Ephesians 5:13-17 – Wake UP – Bible study

Eph 5:13-17 Wake UP I would like to draw your attention to the charge given in \#14\. "Awake!" or as we would likely say it, "Wake up!" Somebody is asleep and Paul does not want them to be that way. Paul is being forceful. He is challenging someone, charging them. They must wake up. I notice that while this is an epistle, at this point, Paul is not teaching. There is no doctrine to learn, no history to review, no parable to unraveljust the challenge given, "Wake up!" Yet there are some things to consider. I. Constituency – Who was it that Paul was writing to? A. It was to the Christians of His day. 1. This was not a portion of a sermon preached to evangelize the unsaved. 2. It was not a historical narrative of Paul or another attempting to win the lost. 3. It was a challenge issued directly to the born-again believers. B. It has become a challenge to us. 1. The fact that such a challenge is issued warns us that it is possible for us to fall asleep spiritually after our conversion. 2. Such a thing ought to be rare. a. Christians have been given the Holy Ghost. We are to be filled with Him. b. That being the case, it would be my wish that it would be an impossible condition for the believer to succumb to this spiritual sleep. c. But is it? Paul challenged us so being spiritual asleep is possible and I fear in the day in which we live, it is not rare at all. II. Comparison – What is to be learned about us from the challenge? Paul was comparing the state of sleep to our spiritual condition. What can we learn about ourselves? A. Sleep is a natural state. 1. Everyone sleeps. Some perhaps not as soundly as they desire, but still they sleep. 2. While no one has ever been known to die from lack of sleep, it is thought that a person would. 3. The record time for going without sleep was set in 1965. A 17 year old named Randy Gardner went 11 days and 24 minutes without sleep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Gardner_%28record_holder%29 4. That sleep is natural concerns me for it means that falling asleep spiritually will likely occur whenever we allow the natural man to take control of our being. a. We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God, but if we refuse Him, reject Him, grieve Him, it is very likely that we will enter this state of spiritual sleep. b. No doubt that is why Paul also challenged the believers twice in this same book to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; c. There is a connection in being in subjection to the Holy Spirit and to being spiritually awake and alert. d. There is also a connection in being in a state of disobedience to the Holy Ghost and being spiritually asleep. B. Sleep occurs in the dark. 1. Most people sleep in the dark or at least in almost dark conditions. 2. Those who study sleep strongly recommend total darkness for your best sleep. 3. Recommendation #4 in an article entitled "29 Secrets To a Good Nights Rest," by Joseph Mercola. Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal glands production of melatonin and serotonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important serotonin aid melatonin. 4. Spiritual sleep likewise occurs in darkness. a. Darkness is a picture of sin. b. Sin is the devils anesthetic. It is what the devil gives to his patients to put them into a catatonic state of spiritual sleep. c. Sin makes them oblivious to spiritual truths. 5. The devil is no dummy. a. Spiritual power is a desirable treasure. b. He knew that it would take a prize of some kind to to turn the hearts of the people away from such a great gift. c. So he gives us the pleasures of sin for a season. 6. Others have done this. a. When I went to the dentist as a boy, after our visit the dentist or one of the assistants would take us to a giant treasure chest of cheap toys and trinkets. b. It was so much the value of what was in the box as it was being able to pick out whatever I wanted! c. Going the treasure chest made the pain of seeing the dentist more tolerable. 7. One of the goals of Christ is to get men and woman out of the sin, out of darkness! John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Matthew 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 8. Friend, what sin has the devil anesthetized you with? C. Sleep makes us oblivious to the things around us. 1. Over the years, I have worked a variety of part time jobs to help supplement our income. For several years, I worked as a night auditor in three different hotels. 2. On one occasion, a guest fall asleep with their TV up too loud. I had several complaints and tried to wake the guest by telephone and by knocking on the door, but could arouse them. I was left with only two choices. (1) Call the police to get into the room. (2) Enter the room myself. I decided that no matter what I might stumble upon, the least embarrassing for the guest would be for me to enter the room rather than have the police do it. Fortunately, there was another off-shift worker there who was willing to go with me. We knocked againseveral timesbefore using the master key to let ourselves in. On the bed was a rather good-sized man who was snoring. My co-worker walked in, turned off the television, and to my knowledge, the guest never knew we were in the room. 3. Sleep does that to a person. It renders one unconscious so that they do not know what is going on around them. 4. So spiritual sleep renders one unconscious to what is going on around them. They sleep without noticing or knowing what is happening. 5. Jesus rebuked the religious of His day for their dazed condition. Matthew 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 6. What kinds of things are going on? a. Sin is certainly getting more prevalent. Just look at what is going on today. When I was a teenager in high school, our biggest disciplinary problems were smoking, gum chewing in class, and skimpy shirts. Today our government is making it a hate crime to tell a homosexual that his behavior is a sin, we slay millions while in the womb, sex is casual, and there doesnt seem to be a honest politician in the country. 1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. b. The world has turned against Israel. Make no mistake. America, Israels strongest ally, has abandoned her along with the rest of the world. (1) The world has been gradually turning its back on for years via boycotts. There are literally dozens of nations or sectors within nations who are attempting to cripple Israel. (2) Giving Iran nuclear weapons with NO concessions on its part toward Israel sets the world on an inevitable course of Bible prophecy. (Eze 38) (3) Isnt it interesting how Russia (Magog) has alienated itself more from the west and aligned itself more with Muslim countries in the last two years (the invasion Ukraine). c. The church has fallen away. A good portion of churches today are not even opening their doors for evening services any more and I suppose that is a good thing, for when they do, they dont ever open the Bible and preach the truth. 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 7. These are just a few of the things that every Christian in the world should be noticing. The fulfillments of Bible prophecy are setting up all around us! D. Sleep causes to lose track of time. 1. Have you ever dozed off and though you were asleep for maybe two or three minutes to find out you had been out for nearly hour? Or have you awakened thinking it was about time to get up and you had only been asleep for a few hours? 2. Most of us have clocks near our beds and the first thing we do when we wake up is see what time it is! 3. Why? Because we lose awareness of time when we are asleep. 4. So have those who are asleep spiritually! Wake up, Christian! It is later than we think. Romans 13:11 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. III. Challenge – With all of this understanding, what was Paul challenging the church to do? A. He was challengingcommandingthem to wake up. B. That command means that we are to awake out of our stupor. We are to start taking note of what is going on around us. C. Even more, we are to understand the significance of what these types of events mean. D. But we are also to do something about it. 1. Christians often ask, "What can we do? It is Bible prophecy. Nothing can stop it." 2. That is true. Nothing will stop Bible prophecy from coming to pass; however, we can delay its fulfillment. 3. In this country, there are still several things we can do. a. We can be gracious but vocal about what is going on. b. We can vote for the right kind of candidates. c. We can run for political office ourselves. 4. However, that is not what Paul was challenging the people to do. a. He was challenging them to live honestly and holy before the people. (1) Notice from our text \#Eph 5:15-16\. (2) Notice from Jesus life. John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (a) By finishing the work given to Him (obedience), Jesus glorified the Father. (b) Obedience glorifies (exposes the greatness of) our God. (c) That in turn gives more people an opportunity to be saved. (d) As people are saved, that in turn glorifies the Father. (e) A godly cycle is then begun, one that can certainly delay the devils work. b. He was challenging them to win souls to Christ. (1) Nothing will hinder the devil more than winning his henchmen to Christ! (2) And even if we cannot slow down the devils work, we can take as many people with us as possible! So wake up, Christians! Wake up to salvation if you are lost. Wake up to a holy life if you are saved. Wake up to witnessing to others. If we continue to sleep, the world around us will be engulfed in the devils cesspool.