Lk.9:32 -Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him.
Over the last several years there has been a lot of talk about a third “great Awakening” in our country. Have you ever thought about the term ‘awakening’ and come to a conclusion to what that means? This is the term used about the spiritual outpouring that happened in the thirteen original colonies that resulted in birthing ‘one nation under God’. Apparently the colonies were over one hundred years old and the fire of those who had been persecuted for their faith in Europe had gone dim. Revival fires can tend to burn out after a while, the Great Awakening was God’s answer. The sleeping church began to awaken and the spiritual world came alive once again. Maybe the sleepy disciples are a picture of the sleepy church throughout the ages. What woke the disciples up? Maybe it had something to do with Jesus being illuminated, a shining cloud formed, the voice of the Father spoke, and Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus. The Lord will apparently go to desperate measures to wake up His sleepy church. Here is how Barclay describes this verse.
“There is a vivid sentence here. It says of the three apostles, ‘When they were fully awake they saw his glory.’
In life we miss so much because our minds are asleep. There are certain things which are liable to keep our minds asleep.
There is prejudice. We may be so set in our ideas that our minds are shut. A new idea knocks at the door but we are like sleepers who will not awake.
(b) There is mental lethargy. There are so many who refuse the strenuous struggle of thought.…..How many of us have really thought things out and thought them through?
(c) There is the love of ease. There is a kind of defense mechanism in us that makes us automatically shut the door against any disturbing thought.
We can drug ourselves mentally until our minds are sound asleep.”
Much of His church has fallen asleep as we draw near to the end of the age. I expect that the Lord may have some unprecedented things in store to shock us out of our sleep. Don’t be surprised if things you never considered or even believed in suddenly invade your world and shock you wide awake.
4 thoughts on “SLEEPY CHURCH”
Let’s be awakened today to the sound from heaven of a rushing mighty wind!
Jesus told them to not leave Jerusalem, but wait until the Father fills them with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They waited 10 days in obedience, 50 days after Passover and Jerusalem was packed full, when suddenly, there came a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames 🔥 or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Jews came running to see what was going on and heard their own languages being spoken.
Fire can be difficult to put out but fire mixed with wind can be uncontrollable. And thousands were saved. (Acts 2)
And jumping to Acts 4, Peter and John (2 of the 3 that saw the illumination) were claiming, on the authority of Jesus, that there is a resurrection of the dead. And thousands more were getting saved. The leaders wanted to know, by what authority do you speak and Peter being full of the Holy Spirit, lets them have it, with both barrels. The leaders come back and told them not to speak in Jesus’ name anymore. Peter and John both said, NO WAY!!!
And Peter and John went back to the others and explained what happened and prayed.
Oh Lord, hear their threats , and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After this prayer, (suddenly) the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached with boldness.
Mighty God awaken us, your church today!!!
Having taken a new road for me, where purposeful awareness continues to adjust my thoughts, when random distractions try to invade and dilute a full experience, similar to sleep walking. I have come to ask myself, what does a full time Christ like life look like for me? Willie Nelson of all people summed it up, “On the road again”
Great Word!
I hope you would agree that this “third awakening” would not be a “woke” church!