From our Pastor

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Wake Up!

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          On the news recently was video of a woman driving her car down an interstate multi-lane road, weaving between lanes.  The person taking the video pulled up along side the car and captured an amazing sight.  The driver is sound asleep.  It seems she had gone that way for miles.  Some people have a hard time waking up! (movie clip)

          It’s so important to be awake.  God’s word says, in Romans 13:11 “Wake up!  Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”   Wake up!  That’s a spiritual wake up call!  Satan would love to rock us to sleep spiritually so we wouldn’t have a care about how we lived.  He does not want us to wake up to the realization that our sins would kill us.  Be comfortable, he says.  Don’t worry about those little things.  Go to sleep, says the devil.  God says, “Wake up!”  Don’t fall for his lies.  Wake up to what you’re doing with your life.  Wake up to Satan’s deceptions.  Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes.  Wake up.  Don’t live in the darkness.  Rather, as v. 13 says, Let’s live decently, as people who live in the light of day.  Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealously cannot be a part of our lives.  Living that way is like sleeping through class on God’s will.  It’s like stumbling through life without being aware of where you’re going. 

          Wake up.  Now!  The end is nearer now than when we first believed.  A person driving his car way over the speed limit has no idea when they’ll pass a policeman.  “No one knows when that day or hour will come…” (Mt. 24:36) It could happen any time.  Back to Romans, v. 12 tells us “the night is almost gone, the day is almost here.  So get rid of the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  We don’t want to be surprised by Jesus’ return.  You don’t know when it will be.  But it’s getting closer all the time.  So we want to be ready for that day.  Not asleep at the switch.  Not living in the darkness of sin.  We want to be awake, living our lives in the light of the Lord when that day comes.

          What will that day be like?  Will it be good or bad?  The answer is yes.  It’ll be good for us who are ready for his return; bad for those who are not ready. When Jesus comes again, two will be in the field, one will be taken with him, one will be left behind. (40) One goes to everlasting joy and life with God, the other is left out.  It really makes a big difference if a person is ready or not.  That’s why it’s so important to wake up, to realize whose we are and live in the light of day, not asleep in a sinful life. 

God awakened us in the first place.  If you were baptized as an infant, that’s how God awakened you.  If you were brought to faith as an adult, God first awakened you through his Word.  How easy it is for us to nap, to doze, to fall into a deep slumber. 

           Wake up!  God wakes us up.  He’s the one who wakes us up to his ways.  He will teach us his ways… his ways are love and mercy and forgiveness.  It’s his way to reconcile with us, to adopt us that we might inherit all things.  He teaches us his ways. (Is. 2:3) He teaches us his strange ways, how he dies to make us alive.  How he forgives us though we abandon him.  He loves us enough to call us to come back to him.  Wake up, says God. 

          I’ve heard people talk about when it’s “their time” how they want to die.  It seems like the most popular way of dying is for the person to die in their sleep.  You go to sleep one night, and you wake up in heaven.  Can you imagine what that might be like?  Isaiah 2:4 describes it.  “He will judge disputes between nations and settle arguments between many people.”  How great will that be!?  No more disagreements.  No more arguing between friends.  No more family fights.  No more disagreements between nations.  When there are no more disagreements, there is no more need for weapons.  The weapons get turned into useful things like plows and pruning shears.  If you can imagine a time when there will be no more disagreements, you can picture a little bit what heaven will be like.  What a joy to have no more arguments or disagreements, just perfect peace with one another and with God. 

          I was driving home late at night from a date.  I could have easily killed myself.  It was about an hour and a half drive.  The cruise control was on; the interstate was straight and empty.  The next thing I know, I hear the sound of the car tires on the ribbed pavement of the shoulder.  I was going full speed on the shoulder and had been out.  It was very scary.  It took me a while to figure out which shoulder I was on.  I had just awakened.  Even after that scare, I was so tired I had to stop several times on the rest of the trip home, just to stay awake, I was so exhausted. 

          Wake up!  How?  Use God’s Word to wake up.  It’s better than caffeine.  Live close to the Lord.  He’s your stimulant.  Stay away from sleep inducing sins.  Don’t be lulled to sleep.  “It’s time to wake up.  Your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed.” (Rom. 13:11) Be alert! Because you don’t know what day the Lord will come to you.” (Mt. 24:42) “Be ready because the Son of Man will come when you least expect him.” (Mt. 24:44) It’s hard to stay awake when it’s dark.  Stay in the darkness of sin, and you will be put to sleep… permanently.  Come on, people of God; let’s walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)  Stay awake!

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MOUNT OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH

2001 N. Alpine Rd.

Rockford, IL  61107  

815-399-3171

Pastor Ken Krause: kkrause@mtolivelutheran.com