Sermon Transcript — March 4, 2006
It Is Time to Wake UP!
by Mr. Ken Martin
This afternoon what I'd like to do is to cover a topic that I hope you'll find most helpful and also
in light of biblical admonition, one that falls in the category of exhortation. The apostle Paul was
one who many times exhorted the members of the Church of God in those early days and much
of his exhortation is recorded in scripture.
When reading the Bible, as certainly God commands us to do, there's a sense of urgency that is
transmitted from the words and from the scriptures of almighty God. For all who fear God and
want to walk in his ways that sense of urgency has to be embraced and applied on a day-to-day
basis.
It's an urgent cry that says, "redeem the time for (because) the days are evil." That's found in the
book of Ephesians 5:16. That word - evil - is the Greek word - poneros - which is translated for
the most part - hurtful in its effect upon you. And certainly in this day and age in which we're
living there are many things that can be classified as hurtful in their effect upon us as men and
women. And that's young and old. Everyone is subject to this very thing.
We're admonished in scripture in Isaiah, the prophet, he says in Isaiah's 55:6 -
Isaiah 55:6 - "Seek the Lord while He may be found, . . ."There is coming a time when God is
not going to be so easily accessible to people. Even though they cry out to him it's going to be a
very difficult time because they're not going to find him.
Now is the time for the people of God to cry out to God, to draw close to Him, to receive the
strength and the help we all need as men and women. None of us are able to execute what needs
to be done in our own personal lives apart from God Himself. And because we are human, there
are different things that crop up in our life from time to time that cause real roadblocks to our
spiritual growth and well-being.
A couple of those are apathy and lethargy, because we live in the world today that is apathetic
and lethargic. And because we live in this world, it's easy for that to begin to bleed off into our
lives from time to time. Maybe not in the whole spectrum, but in certain areas of our life, we
become apathetic, lethargic, that could be such as dutiful prayer where we become a little bit
lethargic. Days just slip by, get away from us, study of the scripture, things get away from us,
because we've let other things more or less crop up in our lives from the world in which we live.
We have admonition in scripture that tells us that this has happened to the Church of God in the
past such as in the early stages of the Ephesus church, when they first began. And we see that in
the book of Revelation 2:4. where it says after starting out so good something happened and all
of a sudden they lost their first love. And the admonition was to wake up, get back on track again
in your life, and get back to the thing that you're supposed to, your first love. And of course what
is that first love?
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your
strength and soul." So therefore, if something else comes in the way, you can see the love of God
got diverted into other areas. And so they were becoming a little apathetic, lethargic in their
execution of what God had commanded them.
Also a little bit later as a churches progress through the prophetic picture that is pictured in
Revelation 2 and 3, we see in Revelation 3:15-16, the last church that is mentioned is called
Laodicea. And Laodicea is pictured as a church that has kind of gotten into a quasi state of
affairs, a hot and cold which is translated as being lukewarm. They're not full of fire and zeal for
the things of God, but they're not against it either. They've just kind of - as we say, shhheewww -
cooled down.. And so we're told because of the world we live in, and we know this is certainly
reflecting a Laodicean age in which we're in right now, where the love of many is waxing cold.
And as it waxes cold, it's going to have an impact upon the people of God unless they recognize
this, and as the scripture exhorts us to do, to be mindful and to wake up to what's happening all
around us.
And this wake-up call is something very important. As you know our nation was stunned back in
December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl harbor. And our nation will suddenly hit
with a wake-up call like it had never seen before. It wanted to stay out of this trouble that was
going on in Europe and over in Asia dealing with the totalitarian powers of Nazi fascism and
also imperial Japanese fascism.
Well this type of thing finally got brought to reality when again December 7th became a reality,
and we had to do something. We had to wake up as it were. And it mobilized the whole nation
because we were in a fight for our physical survival as a nation. That's how serious it was.
Now a little bit later, on 9/11 in the year 2000, what 2001 was it? How fast time goes by. Here
we are 2006. Suddenly two airplanes out of the blue come plowing into the twin towers. And
another wake-up call goes out to the people of America.
What happens? They get quite concerned. What's going on? And so immediately and they take
action, and they start making the necessary precautions to protect homeland, Homeland Security,
and people were rushing to the churches to draw close to God in this time of trial, but after a
handful of weeks and months, what happened? People began to go back to business as usual. The
churches were no longer filled as they were. Seems like people always run to God when there's
trouble. When there's good times, let the good times roll. Who needs God? And apparently that's
what happened. The people began to fall back, and we didn't take it and mobilize in the same
way we did back on December 7th. So the American people have become a little bit apathetic,
lethargic in the seriousness of that wake-up call that hit back on September 11, 2001.
Now the apostle Paul admonished the Christians in his day, and his words are written, preserved
for our edification so that you and I will keep something in mind. That we never lose sight of
God's admonition and wake-up call to all of us.
And as we approach Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, it would be right and proper
and good for us to look at this subject, because in Romans 13, (is we're going to go), and I'd like
you to join me there in Romans 13, and to hold your place here because we're going to be using
it as the basis of what we're going to talk about. And then we're going to go from other scriptures
as they pertain.
But here we are told in Romans 13 that there was a need for exhortation, the apostle Paul wanted
to exhort the brethren of the Church of God that were in Rome at that time, and he told them to
awake as it were out of sleep. He said that their lives were beginning to reflect kind of a dull
sleepiness, and he sensed it. He sensed that they were losing something . An exhortation has to
do with giving warning or advice from scripture. And you'll find that in II Timothy 4:2. where
the apostle Paul told Timothy, the young minister at that time, he says:
II Timothy 4:2 - " You preach the word. Be (ready) in season (and) be out of season." He said,
and do what? He says, ". . .exhort. . ." In other words, let the people have the warning from the
scriptures. Help them to understand the sense of urgency that God is trying to convey so that they
don't fall into an apathetic or lethargic, lax frame of mind and therefore things slip up on them
and capture them unaware.
What we see in terms of the term - awake - carries the connotation is don't be careless or
indifferent. It's so easy to get careless and indifferent because we live in a careless and
indifferent age today. People don't seem to have that added spark, that added desire to want to do
things the right way even from a physical point of view. Now when we bump it up, we have to
understand we're called to a spiritual point of view, and that makes it even more so for us to take
note.
We are to shake off, as it were, any slothfulness because we live in a slothful age. And you have
to be mindful of the fact that if you're not constantly aware of what is going on around you it will
infect your mental state of mind. And this is why we have to bring every thought into subjection
to Christ according to the word of God because if we don't then other things can get in there,
kind of like we jokingly say like Ragou, you know, it's in there, all the ingredients in the
so-called sauce.
Well, there's a lot of stuff that can get in here in our mind that we don't want in there, according
to the word of God. And that's why it is important to be mindful that we cannot be fatally
indifferent to spiritual, eternal things. And that's what we're going to talk about today.
I've entitled this message, "It's Time to Wake Up." It's time to wake up for all of us, because the
day and age is moving very rapidly. And as it says here, let's read all this here in Paul, and then
we're going to break it down and look more specifically at what this means and how it translates
to us as men and women.
Romans 13:11 - He says: "And that knowing that the time. . ." He focuses in on time. Time is a
precious commodity that we have been given as human beings made in the image of God. And
here we are told that the time now, it is high time. In other words, this is something that should
be top priority on your time schedule of events. And he says: ". . .it is (high) time to awake out of
sleep. . ." That if we've been sloppy, groggy, somewhat dozing in terms of our own personal
lives that God wants us to wake up and realize the seriousness of the time in which we find
ourselves living.
We're not living back in the Middle Ages. We're living at the consummation of man's world.
We're living at the day when the scripture talks about all the prophecies that have been proven
and have definitely been fulfilled in the Old Testament, ring loud and clear and say all the
prophecies in the New Testament concerning Christ's return are also going to have great impact.
And he says in the context of that, ". . .these be the days of vengeance that all things that have
been prophesied will be fulfilled."
Verse 11 continued - So we're living in quite an unusual period of time, to say the least. It is not
a time to just kind of doze off, but he says ". . . our salvation. . ." that which God has called us to
understand and grasp and comprehend, he says: ". . . is nearer now than when we believed.
"When we were first coming in as a novice, and a neophyte in the truth of God.
Now look at how the years have passed in your life, my life and what have we done with those
years? Have we've really made them count when it comes to our relationship with God and Jesus
Christ? I would have to say we should probably all hang our head in shame that we have wasted
an awful lot time.
We have wasted time on foolish things, things that are not worth it when it's all said and done. If
you were to put it on a scale and say what you have done with that time, I think we would all
have to hang our heads in shame before God and say, "God, be merciful to me a sinner for I have
truly messed it up."
But God is desirous that we wake up, acknowledge where we fall short. He's willing to forgive
us. He's willing to blot that out. But if we say we have no sin, that will wide awake and we're
walking in light, when in reality, parts of our life are dark. We're walking in darkness as the
scripture says, and if we do that we lie and the truth is not in us.
The scripture comes out very clear and goes on to say, ". . .It's nearer now than when we believed
because the night is far spent and the day is at hand." Yes, what God is purposing is drawing
closer and closer with the passing of every day. Do we sense that urgency? As God sees it, as
God feels it, as He is trying to convey this through His Spirit to us.
Then he goes on to say:
Romans 13:12 - "... therefore cast off the works of darkness..." And we're told in the book of
John that men love darkness because their deeds are evil. You and I are told to come out of
darkness and into his marvelous light. We've been translated into that marvelous like. It goes on
to say: "...let us put on the armor of light.
Verse 13 - "Let us walk honestly (as) in the day; not in rioting (and) drunkenness, (not in)
chambering and wantonness, (not) in strife and envy (envying.) In other words, not to get caught
up in the vices and the problems of the world. And the world is sinking in morality very fast.
And I'll have more to give you in other sermons coming up to show you just how terribly fast it
is moving on a downhill stroke.
Verse 14 - It says: "But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provisions for the flesh,
to fulfill the lusts or the desires and that means inordinate desires thereof."
Now, let's take a look and ask ourselves some very important aspects as we break this very
important section of scripture down. Why we need to be awake? Why do we need to be awake?
What is Paul emphasizing? Time. Time is a critical component for all of us. We don't know how
much time almighty God has so graciously bestowed upon each and every one of us. Time is in
His hands. And He's given us time, and we all hope and pray that we will have many days, many
years, but only God knows the final outcome in these matters.
So knowing that the time is short, it should speed us up with an urgency and a desire to make the
most of the time, what ever that time is, now, with God's blessing. We know the time is fleeting
according to James 4:14-17. That's James 4:14-17 in which James reminds us that our life is
like-what? Just like a vapor. It is here, and it flies right by.
How many of us right in this room today can just remember, it seemed like just yesterday you
were in grade school, high school, college, you are out and now look at you. Grandkids, we say,
"Where did all this go? How come it went so fast?" It went by one day at a time, and it was gone
before you knew . And we have to make the most of that time as the scripture says, because in II
Corinthians 6, hold your place here please in II Corinthians 6, take note of this, it tells us in II
Corinthians 6:1, it says:
II Corinthians 6:1 - ". . . whereas workers together with him, beseech you (also) that you
receive not the grace of God in vain." It says:
Verse 2 - "For as he said, I have heard you in a time accepted, and in. . ." It says here, " the
day," but it should be translated, "a day." It goes back to the prophecy in the book of Isaiah. This
is "... a day of salvation (have) I have succored you: and behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is a day of salvation." And it is for the first fruits of God, those called at this time
now have been given insight to understand this very important calling. This is revealed to us in
the pages of scripture through the holy days and the plan of God. And so we see that this is our
day, our time. The rest of the world will have a different time, a different schedule that God will
work with them. He is no respecter of persons, but wants all to come to the knowledge of the
truth, but they're not at this time able to do that. They don't know what they're doing. Just as
Jesus said on the cross with he died. He made the statement, "Father forgive them. They know
not what they do."
Now in their minds they knew exactly what they were doing. They were killing this upstart who
claimed to be the Son of God. What they didn't know was that He was really the Son of God.
And that He had to die to provide the way of escape that all of us need so desperately, to provide
salvation through His one precious death and His shed blood for all of us. That's what Passover
is all about.
Then we're told our salvation draws near. And, yes, it is. And most people do not grasp and
comprehend what are we talking about when salvation is discussed? They think it means going
to heaven when you die. And they don't realize there's much more here involved when it talks
about salvation And it is nearer because God's revelation tells us that as we move through it, the
corridor of life, we begin to discover how truly our own mortality is ever before our eyes.
The living know that they shall do-what? Go to sleep. They'll die. But the dead know not
anything until the time of restoration when God will call forth all mankind in their time, in their
order, and bring them forth to a glorious resurrection of the first fruits and then a glorious
resurrection of the great white throne judgment for the vast majority of mankind.
We are reminded that in Hebrews 9:27, " . . . it is appointed unto man once to die." Because of
what happened in the garden of Eden, and the path that was chosen by our original parents, we
have all been indoctrinated, and we've all been implanted with the seed of rebellion in our
natures. We've all gone down that wrong path, and it has brought about wages that we have
earned.
Paul talks about that. He says in Romans that it is what? The wages of sin have produced death.
Death is in this world, but it is not God's desire to allow it to sustain or stay in this world. He's
going to destroy it in the process of time.
He tells us that the night is far spent. And what does that translate to? Well it translates to the
fact that the world we are living in is drawing to its final close. That the time of man's day is
drawing to its conclusion and the bursting forth of the kingdom of God is on the horizon.
And when Jesus comes back in power and glory and honor, we are going to see something very
wonderful happen, a transformation of this whole, entire world. And what human beings have
talked about, God is going to produce. Human beings talk, but they do not produce the right
result. Only God can. And notice what it says in I John 2:8. He says:
I John 2:8 - "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in
you: because the darkness is past,. . ." You see, the area of our past conduct. We lived in
darkness. ". . .and the true light now shines." We now have access to the true light, and what
does light do? It dispels darkness. God is cleansing our minds. He's cleansing our hearts and our
spirits, and showing us what truth is all about. How it relates to the character of God, Himself,
and how God is unapproachable light, the scripture says, and that He is one of the most dazzling,
beautiful creation, if you could use that term, what's the best word to describe God? He is the
Eternal One. He radiates like the sun. He's beautiful like diamonds and jewels, and He just
sparkles in everything He does. He radiates powers and auras, and I'm lost for words at how to
describe this great God that we are privileged to serve.
That's why when you think about that, it's a thought that God wants you to embrace, and that's
why He gets angry when He says, "Don't make any idols or anything, any statues and try to palm
those things off as God. They don't even come close to representing who God is and what He is
like." This is what we have to keep in mind. This is the fear of God that shows acknowledgment
and reverence to this great God that has made us in His image.
No, we live in a world today that is far from the truth of God. We hear a lot about God, just as
the scripture says. There is a form and ceremony. They have a form and ceremony of God, but
they deny the power thereof. They don't want to hear about God ruling in the kingdoms of men.
That's what Daniel said He does - He rules in the kingdoms of men. He is bringing to pass the
prophecies of His word, just like He said He would. He lets this individual go so far, just as long
as that individual is going to bring to pass what God wants. If that individual starts going in a
different direction, God can cancel that person just that fast and move to another direction. And
when it is all said and done, God weaves His wonderful promises, and all these things come to
pass, and not one fails. That's going to be the historical record. Not one thing that God has said
will fail. The word is out of His mouth. It won't return until it has accomplished His purpose.
That's what God wants us to keep in our mind, that He is working with us, kind of like that
country song Alan Jackson, you know, "We're a Work in Progress." We're a work in progress.
We're the first fruits of this wonderful work in progress that God is making. Aren't you glad
you're not a monkey from a tree? Aren't you glad you're not a bird? Beautiful birds. Aren't you
glad you don't have to go all around through life going: squawk, squawk, squawk...(bird like
sounds), squawking like a bird or a crow.
You were made in the image of God, male and female. What a blessed privilege that is. Of all the
things as beautiful as they are, as wonderful that God has created, there is nothing like the sons
and daughters of God made in His image. He thought so. That's why He was willing to die for
us. What are we willing to do in return? He tells us in scripture that we should respond
accordingly, because the night is far spent. It's hastening to a close.
If we look around today, just as the scripture says, the prophetic clouds are gathering. And as
those prophetic clouds gather, what are they telling? They're rushing toward fulfillment. And if
all the things that happened and transpired in Old Testament times, everything that was
prophesied concerning Christ's first coming, happened exactly like it was supposed. What's it
going to be like concerning the second coming prophecy? Because when you read the book of
Revelation, which we're supposed be reading right now, it says this is the book that has a special
blessing for all read it. And yet we've got individuals who claim to be the ministers who'll stand
up in pulpits and tell the people that they pastor, "You don't have to read that book. That book
doesn't mean anything. It's done away. It's been finished. It's all been in the past." They're
literally spiritually cutting the throats of their people. What a terrible thing when people need to
have answers to the questions that plague them and bother them today.
II Peter 1:19 - "We have (also a more) a sure word of prophecy..." according to the scripture, ". .
. wherein you do well to (that you) take heed (as unto a light that shines in a dark place.) And
you do well that you see this shining like a light in a dark place ". . . until the day dawn, and the
day star arise in your heart:
Verse 20 - "And knowing (this first), that there is no prophecy of scripture that is of any private
interpretation.
Verse 21 - The prophecies came through God's inspiration, working upon individuals through
the power of His holy Spirit.
So we see that God's hand is at work. His hand is going to accomplish His will, His purpose, and
that brings us to how we ought to walk. And as Passover and unleavened bread approach, and
looking at the world around us, we need to stop and consider very seriously how have we been
walking this past year? Because this is, again, a yearly exercise in which we ask ourselves how
have I used the very precious gift of time that God has given me? Did I walk with Him more?
Did I walk with Him less? Did I pray to Him more? Did I pray to Him less?
Did I appreciate and thank Him for the many blessings that He has given? Or did I just accept
those blessings and never said thank-you. Like today we live in the day and age where people
just accept things, and never even have the courtesy to say, "Thank you."
How very, very serious a time we are living in. We are told to cast off the works of darkness
back there in Romans, and we want to look at that again. In Romans 13:12:
Romans 13:12 - " And because the night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast
off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." In other words we need to be
combat ready, if I may use the term. We have to wear the material that will help us in our daily
battle and struggle in living life as God-fearing men and women.
Now, I would hope and pray, and I can only put it in this context, that none of us are deliberately,
in any way, practicing sin. But at the same time, it would be an error to say that we are sinless as
we sit here today as a body. If we say we have no sin, we lie, and the truth is not in us. We have
all strayed from the path, not deliberately, but because of the human weakness of our own
natures, we stumble, and we falter from time to time. The point in question is, do we follow the
example of David? Do we quickly get back to God and acknowledge where we have fallen,
where we have gone wrong, and ask God to help us and to restore us again with the joy of His
salvation? Or otherwise would we rather, if I may use this expression, would you rather shake
yourself to get back on track, or would you rather have God shake you? I think the former is the
better way to go for all of us. Because when God arises he's going to shake this earth, the Bible
tells us and people are going to go absolutely bonkers. They're going to go ballistic. They're
going to go crazy. They're not going to know what to do.
The scripture constantly admonishes us to consider our ways. The world has encroached upon all
of us, maybe in more ways than we realize. And that's why it's time to wake up. That's why I've
entitled this message this way, because for all of us we need to take an instock, inhome analysis
of ourselves. What do we allow into our life now that just ten years ago we would not have
done? We just would not have done it. Has something softened us, weakened us, invaded our
spiritual lives? Only we as individuals can answer that question.
And if it has happened, do we see it for what it is, do we acknowledge it for what it is, and do we
run back to God and say, "Oh, God, unsin me? Take this away from me. Cleanse with the
precious blood of Christ because I'm lost without You." This becomes a very important issue.
What are we supposed to get rid of? Well, notice some of the things. Other texts also add to this.
I'm going to give you some things here to consider. It says revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust,
meaning an inordinate desire, strife, envy, other scriptures like Galatians 5 talks about the works
of the flesh which are adultery, fornication, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfishness, ambition, dissension, heresies, murders, evil desires, covetedness,
anger, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lying, and you say, "Wow. Have I been involved in
that?"
At the answer is, "We all have." Not deliberately, but vicariously.
Now some of those things that I just mentioned you are in Galatians 5:19-21, and Colossians
3:5-8. Now, here's the point. I said vicariously because have you been to the movies lately? Do
you have a television in your house? What are the themes of those programs that many times we
have all watched? Murders, adulteries, fornications, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, filthy
language, it crops up doesn't it? They just keep moving it in a little bit more, pushing the
envelope to see it.
It's not that you sit there and say, "Oh, I want to listen to this program. I want to hear the dirty
language." I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about, you sit there and watch program, and you
think, "Well, this is a decent program." All of a sudden, from somewhere out of there, BANG, a
four-letter word is slipped in there. And you say, "Surely, they'll bleep it out." They don't bleep it
out anymore, because it's culturally acceptable, and people are beginning to become addicted to
this stuff .
Hard to believe that people actually will dial-up phone and say, "I'll pay money for you to talk
dirty to me." I mean, that shows how off-the-wall the human mind can get. They'll pay money
for something like that. And that's supposed to be a turn-on? That's a turn-off. That's how God
looks at it. It's a turn-off.
Well, my point is being this: unless we view everything in life according to what God says:
"Come out of her my people." Now this is not a diatribe against television. It's not a diatribe
against movies. Please understand. There's a balance here.
But which movie would you rather go see? Go see the something that your family members are
with you, and you get barraged and hit with four-letter words? Or would you rather watch the
March of the Penguins? The March to the Penguins is going to teach you a whole lot more.
Just plain, simple movie on creation, to watch these penguins walking around like this, down in
the Antarctic, covering that little egg, doing what God ordained emperor penguins do. And you
sit there, and you just marvel at it. The hand of God at work. And you say, "Wow."
But unfortunately people are not all that interested in March of the Penguins. They would rather
see the march of something else instead. Something vile, something filthy, something sick, and
that seems to be what is happening in our day and age today. And that's why we're told "put on
the armor of light" because you're in combat mode.
Now you have to watch as you go to movies, as you watch television. There's always a good side
to everything. Remember it's not the thing that is wrong. It's how a thing is used. Man has this
wonderful proclivity of taking something good that God has given and twists it and makes it
wrong.
Now in this particular case what we see is that people today are being hypnotized, literally, by
this stuff. It's a form of entertainment to them. Instead of entertainment it should be viewed
objectively and stand back and say, "Where are they taking me with this? What's the motive
behind this?"
They've given all these Oscars right now for this particular movie of two cowboys out there in
Montana somewhere, and you know, it's this place up on the mountain where something goes on
that shouldn't be going on. Oh, well, they got Oscars, and Academy Awards and all this stuff.
Oh, this is wonderful. Who wrote that theme for that? Oh, it's one of those guys. It's one of those
guys who wrote the theme, and he's promoting his cause. Instead of promoting righteousness,
they promote unrighteousness, and that's the day and age in which we live.
I don't want to get any more specific than that; I think you have enough wisdom and discernment
to know these are things that are not acceptable in the eyes of God.
So God is telling us that we are to put on Christ, by first of all, arming ourselves because we're in
a combat battle. You know something that I saw here recently, to share with you, but it is an
interesting little excerpt. This was done on a public television channel, showing how lions hunt
water buffalo in Africa. And what they do is quite unique. Of course, they've got the king of the
beast, they're the male, all he does is protect the pride. Interesting that this is called - a pride.
Satan is the one who is lifted up in pride. So the lion group, lionesses and their cubs and what
have you is called the pride.
And in this particular situation, what they do is when they go out to hunt, they go out as a group,
and of course, once they get a kill, the lion, the male gets the first dibs on the food. Now, here's
the interesting part, when they go to hunt, and I'd never quite seen this before until this
demonstration, it was a National Geographic Special, and what they did, they showed how these
lionesses, it's the ladies who do the actual hunting for the pride, and they go out and they circle
this water buffalo group, creatures. And what happens is that they target one specific one. Here's
a scripture that says, "Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour," they're out there
seeking which one of those buffalo is going to be the evening meal.
Then, here's the interesting part, they start a procedure whereby they go around and around, and
they'll attack the herd, and the herd will push them back. And they'll attack again, and they'll
push them back, and they'll go around and around and around, the whole point being this, they
keep pressuring the herd, pressuring the herd, until the herd makes a mistake. When the herd
makes its mistake, BANG!
How many times have you and I made mistakes in life because we were under pressure and we
finally caved under pressure. Satan knows how to attack. He knows where your weak spot is, and
he will pressure and pressure and pressure until he can succeed in his attack. So therefore it is
important that we don't allow him, or as the Bible would use the expression, "Don't give place to
the Devil."
All right, that's just a little side note, but it does show one of Satan's tactics. He creates pressure.
Have you noticed that the world we live in has become like a pressure cooker? Have you noticed
that people say, "Oh, boy, for the good old days when you could kind of sit on your porch and
relax, what happened to those days? Shhiccckkkk - They're gone. Everybody's so busy now.
Everybody is pressured, pressured, pressured. Who's creating the pressure? Who's out there
seeking whom they may devour? This is why you and I have to be combat-ready according to
scripture, to put on Jesus Christ; we did that when we were baptized. Galatians 3:27, and we're
told to keep developing the character of God. It is critical.
But we are to make no provision for the flesh, it says. Now how do we understand that? It's
basically this: We have the responsibility not to feed the flesh. You feed the flesh; you get the
wrong result. You feed the spirit; you get the right result.
You know it's like everything else, if you don't make the right deposits in your checking account,
if you don't keep putting money in, you're just always taking out all the time, sooner or later it
goes zero balance, nothing in there. Well, in the same way, if we ourselves allow ourselves to
feed the flesh, rather than the spirit, then what ends up happening is that we end up becoming
spiritually delinquent, and we live merely for the moment, for the flesh, and that's what Paul is
warning us against.
Let's notice Romans 8:12:
Romans 8:12 - "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Verse 13 - "(If) you live after the flesh. . ." in other words, you just go about your normal
pursuits of living life, and you don't take God seriously in the equation of living life, He says, all
you'll end up doing is you'll end up dying. And that's what the world is doing: they live; they die.
Maybe that's why they came up with that old expression: eat, drink and be merry, for why?
Tomorrow we die. They see no hope, no future. Only through God do you see a future and a
hope because He gives us one. ". . .but if you through the Spirit. . ." Notice, with the help of
God's Spirit, ". . .do mortify the deeds. . ." in other words, a wrong thought comes into the mind
and God's instantly showing you, you don't want to go there. You kill it. You stop it right then
and there. You wipe that thought out. You don't, no, I'm not going to go there. You hold onto
that thought, and feed that thought, it's going to feed the flesh. It just creates the process and
moves a little bit further down the road. So here you're told, ". . .if you do that, if you mortify the
deeds of the flesh, you shall live."
Now that's part of what the Days of Unleavened Bread are all about, coming out of sin. Getting
out of the habit of breaking God's law and His commandments, because that's what we've all
done in the past. We've all had the habit of breaking God's laws and commandments, and to
show how Laodicean things are in our day and age, if somebody were to tell you, or you would
tell them, first of all, that you keep the Sabbath, the seventh day, and they'd say, "Oh, well, I
keep the first day of the week." And they might answer this, they say, "And after all, it really
doesn't matter."
Well, that's a watering down, that's a lukewarm, what do you mean? You want to worship, well
why don't you worship on the day God said.
Well, it doesn't matter. Well, it does to God. And it should to you. This is what the scripture is
advising a us. It's counseling us in these matters.
So we have the aid of God's Spirit involved, and God has promised in I Corinthians 10:13 that
He would never allow anything to come so bad against you that it would break you spiritually.
He knows your breaking point. You know, everybody has a breaking point. You could only go
so far. And God says I will never put anything on you or allow anything to come on you greater
than you can bear.
Now sometimes people think, "Well, this is unbearable." Well, compared to what? God is one
was promised that He would never put anything that would just devastate a person so bad that
they could never function again.
Now let's take a look at I Peter 4:7 because this has a very important application. I Peter 4:7.
Here we are admonished on the following:
I Peter 4:7 - It says: "But the end of all things is at hand:. . ." and because of that, it says: ". . . be
you therefore sober,. . ." notice that means have a high degree of alertness, that's what sobriety
means in the term you're sober; you're very much alert, and notice, ". . .watch unto prayer." As
you're watching, as you're looking, and evaluating things in your everyday life, make sure you're
praying about these things because what you see is not always what it is. You may see something
and think it's a certain way, but when you pray about it, all of a sudden God's Spirit puts
something else into your mind and you say, "Oh wait a second, wait a second here, there's more
here than meets the eye."
Because God's Spirit, remember, is a Spirit that does what? "Shall show you all things," it says.
It'll shall show you prophetic applications of things, and it'll lead you the way God is directing
the affairs. Otherwise, it's just a guess. It's just speculation. And that's what human beings do.
They guess; they speculate; but God knows the outcome. And God tells us to be sober and to
watch unto prayer. Now we know that we are to watch for what reason? So that we may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things.
There's things coming that we don't want to be a part of. But it's an admonition from scripture to
inspire us and encourage us to do the right thing, not to panic us. It's not designed to scare the
daylights out of us so that - pant, pant, pant, pant; God's going to get us, so we'd better do this
now. That's not what God wants. He wants us out of what He has revealed as Jesus said, "Behold
I've told you all things ahead of time that you might believe. That you know that I have your best
interest of heart. That I'm trying to show you what to escape, to avoid the minefield that's gonna
blow up and cause mass confusion in the minds of people. But God is not the author of
confusion. He's the author of wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and He shares that for us
and gives us that understanding. So we see here a very important application that we need to ask
ourselves as we draw to conclusion how serious are we in this regard of waking up? It's time to
wake up.
Are there areas in our lives personally that we need to really wake up and get on the stick? Or as
our English cousins would say, "It's time to get crackin'." Time to get crackin' and as we see
these events moving closer and closer to the end, you and I cannot afford to be indifferent about
spiritual things. We can't allow the Spirit of God to become something that is looked upon in a
careless manner. We need to value the Spirit of God. We need to stir up the Spirit of God. We
need to thank God for His Spirit because without that Spirit, all you've got to rely on is your
human spirit, and that's not enough. We have to be guided and directed in the knowledge of the
things of God. And only God can administer that to us, but we have to ask. You have not because
you ask not. And you've got to make sure you're always asking with the right motive at heart,
because if you ask amiss, it ain't going to happen, folks. Plain and simple.
So God, out of love and concern is telling us He does not want us to be any aspect of our lives
lethargic or apathetic. Could you imagine God in His service to us - how do you view God in this
- flip the coin. Do you want God to be - ooooohhhhhhh - lethargic, apathetic toward His service
toward you? Or do you want a God in heaven above to be alert, to be on top of things, that when
you cry out to Him, you know He's there? He's right there to hear your prayer, and you want His
best answer to the question that you're struggling with?
Now these are important issues that we have to look at. I John 1:8, 9. We read that in verse 8
before:
I John 1: 8 - "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Verse 9 - "If we confess our sins,. . ." and that's part of what this whole period of self
examination is all about right now. We're in the process of confessing our sins to God. Have we
been indifferent? Have we been lax in areas? Do we need to shore up our defenses? Do we need
to polish up the armor of light so that we can let God's Spirit work and flow more effectively in
us? It says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
of all unrighteousness". He's there to help us do what? To keep His commandments and do those
things pleasing in His sight.
Because unrighteousness is the opposite of what righteousness is. And the righteousness is
defined as keeping the commandments of God. Psalm 119:172.
So God is teaching us how to live by His law. That's part of the New Covenant teaching. It's
being written in our minds. It's being written in our hearts, so that we understand how we are to
conduct ourselves.
Well, it's time to wake up any way you slice it. The world in which we live, we have another
year by the grace of God set before us. We need to be excited each and every Sabbath as we
come before God to rejoice in our time together as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not
something to take for granted. This is something that Satan would love to destroy, and we have
to jealously guard it. It is an oasis of truth, something where God again, as I said earlier to you,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That's why, again, not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves, God commands that so that we hear when we hear, it inspires us and
encourages us and makes us realize our God is real. And that our God is going to do what He
said He's going to do, and that's signed, sealed and delivered. No human being can alter that fact.
And so we find very wonderfully given from the word of God that as individual men and
women, we are to be children of the day, not the night, to clean up our lives if there's any dark
spots, any night spots, any places there that are unacceptable. We're to put on Jesus Christ more
and more and let that light shine just as He said. We're to put that whole armor on. We're to walk
properly, to stay away from things that are wrong.
You know, the world we live in can hypnotize you if you're not careful. Have you ever been on
the highway, driving down the highway, your eyes wide open and yet you were asleep? For a
split-second. Does that ever happen to you.? It's happened to a lot of people. I've experienced it,
you know. The technical term for it, it's a myoclonic jerk. That's what it's called. That's the
technical term. Myoclonic jerk.
You're driving down the highway, and all of sudden you do this jerk, and you suddenly come
back to reality. Where was I? You know. I thought I was awake, driving down the highway.
They call it highway hypnosis, that you just keep your eyes riveted in one spot all the time, this
will happen to you. So they tell you always to keep your eyes moving. It breaks up that
monotony so you don't fall prey to that.
Well, think about how people today are hypnotized through television. Their eyes are focused on
one thing, and they're constantly blitzed and bombarded by this stuff. And a lot of the things that
are on there today, once they get in there, it's hard to get it out. And so what God is telling us,
just like that myoclonic jerk, it's time to jerk yourself back to reality and see exactly what's going
on around you.
This is not entertainment, folks. This is something we have to see objectivity-wise through God's
eyes, and what God sees, He says it isn't very good. What a merciful God we have, though, in
spite of all this. All this stuff that goes on in this world. You can have all this evil and still God
blesses in spite of the evil.
Think of it, if you will. He told Abraham, He says, you know, "If you can find me ten people in
that wicked city called Sodom and Gomorrah," He says, "I won't destroy it." Think of it. He'd let
all that evil go if ten righteous people could be found. They couldn't even find ten. And so the
city was blitzed, and it became history and a testimony to all mankind. And so here we are living
in a world in which God says, "Do you have eyes to see? Do you see where I bless for those who
are doing what I've commanded to do. Do you see where those are suffering terrible things
because they're walking a path contrary? And as free, moral agents, they can do that.
We'll have more to say the next time I talk to you on the topic on why God delays His
intervention on certain things. I think you'll find that interesting. But that'll be for another time.
So with that we'll say, "Goodbye for today."