Rom 13-Living in the Light

| Living in the Light! Romans 13:8-14

June 29, 2008 (NLT) 8Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.11This 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. 12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. PRAY Scripture Memory:If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18 (NIV)INTRO.- Using the down-shift with a manual transmission to slow down…My game: avoid touching the brake…There are times in life when we all need to gear down. When should we gear down? When we’re going to fast or perhaps doing some things that we shouldn’t be doing. 1. A Wake up Call2. A Shape up Call3. A Dress up Call 1. A Wake up Callvv. 11-12a – 11This 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. 12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. Michael Vick, a former professional football player who was convicted of perjury and illegal dog-fighting, got a wakeup call. Here’s what one writer said about Vick. Dec. 10, 2007:Now that Michael Vick has gone from icon to inmate, I’m hoping he makes it back to the NFL. Not as the same player or the same person, but as a changed man.Vick received a 23-month sentence for his role in a dog fighting ring that gambled on pit bulls and killed them viciously. To me, regardless of the length of Monday’s sentence, Vick has paid dearly for his wrongdoing. He lost millions of dollars and faces financial obligations that may leave him bankrupt. His NFL career, if not over, is in serious jeopardy. His reputation is tarnished, and much of his dignity has been taken away, trading a Falcons uniform and all the perks of superstardom for a cell and the prison uniform he wore Monday to a Richmond, VA, courtroom.Vick has nobody to blame but himself. He should have never been involved in dog fighting and such cruelty to animals. He should have admitted his guilt long before he did. He should have been more careful about the company he kept. He should have realized how many people would want to bring him down, because as a high-profile athlete, he brought far more attention to the issue of dog fighting than any average Joe would have.Vick was naive, he lied, he broke the law, and he is paying a heavy price. But once he leaves prison, I hope he leaves prison behind for good. I hope he stays out of trouble. I hope he is allowed to return to the NFL. And if he is, I hope he returns successfully. My friends, Michael Vick has certainly received his wakeup call!It is easy to say that he should have known better than to do what he was doing. But what about us? What is it going to take for us to wake up about certain things, about things where we, deep down, we know we are wrong and yet don’t want to admit it? A delivery man once told the following story: ON MY WAY to deliver a computer to a customer, I saw a handwritten sign at the entrance of an alley. It read: "Blocked! Do not pass! Difficult to turn back." I continued anyway, only to discover that the alley was indeed blocked by a fallen tree. As predicted, it took a while to turn the truck around. When I finally got back to the entrance, I noticed a second sign. It read: "Told you so!" Brothers and sisters, God has told us that, in so many words, numerous times in life but… Many of us just keep right on doing the same old things when we know that they are not right. And some day, it will catch up to us and God may well do worse than block the road or put up a sign that reads, "told you so!"Is God speaking to you in some form? Is He trying tell you something? One thing we all need to hear often is “Wake up!”We should live every day as though it were our last…Time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. 2. A Shape up Call (vv. 12-13)12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, & put on the shining armor of right living. 13Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity & immoral living, or in quarreling & jealousy.Once we receive a wake up call or get woken up then we need to shape up. Put aside the deeds of darkness. Behave decently.Someone once said: I don’t exercise at all. If God had wanted me to touch my toes He would have put them up higher on my body. (I think it may have been Doug…)Someone else said: I’m in shape. Round is a shape.Someone once asked a friend: "What did you do to lose weight?" She responded, "I eat less and move more." That sounds like a pretty good way to lose some weight and shape up.I think if we all took a long, hard look at our lives from a spiritual standpoint (meaning God’s Word) and then if we are honest enough, we would admit that we need to shape up! But, for many of us, shaping up spiritually may be more difficult than shaping up physically. Old habits are hard to break. Sinful habits are hard to break. I really need to shape up. But If I’m going to shape up I need to MOVE MORE AND EAT LESS… or at least EAT RIGHT! Is it any wonder that we are out of shape when we rarely exercise? Is it any wonder that we are overweight when we pay so little attention to what we eat?The same can be said of us spiritually…and for some even more so…Spiritual disciplines / physical disciplines…Are you willing to commit, this morning to Shape Up renew a spiritual discipline in your life…? Write it down on your outline and ask a friend to pray for and with you in this… 3. A Dress up Call (vv. 12, 14)12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.14Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. |   | Someone once said, "What do you instantly know about a well-dressed man.? …His wife is good at picking out clothes."Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."There is an actual internet site called "Clothes Make the Man." Here is how their ad reads: Clothes Make The Man is dedicated to helping low income and disadvantaged men who are entering or re-entering the workforce by providing them with business and interviewing attire, career development and life-skills counseling, etc.Can you believe it? Yes. In our world, there is always SOMEONE who will try to sell us anything. And I do think the world has sold us a bill of good about clothes make the man or the woman. Take off your dirty clothes / Put on the Lord Jesus ChristTake off your sin and Put on righteousnessTwo ways to apply this:Lifestyle… and… Relationship with GodThings we do which affect our ability to enjoy God and the gifts He showers upon us… and…What we need to do to enjoy God and life, in general… Negatively- In terms of lifestyle (Things we do wh/ affect our ability to enjoy God and the gifts He showers upon us):☞    Take off your old, dirty clothes – v. 12b (NLT) – Remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes – lit: Put aside the deeds of darknessDark deeds – Four areas which, when indulged in, negatively impact our ability to enjoy God and the gifts He showers upon us:Ø   v. 13 – Wild parties and drunkenness,Wild parties and using alcohol (or other drugs) to escape or to have funØ   v. 13 – Sexual promiscuity and Immoral livingSexual sins of any kind – using physical pleasure in ways that God has said are wrong Ø   v. 14 – Don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.Fantasizing – day-dreaming about things which God says are wrongØ   v. 14 – Quarreling and JealousyNot getting along with people Positively – In terms of lifestyle (Things we do which affect our ability to enjoy God and the gifts He showers upon us):☞    Put on God’s new clothes: v. 12c –  (NLT) Put on the shining armor of right living.v. 14 (NLT) Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ – lit: Put on the Lord Jesus ChristHow do we put on Christ? At one level, it’s kind of like an actor studying for his part in a movie, although it is much deeper and more powerful. As the actor studies and saturates his mind with the person he is to play, he essentially becomes that person. They study for hours and hours the character they are to become.This is a good picture of what it means to put on Christ. We must study His Word and His life! As we behold Him in the gospel accounts we find ourselves becoming more like Him. Peter and John were recognized as men who had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13 NLT)) when the people saw their boldness and the way they lived. Could that be said ABOUT US? Eph. 5:15-20 (NLT) 15So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.This is a big part of what it means to “Walk in the light.”Eph. 6 14 - the breastplate of righteousnessNo fear of something being exposed or found out – When we are at peace in our hearts with God, the accusations of others will carry no weight.Daniel 6:5 (NIV) – Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” I think that the context is clear, here, that this is a call for God’s people to turn from sin and to live righteous lives. However, as we constantly need to be reminded, righteousness is FAR more than being blameless in the eyes of those around us is our relationship with our God… Negatively – In terms of our Relationship with God (What we need to do to enjoy God and life, in general):☞    Take off your old, dirty clothes: (v. 12b – (NLT) Remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes)This involves ongoing confession of sin – keeping SHORT ACCOUNTS with God…Spiritual breathing: Breathe out confession of sin and unworthiness… breathe IN the gospel…Our need for worship and preaching – the attack on the church in America, not from without, but from within… Positively – In terms of our Relationship with God (What we need to do to enjoy God and life, in general):☞    Put on God’s new clothes:v. 12c (NIV) Put on the armor of light. –– Eph. 6 14 - the breastplate of righteousnessv. 14 (NLT) Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ – lit: Put on the Lord Jesus ChristMat. 22:1-14 – Jesus tells a parable about a wedding banquet. In the parable, he points out first that those who were the first to be invited gave lame excuses for not coming, so the Lord sent his servants to bring in everyone they could find, good and bad alike.11“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Zechariah 3:1, 3-4 (NIV) – Then [the angel] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him….3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.  4The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” Even more than following Christ’s example, putting on Christ means covering our hearts with HIS righteousness. This is what the man was missing who was thrown out of the wedding feast.This is the ONLY thing which can give any of us true peace with God….This is what God commanded the high priest to be clothed with in Zechariah.Our own righteous lifestyle (or lack thereof) will certainly have an impact on our ability to enjoy life and God. However, ONLY Christ’s righteousness will ever truly bring us peace with God!When Satan accuses you…When others accuse you or criticize you…When your own heart accuses you…    Summary / Review: God’s call to all those of us who would call ourselves Christians is to WAKE UP – Stop ignoring all the warnings God sends our way and do what He is calling us to do. Secondly, we need to SHAPE UP – If we are lethargic and weak, spiritually, it is almost definitely because we are not exercising using the spiritual disciplines God has given us. Finally, we need to DRESS UP, in Jesus Christ, following in His footsteps, but even more importantly, clothing ourselves in HIS righteousness, believing and living the truth of the gospel. A Truth to Remember: God has given us the righteousness of Jesus Christ for the asking. The only question is: Do we really want it?A Challenge to Consider: Are you actively pursuing Jesus Christ, exercising the spiritual disciplines that you KNOW He wants you to do? One thing I heard this morning was… |