Awake, Asleep or Drunk

The first time I watched "The Matrix," I was utterly shaken by the scene where Neo wakes up from his slumber to find himself hooked up to a matrix designed to steal power from human bodies while the occupants "lived" in a dream state.  Neo is also shaken by awakening into what is reality for this movie.  The vast majority of the people in his world are sleeping while only a handful are truly awake.  Once awakened, he knows he can never return to the dream state again.  He also knows he must stop the evil powers that be who created the matrix to steal, kill and destroy.

For many days following my viewing of this movie, I asked myself, "What if this isn't too far off the mark?  What if we are all sleep walking through life yet truly believing we are fully living?  What if there's an evil power that seeks to keep us deceived for the duration of our days here in order to use us and later destroy us?"  I eventually shrugged these questions off reconfirming to myself that I was awake and I was aware of the times.  After all, I was a Christian.  I "knew" The Truth.

Perhaps that movie and those questions were God trying to awaken my heart to Him but I wasn't ready to wake up yet for I didn't even realize I was asleep.  Samuel's cancer diagnosis marked the beginning of my awakening to the "matrix" of our reality.   Samuel's many crises were the starting point of questioning what people blindly accept as "medicine" and "treatment."  Questioning what people blindly accept as "quality of life."  And ultimately, questioning which people we were forced to deal with might actually live their lives with the sense of accountability to God.  Sadly, we found there weren't many.  Even fewer when we decided to go against the "norm."   Samuel's lifetime of ailments forced me to answer this question daily, "Who will you listen to?  Whose advice will you take?  God or these doctors?"  Sadly, we learned several lessons the hard way listening to doctors.  The harsh lessons were compounded because Samuel had to bear them out.   There were many painful events in those four years that shook me awake to the evils of this world that I will never be able to close my eyes to again, much less forget.  But the culminating awakening did not even fully begin until the day Samuel went to Heaven.  It was from that day forward, that my heart of stone became softened enough to allow God to fully penetrate into every aspect of my life.  Looking back over the last several years, I feel immense gratitude to God for waking me up to Him before it was too late, and at the same time, immense shame at my sinfulness if it took the suffering and death of my own son to do so.  Certainly, there were many other events in my life before Samuel even existed that should have woke me up, but if they did, it wasn't long before I was back into my own dream state again.  Like Neo, I've seen the truth.  I've seen the stark reality of this world and I can never go back to the dream state.  And like Neo, I cannot just sit idly by while people live their lives deceived.

The Bible categorizes those living in the last days (that's everyone after Christ's ascension) into three groups.  First, those who are awake in Christ.  Second, those who are sleeping, not yet dead, but close.  And finally, those who are drunk.  Christians usually fall into one of the first two categories.  Being awake in Christ means you are about the Father's business while waiting for the return of the Lord.  Awake means aware of the signs of the times and warning others.  The sleeping "Christian" always has one foot in the world and spend their lives here consumed with their personal gain using religion when it best serves their interests.  Or something bad happens.  These are also referred to as lukewarm, worldly and Laodicean. I put Christian in quotes on these because Jesus says in Revelation 3 that they will be vomited out of his mouth.  Read - rejected.   The third category is reserved for those who are NOT Christians.  They are drunk and not just on liquor.  Drunk because they misread the signs of the times and deceive others into thinking everything is fine when it's not.  While the sleepers are either ignorant or in denial thinking God will just take care of their every need because they are so righteous, the drunks live in the moment never comprehending or considering what tomorrow will bring.  Eat, drink and be merry for tomrrow we die is their motto. 

How can a person look at the travail in the world today and believe everything is fine except they be drunk?  Oh, I forgot, it's just global warming.  Let's go a little greener and it'll all be okay.  If you believe that, you're drunk.  Or in denial.  Or ignorant.  Any direction, you're in trouble.  It's not global warming, it is God warning.  It is God trying to awaken us before it is too late.  It is a call to repentance for sin and how sinful are we if we do not realize what is going on here?  There are so many Biblical accounts of disaster falling upon Israel and their leaders stopping to question how these things came about.  Wise leaders realized it was the sin of the nation and thus turned from their sins as did the entire nation.  They repented and God healed their nation.  But today, no leader stops to consider the multitudes of disasters happening worldwide and what they might mean or be leading to.  Isaiah 9 talks about the Lord cutting off the head and the tail of Israel.  The head is the leadership and the tail is the prophets; both are leading the people astray with a false sense of confidence while their nation is being destroyed.  That is why God chose to destroy both.  Are we not in the same boat with our leaders and many "prophets."  If we don't see it, we are asleep or drunk. 

The writing is on the wall just as it was in Daniel's time.  (Daniel 5).  Repent or perish.  Your days are in fact numbered.  Unprecedented disasters are falling worldwide but for those Laodiceans who like to pass judgement on others, this is what Jesus says to you.   In Luke 13, Jesus is told that Pilate murdered some Galileans and offered their blood to false gods.  His answer?  “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  Jesus then goes on to tell them of another catastrophe they know nothing about to further this point.  "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”


Matthew 24 speaks of a time of unprecedented disaster and lawlessness.  It is opened by the disciples asking Him when He will return to establish His Kingdom on Earth.  While His first visit to Earth was in peace to sacrifice Himself for our sins,  His second coming will be in judgement of those who refused Him.  Judgement on a world that will not repent of it's sin.  A world that no longer even acknowledges sin.  A world drunk on lust, fame and fortune.  Are we there yet? 

In Matthew 24: 37-39, Jesus says, "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."

God's words to Ezekiel in Chapter 3 are also for Christians who are awake and about the Father's business today. 

 After seven days the Lord spoke his word to Ezekiel. He said, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me. Suppose I tell you that wicked people will surely die, but you don’t warn them or speak out so that they can change their wicked ways in order to save their lives. Then these wicked people will die because of their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But suppose you warn the wicked people, and they don’t turn from their wicked ways. Then they will die because of their sin, but you will save yourself. If righteous people turn from living the right way and do wrong, I will make them stumble, and they will die. If you don’t warn them, they will die because of their sin, and the right things they did will not be remembered. I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will certainly live because they listened to the warning. You will save yourself.”

How serious are we? Do we REALLY believe in Him and His promises?  In Matthew 25, the parable of the ten virgins gathered together waiting for the bridegroom's return, we are told that 5 are foolish and 5 are wise.  The wise brought their lamps with oil to keep them lit while the foolish brought their lamps but no oil.   In this parable, the virgins represent the professing Christians of the last days while the bridegroom is Jesus.  All the virgins fall asleep because the bridegroom is delayed in coming but when the cry goes out a midnight that He is coming, they all wake up, trim their lamps and attempt to light them.  The wise who had oil have no problem. The foolish, the ones who were lukewarm, who never fully believed He would come, probably never believe in Him at all, just there for appearances, cannot light their lamps.  They ask the wise to share their oil but being wise they know they do not have enough and they are NOT missing this opportunity to be with Jesus so they refuse.  I find it almost comical that they tell the foolish Laodiceans (who trust in their riches more than God) to go buy some oil....at midnight.  As if.  Note that the oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which cannot be bought but the foolish ones went out to see if they could buy it anyway.  They return, and it is not stated if they have oil or the time, to bid Jesus to let them come to the Marriage Supper only to hear Jesus say, "I don't know you."  So again, I ask, how serious are we?  Do we really believe He in which we speak? 

In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus says “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."




"The Matrix" wasn't far off the mark.  There is an evil power, Satan,  deceiving many, out to steal, kill and destroy.  It's time to wake up, sober up and come to our senses and repent - now.  Today.  It may be that it's too late for our nation, but it's not too late for you and me.