Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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You Who Sleep
Paul calls on those whop sleep to awake - to rise from the dead
Who are the sleepers he is calling to?
Most often when this is preached it is assumed that these sleepers are those who are lost, the unconverted, unsaved souls
This is certainly an appropriate application of the passage - those who are separated from God are dead in sin
However, the epistle is written tot he church of God in Ephesus, to the faithful in Christ Jesus
I believe here he is addressing the letter those Christians both then and now, both there and here, who might be lulled back into the comfort of sleep
who might comfortably slip back into the old deadness of separation from God and friendship with the world
Consider the state of the sleeper:
By sleep, he speaks of the natural state of man - the deep sleep of the soul that is come upon all men, through Adam’s sin, in that all have sinned.
This state that all people come into the world, until God awakes them - ignorant of the things of God
oblivious to the spiritual life - and death - going on all around them
(consider the room full of youth here last night, so many of them completely unmoved, even bored by the worship of God)
Those who are asleep are not aware of what is going on around them
The Sleeper sleeps in darkness
People sleep in darkness - As the word tells us of darkness that covers the earth and gross darkness the people
The unawakened sinner lives in this darkness - the things of God hidden from him -
He does not know that he is a lost soul, separated from God, bound for eternal damnation
he does not hear the voice of God calling unto the ends of earth - come unto me and be saved
When a person sleeps they are not aware of their own ills - consider when you sleep
While the sleeper sleeps - he does not know that he is full of all disease and poverty
As Jesus said to the Laodiceans -
The one who sleeps may think he is rich, in a right state, having need of nothing (ever dream you could fly?)
and not know that he is wretched and miserable, poor, blind, and naked
The Sleeper may dream that he is in right relationship with God, when in fact he does not know God
are you awake to God - is He alive to you right now - if not awake
The Comfort of the Sleeper
When we sleep, we like to be comfortable
Insulated in our blankets we like to be warm, shielded from anything that would disturb us
We like soft mattresses and pillows, along with our soft blankets
A quiet room, we try to silence the sounds that might disturb us.
Soft, and warm, and quiet, covered and hidden, we can sleep in comfort
How much the sleeper Paul calls to here is like that
There are many lost sinners who keep themselves in comfort this way
not the comfort that comes from knowing the living Savoir and living in relationship with Him
But the comfort that comes from hiding under the blankets, shielding the ears from the sermons and scripture that would make one uncomfortable
closing their eyes to the wages of sin, and to the things of God
In fact, there are many deceived people in the church this very Sunday, who are sleeping in this comfort
the western church has become in many places a church of comfort
closed to the real service of God
Closed To Reproving, Exhorting and rebuking, or being reproved and exhorted
hiding their eyes from the sinful state of the world and its need for repentance
living in the comfort of luxury while our loved ones are going to hell
So lost in this dream that they have forgotten the words of Christ, saying take up your cross and follow me
saying whoever will not place Him above father and mother, children and spouses, possessions and their own life also, is not worthy to be a disciple
Awake Church!
Awake O Sleeper and arise from the dead!
The sleeper may take precautions before going to sleep to make sure that nobody wakes him
I remember taking ear plugs with me to a youth retreat once
There is away of bolting the door of your heart against anybody
it is easy for Christians to adopt doctrinal views that will prevent them from being awakened (hyper Calvinism for instance, universalism, etc.)
The Sleeper Does Not Know He is Asleep
It is possible for a Christian to be asleep and not realize that he is asleep
In fact if he knew it, he would not be asleep
Have you ever been driving an find yourself nodding off?
You don’t realize it has happened until it does
How many times have you been in a dream that seemed so real?
The one who is worried about falling asleep probably has not done so
like the person driving at night, striving to stay awake
you may be worried about becoming a hypocrite, but as long as you’re worried about it, you probably have not done so yet
But just as the dreamer does not know it is a dream, so the hypocrite believes he is heaven bound, pleasing God, even due his reward.
Sleeping people don’t wake each other up
a person may be in a church where most of the people are asleep, and they probably won’t be rebuking or exhorting one another, but rather keeping one another comfortable
In fact, if your church makes you so comfortable that you are never challenged, never jolted out of your slumber, then there is a very good chance that both you and they are asleep.
Of course those folks usually see the other churches, those who are awake, as fanatical, overzealous, Jesus freaks.
what is a fanatic?
Picture those you would consider fanatics.
Now, consider their zealousness to that of Paul and Peter, James and John.
which ones are the fanatics?
Why not you?
What’s Wrong With Sleeping?
Why is this sleeping so bad?
We are Christ’s servants and we should not be asleep (spiritually)
If a soldier is assigned to a post, he is not expected to sleep
The ministry of the gospel of Jesus has been commited to us
how can we be comfortable under our covers while the devil takes captive the souls of our loved ones and community?
How can we continue to slumber when Jesus Christ’s return is so near?
Will He come back to find you asleep?
And how can we be so numb to the awfulness of sin and debauchery throughout our society these days?
Even while Christ is near, even at the door?
Consider the Disciples at Gethsemane: How they slept at the moment they should have been awake
There was Jesus sweating drops of blood -
And where were they?
Sleeping.
Could you not pray with me one hour?
And now, Jesus is interceding for us, and where are we?
Sleeping?
Jesus has gone to prepare for us a place and return again and receives us to Himself, and do we sleep?
Or rather, are we awake, making disciples, saving the lost.
It is also terrible for us to sleep, becasue it is quite certain that the enemy is awake
he is walking about as a lion seeking whom he may devour
Arise from the dead
The state of this sleeper is one of spiritual death
We were dead in our trespasses and sins
the one who continues in those sins is still dead in them
The one who is dead in sin has not had his senses exercised to discern good and evil
The sleeper gets no exercise while he sleeps
The natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God - they are foolishness to him
his senses are dead to things of God
The awakened saint is alive to God, and the Spirit Himself bears witness with his Spirit that he is a child of God
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