AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST

Have you ever been sleeping so hard and so deeply that it was hard to wake up? Your eyes tried to open, but your bed felt so inviting that you did not want to move a muscle. The alarm clock went off, but you just hit the snooze button and kept on sleeping. The most important thing to you at that moment was blissful, mindless slumber. Nothing else mattered.

Now, sleeping soundly through your alarm clock usually is not the worst thing that will happen in your life. Sure, you might end up being late for school or late for work because of it, but overall it probably is not that big of a deal. Well, in the bible there are many verses that speak on another form of deep sleep that people have succumbed to. I'm talking about being spiritually asleep, and I wanted to talk with you about the danger of this kind of slumber.

First of all, I want to point out that a trumpet of warning has been sounding for quite a while now. Do you hear it? Can you see it? Or have you chosen to ignore the alarm while you continue sleeping? What is this trumpet of warning that I'm speaking of? There are signs of the times all around us. The world and its inhabitants are on a slippery slope headed for destruction. How do I know? Well, let us ponder on these things for a moment:

Immorality abounds: lying, stealing, gluttony, profanity, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, lasciviousness, and pornography just to name a few.

Disregard for human life abounds: abortions, homicides, suicides, disobedience towards parents, selfishness, et cetera.

Idolatry abounds: the love and worship of demons, angels, men and even animals. God's ordinances and commandments are being ignored and trampled and mankind is creating new laws in total opposition to God's laws. False religions have become mainstream. Heathenish customs, practices, and strange rituals are welcomed by the masses and embraced and emulated.

Sorcery abounds: witchcraft, LOA, astrology, Fung Shei, magic, soothsaying, drug usage, and self-mutilation.

The earth is groaning and dying: global warming, earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires.

Would you not agree that the days are dark and getting darker? Do not be fooled by false prophets and false preachers who are filling your ears with words of Peace, Peace, Prosperity and Joy. All you have to do is look around you and then read God's Word and you will realize that these are perilous times and that you need to be sober, on guard, and spiritually AWAKE!

Matthew 16:3, "And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

Romans 13:11, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."

Ephesians 5:14-17, "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."

Reader, it is time to stop napping and come to full attention. There are only two kinds of people in the world: people that have been born again who are spiritually alive and awake, and then there are people who have not been born again who are spiritually dead and sleeping. Both kinds of people are going through the everyday motions of life, but the awake and spiritually alive ones are concerned about their soul and their Saviour. The awake and spiritually alive ones are vigilant in their Christian walk and are not caught up in the sins and trends of the world. They have cast off the works of darkness and have put on the armor of light. They see the ever-increasing evil all around them and want no part in it. They have made their calling and election sure, and are willing to give up all for Christ.

The asleep and spiritually dead people are walking around like zombies unawares. They are only concerned with living for the moment and pleasing their own fleshly lusts. They are unfazed by and even blind to the warning signs that are all around them. They are unconcerned about salvation or their soul and are unconvicted in their hearts. And if they do not repent and seek Jesus' face, they will die in their sins and spend an eternity in hell.

Which kind of person are you? Now is definitely not the time to slumber! Now is not the time to put off matters of salvation. People of Noah's (or Noe) generation were asleep. They ignored the warning when it was given. Lot's sons in law were asleep. They too ignored the warning when it was given. Let's see what happened to all of them. Luke 17:26-30, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

People, God has given us plenty of warning just as He warned the people from generations gone by, but you cannot keep hitting the snooze button with the intention of getting ready later. Later may be too late. God's Word tells us that we need to make sure that we are awake and ready and saved TODAY.

Romans 13:12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

2 Corinthians 6:1-2, "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"

1 Thessalonians 5:6, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."

2 Peter 1:10-11, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

Make your calling and election sure! Know without a doubt that your name is written in God's Book of Life. Be ever ready for the Bridegroom, our Lord. Do not be asleep, unprepared, and foolish like the people here whom the door was shut upon:

Matthew 25:1-13, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

And, finally, Reader, if you say, "But I am a Christian and I am ready," yet you are still clinging to certain sins, making excuses for them, and are oblivious to the signs all around you, perhaps you actually are still asleep, spiritually dead, and unsaved after all. This is truly a dangerous place to be. You do not want to be like the people of Noah's day who saw the ark being built, yet missed the boat. You do not want to be like Lot's family members who were told of the coming destruction, yet perished in the brimstone and fire of Sodom and Gomorrah. You do not want to die in your sins and hear Jesus speak these words, "I never knew you. Depart from me." The trumpet has been sounded. The alarm has gone off. It is up to you to wake up, get up, forsake that old life, and heed the Lord's call, for you will have no one to blame but yourself if you tarry and are counted with the ungodly. Ezekiel 33:4, "Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head."

"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Ephesians 5:14).