Wake Up, Throw Off, and Put On

Romans 13:11-13:14

Introduction

It was 5:30AM and the alarm had just elevated its piercing voice and shook me out of my sleep and slumber. I really didn’t feel like getting up that morning. I mean I really wanted to steal a few more moments of blissful unconsciousness. It was one of those days where we had plenty to do. It was one of those days where we had to get up, pack the car, and get out on the road. You see it was time to take that long trek to see family members in a far away town. But like any trip, it required preparation. We had a lot to do. In fact, we had to do some things that we normally wouldn’t do at 5:30 in the morning. Because of this realization, I simply hit the snooze button every 15 minutes to prolong the sleep, but also the agony of realizing that I was stealing more and more time away from the preparations that needed to be done. However I promised myself that after this time hitting the snooze I would get up.

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The Complete Savior

As we near the close of this earth's history, we find ourselves in need of a complete savior.  Too often we fall into the trap of only wanting a partial savior.  You know the savior who drapes us with a superficial sappy "love", but never disciplines us.

However, the Jesus who came to this earth is both a savior and a from the penalty of sin and from the power of sin in our lives.  We need to stop being happy with the "Jesus-lite" that forever promises us money and fame and success, but never changes us.  We need to stop being happy with a Gospel that forgives but never empowers.  We need to stop being happy with an incomplete savior.

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Do You Want Victory?

We often lose in our battle because we don't really want to win.  We talk about desiring victory over sin, but we keep the emblems of sin around, "just in case."  Sure we want victory, just not the victory that requires sacrifice.  We want the victory that doesn't require giving up anything.  We want an easy victory

Romans 6:11 gives us the key to victory.  It is a key that is not easy.  It is not what we want to hear.  But it is simply to "reckon" or "consider" yourself dead to sin.  This is a very interesting image.  Reckon yourself dead to sin.  How does one do that?  You do that by simply treating yourself as if you already have the victory.  This is not to say that you will not fall again.  You probably will.  But what it does say is that you are not aiding the enemy in your defeat.

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Do Not Be Surprised

1 Peter 4:12

Introduction

I remember when I was a child that I would sometimes attend a surprise birthday party. We would attempt to hide from the guest of honor. Soon the guest of honor would show up and we would jump out from behind things and yell, Surprise! The guest of honor would look surprised, whether surprised or not. In this case, surprise was a very good thing.  The surprised one gets something valuable and desired.

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Lord, Help Me To Hold Out

Perhaps you have heard the song, "Lord Help Me To Hold Out." It is a call for perseverance in the midst of the storms of life. It doesn't ask for the removal of storms, but it only asks that God would help the singer to hold on until "my change" comes.

As the singer moves into the verses, we learn about the struggle. We learn about a way that is not easy, but there is a resolve to put one's trust in God. Yes hold on. As I think about this song, I am struck by the fact that pains and problems are accepted as normal. We will have difficult days in this life. We will have struggles in this life. We will find ourselves in situations that are almost unbearable.

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