Romans 13:11 says, โit is high time to awake out of sleep.โ That command is connected to the nearness of salvation and the passing of the night. Then verse 12 says, โThe night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness.โ The world says relax. The Bible says awake. The world says indulge. The Bible says cast off. The world says fit in. The Bible says put on the armour of light. The worldโs lullaby is designed to make the Christian forget what time it is. We are not in the morning of manโs progress. We are in a dark world awaiting the Lordโs return.
First John 2:15 says, โLove not the world, neither the things that are in the world.โ That verse is not a suggestion for hermits. It is a warning for saints. The worldโs love cools the heart toward God. It makes holiness look extreme, prayer look dull, preaching look harsh, separation look strange, and compromise look normal. The saint who listens to the worldโs lullaby long enough will eventually sleep through conviction. He will still be awake for entertainment, but asleep to eternity. That is a dangerous condition.
Chapter Six: Sleepy Churches Produce Unprepared Christians
A sleepy church produces sleepy Christians because the pulpit sets the temperature for much of the room. If the pulpit is dull, prayerless, shallow, soft, worldly, and afraid of conviction, the congregation will usually learn to sleep comfortably under religious language. A church can have services every week and still be asleep. It can have music, announcements, activities, and even Bible references, while lacking the urgent note of eternity. The people gather, sing, hear a safe sermon, go home unchanged, and call it worship. That is not a watchtower. That is a religious sleep clinic.
Second Timothy 4:2 says, โPreach the word.โ Then it commands reproof, rebuke, exhortation, longsuffering, and doctrine. Why? Because the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine. They will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. That is what sleepy people want: teachers who do not wake them too roughly. They want religious voices that soothe them, not watchmen who warn them. But God did not call preachers to be lullaby singers. He called them to be heralds, watchmen, shepherds, and soldiers. A preacher who lets people sleep while the enemy approaches is not compassionate. He is negligent.
Ezekiel 33 gives the watchman principle. If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, the blood is required at his hand. That should terrify every preacher who is more worried about being liked than being faithful. A church needs a pulpit that blows the trumpet. It needs preaching that wakes the conscience, opens the Book, exalts Christ, warns sinners, feeds saints, exposes wolves, and calls the people to watchfulness. Sleepy churches may be popular because they are comfortable. But comfort is not the same as safety. A sleeping church is easy prey.
Chapter Seven: The Awakened Believer Must Stand Watch Until the Lord Comes
The awakened believer must not wake up for one day and then go back to sleep. Watchfulness is not a conference mood, a temporary revival feeling, or a short burst after a hard sermon. It is a way of life. First Thessalonians 5:6 says, โTherefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.โ That is the Christianโs posture in this present evil world. Watch and be sober. Not panicked, not paranoid, not foolish, not obsessed with devils, but spiritually alert, Bible-governed, prayerful, and ready.