when the title
Contents
♡♥♡♥♡ When (opportunity) / Romans 13: 11-14
*** Introduction
There is a saying, “There is no hero, the times make the heroes.” Like this saying, all things can be accomplished only when the “time” is well met. In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God said, “There is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven”, and in verse 11, “God made all things, and made them beautiful in their seasons… ” he said.
If a person works recklessly without discerning the time, it will result in a waste of energy, and if a person acts in an untimely manner, he will be ignored or treated foolishly. That's why Proverbs 25:11 says, "A word appropriate for the occasion is apples of gold in engraved plates of silver." ‘In the right case’ means ‘at the right time’. It is appropriate and timely to wear winter clothes in winter, to express joy at a feast, and sorrow at a portrait.
The ‘time’ in faith is more important. There is a time to stop and pray, and a time to go boldly. There are times to persevere through refinement and training, times to sweat and toil, times to make sacrifices, etc. In the life of the saints, it is most important and wise to act judiciously.
However, I see that the saints are not wise at times. Discernment of time is egocentric. God lamented this when the people of Israel lived and acted according to their own will without regard to God's will. Jeremiah 8:7. “The crane of the air knows its appointed time; the hemisphere and the swallow and the crane keep their time; my people do not know the ordinances of the LORD.”
A monk planted an olive tree sapling and prayed for the tree to grow. Sometimes we prayed, “Lord, make it rain,” and immediately it drizzled. Sometimes they sought sunlight, other times they sought frost and wind. God grants us whenever we ask. Still, the seedlings do not grow and continue to wither and die.
The monk went to find a senior monk who was good at growing olive trees. And he said that he had planted the seedlings and in a timely manner saved rain, sunlight, frost and wind, and all was so. However, the tree was drying up rather than growing, so he said that he came to consult me. A senior monk who heard the story gave this advice:
“It is God who knows best when and what a tree needs. I pray like this. They say, ‘Lord, give the tree what it needs at the right time.’”
It is only God-centered for the believer to discern the time.
The people of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years after the Exodus were training to discern the times and obey them. Sometimes we had to stop marching and camp and stay, other times we had to keep marching for days or weeks. And sometimes we had to wait blindly. The standard of all these actions was God. Let's look at Numbers 9:17-23.
(17) When the cloud rose from the tabernacle, the children of Israel proceeded immediately, and the children of Israel encamped in the place where the cloud stayed. (18) The children of Israel proceeded as the LORD commanded, and they encamped at the LORD's command. (19) As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for a long time, the children of Israel kept the command of the Lord and did not proceed. (20) Perhaps even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for a short period of time, they only obeyed the command of the Lord. (21) Perhaps the cloud stayed from evening to morning, and when the cloud rose in the morning, they proceeded; As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle year or so, the children of Israel camped out and did not proceed; when they rose up, they moved on. and kept the office of the LORD.
Just like the people of Israel, we, the spiritual Israel of today, must also be the center of God as the center of discerning and determining the timing of all actions. That is why God trains His people, the saints, to think and act God-centered first.
The pastor took him to the revival meeting. It is said that this incident led him to truly believe in Jesus and later became an elder.
In today's text, he says, "And you know this time, and the hour has come to awake from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." “This time when it is time to wake up from sleep” is “our age when the second coming of Jesus is getting closer.” Also, ‘when I wake up from sleep’ can be understood as ‘a time when I was free from God’s center and lived my own life’ as ‘a period of sleep’ and ‘a life returning to the center of God’ as ‘waking up’.
These words are also the words that gave St. Augustine (Augustinus 354-430) a turning point in his youth when he fell. Today, too, we must stop gradually moving away from God by the winds of the world. Our adversary, Satan, is showing the world's wealth of corruption and corruption, leading our hearts to complain, resentment, or despair. If we lament the world and lose sight of the Lord's voice, we too will face the same end as the world. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3. “For you yourselves know in detail that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.”
Now we have to get out of our past and get up. We need to break free from all the negative molds around us. Because the phenomena before us have already been foretold by Jesus. In other words, He foretold in advance that the things we are going through now will appear as the phenomena of the end (Matthew 24, Dan 12:4, 10). Therefore, we should think about everything we face as God-centered and lead a life of obedience according to God's will for this age. Because everything in the world is a providence that God fulfills in due time.
Let's look at verses 12-14. “The night is deep and the day is near; therefore let us put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. As in the daytime, walk modestly, not in licentiousness and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not devote yourself to the lusts of the flesh.”
Now is the time to sprint towards Jesus Christ. What is All One's Power Scamper? Literally translated, it means “to run fast with all your might.” That is, life is the best.
To sprint, you must first change your clothes. Anything unnecessary and cumbersome should be removed. I'm not saying that it's good for athletes to wear casual clothes that show off their physical beauty. Doing so to win a match or shorten the record in any way.
That is why the Apostle Paul likened faith to sports. In 1 Corinthians 9:25, it is said, “Everyone who competes for victory is temperate in all things.” Then, “The saints do not run as if they are aimless, but do not fight as if they were beating the air, in order to obtain the incorruptible crown. No, I beat my body into subjection because I fear that after I have preached to others, I myself will be rejected.'
As racers of faith, we, too, must put off the clothes that get in the way. The clothes of the saints are 'white linen cloths', and they are called 'the saints' righteous deeds' (Revelation 19:8, “You have granted him to wear bright and clean linen cloths, and these linen cloths are the right deeds of the saints. . . .”). And the text tells us to put on the armor of light. What is Light Armor? It is also the beautiful conduct of the saints in the world. The text is verses 13-14, 1 Thessalonians 5:11. “Therefore, exhort one another and build one another up, just as you do.”
Our Lord says, ‘Now is the time to wake up from sleep’ and ‘It is daytime, so it is time to work’. How much time and devotion do you invest each day for your spiritual life? And do you think and act centered on God, who controls all things?
As the saying goes, 'Time is like flowing water', time flows nonstop even when we are resting. That is, the opportunities are diminishing. Today is the second Sunday of 2002. Let's run together and run together this year. Let's work hard, relying on God's help and power, rather than waiting for help or luck from others.
Now, I would like to close the talk with two proposals.
First, let's devote an hour a day to reading the Bible and praying for the maturity of our faith.
Second, for evangelism, let's select a bastard, pray, serve, and practice.
It is God who creates desires in our hearts. When we set our hearts and work faithfully in God's will, God creates opportunities for us. In this way, when we work for the life of the spirit and for the righteousness of God, God has promised to lead all of our physical life into a prosperous path.
Relying on this promise, let us run the path of faith and life, comforting and encouraging each other.