Falling Asleep Spiritually: 7 Ways
- Summary: Even the most sincere Christians can inadvertently fall asleep spiritually and find their relationship and walk with the Lord declining. Come read seven warnings that will hopefully stir you to maintain an alert, vigilant, close walk with God.
Matthew 25:1-5
- • These verses speak of the times leading up to the Lord’s Second Coming. The warning here is that “all became drowsy and fell asleep” ... "they all slumbered and slept" (KJV) — both the foolish and the wise.
- • So it's possible even for mature Christians to nod off spiritually and find themselves unprepared for the end times. My desire in this message today is to warn you from the Scriptures about various ways you can “fall asleep” spiritually and see your Christian walk decline as we move daily towards the times of the end.
Be on guard! Sin is deceitful
- • (1) Sin is deceitful. If allowed to gain a foothold in your life, it will slowly, subtly, gradually harden your heart.
- • In our self-congratulating, “tolerant” society, you can begin to tolerate a little bit more ungodliness … then still a bit more … and the next thing you know your heart is hardened to the destructive nature of sin.
- • A habit of sin creeps up on you gradually, slowly, almost unnoticed. You find your standards relaxing “just a little.” And the next thing you know, your “sin detector” has pretty much conked out! What used to seem terrible now seems permissible because, supposedly, “everybody does it.”
Don't be dragged down by the world's moral and spiritual deterioration
- • (2) We can fall asleep to the moral and spiritual deterioration of the world around us.
- • Consider the shameful decline in the modesty of women’s fashions in just your lifetime. How about abortion? Being now a senior citizen, I can recall when just the thought of abortion was shocking to the minds of Americans. But now innocent babies in the womb are being executed in America in numbers that should bring us to our knees weeping. The R-rated movies of 30 years ago are now only PG-13 or even PG, reflecting today’s deteriorating moral standards.
- • Our educational institutions have declined in the quality of their mission and worldview. For example, in his book Persecution, David Limbaugh writes: “In 1636, John Harvard, ‘a godly gentleman and a lover of learning,’ established Harvard College to ‘raise up a class of learned men for the Christian ministry’.” [bold type is mine] How Christian-focused is Harvard today?!
- • Many other examples could be given. But the point is: don’t fall asleep to the moral and spiritual decline of the society we live in.
Don't let your love for the Lord decline
- • (3) We can become drowsy and fall asleep in the intensity of our love for the Lord.
- • Jesus is the Bridegroom. The Church is called to be His Bride. Are you seeking daily to grow spiritually, to grow in the intimacy of your relationship with Him? Do you long to be in His presence through prayer, bible reading, worship, and gathering as a church?
- • Or would you describe the years of your walk with the Lord and your love for Him as “initially hot … then warm … mild … cold … asleep!” That’s the tendency, if we don’t purposely cultivate a close relationship with Jesus. Letting love decline leads to marriages breaking down, and that is certainly true of our relationship with Jesus, our heavenly Bridegroom.
Beware the anxieties and cares of this life
- • (4) Carousing and drunkenness? Well, those are obviously things to avoid. But how about the anxieties and cares of this life? We can get so wrapped up in the everyday cares of this life that we find our energies sapped for spiritual things. And the next thing you know, we are spiritually snoozing!
- • Fear can creep in and anesthetize faith. Materialism can gradually overcome our spiritual sharpness. The cares and anxieties of this life can put to sleep our cares about matters that relate to eternal life.
Don't be lulled by the seeming sameness of day-to-day life
- • (5) “A long time in coming” — the apparent sameness of each day can dull us to spiritual realities and priorities.
- • We can lose sight of the existence and hostility of a real, malevolent devil and his demons. Living in the seemingly quiet years between great revivals can lessen our excitement for the things of God.
- • The fact that Jesus hasn’t come back to earth yet can tempt us to live as though He won’t be coming back soon. The result? We could end up like the unwise virgins who were sleeping and unready for the bridegroom’s arrival.
Don't let your prayer life become weak
- • (6) Jesus went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. His disciples took a nap!
- • Prayer helps us maintain a living, close relationship with Almighty God. The lack of prayer leads to our having a somewhat (or very) distant relationship with Him.
- • Jesus had requested that they watch in prayer with Him. What was their response? They fell asleep! Remember, concerning prayer, that “the flesh is weak.” Deal with yourself, deal with your flesh’s normal tendency to drift away from spiritual things, and make a determined effort to “watch and pray” regularly.
Don't 'kick back' and become content with just what you've done in the past
- • (7) We can rest on our laurels, on our past accomplishments and past growth in the Lord, and end up being spiritually “dead” — that’s the word Jesus used speaking to the lukewarm Christian church.
- • Your prayer and bible study last week won’t sustain you today. What if in the natural your last food and drink were last week! How healthy would you be today?
- • If you don’t maintain an active spiritual life, you will quickly have a dying spiritual life. What was the solution Jesus offered? — A resounding command to “wake up!” No five-point list, no here’s-how sermon. Just “wake up!” and get back to a relationship with the Lord that is current and burning brightly.
Summary of 7 Ways to Fall Spiritually Asleep and into a Spiritual Stupor:
- • Letting your heart be hardened and deadened by the deceitfulness of sin
- • Becoming desensitized to the moral and spiritual deterioration going on all around us
- • Letting your love for the Lord become passive and cold
- • Allowing the cares of this life to drain your energies for spiritual things
- • Permitting life’s sameness and daily routine to dull you to spiritual realities
- • Spiritually dozing, rather than watching and praying
- • Resting on your past walk with the Lord and not keeping it current
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.