Many in our country today are claiming to be “woke”.
But as we have seen over the past few weeks the church needs to become “woke” — the church needs to wake up, stand up, and defend all that is right, all that is true, all that is holy.
Evil is all around. Sin is running rampant.
It’s time for a revival in our country. It’s time for the church to wake up!
Paul says in Romans 13:
11 … [U]nderstanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13, NIV)
This scripture could not be more applicable than to our days today. Our world is full of carousing and drunkenness. It is full of sexual immorality and debauchery. And it is absolutely full of dissension and jealousy. These are things which we must not participate in. We must close ourselves with the armor of light and with Jesus Christ himself.
We need to wake up the truth.
We need to wake up our faith and trust in God.
We need to wake up our commitment and dedication to God, putting God first above all.
As a culmination of these things, we must awaken our hearts.
The heart is the life of our bodies. If our heart is not beating, we are not living.
The same is absolutely true spiritually.
The heart is considered the seat of our emotions, our intellect, our understanding, our soul.
(How Can We Have an Awakened Heart?
https://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/how-can-we-have-an-awakened-heart-11624682.html
Debbie Przybylski
January 9, 2010)
Many people are losing heart … these days. Trials seem to overwhelm them and situations in life threaten to distract, discourage, and disillusion. People are not taking time to stop and listen, to be still and really breath in God's strength. Daily life is often filled with computers, cell phones, the internet, [social media,] text messages, and TV. God wants us to stop and let our heart catch up with all our frantic activity. He wants us to have a heart fully alive and filled with his destiny and plans.
So this morning, how can we have a fully alive heart? How can we awaken our hearts?
1. First we need to cleanse our hearts.
Our hearts could use a good cleaning.
James writes in James 4:8:?
8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded [people]. (James 4, NASB)
It’s a cleansing, a purifying, that only Jesus can do.
The cleansing comes as we surrender our lives to God.
(Steve Saint on God's Cleansing Power
Source: Amanda Knoke, Decision (January 2006), p. 20
https://decisionmagazine.com/for-the-love-of-a-tribe/
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2006/april/7040306.html
Copied from PreachingToday)
The movie The End of the Spear, released in February, 2006, tells the story of Nate Saint and four other missionaries who were murdered by the Waodani people of South America. However, in a testament to forgiveness, the families of the slain missionaries later returned to the tribe, eventually winning many of them to Christ.
Nate Saint's son, Steve, was asked: "So you've had a history of reconciliation [with the Waodani] over the years, but there wasn't a specific moment of reconciliation?"
He replied:
It was a developing thing, but I think that the point of reconciliation really was with Mincaye (min - ky - ee) [the man who killed Steve's father] and my Aunt Rachel. In her journal she once wrote, "Tonight when I was sleeping in the hammock I heard a noise. Somebody was walking around in the dark." Mincaye called out to her and squatted by her fire, wanting to talk.
He said, "You said that Waengongi (win - gong - gee), the Creator, is very strong."
Aunt Rachel said: "Mincaye, he is very strong. He made everything here, even the dirt."
Mincaye said: "You said that he could clean somebody's heart. My heart being very, very dark, can he clean even my heart?"
Aunt Rachel said, "Being very strong, he can clean even your heart."
She wrote that Mincaye got up and walked away, but that the next morning he came back excited. He said: "Star, what you said is true. Speaking to God, he has cleaned my heart. Now it's waatamo (wa - tom - o) —it's clear like the sky when it has no clouds in it."
That was the real beginning of reconciliation.
The same God that changed Mincaye’s heart, that cleansed King David’s heart after his sin, that changed Saul into Paul, that has changed the hearts of millions over the years, can cleanse and change our hearts today.
God will help us remove all of the things which get in the way, that block our hearts, that muddy the waters of our soul. God will lead us to clear out the clutter that gets in the way of our relationship with Him.
But it takes our surrender to Him to allow that transformation, that cleansing, and that purifying to begin and work to completion.
2. When our hearts have been cleansed and purified, there will be a void. We must fill that void with the things of God.
It may require some attitude changes in our lives.
We will need to align our attitude with the attitude and mind of Christ.
That means a little less self.
That means a little more of others.
That means a lot more of Jesus.
Paul said it this way in Philippians 2:
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2, NKJV)
The mind of Christ is to put others first. The mind of Christ is to be thinking about the needs of others. The mind of Christ is putting others ahead of my desires and my wants. The mind of Christ is all about humility.
Filling our hearts with the things of God will require us to change our point of view.
How do we see the world today? We all look at the world around us through a lens — the lens of our life history, our experiences, our families, our philosophical views. It’s part of who we are. We see the world through the lens of our lives.
Unfortunately, that vision may not be as clear as it should be.
We might not be seeing the world around us as we should.
How did Jesus see the world?
He saw the world as needing a savior. He saw the world needing help. He saw the world as it really was: imperfect because of sin. He saw the world ready to except the love that only God could give. He saw the world as a field, ripe for harvest.
When we begin to fill our lives, our hearts, and our minds with the things of God, we will begin to focus on Jesus, His life, His ways.
When we focus on Jesus, we begin to focus on the hope that we have because of Jesus.
We begin to focus not on the temporal things around us, but on the eternal.
And then we begin to see the world as Jesus does.
All of this begins to blend our hearts and minds with that of Jesus. Our will becomes His will. Our minds become His mind. Our hearts begin to be in tune with His.
Before we know it, we will find ourselves experiencing the full power of God’s love.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4, NIV)
And then in Ephesians 1:
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1, NIV)
When we stop and fill our minds with the mind of Christ, when we fill our hearts with the heart of Jesus, when we begin to see the world as Jesus sees the world, our hearts will be awakened — enlightened — alive! We will be able to see the world as God sees the world. We will be able to see Hope that the world needs. We will be able to see and give the love that only God can give.
3. Our awakened hearts will lead us to be God’s love to the world around us through the power of God’s love.
We will awaken our compassion.
Compassion is what motivates people to go out of their way to help the physical, mental, or emotional pains of someone else. Compassion is having a sensitivity to the suffering of others.
When you look at the life of Jesus, we see the perfect example of compassion.
Consider these stories:
In Luke 7, Jesus and His disciples enter a town called Nain. In that town that day, there is a funeral procession for the only son of a widow. And we read:
13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.” (Luke 7, NASB)
In Matthew 9, we read:
36 Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9, NASB)
In Matthew 14, just before feeding the 5,000, Scripture says:
13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He came ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14, NASB)
Before the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15, it says:
32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” (Matthew 15, NASB)
In Matthew 20, Jesus is in Jericho and comes across two blind people who call out to Him for healing. Scripture says:
34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20, NASB)
These are just a few of the stories where we read Jesus had compassion on those around Him.
In each of these situations, Jesus’ compassion motivated Him to act — whether it was a healing, a raising from the dead, or feeding their physical needs.
When we begin to see the world through Jesus’ world view, with Jesus’ heart, we too will see the world with compassion.
When we see the world through the lens of compassion, we too must be motivated to act — to reach out — to make a difference.
It will awaken our concern. We need to awaken our concern.
Concern is a marked interest or regard usually because of a personal relationship we have.
Concern is relating to someone.
Concern is an expression of empathy.
Concern is putting the other person first, before ourself.
Concern is putting the needs of others ahead of our own.
Concern becomes a ministry. Concern becomes our ministry.
(The Definition of Ministry
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/december/1515.html
Copied from Preaching Today)
Someone once said: Ministry is giving when you feel like keeping, praying for others when you need to be prayed for, feeding others when your own soul is hungry, living truth before people even when you can't see results, hurting with other people even when your own hurt can't be spoken, keeping your word even when it is not convenient, it is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away.
When our concern is awakened, we will awaken our care.
We must provide for the needs of those around us, not just feel sorry for them, not just feel a sense of concern or empathy.
The early church understood this completely and lived care faithfully.
In Acts 2 we read:
43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all the believers were together and had all things in common; 45 and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2, NASB)
The early church excelled at caring for each other physically, monetarily and emotionally.
Some have called it “one-anothering”.
Scripture is full of “one-anothering”.
Love one another, scripture says. (John 13:34)
Be devoted to one another. (Romans 12:10)
Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
Build up one another (Romans 14:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:11)
How does that translate into our lives? I ran across the story of Anna this week that illustrates one-anothering perfectly in our times today.
(Home Group Cares for Sick Member
Source: Quoted in Authentic Relationships by Wayne Jacobson and Clay Jacobson (Baker, 2003); submitted by Marshall Shelley, Wheaton, Illinois
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/april/14361.html
Copied from Preaching Today)
Anna had never felt so alone. Her husband, Herman, needed minor surgery to repair a hernia, but the fact that he also suffered from Alzheimer's made it anything but minor. The doctor had just visited Herman's room and informed Anna that after surgery they would have to put her husband in arm and leg restraints. They were concerned he would wake up disoriented and pull out his IV, or harm himself in some other way. They didn't have enough staff to keep someone at his bedside throughout recovery.
Anna tried to envision the restraints that would hold her husband immobile.The image tormented her. But what could she do?
A few moments later, Anna turned when she heard a knock at the door of her husband's hospital room. Mike and Carol were 30 years younger, but over the last few years they had become good friends through their involvement in the same home fellowship group. Carol noticed the stress in Anna's eyes and was finally able to draw out the cause for her concern.
Mike and Carol had no idea what could be done either, but they were on their way to meet with the group and promised Anna they would share her concern and pray about it.
Almost an hour later the phone rang, and Anna grabbed for it before it awakened her husband.
"Oh good, you're still there." It was Carol.
"After we prayed for you tonight, someone asked why they couldn't just have the nurses keep an eye on Herman. When I explained that the hospital didn't have the staff to do that, she asked if group members could do it. Everyone thought that was a great idea, and people started volunteering to take time slots. Anna, would Herman have to be restrained if we had someone in the room with him every moment during recovery?"
"I can't ask you people to do that," Anna said, overwhelmed by the offer.
"You haven't asked. We’re offering. Can you find out?"
Anna put down the phone and walked out to the nurses' station. When she returned she told Carol that as long as someone who was awake and alert was with Herman, he wouldn't need to be restrained. Before she could add, "But I don't want you to go to all that trouble," she heard Carol relay the information to the group. The cheers in the background were all she needed to hear.
That night more than a dozen people volunteered for around-the-clock shifts at Herman's bedside while he recovered. When family members heard what Herman and Anna's friends were doing, they volunteered for shifts as well. For the next three days someone was at Herman's side. As a side benefit, Anna had constant companionship through her long hours at the hospital.
A few weeks later Anna tried to thank the group for their incredible demonstration of kindness. Every time she began to speak she was freshly overcome with gratitude. Though everyone in the room appreciated how deeply it had touched her, no one felt like it had been a great sacrifice. They simply had wanted to help a friend through a tough spot.
That group had discovered the simple power of "one anothering."
In our lives today, we need to be aware of opportunities for “one-anothering”. We need to be attuned to the needs, the problems, the hardships, the distresses in our world around us where we can be the source of compassion, concern, and most importantly care for the broken world and the broken hearts that surround us each and every day.
Our hearts must be alive! Hearts alive, united, sharing and caring for each other.
Conclusion
This morning, we need a revival in our land.
This morning, we need a great awakening of the church.
This morning, the church needs to wake up, and be the beacon of saving light in the darkness of the world that surrounds us.
We must live by the truth, that is Jesus.
We must live by faith, completely trusting Jesus in all things.
We must live completely committed and devoted to the one who completely devoted His life to us.
We must awaken our hearts to live.
Today, we must follow the example that Jesus left for us. We are Jesus‘s ambassador in the world today to accomplish the work about which he started 2000 years ago.
Jesus loved us unconditionally and completely.
It’s time for us to love the world around us.
Jesus loves us no matter what we look like, from where we come, how we talk, how we dress.
We must also have that same love for our world today.
Love drove Jesus to give His life for us. His heart was fully awake and aware of our needs, our distress, our spiritual poverty.
His heart drove Him to action.
Our awakened hearts must drive us to action.
Our hearts are not alive if we do nothing, if we stand on the sidelines watching the suffering and pain of the world go by.
Our hearts are dead if do not step in to the world, and share the love of Jesus with the world.
Love is only love when it is in action. Love is not a noun. Love is a verb!
This is exactly what James says in James 2:
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (James 2, NIV)
It is of no good.
This morning, if we want to change the world, we must change ourselves, into the likeness, mind, and heart of Jesus.
It begins by surrendering our will and our hearts to Him.
It begins by accepting the saving grace that only He can offer.
It begins by cleansing our hearts, having our sins washed away in the watery grave of baptism, and being filled with His spirit.
This morning, I encourage you to wake up — find that new life that’s only available through Jesus — and begin changing our land and our world, one soul at a time!
