Although it plays a necessary part in each of our lives, it is hated by all. What am I referring to? The alarm clock!
Most of us never feel as though we have had enough sleep and would just like to sleep a little bit longer; when all of a sudden, the most irritating, unnerving, and loud noise or buzz fills the atmosphere, reminding us that it is time to Get-Up! Oh! How our flesh oftentimes battles those first waking moments. We hit the snooze button several times so that we could catch a few more winks before the actual "Rise and Shine."
Being sleepy or sluggish in the physical realm is not quite as drastic as it is in the spiritual. To be asleep, spiritually speaking, is very dangerous. However, God has His "Alarm Clocks" on duty to wake us up or keep us awake, lest we begin to fall asleep or become sluggish.
- They are His Holy Ghost-inspired preachers who have been given a charge to - "Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2)
- Many today are "at ease in Zion." (Amos 6:1)
- Proverbs 19:15 informs us that - "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 says - "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night."
- Romans 13:11 says - "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."
- 1 Corinthians 15:34 says - "Awake to righteousness, and sin not..."
- Ephesians 5:14 says - "Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead..."
- Romans 12:11 says - "Not slothful in business..."
a) They are secure, careless, and unconcerned about their souls
b) They are negligent of their duties like prayer, Bible Study, fellowship with other believers, and witnessing
c) They are regardless of their spiritual enemies or the warfare in which they are engaged
d) They are willingly ignorant of God's Word and His Will for their lives
e) They are corrupt in their morals
f) They are lukewarm in their love for the Lord and His kingdom work
g) They are unresolved in their convictions and unstable and unsteady in their purposes
h) They have "itching ears" which are constantly looking for teaching and preaching that will gratify the lusts of their own flesh and satiate their endless curiosity or desire for variety
i) They avoid any kind of teaching or preaching that calls for holiness of living or the crucifixion of their flesh
j) They have turned away their ears from the plain and solid Truth
The Apostle Paul loudly and clearly sounds out the alarm to the Body of Christ today -
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 says - "...let us not sleep, as do others..."
- Romans 13:11 says - "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."
- 1 Corinthians 15:34 says - "Awake to righteousness, and sin not..."
- Ephesians 5:14 says - "...Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead..."
- Romans 12:11 says - Don't be slothful in your spiritual affairs - "Not slothful in business..."
- Luke 21:34 says - "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."
- Luke 22:46 says - "...Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."
- Revelation 3:16 says - "So then because thou art lukewarm..."
- 1 Kings 18:21 says - "...How long halt ye between two opinions?..."
- 2 Kings 17:41 says - "So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images..."
- Hosea 7:8 says - "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned."
- Hosea 10:2 says - "Their heart is divided..."
What is the overall reaction?
Do the people of God welcome "God's Alarm Clocks" into their lives, services, or groups?
Do they readily receive the "sounding of the alarm" from the prophet's mouth?
Do they eagerly accept the admonition to lay aside the flesh and get serious with God?
God's ministers have been given a "charge" - a Dispensation of grace to "preach the Word" - not fancies and notions that will tickle the ears of some.
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5 states that charge - "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."
...give no place to Satan and Sin
...fulfill their duty before God and men as outlined in the Scriptures
...live holy lives before all.
They are called to -
...reprove or to tell others of their faults
...rebuke those who won't abandon their sins
...make a difference between right and wrong - truth and error
...exhort and encourage those who are struggling in their Christian walk.
How do we know if they are doing their job correctly?
- In Jeremiah 23:22, God makes it plain and clear as far as their duties are concerned - "But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings."
God never sends His preachers to tickle people's ears and lull them to sleep or unconscious, carnal security.
No! God's ministers are "His Alarm Clocks" - sounding the alarm to Wake Up those who are asleep and to keep others awake and on their constant watch.
Lately, has God sent you some of His ministers - "His Alarm Clocks" - to Wake you from your slumbering state?
How did you react to them?
May God Bless His Word,
Connie
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. (Isaiah 54:17)
© COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved