Wake Up!

Watching what is going on in society, my heart breaks. How can the church and those who identify as Christians not see what is going on is an abomination to God? 

Companies and society, in general, are making a mockery of what God created and meant for good. The month of June, as I posted last time, highlighted how the world disagrees with God designing marriage as being only between a biological man and a biological woman. However, it is not just the month of June or the topic of marriage. It is blatantly shoved in our faces 24/7, 365 days of the year that the world emphasizes what goes against His principles of living: sexual immorality, murder, and lying - just to mention a few (1 Timothy 1:8-11). I look at how many organizations unashamedly defile God, yet individuals, particularly those who identify as followers of Christ, continue to openly and regularly support the organizations. For example, let's look at Disney. Disney presents and supports topics that go completely against who God is, from witchcraft to lifestyle choices, but Christians continue to support them by buying merchandise, having a Disney+ membership and watching the shows, and visiting the parks. Or, how about the churches, pastors, and supposed believers who say nothing to those who call themselves Christians and are continually living a lifestyle dishonoring to God. Aren't we, as Christians, called to be in the world and not of the world? Aren't we, as Christians, supposed to call out, in love, the things which go against God and His Word?

Jesus specifically stated in John 15:18-19, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." The world, our society, hates Christians. Jesus told us this would happen. However, why do so many individuals who identify as Christ followers continue to want to be of the world and are not taking a stand for the ways of God?

I believe this is because people are sleeping. Many so-called Christians are in a deep slumber - a slumber that causes them to not truly pursue God and have a relationship with Him. A.W. Tozer stated the following: "I remind you that there are churches so completely out of the hands of God that if the Holy Spirit withdrew from them, they wouldn’t find it out for many months." Sadly, this is so true for much of the church of today. Paul stated that we are to flee "lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). 

Christians need to pursue God and know Him. If Christians truly knew God, they would be bold to stand up against what is taking place not only in society but in the church. A.W. Tozer also stated: "To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart." This is so true. Many Christians want what is easy and to be happy, but ultimately it boils down to the following question: Are you pursuing God with your whole heart, even if His responses don't fit into your idea of what happiness or life should look like?

If Christians are actively pursuing God, then they wouldn't be in a slumber and would experience unspeakable joy just being in the continual presence of a mighty, holy, and worthy God. Their idea of self would fall away, and they would only be concerned with pleasing God. Paul states in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober." Slumber is something the church and Christians have battling for a long time. 

Ted Dekker wrote a book on this very concept, The Slumber of Christianity. He specifically mentioned the following: 

We, as Christians and as a church, need to wake up. Slumber equals silence, and silence equals the inability to do what God has called us to do. We, however, have been called for such as time as this to do something great for God. Just as Mordecai told Esther: "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14), we cannot remain silent in order to bring about relief and deliverance to our families, nation, and world. We need to awaken a "passion for heaven on earth" and purpose to not fall into a slumber (Dekker 12). We need to not fear standing out for the sake of Godly principals. We need to stand firm and be bold because if we cave, it can become a slippery slope to slumber. 

Wake up, beloved! The alarm is sounding! 

Can you hear it?