Call to Awake

I believe, friends, if we were to compare our times with the times right before George Whitefield and John Wesley appeared on the scene, when in London every fifth house was a gin house and society was falling apart at the seams, there was much debauchery and perversion in London in those days. In fact, most of the members of Parliament came to the session completely drunk and unable to conduct the affairs like they should. And my message today is called, Call to Awake, and my text can be found in the book of Joel.

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends, we'll be in Joel chapter 2 and verse 1. And let me read us a striking passage of scripture at this time, and may the Holy Spirit be pleased to attend the reading of God's holy word. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.

I really believe, friends, that if this country doesn't turn back to God, God will surely have to destroy it. When the soldiers in the camp sleep, the enemy storms in and overtakes them. The soldiers may sleep for several reasons.

They may be overconfident because of their size and stature. They may be drunk with the cloudiness of debauchery. They may be tired from too much activity.

They may be tired from too little activity. Regardless of the reason, if the camp is not guarded with watchmen, the enemy will come in with a flood of destruction. Today, in America and England, two nations once known for upholding the banner of Christ, the church sleeps.

It is a deep slumber, much akin to a stupor. The cries of the world are drowned out by the snoring church. It has put itself to sleep with much activity, activity done in the name of Christ, but without the spirit of Christ.

As the church sleeps upon soft cushions, enwrapped with silk sheets, in interrupted slumber, it is dead to the world as it lazily dreams of work accomplished, tax completed, budgets met, goals achieved, horizons broadened, planning committees planning, new members joining, money counted, new buildings built, and testimonies of success. Never before has there been more cause for alarm than now. Quiet, don't wake the baby, for she is content.

What happens when a baby is awakened? It cries, and it cries tears. In J. Sidlow Baxter's Bible, which was given to me by his widow, Isa, he made some interesting notations. In this particular Bible before me, friends, which was given to him and inscribed by Dan and Benny Zondervan in 1959, in the Gospel of Luke, Dr. Baxter made a unique connection.

In chapter 19, from verses 36 to 44, he underlines with his pen an observation relating to our topic of revival. The passage is as follows, and this is from the Berkeley version. As he went in the procession, they spread their garments on the road, and as he now approached the point of descent in the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of disciples began to be so joyful, they sang praise to God with loud acclaim for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. And he answered them, I tell you. If these kept silence, the stones would cry out.

When he came close to the city and viewed it, he wept over it, and said, If you only knew personally, even today, how you might enjoy peace, but that is now hidden from your eyes, for the time is coming to you, when your enemy shall throw up ramparts round you, and shall encircle you and besiege you from every direction, and shall level you and your children within you to the ground, and shall not leave you one stone on another, because you did not understand when you were divinely visited. J. Siddle Baxter had a unique way of marking his Bible. He would use a pen and connect passages to reveal their meaning by circling a key phrase.

Then he would draw a connecting line to the next phrase to bring out his commentary. In this particular passage, what he did leaps from the page of his Bible. He circled part of the text, the words they sang, from verse 37, and then he drew a line with his pen to verse 41 and circled the words he wept over it.

He then underlined the following, If you only knew personally, even today, how you might enjoy peace, but now that is hidden from your eyes, you did not understand when you were divinely visited. In essence, what Dr. Baxter had noted was this remarkable fact. The world goes on its merry way, oblivious to spiritual things.

Here God himself was in their midst, and they missed him. Not only that, but while they were singing and dancing and shouting praises, he was weeping. He wept over it, over the whole sad display of flesh, missing the divine purpose of redemption for humankind.

And today, while we dance and shout and praise and sing, he weeps still. Jesus Christ is weeping over his bride today, friends, because his bride has forsaken him and played the harlot with the world. God had much to say to his prophet Hosea concerning his harlot wife Gomer, who represented his people Israel.

In chapter 4 of Hosea, in verse 1, God states, There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. It was God himself presenting his case, not against the world at the time, but against his people. Think of it, no knowledge of God in the land.

How could he say that about the same people who had witnessed his mighty power and manifestation? He goes on to describe their moral and spiritual state in Hosea 6-7. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because thou hast rejected knowledge. I will also reject thee, that thou should be no priest to me, seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God.

I will also forget thy children, as they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore I will change their glory into shame. Does this not sound like America, friends? Does this not sound like this sad nation, at this sad and desperate hour? Today we know the word of God better than those before us.

We have more resources at our disposal than we had in previous generations. We have more lettered men standing in our pulpit today than ever before, but we have more men out of touch with God than ever before. We seem to have no knowledge of him, no knowledge of God.

We know the book of God, but not the God of the book. The majority of our time is spent in study, or spent in entertainments, like sports and entertainments, and we don't have a clue what it is to be holy these days. The world lies in danger, it lies in darkness, it's a powder keg ready to explode.

The church is in greater danger, for she is deep in slumber. She must hear and heed the call of God to awake. This is a call to awake.

The question is, who will heed the call? Let us pray.