Lord is coming back. The Lord is coming back. But we do believe that and so that's why we're watching.  

That's why we're praying. That is why we are in our word daily. Because it is true that the Lord is coming back. So Jesus, give us all. We're gonna call it information. He give us his word.  

He give us promises. And they are all true and we need to be doing it every day. Just like the fig tree. The landscape of call a fig tree that don't have fruits on, they call it dormant. You know, we look at trees and the leaves are gone.  

And we said well it's dead but it's not dead, it's coming back to life and now we as Christians, that's what we need to be. Sometimes we are dormant and we look dead and we know we can't get fed up doing things like it's like God the way we want the world do. 

And then when we change our mind and started doing the way these God wants us to do, then we saw the blooming again. So let us be Christ like. Let us know. Don't get caught up in this world. 

And this is what this scripture is all about. It's all about the intact and it's going to be. And we thank you. We thank you for listening to ne, let me closeout with prayer. Father God, we just thank you.  

We thank you, Father God, for your word. We thank you Father that when we read your word, it can't be overwhelming, not overwhelming what we just did the devotion, how the shape but we really know that you love us enough they keep telling us over and over and over again that you coming back. 

And once you're coming back, it's all over with, it’s either heaven or hell, we can make up our mind then we got to make up our mind right now and Father God we thank you that we have made-up our mind to serve you. 

Father God, we thank you for your Lord's prayer, Father. You tell us everything that we need in that prayer Father, you tell us that to give others, Father God thank you for giving us a mind, Father God to do that, to practice that, to do that, to always have a forgiving heart and a forgiving spirit.  

People don't have to do anything to us, Father God but let us just love anything because you say loves them, Father. Father God our goal is to do the things that we have to do. Which all boils down to loving you and loving everybody and for the good wishes.  

Father God we thank you for this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for this season Father God we call Easter. A lot of people still think it's about a good holiday. They have a good time, a family time.  

How they’re not help care about the child, the egg for the children but it's more than that. It's all about the death of your son Jesus and the resurrection Father God. And we thank you for all, for him and Father, we thank you that we learn more and more about Jesus every day.  

Because your words say Lord of me. And we have to write your words and find our Father and Father God continue to give us and we thank you in Jesus name. And Father, let us be encouraged.  

Let us be always ready and some people try to focus this day when Jesus returned. But nobody knows. Nobody all we need to do is just what Jesus said. And the important thing for us is do it just be right and ready.  

When Jesus comes, we won't be with him. It could be tonight, tomorrow, the next day, the next second, we don't know. But he keeps telling us word never changes that we do not know. And are we living as we ought to live from day-to-day? 

This brings the end to all our chances to get our life in order with God. Once done, that's it going about things like eating, drinking, jobs, houses, cars and clothing is therefore a waste of time.

It would be better if we just spend all the time on not worry about things that spend out of time on planning.  

Any day, any hour that we don't know when Jesus returns. So let us take these lessons very, very serious. That the older we get, the more serious we need to be. I say thank you and have a nice day Saints.