An Amazing Fact: Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a troubling condition in which a person arises in a state of virtual unconsciousness and performs various activities. These actions can be as harmless as sitting up in bed, wandering the home, and cleaning—or as hazardous as driving, starting fires, and even walking into traffic. The person’s eyes might also be open but have a glassy “look right through you” expression.
“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” —1 Thessalonians 5:6
It was one of the longest days of my life.
I had worked all morning in a rustproofing factory ... and that evening I began a new job as a security guard. My eight-hour security shift began at midnight at a large construction site in downtown Boston.
Within the first hour I was already fighting to stay awake. There were stacks of expensive building materials and tools that the builders were counting on me to protect. First I turned up a transistor radio in the guard shack to stay awake. Then I tried walking around. By 3:00 a.m. the streets were abandoned; it seemed like the whole world was asleep except me. Just before dawn was the hardest time ... I had to slap myself to stay awake even while walking!
Now sleep is a good thing. We all need it. But dozing at the wrong time—like while driving a car—can be dangerous and even deadly.
And as we enter a new year, I’m concerned that many Christians might be sleepwalking at the very dawn of the second coming!
No Time to Sleepwalk
Jesus told us to guard against spiritual slumber: “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master ... is coming; in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning; lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:35–37).
We live in perilous times. As a nation, we are fighting terror abroad and at home. Families are struggling to stay together while the very institution of marriage is being challenged in our courts. We have a government paralyzed by partisan gridlock, apparently powerless to revive our anemic economy.
Against the backdrop of these concerns, God’s church is virtually sleepwalking right through a treasure of tremendous evangelistic opportunities! Jesus warned us this would happen: “While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:5).
What’s urgently needed today is genuine revival—a powerful, clarion blast of the Holy Spirit that wakes us up and guides us back to the road of real Christ-like living and a greater love for the lost ... especially now when His return is so near. “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).
Can I ask you to join Amazing Facts in prayer to prepare the way for a true REVIVAL?
The Fruit of Real Revival
What is the evidence for genuine revival? It is heartfelt repentance and reformation: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him” (Isaiah 55:7).
- When the church comes together to pray sincerely and fervently...
- When separated brethren forgive each other...
- When strained marriages are healed and restored...
- When people give sacrificially to see the lost saved...
- When God’s people exhibit primitive holiness, and a hunger for the Word…
... then you have a revival!
So I’m praying earnestly for real revival, for me and for you. And I believe God can use us together to bring it about if we will sincerely pray.
Raising Our Sails
Of course, no man can tell God when to schedule the moving of His Spirit, but we can raise our sails so we are ready when the wind blows.
That’s why in addition to our evangelistic outreach, Amazing Facts has always sought to prompt ongoing revival among God’s people.
Through our satellite broadcasts, such as Oh for Revival and Drawing Near, our weekly Sabbath School and church services, and the deep spiritual emphasis in all of our AFCOE programs, Amazing Facts has always made revival a priority.
Why? What good is it to do public evangelism and bring new believers into sleeping churches?
But in 2011 we want to do more—and you can be part of this movement.
This year, we’ll emphasize personal revival through our new AFTV channel, on radio and Internet programs, and also through evangelism training and publishing.
Now, it costs us about $25 per minute to broadcast a national program on a major network. That means for just one hour of life-renewing revival across America, it costs $1,500. But when you consider the thousands of people who see these national broadcasts and how many lost sheep it reaches, I’m telling you it’s worth every penny.
And let me be upfront with you. January is often a thin month financially even though we are as busy in January working for souls as every other month. But Jesus wants and needs us. Let’s not sleepwalk now; the bridegroom is coming!
Thank you for your support of revival ... and please let us know that you’ll stand with us in 2011 by sending a sacrificial gift today and assuring us of your prayers.
Yours for REAL revival,
Pastor Doug Batchelor
Read more at www.amazingfacts.org
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