Awake with Tears

July 7, 2004

Personal Narrations

Joel Akin

Calgary, Alberta

What will it take to awake us from our sleep? What will it take for us to recognize the price we must pay? Over the last few years God has spoken to me clearly about someone I love in a multitude of dreams. Those dreams show terrible things happening to this person. They have become a burden to me as I have prayed and sought God with great weeping. And as I pray with tears God will again show me a dream revealing the plan Satan had for this person was thwarted once again. This has happened almost half a dozen times and each time I go to this person and try to make strong hints about the need for a closer walk with Christ. Yet despite all my tears God has made one thing clear. That they have a will and a choice to make and sooner or later the only thing that will protect them is their own passion for Him.

Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Jesus understood the need to pray for those you love and he prayed that Simon's faith would not fail. For Christ saw a time when that failure would come, but after the dark night of winter would come a light shining into Simon Peters life.

 It is those dark nights of winter that affects us all. For some the seasons are short and quickly over but for others the winters are long and dreary and never seem to have an end. It is during these long dark hours that it is so easy to slumber and to grow weary. The church today has reached this place. Perhaps one reason is when God seems silent from heaven then we find ways to fill in the blanks. God begins to take second place to the work we do for Him. We begin to build a rut and don't even realize it.

 Simon Peter, in later years, must have remembered those words of Christ, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Why? Why be concerned about something like that? Another way to use the word strengthen is to encourage, lift or build up in the faith. Because like Peter all of us go through battles in our lives and perhaps one of the greatest is coming under a spirit of complacency. In North America we have submitted to the god of comfort. Many of us sit in front of the TV for hours, or we spend it with people conversing about everything but God. Christians get together and they talk about God but when you really listen you realize the conversation is often about the church, the next meetings, gossip, trouble with the brethren and so on.

  I love reading Science Fiction books. This admission has gotten me into trouble more then once from those trying to set me free in the church. I asked God recently why I enjoyed reading Sci-Fi so much. His answer intrigued me "Because it is prophecy." I realized for the first time in my life that Science Fiction is prophecy written by men. Yet what fascinates me even more is the prophecy written in the scriptures. Also written by men but inspired of the Holy Spirit. Growing up how many Science Fiction prophets were there proclaiming the return of the Lord. It was 1977, no it was 1981, then 1987 and 1993 and 1999 or 2000 and then 2001. And now after all these years we have grown weary of the Science Fiction prophecies so that we pretty much reject people even talking about it. Try to bring it up today and you'll have pastors tell you its no longer a priority.

2 Peter 3:4 Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Strengthen the brethren! Awake them from their slumber and from the long dark nights of winter. We have fallen asleep and we don't even know it. We have fallen prey to gods of complacency and comfort. We no longer know how to help those who are asleep and those asleep do not wish to awake. Its time that we brought back divinely inspired prophecies and prophets into the church. Its time that we listen for Gods voice. If it takes desperation then let it be with tears.

God awake me from my slumber. Awake us from our sleep lest we be found not ready when you return.