03-19-17 The Discipline of Vigilance

“The Discipline of Vigilance” Romans 13:11-14
The Bible has a great deal to say, in both the Old and New
Testaments, about being awake and alert. When we make it our habit to be awake and alert, we are practicing the spiritual discipline of vigilance. But why is vigilance so necessary to our spiritual health?
I First, we need to be vigilant because what Jesus e_________ us to ___ requires vigilance (13:11a).
A. All of Paul’s letters consist of two parts: the i____________ and the i_________________.
1. In the first 11 chapters of Romans Paul tells us about o_____________, about G_____, about f_________, and about the ________ _________.
2. With chapter 12 Paul turns from the indicative to the imperative – he tells us what we must ____ in light of what God has done _____ _____.
B. So, when Paul comes to verse 11 of our text and he says, “Do this,” what he expects us to do is to l_______ a l_______ of l_________.
C. We cannot sleep because we have an enemy of our soul who wants us to disobey the i____________ God has given to us.
II Second, not only do the demands of the Christian life call for
vigilance, so also does the t_______ in which we are living.
A. The Greeks had two words for time: chronos, which is o__________ time and kairos, which is “a d____________ point in time.”
B. The New Testament teaches that it is God who places before us s____________ a_____________ times of decision.
C. The New Testament also teaches that once we make the
momentous decision to follow Christ, there are ________ kairos moments to come.
III When a Kairos moment has come and gone, it can never be r______________, and what we did with that kairos moment will stand for all e___________.