BISHOP DR. C. NYATHI - AWAKE CHURCH WHAT TIME IS IT ? (PART 2)

Paul calls the sleepy church to wake up. Romans 13 rings like an alarm clock: the night is far spent, the day is at hand, so the church must wake up, clean up, and dress up. The text demands a casting off of darkness and a putting on of the armour of light. The charge does not stop with moral negatives. The command lands like a jacket on the shoulders: put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation carries tenses. Justified already, being sanctified now, glorified when Christ appears. So the urgency is not panic, it is alignment. Hebrews 10 adds muscle to the urgency by insisting on the gathered life “as you see the Day approaching.” The Day is coming. The clock is not neutral.

Jesus then teaches God’s time. “My time has not yet come,” he says, while brothers call for a splash at the feast. Man’s time is always “opportune,” quick to post, keen to be seen, eager to be safe. God’s time hides and flourishes. When the hour comes, impact is maximum. Kairos compresses what Kronos cannot. God can amplify a small obedience like wildfire when the hour strikes. Thirty years of quiet and three years of glory are not waste, they are timing. Predators love those who stand outside God’s time. Safety is not the rule, obedience is, with prudence. There is a moment to stay in Galilee, and a moment to walk straight into Jerusalem.

The contrast between life as short and eternity as forever sobers the flesh. Men who live by man’s clock plunder the now, boast in barns, and forget their souls. Death reduces the lies. Eternity clarifies the budget. So disciples must make decisions in the light of that vast horizon. Culture must bow to calling. Tribe, trend, and timeline cannot outrank God’s word about a spouse, a move, a gift, or a risk. Jonah on the run sinks ships. “Unsanctified mercy” keeps him aboard. Sanctified wisdom throws him over and the sea goes calm.

Jesus models the hour. He says “not yet” till the Father says “now.” He refuses premature crowns, then embraces the cross at the appointed Passover, so prophecy stands and salvation sings. To live inside that calendar is to be directly accountable for time, to glorify God’s assignment not a neighbor’s lane, to read fields as white when heaven says so, to risk when mission requires it, and to confront a godless culture when eternity is at stake. God’s time preserves, accelerates, and confounds. Man’s time flatters, exposes, and devours. Choose wisely.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Wake up, clean up, dress up The church cannot roll out of bed and run the day without washing. Paul’s triad names a rhythm of repentance, renewal, and clothing the life with Christ, not just avoiding a list. Casting off darkness and putting on light is not cosmetics, it is a transfer of loyalties. Holiness is habit plus a Person, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” [12:00]
• 2. Live by God’s time, not man’s Man’s time is always “ready,” but it is rarely right. Jesus refuses public splash and waits for his hour, trading quick optics for divine amplification. A disciple learns to hear “not yet,” so that when God says “now,” the smallest obedience carries maximum reach. [17:57]
• 3. Kairos accelerates ordinary obedience Kronos is the calendar; Kairos is the window. In Kairos, God compresses decades into days and makes one hidden act ring out. Even a familiar verse can carry fire when timed by heaven. The secret is alignment, not volume or visibility. [30:19]
• 4. Eternity reframes daily decisions Life is short and eternity is forever, so the flesh’s urgency is a lie. Death exposes what mattered and what was spending the soul. Choices about money, sex, and platform change when the harvest is weighed on an eternal scale. [37:04]
• 5. Hide and flourish until your hour Premature exposure attracts predators and multiplies scandals. Jesus moves quietly, then steps forward when the Father says “now,” showing that concealment can be faith, not fear. Wisdom learns to emerge and submerge, letting God be the advertiser. [32:18]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:41] - Romans 13 alarm: wake up
• [03:31] - Salvation’s tenses: justified, sanctified, glorified
• [05:33] - Blessed hope and the approaching Day
• [11:20] - Wake up, then clean up
• [12:50] - Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
• [13:16] - Lessons on God’s time begin
• [17:57] - “My time has not yet come”
• [18:59] - Kairos vs Kronos explained
• [26:12] - Hidden seeds God amplifies
• [32:08] - Hide and flourish, avoid showboating
• [37:04] - Life is short, eternity forever
• [45:29] - Counting the cost of squandered time
• [57:00] - Relationships and God’s timing
• [69:50] - Jonah, unsanctified mercy, and timing
• [73:40] - “I have finished the work” model
• [89:53] - Scriptures on Jesus’ hour
• [98:15] - Five practices for living God’s time
• [110:56] - Prayer to enter God’s calendar
• [113:17] - Response and giving

1. What two contrasting actions does Paul command in Romans 13:12 (“cast off” and “put on”)? How does he describe the urgency of this call?
2. In John 7:6-8, why does Jesus refuse His brothers’ suggestion to go public at the feast? What does He mean by “my time has not yet come”?
3. The sermon contrasts “Kairos” (God’s timing) and “Kronos” (human timing). What example does the sermon give of Jesus living by Kairos instead of rushing into opportunities? [17:57]
4. According to the sermon, how does eternity reframe daily decisions about relationships, money, or risks? [37:04]

1. Why does Paul use the metaphor of “putting on” clothing (Romans 13:14) to describe following Christ? How does this imagery connect to identity and daily habits?
2. Jesus waited 30 years in obscurity before His public ministry. How does His patience challenge our cultural obsession with visibility and instant results? [19:11]
3. The sermon warns that “predators love those outside God’s time.” What vulnerabilities arise when we act prematurely or delay obedience? [35:01]
4. How does the tension between “man’s time” (always “opportune”) and “God’s time” impact our discernment in major life decisions?

1. Where in your life have you been hitting the “snooze button” spiritually—delaying repentance, avoiding accountability, or neglecting urgency? What practical step could “wake you up”?
2. “Putting on Christ” involves both rejecting darkness (Romans 13:12) and actively clothing yourself in His character. What specific “work of darkness” do you need to cast off this week? What Christlike trait could you intentionally practice?
3. Is there a decision you’re rushing (or avoiding) because it feels “opportune” by human standards? How might waiting for God’s timing require courage or patience? [18:59]
4. The sermon says, “Eternity clarifies the budget” [37:04]. How would your spending, career goals, or relationships shift if you evaluated them through the lens of forever?
5. When has “hiding and flourishing” in obscurity (like Jesus in Galilee) protected or prepared you? Are you in a season to step forward boldly or wait quietly? [32:18]
6. What cultural pressure (family traditions, social media trends, etc.) conflicts with God’s Word in your current choices? How can you prioritize obedience over approval? [17:25]