By the help of the Holy Spirit, I would like to preach from the subject from the text that was in your hearing, “WAKE UP EVERYBODY”.
Romans 13: 8-14 is a template of what a Christian is to do; their obligation to love our neighbors as we do ourselves; their obligation to love our neighbors as we do ourselves.
While writing this letter to the Roman Christians, Paul wanted them to know that it is important to live as a Christian while we are living on this side of eternity. By the way, many found these words spoken to be a difficult task, but Paul paints a picture of what a believer, as a person should do for the good of others and trusting God to provide all that is needed.
There are three points I want to suggest and challenge you to think about.
I.TIMING IS EVERYTHING. Ecclesiastes 3:1:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”. There is a season and a time for everything. Ephesians 5:16: “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil”. Paul is inquiring us to make the best of time that we do have here on earth while the evil days and times as we get close to the final countdown of The Master’s coming; timing is everything.
2 Peter 3:8 tells us, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day”. God’s time differs from our time.
II.TIME TO AWAKE THE SLEEPERS. Spiritual Sleep is used metaphorically of spiritual dullness, sloth, or lack of watchfulness. The Church did not go into to sleep as if a restful or morbid state but more of slothful state. Slothful in worship, slothful in prayer, slothful in reading God’s Word, slothful in witnessing to others or bringing in souls for the Kingdom. Remember when Jesus arose from payer and went back finding the disciples asleep from being exhausted and in sorrow. Then questioned Peter, what could ye not watch with me one hour? Luke 22:45; Matthew 26:40,43. Actress and Board Member of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Marlo Thomas quoted what her later father Danny Thomas once said, “My father said there were two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. The takers may eat well but the givers sleep better.” Even as preach this message to you the Holy Spirit is pressing upon my heart to deliver this message to you, “It is time that the sleepers wake up and be about the business of Kingdom Building. You’ve been sleeping long enough, and the time is now to wake up from your long slumber in the state our world is right now”. In times like these, we need to keep watch because the time is short and as my Grandma Blanche used to say, "we're living in the last days...”
Back in 1975, Billy Graham, who son and daughter served on the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a prophetic voice who believes that forgiveness by Native Americans might be part of a spiritual awaken within the nation. Dr, Graham was quoted, “The Native American has been a sleeping giant. He is awakening the original Americans could become evangelists who will help with American for Christ. Remember the forgotten people.” Then finally,
III.SALVATION IS NEARER THAN YOU THINK. There are two definitions of SALVATION, there is the Noun and the Theological. The Noun definition is preservation on deliverance from harm, ruin or loss. Lifeline preservation conservation or means of escape. The Theological definitions is deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought by faith in Christ. It is salvation through Jesus Christ, the ultimate message of the Bible and the very core of Christianity. It is through salvation that men, women and children can be saved. So, what does the Bible say about Salvation? Acts 4:12 tells us that, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved.” Psalms 37:39 tells us "But the salvation of the righteous is the LORD: he is their strength in time of trouble”. Salvation is yours through Jesus Christ will you accept it? It is time to wake up everybody, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Here's what Charles H. Spurgeon says of salvation, “He who has two grounds of trust is lost! He was relying upon salvations, and cannot say of Christ,
‘He is all my salvation and all my desire,’ that man is not in danger of being lost but he is already condemned; because, in fact, he believes not on the Son of God! He is not alive to God at all, but rests partly on the Cross, and then in some measure on something else”
Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.
I would like to close this message with the words of the song, “Wake Up Everybody” the words speak in truth.
Wake Up Everybody
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Wake up everybody no more sleepin in bed
No more backward thinkin time for thinkin ahead
The world has changed so very much
From what it used to be so
There is so much hatred war an' poverty
Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way
Maybe then they'll listen to whatcha have to say
Cause they're the ones who's coming up and the world is in their hands
When you teach the children teach em the very best you can
The world won't get no better if we just let it be
The world won't get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me
Wake up all the doctors make the ol' people well
They're the ones who suffer an' who catch all the hell
But they don't have so very long before the Judgement Day
So won'tcha make them happy before they pass away
Wake up all the builders time to build a new land
I know we can do it if we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do is put it in our mind
Surely things will work out they do it every time
The world won't get no better if we just let it be
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it yeah, just you and me (yeah, yeah)
Change it, yeah (change it, yeah) just you and me
Change it, yeah (change it, yeah) can't do it alone
Need some help, y'all (y'all)
Can't do it alone (can't do it alone)
Yeah (yeah)
Wake up, everybody
Wake up, everybody
Need a little help, y'all (yes I do)
Need a little help (say it, boy)
Need some help, y'all (uh-huh)
To change the world
From what it used to be
Church, it is time to wake up everybody!
AMEN.
