Every Saturday, Pastor Mike and Sherry write our congregation a letter of encouragement as well an introduction for the sermon topic he will preach the following morning. Below you will find the letter from June 23rd, 2024. To watch this sermon, follow this link: No more spiritual snoozing, It's Time to Wake Up , a sermon on Romans 13:11-14.
Week of June 23, 2024
As a kid there were five words my brother and I hated; “Boys, time to wake up.” It always meant that we had to roll out of that really warm comfortable place and meet the cold hard reality of the world again. Mom always tried to cushion the blow by coming back and forth several times, each time a little more urgent. That would go on until we just couldn’t take it any more and finally we’d roll out. Dad, now that was a different story; door would open, light would go on, and like a drill instructor we would hear, “I’m only saying this once, “UP, OUT, NOW!” You have to understand “sympathy” was always in short supply at the Ruptak house.
The text of our message tomorrow has much the same effect behind it.
“Do this, 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 near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in 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 regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14 NASB)
Paul, as it were, just opened the door, turned on the light, and said, “You’ve slept through the alarm it’s time to wake up, get dressed and get to work, because soon the king is coming.”
Have you ever wondered what you’ll be doing when that awesome event takes place? I have! And the older I get the more frequently I ask the question. My real hope is that I’ll be found faithfully taking care of His business so that I’ll not need to be ashamed of that moment.
As we see and hear about the awful events currently unfolding in the world, people are being forced to ask those serious questions about the prophecies Jesus made about His own return. Some are searching the Scriptures and looking for answers. No, I am not going to make any predictions as to when, but it will happen.
I will remind you, however, of the significance of our Scripture for tomorrow - time is running out! If we do not know the Lord for ourselves, then, as a matter of urgency, stop whatever you are doing, humble yourself before the Lord, the Creator of the Universe, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and come to Him now. And, as John tells us in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,.”
None of us knows either the day or the hour when Jesus will come again or the day or the hour of the time when we ourselves have to prepare to meet Him. The events of the world are a huge wake-up call for the Body of Christ. Don’t delay reaching out to the Lord your Savior. If you do, salvation will come to your house today!
In Luke 17, Jesus answers the question, “How should I live now in light of the second coming?” He urges us to stop worrying about our lives, trying to protect and preserve them. Rather, we should let go of trying to save our own lives and entrust all that we are to him. True life is to be found, not in our anxious efforts, but in reliance upon God through Jesus Christ.
Thus, as we consider the second coming of Jesus, we should not be preoccupied with our own fate. If we have trusted our lives to God through His Son, Jesus, we have nothing to fear. Rather than clinging to our own lives, Jesus urges us to let go, to trust him, to serve him, to give ourselves away in his work. The more we invest our lives in the kingdom of God, the more we will experience a full, complete life, both now and in the age to come.
Since we are people who look for Jesus Christ to come at any moment, we ought to be living clean lives. For example, if you knew for certain that Jesus Christ was coming tomorrow, are there some things you'd get right in your life? Would there be someone you might call this afternoon and want to make up with before Jesus came? Would there be some literature in your home you'd like to get rid of? Are there some things that would change if you absolutely knew that tomorrow you were going to meet Jesus Christ?
I think, that's what John meant when he said that those who have this hope (that is, the expectation of the coming of Jesus) purify themselves (1 John 3:3).
Well, thanks for reading. I’ll get this sent along with the “Listening Guide” for tomorrow. I truly hope to see many of you in service, it’s always special when you are there. For those of you who can’t make it I hope to see you on-line during the broadcast.
May God bless each of you abundantly.
Waiting for the King,
Mike and Sherry
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