Woke is not Awake
Alarm clocks. The smell of frying bacon and brewing coffee. What does it take to wake you up? We’re living in a time when many believe they are on the leading edge of societal evolution, championing the move into the future while leaving outdated and irrelevant thinking and ways behind. All the while, scoffing at anybody who isn’t on the same bandwagon.
The sad truth,
as Solomon put it around 900 BC, “That which has been, is that which will be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9).” The world had become so wicked only six chapters into Genesis, (“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually [Gen. 6:5]”), that God destroyed everything that had breath—people and animals—except for 8 people and the animals Noah took into the ark.
What is the purpose of alarms,
of warning signs? Isn’t it to change behavior, direction, or thinking and avoid consequences of continuing the same path? Sometimes we don’t have a lot of time to think about the warning. For example, a sign that says “Bridge Out Ahead” may only give us a few hundred feet to decide what to do. A weather warning may only give a few hours or even minutes to react. And these are obvious. What about warnings that are not as near-term? Things like “do your homework” aren’t always tied to the immediate future. But sooner or later there will be consequences.
Lest you think that God is unfair, the people of Noah’s day had about a hundred years of Noah preaching righteousness while he built a 450 ft.-long ark. Listen to God’s heart about the wicked, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezek. 33:11)”. God always gives warnings before He pronounces and enacts judgment. In the following examples, the warnings are to God’s people.
“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awake from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom. 13:11-14)”.
“…Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you (Rev. 3:3)”.
“Thus says the Lord God, ‘A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold it has come! Your doom has come to you (Ezek. 7:5-7)”.
The church in America
and around the world has become anemic, weak, lazy. It has shelved the Word of God in favor of psychobabble, new-age, and “woke” philosophies claiming the Bible has no answers for “modern” man. That is a lie from the father of lies: Satan himself. First, the Bible is true cover to cover. It is the only book that accurately portrays both sides of God: His love, mercy and grace as well as His righteous judgment and wrath. Second, while destruction is promised and surely coming, the Bible gives the ONLY WAY TO ESCAPE GOD’S WRATH: JESUS CHRIST (John 14:6). Escaping God’s wrath is a by-product of the real reason you need to embrace Jesus. God’s love, mercy and grace—all undeserved—is beyond our comprehension, but available to all who repent and turn from their sin.
The warnings
have been clearly sounded for millennia. If we’re not ready, we can’t blame anybody but ourselves. Church, it’s time to wake up. If your love for God and His word has dimmed, do whatever is necessary to fire it back up. The time is short. We won’t get any more advance notice before Christ returns. Look around. Read the symptoms. We have become a godless society. Get excited about being in the presence of Jesus, the perfection of heaven and its joy, peace, lack of pain, sorrow, lying, hatred, divisiveness. We’re going soon. Make sure that you know Jesus personally and you’re not just sitting in a pew. Remember the story of the five wise and five foolish virgins. All were waiting for Jesus, but half didn’t get in (Matt. 25:1-13). Hope to see you there.