But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.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 day come upon you unawares.But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:
3 sermons cite this verse
… Now Jesus closes this with specific words to each of us in Luke 21 verse 34. Now he's saying this is what you should be doing. Light up what I've just told you. Watch out. Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness and by the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. So keep alert at all times that your faith might be strong enough to escape the things coming when you stand before the Son of Man. So now he says, be careful. Here's some things to be aware of. The danger. A spiritually dull heart. Watch out, he says, let not your hearts be dulled. Then Jesus identifies three things that can dull our hearts in spiritual alertness. One of them is carousing. The other one is drunkenness. And the third one would be worry. Carousing and drunkenness. Two of them are about numbing out and one is about worrying too much. …
Listen to this verse. Luke 21, verse 34, 35, 36 says, Take heed to yourself. Take heed to yourself. lest at any time you should be overcharged with surfeiting. What is surfeiting? Overindulgence. You're all about here and now and materialism and things.
We should be strict to inquire whether or no we have not hitherto allowed ourselves in some or other sinful way, through wrong principles and mistaken notions of our duty: whether we have not lived in the practice of some things offensive to God, through want of care and watchfulness, and observation of ourselves. We should be concerned to know whether we live not in some way which doth not become the profession we make; and whether our practice in some things be not unbecoming Christians, contrary to christian rules, not suitable for the disciples and followers of the holy Jesus, the Lamb of God. We ought to be concerned to know this, because, (1.) God requires of us, that we exercise the utmost watchfulness and diligence in his service. Reason teaches, that it is our duty to exercise the utmost care, that we may know the mind and will of God, and our duty in all the branches of it, and to use our utmost diligence in every thing to do it; because the service of God is the great business of our lives, it is that work which is the end of our beings; and God is worthy, that we should serve him to the utmost of our power in all things. This is what God often expressly requires of us; Deut. iv. 9. “Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life.” And v. 15, 16. “Take ye therefore good heed to yourselves, lest ye corrupt yourselves.” And Deut. vi. 17. “You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes which he hath commanded thee.” And Prov. iv. 23. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” So we are commanded by Christ to “watch and pray;” Matt. xxvi. 41. and Luke xxi. 34, 36. “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life.” Eph. v. 15. “See that ye walk circumspectly.” So that if we be found in any evil way whatsoever, it will not excuse us, that it was through inadvertence, or that we were not aware of it; as long as it is through want of that care and watchfulness in us, which we ought to have maintained. …