No sugar chocolate frosting 🎂 Wake up...

Ephesians 5:14 (NASB)

    For this reason, it says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."

   

In the first part of the book of Ephesians we are reminded of all the provisions and the wonderful advantages that are ours in Christ.

And in the last part, where we are instructed in Christian conduct and how to live as sons of God and joint heirs with Christ.

We are told to be imitators of God and live our life through the power of the Holy Spirit, walking in spirit and truth.

We are to live in unity with all our brothers and sisters in Christ and provide encouragement to one another.

We are to live in the light of His presence - for with the privileges of sonship there comes immense responsibilities.

As part of God's new creation, we are commanded to live as children of the Light and produce spiritual fruit… Which consists of all goodness; righteousness and truth.

It is for this reason that we are commanded, to WAKE UP from our spiritual slumber.

And although this verse is often quoted to sinners, it was not written to sinners.

It is not a message to sinners at all, but a message to the church.

Because we are born anew and regenerated by the Spirit, we are to be spiritually awake and spiritually aroused from any spiritual slumber.

We are exhorted to, "AWAKE... and arise from the dead - and Christ will shine upon us."

We are to be spiritually alert and grow in grace.

We are to mature in the faith and walk in the unity of the Spirit.

We are to be holy and righteous and good in all our conduct…

and we are to walk in love and keep on walking - endeavoring to please the Lord, as He works in our lives, conforming us into His image and the likeness.

We are not to remain as spiritual babes, but we are to be progressively sanctified, as we change from one stage of glory to the next… for this is God's will for all His children.

It has been said that we either progress towards maturity in our Christian life or regress back into spiritual infancy - there is no standing still.

Walking in unity of the faith and in the light of His truth is pleasing to God, for we are abiding in Christ and He in us.

When we fall into spiritual slumber, our fellowship with the Father falls into neglect.

This is why we are told to “Wake Up”

We are to wake up from any compromise in our Christianity or any coldness of heart.

This is the reason, that we are to, "Awake, from our sleep, for Christ,  the Light, will shine on us"

We often don’t take this verse as seriously as we should…

So, I’ll end with a short story:

A terrible disease plagues a small town in Nowhereville…

A doctor has been up for days trying to help the sick wherein he has gotten the disease himself. 

Now after many nights trying to find a cure, he drinks down a compound he’s put together and remarkably, his temperature returns to normal, and his rash disappears. He recovers completely.

This man, has the prescription to heal the whole city.

But he has been so busy searching for a cure and he’s so tired, so he lays down and goes to sleep.

But he’s got the cure and there are children whom he knows that are dying and mothers are weeping and praying, but he is sleeping.

You see, we have the remedy for a lost and dying world.

We have been cured with the remedy provided, through Christ Jesus.

Are we like this doctor?