Awake, Oh Sleeper!
We are living in an urgent hour. The Lord is calling his church to come out of slumber, lukewarmness and complacency, to a place of right standing with him. Today through all the events that are happening globally the Lord is saying louder and louder:
“Awake o sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:14-17
Ignoring God’s will makes us foolish virgins, but knowing God’s will and submitting to it makes us wise in the eyes of God. According to Jesus only those who know the Father’s will and obey it will be known by him and will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 20:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
I. The Lord is calling his bride to live wisely and to prepare for his coming
The Lord is calling his bride to live wisely and prepare for his coming. He is wanting his bride to become eager for the day of her wedding and make herself ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb as she changes her dirty robes into fine linen garments; and as she buys gold refined in fire and oil for her lamp.
Revelation 3:14-18 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
1.How to Gather oil?
-Gathering oil as individuals: Oil is gathered when we die to our selfish will and we surrender to the Father's. Oil is produced in Gethsemani. The meaning of this word in Hebrew is the oil press (Hebrew: gat shemanim, “oil press”). Gethsemani is the place where our flesh is crushed as an olive by the pressing of the Spirit. It is the place we let go of our own selfish life and drink the bitter cup of the crucifixion of our flesh. Gethsemani is the place of self denial, because oil can only be purchased when we imitate Jesus and say: “Father not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
The oil in our lamps is produced by having less of us and more of Jesus. As we crucify the old man, Christ becomes manifest in us. The less of us the more of Christ in our lives. The oil in our lamp is nothing else than the presence and manifestation of the Anointed one in us.
-Having oil for the lamp as the local church: In the book of Revelation we see Jesus as the High Priest tending to his lampstands (His churches).
Revelation 2:1 “To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Ephesus write: “These are the words of the One who holds [firmly] the seven stars [which are the angels or messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches)
We know that the role of the High Priest was to always tend to the lampstand that was in the holy place making sure its light would never go out.
Leviticus 24:2 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.”
Therefore the high priest will always refill the oil in the lamp and trim the wicks in order to keep the fire burning. That is why in Revelation chapters one to three we see Jesus walking among the lampstands as a high priest. As he walks among them he tends to them to make sure their light keeps burning continually. And as he speaks to the churches, he performs his high priest duty of trimming their imperfections and refilling their oil. Therefore if we want to make sure the lamp of the local church is full of oil we need to take heed to those warnings Jesus gives to the 7 churches.
2. The Bride’s Pure Linen Garments
God is wanting his bride to dress herself with pure linen garments which are her righteous works.
Revelation 19:8 “Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people)”
We know that salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. However we are God’s masterpiece. And he has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:9-10). Our good works glorify the Father. Forgiving those who offend us, loving our enemies, helping the poor, suffering for the sake of Christ, being good citizens, loving our neighbor, sharing the gospel with others and praying for others are the good works that should overflow out of the love we have for God.
II. Building with the Right Materials
We are called to build our life and the temple of God with the right foundation and proper materials.
1 Corinthians 3:11-14 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
1.The church of the End and the importance of purchasing gold
One of the main warnings the Lord gives to the church of Laodicea (which is the church of The End) is to buy gold refined in fire.
2. Why is Purchasing Gold so Important for the End Time Church?
Spiritual gold points to what is divine. What is non perishable. What does not tarnish. What is eternal. What can not be destroyed with fire. The fire symbolizes the test and the gold symbolizes a faith that endures the test.
1 Peter 1:7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Gold refined in fire makes reference to a faith that is genuine. We know that in the End Times the trials and pressures will become so great that many will lose their faith. Many won’t be able to endure the persecution, the trials and the hardship. However those who endure the fire and those who persevere in their faith until the end will be proven to have an unshakable faith. That is why it is so important for the church of Laodicea to acquire gold. Because she will need a faith that is unshakable in order to endure the trials. Because that is the church that will be tried by fire and refined as gold.
On the other hand the hay, wood and straw represent those things in life that have no eternal significance or eternal value. They are human in nature. Like human knowledge, fame, earthly riches. These will all fade away.
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
III. Willingness to Lay Down our Life for the Sake of Christ
As morality declines, and Biblical values continue to be under attack, we need to be aware that professing to be a christian will become more and more unpopular to the point of persecution. In times like this we need to become fearless christians, willing to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ. And we will have to learn to rejoice in our sufferings as we fix our eyes in the promise of his coming and the beauty of the resurrection. 1 Peter 4:13 “ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
As our government becomes more and more controlling and continues to censor everyone who opposes their narrative, we need to be willing to stand for the truth of the gospel even when in danger of being persecuted. As the antichrist spirit becomes stronger, we need to learn to become bolder.
Let us not forget that the bride will overcome by the blood of the lamb, the word of her testimony and by laying down her life for the sake of Christ. Therefore we should remember that the word of our testimony has power, and remaining quiet is not an option. What are we going to do in a world where quoting the Bible becomes a crime? What are we going to do in a world where we might be under 24/7 surveillance? What are we going to do in a world where a social score is established and we might risk getting our bank accounts frozen for saying things that go against the government narrative? Are we going to hide and deny Christ our association with the church like Peter did?
We are entering an era where believing in Christ will cost us everything. Therefore we need to be willing to pay the price for being a follower of Christ. We are entering times when our faith will be tested by fire. And in those times we will have to make a choice: do we follow Christ or do we follow Caesar and his regime.
1. Example of the Church of Pergamum
The city of Pergamum was characterized by strong Caesar worship. Many Churches all through history have struggled to compromise the gospel for the sake of bowing down to Caesar. An example of this are the many churches that during communist regimes bowed down to the Caesar's request and compromised the gospel for fear of persecution. They feared and revered Caesar more than Christ. They divorced Christ to be married to the Caesar.
The word pergamum (Greek: strongly united; closely knit, married). It describes a church that instead of being married to Christ, is married to Caesar. Is a church that becomes unfaithful to her beloved and goes after another lover for fear of persecution. I believe that today we are seeing a similar phenomenon. Many Christians are adhering to the present system, bowing to social and political causes that are contrary to the core values of the gospel. During covid we saw how many believers were willing to compromise and surrender gathering and worshiping together or the sake of adhering to the government mandates. These types of Christians will be the first ones in line to get the mark of the beast. Christians that will rather compromise their faith in order to comply with the government. These christians could end up pledging allegiance to the Antichrist instead of choosing to lay down their life’s for the sake of Christ. Therefore we need to understand the urgency of the hour. We must be willing to pay the price to be a follower of Christ and we must understand that every choice in life has an eternal consequence, whether good or bad.