“Men of The Hour”
– by Aris Metaxukis, (April 26, 2012 - ANVIL Guest Speaker)
Luke 12:37 "...It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching
when he comes."
Aris's Background:
As a young boy, Aris grew up on the northern part of the island of Cyprus, which was later invaded by Turkey . Although Greek was his native tongue, he lost
much of it when he moved with his family to Guelph, Ontario .
Growing up as a teen in Canada ,
he recalls living a troubled teen life, getting into trouble and using some of
the readily available “soft” drugs. He knew he was going in the wrong direction and somehow he sensed God working in his life. Without being assisted or influenced by another person, Aris started to pray on
his own.
Aris began working in the food service industry, and in his
travels in downtown Toronto in the 1980’s, he
attended a ministry coffee shop called "Evergreen" on Young Street in downtown Toronto .
There he met “Arnold” who was apx 65 years old and a Christian. He was drawn by his joyful persona and they
began a conversation on the walk home. The conversation lasted two and a half hours,
during which time Arnold
explained salvation using Romans 10: 9&10.
Arnold asked Aris if he was saved, and
then after he explained what being "saved" meant, Arnold
asked Aris to bow in prayer. Aris decided to pray
in Greek to hide his embarrassment of asking for forgiveness for his sin. Arnold then surprised him by asking him to repeat the same prayer in English. Aris prayed earnestly, and meant every word
of his prayer. He became a child of God that night! Surprisingly, although seemingly in good health, Arnold died a few months later.
Aris began to grow ever deeper in his faith, and soon began
to take bible college courses. God has
blessed his life in so many ways; a very close Prescence with God, a Christian wife, a son and a granddaughter
are some of the many things he is so thankful for. Aris was an encouragement to our ANVIL men as
he gave us his testimony and encouraged us to be “Men of the Hour”. Here are several highlights of his speaking
points Thursday, April 26, 2012 for the benefit of the men who weren’t able to
make it out.
“Men of the Hour”:
Introduction:
“The 'Call to Watchfulness' in this late hour”
(- Luke 12: 35-48)
During Roman times, a watchman (or guard) was kept over a
settlement to keep a wary eye on dangers that would occur from enemies wanting
to inflict damage on the community, especially during the night.
The guards would work in shifts from 6pm to 6am. (4 watches x 3 hours each = 12 hours; cf.
Mark 13: 32-37).
The Watchmen's ground-rules were:
1) No
Sleeping on your watch! ; it is
paramount for security
2) Luke
12:35-48 –
a) V.
35a -“…let your waist be girded…” (Eph.
6:14 – Mentally focused, prepared with God’s belt of truth…”)
b) V.35b – “…and your lights burning.” Lamp: the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit needed today to illuminate, empower us…
c) V.
37-38 – God expects us to be alert, watching for the day is evil
d) V.
39-40 – we do not know the hour of His coming, so we need to watch for
FAMILIES, MARRIAGES, CHURCHES, NATION, REVIVAL.
3) V.
42 God expects us to be faithful: “…who then is that faithful and wise
steward…?” this is a challenge to us…!
4) V.
45-48 – “A warning to not assume anything or take God for granted”
Conclusion:
1) How
are you watching? ; …Are you God’s “man
of the hour”? You can be!
2) Where
I’d like to be is ….”here I am Lord; I am available and willing.”
Thank you so much Aris, for your insightful thoughts tonight!
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