Sermon Central
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Wake Up, O Church Of God
Contributed by Steaven Snow on Jan 13, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: A call to awaken to the problems of the church before they become severe
Wake Up O Church of God!
TEXT: Isaiah 52:1-6
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
I. WAKE UP!
A. From The Sleep of Complacency “We are comfortable”—Amos 6:1 “Woe to them that are at ease…”
B. From The Drowsiness of Familiarity HEZEKIAH’S SON, Manasseh. (Key Players in Hezekiah’s Blunder: Berodachbaladan, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Manasseh)
C. From the Slumber of Unconcern
II. GET DRESSED!
A. Put on Strength—Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
B. Put on Beauty in the Garments of His imputed Righteousness--Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
C. Put on Holiness--Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
III. SHAKE YOURSELF OFF!
A. From the Dust of “Little Sins”
..1. Irregular church attendance
..2. Gossip instead of prayer
..3. Lack of God’s Word
..4. Robbing God & MATERIALISM
B. From the Dirt of the World
..1. Sensual pleasures
..2. Blatant disobedience
..3. Overt & covert sins
C. From the Grime of Satan’s Deceptions
IV. SIT DOWN!
A. To Be Still Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
B. To Be Obedient King Saul’s Disobedience—“To obey is better than sacrifice”
C. To Be Taught
V. GET FREE!
A. From the Bands of Sin
B. From the Captivity of Satan
C. From The Debt of Slavery
VI. WHY?
A. We Need to Be Delivered From Our Self Imposed Slavery
B. God’s Name is Being Blasphemed
C. We Need to Know God Again
POINT: It is time for the church to get back to God before tomorrow’s battle lines are drawn too far away!
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
