The Time is at Hand

Well, we can turn back to our reading in the book of Romans, chapter 13.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

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,

Matthew 24:42–44

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,

Romans 13 · chapter mention

and as we ask that question,

Are we ready for the Lord's return?

Romans chapter 12 begins in verse 1 and 2 with,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

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

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

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

2 Corinthians 6:14

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.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.