INTRO.- ILL.- Do you remember those days when you had a manual transmission and had to downshift in order to help slow the car down?
I remember back in 1968 I had purchased a new Pontiac Firebird with a 400 cubic inch engine with 330 horsepower. I drove it on the highway a lot because while I was a student at Ozark Bible College I drove every Sunday to a little Missouri town called Dederick. It’s near Nevada, MO, north of Joplin. It is somewhere around 70 to 75 miles from Joplin and I drove there every Sunday to preach.
One day while driving down the highway I went to pass another car and met an oncoming car. I hit the brakes quickly, but discovered they wouldn’t slow my car down. There was obviously something wrong with my brakes. I had only one other option and that was to slow the car down by gearing it down. I quickly shifted that manual 4 speed from 4th gear into third to get it slowed down enough to pull back behind the car I was trying to pass. And thank God, that worked.
And by the way, you might want to know what was wrong with my brakes. It was a brand new car but there was something wrong inside the master cylinder that caused the brakes to stop working. I got it repaired and had no problem after that. I still had to "gear down" at times, however.
Brothers and sisters, there are times in life when we all need to gear down and then perhaps gear up. When should we gear down? When we’re going to fast or perhaps doing some things that we shouldn’t be doing.
Let’s be honest. We all do things that perhaps we shouldn’t. Now I’m not talking stealing, murder, etc.
I’m talking about little things that we do that we know are not fully pleasing to the Lord. Or else we may get somewhat sidetracked and are not nearly as devoted to the Lord as we should be.
After all, didn’t Jesus tells us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" in Matthew 6:33? He did but often we don’t. Sometimes the kingdom of God is the last thing on our list of "to do’s" during the holiday season. And if so, THIS IS WHEN WE SHOULD GEAR DOWN, slow up and make some changes in our lives and scheduling.
And when should we gear up? We should always gear up and get moving when it comes to living for the Lord. CAN WE EVER DO TOO MUCH FOR THE LORD? I really don’t think so and I don’t know of anybody who is even trying to do too much.
Romans 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
At the end of this year we may need to gear down in certain ways but also GEAR UP in other ways.
How can we prepare for the new year? How should we prepare or should we do anything at all? Some people could care less about doing anything different in a new year but as people who belong to the Lord we should care! We should care about doing better and being better! Doing more and being better.
PROP.- From our text, let’s think about some things we can do to improve our lives and our relationship to the Lord.
1- Wake up
2- Shape up
3- Dress up
I. WAKE UP
11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
ILL.- Michael Vick got a wakeup call. Here’s what one writer said about Vick. Dec. 10, 2007. Now that Michael Vick has gone from icon to inmate, I’m hoping he makes it back to the NFL. Not as the same player or the same person, but as a changed man.
Vick received a 23-month sentence for his role in a dog fighting ring that gambled on pit bulls and killed them viciously. To me, regardless of the length of Monday’s sentence, Vick has paid dearly for his wrongdoing. He lost millions of dollars and faces financial obligations that may leave him bankrupt. His NFL career, if not over, is in serious jeopardy. His reputation is tarnished, and much of his dignity has been taken away, trading a Falcons uniform and all the perks of superstardom for a cell and the prison uniform he wore Monday to a Richmond, VA, courtroom.
Vick has nobody to blame but himself. He should have never been involved in dog fighting and such cruelty to animals. He should have admitted his guilt long before he did. He should have been more careful about the company he kept. He should have realized how many people would want to bring him down, because as a high-profile athlete, he brought far more attention to the issue of dog fighting than any average Joe would have.
Vick was naive, he lied, he broke the law, and he is paying a heavy price. But once he leaves prison, I hope he leaves prison behind for good. I hope he stays out of trouble. I hope he is allowed to return to the NFL. And if he is, I hope he returns successfully.
Brothers and sisters, Michael Vick has certainly received his wakeup call! He’s like the prodigal son and he may soon be feeding with the hogs, so to speak.
He should have known better than to do what he was doing. You would have thought he would have been smarter than that. Why did he get involved with gambling on dog fighting, etc.? I think one reason is because he was famous and rich. And it seems like some people in that arena feel like they can do anything and get away it.
Another reason that Vick did what he did was because of Satan. Let’s be honest about this. Satan is still alive and well on planet earth and in sports, etc. He’s out to get you and me!
I Pet. 5:8-9 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
ILL.- Preacher Billy Sunday used to say, "I know the devil is real for two reasons. Number one, because the Bible says so. And number two, because I’ve done business with him." Michael Vick could probably say the same thing.
What about us? What does it take for us to wake up about certain things, about things where we are definitely wrong and don’t want to admit it? Most of the time a person has to go down before they can ever go up. But who wants to go down?
ILL.- Someone said: ON MY WAY to deliver a computer to a customer, I saw a handwritten sign at the entrance of an alley. It read: "Blocked! Do not pass! Difficult to turn back." I continued anyway, only to discover that the alley was indeed blocked by a fallen tree. As predicted, it took a while to turn the truck around. When I finally got back to the entrance, I noticed a second sign. It read: "Told you so!"
Brothers and sisters, God has told us so many times in life but it seems that we don’t listen too well! True or not? True for some anyway.
Some people just keep right on doing the same old things when they know that they are not right. And some day, it will catch up to them and God will do worse than block the road or put up a sign that reads, "told you so!"
Is God speaking to you in some form? Is He trying tell you something? In a sense, He tells us all to wake up.
II. SHAPE UP
12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
Once we receive a wake up call or get woke up then we need to shape up. Put aside the deeds of darkness. Behave decently.
ILL.- Someone said: I don’t exercise at all. If God had wanted me to touch my toes He would have put them up higher on my body.
Someone else said: I’m in shape. Round is a shape.
ILL.- I saw an article on the internet recently about body mass index. Do you know anything about body mass index? I just know that I have body mass but I don’t want to know what my index number is! Still, I took the test and....I guess I need to "shape up" some. I tried to fudge with the numbers a bit and it still didn’t come out to my advantage.
ILL.- Back in October Elaine and I went back to Webb City, MO, for my 45th high school reunion. I was talking to one of my class members and she said that both she and her husband had lost weight. I asked, "What did you do to lose weight?" She said, "We eat less and move more." I would say that’s a pretty good way to lose some weight and shape up.
II Cor. 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the
test?"
I think if we all took a long, hard look at our lives from a spiritual standpoint (meaning God’s Word) and then if we are honest enough, we would admit that we need to shape up! But shaping up spiritually may be more difficult than shaping up physically. Old habits are hard to break. Sinful habits are hard to break.
ILL.- My dad, Leo Shepherd, died on Dec. 11, 1982, just two days after my 38th birthday. Dad was 72 years old. That’s old for some and not so old for others. As far as I am concerned, he died far too early in life and I know what helped to kill him. Smoking. It was dad’s choice in life, just as it is for anyone. And I admit that I even tried smoking but I didn’t like it. I smoked for maybe three months and then quit. But dad smoked all of his life. How much? I don’t recall, probably several packs a day.
Dad really should have shaped up. He should have quit smoking and then the family would have had him a lot longer. Mom wouldn’t have been a widow for 20 years. But even more importantly, Dad should have shaped up spiritually. He knew about Jesus. He knew who Jesus was. He had been to church with our family, at least on special occasions. But as far as I know he never asked Jesus to come into heart. He never asked for forgiveness. He never publicly confessed Christ. He was never baptized into Christ. SO VERY SAD.
I really need to start walking again. I really need to shape up. But If I’m going to shape up I need to do that and some other things. MOVE MORE AND EAT LESS!
But what I really need is more study, more Bible study, more prayer, more Christian service, etc. in my life. And the more I focus on the Lord, His people and Christian service, the less I’ll focus on play and pleasure.
The more I focus on the Lord and people, the less I’ll focus on myself and my pleasures. I NEED TO SHAPE UP! What about you?
III. DRESS UP
14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet,"and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
ILL.- Someone said, "What do you instantly know about a well-dressed man? His wife is good at picking out clothes."
ILL.- Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." I’m not so sure about that. It may depend on the naked person!
ILL.- There is an actual internet site called "Clothes Make the Man." Here is how their ad reads: Clothes Make The Man is dedicated to helping low income and disadvantaged men who are entering or re-entering the workforce by providing them with business and interviewing attire, career development and life-skills counseling, etc.
Can you believe it? Yes. In our world, anything can happen and people try to sell anything. And I do think the world has sold us a bill of good about clothes make the man or the woman. While dressing nice is nice, it’s nicer if the person is nice.
Or as someone as said, "It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice."
ILL.- There is a book entitled, "The Power of Nice." And the thought is very good. Rather than dressing well, we need to be nice people.
A Small (or Tall) Gesture Can Get You into the Holiday Spirit. You may think buying a stranger a cup of coffee is a small gesture compared to the many good deeds we’re likely to read about during the holidays. But a little gesture can be quite powerful! One woman proved it one day by sparking a chain of goodwill that spread holiday cheer for miles at a Pennsylvania Starbucks drive-through.
After placing her order the woman told the clerk that she’d also like to pay for the gentleman in the car behind her. In return, all she asked was for him to do something nice for someone else.
Well, the gentleman in car #2 decided to pay for the car behind him. Car #3 paid for car #4 and so on and so on culminating in a 2-hour chain that reached over 100 cars! The Starbucks employees were overwhelmed by this burst of generosity no doubt making their workday much more pleasant along with all those folks who drove up to the window and paid it forward.
Buying a cup of coffee is a nice thing to do but there are hundreds of nice things we could do for others. But the point is this niceness must come from a heart that is nice. And how does that happen? IT COMES FROM CHRIST who went about doing good while He was on earth.
14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
More than anything, we all need to get dressed with Christ. We need to put on Christ. We need to allow Him to live in us and through us. If He is love personified (and He is), then we need to be like Him and walk in love.
How do we put on Christ? It’s no real secret. It’s no different than some actor studying for his part in a movie, although it is much deeper and more powerful. As the actor studies and saturates his mind with the person he is to play, he essentially becomes that person. They study for hours and hours the character they are to become.
It is no different when it comes to putting on Christ. We must study His Word and His life! As we behold Him in the gospel accounts we may well find ourselves becoming absorbed and becoming more like Him. How could that be? Because God is at work in us! And He works even more in those who are willing to seek Him.
Peter and John were accused as being with Jesus (Acts 4:13)
when the people saw their boldness and the way they lived.
WHAT ABOUT US? We all need to dress up with the spirit of Christ. We all need to put on Chris.
CONCLUSION---------------------------------
Eph. 5:15-18 "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
If you knew that you were going to die next week, would you do some things differently? I bet you would. There would be some things that we would stop and other things we would do! We’d all seek the Lord as never before! We’d pray more! We’d worship more! We’d love more! None of us know when this life is going to be over.
Even though we have a new year it’s foolish to think we have lots of time to do what God wants us to do. If there’s something you that you know you need to do for the Lord, do it now!
