1.
Please pray with
me. May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our
Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we continue
our Advent Midweek Service theme, “It’s
About Time” is taken from Romans 13:11-14, it’s entitled, “It’s Time to Wake Up!,” dear brothers
and sisters in Christ.
2.
Have you ever had
an “I overslept!” nightmare? I’m not
talking about a bad dream. I’m talking about a bad experience when you actually
overslept. One Sunday, while a young seminarian was on vicarage (his pastoral
internship), he had overslept. What made this even worse was that on that
particular Sunday, the pastor was gone and the Vicar was in charge of leading
the entire service by himself. He had arrived just before worship was to begin.
While putting on his robe in front of the mirror in the pastor’s study, the
Vicar noticed that he had left his clerical collar at home. There was no time to
get it. He rushed to the Sunday School closet, found some white cardboard, cut
out a makeshift collar, and slid it into the neckband of his black shirt. The
Vicar hoped no one would notice.
3.
The Vicar’s heart
was still pounding and his face red from embarrassment, he finished dressing.
Then came a knock at the study door. A woman stood there crying and saying, “My husband just died. Could you help me?
Could you do the funeral?” Late for the service, cardboard collar around his
neck, and realizing he had not yet had the “funeral
class” at seminary, the Vicar didn’t know what to do. He was late for
worship. He told her that they could speak after worship. Then he rushed up the
center aisle vowing to himself never to oversleep again. Have you ever had an “I overslept!” nightmare? It’s far worse when a person has fallen
asleep spiritually and isn’t ready for Jesus’ second coming at Judgment Day. Hey,
It's Time to Wake Up!
4.
The Bible tells
us again and again that the day of Jesus’ glorious return to usher in Judgment
Day and the end of the world is on its way. We’re told that we’re living in a
very special time, what the Bible calls a kairos time. There are a
couple of words for “time” in the
Greek language of the New Testament. One is chronos, which can mean
ordinary clock time. It’s from this word that we get our word chronology.
Then there’s kairos.
This refers to a special or critical time, an unforgettable
moment. A kairos
time for me would be 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 24th,
2005. That was when I married to my beloved bride Roxanne Margaret. It was a
wonderful and unforgettable moment in time for the both of us.
5.
In Gal 4:4, we’re
told about such a kairos
time. We read, “When the fullness of time
had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman.” This is speaking of the
first coming of Jesus. When the time was just right according to the plan and
will of the heavenly Father, he sent Jesus, his Son. St. Paul tells us these words about time in
our text, Rom 13:11: “Besides this you
know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation
is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”
6.
Today, this day,
“salvation is nearer to us now than when
we first believed.” Now is the hour. Now is the time. The season of Advent
wakes us up. Advent
means “coming.” During Advent we’re reminded that at Christmas,
Jesus is coming. We prepare for his first coming at the manger. Yet Advent also
reminds us that we are to prepare for his second coming at the end of the world.
The King is coming! Are you ready for his arrival?
7.
This is no time
to doze spiritually. Matthew tells us, “Stay
awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. . . . The Son of
Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Mt 24:42, 44). Spiritual
dozing isn’t just embarrassing. It can have eternal consequences. If a person
isn’t prepared to meet his God, this unpreparedness could result in eternal
separation from him. The Bible spells that H-E-L-L.
8.
Sometimes it’s
difficult to consider the Day of Judgment. To bring this issue “closer to home,” I ask you this: What
would you do if you knew you had one week to live? Suddenly, things you thought
were important would look pretty insignificant. Take a moment right now. Imagine
that you do have only one week to live. Make a mental list of such things as
people to forgive or spend time with, sins to repent of, unfinished plans to
make, people you need to tell about Jesus, unresolved issues that need to be
addressed once and for all. What are you waiting for? How do you know when your
time on this earth will come to an end? Advent is a good wake up call to all of us. This is a kairos time.
The Son of Man will come at an hour you don’t expect.
9.
Not only does St.
Paul tell us it’s time to wake up, but he also tells us we need to be dressed
for the occasion. This occasion is Jesus’ second coming. To be dressed for the
occasion means we are to throw off the rags of sin. Paul says, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light”
(v 12). Paul speaks of dressing and undressing. He speaks of putting on God’s
armor of light and casting off rags of sin, dirty clothes of disobedience, and
deeds of darkness.
10.
In the Book of
the Old Testament prophet Zechariah, chapter 3, we’re given a picture of just
how our filthy clothes of sin are taken off of us and replaced with the robes
of righteousness. The prophet has a vision of a man, who represents each of us,
standing before God’s judgment seat. He’s dressed in filthy clothes, the
clothes of sin. In this heavenly courtroom scene it’s clear the man is guilty.
Satan the accuser calls for his condemnation. All is hopeless. Then, the
attorney for the defense speaks. He tells the accuser to shut up. He announces
that this man has been delivered from judgment. He has the filthy clothes
removed and the man is dressed in white robes of righteousness. He’s forgiven! He’s
not condemned! Hallelujah! Here’s a wonderful picture of how we sinners are
made right with God. Here’s a wonderful picture of justification. It’s a gift
of God! It’s like a new set of clothes he provides for us! Every time we see a
pastor dressed in his white robe we can be reminded of God’s gift of new
clothes, his gift of forgiveness. We can’t dress ourselves “for the occasion.” God, for Jesus’ sake,
dresses us.
11.
St. Paul says the
same thing in today’s text. He tells us that we can “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (v 14). We are also told in Gal 3:27,
“For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.” This indeed is what the hymn declares as it says,
“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My
beauty are, my glorious dress” (LSB 563:1).
12.
By Jesus’ death
on the cross for our sin and his rising from the grave, he gives us victory
over sin, death, and the devil. He exchanges our sin for his righteousness. He
strips off of us our filthy garments and dresses us “for the occasion.” We’re now ready to stand before the eternal
judgment throne and declare the words of another wonderful hymn: “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy
cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace”
(LSB
761:3). We’re dressed in the righteousness of Jesus, our Savior!
13.
So dressed, we
are to live as God’s children as we wait for Jesus’ second coming. St. Paul
says it this way in our text: “But put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (v 14). That is
to say, now, between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming, we are to live
as God’s forgiven, well-dressed, wide-awake children. Dressed in God’s gift of
righteousness, we’re to demonstrate a different kind of life than unbelievers. We
do this not to earn God’s love or to impress others, but to thank God and
witness to God’s mercy and forgiveness.
14.
The story is told
in Spain of a father and his teenage son who had a relationship that had become
strained. So the son ran away from home. But, his father began a journey in
search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate effort to
find him, the father put an ad in the newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper
office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father.” The next day at
noon, in front of the newspaper office, 800 “Pacos” showed up. They were all seeking forgiveness and love from
their fathers.
15.
What a wonderful
gift is the gift of love and forgiveness. All people crave this gift. This gift
is yours! Though you have strayed from the love of your Heavenly Father, he
seeks you out and won’t rest until you’re safe in his arms. To make you ready
for world’s end and the Day of Judgment, you’ve been awakened and given a new
suit of clothes. You’ve been dressed in the righteousness and forgiveness of
Christ Jesus. You are ready. This day
and every day in Advent is a wonderful day to wake up and celebrate the love of
God freely given to you in Jesus. In the
name of Jesus. Amen!
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