[0:00] We can resume our public worship of God by singing to his praise Psalm 43. Psalm 43, we're singing the whole psalm.
[0:14] Psalm 43, judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation, from the unjust and crafty man, O be thou my salvation.
[0:26] For thou the God art of my strength, why thrust thou me thee fro? For the enemy's oppression, why do I mourning go?
[0:38] O send thy light forth on thy truth, let them be guides to me, and bring me to thine holy hill, even where thy dwellings be. Then will I to God's altar go, to God my chiefest joy.
[0:53] Ye God, my God, thy name to praise, my harp I will employ. Why art thou then cast down my soul?
[1:04] What should discourage thee? And why with vexing thoughts art thou disquieted in me? Still trust in God. For him to praise good cause I yet shall have.
[1:17] He of my countenance is the health, my God that doth me save. The whole of Psalm 43, to God's praise. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation.
[1:32] Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation.
[1:52] From the unjust and the crafty man.
[2:02] O be the mighty salvation. For thou the mighty trumpets you, O part of Christ.
[2:20] I trust the mealy flow From the enemy's oppression Why do I warning you?
[2:44] O send thy light, forstand thy truth Let them be guides to me And bring me to thine holy hill Even when thy dwelling is being Then will I to God's altar go To God my cheapest joy Yea, God, my God, thy name to bless
[3:47] My heart thy will employ Why, y'ard now then, cast out my soul What should discourage me?
[4:15] And why will that's the thoughts That love is quiet Feel it in me Still trust in God For him to bless Good cause I yet shall have He, O my God, Gnonses the help My God, the killer, may save Let us join together in prayer Let's pray
[5:15] Gracious God, as we come before you This evening hour of worship We give thanks That we have such an opportunity And we would ask that you would give to us To us the wherewithal by which we might avail ourselves offered That we would be aware of the guiding of your spirit So that our petitions would be to your glory That they would not be offerings that we bring That are set upon the altar of our own inclinations Rather that we would seek the glory of our God And that what we would desire would be for the good of our soul And for the glory of your name
[6:18] We give thanks for the opportunity That we have to enter into your presence That you have opened a way for us And that in the name and for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ We can approach a throne of grace And that is something that we so often take for granted Because those who would desire to use This means they are inclined to think that it has always been open to them But reality is that sin has departed us from your presence We have the symbolism of the Old Testament scriptures Where we find our first parents Driven out of the Garden of Eden And a flaming sword put in the gate Forbidding access to the tree of life
[7:21] And so we need to learn That the pathway to God Was one that had to be secured afresh And only by your own provision Was that possible And you did provide for yourself a lamb As you did in the experience Of one of our patriarchs Abraham As he came to take his son Even his only son Even his only son Isaac To be offered He found That The Lord from heaven Forbid Him to lift up his hand against The one that The Lord had provided for him But that he himself would provide a lamb And we read in your word How When the time came For a lamb to be offered That was the lamb of God
[8:22] No voice came To prevent The Thawed That you had appointed To be plunged into him To be prevented We acknowledge Your goodness And your grace And your wisdom In all things Pertaining to life everlasting We marvel at The many ways In which we are able to see Things that have been put before our eyes That have thereby been Discovered Even though they were before us For much of our lives And yet Any appointed time You are now just to Fix our minds upon truth Even truth Even truth that You sought to declare to us At the appropriate hour We pray for wisdom To understand That all things That you have done Are done well And that
[9:24] With regard to the salvation Of individual souls That all that we need Is provided for us In and through the passion Of your son Jesus Christ And the particular nature Of your dispensing Of your salvation As it is in the experience Of individuals While there may be Unanimity In the fact that Only one saviour Is provided There are manifold Manifold experiences That are applicable To the way in which We discover that saviour And how he comes To make himself known to us So we pray for The congregation here this evening And ask that everyone present Would know your blessing All who are desirous of seeking you As their own saviour May they discover him
[10:26] To be the very saviour that they seek We pray for those We pray for those who Whose interest is limited And that is clearly the case When it is not seen fit By them to make every endeavour To discover that Christ For themselves We know that We know that The foolishness that dwells In the heart of man Where they lay hold of Passages of the scripture That would suggest That there is an elect Of God who will Experience salvation No matter what And they would use that As an excuse if not a reason For they are not Being industrious In seeking the Lord But you have You have Placed an onus upon us To do all within our power To seek the Lord While he is to be found To call upon
[11:28] While he is near And to forsake As the wicked their ways And the unrighteous man their paths And to pursue earnestly The course of action That requires us to Close in urgently With the passion Of Jesus Christ The alone Saviour of sinners So here are petitions On our own behalf And on behalf of those Who do not see fit To pray for themselves We do remember those Who are unable to be In God's house Even though their heart is here Their body has failed And the faculties Of mind or heart May have reduced them To a situation Where they are incapable Of coming To be with your people Some confined to homes Some to homes for the elderly Some in hospital And some even in the hospice We pray for
[12:31] Any of that number Where they are Or where the Lord is cast This evening But we do know that They are there And each one we bring to you And thank you our God For the knowledge that you have Of every one of us The day may come When we will depend on others To pray for ourselves When we are unable to pray Such as we are praying this evening But that we are found inside the prayers Of the people of God The people of God That who That are regularly Seeking The blessing of God Not just for themselves But for others Such a privilege is ours And we pray that we would Avail ourselves of it For the day may come As we suggested That we may be Deprived of the ability To pray for ourselves Whether it is Lack of Inclination When the faculties of mind Diminish Or
[13:33] Maybe even pain Being such a A terrible Experience for some That they cannot even begin to think of pain All that they are Possessed of is the The experience of The pain itself Others we know of Who Maybe this evening Are so Oppressed With the Sorrows and the sadnesses That they have come about By a providence so hard That they cannot fix their mind Upon the things of God Or a God Who is the God of Providence Lord we pray for your goodness In extending to us That spirit of prayer Not just for ourselves As we said But for others So visit us in mercy to that end That we would pray for a coming of your kingdom And a pouring of your spirit A day of quickening And a day of awakening That the power of almighty God
[14:36] Would be known once again Accompanying the word that has not changed It is ever the same It has always Done whatever you have purposed for it But our prayer is That once again You would speak to us And through us Through your word That our testimony would be true And that our word would be the word of the everlasting God And that the salvation that Christ has Would be seen as the one that we all Would seek for ourselves Bless this sin-sick world in which we live All the strange affairs of man The perversions that are exposed from time to time The wickedness that lies in the heart of man Random killings Are so prevalent in our day and generation In our cities, in our towns, in our villages even Acts of
[15:38] Of despicable violence That is wrought man against man Woman against woman even Child against child This is the day and generation that we are in And you see this from on high Be merciful to us, Lord Pour out your spirit upon us That we may turn from our sin to yourself Remember the nations embroiled in war The damage that is wrought us Inestimable Not just the physical damage The destruction of buildings and properties And ways of life But also the destruction of the mind Those who are living through these things May never recover from them And the bitterness that is created in the heart of many That will not be quenched Will not be satisfied
[16:43] Even when it seeks vengeance For the blood that has been shed in these days Lasting into generations to come As it has from the generations of past Hear us, O Lord Preserve us from our own Waywardness and foolishness Pour out your spirit upon us Cleanse from every sin we pray In Jesus name, Amen I am going to sing to God's praise, Psalm 13 Psalm 13 Psalm 13 How long will thou forget me, Lord?
[17:24] Shall it forever be? O how long shall it be That thou wilt hide thy face from me? How long take counsel in my soul? Still sad in heart shall I How long exalted over me Shall be mine enemy?
[17:41] O Lord my God Consider well and answer to me make Mine eyes enlighten Lest the sleep of death me overtake Lest that mine enemy should say Against him I prevailed And those that trouble me rejoice When I am moved and failed But I have all my confidence Thy mercy set upon My heart within me shall rejoice In thy salvation I will unto the Lord my God Sing praises cheerfully Because he hath his bounty shown To me abundantly Psalm 13 The whole psalm to the praise of God How long, Lord?
[18:29] How long wilt thou forget me, Lord? Shall it forever be? How long shall it be, Lord? How long shall it be, Lord? How long will thou forget me, Lord?
[18:45] Shall it forever be? How long shall it be, that love?
[19:01] Will thy life is strong me? How long take counsel, then my soul, still sad in heart shall I?
[19:29] How long exalted over me shall be mine enemy.
[19:46] O Lord my God, consider well and answer to me.
[20:05] My eyes and eyes turn less to sleep.
[20:17] Of death may overtake. Lest that mine enemy should stay, against him I prevailed.
[20:45] And those that trouble me rejoice, when I am moved and filled.
[21:04] But I have all my confidence.
[21:15] Thy mercy set upon my heart within me shall rejoice.
[21:34] And thy salvation. I will unto the Lord my God, sing praise as pure holy.
[22:02] Because he has his foundation. I will unto the Lord my God, sing praise as pure holy.
[22:22] Amen. Amen. Amen. We're going to hear God's word as we have it in the New Testament scripture. Paul's epistle to the Romans.
[22:33] And we're going to read chapter 13. Paul's epistle to the Romans. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
[22:59] For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God.
[23:13] And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power?
[23:27] Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid.
[23:41] For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God. How he venture to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
[23:52] Wherefore he must needs be subject not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also.
[24:06] For they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues. Tribute to whom tributes due.
[24:18] Custom to whom custom. Fear to whom fear. Honor to whom honor. O no man anything, but to love one another.
[24:31] For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal.
[24:42] Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet. And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying.
[24:54] Namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
[25:06] 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.
[25:17] The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. And let us put on the armor of light.
[25:28] Let us walk honestly as in the day. Not in rioting and drunkenness. Not in chambering and wantonness. Not in strife and envying.
[25:40] But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. And make not provision for the flesh. To fulfill the lusts thereof. Amen.
[25:51] And may the Lord add this blessing. To a reading of this word. To his name be the praise. We can sing now verses from Psalm 146.
[26:04] Psalm 146. From verse 5 to the end. Who happy is that man and blessed.
[26:16] Whom Jacob's God doth aid. Whose hope upon the Lord doth rest. And on his God is stayed. Who made the earth and heavens high.
[26:27] Who made swelling deep. And all that is within the same. Who truth doth ever keep. Who righteous judgment executes.
[26:38] For those oppressed that be. Who to the hungry giveth food. God sets the prisoners free. The Lord doth give the blind their sight. The bow down doth raise.
[26:50] The Lord doth dearly love. All those that walk in upright ways. The stranger shield. The widow's stay. The orphan's help is he.
[27:02] But yet by him the wicked's way. Turned upside down shall be. The Lord shall reign forevermore. Thy God O Zion he.
[27:13] Reigns to all generations. Praise to the Lord give ye. These verses of Psalm 146. To the praise of God.
[27:24] O happy is that man. And blessed. Whom Jacob's God doth aid. Whom Jacob's God doth aid.
[27:49] Whose hope upon the Lord unrest. Whose hope upon the Pilgrim. The following day.
[28:00] Suzing flow. Whose hope upon the Lord. vontade. His help on the earth. Your hope upon the ground. And death. Supreme law off but not trusted нет.
[28:11] Hear thee. Thearus sheep. Whose Grace on earth.rove Negro south. Notrico grave. номera groan. The tumeral sidewalk allowing. officials shout. For the nossaentiary.
[28:22] O Running which little 길am. within the same who truth doth ever keep who righteous judgment executes for those oppressed at me who do the hungry give who hath fed God sets the prisoners free the Lord doth give the blind their sight the burden doth red rest the
[29:24] Lord doth dear love all those that walk in a bright ways the strangers shield the widow's day they are gone selved sea but yet by him the wicked way turned up side down shall be king the Lord shall reign forever more thy god o sign on me reigns to all generations praise to the
[30:35] Lord give you the Lord give ye can we turn to Romans chapter 13 chapter 13 and we can read at verse 10 Romans 13 verse 10 love worketh no ill to his neighbour therefore love is the fulfilling of the law and that knowing the time that now it is high time to wake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed the night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light so on so on now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed we know that the apostle Paul is the most prolific of the New Testament writers and the whole much of what we have in the epistles comes from the pen of the apostle so we are familiar with him as a theologian somebody who knows God and who knows what God expects and what God requires from each one of us so it is inevitable that when we read what Paul has to say he is constantly reminding us of what needs to be true of each one of us what we should be doing what we could be doing and why we should be doing it so so we look at his writing and we find that within the compass of what he has to say but Paul is never just content to to lay before us the things that are necessary necessary but he also but he also follows that up with instruction as to how to fulfill what is expected of us how to arrive at the station of a greater knowledge of truth and how to apply that truth in practical ways
[33:54] I think it's I think it's R.C. Sproul that says about Paul and I suppose a statement like this would probably need to be guarded because we know that Paul is writing under the guiding of the spirit what he writes he writes because God has given it to him to write the truth that he declares it's God's truth not just Paul's own imagination or Paul's own wisdom but the truth of God as God has given him to declare it but Spool says he's the greatest theologian known to man but he is also the greatest systematic theologian known to man he is the greatest practical theologian known to man and by that he means that Paul when he declares the mind of God it is with the purpose of bringing that to influence the thinking of those he is preaching to or teaching so that they apply what they hear to their lives that's a simple matter how wasteful would be a service be such as this one if all that happened would be that I stood here and gave you instructions from the scripture and explain to you this is what the Bible says without any without thinking that there was ever going to be a practical application of it to our lives what would be the purpose of that?
[35:56] for you to sit there and hear anyone doesn't matter who it is tell you what God is saying tell you what God wants us to believe and wants us to be doing and leave it at that forget it, just move on it would be a pointless exercise and we always need to remind ourselves that whatever is going to await us on the great day of judgment I will have to answer for what I've preached but I will also have to answer to God for what I've heard preached and what I've done with what I've heard preached if I chose to ignore it, turn my back upon it turn a blind eye to it I will answer to God for that as indeed everyone else will it's important to keep that in mind because the proclamation of God's truth is important but the chapter before us here is most notable for the clear statement that we have from the mouth of Paul on the function, on the role and on the origin of civil government of civil government and the obligation that we are put under to be obedient to to those that God has set over us in the the arrangement of the laws of the land we are reminded of the need to be subject to those governments and it is not often something that we emphasize or insist upon but it is part of a Christian duty to be prayerfully minded of those that are in those that are in positions of power responsible for for creating laws and for enacting laws because whatever we want we want the laws that are that are created we want them to be God honoring and we want them to be implemented for the glory of God and for the good of God's people here in the world that is that is an obligation under which the Lord's people are and an obligation under which those who are in government are under they might think that their greatest concern is what the electorate will do come election day but there is a greater concern that should should influence what they are doing and that is what what will the Lord God say about this you know they might not believe that there is such a being as a God who is Lord and God but that's something else but what Paul is saying here is this we must needs subject not only for wrath he says but also for conscience for this cause pay he tribute also for their
[39:30] God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing he continues to to stress and to highlight the various duties that devolve upon men and women everywhere it doesn't matter where it is that they are obliged as far as they are able to to to obey those that are over them in the things of of civil order and governance and it for policy here Paul is saying here it forms part of his ethical teaching and he does combine spiritual teaching with ethical teaching because there is an explanation given to us of why we should be doing what we are doing and there is a permanent and abiding relevance to the law of God in all the things that
[40:42] Paul teaches no he doesn't just randomly select one thing here or one thing there that has nothing really much to say to any one of us but he constructs what he says on the basis of what God's word requires from us you see there listed thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not kill thou shalt not steal thou shalt not bear false witness thou shalt not covet thou shalt not covet all of these things as far as our modern society is concerned they are an irrelevance when there are moral sins well the argument that you hear so often expressed is well what a man does in the privacy of his own home is perfectly alright you can do what you like as long as it's not a public sin well that's not what God says whether it's public or private
[41:45] God says that there are constraints upon our behaviour that he legislates for and the government of everyday is required to apply God's regulations to the way people live and order their lives basic honesty is a requirement not a not something that you would do what you like as long as you get off with it and then there's an uproar if it's discovered one divine explains the teaching of Paul in this way the norm or the standard of life of the Christian life is the law and the motive power to keep the law is the new life that is within the Christian believer and that is life in the spirit which exhibits itself as a life of obedience to God wherever God chooses to make himself known to us well Paul as I said he teaches us what should be true of us and he helps us understand where we need to apply these truths to our lives sometimes in minute detail but I want us to focus particularly on the words of verse 11 and it's part of the exhortation that Paul gives where he is exhorting the believer in particular to obey the teaching that God has brought to them specifically the teaching that requires them to love one another and in so doing fulfilling the law of God and that is at the heart of what he has to say and you might think to love one another surely it's a basic understanding a basic concept that we can understand but very often that notion the notion of love for others is so so despoiled by the misuse of the word that we fail to get to grips with what is actually meant by it for the Christian to love someone is not just for them to go and put their arms around somebody if they're if they're broken or if they're afraid or whatever it is also for them to go to their fellow
[44:41] Christian and offer to them a word of rebuke if they need to hear it to challenge their behaviour if they're misbehaving to bring the truth to bear upon their lives lives in areas where they might be choosing deliberately to ignore the truth the love of God is something that's much broader than than the way modern society or even any society chooses to apply it but that is at the heart of what Paul has to say here but focusing on the words of verse 11 he says he says in verse 10 therefore love is the fulfilling of the law and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake and to sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed the night is far spent the days at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light the the meaning of these words is actually highlighted by what comes after and that it is what Paul has to say about our behaviour ethical and spiritual we can ask the question first of all what is the basis that Paul gives for for urgency and the answer is simple he says knowing the time know it is high time to awake and to sleep that is the reason why these things should be done expeditiously these things should be done right away without any hesitation it is not something you can leave until you are feeling more up to it or feeling better about doing it or maybe when you are more strong that you can do these things in a in a more positive way no he says the time the time is now and you know that the time is now for you to wake out of sleep the time is now for you to wake out of sleep and you would think that surely that can't be as narrowly focused on people who know the Lord it should really those that we know that are sleeping and that are sleeping and that the word of God are those who are strangers to God and strangers to the Lord Jesus Christ but no you have to take it into the context you have to take it into the the body of the teaching that Paul is giving and the third thing he says this has to be done now because salvation is nearer it is nearer than when we believed now it is all of these things that Paul says here they are not straightforward they might appear to us to be slightly
[48:43] difficult to to unravel because of the emphasis that is being put by him on what needs to be done urgently what basis does he give for the exhortation well he says they know the time and now it is high time in the Greek language there are two two time concepts the first of these has to do with seconds minutes hours days it is purely a measurement of time but there is a second word and it has to do the quality of the time what we are doing with our time what we are doing with our time the use of the time rather than the measure of the time so Paul is saying here it is now an hour to be raised out of sleep this is the time where you must be be a walker out of your slumber a critical time with regard to the gospel the time has come and the time has gone you have come to a time knowledge of Christ became a knowledge of a saviour of your soul that time came if you are a Christian that moment came when you were somebody who was in darkness to somebody who was illuminated somebody who had no knowledge of God that was saving knowledge and then your knowledge was changed into a knowledge that ensured that your soul was saved so the sense of the appointed time for fulfilling the word of God or the will of God has come and gone for you in that sense but there is still the sense of what the sense of what we are to glean from the use of the word time here where the the events connected with that have still to be fulfilled they have still to take place you may be saved by reason of your coming to know Christ but not everything that belongs to your salvation has come into your possession the process of sanctification has commenced but it has not concluded the works of grace that God has undertaken to carry out in your life and your life are ongoing it is a process yes you may say yes I must save today as I ever will be but that is not what Paul is alluding to here it is high time to wake out of sleep because now is our salvation nearer than when we believed
[52:46] now that seems a contradiction how can be how can salvation be nearer to us now when salvation is ours when we believe that would obviously be a contradiction if we believe we are saved but then he says no your salvation is nearer nearer to you now than when you believed so what he is saying to them is that there is an oppressing need upon us to bring the truth of God to bear upon our lives as exhaustively as we can and as incisively as we can so that there is no area of our human experience that is not governed by the law of God by the word of God by the teachings of God's truth we are reconciled you know this is what he is teaching them here there is there is this element of teaching that he brings to bear upon their hearts and minds their obligation to the powers that are in existence to yield to them to submit to them to do whatever is in their power so that these powers are able to do their work in God's name and their part in that is to be obedient and to be the instruments for good within society but Christians are not just good citizens they are obligated to be good Christians as well to be believers in God and expressive of what they believe to the degree that they are seen for what they are and Paul is concerned that that is not what is happening why is it not happening he says because many are asleep many are asleep and he is not talking about those who are sleeping the sleep of death here he is speaking to believers who are asleep in the sense that they are not as conscientiously applying God's word to their lives in every area that they should be applying it maybe you think I am wrong if you remember when John was writing the book of Revelation as God taught him he wrote a letter to the various churches seven churches and he wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus and he had a lot to commend the people in Ephesus for the believers in Ephesus but one thing he was critical of and this was that they had forsaken their first love they had forsaken their first love
[56:11] Paul is identifying here as something that is at the heart of what he has to say that you shall love your neighbour as yourself love worketh no ill to his neighbour therefore love is the fulfilling of the law and if part of the problem that they are witnessing too and part of the problem that they are part of is their sleeping when they should be active in demonstrating love as God has required them they are lulled into a do-seed slumbering condition just like the church in Ephesus well, would you believe it that sleepy Christians are not very effective Christians sleepy Christians are not very effective Christians but these words can also be applied to some
[57:20] I suppose we have to say that who have made no profession and yet their sleep is deep deep slumber of spiritual takes death it's interesting because as I said this passage is not all it is not as straightforward and some people when they come to explaining what is meant by the night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore put off the works of darkness that there is this teaching that belongs to the New Testament church that is based upon the thought that Christ's return is imminent that Christ declared that his return was imminent and that meant to them imminent it meant just round the corner as soon as tomorrow comes Christ may come and some look at this passage and they say well, maybe this was the burden Paul was under that he was thinking that
[58:37] Jesus was just going to come immediately well, maybe he was but he had no way of knowing when Jesus came he would have no way of knowing what the time of the second coming was but as he clearly expresses in much of what he has to say he lived his life consistently as one who understood that Christ was going to come again and that his role was to be ready when he did and he wanted what the gospel to offer to offer to offer at least this certainty that they would be ready when Christ came and if you are asleep or if you are under the power of spiritual death you are not going to be prepared you are not going to make any form of preparation some of you will know the story of of Augustine and Augustine came to be a well-known theologian a well-known vanguard I suppose he prepared the way for for much teaching that was spiritual teaching but in his early life whatever energy he had in his later life as far as his understanding of what God's word meant in his early days in his early days he had Christian influence on his life but he he came to be introduced to the teachings of the Christian church and while he understood what the church held out to him what Christ held out to him his he was drawn to to the world and to the immorality that the world held out to him and he wasn't prepared to yield and he wasn't prepared to surrender that you know mentally maybe it's like many who are under the gospel today they exactly they know exactly they know exactly what God's word is saying it's not a lack of of ability to understand that this keeping people back from from embracing Christ Jesus as the Savior but a lack of will a lack of desire they desire something else better or more and that was the way Augustine was but even those things that he was drawn to and that he gave himself to failed to satisfy him and the lack of satisfaction that he had from them became greater and greater and his grief was deeper and deeper until one day he he heard a child sing and the child seemed to be saying to him take up the book and read take up the book and read and the book he understood was the Bible and he began to read the Bible like he had never read it before up until that moment he was he was in the sleep of spiritual death but Paul is saying here to the Christian awake and arise from your sleep
[62:41] and Christ shall give you light what reason does Paul give salvation he says is nearer the Bible says today salvation has come it also speaks of the same people as those who are being saved they are already in the kingdom and yet they are waiting for the kingdom they have a new life but they are looking to inherit life everlasting so what is Paul teaching well he is teaching this this very strange doctrine to some that what they have is not all there is to it the salvation that they have become but less of is yet to be fully realized in their experience nervously accepted time the night is far spent he says the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness let us put on the armor of God what does he do?
[64:00] he moves on quickly to emphasize the practical detail of how they are to live their life in light of what awaits them that will come their way soon and suddenly put on the Lord Jesus Christ make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof it is not a matter of priorities is it not?
[64:32] is that not what he is saying? get your priorities right if there is to be industry make sure it is industry in the right areas if there is work to be done make sure it is the work that will advance you in the kingdom of Christ awake thou that sleepest rise from the dead and Christ shall give you light I think these words are matterless words is it not high time to wake out of sleep I don't know how long you have given yourself to come to know Christ maybe you have given yourself a lot of time I don't know where that came from I don't think it came for a minute from God that thought is not God honouring it is not sourced from anywhere else but the pit of hell because you are imagining that you have what is not yours to possess and if that is true for you it is true for the Christian as well maybe you have given yourself opportunities in the future sometime it is like a day where there is a fog in the early morning and you are saying to yourself oh when the fog clears
[66:17] I will be able to see when the fog clears you are not able to to pick out the things that are to be seen but it never happens the things that you plan the things that you plot the things that you promise yourself that one day you will do for God one thing that you will say for God has it ever happened yet when we are not living our lives knowing that our salvation is nearer than when we believed and living our lives in the light of that then we will always be slumbering, sleeping, sluggish Christians and if we are asleep we are not very active but may God help us to see what the Apostle is saying here amongst all else he has to say let us pray
[67:19] Lord oh God as we remind ourselves of the need that we have to make use of the day of opportunity we give ourselves space and time that often we do not possess do not allow us do not allow us to foolishly misspent the hours that we have grant to us a sight of the reality of eternity into which we are all fast heading hear our prayers pardon our sins in Jesus name Amen I am going to sing Psalm 67 I am going to sing Psalm 67 the first version of the psalm the whole psalm the Lord bless and pity us shine on us with thy face that the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace let people praise the Lord let people all be praise so let the nations be glad glad in songs that voices raise and sing the whole of psalm 67 the first version
[68:36] Lord bless and pity us shine on us with thy peace with thy peace that the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace let people praise thee Lord O let the nations be glad let you pray let the nations be glad let people bend all the praise O let the nations be glad O let the nations be glad O let the nations be glad O let the nations be glad O let the不isine
[69:40] Thou justly people judged On earth, relations all Let people praise thee, Lord Let them praise thee, Lord Great and small The earth, our fruit, shall yield Our God shall blessing send God shall us bless When shall we hear
[70:41] Unto earth, our dimmoth gain Now may grace, mercy and peace From God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Rest and abide with you all, never and always Amen