Lighten Up!

1. Improvements

• A young wife said to her husband, "Don’t forget to bring home another mousetrap." Her husband said, "What’s the matter with the one I bought yesterday?" She said, "IT’S FULL."

• A woman walked into her bathroom at home. As she did, she saw her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales, sucking in his stomach. The woman thought to herself, "He thinks that he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach." So, the woman rather sarcastically said to her husband, "That’s not going to help." Her husband said, "Sure it will. It’s the only way I can see the numbers."

2. Periodically we want to improve ourselves – Health, Home, etc.

3. To improve we must – Think (about what we need to improve) – Plan (how to improve) – ACT

4. There is a similar activity involving our relationship with God – Romans 13.11-14

I. Wake Up! (11-12a)

Have you ever sleepwalked? It could be a problem. One day 77-year-old James Currens of Palm Harbor, FL sleepwalked out of his house, stumbled down an embankment and didn’t wake up until he was stuck in an alligator-infested pond. A neighbor heard him calling for help and called the police around 5 a.m.

Mr. Currens was found fighting off those alligators with his cane in his hand. There were 8 to 10 gators. AND IF HE HADN’T WOKE UP HE’D BEEN GATOR BREAKFAST!

Sleepwalking and sleep-living will get us into trouble!

A. Spiritual Alertness

1. Begins with knowing Yeshua (Jesus)

When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2.1-2

2. Continues with focused effort – Acts 2.42

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5.8

3. Easy to be lulled to sleep – [Boiling a Frog]

B. Salvation Awareness

1. There is a DAY coming – Judgment?

2. A Day of Salvation for those of Yeshua (Jesus)

a. Tenses of salvation – Were/Are Being/Will Be

b. A process

3. Time Management is Essential

[Young woman went for counseling; the counselor asked: “Do you feel that the roles of wife and mother are beneath you?” – “No, BEYOND me!”

a. Constantly juggling our time – what matters most in the long run? Make necessary adjustments

b. Begin ASAP – Ecclesiastes 12.1; Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6.2

II. Dress Up! (12b-14)

A. Cast Off Darkness

1. No Coddling the “little sins”

2. Let the HS influence our Lives

B. Put On Light

1. Seen in Yeshua (Jesus) – I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61.10 [Salvation = form of Yeshua]

a. Put Christ on (v. 14)

b. He is the Light of the world (John 8.12)

2. Seen in the Armor of Light (12b)

a. Warfare – Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6.11

He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as a mantle. Isaiah 59.17

b. Victory – For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thessalonians 5.9

3. Seen in the Activities of Light (Matthew 5.16)

[A woman would wait in long lines at the Post Office to purchase stamps. One of the clerks told her that she could buy the stamps in the machine in the lobby quicker. She said, “I know, but the machine dose not ask me about my arthritis.”

[Alexander MacLaren – “Kindness makes a person attractive. If you would win the world, melt it, do not hammer it.” – Maybe the reason we are to love one another (John 13.35)

Conclusion

1. The Chandelier

During a business meeting in a small mountain church, one of the deacon said, "Pastor, I think we need a chandelier for our church."

"No way," replied another deacon. "I’m against it."

"Why don’t you think we need a chandelier, brother deacon?" asked the pastor.

He replied, "Well, in the first place, nobody in the church can spell it. Secondly, nobody in the church can play it. And thirdly, WHAT THIS CHURCH NEEDS ABOVE ALL ELSE IS MORE LIGHT!"

2. Let us Wake Up to the Light of God

3. Let us Dress Up with the Light of God

4. Both involve our relationship to Yeshua (Jesus)