Wake Up Call - Part A

There's a lot of Christians who are sleeping who are asleep when I wake up call comes when God tries to get our attention and we start to wake up with disorienting it's jarring it's confronting upon our senses the fact that Jesus could come at any moment for believers to view this phone. Jesus returned today on connect with sacrifices Skip soon made six years. This wake up call from Paul about how you can live effectively for Christ today. Before we begin, choose a great resource that will help you tap into deeper faith with more passion years ready to radically upgrade your prayer life still stuck in blessing mode, you have come to the right place you are ready for dangerous prayers will start playing three new players. You is not easy.

Prayers say prayers benign prayer calling dangerous prayers, but there dangerous in a good way is my opinion. Most people I know in this part of the world most people's prayers way to say that Craig Rochelle from his book dangerous prayers. And this is our summer resource offer. If you are ready to get out of your comfort so you are not safe to pray no going into the when you pray this prayer to really ask God to do something that will take you out of your comfort zone or potential Craig Rochelle's book dangerous prayers as our gift to you when you give $35 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air. Request your copy when you get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or you can call 800-922-1888 another clip from Craig's book dangerous prayers talk about what prayer the last thing on the side of brokenness is real intimacy with God cannot get away will have enough encouraging books yet one that will grab you by the throat and get her attention. Replace the one I want to do this I got a blank contract basically whatever whenever. However, whatever you want to do. My life is your son connectwithskip.com/offer or you can call 809 two 218 chapter teaching with great height to say the world today, right. Seems like every year the boundaries get pushed a little bit further crimes become a little bit more shocking headline seemed to be more and more depressing and that Merle line that so many of us grew up knowing is there is a little bit more blurred all around us. We have reminders that Jesus is setting the scene for his return to this earth.

All you have to do is take a look at the news headlines of 2019. Here, the view of the top headlines from this past year. Hurricane Dorian path of destruction 22 dead in El Paso, Walmart shooting 4.6 magnitude earthquake hits Barstow area 250 people dead in Sri Lanka Easter bombings. Let me tell you something, and this might not be the message you wanted to hear this morning. This might not be the message of hope. They were expecting to get but it's only going to get worse sucking it better but headlines are only getting more depressing.

Violence is only going to increase the moral line is just going to continue to get blurred but outcome the scenario where our world is headed is it up. It's further down.

It's just going to get worse and the words of Romans chapter 3 verse 10 through 18, continues to mark humanity. No one is righteous, no not one know what is truly wise.

No one is seeking God. All have turned away all that becomes useless. No one does good, not a single one there. Talk is foul like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies snake venom dripped from their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness rush to commit murder, destruction and misery.

Always follow them. They don't know where to find peace.

They have no fear of God at all. So next time you think that you were born basically good. Think again we are not born good were not born basically good. We are all born bad, if you want an accurate assessment of where you are and how you're doing.

Of how God views your good works.

That's the answer we know it's incredible God still loves us God still cares for us, God still wants a relationship with us.

God sought us out when we were far from him. God wanted us when we wanted nothing to do with him. God desires a relationship with us in spite of all the bad things we've done in spite of our natural state. I read an article online.

It was titled young adults struggle with morality is that this a nationwide survey by the Barna group indicates that Americans have redefined what it means to do the right thing within their own lives.

Article continued to say, researchers asked adults, which, if any, of eight behaviors with moral overtones that engaged in during the past week and a majority of adults had engaged in at least one of these eight behaviors during the past week and here some of the findings from their pole. 65% admitted to using profanity in public, 38% had engaged in sex outside of marriage 37% had lied 33% admitted to intentional exposure to pornography 25% had gotten drunk and the article concluded by saying we are witnessing the development and acceptance of a new moral code in America, millennial's had little exposure to traditional moral teaching and limited accountability for such behavior and that line could sum up society today limited accountability. The moral code began to disintegrate when the generation before them. The baby busters push the limits that had been challenged by their parents.

The baby boomers. The result is that without much fanfare, visible leadership, the US has created a moral system based on convenience feelings and selfishness. The consistent deterioration of the Bible is the source of moral truth has led to a nation where people become independent judges of right and wrong basing their choices on feelings and circumstances, and it close by saying this is not likely that America will ever return to a moral traditional code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices. Romans chapter 13 verse 11 through 14 is God's wake-up call to the church is God's wake-up call to humanity. It is God's wake-up call to America many times when I travel, and I'm in different time zones on different areas.

Absent a hotel often call the hotel and asked for a wake-up call and whenever called master wake-up call is such a convenient feature, you can have them call you in the wake you up and you can ask them to call you every 15 minutes to wake you up but something weird happens when I'm traveling. Often times I'm in different time zones on different cities and because of the time zone change that first call and I'll hear the phone ringing and I wake up having no idea where I am no idea what city I'm in no idea what time it is what day it is only know my name on the phone and I was the fire what's happening where's my kids and I have no idea where I am because it's disorienting. It's charring. I'm still sleepy. I'm still tired.

I've been in maybe a couple different cities over a few different days and I lose sight of where I am I by the same is true of the church.

There's a lot of Christians who are sleeping who are asleep when I wake-up call comes when God tries to get our attention and we start to wake up. It's disorienting, it's charring it's confronting upon our senses. But what should our response be to the fact that Jesus could come at any moment for us if we were asleep. There's a wake-up call. It's about to come. What should our response be both. Some people get so excited about the fact the crisis in return they disregard all responsibilities and they simply wait for his return to get them out of the mess that therein just give up. They seem in the world so messed up. The world is so beyond repair it can't be saved.

So just to give up just to hide my head in the sand just to sit passively by and wait for it all to go to hell literally so I can go to heaven and they just wait around other believers, sensing the student return of Jesus are secure in their eternal destiny and there simply biding their time and yet the Scripture teaches that there are definite responsibilities that we have to attend to in light of the coming of the Lord. There's certain dangers that we need to be careful of. And there's certain things that we need to actively do. Jesus told a parable about a man who went on a journey and he left his business to his workers and he told his workers. He said occupy until I come or invest wisely do business until I come. And he called his 10 servants, and he gave them 10 talents, which is equivalent to about $64,000 in our modern era, and he told them to invest it wisely to occupy until he returned, and to the one who earn 10 from his one, the ruler gave him 10 cities to the one who earn five he gave him the rule over five cities but to the one who simply buried his talent. The Lord rebuked him. This parable teaches us that as we wait for the Lord to return. We need to invest wisely what he has put within our care and what has God put in your care or lives. God has given you the breath that you breathe God is giving you the life that you live.

It is not your own. It is alone and when God gives this life to you.

He gives it to you with the intent that you would invest your life but some people when they get saved and they have this eternal destination secured they just bury it and they say now that I'm saved and I know that I'm going to heaven. I'm just gonna wait around just to protect and wait till I get outta here. I'm knocking to do anything with it. But God has called us to take this life we live and to invest our lives. He has called us to occupy until he comes God has called us to occupy the places in which we live.

We are called to bring heaven to earth occupy. We need to occupy the city that we live and we need to occupy Albuquerque. We need to preach the gospel, we need to care for widows and orphans. We need to feed those without food we need to house the homeless to reach out and love to the refugee and the immigrant to protect those who can't protect themselves. This isn't the government's job. This is the Christians job. This is the believers job to care for our city. God was ready to occupy Albuquerque until Jesus Christ returns who's ready to see revival in our city was ready to take back New Mexico in the name of Jesus Christ and see our families and our neighborhoods in our societies and those who are hurting, and those who are outcast and those who the society is that is less than who's ready to see change in those areas and of course we can all clap and say I already see change, who's ready to be a part of the change was ready to stand up and say I'm not gonna sit passively by and wait for something to happen. I'm going to be the change that I want to see to make this place that we live a little bit more like heaven who was ready to invest themselves into the city. First Corinthians 619 to 20 says you are not your own. You were bought with a price. Our breath, our lives are in his hands. Our lives are not our own. They are alone. They are temporary and guess what they're fading quickly. So how can we occupy until he comes. How can we wisely invest our lives in Romans 13 gives us some answers. And if this is God's wake-up call to the church were to see three things in this text that God wants us to get up. He wants us to get out and he wants us to get going. Let's look at our text Romans chapter 13 let's read verses 11 through 14 and do this, knowing the time, but now it is high time to awake out of sleep for an hour. Salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. The first call we see here in this text is to get up.

Look at verse 11 again with me says and do this, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep we need to get up a spiritual alarm is being sounded is been wrong across the globe to every believer in every single church.

Keep in mind this text is addressed to believers. This is a wake-up call. Get up, it's time to wake up. The time has arrived. You need to get up you need to get out. You need to get going. Let me ask you, what are the traits you look for in a good alarm clock.

You look for one.

It's really quiet and doesn't make a lot of noise while if you don't want to wake up. That's what you look for some people are not in their head because they don't want to wake up in the morning, but the traits of a good alarm clock is you want one that is loud enough to wake you up. You will once again time to get if you want to wake up. There's some things you need to do today know you all is wake up, it's time to get to work. There's things you have to do. Stop being lazy but a lot of us are just content hit snooze keep going keep the sleep going in others. This gained my kids and I play in the morning, who in here as kids like to sleep in. Every parent ever raise their hands. Something weird happens when your kids are really young.

They want to wake up super early and wake you up and then is the older they never want to wake up but we play this game in the morning where my life I will go before kids in will come in really nicely and knock on their door and say something Katie it's time to wake up. We got to get ready for school and uses a responsive agreed with.

As they roll over in bed and put their pillows on their heads in this game progresses, and over the next 15 to 30 minutes.

It progresses a little bit more urgent with each call to where it finally ends with sat get out of bed schools in 10 minutes.

The urgency increases as the time progresses God's call to the church is to wake up to get up because the urgency has increased the time is at hand. God's been calling us for a long time, and the voice has gotten louder and he's letting us know.

It's almost time you need to get up. First Corinthians 1554 says awake to righteousness and sin not. Ephesians 514 says awake unit sleeps in her rise from the dead in Christ will give you light we need to wake up from spiritual lethargy made to wake up from laziness. We need to wake up from apathy. We need to wake up to the urgency of the days in which we live, you realize the urgency of the days in which you live. Do you realize the call that God is placed upon your life to realize the place that God has put you in for such a time as this and is urgent.

The lateness of the time the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. First Thessalonians 56 tells us. Let us then never fall asleep like the rest of the world. Let us keep awake with our wits about us and I want to point out this is not an encouragement for sleep deprivation.

This is speaking of spiritual terms is not like gods in a bless you more if you get two hours of sleep is not with this insane let us keep awake with our wits about us night is the time for sleep in the time when men get drunk, but we men of the daylight should be sober with faith and love as our breastplate in the hope of our salvation is our helmet. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the parable of the 10 bridesmaids that Jesus told it's worth noting that when the call went out that the bridegroom is coming.

They were all asleep. They should been awake. They should've been preparing themselves for the bridegroom to come. But instead they were all sleeping and this is really a picture of the church today. Although five of those bridesmaids are symbols of nonbelievers pretending to be Christians.

The other five are picture of real believers. My question is why were the real believers asleep. Why were they preparing themselves why were they ready for the bridegroom to come.

Many believers today are asleep when they should be awake many believers in the church are asleep there. Christians don't get me wrong there going to heaven. Their salvation is secured but there sleeping when they should be rising.

They don't realize the urgency that we have let me ask you, are you living your life as though you were asleep. Are you securing your salvation.

You know that you're going to heaven, but are you just kinda hiding your head in the ground.

Are you just biding your time, until the Lord returns to perspective that well holds too far gone anyways. So I might as well just sit back and wait for God to come back and will sort it all out, or are you doing what your master told you to do for you occupying your space are you occupying your city are you investing yourself for God's return. Because maybe God's been whispering to you a beer asleep in God's been calling you and he's been saying very gently. It's time to wake up time to get moving.

Got a plan for you. I've prepared something for you. I want you to do something I want you to achieve something, maybe up until now you're just been rolling over in bed and putting your pillow over your head and say, don't talk to me God and try to sleep. I'm too tired. I don't have the energy to do what you want to do because I don't have the capacity I don't have the strength. I don't have the knowledge I just need to sleep and perhaps the voices got louder and louder and louder. Maybe today is your wake-up call to the Holy Spirit is shouting into your soul and your heart, and he saying wake up. The time is now. Get up.

I prepared you for something I want you to do something, it's time to stop sleeping, it's time to get out of bed.

It's time to walk out into your city and its cut time to make a difference.

It's time to make a change. I'm ready to do revival. Are you ready to be a part of it. I believe that church. I believe that God wants to bring revival. I believe that he wants to change the city of ours.

I believe he wants to change this church but I think we need to get up.

Look at verse 12. He says the night is far spent, as I said before, there is urgency to this call. What Paul is referring here is the time until Christ's return.

The time until Christ's return. Now if the night was far spent 1900 years ago when Paul wrote this, how much more do you think it is now. How much closer to the return of God. Do you think were at now that you not to look for.

We see trends developing tendencies pointed out that alert us to the soon coming of that domino effect of biblical prophecy as revealed in the book of revelations. Let me ask you, are there any moves or trends in our society today towards a one world monetary system geopolitically. Is there any trend towards universal religion or some super leader who would bring in an era of peace. Is there any increase of drug use of sexual perversion of violent crime. Are there any trends of an increase of false religious systems or teachings. Is there any increase in believers falling away in backsliding. Is there any increase in the isolation of Israel from the other nations of the world. Is there any increase in rulers and rumors of wars, is there any increase in natural disasters. I read a statistic. It was alarming from the year 2000 till now 20 years. There are more than twice as many natural disasters than there were from the year 1900 to the year 2000, more than twice as many natural disasters in 20 years as the previous hundred before these are all signs that were spoken of in the Scripture, the Bible talks about birth pains and the birth pains will increase in severity and timing as we get closer to the coming of the Lord. The word and I noticed more and more things happening at a severe level and that signs that something big is coming and these signs these trends they should alert us and wake us up.

This is a wake-up call. It's an alarm and I gotta let you know it is a loud alarm. This is not some quiet hey I'm coming this is a loud alarm when you look at the new stories it is allowed. What is happening in our society and our world.

It is not passive.

It is a loud ringing alarm, but some of us are still sleeping. Jesus said when you see these signs begin to happen. Look up for your redemption draws near. I think the signs began a long time ago. I think some of us didn't look at it refused to acknowledge it, but I think now the alarm is ringing. I think it's time for us to look up because the Lord is coming.

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