What then is expected of us?

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? (Mat 24:45 KJV)

Let's pay close attention to the word "then" in the scripture above.

Prior to the above scripture, Jesus had talked about wars, earthquakes, pestilences, etc. He had also talked about the rise of the false prophets. And talked about the sad reality that many believers will be offended.

Based on these expected occurrences, what then is the type of believer we are meant to be? That is the question.

Due to the end time signs that will happen, life will not remain the same, and that will require both faithfulness and wisdom to scale through.

Time might seem to be suspended and people might be caught up in state of inactivity and self-indulgence. But the faithful and wise servants must ensure they make proper use of time.

Our opening scripture pointed out that the faithful and wise servant are meant to give food to the household in due season. So timing is key. There is time for everything under the sun.

Children have due season to learn certain things for instance. Wisdom demands that their studies should continue even at home. Home schooling should be activated and sustained.

Churches have been affected by the lock down following the pandemic. Wisdom demands that home church continues uninterrupted.

Businesses must find way around to keep running and thriving. There are certain businesses that cannot be put off otherwise the effect will catch up ahead.

We must not think that we have too much time, instead apply wisdom on the best way to utilize time:

Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15-17 says:
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is (NKJV).

We are not going to use lock down as an excuse to begin to misuse time. The situation calls for faithfulness and wisdom.

The wise men in our midst also need to put on their thinking caps and bring out heaven best fit solutions to navigate our confronting situations.

Faithful and wise

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods (Mat 24:45-47 KJV)

In these last days, Jesus pointed out the need to remain both faithful and wise. Someone will ask, "Is it possible to be faithful without being wise?" Good question.

One thing is for you to be faithful to God - loyal and truthful, and another thing is for you to be wise - marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters.

When you are given an assignment by your superiors in the office for instance, you are expected to be loyal to them and also get the assignment well done. If you are loyal but don't get the assignment done as expected, there is a problem.

The result that God seek from us requires us to be both faithful and wise. The scripture says that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). Hence, as we grow physically and spiritually, we are also to grow wisdom wise.

Part of our opening scripture says "...to give them meat in due season..." Season is talking about timing. It will take wisdom not just do something good but to do it in due season.

So being faithful and wise will keep you on God's side on one hand, and on the other hand, get you do good things the way they ought to be done.

If you are to preach to someone today, why postpone it to tomorrow?

If you are angry with someone and you are to reconcile before the sun go down, why allow it to linger?

As a business man, you are to pick up phone and call a client right now, why shift it?

Or you are meant to pick up phone and call a brother right now, why postpone it?

If the Lord brings it to your attention to give to the poor or the needy today, why shift it to another day?

God wants us to live and produce results that are pleasing to Him. The troubles of the end time signs could cause us to neglect certain good things that we are ought to do timely. But we have to remain faithful and wise as good servants of God even in the midst of the troubles.

The gospel of the kingdom

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many (Matthew 24:9-11 KJV).

There are things that people of God must learn how to deal with when we are confronted with them face to face, namely

Affliction of believer
Death of believer
Being hated by nations
Being offended
Being betrayed by fellow believer
Being hated by fellow believer

If we do not prepare ourselves to deal with them, they will drive us to a point where we become offended.

We as the light of world are at to give out light even if some people complain about the brightness. We have to keep shinning otherwise the light will go dark and same people complaining about our brightness will glory in our darkness.

So the problem is not just that our light has gone dark, but the resultant darkness gives room for the wrong people to operate, and that is their plan all along.

Our opening scripture says, "Many false prophets will rise." And that happens when many believes are offended due to the difficulty they succumbed to.

And people who are offended will not be motivated or inspired to preach the truth any more. And the emerging false prophets will not preach the truth either. The result? Many will be deceived.

Believers need to get over with whatever difficulties they are facing in the world in this end time and pay attention to the kingdom matters.

The signs of the end time is not the same as the end time. And Lord said we should not be troubled about the signs of the end time (Matthew 24:6).

What will bring the end is when believers embrace the Lord's command, stop being troubled by the end time signs and preach message of the kingdom they are meant to preach.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14 KJV).