The Hour is Late
Romans 13: 11 NIV
And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Awaken O Mighty Church of the living god. The time is at hand. This is the awaited hour. God is on the move and calling for His soldiers, the disciples of Jesus, to arise and establish the Kingdom of God in the earth. God has given us the tools. He gave us the Son and the Holy Spirit. He has saved our lives by grace. He has sent His messengers, the prophets, teachers and pastors to arm us for this age. There is nothing left for God to do. The call has gone out, “Arise! Awaken! Your time is at hand.”
You have been called by the Almighty to a great and glorious work. Shake off the everyday humdrum existence and look out upon the horizon. The army of God is assembling and you are part of this great and mighty force. Jesus bought you, saved you and redeemed you for this day. You are the hand of the Lord, the voice, the heart. Arise! Cast off your bedclothes for the voice of the Lord is calling out your name. Can you hear Him?
God saved you because you asked Him. He saved you because He loves you but it does not end there. He called you even before you had a heart for Him. Your receipt of salvation was the acceptance of His call to you. You have been ordained for this time; to be a mighty force for the Kingdom of God. God did not send Jesus into the earth to save us only so that we might spend eternity with Him. He sent salvation into the earth while we are still living here so that we might partner with Him to accomplish His great purposes. Your salvation is not just for the end times; it is very loudly for today. God had a purpose for salvation and it was not so that we can continue to live carnal lives, lives that look very much like our lives before we were saved. If Jesus’ sacrifice and the resultant salvation was only about our lives in eternity then God could have chosen an after-death time of choice for us. Salvation came into the earth so that we could do something with it while we are here. We are to be alive to Christ now. Rise up, Paul says. Awaken from your slumber. This day, today, is THE day of salvation. This is the day that God marked for His children to awaken and become the active and powerful body of Christ.
We must each live our lives as alive to Christ. What does that mean? Well, it may well be a question that each of us must take up with the Father but at one level it must mean that the lives we now live in this fleshly body are lived to and for Christ; that our relationship with the Lord is the most important thing in our lives. Furthermore, this dedication to the Lord and Father must show in our everyday existence. Our lives are to be more that earthly work and recreation. Our priority for Christ should be something we cannot hide. Our lives should be consumed with doing the work of Christ through love and the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not teaching a works doctrine. I am preaching a heart decision; a decision to answer the call on your life. Up ‘til now we’ve been in training but it is time for us to graduate and get out in the world and bring the power of God forward. It is time for global unification around the person of Jesus forsaking useless doctrinal debate.
What would it look like if all who profess to be followers of Christ would all at once stand up? Can you imagine looking at the body from outer-space and seeing it arise? No longer are we isolated and cut off from the hearts of other believers. The job of the Kingdom is too big for us individually but together we are a mighty force. We have only to hearken to the call and awaken. Visualize the body of Christ rising from its slumber. Each one of us is an important part of that body. Even if you are only a toe in the body of Christ imagine the body without that toe. We may stumble and fall without you. Today is the day. Let us all lift our voices in harmony answer the voice of our Lord. This is the day. This is the hour. Awaken from your slumber and arise.
