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Tuesday, April
22, 2008
Wake Up Call
John 11:11-14 These things said he: and
after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that
I may awake him out of sleep. (12) Then said his disciples, Lord, if he
sleep, he shall do well. (13) Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they
thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. (14) Then said Jesus
unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (KJV)
God’s word was made flesh and dwelt among
us in the form of Jesus Christ who was sent from God to deliver mankind
from a death sentence to one of eternal life. The things our Lord did and
demonstrated are still available to His people today; those that God sends
to speak words of life and wake people up from their spiritual stupors.
When you see the phrase sleep it does refer to death also. Lazarus is
someone we can identify with ourselves. And as we read yesterday, a man who
was stuck in darkness, bound up in grave clothes whose life stunk, and was
being resurrected from his sleep by the word of the Lord. We too were dead
in sin and trespasses but are now made alive again so that we are able to
walk in newness of life in the Spirit, no longer bound by the desires of
the flesh.
Ephesians 5:14-16 Wherefore he saith,
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. (15) See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as
wise, (16) Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (KJV)
Many think and are taught that someday
there will be a wonderful resurrection to a new eternal life with Christ,
and for many of them they can hardly wait for that day to come. Those that
have their spiritual senses exercised today know that now it is time to
awaken from our spiritual stupor, arise from the dead and walk in the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ and the path He chose for us before the
foundation of the world.
Thayer’s definition for awake:
1453
egeiro- to arouse, to cause to rise
a) to arouse from sleep, to awake
b) to arouse from the sleep of death, to
recall the dead to life
Romans 13:11-14 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. (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. (13) Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not
in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife
and envying. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (KJV)
Have you woken up from the dead; are you
arising now and heeding the spiritual calling or are you all caught up in
the striving and cares of this life? Now it is high time, time for you to
be seated in the heavenly places with Christ and not stuck in this dead end
realm of the flesh with its dead end results. Your salvation is near, the
Lord Himself is standing at your door knocking on the heart to see if you
will let Him in and give you new life. Like with the example of Lazarus, He
is ready to roll away the old stony heart and set you free to the only
liberty you will find, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So are you
heeding the call of our Lord; are you stepping out in faith into a new
realm so that you can be partakers of the heavenly gift that God sent to us
through His Son Jesus Christ? Now is the day of salvation, now it is much
nearer than you thought; so will you get up from your spiritual hangover
and answer the call or will you sleep in and miss out on an eternal
heavenly reward which is rightfully yours for the taking? Have you put on the whole armor of God
which is Jesus Christ so that you will no longer be taken down by the fiery
darts of the enemy and put back to sleep? Walk in the Spirit of Christ so
that you no longer have to be in bondage to the lusts of the flesh,
fulfilling its deadly desires which are contrary to our Lord’s desire for
you.
1 Corinthians 15:31-34 I protest by your
rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. (32) If after
the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it
me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. (33)
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. (34) Awake to
righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak
this to your shame. (KJV)
Paul himself realized that in order to
resurrect daily to this new life in Christ he would have to die on a daily
basis. The outward or the old man continues to perish on a daily basis
because we are now walking by faith and relying more on our spiritual sight
than the physical one. Our inward man should be renewed on a daily basis so
that we stay awake and alert spiritually and are not ambushed by the enemy.
Are the eyes of your understanding enlightened to the things of the Spirit
or are they becoming heavy and you are drifting back to sleep again? Take
heed to the warning in verse 33 because Paul did not say that evil communication
might corrupt, but rather would corrupt good manners. These warnings are
not put in the Bible just to fill in pages or finish a paragraph, but are
there for the benefit of His people so they won’t be deceived back to sleep
again, but rather stay awake and alert to the things of God. Some people
are not aware of these things that many may consider little and trivial,
but remember it only took a little leaven to leaven the whole lump, and for
those that don’t operate in this knowledge like Paul said he speaks it is
to their shame. It’s one thing if the people of the world decide to ignore
the word of the Lord and perish; it’s another to see God’s people perish
because of their lack of knowledge in spiritual matters; which in the end
is all that truly matters.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily,
shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (28) But let a man
examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
(29) For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (30) For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (KJV)
The Bible says that we all need to work
out our own salvation with fear and trembling, coming to an understanding
of God’s plan of salvation for ourselves so that we no longer have to
guess, but know who we are in Christ and find our place within the body.
Many that have had a spiritual awakening at some time, end up falling back
to sleep, this after becoming weak and sickly. It’s because of their lack
of discernment and diligence as well in making the Lord their priority that
they ended up in this condition. The Bible warns us of the many false
prophets that shall come preaching damnable heresies to the point of
denying the Lord, and they bring upon themselves swift destruction. Not
only will the false prophets suffer eternal consequences because what
should have been the bread of life was actually polluted and full of deadly
spiritual diseases which eat like a cancer, but those that follow them and
lend their support to them will also suffer the same consequences as well.
So wake up Church, you have a Bible and you have access to the throne of
God so that you can sit together with Christ on a daily basis and hear His
words firsthand; they are spirit and they are life to those that hear.
Don’t fall asleep at the wheel again and end up in a ditch spinning your
wheels, but stay alert and follow the only path that leads to eternal life,
the same path our leader and forerunner Jesus Christ followed Himself. God
bless and keep the faith.
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