Wake Up thou that Slumber and Sleep
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give the light”.
OPENING: - This scripture literally refers to a spiritual awakening from the state of sin and spiritual death into the newness of life that is offered in Jesus Christ. It is the promise that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we become spiritually awake, we develop clarity, truth, and guidance. We are able to walk with a new point of view, we should be able to live our lives wisely, to walk circumspectly, not as fools, to live with understanding, compassion, empathy because the days are evil and we have been changed.
We should be encouraged to walk in this newness of life affecting others by leading them to Christ so they can be transformed and awaken from the spiritual slumber, death, and separation.
The issue is because of differing opinions, personal interpretations, certain ideologies, theories, beliefs, then prejudices, ignorance, the political climate and a plethora of many other barriers and obstacles we have all the different aspects of society. There was a time when these things along with the people is what made the world go round at least that is what the song says.
This week was yet another horrific week in America and it was capitalized by the assassination (sacrifice) of Charlie Kirk. I wasn’t going to mention it but after seeing all the post I felt I had to just give a little what I felt God place in my spirit concerning about the whole situation.
First, there is never a cause for a person to be killed for making a statement, that literally is the freedom of speech, and everyone has the right to their opinion, and everyone has and is entitled to their opinion.
I personally did not agree with anything Charlie Kirk ever said but that was his opinion, his beliefs, and that is what he was entitled to and he did not deserve to be killed for it. I don’t agree with the rhetoric of the politicians, the president, and of course the radicals that want to start a Civil War in some kind of retaliation against something they incited in the first place, but the saying is true “The chickens have come home to roost and the reactions coming from them is well expected.
The issue I have is with the so-called Christians, the so-called Children of God, the so-called Holy Ghost Filled, Tongue Talking, Baptized believers that know how to worship with uplifted hands and cry rivers of tears yet cannot show LOVE to their neighbor, which is the second commandment and like the first commandment to love the Lord thy God with all the heart, soul, and mind.
To see the preachers, pastors, apostles, evangelist get online, FB, and other media platforms and say how great of a Christian and a Man of God he was and how his values where so inline with the Word of God and he would have made a good president someday and he represents the values of God and America, it really causes you to question just exactly are they calling Christian values. He was a Christian Nationalist that believed, black people were inferior, received what they got only through affirmative action and hand out, that slavery wasn’t that bad and black people benefited from slavery at least they didn’t commit so many crimes. He said racist, sexist things about black people, women, about diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a so-called Christian his stand on empathy goes totally against the TRUE UNADULTERATED WORD OF GOD, not the manipulated, twisted. Slave bible that was used to keep a people hood-winked and bamboozled for centuries with a bunch of made up lies and untruths.
Charlie was an expert, like so many Christian Nationalist, Evangelicals, and so-called Christians today that know how to use the key words like Revival, conservative Christian, and restore Christian morality and cause people to think they are anointed, operating in the spirit and fully Holy. Sure, like so many others today he possessed a strategic mix of evangelical fervor, Mormon pragmatism, and Catholic appreciation and that made it seem as though he and others like him are totally spiritual and walking in the true and righteous pathways of God. WATCH THIS: - What most people are sleep to and totally unaware of is that some of the Mormon beliefs were based on the fact that slavery was ordained by God and the abolishment of it were against the decrees of God. The Catholic church was notorious in the manipulation of scripture to ease their conscience and make slavery work for them. The evangelicals with their emphasis on baptism and immediate conversion would convince the slave that baptism was necessary while assuring the slave master that their actions were justified in the eyes of God. It is this form of Christianity that stills runs America and is trying to become the America of today and this is the Christianity Charlie Kirk was promoting, this is the emphasis and driving force behind the whole MAGA movement not a Christianity that understood and maintained Love the lord thy God with all thy heart soul and mind and love thy neighbor as thyself.
Understand political violence is not acceptable at all, if you hate political violence when it attacks your side but laugh and joke about it when it hits the others side you are not against political violence, I don’t care how much of a so-called Christian you claim to be, you are nothing more than being self-interested as long as your views are maintained or agreed with. When you open the door to political violence or anything it is impossible to close it to something else. The door has been open for a long time, especially let’s say since January 2025. The pardon’s of the January 6 rioters, the lack of remorse for the attack on Paul Pelosi the husband of Nancy Pelosi, the asinine decisions to reshape federal agencies, the destruction of the DEI, the rollback of the affordable care act, the messing with Medicare, Medicaid, social security, the turning of the National Guard on (BLACK) American cities, the demolishment of the department of education, the abolishment of Black History Museums, the murder of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark that were shot and killed in their home in a political assassination, yet the president to this day has to comment or give condolences to such an awful tragedy, the arson of the Governor of Philadelphia home. Then with supposedly presidential righteous indignation wants to declare that anyone that speaks against or negatively towards Charlie Kirk needs to have charges brought against them.
As I said I don’t want to down grade the death of Charlie Kirk, I did not agree with him, but do not believe he deserved to be killed for his views as I don’t believe anyone should be killed for their views. I will say it is time for those of us that call ourselves Christians, not because we go to a certain church or believe a certain sect of denominational rules, but those that truly Love the Lord thy God with all their heart, soul, and mind. And Love their neighbors themselves. They are not victims of the hardening of the heart like so much of our culture today. The ones that truly understand and strive to walk in the unadulterated truth and Love of God
In our text the Apostle Paul urges us to imitate Christ, which involves living a godly life and avoiding sinful deeds, it is not just saying I am a Christian because I believe Jesus died for me James 2:19 says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble”. It’s more than saying it with your mouth, it’s more than knowing a few of the catch phrases, you can’t just say there is a revival coming, you need to be the catalyst of change and not just the smoke screen of propaganda.
Light always symbolizes the truth of God’s Word. This light will always expose the evil deeds of people, revealing their real nature, exposing their desires, and bring to the forefront the hidden agendas. Therefore the command to “wake up, thou that sleep” it is a general call to everyone to turn from sin and accept Jesus Christ and becoming capable of attaining the Word of God with clarity and discernment.
Wake up is a warning to remain vigilant and aware of God’s truth and not the manipulation and twisted lies that so many are spreading today. We are to possess the light that brings clarity and transformation and not be so entangled with the affairs of this world where we are duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled, by lies, tricks, manipulations, and any other wiles of the devil.
Instead of indulging in the deeds of darkness we once engaged in, instead of being fooled by political rhetoric, instead of falling for lies, and deceptions we need to expose them and show them for what they really are wiles and tricks of the adversary to cause division, hatred, bitterness, separation, and death.
Romans 13:11-12 says, “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 armour of light”. There are two things we must understand: - First, our call to wake up serves as a call to awaken to God’s truth through the power of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. Second, it emphasizes the necessity and importance to live sober, vigilant, godly lives so that we can stand against the wiles of the adversary in all matters of forms, shapes, political dressings, religious propaganda, manipulated lies, modern day sheets and hoods
CLOSING: - Listen, the important thing we need to understand from this whole incident this week is Grief. Grief is the unspoken language that does not care about political, racial, social, economical divides, spiritual differences, or personal opinions it comes, and it hits everyone regardless of status, pedigree, race, gender, religious affliction. It will make the strong weak, the mighty lowered, the arrogant humbled.
He had a family, his kids are around the age of our grandkids, and they don’t understand nothing more than daddy is gone and they don’t understand why. So, we must pray for the family that the kids will be ok, but most of all that people wake up from the sleep and realize the True Unadulterated Word of God and start living in it accordingly.
Most people claiming to be followers of Christ and calling themselves Christians are Gentiles and have turned the religion of the bible on its ear by manipulating scripture, twisting it to fit their agenda, promote hate, racism prejudices of all kinds and try to turn it into the biblical Christian message.
Understand spiritual slumber is one of the greatest dangers a believer can face, because we become unaware of the times, insensitive to God’s voice, the tricks that are used against us at every turn making us vulnerable to the enemy. We must wake up from the sleep of manipulation, lies, untruths, prejudice, racism, hatred and rise into the divine purpose God has for us.
So, I want to end with this let us pray for those that are hit with grief from the tragic events that took place on Wednesday and long before that. Let us pray that the division that are being used to utterly destroy us as a nation, as a people, are themselves destroyed and we can come together in unity and Love regardless of political, spiritual, racial, economic or any other differences.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
