I please God to bless our souls
this evening as we consider his word together. Let's turn to
Paul's epistle to the Ephesians and chapter 5 and verse 14. The epistle of Paul to the Ephesians
chapter 5 and verse 14. Wherefore he saith, awake thou
that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give
the light. It's important for us to realize
and to remember that the Apostle was writing here to the Saints,
the Church of God, and he tells us, Paul, an Apostle of Jesus
Christ, by the will of God to the Saints, which are at Ephesus,
and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. So he's writing this to
those who were believers. He wasn't writing it to those
of the world, but more particularly it was to the believers. And
therefore as we read a verse like this, we might perhaps think,
well surely this is relative really just to unbelievers. But no, it's very appropriate
and applicable to those who are believers. And so the Apostle,
in writing here to the Ephesians, coming down to this 14th verse,
wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and he is referring
really to those things which he has mentioned before, in a
warning to the Ephesian church in particular about the situations
which they were in. And he tells them, to be therefore
followers of God as dear children. You see, he dresses them in love. It's not in a harsh way. It's
in love to their souls. And indeed, how wonderful it
is that God's word speaks to us in love to our souls. Therefore, followers of God as
dear children walk in love as Christ also has loved us. and
has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling savour." Well, that's a tremendous statement,
isn't it? Just think of what it says. Because, walk in love
because Christ has loved us and he's given himself, he gave his
life as a sacrifice to God. which was a sweet smelling savour
and it was an offering for us. Amazing love to think that we
have such a God who should love us so much that he was willing
to lay down his life as an offering acceptable unto God for our sin. There was nothing less than that
would have been acceptable know many times, as you know I say,
without shedding of blood there's no forgiveness, there's no remission.
The blood of Christ had to be shed in order that we might be
saved. It is a wonderful blessing to
have such a truth conveyed with power from God to our souls,
convincing us of the need of it and showing to us we are partakers
of it. Well that's how the Apostle addresses
these Ephesians with this great favour and great blessing. Then
he speaks to them against those things which were obviously prevalent
and were existing in that time and he says but fornication and
all uncleanness or covetousness let it not be once named among
you as becometh saints. Well perhaps we might think,
well, I think I'm okay there. Well, don't forget the Lord looks
in our hearts, the Lord looks in our minds, he's very aware
of every thought you and I have. And you know, if our thoughts
were displayed before the congregation, it'd probably be a very embarrassing
time, wouldn't it? Well, he says here, fornication
or uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among
you, as becometh saints." Yes, and we need to pray against being
found in this way, because the devil is very active in turning
our minds to wrong and evil things, and we need much grace to turn
away from it, to resist the devil, that he may flee from us. We
need to pray again and again for much grace to abstain from
thoughts which are wrong and evil. And he goes on, filthiness,
foolish talking, jesting, which are not convenient, but rather
giving a thanks. It's very easy, isn't it, to
be under that, to be foolish and to jest in our talk. It's
very easy, isn't it? And yet, you know, what does
he say? These things are not convenient. They're not good. They are sinful. But rather giving
a thanks, and again how much we fall and fail, don't we, in
giving thanks. We have so much to thank God
for. Often we pray for things, don't we? And I hope we do pray
for things. I hope we pray for small things.
And when God answers those, do we give thanks to our God? We must remember to give thanks
unto our God. For this ye know, that no whoremonger
nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. That's a solemn
statement, isn't it? No inheritance. No place in glory. No situation reserved. If we
fall and come under the condemnation of these situations, let no man
deceive you with vain words. We live in a world today where
many vain words are spoken, many vain so-called Christian words.
And they pretend things are okay when they're not okay. When we're
walking contrary to God, many things that people do today are
contrary. to the Word of God. And because
others do it, they think it's all right. And they follow a
wrong path and a wrong pattern. Our path, our pattern is outlined
in the Word of God. And it's outlined here as Paul
writes to the Ephesians and to the saints. And so we have such
a statement. And then the Lord says, let no
man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Oh, my friends,
we may be concerned not to be disobedient to God in everything. Sometimes our Bible becomes a
bit small, doesn't it? And it's so small that it allows
us to do many things and to not obey God's commands. Well, may we know that we have
the whole Bible, the whole counsel of God, which decrees to us very
clearly those things that we should do. And let us not forget,
these things are spoken in love because they are beneficial to
us, and above all things, they are God-honouring. Be not ye
therefore partakers with them. And it's hard sometimes to stand
out and to be separate. Indeed, it's nearly always hard
to stand out. But I'll tell you this, the nearer
you and I are blessed with walk with our God, a closer walk with
God, then you see, we will understand the privilege and favor of being
not a partaker with these things which are evil. Our nature wants
to join with the crowd, doesn't it? Especially youngsters, when
you're at school and college and university, the temptations
are exceedingly great. It's very hard to stand out.
It's very hard to be separate. And you will need much grace. Now God gives grace. You pray
for it. Pray that you may be able to
stand firm against temptation. I'll tell you this, it's a blessing
to have the answer of a good conscience. It doesn't matter what men, what
boys and girls might say to you, and they will. But you see, the
opposition, you and I have to absorb, and why? Because we have
a great and glorious example in the Lord Jesus Christ. When
he was reviled, he reviled not again. You've got a wonderful
example. If you want encouragement, read
the Bible. Read about the life of the Lord
Jesus. Read what he did. Read how he went about doing
good. He didn't retaliate. He didn't
speak back, no. And even when the devil tempted
him after he was baptized, what did he do? He quoted scripture
to the devil, and the devil wasn't able to answer. For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord, walk as children
of light. Now he's addressing the saints
of God. My friends, if you and I know, and we would have done,
we would have known we were in darkness, the darkness of death,
no light, and if God has shone into our hearts, light of the
glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. But now are ye light in the Lord,
walk as children of light. See that's a blessed obligation,
a blessed privilege, isn't it? To walk in the light. If God
has brought us from darkness to light, For the fruit of the
Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving
what is acceptable unto the Lord. Surely that's what we should
desire, to do that which is acceptable unto the Lord. And there are
all those things which are not acceptable to the Lord. And you
and I have got a conscience and we know really what is not acceptable,
but we make excuses. My friends, excuses don't count
with God. Excuses may count one to another. You may do things
and then say, well, I did this because, because. Well, they
might think, well, OK, well, let it go. Not with God, my friends. God knows what's right and wrong
and says what's right and wrong. And you and I can't escape that.
And so we should remember the truth of God's work and word,
he says, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness. but rather reprove them, the
unfruitful works of darkness. Today we live in a dark day. And that's why we have a word
like this. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and
arise in the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Because
we live in a day when there is lukewarmness, when there's coldness,
when there's worldiness. Worldiness creeps in everywhere,
you know. And we find it, the devil is so subtle, and the world
creeps into our hearts. You know, we've got the internet,
we've got computers, we've got iPads, we've got iPhones, et
cetera, and of course, they're all able to bring the world very
close. and in need to bring the world
into our hearts. You will need strength, you will
need wisdom, you will need grace to stand firm against the temptation
of Satan. See, when you're by yourself,
no one knows, do they? But God knows. The devil tries
to turn you, to involve yourselves in things which are not convenient,
are not profitable, are not acceptable to God. See, that's the standard,
isn't it? The standard is, are these things
acceptable to God? You may say, well why do you
ask that? I ask it because of this. You're on a journey, a
short journey. It's going to either end in heaven
or in hell. One or the other. And then you'll
be there for eternity. How necessary it is then that
you and I are right, that we're on our way to heaven. And on
that journey, it's not an easy journey. I can't give you any
encouragement to think it's an easy journey. It's a difficult
journey. But the result at the end of
the journey is wonderful. because it produces endless happiness. And so here the apostle, again
speaking in love, he says, and have no fellowship. He doesn't
say, well, have a little bit. No, he says, have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them, for it is a shame even to speak of those things which
are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest
is light." Well, the Apostle gives a very lengthy introduction,
doesn't he, to these words. And now he tells us, wherefore.
He's explained the situation in some depth, and he says, wherefore
he saith, awake thou that sleepest. Awake thou that sleepest. The
church of God today is largely slumbering. It has been so for
years now. That's why our country suffers
from so many wrong laws because the Christian people have been
asleep and the old devil's got cracking and he's allowed terrible
laws to be passed. Now you see we're beginning to
wake up. And here is the word of God, wherefore it saith, Awake
thou that sleepest. Sometimes we need to have a word
spoken to our hearts to see whether we are amongst those that sleep. You see, initially, our response
would probably be, well, I don't think I'm sleeping, I think I'm
okay. Well, we need to examine ourselves. And remember the word
of God encourages us to examine ourselves, to see whether we
are in the faith or not. It's a good exercise to examine
your spiritual state, to see whether you're healthy, whether
your soul is healthy. We're all concerned about our
bodies, aren't we? But how important, much more important, as to the
health of our souls." Well, the Apostle wrote here to the Ephesians,
but he also wrote to the Romans about this situation, about this
condition. And it was obviously very much
on his mind to ensure that those things were not forgotten and
were not passed over. And he tells us about these things
and about not being asleep in the things of God, but being
concerned that he is walking uprightly and in the fear of
the Lord. How mindful we ought to be that
we follow the advice that the Apostle Paul gives to us, therefore,
and to awake thou that sleepest. You see, if we are sleeping,
we don't realise what's occurring. But if we're awake, we're aware
of what's occurring. And therefore it's important
to hear what he tells us, Awake thou that sleepest. To turn away
from those things which perhaps we've been indulging ourselves
in. And it's made us sleepy towards
the things of God. It's made us sleepy with regards
to reading the Word of God. It's made us sleepy with regards
to praying. You know, if you allow yourselves
to be involved in worldly activity, you won't find it very easy to
pick up the Bible. You'll find it less easy to pray,
because the things of the world will be whirling around in your
mind. And you'll find then that instead
of being able to get back to God, you'll find there's a space,
a gap, which you're not able to bridge. Well, what a favour
it is that the Lord sometimes uses his situations to show us
the weakness of our flesh. Because by nature we are all
weak and don't think that, well I'm strong and I won't fall and
I won't do that. You know, as soon as you speak
in such a way, be sure the devil will mark it and be sure he'll
make an extra effort to ensure that you do fall and that you
do sin. We have no strength in and of
ourselves. Our strength is in the Lord. And when, of course, the Apostle
John wrote the revelation, when the Lord gave him that wonderful
revelation, he wrote to the seven churches. The last church was
the Laodicean church. And he wrote and he told them
this, he said, I know thy works, and God knows your works, he
knows my works. I know thy works, this is what
he said, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." How
true that is today. There is lukewarmness in the
things of God. The things of God are put into
second place. We allow other things to dominate
our lives. We allow other things to take
precedence in our life rather than turning away from them and
desiring and praying that things of God might be first. So he
says, and increased with goods, and
in need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Well, do we appreciate
that? Do we have a knowledge of that,
of our true state? Do we think we're all right,
and don't realize that we come under this category. And you
may say, well, I think I'm all right. Well, let's examine ourselves
as to fruitfulness in the things of God. The Word tells us, by
our fruits we shall be known. You see, it's by our walk and
our conversation that we shall be known. It's not by the things
that we don't do. Some people say, well of course
I'm very timid and I don't say anything. Well, you can't hide
under that. Those that fear the Lord speak
often one to another how true, how important, how relevant it
is for us to realise the truth of God's Word. There is that
need today. so that we may sharpen each other's
sword, as it were. Iron sharpeneth iron. And so
as one and another are able to speak about the things of God,
it's so strengthening to hear one's testimony. You know, there
are always good times when people come forward to join the church
and to hear a testimony, to hear of God's work, hear of God's
amazing grace. It's always a profitable and
good time for the Church of God, they can rejoice together and
thank God for His work. Well, if it is so, and there's
that speaking, then you see there's not this lukewarmness. But if
there is that lukewarmness, then, as he said, we don't realise
that we're wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. That's a vivid description, isn't
it? Does it describe us tonight? Are we like that? Well, if so,
what does John say? I counsel thee. We know what
counselling is, I'm sure, today. We hear a lot about counselling.
Most counselling is not very good, but here we have the counsel
from God. I counsel thee to buy me gold,
fried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with thyself, thou mayest
see as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore,
and repent." Be zealous therefore. People tend to speak about zeal,
don't they? They often speak about false zeal. Well, we don't
hear much about any zeal, do we? The Word of God tells us
to be zealous in the things of God, to be zealous and to repent,
to be sorry for our condition, our lukewarmness. Again, people
are not very often prepared to admit that they're lukewarm. They're not prepared to admit
they need to awake. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest. Well, do we understand the need
for that tonight? To awake if we are sleeping in
the things of God. Sleeping in the things of God.
My friends, let us truly stand before our Maker and look into
our hearts and see whether this is true. If it is, may we indeed
arise, arise and awake Awake now that sleep is a rise from
the dead. Now, arising from the dead can have at least two applications. It can be from our own condition
of deadness, but of course we can't do that in and of ourselves.
We need the grace of God to make us spiritually alive to arise
from the dead. But on the other hand, it may
very well be that this refers to being in the company of those
who are spiritually dead. Now this is a deadening influence. If you and I are found with those
who are spiritually dead, in other words, those in the world,
you will find that you are dragged down. And so says the Word of
God, arise from the dead. We're told to be separate. We're told we don't like to be
separate, do we? Sometimes it's very painful. Sometimes it's very costly. But you know, you can pray to
God and he will enable you to arise from the dead, to leave
the dead, to leave the dead. Well, it's a blessing. As you
all know, I don't often refer to myself, but when I was a teenager, I was in London and I had a very
good friend, naturally, who we've been friends with since I was
a little boy. We've grown up together and we
were both very keen on sport. We used to go and watch a lot
of sport and we used to often spend our Saturday evenings together
my friend's house, watching television and playing cards. So that wasn't
a very good preparation for the Lord's Day, was it? Well, when
the Lord then was moving in my heart, I didn't know what to
do. I had this friend all this time,
and he was naturally a good friend, and we had a lot in common. And
I had to commit the situation unto the Lord. And very remarkably,
he was moved away. He was a very clever lad, and
he got a job in a nuclear atomic power station, and he was moved
away very suddenly, within a week or so, and I never saw him again. And really, the effect was, like
we read here, an arise and a dead. Spiritually, he was dead. He
used to go to church sometimes. But spiritually, he was dead.
And I was very involved with him. And it was almost impossible
for me to break off that friendship. I suppose I was a coward. But
anyway, I was able to commit it unto the Lord. And he wonderfully
appeared. Now, you can do that, you young
people. You may have problems and difficulties. Here is a statement. Arise from
the dead. Because if you analyse it, you
wouldn't want to spend eternity with them, would you? Because
there's such a vast difference. It's a difference between dark
and light. And there can be no union. And therefore it's a blessing
if you and I are able to arise from the dead and then, you see,
as the Lord enables us to stand and leave them, and Christ shall
give thee light. Now what a blessing that is.
And this is a light which never goes out. It's a light which
God has lit in our hearts And it's the light of spiritual life.
The light shines. And as that light shines, what
does it do? It reveals the Lord Jesus Christ. It shows to us what He is. Now, it may be slow progress. The Word of God encourages us
in this way. here a little, and there a little,
line upon line, precept upon precept. Sometimes we imagine
we're going to know everything in five minutes. No, my friends,
God teaches us at his pace. Don't forget that. At God's pace. We must always remember that
God has a plan, and that plan will be worked to. And you and
I will conform to that plan, whether we like it or not. And
it's a wonderful favour that God has a plan for you and me
to make manifest His light, and Christ shall give the light. Again, it's very clear that we
cannot earn this light, we cannot merit this light, but God gives
us it. And when that light shines, we
are amazed that we never understood the truth of God or that which
refers more particularly to the Lord Jesus Christ and his saving
grace. We are amazed that perhaps we've
been years and we've never heard the truth of the gospel. We've
heard it physically, but it's never entered into our heart.
Bless God when he speaks and grants us this wonderful blessing.
And that we arise in the dead and Christ shall give thee light. Well, remember here, this word
is addressed to the church of God, to the saints of God, so
therefore there will have been some little light, some little
light, but it may have been dimmed. As it were, it may have almost
gone out. The world has crowded in and
left any room for the light to shine. And that's why the Apostle
here speaks to the Church of God and speaks to you and me
tonight, my friends. Bless God we have a current Bible.
It's not old-fashioned. It speaks to you and me today.
It tells us the truth. It tells us of our condition. Awake thou that sleepest and
arise in the dead and Christ shall give thee light. And this
of course is the glorious light of the everlasting gospel. That
light which will never go out and will go with us into glory. Glory is light. There's no darkness
there. Hell is darkness. There's no
light there. You see the complete opposite,
what a favour it is then to be found within the compass of these
words. And so, blessed with this wonderful
favour, and Christ shall give thee light, my friends, that
light shining into our hearts, revealing to us what we are,
how sinful we are, how evil we are, and how gracious and compassionate
and merciful is the Saviour toward us. What does the Apostle God
say? See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise. It's wonderful instruction for
us all, isn't it? Young and old, it doesn't matter
who we are, here's instruction from Almighty God. to walk circumspectly,
not as fools. We have been fools. Perhaps we
are a fool tonight. Perhaps you look at yourself
and think, yes, I am a fool. I've ignored the word of God.
I've followed the old devil. I'm a fool. Well, bless God,
if the light has shone to show you that you are a fool. So then, see then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Wise, granted the
wisdom of God, granted the favor of God, that which comes from
on high, not that which is of the flesh. God gives wisdom,
but as wise. And then he tells us, redeeming
the time. because the days are evil, redeeming
the time. Awake, thou that sleepest, and
the riot and the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Have you
and I wasted our time? I'm sure if we consider the situation
in our lives, we look back and we realize we
wasted hours and days and weeks and years. Wasted them. What a need there
is to redeem the time. You that are young, may you redeem
the time. You haven't got so much to redeem
as some of us who are older. Time we've wasted. Put it another
way, time we've given to the devil. rather than spending our
time pursuing the things of God, doing those things which are
His honour and glory. There's many, many things, my friends,
that you and I can occupy ourselves in. There's no need to be idle. Many things to do to encourage
the Church of God, to support the Church of God. And therefore, may we be concerned
in our lives to be found redeeming the time. Again, remember that
this is written to the saints. It's speaking to you and me tonight, so that you and I might be found
concerned to obey such words as this, to awake if we've been
sleeping. The devil loves us to sleep because
we're indolent. We're not serving the Lord, we're
serving ourselves. We're not concerned in working
for the Lord, we're concerned in pleasing ourselves. My friends,
the days are evil. The time is short. We know not
what an hour or day may bring forth. My friends, we don't want
to come to the day of our death, to lie on our deathbed with much
remorse because of all the wasted time in our lives when we've
obeyed the devil rather than obeying our God. Redeeming the time because the
days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise. Well, we have been, haven't we?
But understanding what the will of the Lord is, what the will
of the Lord is. What is the Lord's will for you? What is the Lord's will for me?
Are we concerned about it? Are we concerned to be doing
God's will? That which is well-pleasing in
his sight, that indeed which is for his honour and glory,
is that which we are concerned, the real aim, that you and I
might live our lives unto the Lord and not unto ourselves. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise in the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light. We may perhaps mourn our lack
of light, and by that I mean spiritual understanding, spiritual blessing. Realising
what the great truths of God contain, that deep which catcheth
beneath, there is a great depth in the knowledge of spiritual
things. And the concern should be that you and I are growing
spiritually, that we've not been left to stagnate, but that we
are lively in the things of God. and that we love to speak about
the things of God, and hear about the things of God, and rejoice
when we hear the name of Jesus, because it immediately directs
our thoughts to a crucified Saviour. You see, that's the object, isn't
it? We then worship when we view
a crucified Saviour, dying upon the cross to atone for our sins. worship centres on a crucified
saviour. The healthy child of God's health
centres on a crucified saviour. It really comes down to this.
What thinking of Christ is the test. That's the test. What do we think
of Christ? How do we view Christ? Do we,
are we encouraged as we come to the cross of Christ? Do we
come and love to meditate upon what he has said and done, upon
his glorious death, upon his wonderful intercession, upon
all that he has done and all he does today? so that we bow down and worship,
that we're humbled before our God, realising what a gracious
Saviour we have. This, you see, is when the Lord
gives us that light to view the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, my friends,
may Christ shine brightly in our hearts, many things perhaps which attract
us, but may Christ be the most attractive. The hymn writer said
very blessedly, I could from all things parted be, but never,
never Lord from thee. Well, he must have been alive
and lively, mustn't he? My friends, may that be our concern.
Also, to know a crucified Saviour, to view Him suffering in our
place, your place, my place, which He did for all His people. A personal religion, a personal
blessing. Oh, what love, what grace, what
mercy. And Christ shall give the light. We have therefore the evidence
of the Spirit enabling us to awake and to arise because of
the light which the Holy Spirit gives to us. Because this states,
and Christ shall give the light. And my friends, you know, you
and I can plead the promises of God. Plead the promises of
God to our God. and come to him and ask him that
he may indeed give you this wonderful blessing of his light, spiritual
light, which directs us to himself. Well, may God enable us to truly
and faithfully and prayerfully and carefully consider these
things, surely our Real concern, if we have the life of God within
us, our real concern is to bring honour and glory to God. And
it won't be if you and I are in darkness, or if you and I
are in the world, having fellowship with the world, there won't be
that union with Christ. Don't forget what the Apostle
desired. The Apostle Paul desired, when
he wrote, to the Philippians. They were great truths and he
pleaded for this. He said, he counted all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and to
count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in him
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith." Now the apostle was a gracious man with
a wonderful knowledge of God and a glorious revelation he
had when he was caught up into the third heavens. But notwithstanding
all that, he's on the stretch after God and this is what he
says, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, be made conformable unto his
death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead." Well, my friends, that is a glorious desire. And may it be our desire and
our concern as we think of these words tonight, Wherefore he saith,
arise thou that sleepest, and arise, awake thou that sleepest,
and arise in the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Amen.