HoHum:
Have children come up front for children’s minute. Need: An alarm clock with a "snooze" button Do you use an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning? A lot of alarm clocks have a button on them called a snooze alarm. When your alarm goes off, you can hit that button and go back to sleep. In about ten minutes, the alarm will go off again. You can just keep on doing this and go right on sleeping. There are two problems with snooze alarms. The first is that if you keep on hitting the snooze alarm, you may be late or miss out on something completely.
The second problem is that if you keep hitting the snooze alarm, you may get so used to the sound of the alarm that you don’t even hear it at all and you will sleep right through the alarm. Did you know that God sometimes sounds an alarm in our lives? He says, "It is time to wake up. It is time to follow me." Some people just hit the snooze button and say, "Not now Lord, call me again a little bit later." Some people hit that "snooze button" so many times that they get to where they don’t even hear God’s voice. Then one morning they wake up and find out that it is too late, they have missed out on God’s call.
WBTU:
Vance Havner- The devil has chloroformed the atmosphere of this age. We need to take down our “do not disturb” signs, snap out of our stupor, come out of our coma, and awake from our apathy.
A.W. Tozer- What is the present condition of the church? The bulk of Christians are asleep. God’s alarm has been going off for years. Are we listening? Let’s wake up- you and me.
Thesis: Romans 13:11-14 offers 4 prods to urge us to not hit the “snooze” button
For instances:
We are to watch vigilantly (Romans 13:11)
Paul is not talking about actual time like this is July 21, 2013 at about 11:10 am. No, he is talking about a season of time- This present time.
We need to understand the present time like the men of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” 1 Chronicles 12:32, NIV. Need to understand that this present time is the age of salvation, the age of grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This age or season began with the church in Acts 2 and will not end until Jesus Christ comes again.
Part of wisdom is to understand that our time is short. Some of us have financial planners to help us prepare for the future and manage our money in a way that will provide for ourselves and glorify God through our giving. It is always wise to factor the future into our plans. So many people live hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck and this is not good. We need to understand that all the signs are there for the return of Christ and we need to be on red alert. We must increase our watchfulness.
“You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” Matthew 16:3, NIV. We watch for rain or for the sun, but not for spiritual signals. Today’s technology lets us have 7 day weather forecasts with reasonable accuracy. Doctors can predict that certain diseases may occur, even before they are detected. All the while we are remarkably blind to the signs of this present age. We are hypnotized by the rhythm of life and culture, as if this moment has no bearing on eternity.
Some even laugh at those who warn us of the return of Jesus Christ. “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”” 2 Peter 3:3, 4, NIV.
““Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26, 27, NIV.
“our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed”. I thought we were already saved. From our perspective, salvation has three dimensions or tenses.
Past salvation is the moment when we said yes to Christ (believe, repent, confess, be baptized), sins washed by the blood of Christ, sealed by HS, our debt is declared paid in full.
Present salvation is the ongoing growth process called sanctification. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1, 2, NIV.
Future salvation is the most thrilling of all. We will finally be freed from the presence of sin. “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27, NIV. This is “nearer than when we first believed.”
We are to war valiantly (Romans 13:12)
put aside the deeds of darkness
This is talking about deliberately, purposefully, significantly and permanently putting aside the things of the old life. We fall into the old patterns of the old life so easily, conformed to the pattern of this world. We give into the “little” temptations; we make a concession here, an exception there, and before we know it, we’ve conceded a great deal of authority to sin.
Once we realize that Christ is coming again and we are watching for it, we must be on constant guard against the encroachment of the old ways. We can’t allow the devil to get his little toe into the door. The good news is that the night is nearly over and the day is almost here. The devil has played all his cards, and we have the victory of Christ on our side. As good soldiers, we must buckle on the “armor of light” and prepare to make our stand.
put on the armor of light
For VBS this year, we are talking about this armor. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:13-17, NIV.
This armor makes the darkness flee. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7, NIV. Because we are saved, we push back the assault of the rulers of darkness with the decisiveness of a good soldier. More than ever we need to strap on that armor.
“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, NIV.
In military history, the worst defeats come at night when the enemy attacks soldiers that are asleep. Washington crossing the Delaware is an example. Washington attacked the day after Christmas when the enemy was still sleeping and drunk from their celebrations.
We are to walk virtuously (Romans 13:13)
Two main categories here:
Reject public sins of the night. carousing and drunkenness- NASB, first two. This is talking about disorderly social behavior. Thinking of warfare again, Paul probably thinking of the soldier who goes into the city on leave and abuses alcohol. The next day, he is worthless to the army. Paul’s message: “You’re in the army now. Don’t disgrace the uniform.”
Renounce private sins. sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. The sins when no one is looking. These are the most dangerous sins of all because they hide in the human heart. The self centered person becomes concerned with ego more than Christ, and ego can be defined as Edging God Out. Paul wants us to be aware of sin in its daily and nightly manifestations, its assaults from the inside and outside.
We are to wait victoriously (Romans 13:14)
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Ray Stedman says this: “When I get up in the morning, I put on my clothes, intending them to be part of me all day, to go where I go and do what I do. They cover me and make me presentable to others. That is the purpose of clothes. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, ‘Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make Him a part of your life that day. Intend that he go with you everywhere you go, and that he act through you in everything you do. Call upon his resources. Live your life in Christ.”
make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts- NASB. There’s an old Native American saying that goes like this: “Call on God, but row away from the rocks.” The idea is to put ourselves in the best situation to succeed, and as far away as possible from the place of failure. Some people need to erase a few streets from their maps. Still others need to install software to protect their eyes from certain Internet destinations. When we are on a diet, we don’t loiter at the ice cream parlor. This is what Paul means.
