Now Is The Time
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And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
The previous chapter deals with Christian Conduct, how you should conduct yourselves now that you belong to God.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
And again,
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Finally,
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
You need to know, that there is a way to conduct yourself if you call yourself a Christian. You don’t get to act any way you feel like acting, you don’t get to say whatever you feel like saying, and do whatever you feel like doing and call yourself a Christian.
To truly be a Christian is not just believing in Christ, it is belonging to Christ. To truly be a christian is to live in Christ and Christ live in you.
And whether you like it or not, there is a certain level respect that you must have because now you represent God and the kingdom of God.
You are suppose to represent all that is good because God is good. You are suppose to be holy because God is holy. You are suppose to love because God is holy.
That is a turn off to most people, because there are presently things in their life that they don’t want to give up, because they love the thing more than they love God.
It is a turn off to most people, because they think that they can’t live holy, someone gets on their nerves and they can’t go without saying something back or cursing that person out.
They have a hard day at work, they’re having family problems, or they have an issue with their health and they can’t go without having a drink to cope.......they gotta shoot themselves up, they gotta smoke to settle their nerves.
So the way of holiness looks unattractive to them and they say I can’t live like that.
But here is the thing, we can’t live holy either with out some help along the way:
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
So now we deal with chapter 13. Paul starts off chapter 13 speaking on having respect for authority. In verse 1 he says we must submit to governing authorities.
Yes you are saved and you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, but you still need to follow the laws of the land......as long as it doesn’t conflict with the word of God.
Next, Paul says owe no man anything but the obligation to love one another. He begins to list the commandments:
Thy shall not steal
Thy shall not commit adultery
Thy shall not commit murder
Thy shall not steal
Thy shall not covet
And other such commandments is summed up in this one commandment:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Look at verse 10:
Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
So now we come to the main part of the text:
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
You need to know what time it is! Ask your neighbor “what time is it?”
Tell them, it is time to get right!
Verse 14
The NLT says “clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We need to put on Christ, we need to take off dark deeds, like we are taking off dirty clothes.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
STOP PROCRASTINATING AND COME TO THE LORD!!! STOP STALLING AND SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO JESUS!!! IT ISN’T A HARD THING TO DO.......YOU JUST NEED A WILLING MIND......AND GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST!!!
GOD SAID “NOW IS THE TIME”........YOU DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME LIFE. YOU HAVE MORE YEARS BEHIND YOU THAN YOU DO IN FRONT OF YOU!!!
YOU WHO SAY ON TOMORROW......JAMES SAID
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
You don’t now when your time will come, you don’t know when your name will be called, don’t get caught outside of the ship!
COME NOW WHILE THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN!!!
those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.
When the water started to come, people wanted to run to the Ark but the LORD sealed the door. It was too late!!!
FOR YOU THAT ARE SAVED, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE IN THE WILL OF GOD, THIS MESSAGE IS FOR YOU TO, IT IS FOR YOU TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE THAT YOU KNOW IS NOT SAVED, IT IS FOR YOU TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE WHO IS OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD!
GOD IS GIVING YOU A WORD THAT COULD SAVE SOMEONES LIFE, GOD IS GIVING YOU A WORD THAT COULD SAVE SOMEONE FROM THE LAKE OF FIRE.......A WORD THAT COULD HELP SOMEONE AND THEN YOU JUST SIT ON IT AND WON’T SHARE IT WITH ANYONE.
TELL SOMEONE “NOW IS THE TIME” “IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP” “IT’S TIME TO GET SOBER” “IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO REALIZE WHAT TIME IT IS.”
IT’S ONE MINUTE BEFORE MIDNIGHT!!!
I preached on last Sunday about the straight gate. Jesus said:
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
There will come a time that there will be many people that will be like the ones during the flood. They are going to run to the ship, they are going to knock, but they won’t be able to get in!!!
There will come a day, when people are going to cry, they are going to beg, they are going to attempt to convince God, but you won’t make it into the kingdom of God, you’re going to be thrusted into outer darkness, you’re going to the lake of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But while, you have an opportunity, while God is extending his mercy to you, you ought to come out with your hands up, you ought to surrender to God!!
Jesus said:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.