The time to wake from slumber
Romans 13:11~14 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put out on the armor of light. (11~12)
♬Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #540 I am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice (#219 in previous version)
Successful people have a different perspective when seeing history. Even after witnessing the same phenomenon, poets write poems while artists paint pictures. The phrase ‘time to wake from slumber’ means that we must wake up from our slumber of destruction. Age by age, the Gospel has become vague, the churches have become powerless, church members have diminished while churches across the world have faced great crises. We must quickly awake from such powerlessness. We must quickly awake from spiritual slumber and save the church and the future generations. How can we wake up from spiritual slumber?
1. We must first experience that all answers are within the Gospel
While we must believe that everything is within the Gospel, more than anything, it is vital that we enjoy this truth. Unless we experience this, we cannot become evangelists. The day that we experience that all things are within the Gospel, our eyes will be opened. God will work upon those who possess this answer. The church is falling into things that are not of the Gospel because they have failed to experience this. We must quickly wake from such a slumber.
2. We must hear the voice of God
Waking up from slumber means that we have heard the voice of God. Because the night is almost over and the day is almost here, the light will shine with brilliance if we put aside the darkness and clothe ourselves with the armor of light. We must also not live lives of debauchery. If we were completely bound to the culture of corruption in the world and drank day and night, how could we do world evangelization?We must be clothed in Christ. We must be armed with Christ. This is the best possible way of arming ourselves. Satan cannot attack and destroy a child of God who is armed thoroughly with Christ.
3. What must we do after waking up?
More than half of the people on Earth are unable to listen to the Gospel. Even if they are able to listen, they are not listening to the accurate Gospel. Subsequently, they do not know about spiritual problems. That is why we must begin true prayer. But there is something that is heavily misunderstood. We think that we cannot do it, and we think that we are not fit for such a purpose. But God has actually called us as the main figures of blessings. God will open the doors of evangelism to those who have properly understood the Gospel. Now is the time to wake from slumber. Now is the time to relay the Gospel to those who have yet to hear it.
● Forum Topic- The day we experience that everything is within the Gospel, all doors will be opened. God has called us as the main figures of such blessings. What kind of evangelism, message and prayer have you held onto today?
Immanuel Church Sunday Worship 2nd Service / 2009.11.22