Well, we can turn back to our reading in the book of Romans, chapter 13.
We're going to look at the end of this chapter, verse 11.
Besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake up from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone, the day is at hand, and so on.
We are reminded this morning in this service that we're checking out of 2025 and checking in to 2026, God willing, in this coming week ahead.
And the year seems to go past quicker.
Each year that passes, time just goes past so quickly.
But as we think about coming to the end of a year and as we think about our lives in general,
how much of our time is taken up with the consideration that we find in these verses that we've just read.
The consideration being the Lord could come today.
The Lord could come today.
The word here is in verse 12.
The night is far gone, the day is at hand.
The reminder here is that the Lord could come at any time.
And yet the reality for us, for many of us, I'm sure, is that we're going on in our lives busy with so many different things.
All we want to do is get through our to-do list to get things done.
And we go on like this day by day, week by week, month by month.
And it can even go into year by year where we're just living our lives in this busy way, trying to get through different things.
But as the year draws to a close, and as we look back over it, even as you think of this time last year, coming to the end of 2024, going into 2025,
think how quickly that time has gone past.
Going through the winter months of January and February as the gales were coming.
Coming into the springtime when there's always that element of newness and freshness.
And looking forward to the summer months, which then pass by so quickly.
Before you know it, you're into the autumn and you're seeing the leaves falling off the trees.
And then here we are on this last Lord's Day of the year.
Looking back just a few days where the shortest day has just come and gone.
And that's the cycle that we live in, this time that keeps going past so quickly.
But how much of what we did or how we were living was motivated by that thought,
well, the Lord could come at any moment.
Are you ready?
Are you ready for that moment when the Lord comes?
That's the warning that we have so much through Scripture.
Jesus himself gave this warning on a number of occasions.
For example, in Matthew 24, verse 42 to 44, he says there,
There's the stark warning that Jesus,
Jesus himself says,
Therefore you also must be ready,
For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
You don't know, but are you ready?
Are we ready for the Lord's return?
He says there,
Jesus, stay awake.
And it's the same kind of phrase that we have here with Paul in verse 11.
And besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from your sleep,
to wake up.
That's what we see here as well.
But we go on, we make plans in our life,
and I'm sure many of us are looking ahead and already making our plans for 2026,
and even some, maybe even looking further ahead than that.
We'll have Easter and summer holidays to think about, getting them booked up.
We'll have maybe if you're at the stage of life, you're in school,
but you're starting to think about what's next.
Maybe after you finish fourth year or sixth year,
you're thinking, what college, what university, what career am I going to follow?
We're all always making plans.
We're always looking ahead.
We need to make plans.
We need to plan ahead in our lives,
but do our plans reflect God and his will for us?
Are your plans, are our plans,
are they in light of the fact of the Lord's coming
and being ready for that day?
James, in the letter of James in chapter 4,
it says this,
Come now, you who say,
Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town
and spend a year there and trade and make profit.
Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say,
If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.
Again, James gives that warning to us.
We're making our plans,
but we do not know what tomorrow will bring.
So there's warnings for us all the way through Scripture.
And as we turn to Romans chapter 13 here,
and as we ask that question,
Are we ready for the Lord's return?
Romans chapter 12 begins in verse 1 and 2 with,
again, it's instructions in living in our lives,
but it's living in the present,
thinking of the past mercies of God, if you like.
Chapter 12 begins with that.
And at the end of chapter 13,
it's coming to the point in verse 11 to 14,
where it's living in the present
in light of the Lord's return.
So chapter 12 begins kind of looking back,
living in the present.
Chapter 13 ends with living in the present,
but looking always ahead to the Lord's return,
without that knowledge of just when it will be.
And so there's an urgency here.
There's a great need here presented by Paul
to us this evening,
to ourselves,
looking back in our lives,
living in light of God's past mercies,
all that he has done for us,
and especially all that he has done for us in Christ.
But living in the present,
looking ahead,
reminded that the day is coming
when the Lord will come again.
And so we are warned in these verses.
There's three warnings for us this evening
that I want to take from these verses together.
Three warnings as we come to the end of this year,
and God willing,
as we go into a new year,
are we doing so in light of the Lord
and the light that he could come at any moment?
And so the first warning for us
is those words,
wake up.
Wake up in verse 11.
Besides this,
you know the time that the hour has come
for you to wake from your sleep.
Time to wake up.
Those words that we love to hear in the morning.
It's time to get up.
But it's not just about getting up in the morning.
It's much more than that.
It's time to wake from the slumber
that we are in in life,
when we are just sleeping our way through life,
unaware of eternity,
unaware that the Lord could come at any time.
You see,
this is not just a gentle coming round
after a good night's sleep.
This is not just slowly opening your eyes
and thinking,
well,
I had a good 8,
10,
12 hours sleep there.
This is a wake-up call.
This is just a shaking awake
in the middle of the night almost
when you're just sound asleep.
We're not paying attention.
We're not aware
of what's going on around us.
There's a danger around us
that we're unaware of,
and we are being woken up.
That's the cry of Paul here,
to wake up.
This week,
God willing,
we'll be counting down
to a time that we can see coming.
On New Year's Eve,
it's always the case
that you have the countdown to midnight,
countdown to the new year coming in.
And we know it's coming.
We can see it coming.
We've had it in the past.
God willing,
we'll have it this week.
We live in light of that.
A new year is coming in.
But we also live in light
of so much uncertainty,
so much that we're unsure of,
so much that we don't know.
Because there are other things
that alarm us
and wake us up at different times.
You think of being off just now.
If you're off for a few days,
or even if you're lucky enough
to be off for a fortnight,
and the alarm gets switched off.
It's not going off every morning
to go to school or to go to work.
And each morning,
it's probably maybe getting
a little bit later each morning.
You're getting used to sleeping
in more and more.
But when you go back to work
or when you go back to school
and when the alarm is set
for that first day back,
it comes as a shock.
It comes as something
that startles you awake
because you got so used
to it not being there,
but now it's there again
and it just wakes you up
with a startle.
It's the same with other things
that we see.
So many things now
that have alarms
that can startle us.
For example,
your car,
your dashboard,
it'll light up
with a warning light
unexpectedly
and make a noise
or even slow down
to a stop.
And you don't see it coming,
but it just comes
out of the blue.
There's no warning.
So many pieces of machinery
or things that we're working
with these days,
there's so many warnings
that'll just come
out of the blue
that startle us.
And all of these things,
it's a question of,
well, what do we do with them?
What do we do with the alarm
going off in the morning
when we don't want to hear it?
Well, there's three things.
We can just ignore it.
We can hit the snooze button
or we can listen to it
and actually do something
about it.
And that's the warning
that Paul is giving us here
in this wake up
from your sleep.
Wake up from where you are
just now.
What are you going to do?
Are you going to choose
to just ignore this word?
Come to the end of another year
and just choose another time.
Are you going to choose
to snooze it,
to pause it and say,
we'll come back to that.
Or are you going to listen to it?
That's the warning of the gospel,
to be aware of the danger
that we are in.
That if we do not have Christ,
if we are not trusting in him fully,
then we are in danger.
Because you see,
the second half of this verse says,
for salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed.
Time is moving on.
Time is fast moving on.
Are you awake?
Are you looking to Jesus?
Jesus, as he says himself,
stay awake for you do not know
the day your Lord is coming.
That's the warning
that's ringing in our ears.
It's time to wake up.
Are you awake?
Do you hear this alarm going off?
Do you hear this warning sound
of the gospel as we're ringing
in your ear?
Has it registered?
Who is the warning for?
Well, it's for us all.
Even if you're a Christian
sitting in here tonight,
it's not to sit comfortably
and think,
well, I'm all right.
It's for every one of us,
for the Christian
and for those who are seeking the Lord,
for those who have
no interest in the Lord,
the warning is for us all.
Because you see,
it uses the word there,
salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed.
The wake-up call
is to the Christian
as well as the non-Christian.
It's for everyone
to wake up from the slumber
that we are in.
That's the warning
that Paul is giving us here.
Salvation is nearer
than when you first believed.
So the warning is here
in light of time and seasons
and the time that goes on
so quickly.
And the idea here is that
every one of us
should be looking around us
and seeing the changing world
in which we live.
When we see
the way the Scripture
teaches,
the way it goes through
from the Old Testament
to the New Testament,
every warning that the Lord
is giving,
as you think of the Old Testament,
he's warning of things
that are to come.
You see it fulfilled.
You see the prophets' warning
of invasions coming.
You see the prophets' warning
of a people turning away from God
and there's going to be consequences.
And you see them fulfilled.
You see nations coming
and taking God's people captive.
You see a Redeemer being prophesied.
You see the coming
of the Lord Jesus fulfilled
in the Scripture,
what we've been remembering
in this past week.
The Lord Jesus
born into this world
as a man.
You see that foretold.
You see it fulfilled.
And so it goes on.
You see the warnings
in the New Testament
of a world
that will go into decline
and turning away from God.
We see that being fulfilled
in our own day.
But behind all of these warnings now
is the Lord will come.
The Lord will come again.
And so he's saying
it is time to wake up.
Every one of us
needs to wake up.
Too many people
are just sleeping
their way through life.
Christians included.
We are not aware
of living in light
of the Lord's return.
I'm sure as you've been
enjoying meals
in this past week
and maybe just having
a bit more time
to rest and relax.
After a meal
you go and sit down
and you say
I'm going to watch
something on the television.
I'm going to watch
maybe the football.
I'm going to watch
a soap.
I'm going to watch
a movie.
So you sit down
to relax and watch it.
How long has it taken
until you're asleep?
You've had a big meal.
You're sitting maybe
in a warm room
and within 5, 10, 15 minutes
you're away with it.
You're sleeping
in that chair.
We're out of touch
because when you're sleeping
you're not aware
of things that are going on
round about you.
And there's times
where you can just
doze off like that.
And it's good for us
to get a rest,
to get a sleep.
But there's other times
when there's no excuse
for sleeping.
And especially
as we think of
what Paul is saying
to us here
is not to sleep
our way through life
unaware of God,
ignoring the warning
of the gospel,
ignoring all that
he is saying to us.
It is time
to wake up
because we're living
in light of the return
of the Lord.
Have we been awake
this last year
or have we been sleeping
our way through it?
There's an urgency
in these words
that as a people
we have to take heed of.
One person
put it like this.
In the midst
of a generation
screaming for answers,
Christians are stuttering.
Christians are sleeping.
What a warning
there is in these words
for us.
Because we get
so complacent,
so comfortable in life
that we're not living
in light of the imminent
return of the Lord
that it could be
at any moment.
And when we lose
that sight
we lose that
urgency
in it all.
So we are being called
to wake up
as a people.
The second thing
we're being told here
is to watch out.
We see this
in verse 12.
The night is far gone,
the day is at hand.
So let us
cast off
the works
of darkness
and put on
the armour
of light.
What are we doing
with our lives?
That's the question
being asked
in this verse.
And again,
it's in light
of the day
being at hand.
But you see here
that there is
the works of darkness
and the armour
!
of light.
the difference
is there.
And so how are we
living our lives
as we
wake up
of our slumber?
What are we seeing
around us?
What are we seeing
in our people?
What are we seeing
in our communities?
What are we seeing
in our church?
If it's time
to wake up
what are we
watching out for?
Well,
what are our works?
Paul here
is saying
it is time
then to cast
off the works
of darkness
and put on
the armour
of light.
It's about
making sure
that we are
doing right
with the Lord.
Light and darkness
are opposite.
Paul,
writing to the
Ephesians,
says it as well.
He says it
in chapter 5
verse 13,
but when anything
is exposed
by the light
it becomes visible.
For anything
that becomes visible
is light.
Therefore it says
awake,
O sleeper,
and arise
from the dead
and Christ
will shine
in you.
Again,
it's that warning
of wake up.
Wake up.
See the light
of Christ
and let the light
of Christ
shine in you.
But he says
arise from the dead.
We are dead
in darkness.
That is the place
that darkness
so often represents
in the word of God.
it's our place
of being lost.
Whether it's
in this life
or whether it's
in eternity.
It's a place
of darkness
eternally
where there's
wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
It's a place
of darkness
in this life
when we are
ignorant
and ignore
the warnings
of the gospel,
turn away
from God,
we are in
darkness.
And so Paul
is writing here
to the Christians
in Rome
saying in the
midst of this
time that you
are living,
which was a
time of
crisis in
so many ways,
when they
were being
persecuted
and all that
was happening
in the Christian
church at this
time,
it was making
so many
turn away.
Or the danger
was that they
would turn back
to the darkness.
darkness.
But he's
warning them
here,
it is not
a time
to turn back.
He's saying
cast off
the works
of darkness
and put on
the armour
of light.
The armour
of light,
so it's this
defence
that you're
putting on.
It's this
protection
that you're
putting on.
The armour
of light,
the same
as Paul
speaks of
in Ephesians
chapter 6,
the armour
of God.
what we have
available for
us in the
gospel.
All the
powers that
we have
when we
see the
powers of
darkness
that are
spoken of
so often
in the
scriptures,
you also
have the
power of
the light
of the
gospel.
The armour
of light
is what we
have available
to us
here.
And what
he's saying
is now
is the
time to
trust in
the Lord.
Watch out
for what
you are
doing.
Watch out
for what
is going
on around
you.
Because
every day
there are
people dying
without the
Lord who
are going
to a
lost
eternity.
Darkness
and light
are the
opposite.
And where
do you want
to spend
eternity?
Where do
you want
to be
but with
the Lord
surely
for all
eternity?
The forces
of evil
are all
around us.
It's a time
of year when
we can maybe
watch many
of these
movies that
portray
good and
evil fighting
against each
other.
James Bond
was always
a Christmas
film back
in the
day.
The forces
of evil
trying to
gain the
power of
the world,
control of
the world,
and the
superhero
coming in.
The same
with any
kind of
superhero,
like Superman
or Batman
or any
of these
things.
It's always
these two
forces coming
against each
other.
And it's
far-fetched
in so many
ways.
But when
you look at
the scriptures
it reminds
us of the
reality of
this battle
that is
going on
between the
forces of
evil and
the power
of God.
There is
this darkness
that seeks
to overcome.
But Paul
is saying
watch out
for this.
Put on
the armour
of light.
And so
we are to
wake up
of our
slumber
and recognise
the seriousness
of the day
that we live
in and to
see that
we are to
be about
the Lord's
business.
We are
reminded of
that this
morning from
Callum as
well.
And somebody
who was
reading this
week put it
like this,
we have a
duty in
this life.
The kind
of things
that we are
to watch
out for
in our
lives.
We have
a duty
first to
the Saviour.
That is
what this
word of
Paul is
bringing the
people back
to, to
the Saviour
who they
are to
see and
know and
love with
all their
hearts.
The Saviour
who is the
light of
the world
and to
put on
this armour
of light
to serve
him
faithfully
who served
his people,
who gave
his life
for his
people.
But they
also said
you have
a duty
to the
saints,
that is
the people
of God.
The duty
is to
carry out
your
responsibilities
to the
church.
That's
what we
are being
called to
here as
well,
as we
are to
watch out
for what
is going
on around
us.
When we
come to
the church,
when we
come to
be part
of the
people of
God,
we make
our vows,
we make
our promises
to each
other that
we will
look out
for one
another,
that we
will pray
for one
another,
that we
will encourage
one another.
That is
what we
are to
be as
the people
of God
to watch
out for
these things.
We don't
let the
power of
darkness
come in
to destroy
these things,
but that we
put on
the armour
of light
to guard
us with
one another.
They also
went on to
say you
have a
duty to
sinners.
You have
a duty
to the
saviour,
you have
a duty
to the
saints,
but you
also have
a duty
to the
sinners.
And that
is the
duty of
the church,
to let
Christ
shine
in us
and through
us,
to let
that light
of the
gospel
shine in
to those
around us,
because our
duty to
sinners is
to tell
them that
they are
lost and
perishing in
the darkness
of this
world,
but that
there is a
saviour who
is able to
save.
We are
called to
be a
witness to
those around
us.
So we
are to
watch out.
We are to
watch out in
all of these
relationships with
our saviour,
with one
another,
and with
those who
are lost
around us.
We are in
that crisis
of the hour
because the
day is at
hand.
But are we
living in
the light of
the Lord's
return?
Are we
witnessing in
the light that
the Lord could
come at
any moment?
Are we
looking out
for one
another in
light that
the Lord
could come
at any
time?
So we
are to
watch out
in all of
these things.
The night
is far
gone,
the day
is at
hand,
so let
us cast
off the
works of
darkness
and put
on the
armour of
light.
The final
thing we
see here
is that
we are to
walk in
a particular
way.
in verse
13,
let us
walk
properly
as in
the
daytime.
Let us
walk
properly
as in
the
daytime.
So here
Paul is
saying that
our behaviour,
the way we
live, the way
we walk,
should be in
light of
being in
the day,
of being
in the
light.
I'm sure
many of us
know what it
is to walk
around in
the dark.
Maybe you're
in your
house and
you get
up and
it's
dark but
you don't
want to
wake up
anybody
else so
you leave
the lights
off.
But as
you're
walking
around,
you forget
that you've
left something
on the
floor or
you forget
where a
certain piece
of furniture
is and
without
recognising
where you're
going,
you knock
into it or
you kick
it, even
worse if
you're not
wearing
anything on
your feet
and you get
a scream
of ouch
when that
happens.
We're trying
to do things
in the dark
we're not
seeing.
And that's
the very
thing the
gospel speaks
about.
We're trying
to live
our lives
apart from
God,
thinking we
know where
we're going
and what
we're doing,
but all the
time we're
just groping
around in
the dark.
Because apart
from him,
we are in
that darkness.
And so we
need to walk
in this light,
walk in the
daytime,
getting away
from the
things of
the darkness,
getting away
from the
things of
this world
and putting
on that
armour of
light and
walking in
that way.
The Bible
describes the
sinful world
in which we
live in as
darkness.
And there's
a contrast
when we
think of the
Christian life
as living
in the
light.
Paul asks
that question,
a rhetorical
question in
2 Corinthians
chapter 6
verse 14.
What
fellowship has
light with
darkness?
The two
just don't
go together.
And so
for us,
it's important
that we keep
walking in
the light
and walking
in the light
of the
Lord's
return.
We think
this world,
or so many
think this
world,
is progressive.
progressive.
It's found
its way
out of the
darkness of
Christianity,
out of the
dark ages
which
Christianity
is.
But it's
so not
true.
To go away
from that
is to go
back into
the darkness,
to go back
into the
world,
and to go
back into
the very
things that
the Word
of God
condemns.
darkness.
The darkness
that we see
around us
in this
world is
maybe becoming
more and
more prevalent,
but we
still have
the light
of the
Gospel.
We still
have the
light of
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Because this
world is in
darkness.
This world
is in
darkness
concerning
what mankind
is like.
We live in
a world
where so many
will say,
but I'm
a good
person.
And yet
the Bible
says there
is none
who is
good.
We are
ignorant.
The
world is
in darkness
as to our
purpose in
this life.
Where so
many people
will have
their own
goals,
their own
targets,
living for
self.
Whereas the
Scriptures
teach us
our great
purpose is
to glorify
God and
to enjoy
him forever.
there is
this darkness
and there
is this
light.
The world
is in
darkness
concerning
death
and
eternity.
Where the
world
says,
well,
death is
either the
end and
that's it.
Or you
see so
many saying,
well,
when there's
death,
then we
all go
to heaven.
And we'll
all enjoy
being together
there.
But the
reality is
so different.
Where death
usher's in
eternity.
And eternity
in heaven is
for those
who believe,
for those
who trust
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Because if
you don't,
it's
darkness.
And so the
contrast is
there for
us.
And which
way are we
walking as
we come to
the end of
this year?
Are we
walking in
darkness?
Or are we
walking in
light of the
gospel?
Are we
walking in
light of the
Lord's
return at
any moment?
Martin Lloyd
Jones in
one of
his books
on Romans
said this,
the world
would not
go on
living as
it does
for a
second if
it knew
something about
the judgment
to come.
The world
would not
go on
living as
it does
for a
second if
it knew
something of
the judgment
to come.
The Lord
will come
to judge.
We don't
know when.
We look
forward to
days and
we live
for days.
We plan
for days.
We plan
for things
that are
going to
happen in
the future.
And there's
nothing wrong
with that
until we
leave God
out of it.
Until we
put him
away.
Because then
we're just
planning for
darkness.
But as we
come to
the end of
this year,
let us
make sure
whatever we
have behind
us, that
before us
we have the
Lord.
And that we
are looking
to him.
That we
are trusting
in him.
Faith is
living in
light of
what is to
come.
And what
is to come
is that the
day of the
Lord is
before us.
we might
not even
get to
Wednesday
night's
bells.
Because the
Lord could
come.
But are we
living in
that way?
The day
is at
hand.
It is time
to wake
up.
It is time
to watch
where we
are and
what's going
on around
us.
and it
is time
to walk
in the
light.
To put
our trust
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
To walk
with him
that the
darkness
will not
overwhelm
us.
Let us
pray.
Lord our
gracious God,
we do
thank you
for the
light of
the gospel.
We thank
you for
the light
that shines
into our
hearts
through
Jesus
Christ.
And we
pray for
even that
light of
armour of
light to
be ours
in each
and every
day.
That we
would know
your protection,
your grace,
your peace,
your mercy
with us.
Guide us
Lord through
your spirit.
Guide us
by your
light and
by your
truth.
Let them
shine before
us today and
in all the
days that
may be ahead
of us.
That we
would know
your presence
and your
peace upon
us.
As we
ask all in
Jesus name.
Amen.
We're going
to conclude
by singing
to God's
praise in
Psalm 25,
the Scottish
Psalter version.
Psalm 25
you'll find
on page
231,
the first
version of
the psalm.
We're going
to sing
from verse
4 to
verse 6,
the tune
is Dennis.
A psalm
that reminds
us of
just looking
to the
Lord,
praying to
the Lord,
seeking
his mercy
upon us.
Show me
thy ways,
O Lord,
thy paths,
O teach
thou me,
and do
thou lead
me in
night through
that in
my teacher
be.
For thou
art God
that does
to me
salvation
send,
and I
upon thee
all the
day
expecting
to attend.
We'll
sing from
verse 4
to 6
to God's
praise.
Amen.
After the benediction, I'll go to the door to my left.
We'll close with the benediction.
Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
Amen.