00:00:00.000 - 00:00:15.500

[ Silence ] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:15.500 - 00:00:58.260

(dramatic music) [ Music ] ♪ Spirit of Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Sing a song they hear ♪

00:00:58.260 - 00:01:30.760

♪ Spirit of Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, every mouth and ear ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart ♪ ♪ Oh, speak to my heart ♪

00:01:30.760 - 00:02:15.680

♪ Speak to my heart, I pray ♪ Give it up still, saving thy way, O sweet to my heart today. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. Let me love every sinner.

00:02:15.680 - 00:02:49.160

Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. ♪ Help me, O Lord, to pray ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart ♪ ♪ Oh, speak to my heart ♪

00:02:49.160 - 00:03:23.780

♪ Speak to my heart, I pray ♪ ♪ Cheer me as you sing in my will ♪ ♪ Oh speak to my heart today ♪ ♪ Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus ♪

00:03:28.760 - 00:04:02.300

♪ There is no longer mine ♪ ♪ Sing to my heart, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ I would be holy now ♪ ♪ Sing to my heart ♪

00:04:02.300 - 00:04:22.420

♪ Oh, sing to my heart ♪ ♪ Sing to my heart ♪ ♪ Our praise ♪ ♪ Millions hear ♪

00:04:22.420 - 00:04:45.020

♪ Singing thy praise ♪ ♪ Oh, sing to my heart today ♪ - To my pastor and father in the ministry, Reverend Renfro, this wonderful choir and all present,

00:04:45.020 - 00:04:54.120

let us all say amen. - Amen. - Let us pray. Gracious master, we ask that you may fill us

00:04:54.120 - 00:05:14.460

with thy spirit and let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer, amen. Our scripture is taken, as mentioned before,

00:05:14.460 - 00:05:37.120

from Romans chapter 13, verses 10 through 14. We want to look particularly at two verses It was verses being verses 11 and 12. And that knowing the time, for now it is high time to awake out of sleep.

00:05:37.120 - 00:05:52.900

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

00:05:52.900 - 00:06:22.460

and let us put on the armor of light. The title of the message, Time to Wake Up. During the time of my ordination evaluation, I can remember so well the undeniable nervousness and fear

00:06:22.460 - 00:06:46.740

that I felt as I was questioned by each pastor on the ordination panel. One particular question was raised by one of the ministers, which went along the lines of something like this.

00:06:46.740 - 00:07:05.380

What are the eschatological relevances surrounding the return of Christ? My brothers and sisters, I had to swallow long and hard over that question.

00:07:05.380 - 00:07:27.440

And after a moment of inevitable silence, "Ask me again, do you know?" And that's when I finally had to confess to him, "Revvin, not only do I not know the answer,

00:07:27.440 - 00:07:45.060

but I can't even pronounce that word you just used." And after which they passed on to another question. But you know, I was thankful for everyone that was there that was praying for me, 'cause I heard

00:07:45.060 - 00:07:54.420

when that question was asked, not only did my heart jump, but I heard an oh Lord from somebody else in the congregation. (audience laughing)

00:07:54.420 - 00:08:08.460

But you know, my brothers and sisters, I determined right then and there that whether I passed or failed the evaluation, I was going to learn both the pronunciation

00:08:09.420 - 00:08:27.540

and the meaning of this strange term. And since then, not only have I heard our very own pastor preach and teach on this subject, but I've also researched other sources

00:08:27.540 - 00:08:50.820

and have come to learn that eschatology is an imposing word with a somewhat uncomplicated meaning. It is simply the doctrine or teachings of last things. It deals with as the words of one biblical scholar,

00:08:50.820 - 00:09:08.140

the final age of God's purpose. In other words, my brothers and sisters, after it's all said and done, in spite of mankind's overall achievements,

00:09:08.140 - 00:09:40.100

or even the failures of the human race. It is God and not man that has the final word in time and eternity. And I don't know about you, but I can shout about that. That just makes me glad all over because for it seems like in this the present conditions of this world, we are hurling ever toward a certain and

00:09:40.100 - 00:10:18.440

everlasting destruction. Crime is up, sin is bold, and very few are concerned with the things of God. Isn't it wonderful to know that the fate of our ultimate existence will not be determined by the hand of fickle and finite man but rather by the loving hand of an everlasting father. And that's something that we could

00:10:18.440 - 00:10:50.140

all shout about and praise God about. And this was the good news that the Apostle Paul wrote about to the Christians at Rome. The joy of the eschatological reality, the joy in knowing that all things were in the hands of God.

00:10:50.140 - 00:11:10.660

Yet, there was another message that he attempted to convey in his writings. And it was one that was filled with a sense of urgency. For you see, during the time of the first century Christians,

00:11:10.660 - 00:11:26.420

there was a high expectation that Christ was coming back in their lifetime. Many of the believers in that era looked for the Lord to return any day

00:11:27.580 - 00:11:44.100

as a husband for his bride, the church. It was constantly on their minds. They were always thinking about it. There was always a casting their eyes to the sky

00:11:44.100 - 00:12:08.220

and looking for the Lord to return. But more so, it was on the mind of Paul, In that, he inserts within this letter a note as a reminder to them. He sounds off as an alarm clock in bringing their attention

00:12:08.220 - 00:12:30.140

to the present hour and telling them, this is no time for sleeping. The apostle reaches out through the words of this very intimate and personal letter and shakes them and rattles them and tells them this is no time to slumber nor sleep.

00:12:30.140 - 00:12:47.400

It's time to wake up. It's time to wake up. And you know, my brothers and sisters, for the most part, many of us have a problem with this,

00:12:47.400 - 00:13:02.000

that is being awakened from sleep. I myself know that I'm not a morning person. But I used to have a roommate when I was going to through a naval training session in San Diego, California.

00:13:02.000 - 00:13:19.880

They used to tear up more alarm clocks. But what he'd do, he'd set it the night before. And just as soon as the alarm clock would do what an alarm clock does, he would pick it up and throw it against the wall.

00:13:19.880 - 00:13:33.840

As a matter of fact, that's the way I woke up in the morning. I heard the alarm clock just go for a while and after a while I heard the crash. Some of us have a hard time

00:13:33.840 - 00:14:03.780

trying to be awakened from sleep. Sometimes it's just hard to be woke up. Yet, in order for us not to miss out on many of the important things in life, somebody, sometime, needs to wake us up from sleep and slumber.

00:14:03.780 - 00:14:23.900

For if you're not careful, you can miss out on a whole lot of things when you're sleeping. I was listening to the comment of James Brown, the quarterback for the University of Texas last week after their tie game with OU.

00:14:23.900 - 00:14:33.620

And oh, by the way, we want to thank God for that wonderful victory on yesterday, one point. Of course, it almost gave us almost a heart attack, but we want to thank God for that victory.

00:14:33.620 - 00:14:47.300

But I was listening to his comments last week after the tie game with OU. And the news reporter asked him after the game how he felt after being in the lead

00:14:47.300 - 00:15:03.820

for the first part of the game, only to end in a tie. And he said he felt like he had almost fallen asleep. But more so, he said, it's like your girlfriend left you and you don't know why.

00:15:03.820 - 00:15:24.300

And you know, my brothers and sisters, There's a whole lot of practical theology wrapped up in that statement. For if you're not careful, even in our spiritual life, we can find ourselves becoming so lax in our faith

00:15:24.300 - 00:15:45.620

that we become oblivious to the things around us, bringing and bringing and giving our certainties to an element of doubt Because we just don't know. And it could bring us to a part in our lives

00:15:45.620 - 00:15:59.860

when everything is going on around us. And we're laying up here asleep, and many things can happen around us and to us. And we just don't know why.

00:15:59.860 - 00:16:36.960

That's what can happen when you fall asleep. Yet Paul seems to shake the Christians at Rome through the writings of his letter. He sounds an alarm and tells them, "This is not the time for sleeping. You need to get up. This is no time for you to slumber your life away. It's time to wake up.

00:16:36.960 - 00:17:02.180

This is no time for sleepwalking. Somebody better open your eyes. This is no time for you to sleep through your life. It's time to wake up. Well, my My brothers and sisters, there's been some question on the part of some Bible students

00:17:02.180 - 00:17:20.220

as to why the Apostle Paul felt that he had to sound such a warning to this community. Was this not a group of Christians? Had they not experienced the power of God's amazing grace?

00:17:22.520 - 00:17:37.880

Didn't they know what the Lord could do in their lives? And the answer was a resounding yes to all of these questions. And the apostle Paul knew that it was.

00:17:37.880 - 00:17:52.820

But you know, Paul knew something else. He knew the kind of effect that darkness can have over people. And this was a case of the first century believers.

00:17:52.820 - 00:18:10.600

For the city of Rome during that time was full of a lot of dark and dank temptations. And it would have been so easy for them to be lulled to sleep of the wrong doing

00:18:10.600 - 00:18:25.700

by the lullaby of a sinful city. And in the light of this, Paul acknowledges the reality of the night that surrounded them. He knew that their eyes were getting heavy

00:18:25.700 - 00:18:49.540

and becoming unable to fathom through the darkness and unable to figure out what it really meant to be faithful. He understood how tempting it was for them to snuggle their heads deeper into a pillow of misdeeds.

00:18:49.540 - 00:19:07.540

He recognized the problems that they were facing. And this was the reason, my brothers and sisters, this was the reason that he sounded this alarm in alerting them to the hour.

00:19:07.540 - 00:19:24.260

This was no time for sleeping. He tells them to wake up. It was a note of urgency, sounded out in the church of that day.

00:19:24.260 - 00:19:44.760

And I wonder, my brothers and sisters, not to be so personal, but I just wonder if this imperative would apply to the church of today. Oh, we all know that the sinner and the unchurched need to hear a word of warning

00:19:44.760 - 00:20:04.960

about dwelling and walking in darkness. We know that the sinner needs to be reached about their salvation. But I wonder, do we as children of God get a little sleepy sometimes? Aren't we prone to stray sometimes?

00:20:04.960 - 00:20:22.080

Do we get a little sleepy? Do we not at times feel like throwing up our hands and saying, what's the use? Do you get just a little sleepy? Are we not tempted at times to leave off the things of God for

00:20:22.080 - 00:20:48.880

the sake of personal gain? Don't you ever, don't you every now and then get a little drowsy in your faith? You know, I was talking to a brother this past week about the Million Man March, and we both concurred that this was a beautiful sight.

00:20:48.880 - 00:21:06.240

Now, I know there was a whole lot of criticism for the march, but my brothers and sisters, as we mentioned in prayer meeting, that was a wonderful sight to see one million—I'm I'm sorry, I think it was one million. To see one million brothers together and not a thing happened.

00:21:06.240 - 00:21:18.480

Because a whole lot of folk was predicting riots and fights and things. None of that. All one in unity. That was a beautiful sight.

00:21:18.480 - 00:21:35.940

And we both, that is, this brother and myself, we agreed with that. We said this was wonderful and this is a nice thing to see and It really filled our hearts with joy. But you know, the more we talk,

00:21:35.940 - 00:21:45.540

the more I notice how he took on seems like a different atmosphere, an air about himself. Well, you see, my brother says,

00:21:45.540 - 00:22:01.580

this man was a Christian. This brother that I was talking to, he was a Christian. And he began to exhibit some unchristian-like behavior. He began to talk about how he would call white people names.

00:22:01.580 - 00:22:14.000

As a matter of fact, I've got them written down here, but I'm not gonna go ahead and name. He just called them names. He talked about hate and revenge for wrongdoings

00:22:14.000 - 00:22:23.640

that he really knew nothing about. Because my brother says, "This man is too young. "If he wants to talk about wrongdoings, "he need to talk to Dr. Griffin.

00:22:23.640 - 00:22:31.520

"He can talk to me too, "'cause I grew up in some of that too." But this young man was too young to really know what wrongdoing to the race really meant.

00:22:31.520 - 00:22:48.140

He began to exhibit some unchristian-like things about his whole self. And he began to talk about things that he was gonna do as far as maybe leaving the church and joining the nation.

00:22:48.140 - 00:22:58.340

Well, I have no problems with anybody that wants to worship God in their own way. But my brothers and sisters, This man was a Christian.

00:22:58.340 - 00:23:14.540

And I noticed that this brother was more than just a little relaxed in his faith. This brother was going to sleep. And that's when something inside of me

00:23:14.540 - 00:23:27.660

made me realize that it was my duty to try and wake this young man up. Now, my brother and sister, you know I'm a preacher. I tried not to preach, but I just couldn't help it.

00:23:27.660 - 00:23:39.300

I had to tell this brother, brother, you don't even know what wrong is until you really suffered in life. And the same God that you want to turn your back on,

00:23:39.300 - 00:23:56.860

he died on the cross to save not only you, but the whole world. Brother, you don't really know what it really means to love a people unless you have that Christian love. My brother, you need to wake up.

00:23:56.860 - 00:24:07.460

Somebody needs to open your eyes. And the more I talked, the more vision he got. But the more I preached, God loves you. And God loves me.

00:24:07.460 - 00:24:21.020

And God loves white folk all over the-- God loves all his children. And you have no reason to stand here in your little self thinking that you got all the power to send everybody

00:24:21.020 - 00:24:34.660

to hell. If you don't wake up, you may be going yourself. You've got to love Jesus Christ in order for you to really know what life is all about.

00:24:34.660 - 00:24:44.300

Open your eyes. Wake up. Get yourself out of that sleep. Know what life is really all about.

00:24:44.300 - 00:25:02.660

My brother, you need to wake up. Well, needless to say, he didn't want to talk to me anymore. But you know, I've learned from that. I've learned a new term for eschatology.

00:25:02.660 - 00:25:15.980

I know that it means the doctrine of last things. And I know that it means the study of the things that God is going to do in the end. But you know, I learned a new meaning of eschatology.

00:25:15.980 - 00:25:29.340

Maybe it's just my meaning. And that's the meaning of joy. Joy in knowing that God got it all worked out. And in spite of how man may try to mess it up,

00:25:29.340 - 00:25:42.500

God's going to work it out. And more than this, the one who is to come to receive his church one day dwells with us right now in our hearts.

00:25:42.500 - 00:25:54.540

I don't know about you, but I say praise God for that. I've learned how to pronounce eschatology. And not only have I learned one meaning, but I've learned two.

00:25:54.540 - 00:26:07.460

Thank God. Thank God that he woke me up. Not only this morning, but when I started on this journey. Jesus Christ woke me up.

00:26:07.460 - 00:26:18.380

Let me ask you a question. Are you still asleep? Well, I know somebody that can shake you up. For the one who was awakened from the dead

00:26:18.380 - 00:26:30.580

can fill you with the spirit in knowing that he can open your eyes from sleep. And I know I've got that joy. And I don't know about you, but I've decided--

00:26:30.580 - 00:26:42.900

oh, yes, I have. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus, regardless of whatever may be around me.

00:26:42.900 - 00:26:53.220

I don't care how much darkness there may be. I don't care what the effects of the darkness and the night may have upon me. I have decided to follow Jesus.

00:26:53.220 - 00:27:04.460

Amen. Amen. (congregation applauding) (gentle music)

00:27:04.460 - 00:27:42.580

(applause) [ Music ] ♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪

00:27:42.580 - 00:28:02.680

♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪ ♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪

00:28:02.680 - 00:28:22.280

♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ No one joins me ♪ ♪ Still I will follow ♪

00:28:22.280 - 00:28:41.620

♪ Oh no one joins me ♪ ♪ Still I will follow ♪ ♪ Though no one joins me ♪ ♪ Still I will follow ♪

00:28:41.620 - 00:29:00.960

♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ The world behind me ♪ ♪ The cross before me ♪

00:29:00.960 - 00:29:19.680

♪ The world behind me ♪ ♪ The cross before me ♪ ♪ The world behind me ♪ ♪ The cross before me ♪

00:29:19.680 - 00:29:38.580

♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪

00:29:38.580 - 00:29:57.220

♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪ ♪ I have decided ♪ ♪ To follow Jesus ♪

00:29:57.220 - 00:30:20.660

♪ No turning back ♪ ♪ No turning back ♪ [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]