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Central Papua Conference

Taj Pacleb

Watchmen What of the Night

Father in heaven, Lord, once again, we want to thank you so much for your goodness and your grace and your love and for this wonderful privilege that is ours in studying your Word.

And we pray that the Holy Spirit would just fill this room, fill our hearts, captivate our minds, convict our hearts, convert our souls, and make us more like Jesus.

I pray, Father, that this message will be presented clearly and understood clearly, and that we would get excited about the time in which we live and the mission that you've given to us to accomplish.

So bless us now as our prayer, in Christ's name we ask, Amen.

Would you please take your Bible and open with me to the book of Romans chapter 13.

Romans chapter 13 as we begin our study tonight entitled, Watchmen, What of the Night?

We're going to Romans, the 13th chapter where the Apostle Paul shares these powerful and stirring words.

Please write it down and notice with me in your Bible.

And if you're there and if you're ready to study the Bible, would you let me know by saying, Amen.

Romans 13 11, The Apostle writes, and that, knowing the time, that now it is a high time to awake 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." In this verse, the Lord through the Apostle Paul sends to us an urgent alarm.

An alarm to awake us out of spiritual slumber and sleepiness.

This passage tells us that the night is almost finished.

And now it is a high time, an urgent time, a solemn time to shake off the spiritual sleepiness and to put on the armor of light which is none other than the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

But unfortunately friends, many people have fallen asleep in this dark world.

But now God's light is shining upon us and God is sounding an alarm and shining the light to awaken the sleeping giant into eternal victory.

Now friends is the very worst time to go to sleep.

And so if you feel a little bit sleepy right now, just shake yourself.

And if someone next to you, you see dozing off, just go ahead and give them a sanctified nudge.

Now friends, let me ask you, have you ever slept through an important event in your life?

Overslept resulting in missing that event?

Well recently I read an article that told the story of 1 that did just that.

His name was, or I should say his name is Jody George.

Jody George, and he is a triathlete that lives in the United Kingdom there in England.

And Jody George, here's a picture of him.

He had spent a whole year training for a triathlon in England, a race that includes a 2.4 mile swim, after that a 112 mile run, and then ending with a 26-mile marathon, or excuse me, 120-mile cycle, riding the bike, and then ending with a 26-mile marathon.

And Jody George was competing for a good cause.

He wanted to raise funds for the Somerset Air Ambulance.

And upon sharing his cause with others, he was able to draw hundreds of supporters, and he raised over 1, 000 British pounds from hundreds of people who donated to support his cause.

Every week he would post on Facebook and social media his progress and his preparations, and everyone was excited for him, and Jody felt very confident in himself.

And the night before the race was to happen, he felt well-prepared and strangely and unusually relaxed.

A little bit too relaxed, looking back in hindsight.

Jody went to sleep early that night, hoping to wake up early, eager to get a good head start on the race the next day.

And he set his alarm for 3 o'clock in the morning, 3 a.m.

And when that time arrived, the alarm went off.

He saw 3 a.m., and then Jody made a decision that he would ever after regret.

Because you know what they say, you snooze, you lose.

He ended up waking up 3 hours later, knowing that it was too late.

He was devastated, realizing that he slept right through what he had waited for for so long.

And now he is filled with shame because now he has to apologize to all those hundreds of supporters who donated over a thousand pounds to support his cause.

Jody had prepared for the race, but he was still unready for the race.

The alarm was ringing in his ears, but he just wanted to sleep a few more minutes.

And Jody lost that race because he didn't even start that race.

And he did not start that race because he refused to wake up in time.

Friends, listen, so many people in our day, in our world today understand that we're living in a very dangerous, solemn, and unprecedented time.

Many people are acknowledging that just like Time Magazine ran this article not long ago, that the end is very, very near.

People are seeing the signs, but they are refusing to wake up.

They're hearing the alarms, but they're hitting the spiritual snooze button.

They just want to sleep for a little bit longer.

But friends like Jody, they do it at the danger of missing an important event.

But for us, the event is far more important than a earthly race.

If we sleep through this event, we will be eternally lost and that's the reason why the Apostle Paul in the passage tells us that we need to awake out of sleep.

The night of trouble is almost finished and the eternal day of deliverance is at hand.

It is a high time for us to be wide awake and watchful because Jesus is coming soon.

I want you to turn now to the book of Mark chapter 13.

Let's go to Mark chapter 13, where Jesus tells us that in this solemn time that we need to do something very important.

So important that Christ actually repeats it 4 times.

Now friends, listen, when God says something once, it's important the first time he says it.

When he says it twice, it's very important.

Thrice, even more, but when he says it 4 times, it's because it's a matter of eternal importance.

And I want you to notice in Mark chapter 13, Jesus in this chapter is describing the signs of the times.

What it's going to be like in the last days.

And in the midst of this discourse on the last days Jesus then instructs us to do something that will enable us to make it through the last days now How many want to make it through the last days if so, let me hear you say Amen Oh then we need to open our ears and listen to what Jesus has to say in Mark 13 verse 32.

If you're there, would you please say amen?

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, know not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son but the father.

For the son of man is as a man taking a far journey who left his house and gave authority to his servants and to every man his work and commanded the porter to watch.

Verse 35, watch ye therefore for you know not when the master of the house comes at even or at midnight or at the cock crowing or in the morning.

Verse 36, lest coming suddenly he finds you Sleeping.

Verse 37, and what I say to you I say to all what?

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Watchmen What of the Night

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