Comatose

Most Christian churches and Christians are in deep slumber and have become dull, torpid and lethargic in their faith.

"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. " -Heb 5:11-12 (KJV)

Have you ever been in a deep sleep and when trying to awake you just can’t seem to wake up? You feel sluggish and keep falling back to sleep and this cycle repeats itself for sometimes minutes or even hours? How about setting your alarm clock to wake up to go to work? Ever hit the snooze button a few [hundred] times? Today's topic centers around this dilemma as it relates to the church and Christians in their awareness of the presence of God in their lives; from hearing His word to practicing what it says.

In the OT, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were called and directed by God to "awaken" the ancient Israelites, at different times in their history, to the His presence and what He said for them to do and pay attention to -Isa 6:9-10; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:1-6. They were locked in a deep spiritual sleep and couldn't wake up. The Lord said of His people they could hear but not understand, see but not perceive. The Lord said in Jer 6:10:

"To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it." -Jer 6:10 (KJV)

And He said to Ezekiel the people were rebellious – they have eyes but see not and ears but hear not. So what does this mean and how does it apply to Christians today? Folks, most believers today are in the same boat as these ancient Israelites. Many people who call themselves Christians and don't heed the word of God, who instead live their lives in the moment with focus on earthly or worldly things, do not know God and therefore they cannot see or hear Him. Oh my, they have nice pretty churches and fancy plays, dramas, very nice singing, attached schools, and committees and meetings coming out of their ears but do they know and hear Jesus' beckoning to them to hear and do what HE says? Most church-goers have become Christians in name only. What would these Christians in their churches and in their plethora of programs actually do if Almighty God showed up in their midst? Is He even invited in? Tough words … yes, I know but it's the hard truth. A highly-engineered ritualistic "mechanical religion" is being constructed in their assemblies.

In the Book of Hebrews (NT), chapter 5 verse 11, the Hebrews struggling in their new Christian faith showed spiritual lethargy and very slow response to the teaching of Gospel truths. They were spiritually immature and had become dull in their hearing. Friends, when we don't pay attention to God, when we push Him to the sideline of our lives only occasionally thinking about Him or praying, when our Bibles are dustier than our TV remotes, we have become dull to hearing the solid Biblical truth found only in Christ. Are you bored with the things of God today? Has your faith in Christ shriveled up into a dust bunny lodged under your bed or couch? Has the enemy of our souls, put your soul to 'beddy bye'?

"For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." -Acts 28:27 (KJV)

A friend and I were talking the other day and he said he had heard that the church and many, many Christians that have lapsed into a coma in their spiritual lives. They have become comatose and torpid in their faith and trust in the Lord. Many don't read their Bibles so their spiritual ears have become deaf. Most don't pray other than a few minutes at church. Most don't even know what repentance means. The solid truths found in the history of Christianity are even set aside for the wisdom of men these days. For example, the reality of truth found in recognizing the pagan roots of celebrating Easter are ignored because, well, it's 'tradition' to do these feel-good things. Worshiping bunnies and eggs with unknowing emphasis on a pagan fertility goddess' is abominable to our Lord. If anything the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ should be celebrated in the Passover for this is scriptural.  Friends, this is just one example of how Christian churches and Christians have tossed aside truth in favor of Churchianity and what feels good. Today there are many who have become comatose to hearing God's word. A verse out the OT book of Amos is so appropriate for us today – Amos 8:11.

In essence, most Christians are asleep to the real nature of God, what true worship means, how serious God is about sin and repentance, and who exactly He is in their lives. Churches teach all around who God is and how awake we should really be to the fundamental doctrines of our Christian faith. Pastors and elders teach all the happy and entertaining things but stay clear of teaching the hard, solid and often offensive words that Jesus Himself spoke to the church leaders of His time, His own followers and others. He was always compassionate (as we should be) but never did He compromise His truth or become tolerant winking at sin and never did He put His people to sleep.

Are you asleep and find it hard to wake up to the sobering truths of the Gospel? If Jesus Christ came today would you be ready to face Him? If you have been trapped in a coma and find it hard to fully wake up to His word, then please let these words be like a deafening alarm clock arousing you to hear His voice and know the times we are now living in. God bless.

 

Coram Deo

-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman

 

GIVE ALMIGHTY GOD ALL THE GLORY, HONOR AND PRAISE FOR ONLY HE IS KING and HE IS LORD!