Awake, Sleeper!

God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to Romans chapter 13. Some illustrations. I know the minute that they pop
into my head, they’re going to be more universally understood
than others. Such is the case with this one
this morning. When I think of one of the most
alarming moments in a person’s life, I think of. That time where
you’ve got something really important the next day, so important that
you’re a little bit restless and going to sleep and you check
your alarm clock two or three times. And you think of, you
know, perhaps what you’re going to say the next day or. What
you need to do, replay it all in your head. And then suddenly
you sit straight up in bed and the sun is very high in the sky
and you know that you’ve overslept. There have been those feelings
in my own life on a number of occasions. The sentiment of being behind.
And that runs the range of importance from changing your oil. I’m the
guy that they wrote the rule for. 3,000 miles, it’s actually
really probably only 1,000 miles. It probably is 10,000 miles,
but they tell you 3,000 miles so that when you hit 10,000,
you for sure change it. Well, behind on my oil, behind
on getting your taxes filed, behind on saving for the future,
behind on correspondence. It just seems like that is part
of our existence as humans, that we run behind. They have said
that punctuality is the virtue of Kings. Well, the next time
that you’re late, just explain to your friends that you have
no royal blood. Well, if there is one area of
our life that Paul wants us to conquer with regards to this
idea of feeling behind, it is in the spiritual realm. And the
sad thing is, is that the even the metaphors that he uses throughout
this section, they hit home because we are so chronically late because
because we do tend to be so behind in almost every area of our life. Paul knows that spiritually speaking,
that is going to be true as well. And so. Paul urges us. He urges us. To get up to speed,
to catch up, as it were, and to stay ahead. Paul himself knew the times,
he recognized the lateness of the hour. He wasn’t under some
kind of delusion that life as we know it was going to continue
on indefinitely. Paul knew, as we have talked
about in recent weeks, Paul knew that the gospel window would
be closing one day. He knew that it would close forever
with the return of Christ. Paul did not want to be a hindrance
to the spread of the gospel. Paul wanted to make absolutely
full and complete use of the opportunities that he had. He
knew that the restraints that currently civil government was
under could easily be removed. and that the full fury of government
could be unleashed in a persecution which ultimately did come to
fruition. To the Romans, Paul knew that
they, in a sense, were behind. The Roman Church had begun to
come to Christ and to spread throughout the city. And yet the persecutions, the
difficulties, Even ultimately, the return of Christ was at hand. And Paul turns in this particular
section to press upon us a sense of urgency. To remind us of how
late it is. And how urgent it is that we
take up our responsibilities with new vigor. If you would, Pick up with me
in verse eight once again. Where Paul writes, Oh, nothing
to anyone except to love one another for he who loves his
neighbor has fulfilled the law for this, you shall not commit
adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall
not covet. And if there is any other commandment, it is summed
up in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor.
Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. And this do knowing
the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now, salvation is nearer
to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone and
the day is at hand. Let us, therefore, lay aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us
behave properly as in the day, not carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and
jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts. Paul says this do. And when he does that, I believe
that he looks back on. All that he had said beginning
in Chapter 12, nine and following, he was talking about life together
and he says there’s a new sense of urgency in getting your act
together and living as you have been called to live, living with
regards to Christians. When Paul said, let love be without
hypocrisy, Paul says, Knowing the time, knowing the brevity
of the time. At least in your life personally,
but also with regards to the sake of the gospel, knowing the
time, let love be without hypocrisy. Knowing the time, bless those
who persecute you, verse 14, but in light of those that are
going to be antagonistic to the gospel, knowing the time, Knowing
the brevity of it, knowing the crucial nature of it, knowing
the fleeting nature of it that once spent, it can never be regained. Knowing the time. Be mindful
of the downtrodden, be of the same mind towards one another,
don’t miss opportunities, he says, to come alongside those
who are downcast, downtrodden, down on their luck, so to speak. Paul says regarding the contrary,
because of the time, knowing the time, never pay back evil
to evil to anyone. You are preparing to answer to
God Himself, the God of vengeance. Knowing the time, be in submission
to governing authorities. Knowing the time, verse 8, owe
nothing to anyone except to love one another. What he presses
home is a sense of urgency that cannot be ignored. He urges us
to consider with great severity the fact that the clock is ticking
and we’re already behind. We all have catching up to do,
we all have work to do, spiritually speaking, and what Paul does
here in this section, verses 11 through 14, is give us four
urgencies that are all prompted by the hour at hand. Four urgencies
prompted by the hour at hand. The first. And we probably won’t
make it past the first today is that we are motive. Pardon
me, the hour at hand motivates our very duty to others, just
as I’ve just shared. It motivates our very duty to
others. Look at the passage. Look at
verse 11. Paul says this do and he points
backwards. He points backwards at least
to verse eight, but as I’ve just suggested, I think he goes far
beyond that. To the duty of life with others,
whether it’s those that are contrary, whether it’s civil government,
whether it’s believers, he says, do this knowing the time. Everything mentioned from verse
nine following, I believe, falls into that, and he resumes this
whole exhortation that he has been stringing along ever since
then. What he does is provide us essentially
a moral incentive, a sense of earnestness in taking that up. Some of us probably heard some
of those sections and shrugged it off as being not our biggest
priority. Paul says, you know what? You
don’t always have tomorrow. I vowed that I was not going
to give the illustration of Doris. If you want to know the illustration
of Doris, you’ll have to see me afterwards. Essentially, somebody
who missed the opportunities before her, though God had patiently
waited. Paul drives home the point here. As one said, he enforces all
the preceding precepts by a solemn assertion of the approach of
the eternal day of resurrection and glory. You know, for some
of us, that hope will abide. The hope of Christ’s return will
abide. We don’t know what it looks like.
We know, you know, the clouds in the eastern sky and we know
the descriptions of those things. Some of us may be alive during
the course of that thing. Most of us will go to glory long
before then. Either way. Either way, the time
is short. Time is brief. And then all this difficulty.
All this heartache will be over. No more sense of repudiation. No more sense of being behind.
No more opportunity. Knowing the time, Paul says,
is crucial. This due knowing the time, and
that little phrase is used of a specific time period. It’s a measured time, a determined,
a predetermined time. One commentator said it’s a portion
of time considered as appropriate, fixed and short. Paul used this
to point to the character of the day and age in which he lived,
he found himself living in this particular time period, and he
knew that it was a fleeting period. He knew that it had its limits. He knew that it wouldn’t continue
on like this forever and what he Used it to do is to point
to that very fact that knowing the time, not just Paul, knowing
the time, but you and I knowing the time you and I knowing the
brevity of the day. To know the time is to be really
knowledgeable in a spiritual sense with the real state of
our condition that we’re not even promised tomorrow. We’re
certainly not promised next year, most of us begun to make our
plans for 2014 well into 2014. We know what particular days
we purpose to accomplish certain things, perhaps vacations and
whatnot. We’re not even promised those
things. Such was the case with Paul, knowing the time. Jesus
used that same phraseology when he said he referred to those
who seemed to know the signs of the times they were able to
read the stars and read the seasons. And yet they could not spiritually
discern the day and age in which they lived. They could not number
their days. They could not apply a heart
of wisdom to the days that had been given to them and to acknowledge
that they are always precious and always short. We have no
way of even tallying them up. See, what Paul knew is that most. Live in a condition of spiritual
ignorance. Just kind of a dull insensitivity,
a delusion that everything was just going to continue perpetuating
forever. We get caught up in that trap
from time to time, don’t we? It’s easy for us to look. The second epistle of Peter and
to the mockers, Peter recorded it and we read it and we find
ourselves mocking the mockers. Here’s what they said. Know this,
first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with
their mocking, following after their own loss and saying, where
is the promise of his coming? You know, we that is our one
great hope as Christians, right? That Jesus Christ is going to
return. And so the devil prompts this spirit, this this attitude
that where is this so-called promise? It’s been now 2000 years
and you’re still waiting. Where is he? Forever since the
fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning
of creation. But when they maintain this,
it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens
existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by
water through which the world was at that time destroyed, being
flooded with water. This is masterful by Peter, what
he does, he hears this mocking, he responds to it and he basically
says, oh, everything is just going to continue just like it
is correct. Is that what you think? Were
you there when the earth was born because everything has not
been the same from the beginning of time. Were you there during
the flood? When Noah built the ark, were
you there and saw the earth destroyed by that? Because not everything
continues as it has, nor will it. Paul points to the character
of the day in which we live. It’s fleeting. And given our
knowledge of the brevity of time, For the Christian, both personally,
knowing that we will not live on these days, the Psalms say
70, perhaps 80 years, and that’s not even promised. It’s an estimation. Given our knowledge of the brevity
of time, both personally and with regard to the eventual return
of Christ, every time period has looked to the return of Christ.
Every one of them have essentially longed that theirs might be the
day when Christ returns. Because of that, we are to use
that as a motivation all the more to fulfill our obligations
to others in the church and outside of it. Scripture seems to point alternately both and almost at
the same time to the to the imminent return of Christ and to the fact
that it occurs in a far distant future. There’s plenty of places
in the New Testament where it’s almost like they take the position
that they have no earthly idea. When Jesus Christ would return. Jesus himself said, Matthew 24,
36 of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of
heaven, nor the son, but the father alone. Luke 21. Speaking to his disciples, Christ
said, see to it that you are not misled. You know, no sooner
does someone set a date on the return of Christ, you can guarantee
that’s not when he’s coming back. See to it that you are not misled,
many will come in my name saying, I am he. The time is near. Do
not go after them when you hear of wars and disturbances. Do
not be terrified that these things must take place first. Acts chapter one, the apostles,
they were all stirred up about it. It’s amazing to me how many
dollars are spent. I remember the figure years ago
of the millions of dollars that are spent on fortune telling.
Just an eagerness to know the future. And in a sense, Christ’s
own followers were no different. When they came together, they
were asking him, Lord, is this is this time you’re restoring
the kingdom to Israel? And he said, it is not for you
to know times or epochs, which he is, which the father is fixed
by his own authority. It’s it is undefined. It is out
there in the future. It is imminent. It could happen
at any time. And yet. It’s unknown. Paul said essentially the same
thing to the Thessalonians. Now, as for the times and the
epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written
to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the
Lord will come just like a thief in the night. That’s the one
surety that we have in all of this. That it’s going to catch
us by surprise. It’s going to come like a thief
in the night. going to catch us by surprise
if we’re not spiritually prepared. If we’re not heart ready. For
the return of Christ, if we’re not heart ready. We say it tongue
in cheek all the time. With regards to church. Ministry
that we have to be ready to preach, pray or die in a minute. You
know, that isn’t just for me. You may not ever take the pulpit,
but you sure need to be ready at any moment to go before the
Lord, to stand before him in his glory. But the fact that Christ would
come, they didn’t know exactly when, but the fact that they
should be ready for him, that was also a key feature, especially
in the Gospels. That they should be ready for
him and it gave a sense of urgency to everything that they did.
It was just part of their their life. Peter took the lesson well
when he said it is time for judgment to begin with the household of
God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome
for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Peter. Peter took
his sense of urgency from the gospels. From the testimony of
Christ’s own lips. It was almost this phrase, almost
a technical statement pointing to the second coming of Christ,
but it’s not just that. It certainly points to those
who will rest in Christ. Before Christ returns. It’s used
repeatedly in Paul’s writings, this sense of urgency. First
Corinthians 729. This, I say, brethren, the time
has been shortened so that from now on, those who have wives
should be as though they had none. Now, that will get a young
seminary student in trouble every time that mentality. I tried
that on my wife. I said, you know, look, we’re
going to forge forward. We’re going to preach the gospel. We’re going
to go tackle ministry. And I don’t want to ball and
chain. Well, my wife has been anything but that. Ephesians
5.16 urges us to be making the most of your time knowing that
the days are evil because the days are evil. Paul said there that we are to
be careful how we walk. We’re we’re supposed to be careful
how we conduct ourselves. And he says essentially the same
thing in this passage. Not as unwise men, but as wise,
we’re supposed to apply wisdom to the days in which we’ve been
given wisdom to the days of our lives, numbering them carefully,
not presuming upon God in them. Thanking God as we go, rejoicing
with each new day of opportunity to serve him. Therefore, be careful
how you walk, Paul said, not as unwise men, but as wise, making
the most of your time because the days are evil. He calls us
to a spiritual wisdom, a practical wisdom there. We don’t just wait
around for opportunities to fall into our laps, but we we seek
after opportunities. We reach out into our neighbors
lives. We dig into other potential opportunities. We see time as equal to opportunity
and we eagerly embrace that God given opportunity. As one pastor
said, the very abundance of evil was a powerful argument to redeem
the time and the apostle writing the letter in prison was a living
example of his own counsel. Paul knew that his days were
numbered. Paul said, buy it up. Redeem the time, make it to be
useful, do everything that you can. Because the evil world in
which we live, the danger is so great, the nation in which
we live seems to change almost by the day. The wickedness in
our land is so utterly overwhelming. The opportunities that God gives
us are precious and they’re to be treated as such. Not to presume
upon those, take them for granted. Knowing the time. Paul said in
this due, knowing the time, what time? That it is already the
hour for you to awaken from sleep. That little word already points
to the fact that your alarm clock didn’t go off on time. You’re
already late. It’s already time for you to
be teachers. It’s already for you to be servants
of Christ. The word sleep is used here in
this passage metaphorically, isn’t it? He’s not talking about
literal sleep. He’s not against us taking a
nap from time to time. He’s not against our overnight
rest. But here the sleep is an image of a condition that is
completely opposed to readiness. A preparation of heart, a grace
filled heart that seeks to not just be a depository for grace,
but a conduit for grace, a place where grace flows and flows to
others in service. It is the sleep of forgetfulness
of the time, it is a sleep of moral inattention, as one referred
to it. Here, said one, the contrast
is not so much with the heathen state, but with the awakened
and alert spirit with the sleeping and inert, a warning against.
Indolence in the present. See, we have a tendency to put
off, don’t we? We have a tendency to put off
things that we could do and should do. I’ll get to that tomorrow. I’ll get to that soon. Paul said. You may not have that
opportunity. Likely you won’t. Time of trial on Earth is looked
at in this passage is kind of a gloomy evening. The onset of
deep darkness, no moon. But it’s ultimately followed
by a bright morning. And it’s coming. The dawn is
coming when the dawn comes. The time of opportunity is over
and done with. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians,
Ephesians, chapter one. Hold paint such a Ephesians,
chapter five, rather. Paul paints such a graphic picture
here, I wanted to take just a moment as we prepare for the Lord’s
table. Look at verse one, therefore,
be imitators of God’s beloved children and walk in love, just
as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us as an
offering and a sacrifice to God and a fragrant aroma. But do
not let impurity or greed if pardon me, but immorality or
any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is
proper among saints. And there must be no filthiness.
Silly talk, of course, jesting. Which are not fitting, but rather
giving of thanks for this, you know, with certainty that no
immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive
you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of
God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers
with them. That’s what the world wants.
The world wants to drag you down and drag you into their system.
They want to render you completely ineffective for the sake of the
gospel. And Paul says, don’t even don’t even get close to
it. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Walk as children of light. What
a what an incredible point that he makes here. It’s not that
we were in darkness We were part of the problem. It’s always amused
me how parents, when, you know, their little Johnny gets in trouble,
how they say, well, he fell in with a bad crowd. How do you
know that Johnny wasn’t the bad crowd? Right. We were part of
the problem. We were darkness itself. But
now God has visited us and brought us into the light. And now we
are light in the Lord. For the fruit of the light, verse
nine, consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth,
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate
in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them,
for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are
done by them in secret. But all things become visible
when they are exposed by the light. For everything that becomes
visible is light. For this reason it says awake
sleeper. And arise from the dead. And
Christ will shine upon you. It’s late. It’s later than we
think. We are not guaranteed opportunities.
We are not guaranteed perpetual usefulness. We have a narrow
window of opportunity and whether the government closes that window
or whether our health closes that window or whether the Lord
himself returns. We have a great opportunity.
Of ministering to one another of serving Christ. Of being used
by him for your glory, if we would only know the time. As
we draw near to the Lord’s table. As we bow in humility before
this table, may one of the things that we meditate upon is a confession
of missed opportunity and a plea for grace to seize hold of the
opportunities that God is giving us, knowing the time. Would you
humble yourselves before this God in our table, our merciful
King, We humble ourselves in your presence. And Lord, we know. Because of our human nature,
many, many opportunities go squandered. And Lord, we are we have this
tendency to cultivate this mindset. It will get to it later. And Lord, we find ourselves forever
being behind, forever failing. To accomplish anything for the
sake of your kingdom. Grant us the grace, Father, to
renew our perspective of the day and age in which we live,
particularly our own, to not take this time, to not take these
opportunities, to not take this grace for granted. Grant us that
grace, Father, as we prepare for the Lord’s table. It’s in
Jesus’ name that we ask.