Perry, Frank: 2008-09-21-Bahamas Ministry-Ephesians 5_14

Ephesians chapter five and verse fourteen. Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. And back in Romans, if you will, chapter thirteen Romans chapter thirteen and verse eleven. Romans thirteen and verse eleven. And that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. May God bless the reading of his precious word. December the sixth, nineteen forty one, I could still remember it, although I was a young fella. Japanese carrier by the name of Akagi, three hundred and twenty miles away from Pearl Harbor. For two hours, they pounded Pearl Harbor with plane, bombs, machine guns that emanate from or come from those planes. And, uh, it was such a horrible occasion. Two thousand three hundred and thirty five sailor boys and civilians died as a result of that attack on Pearl Harbor. Of course, they had something like one uh thousand one hundred and forty three wounded. The destruction to the ships was phenomenal. The Utah, the Arizona had a thousand men on it, the Arizona alone. The Oklahoma, the De- DeCason, and the Downes, I think she was called, were sunk without any notice, without any warning, that is. Total ships were eighteen ships, one hundred and eighty eight planes that were destroyed, and one hundred and fifty nine planes were damaged. The sad part of the whole, uh, charade was no war was declared on America by Japan, and it happened when they were asleep. Washington was warned, or at least they knew that this great, uh, fleet was coming, but they did absolutely nothing about it when they were asleep. It was sad, but as a result of one incident, the slogan went out all through the war. Remember Pearl Harbor? They never lost sight of that. What looked like a victory for Japan actually was the beginning of their defeat. But the point is this, they were asleep. And when I am using the subject tonight, the condition of the world, that we live in a sleeping world, I don't mean a physical sleep, but people are oblivious, that is, they're not aware or conscious that doomsday is coming. You have, as I said not long ago, unconverted, uh, newscasters are predicting that it's a minute to midnight, the doomsday they call it. Only a minute now. It used to be ten minutes, then it went up to five minutes. They're narrowing it down to one minute, especially since the president of Iran made the statement, and knowing that he is accumulating, or at least manufacturing hydrogen bombs. At least that's what they believe. And of course, with this in mind, the world is shaking, trembling. Um, they are afraid that doomsday is coming. And yet the word of God foretells these things. It predicted it two thousand years ago. Jesus talked about it in the last days. Uh, it says that, that like in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking and giving in marriage and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. Even Christians are surprised what's happening today. We should not, because this means, with all the darkness and the sadness, the condition of the world, it means that we're nearer home now than we ever been in our life. Boy, it should motivate us to really be on fire for the Lord, to do his bidding. The drowsiness of the church is obvious. I'm not suggesting any particular church. I'm talking about in many quarters of, in the West especially. We're sort of living on the false cloak. When I say a false cloak, I don't mean that we're not Christians. I mean that we're business as usual, and we ply our trade. We go on, and we're not aware. Sincere doesn't mean that the church is living in sin, but we, we have to admit there's a part of us that's asleep. I, I want to preface my remarks by referring this to the church, especially in the West. I don't know much about the East. They, they are persecuted for the sake of the Lord, and they seem to be very busy for Christ. They're in prison. Some of them are put to death, and maybe materialism had blinded the minds of many. It could be that we're occupied, uh, with what we have to do, the normal things in life, and there's nothing wrong with that, but we are leaving out some of the essential things in life. You check our prayer meetings, you, you check, and I'm not referring to here in particular. You, I, wherever I travel, I, I see the same mark. There is a drowsiness, and, uh, so Satan sows his tears among the weak. Jesus said that. And it doesn't have to be wickedness or sin. And, uh, it could be legitimate thing, but they take up so much of our time, and they rob us of our strength, our power, spiritual vitality, and they rob us of the, the energy that we should use or apply to the work of God. Keeping this in mind, there's also the warning that I just, we just read, and there's a call to awake. We long to see a revival. We long to see a spiritual awakening. We long to see men and women saved, something happening, a dramatic break, and a- an invasion of the Spirit of God on the consciences of all of us. We need to realize that it is late, and it's time to wake up. God has set his alarm clock. The alarm clock has been going on for quite a while, but somehow we're not listening. That's why the apostle said, it is high time to awake, otherwise it's a deadline. We don't have much time. Prophetical indications all about us. We've had some of the best prophecy messages recently, and we were stirred, we had better attendances in our services, but it should do more than that. We should be motivated to reach the lost, and the lost should rush to Calvary and really get right with God and be saved, instead of living in a state of spiritual sleep or deadness. It is high time to awake out of sleep. You can't afford to put it off. You can't be late. It is important that you trust him now. Many years ago, an artist was so excited because he was to paint the picture of Queen Victoria. And Queen Victoria came as designated eight o'clock that morning, and uh, he wasn't there. He came ten minutes late with his paraphernalia under his arms, and he was panting and out of breath, and he rushed in. He said, I'm sorry, where is Your Majesty? Where? He says, you never keep the Queen waiting. Royalty, you never keep royalty waiting. They will not wait for you. Always remember that. That's just the list. And yet, isn't God must be long suffering and patient, how people keep him waiting, keep putting him off. You have a right to put him off? You have a right to make him wait? You think you have a right to just put him on hold or on the back burner and think that God is just going to jump to your assistance when you need it? Oh, sir, young lady, whoever you are tonight, you're living in a false canopy. One of these days, that canopy is going to come crushing down on you, and you're going to be enveloped in the worst disaster of your life, and you're going to be lost forever and ever because you cannot keep God waiting. One day, the curtain will be drawn across the stage of life, and the gospel will no longer be preached. Silence of chapels will be so obvious, only the screams and the crying of people running up and down the streets, wondering where the Church of Jesus Christ is gone. Somebody who knows their Bible shouts, man, it's the rapture that's taken place. Don't you know? My mother is gone, my daddy's gone. I always wanted to be a Christian. Here I am, I'm left behind. Vice versa, parents are left behind, and children are gone. Can you imagine the chaos, the frenzy, the anxiety, the mental disturbance? All because when God's alarm clock went off, he said it's high time to awake out of sleep, they fail to arrive. The prodigal says, I will arise and I will go back to my father. I'll tell him I will no longer be his son. I'll be willing just to be a slave in the home. But thank God he, he came to himself. He listened to the alarm. And when it went off, he didn't hesitate. And you know the reunion, the joy that they received, and the wonderful fellowship, music in the house. There was such joy there. Kill the fatted calf, put the ring of relationship on his finger, the gown of identity on him, shoes, and she wanted to be a slave, and slave doesn't w- they didn't wear shoes at that time. In fact, a long time after that. Uh, but now he has shoes on his feet. Perfectly clothed. And so too, my sinner friend, when you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus himself. And he will deck you with the finest of a righteous garb, not your righteousness, that's filthy rags in his sight. What he decks you with will not be subject to moth or be moth eaten. It will never deteriorate. It'll never fade because it is a pure robe, righteousness that he will give you himself. It will be his robe, and you'll wear it through the countless ages of eternity. What a God, what a savior, what a Lord. Israel, they were blinded so many times. I came to you, I cried to you, said the Lord, but you didn't listen. And one of these days, Israel, listen, when you call upon me, I will not hear. In fact, during the days of Jesus, there was a blindness, a- a temporary blindness put over Israel, even though God was pleading with Israel. They crucified the Son of God, and they said, away with him, let his blood be upon us and our children. That blindness has carried Israel for a long time. A very sad situation. Oh, my friend, listen. The alarm clock has gone off. We're still here, and we're amazed. We- we- we really find it strange that the church is still in the world. That's how near the coming of the Lord is. The famed Napoleon came across one of his guards, and the guard was fast asleep. He took the dagger from the side of the guard, and he stabbed him to death. The noise, of course, aroused the attention of others that were there, and he says, I found him asleep, and I left him like that. You don't sleep in the army of a Napoleon. He's supposed to be on watch, and so we're warned. Watchman, what of the night? What time is it? It's late. It's later than you think. God is sounding the alarm. Gospel preachers are sounding the alarm wherever they go, from place to place, broadcast, television, you name it. God is sounding out the message, the clarion of the good news of his salvation. He's, he is making it available to everybody in the world. And many are trusting, especially in the eastern part of the world tonight. Many, many are bowing the knee to Christ. And of course, there are many in the west. I do not know what's happened in Spanish wealth. I have no answer for it. I, we can only cry, we pray. There are burdened people in this island, real Christians that mean business with God, and they're praying, and they're weeping in their prayer as they call the names of the unconverted in this land. What is it going to take for God to arouse and to wake us out of sleep? How long will we be in slumber? How long will we be drowsy? How long will we, we be complacent? How long? How long? Are you waiting? Sometimes I think that sinners feel the heat of an eternal hell of ready. They only feel the heat because I know their conscience must bother them. They know the word of God, and they hear it again and again. What will it be, the reality of being lost forever? I cannot imagine it. It pains me to think that someone, even in this meeting tonight, will be lost forever. It pains me deeply, and so I preach with a sense of urgency. I cannot help it. My friend, if you, if you really think I shouldn't be preaching, then don't give me an invitation. Just say he's, he's too, he's a doomsday preacher. Write him off. He speaks a little loud sometimes. Write me off. Don't invite me. Don't bring me to the pulpit, but I cannot help it. I am burdened about your soul. Mister, if you don't care, I care for you. I weep for you, and I know Brother Riley and others in the prayer meeting, morning by morning, we could tell you about it. They're weeping. Do you want us to stop praying? Do you want us to stop weeping? We could do that, but we can't. There's something that propels us, that drives us. There's a force by the Spirit of God that causes us to, to be the way we are. We can't help it. Some of the Lord's children are up early hours of the morning, pacing the floor, crying to God. The children that are delinquent and wayward. Many of them should be, should be in this meeting tonight, should be in some church listening to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they have absolutely no interest. Business as usual, pleasure first. Tend to those things later until a crisis come, until they're crushed by one dilemma and another. But then it could be too late. Keep praying, father. Don't give up, mother. Be on that bended knee and weep before God for your children, because time is running out. High time to awake out of sleep. His return will be swift. His return will mean a shock. His return will mean suffering. The lamps will be gone out when he comes. The lamp of opportunity will be lost. The lamp of salvation will no longer be given. The lamp of the gospel witness will be over. Matthew twenty five, they all slumbered and slept, even the virgins that had oil. You notice that? What was the Lord tell? However, the narrative does say, in the end, it's mingled joy with sadness. In verse ten it said, they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. The sad part, and the door was shut. Shut. No point clamoring to that door, like the people perhaps in Noah's day that didn't believe a flood was coming. The door was shut. God shut the door of the ark, and all those people perished because of unbelief. You think it's any different today when the Spirit of God takes the gospel and the word of God and brings it to our hearts and to our consciences, and he's saying, awake, that wa- wake thou that sleepeth. It's time to act. The change, he says, and Christ shall give thee light. Wonderful thing. The present condition of the world is dark, but the gospel gives light. It's indifference in the world, but the gospel brings love. Blindness. It brings light, and it brings life, and there's a lot of blindness today. I'll use a phrase. Sometimes I think the devil is chloroforming people. You know what chloroform is, eh? That's what they give you when they operate on you to put you to sleep. I don't know if they use it today, but I know what it is to have chloroform be- for operations in the past. It just knocks you right out. Sometimes I wonder the devil is using his form of chloroform, you know. Some anesthetic. People are just asleep, fast asleep. Asleep. Luke nine thirty two, Peter, James, and John had a wonderful opportunity to actually hear Moses and Elijah and Jesus talk about Calvary, and you know they missed it. You know why? They fell asleep. You couldn't wait one hour, said Jesus, not one hour. When he came another occasion, Matthew twenty six, he says he findeth them asleep. He said the same thing to them. Indifference, you see, to his suffering. Delilah and Samson, what a classic example. When Samson finally revealed the truth of the power of his strength, and she cut off his hair. How do we find him? He was asleep on her lap, fast asleep. Samson the Philistine be upon thee. So what? I will go out at other times. And he wist not, the Spirit of God had departed from him. Probably the sad words, saddest words in the life of that man. But he was fast asleep. He lost his strength, lost his honor, and he lost his sight. Jonah, how do we find him? Disobedient, wouldn't listen to the word of God, wouldn't obey the word of God. And now here he is in a boat, a little boat, and it was rough. The men were trying to row to safety, and they couldn't. They realized that someone was the cause of this, and Jonah said, I am the cause, throw me overboard. But first it says he was fast asleep in that boat. Some people are running from God and running away, like Jonah. I hope that's not you. I hope that you're going to act upon the word of God, because Jesus said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I will never turn you aside. This could be your finest moment, could be your night. In fact, it could be your last night. I sincerely trust that you'll act upon it. Many years ago, father was so happy, had the privilege of taking his little girl out, uh, for a walk in the woods. He knew the area well. There was a clearing there, and so he leaned up against a tree and watched her jump and dance and playing with the flowers and you name it. He was enjoying it. But he fell asleep. And while he was asleep, for how long, I'm not sure, when he woke, frantic, because he didn't see his little daughter. He jumped up. The first thing came to his mind, and he shouted, oh no, no, no, can't be. And he rushed to a certain area, not far from there, a awful precipice, a cliff, very high. When he got to the edge of the cliff, he saw, uh, the poor form of his little girl down there, rushing down there to see if he could give her any kind of help, and he crying while he was trying to get down to the area. But she was dead. Dead! Why? Because he was asleep. Shall we pray? Father, as we bow in your presence, oh, how we pray that by the spirit of the Lord there will be a- an awakened sense of desire, desire to be saved, desire to, to make this night the night where they will commit themselves to thee and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, impress upon our hearts, impress upon the hearts of those that may be present, that are not saved, that they will turn to you in this hour of need and not be asleep, not be complacent, not allow the devil to chloroform them, but that they will turn to you tonight, for we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. We'd like to sing a couple of verses, two hundred and thirty one. Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf, like the binding of a sheaf, be in time. It was, I think what we'll do is just sing verse one and uh, verse three, and maybe verse four. but we'll take verse one and three, and see wh- how it goes. One and three and uh, maybe verse four. And I'm gonna ask you to stand, and again, because the alarm clock has gone off. You don't know, maybe tonight, the final night, I don't know. High time to awake. Maybe tonight. I want to give you an opportunity. Right where you are in your seat, trust the Lord Jesus Christ, but tell somebody. Come forward and let us know where we could pray and rejoice with you. People will come and rejoice with you. You don't have to come here to get saved. You could be saved right in your seat. It is only a prayer way. Lord, I'm a sinner. I know it. Save me. I thank you that you died in my place. I can't put words in your mouth, but you put your own words. Come forth and tell us about it. Or, if you're not sure, you need a little more light, little understanding, there's few here be glad to have a word with you. But we want to give you an opportunity because it's a sense of urgency. May God help you to do so, even while we sing this hymn. Shall we stand, please?