WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
Do you have a way of gauging your position spiritually? Can you tell how much progress you have made this year? Do you have a spiritual map that tells you where you are now and where you want to go? It is only when you have identified these reference points that you can make a decision on how you are going to get from where you are to where you want to be. In order to do this you must be spiritually alert and awake. You must be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit.
Hear how the Lord instructs us in the book of Ephesians:
Ephesians 5 (Amplified Bible)
14 For this reason He says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.”
15 Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people],
16 [b]making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.
In these verses, God warns us against spiritual slumber. But how, you may ask, does a person sleep spiritually?
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL SLUMBER?
“Arise from the dead” implies that when you sleep spiritually you are deadened to the things of God. Rather than being sensitive to the Spirit of life, a sleeping Christian is more in tune with the things of the flesh; with carnal and natural activities. Such a person is simply drifting along. They have lost their sense of direction. For example, if you had never been to New York City and wanted to fly an airplane there from Toronto, you would need a map to guide you. However, if you neglected to use the map and just headed in whatever direction the wind was blowing, you would soon end up where you never intended to
go! Such is the case of a drifting believer. He could even find himself going back to doing those things that he left behind after he was saved.
Spiritual slumber can also be characterized by a lack of spiritual fervour.
Romans 12 (NIV)
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.
It takes sustained effort for us as believers to stay on fire for God, and to keep from succumbing to lethargy and weariness. No one is immune from this danger. That is why Ephesians 5:15 warns us so clearly to be very careful how we live, not as fools, but as wise.
USE THE WORD TO LOCATE YOURSELF
In the book of Matthew Chapter 26 we find a good example of victims of spiritual slumber in the eleven disciples when they followed Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane (the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot, had left to betray Him). If ever there was a time in His ministry when Jesus needed His disciples it was now, just before being arrested and crucified. Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him. After all, that was the reason why He came to earth. But He also knew that His disciples needed to be prepared for what lay ahead:
Matthew 26
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”
It was a good thing that Jesus did not depend on these false assurances of loyalty from Peter and the other disciples. If Jesus had depended on the disciples to carry out His mission on earth, humanity would have been doomed! Jesus, the very Word of God Himself, told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would have denied Him three times and Peter still did not believe it! Obviously, Peter did not have an accurate estimation of his spiritual condition. Not knowing the true state he was in made him overconfident.
An accurate estimation of yourself can only result from seeing yourself through God’s eyes – through His Word. Jesus told Peter what his report card was going to be but Peter had an element of pride in him, and could not accept Jesus’ words. He assured Jesus that, even if the others fell away, he would not!
Life Extraordinary! is a ministry of Faith Impact Church, Ajah, Lagos, Nigeria. We meet on Sundays at 9:00 a.m.
Please partner with us in blessing lives by sharing this post with all your friends!
To join the WhatsApp group from which this post was shared, please send a message to +2349072777777 (WhatsApp or SMS only).