This is a written adaptation of a sermon given virtually to Trinity Christian Fellowship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on August 20, 2022. Khmer Translation provided on site.
Scripture Passage (Ephesians 5:5-20)
Lord, what are you showing me today.
Last night, I could not sleep. I tossed and I turned. When I finally fell asleep, I had nightmares. It felt like I was having them all night.
My dream was filled with a combination of people from different parts of my life and possibly TV characters. In my dream, I went to bed, and when I woke up “the next morning,” it was a year later. I didn’t know what had happened. I was terrified. I had been in some kind of unconscious state for one year. It happened over and over again, like a nightmare. And each time I woke up in my dream, another year had passed, and all the people in my life from my past felt more and more distant from and resigned to me.
My life was being wasted because I kept going unconscious. I couldn’t control it. There were moments in my dream where I was in danger. I had no control over who was in charge of taking care of me while I was asleep for a year, and it seemed like different people from my life took turns. The first time I woke up, my teaching colleague from ten years ago was my caretaker. Another time, some friends from college. And usually, it wasn’t even the people in my life I was closest to.
It was a very unsettling dream.
It makes me think though: how much of my life am I letting slip away because of intentional or unintentional laziness, lack of effort, or just not realizing how important each moment is. How far from my life’s purpose am I at any given moment?
How much of your life do you let slip away?
Are we walking through life like I was in my dream, as a dreamer, unaware of the situations around us – unaware of how we could be doing good and serving the Lord? Or are we awake and alert to what God is doing and what God is asking each of do?
There are so many moments in the Bible where we are told to wake up. And not just to be awake, but to be alert. To be ready.
Ephesians 5:5-20 explores this more fully, but here is a snapshot:
Ephesians 5:10-14 (NLT) Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,
“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
We are instructed to be awake. To rise from the dead as Christ will give us light. Well we know we are not physically dead. Paul, who wrote this passage, is talking to believers who are very much alive. A few chapters earlier, he says this to the same audience:
Ephesians 2:2-7 (NLT)
2 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
This is the death we are reminded over and over again in the Bible to awake from. The death of sin. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and follow Him, sin should be dead to us. We should be obedient to Christ instead of obedient to Satan. We have the power to say no to those desires that come up in us that are evil.
The passage also says,
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
Because of Jesus, we are free to wake up from the darkness and walk with Christ, in holiness. And He wants us to. He calls His people to wake up and look to Him over and over again.
Thousands of years before the book of Ephesians was written, Isaiah 52:1 says:
Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
Put put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for the uncircumcised and the unclean will not come into you anymore.
And Isaiah 60:1-3 says:
1 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your light;
mighty kings will come to see your radiance.
Malachi 4:1-2 says:
1 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. 2“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.[b] And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. 3
Romans 13:11 tells us to wake up”
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
The Lord wants His people to be awake. To be alert. To live life on purpose. To make intentional choices and not just follow the crowd. We have a calling. The rest of the Ephesians 5 passage tells us why we are to do these things:
Paul says,
7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
This is our job as Christians right now. Each and every one of us. To live as examples for all future generations – and of course for our current generation.
Remember the love you have found in Christ: His provision, His defense, His protection. Being sons and daughters of the creator of the universe –- these things are gifts from God for you–-but they are not just for you. God wants this for all people.
John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world. (Not just certain people in the world, but the whole world)
That he gave His only begotten son.
That whosoever believes in Him
Shall not perish but have everlasting life.
WHOSOEVER.
God does not discriminate. He accepts WHOSOEVER believes in Him.
He wants the young and innocent children.
He wants the greedy businessmen and politicians.
He wants the violent criminals.
Yes, our God is God of grace and mercy. He wants every person to leave behind their life of sin and follow Him. He is ready to accept WHOSOEVER believes in Him.
That includes you. Your best friend. Your worst enemy.
We need to awaken and live in the light so that all of our current generation of people can see what God is doing in our lives, so that they can understand that God can do the same thing in their lives. That is how we change the world. That is how we build the Kingdom of Heaven. That is how we live out the Kingdom of Heaven while still on earth.
Call on the name of Jesus. Cling to Him. Wake up.
New Living Translation Bible. (2022). Bible Gateway Online. https://biblegateway.com
King James Version Bible. (2022). Bible Gateway Online. https://biblegateway.com
Graceful Persistence 