Be of Sound Mind, Self-Controlled, and Sober in Prayer

This passage announces that the end of all things is near, and urges believers to be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer. As the world grows more complicated and civilization advances, people are losing patience and self-sacrifice; they sink into their own emotions, avoid their problems, or make the dangerous choice of throwing their lives away too easily. Satan takes advantage of this mental weakness to obstruct God's plan, and believers are called to live with more strength than the world.

The sermon points out, through the contrast between Job and Judas Iscariot, how much the choices we make in suffering matter. Even in extreme pain and amid the mockery of those around him, Job did not let go of God; he repented and endured to the end, and so overcame Satan's attack. Judas Iscariot, on the other hand, was swept away by his emotions, could not look to the eternal world, and came to a tragic end. When Elijah, too, was so worn out that he begged to die, God knew his weakness, comforted him with bread and water, and raised him up again.

Believers must drive off with God's word the whispers of Satan that push them, overwhelmed by emotion, to the edge of the cliff. With the faith that gains eternal life, they must endure the pain of this life, love one another, and hold each other up as brothers and sisters in the faith. Now that the end of all things is near, how should believers be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer?