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.

Haven’t blogged for a while, been flat out! But I am back, hopefully with more regular entries in coming weeks. Thanks to all my followers and readers, I hope the Spirit of God bears witness in your heart as to the truth of what I am blogging, not because I am so good, smart, wise and intellectual, but because God is so good and true, and it is his word that I am giving you, and his word alone. It is his word that is the word of life, all I am doing is holding forth the word of life. It is my reasonable service, it does not earn me more credits and favor with God, it does not make me more saved than I already am. It is high time to awake out of sleep for all of us, and me included. When Jesus was in Gethsemane before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot into the hands of the Romans, the Bible says that Jesus went to pray. He took several of his disciples with him, but instead of praying they fell asleep. This happened three times. As Jesus found them sleeping, because although their spirit was willing, their flesh was weak, so he can and will find many of us sleeping when he returns. This is why we have to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. And this is not an abstract, sensual, mystical, undefined thing. We do this by reading and living according to his word, his words are spirit, as Jesus said in John 6. They are alive, they are life giving, they are more than just ink on paper. Jesus is the living Word and the Bible is the written Word. We all are or have been in a state of spiritual sleep, just as the disciples were sleeping. Deep in slumber, with heavy eyes, unable to watch and pray, and thus unable to resist falling into temptation. As saved and unsaved people, we can be in a state of spiritual sleep, and this is what this blog is about.

In Genesis 28, when Jacob was traveling to Padanaram, he fell asleep and God showed him the ladder in his dream. We have discussed in several previous blogs that the ladder of his dream represents and points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, who encapsulates the ladder, as he is our way and our only way to heaven, and he did the work to enable us to go to heaven. We can only enter heaven on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing we can generate can get us or gain us entry to heaven. This is the whole point of the Saviour, this is why the whole Bible start to finish points us to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does Jacob falling asleep and seeing the ladder show us? It shows us that God has dealt with us, with mankind, while we are asleep, spiritually asleep, spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. The Bible says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It is God that provided himself a lamb. God provided a Lamb, the Lamb of God, his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, before we were even aware we needed a Saviour. And while we were asleep, our frail human race seemingly hopelessly eternally alienated from the Father, Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth as a humble servant to take away our sins, to pay the price that we could never pay. To obtain our freedom, the set the prisoners free, to give eternal life freely, to give life and give it more abundantly. The fountain was opened at Calvary, and we worship a risen Saviour today. He lives, he is alive, the very world was made by and is held together by his word. Our journey through life to our Padanaram, our earthly pilgrimage to our destiny with our Lord, is all about whether we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour or not. Receive the gospel and saved, refuse the gospel and be damned for ever. Jacob said, How dreadful is this place! This is a dreadful life, a dreadful existence, and a dreadful God, because the same God who saves is the same God who condemns us to eternal hell. What will you do with Jesus? What have you done with Jesus? Are you saved or not saved? It is high time to awake out of your sleep. Jesus has been revealed, as the ladder was revealed to Jacob, the way of salvation is not a mystery, it is open, known and available, but will you take it? Will you accept it, will you receive it?

For the Christian we can fall spiritually asleep. We can become immersed in the world, it’s cares, it’s pleasures, it’s lusts. It sidetracks us, it gives us an under the sun view, not an eternal, looking on the unseen things view. Is our life about faith in Christ, or is it about catering to our desire for fuzzy warm emotions and feelings, to pleasing ourselves, to serving ourselves. The I will or thy will heart attitude? Jesus said when he comes, will he find faith on the earth? Will he find us sleeping, just like the disciples in Gethsemane? For the Christian, our time of sleep is nearly over, the day is drawing nigh quickly. Time is running out to be saved, to be used by God in saving souls, to be faithful witnesses of him. The day of our Saviour, the day of reigning with him, when the darkness is put away forever, where we no longer see through a glass darkly, when we see him face to face, when we shall be like him, with him, forever with the Lord. The day is drawing nigh, it is high time to awake. Are you asleep? Only receiving the quickening, life saving, hope giving, light shedding message of the gospel and salvation awakes us out of our sleep, as it did with Jacob? Does it inspire fear and awe in you as it did in Jacob? Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the answer. Your religion, works, self righteousness, self worthiness, habits, and goody goody behavior will not get you to heaven. Your intellect, as mine, is a waste of time. If you are honest, you will realize that when you truly begin to know and understand more, you see how infinitesimally inadequate our intellect, knowledge and wisdom is. This life is about the simple gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Childlike faith but a stumbling stone that causes the smartest of us to go to the darkness of a Christless eternity. The Bible talks of the simplicity of Christ. He died, was buried and arose for us. He did it for each of us individually. We have but to receive it with a heart belief that accepts and receives the forgiveness that is freely available to each and every single one of us. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that is worthy. It is Jesus, our high priest, that has passed into the heavens. He is acceptable in the beloved, and so only we when we are in him, are accepted in the beloved.

So it is high time to awake, this is a message for all of us individually. We can all become sidetracked by the world’s selfish lusts, pleasures, pursuits, ambitions. Do you have an eternal view? Do you watch and pray? Romans 13:12 – 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. For the unsaved person, it is also high time to awake out of your sleep. The Bible says that Jesus has lighted every man that has come into the world. Psalm 19:1-4 –The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. You and I are without excuse. You can be saved or not be saved. That choice is yours, and it has eternal consequence. We are all spiritually asleep to begin with, but as God showed Jacob the ladder, he will show you the ladder in your time of spiritual sleep on the earth. The Lord stood above the ladder, you will go to heaven no other way than through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. Take your eyes off others, stop with the million convenient excuses which help you feel justified in refusing salvation, ask God to save you. It takes a humble and a contrite heart. The kingdom of heaven awaits, you can be there, you do not need to go to hell. But the choice is yours. And you will make it, but perhaps you have already decided.

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