“Wake up,” my wife said as our ninth grandchild, Kaysie, was about to make her grand entrance into this world. My daughter, Ashleigh, lives on the other side of town, and needed help caring for her three-year-old daughter, Haleigh, during labor. While coffee helped a little, the malaise of being awakened from a sound sleep kept me in a semi-surreal daze. It reminds me of times when I have gone through the motions without energy or motivation, although for a good cause. Times such as driving to work, going to the gym, brushing my teeth, engaging my spouse or child, going to church, or doing devotions.
Wake Up - Ease and Comfort
The children of Israel were in a similar soporific state after suffering being enslaved by Babylon. Isaiah 51 and 52 admonish God’s people to wake up. The Hebrew for “awake” is “Ur:” to wake; lift up self; raise; stir up; rouse oneself; incite. In context, Isaiah was telling them to rouse themselves and consider the God who delivered them from peril, took the cup of fury from them (giving it to their enemy), and to embrace the liberty God provided. As I meditate on this passage, I see similarities with today’s “church.”
We, too, have a propensity to seek ease and comfort. As believers, we have been delivered from sin and peril and love the liberty we have been given. Most professing Christians do the same things the world does: go to movies, drink alcohol, attend sporting events, go to clubs, go to beaches nearly naked, and are friends of the world. Even though they have liberty through Christ, they take the liberty and abuse it. This numbs the senses to the prompting of the Spirit. This, in essence, puts one’s spiritual senses to sleep. Many churches have been put to sleep by allowing “sin in the camp.”
Wake Up - 501C3 Clubs
What was once a bastion of holiness and propagator of the gospel has slipped into a safe haven of heathen. I am referring to the Methodist Church. John Wesley, the founder, was a vigorous street and field preacher with a message focused on holiness, righteousness, sanctification, and works of piety. [About Wesley] This same denomination has fallen asleep and now endorses same-sex marriage, women “pastors,” and overwhelmingly supports the liberal agenda. In my experience, most of these “churches” do not preach a salvation message; instead, they focus on politics.
Even so-called Pentecostal churches have succumbed to slumber. They have gotten comfortable with comfort and seldom desire a convicting word. Repentance has given way to prosperity. True worship has been replaced with pseudo-rock concerts, where artificial smoke, mood lighting, and thundering speakers have replaced a move of the Spirit. You would think all the noise and lights would awaken the church from its slumber. Instead, the distractions have only drowned out the whisper of the Spirit and put unsuspecting souls to sleep.
Wake Up, Worldly Minded
Who is to blame for this? Who is keeping watch? Where are the men of God who vigilantly protect the flock? They are asleep. Many have given in to the demands of the sheep and refuse to bring a correcting word, fearing their “tithes” and offerings will be negatively impacted. After all, how will the pastor pay for his BMW and bass boat? How will the lavish building, known as a church, be maintained unless the money keeps flowing? Pastors have become CEO’s. Their sermons have become motivational “talks.” Many pastors rarely pray, focusing on building their empire over the kingdom of God. Why is this? What is the cause of their misguided and misplaced zeal?
We have become worldly-minded. Rather than influencing the world, we have allowed the world to influence the church. While the church is bored with worship and obeying the Great Commission, it is motivated by sports, money, and gaining “things.” Pastors will get up hours before the sun comes up for sport but sleepily toss a five-minute, obligatory prayer toward God. Like tipping a waiter or valet, the watchman lazily slips into his pocket and tosses a thoughtless tip to the Lord.
Wake Up, Watchmen
What do we expect? How can the Lord move with his people ignoring Him? How can we hear the whispers of the Lord when we are so distracted with the world? How much are we really in love with the Lord? We can hardly sleep when excited about our vacations, new cars, marriages, and new toys. But when it comes time to spend time with Jesus, we can barely stay awake. The Word calls us to study, and yet we slumber. The Holy Spirit beckons us to bellow out in fervency, but the flesh overcomes us with latency.
Wake up, watchmen! Wake up, sheep! The night has given way to the light of day, and we need to be children of light. Check your heart; what is motivating you? What keeps you awake at night? The flesh or the Father? If the flesh, repent and put on the Lord Jesus!
Romans 13:11-14 KJVS
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.
