You and I are living in a world that is run by the powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). The god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) is the father of all lies and deceit (John 8:44). His only agenda is to destroy lives (John 10:10a).
Recognizing this, we are exhorted today to wake up spiritually and cut off all fleshly provisions from taking control of our lives (Romans 13:11-14). The key is to put on Christ, which means to walk with Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Any one of us is susceptible to spiritual laziness; that’s the very nature of our flesh. Our flesh loves to be pleased, not crucified. If it were not possible for us to fall asleep in the light, then the warnings we find in Scripture are meaningless. But there is no warning of God that should ever be considered as “non-applicable” to me. God is once again this morning, in His paternal love for us, giving us a spiritual wake-up call.
Proverbs warns about the danger of physical sloth (Proverbs 24:30- 34), and the same holds true in the realm of the spirit. We all need to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) against things like neglect and lukewarm, indifferent attitudes (Revelation 3:16). The danger of spiritual snoozing is that we can appear to be doing okay for a while on the reserves of the seeds of obedience sown in the past. But sooner or later, eventually but inevitably, the seeds of sloth will creep in, and the next thing you know, all desire for the things of the Lord is all but gone. The good news is that the smoking flax of the true child of God will not be quenched (Matthew 12:20)!
So today is the day for you to take the communion elements and go from weekend faith to active duty. And may the Spirit of God quicken each and every one of us here this morning to make that calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).
