As we consider our 7th message on the call to faithfulness in our day we will consider again this morning the importance of being watchful Christians in contrast to being sleeping and sluggish Christians. I would like to speak on: “I Sleep, But My Heart Waketh.” I am taken back by the many references that are made in the Bible regarding the importance of being watchful, awake, attentive, aware and alert in our Christian lives. May we have a hearing ear and a willing heart to subject ourselves to the instruction in the WOG concerning our Christian walk! Now, the opposite of being watchful and alert Christians is being spiritually asleep, lethargic, lazy, unconcerned, undisturbed, indifferent, nonchalant and apathetic. This is a battle that rages in our lives. Satan would love to have us be asleep and apathetic to which he can easily and effectively attack us in temping us not to be a light and salt to this dying world. Can you imagine a Christian not being conscious about being light or salt or not worrying about being a testimony to God?
Chapter 5 of SOS is a picture of Christ's redeemed bride in a terrible lamentable situation. She is lethargic, complacent, she has fallen completely asleep! When our hearts get cold, when we leave our first love our fellowship and communion with Christ is broken. The only way to escape this awful state is for our Lord to graciously return and revive our cold, cold hearts. This is what we see here is SOS 5, I SLEEP, BUT MT HEART WAKETH. Notice the very common ailment among us, I SLEEP: If we are negligent in our responsibility our Christianity becomes a routine, we go through the motions, our hearts get cold and apathetic. |
