Romans 13:11-14 (NKJV): And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NKJV): Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NKJV): But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NKJV): But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
SOME OF US are SLEEPING through life, unaware of the times and the seasons, and if we don’t WAKE UP soon, the Day of JESUS’ RETURN will catch us like a thief in the night.
A TV show called ONCE UPON A TIME has fairy tale characters from an enchanted land cursed by a villain, stripped of their identities, separated from their loved ones, frozen in time, and trapped in our world. The cursed characters have no recollections of their past lives or their loved ones, and their happy endings depend on the success of the savior in fulfilling her destiny—breaking the curse and effectively waking everyone up.
This too could be our lives on earth: Some of us are cursed, lost, and asleep, with no memories of whose we are and from whence we come; we’re unmindful of who we are—our real identities—and we’re trapped in darkness, sleepwalking through life, with no real purpose, plan, identity, or destination. But some of us are saved, redeemed, and awake, FOR GOD SO LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And because we have ACCEPTED and RECEIVED GOD’s gift of LOVE and GOD’s gift of GRACE through FAITH in JESUS CHRIST, we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS over every adversary and we have ETERNAL LIFE and ETERNAL VICTORY.
Because we’re AWAKE, living in Daylight, we know WHO we are, WHOSE we are, and from WHENCE we come, and we know GOD knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future, and because of Him, we have HOPE, SALVATION, DELIVERANCE, and LIFE in JESUS CHRIST.
But some of us are still asleep, living in darkness, and we don’t really know or don’t want to believe JESUS, the CHRIST, our SAVIOR has come and fulfilled His destiny—breaking the curse and ensuring our happy endings. So, we’re cursed in the night, trapped in a world of darkness and sin, with no hope, no future, no Day, no Truth, no Light.
So here’s the real question: Are we asleep or awake?
