I am a person who hates alarm clocks. The sound they make is the equivalent to fingernails scraping down a chalkboard in my mind. Despite my loathing of these wretched devices, they do come in quite handy at times. Our alarm clocks keep us on schedule and help us be productive members of society.
Like I said, I hate to hear an alarm go off. There has been a few times, having been abruptly woken out of a deep sleep and in an attempt to simply shut off the noise, I have reached over and hit the SNOOZE button... (without even being fully conscious or aware of doing it…Can anyone relate?) and quickly fell back in my slumber. Nearly every time I have ever done this, however, it has proven to be disastrous! It usually ends with my husband and I oversleeping. Once we wake up and realize we have overslept, the result is a frantic rush of getting ready and a mad dash out the door for my husband who has to be at work very early.
My aversion to the "noise" of the alarm has caused me to lash out and hit the SNOOZE button to "just make the noise stop" without me allowing that alarm to work its purpose. The sound of the alarm going off is not there just to "get under my skin", to annoy me, or to cause me discomfort, but rather, the purpose of the alarm is to cause me to make a change (to make me wake up!)
Likewise, it is in the spiritual sense.
The WAKE UP alarm is sounding....
The common theme of preaching and ministering across our movement seems to be about waking up spiritually and getting our hearts right with God...
Lately, it seems all the preaching I've heard personally (at my own church and across “Mixlr land”) is all about letting go of “things” and getting our eyes refocused on the Lord and getting our souls prepared for His imminent Return.
These past 18 months has served as such a distraction and has diverted our attention from where it should be. Due to circumstances far beyond any of our control, our way of life has been drastically changed... (forever, it seems.)
Our church attendance has been disrupted. Our sense of camaraderie and "unity of the Spirit" among the believers has been challenged. Close friends have become divided over issues and petty grievances. People that once upheld the banner of Holiness are now cowering to the world and its practices. Carnality and self indulgence is at an all time high...It seems as if we as a people have fell asleep spiritually.
But God....
...is rich in mercy and He is not willing that any of us should perish. In His great mercy, He is sounding out alarms all across the land....
WAKE UP!! WAKE UP!!
I'M COMING!! GET READY!!
I am reminded over there in Matthew 26 about how Jesus himself was the "alarm clock" for his own disciples but they were too sleepy to realize what was happening all around them.
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and took him.
Verse 44 is what truly scares me! …And he left them, and went away... I sure don't want that to be said of me. I don’t want Him to leave me…
I want to listen (and take heed!) to the alarm/warning that is being sent out.
We must be cautious not to “hit the SNOOZE button” spiritually… if there ever was an hour where we need to be fully awake, it is in the hour in which we are now living!!
Over and over in the Word of God we are commanded to "watch", to "be awake", to "be sober", to "be vigilant".
Even the story is told in Matthew 25 of the ten virgins who were waiting on their bridegroom. The Bible tells us there were 5 wise virgins and 5 foolish... All of them brought their lamps, but the Bible distinctly tells us the 5 foolish virgins took no extra oil with them. If we read on in the story, we realize these ladies had no clue when exactly the bridegroom was going to return. Verse 5 tells us that ALL of them slumbered and slept (because the bridegroom tarried--or he didn't come when they thought he would)... If they ALL were asleep, then why does the Bible say there were 5 wise and 5 foolish? you may ask.
Well, if we read on down to verse 6, And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. (There's that annoying ALARM sounding---waking them out of their slumber) this time, however, it was not just a warning. It was the real deal! He had returned!! The 5 wise women had already prepared themselves. They weren't rushed and frantic, running around trying to buy more oil and get ready like their 5 counterparts. They had prepared while it was still daylight. They knew their bridegroom could come at any moment. They knew they had to be ready!
In contrast, we have heard it said all of our Christian walk... "The Lord is coming! The Lord is coming!" and sometimes, it seems almost as if we either have quit believing it or maybe, we have lost the meaning of just what that truly means!
We are content with mediocratic religion. As long as we "feel" good or have a little “goosebump”, we are happy in our walk with Christ. If the preacher tries to challenge us or to warn us, we respond with a critical spirit. We detest that sounding alarm... We want to reach over and hit the SNOOZE button so we can drift back off to our comfort zone. (Ease in Zion)
But dear sisters, let me encourage you. Let's allow the Lord to 'change' us and make us more like Him. That spiritual alarm/warning we are hearing isn't there to hurt us! Its sole purpose is to help us! God wants us to go to Heaven even more than we even want to go. He is doing everything in His Power to "wake us up" as a people and as a nation!
Look around! The world is full of sounding alarms and warning signs of His soon return.
Paul says it like this in Romans 13:11-14:
11And 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.12The 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. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Let's determine to "put on" the Lord Jesus and make no provisions for this old flesh!
Let's allow the "alarm clock" of God's Word to fulfill its purpose in our lives!
Let's get ready!
It's just about "HOME TIME!!"
From my heart to yours,
-Tiphanie ❤️
Extra Study verses
Luke 21:36 - Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Matthew 24:42 - Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Revelation 16:15 - Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
1 Peter 1:13 - Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Luke 21:34 - And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 - Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Colossians 4:2 - Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
James 1:22-25 - But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Revelation 3:2 - Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain...
2 Thessalonians 3:3 - But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
Revelation 3:3 - Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
❤️❤️❤️