Wake Up

Intro

Opening Story/Illustration

I don’t know about you, but in the mornings, getting up can be difficult. I am the snooze button king.

I hit that button probably a dozen times every morning. The alarm goes off to wake me up, but I don’t want to hear it so I keep hitting snooze.

This is what I want to talk about tonight - I believe many times in our relationship with God we hit the snooze button.

God is trying hard to wake us up - our parents say something, our pastor says something, we know what we should be doing - and we ignore it. We hit snooze. God is trying over and over again to wake us up and to get our attention - but we ignore it.

Biblical Background

In the Bible the people of Israel had this problem.

They weren’t doing what they knew they should be doing. They were God’s people, but they were not living right.

So God would send them “Alarm Clocks” to wake them up.

These were people called prophets. They would tell the people - “WAKE UP! STOP DISOBEYING GOD! START DOING RIGHT! IF YOU DON’T START DOING RIGHT, GOD IS GOING TO JUDGE YOU AND YOU WILL BE PUNISHED.” And the people would hear this message, and for the most part, they would just hit snooze.

Biblical Text

One of the Prophets he sent was want us to look at tonight and see what God is saying to them:

Jeremiah 6:16–17 ESV

16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

Bridge to Points

So what does all this mean? The people hit the snooze button. They missed God’s wake up call to them. And what happened as a result? Their whole nation, their whole world crumbled.

Points

The People of Judah Hit the Snooze Button - God was trying to get their attention and they were missing it. God points out 5 things here:

Stand

God says they are at this fork in the road

They can choose his way, or they can choose their own way.

They Stand at this fork and they have a decision to make.

Which way will they go?

Many of you are standing at a fork in the road

You’re trying to make a decision

You’re torn between living for Jesus and doing things on your own

You’re standing at this fork and you’re not sure which way to go.

One week you want to follow Jesus, one week you’re doing your own thing.

Look He says stand and look He wants them to look around them and notice what’s going on He wants them to see that they are at a fork - that they need to look at their options carefully - which road will they choose?You need to take a moment and look at your life. So many of you are just living it without giving any thought to your choices You’re just doing whatever makes you feel good at the moment But God is saying - Take a moment, stand and look at your life. You have a choice before you - which one will you take?

Look

He says stand and look He wants them to look around them and notice what’s going on

He wants them to see that they are at a fork - that they need to look at their options carefully - which road will they choose?

You need to take a moment and look at your life.

So many of you are just living it without giving any thought to your choices

You’re just doing whatever makes you feel good at the moment

But God is saying - Take a moment, stand and look at your life.

You have a choice before you - which one will you take?

Ask God invites them to ask - as they are looking at their options.He wants them to ask which way is the right way? He invites them to ask - which way is the good way? which way should I go with my life?We must ask - which way is the good way?We must ask - is what I’m doing right?Is the way I’m going the right way or am I going the wrong way?

Ask

God invites them to ask - as they are looking at their options.

He wants them to ask which way is the right way?

He invites them to ask - which way is the good way?

Which way should I go with my life?

We must ask - which way is the good way?

We must ask - is what I’m doing right?

Is the way I’m going the right way or am I going the wrong way?

WalkHe says you ask for the good way, and once you know what it is, you follow it.You walk this thing out. Don’t just be able to tell me what way is right - Actually walk it out. But this group of people says - No way, we won’t walk in it. This is many of us We know which way we should be walking, but we haven’t started walking that way We’ve asked - we’ve been taught. We know what’s right But we won’t follow it.

Walk

He says you ask for the good way, and once you know what it is, you follow it.

You walk this thing out.

Don’t just be able to tell me what way is right - Actually walk it out.

But this group of people says - No way, we won’t walk in it.

This is many of us We know which way we should be walking, but we haven’t started walking that way

We’ve asked - we’ve been taught.

We know what’s right But we won’t follow it.

Listen He goes on to tell them that he sent watchmen - to sound the alarm. To tell them that something bad is coming if they keep walking in the wrong direction But they refuse to listen. they in a sense - hit the snooze button.

Listen

He goes on to tell them that he sent watchmen - to sound the alarm.

To tell them that something bad is coming if they keep walking in the wrong direction

But they refuse to listen.

They in a sense - hit the snooze button.

We often hit the snooze button

We often hit the snooze button

How many times has God tried to get our attention - to wake us up - and we have hit the snooze button?

How many times has God tried to get our attention - to wake us up - and we have hit the snooze button?

How many sermons have we heard or services have we been to or things have we been through where God is really trying hard to get our attention?

How many sermons have we heard or services have we been to or things have we been through where God is really trying hard to get our attention?

Or how many times has God been there for us in the past and we know we ought to be doing right, but we just ignore it?

Or how many times has God been there for us in the past and we know we ought to be doing right, but we just ignore it?Illustration - I remember one of my first trips as youth pastor here was to rock he universe at Universal Studios - and Dakota Knutson and Ashley Rakes decided they were going to trick me into getting onto a small roller coaster ride.I get on that thing and I’m expecting some nice, easy kiddy ride and I get on it and it starts jerking and spinning and take me up and down and I start praying! You know how it is - when you go through something that scares you - you get close to God quick! But what happens after that moment? Some of us have gone through some tough things where God was trying to draw us in to him - and during he ordeal we were right there close to him - but since then the truth is that our fire for him has died down - maybe we hit the snooze button. We’ve gone back to business as normal.

Or how many times has God been there for us in the past and we know we ought to be doing right, but we just ignore it?Illustration - I remember one of my first trips as youth pastor here was to rock he universe at Universal Studios - and Dakota Knutson and Ashley Rakes decided they were going to trick me into getting onto a small roller coaster ride.I get on that thing and I’m expecting some nice, easy kiddy ride and I get on it and it starts jerking and spinning and take me up and down and I start praying! You know how it is - when you go through something that scares you - you get close to God quick! But what happens after that moment?

Illustration - I remember one of my first trips as youth pastor here was to rock he universe at Universal Studios - and Dakota Knutson and Ashley Rakes decided they were going to trick me into getting onto a small roller coaster ride.I get on that thing and I’m expecting some nice, easy kiddy ride and I get on it and it starts jerking and spinning and take me up and down and I start praying! You know how it is - when you go through something that scares you - you get close to God quick! But what happens after that moment?

Some of us have gone through some tough things where God was trying to draw us in to him - and during he ordeal we were right there close to him - but since then the truth is that our fire for him has died down - maybe we hit the snooze button. We’ve gone back to business as normal.

Some of us have gone through some tough things where God was trying to draw us in to him - and during he ordeal we were right there close to him - but since then the truth is that our fire for him has died down - maybe we hit the snooze button. We’ve gone back to business as normal.

The truth is God is trying to get our attention.

The truth is God is trying to get our attention.

What he wants to tell some of us is this:He’s calling us and drawing us unto himself - If we will just listen!

What he wants to tell some of us is this:He’s calling us and drawing us unto himself - If we will just listen! He’s asking us to pray and to seek him more than ever beforeHe’s reminding us that the things we once thought were so important don’t really matter as much as we think. He’s asking us to stop making our relationship with him out to simply be a Sunday and a Wednesday matter and he's asking us to go deeper with him! Stop ignoring what God might be trying to say to you.

He’s asking us to pray and to seek him more than ever before

He’s reminding us that the things we once thought were so important don’t really matter as much as we think.

He’s asking us to stop making our relationship with him out to simply be a Sunday and a Wednesday matter and he's asking us to go deeper with him! Stop ignoring what God might be trying to say to you.

Why is all this important?

Because Jesus is coming soon

Jesus is coming not for people who are playing games, but for people who seriously love him.

Illustration - Anyone in here who has been in a romantic relationship with someone - you understand that if you love a person you want them to love you too. You want to know that they love you as much as you love them. This is what God is asking of you - to love him. If you love him, you’ll obey him. If you love him, you’ll listen to him. If you love him, you’ll want to please him. He’s coming back for people who love him - not for people who say they love him but don’t show it by their actions.

Because Life is short We don’t like to think about this - but you could seriously die tonight. You’re not promised your next breath. When you die, it’s over. You don’t get another chance to make a full commitment to God. It’s not people who say that they are Christians who God to heaven - it’s people that really love Jesus.

Because Life is short We don’t like to think about this - but you could seriously die tonight.

You’re not promised your next breath.

When you die, it’s over. You don’t get another chance to make a full commitment to God.

It’s not people who say that they are Christians who God to heaven - it’s people that really love Jesus.

Conclusion

So imagine this - I’ve been in my house cooking before and it gets a little smoky and guess what goes off - the smoke detector. It’s doing its job - but I know there’s no real fire. So I go up to it and wave a towel in front of it and have it turn off. But then let’s say I’m sleeping in my bed at night and it starts going off - and I think - every other time this thing has gone off, nothing has happened, it’s not a big deal. I keep sleeping - but the fire is real this time.

Some of us keep hitting that snooze button and we say - I’ve heard all these messages before and nothing has happened. So we think it’s just a false alarm - when God is really trying to get our attention - change, repent, stop doing what you’ve been doing.

Tonight We want to pray - Let’s wake up.

Where has God been trying to get your attention and you’ve been ignoring him?

What needs to change in your life?

WAKE UP!