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                           A Spirit of Slumber!

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By David Wilkerson
June 5, 1985
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          "According as it is written, God hath given them the
          spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and
          ears that they should not hear, unto this day" (Romans
          11:8).

          "For the Lord hath poured out upon you the Spirit of
          deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and
          your leaders, the seers hath he covered. And the vision
          of all is become unto you as the words of a book that
          is sealed" (Isaiah 29:10-11).

          One of the most heartbreaking of all Scriptures in the
          Bible is this: "Israel hath not obtained that which he
          seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the
          rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7).

          Think of it! An entire race of people spent their lives
          looking for satisfaction, rest, and fullness; and they
          never did find it. Even to this day, only a small
          remnant of Jews have found the grace and glory of the
          Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of them are blinded!

          Paul said, emphatically, "God hath given them the
          spirit of slumber." They are absolutely blind and deaf
          to the gospel! There is not an evangelist or teacher on
          earth who can penetrate their darkness! Very few of
          them are saved. Paul called them "a remnant according
          to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5).

          Paul speaks of a day when "all Israel shall be saved...
          and the Deliverer shall turn away ungodliness from
          Jacob" (Romans 11:26). I don't understand all of that,
          but I do know there are Jews dying right now--in total
          spiritual darkness about Christ--going into eternity
          under the spell of a deep sleep. They need not die in
          such blindness! Paul said, "And they also, if they
          abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is
          able to graft them in again" (Romans 11:23).

          Has it never amazed you that many heathen can hear the
          gospel once, see it clearly, accept it, and be born
          again by faith in Him?! Prostitutes, drug addicts, the
          poor, and the illiterate--all have gladly received the
          message of Christ and have been gloriously saved. They
          have been awakened! Their eyes see it--their ears hear
          it!

          Yet the Jew is under the grip of the spirit of slumber!
          A deep sleep from the Lord has fallen upon them, and
          they simply cannot understand anything that is said or
          preached about the Lord Jesus Christ!

          Did God cast them away? Did God arbitrarily cut them
          off His vine just to save Gentiles? Were they
          predestinated to such horrible blindness? Absolutely
          not! Paul make that very clear! "Because of unbelief
          they were broken off" (Romans 11:20). "But to Israel he
          saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands
          unto a disobedient and stubborn people" (Romans 10:21).

          They were the natural branches; they were those who
          should have obtained what they were looking for. They
          should have accepted Christ. They should be the
          present-day preachers of the gospel. They should be the
          ones going as missionaries to the world, preaching the
          message of Christ! They should have found what we
          Gentiles found! Jerusalem should have become the
          Christian capital of the world.

          But they stubbornly held to their unbelief! They
          refused to yield to His lordship! They said, "This man
          shall not reign over us!" They hardened their hearts
          and provoked the holy One of Israel. They tempted God,
          proved Him, and saw His mighty works, yet they
          maintained an "evil heart of unbelief." What they heard
          was not mixed with faith. They would not hold on to a
          confidence in the Lord. They were so deceived by their
          sins, they purposely hardened their hearts.

          They preferred Moses above Christ! None of them could
          enter into rest. None could find or obtain what they
          were seeking, and God grieved over them. Paul wrote,
          "So we see that they could not enter in because of
          unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19).

          What a tragedy--millions of spiritually hungry,
          searching, seeking Jews; and they cannot find what they
          are looking for. The Messiah came--He lives today--and
          they can't see Him! They can't hear Him! They are in
          the dark about Him! They are in a spiritual coma!

          But Paul is writing all this to Gentiles--Christians!
          His message really is: "Don't say, Poor blind,
          slumbering Jews! No! But rather say, Poor blind,
          slumbering saints!"

          It is clear he is warning those who are in the faith.
          He said, "Well; because of unbelief they were broken
          off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but
          fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take
          heed lest he also spare not thee" (Romans 1:20,21).
          Paul goes further and warns those in the faith of the
          severity of God. "Behold therefore the goodness and
          severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but
          toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his
          goodness: otherwise thou also shall be cut off" (Romans
          11:22).

          We hear much preaching today about the goodness of God!
          It is said, "Just believe; God is good; He wants only
          goodness and blessings for you!" Very ture--but that is
          only half the gospel. The other half of the gospel is
          this: God is very severe with those who harden their
          hearts through unbelief!

          There are those who preach, "Once in the vine, always
          in the vine! Once you are in, you can never be cut off
          again!" But what does the Word say? "Toward thee,
          goodness--if thou continue in His goodness. Otherwise,
          thou shalt be cut off. For if God spared not the
          natural branches, take heed lest He spare not thee."

          Let every drunken, sodden, adulterous Baptist hear it
          loud and clear! Let every lukewarm, backslidden
          Pentecostal open his ears! Let all playboy Christians
          hear it: "Take heed, lest He spare not thee!"

          They come to our street rallies, staggering out of
          bars, harlots draped over their shoulders, deacons and
          elders--some of them yelling, "Praise the Lord!" They
          stand up to us and reply, "We are saved! We love Jesus!
          We reckon ourselves dead with Christ. Jesus paid it
          all! See you in heaven!" So they stumble down the
          street, eyes full of adultery, minds closed, eyes
          closed, ears closed--going to hell in a deep sleep!

          Some preacher has made them believe they are going to
          be redeemed because, way back, they prayed a little
          prayer and made a public confession; but then they went
          back to their old ways. No power on earth can wake them
          up. They have been blinded by the deceitfulness of sin!
          They are under the spell of the spirit of slumber.

          I listen to street harlots, smiling in my face with a
          trick on their arms, boasting to me, "I am saved! I am
          just as holy as you are! Jesus loves me just as I am! I
          am on my way to glory!" And I say to myself, "What kind
          of blindness is this? How can one like this actually
          believe such a lie?" Then I realize they are asleep, in
          a spiritual coma, under the spell of a strong delusion!

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              I. I am more concerned about the deep sleep that
              is falling upon believers in the house of God!

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          In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus said, "They
          all slumbered and slept" (Matthew 25:5). This suggests
          the whole church is asleep just prior to the Lord's
          return! All of them--asleep! The majority will be
          "caught unaware."

          When the midnight cry was made, all ten virgins awoke
          and went out to meet the bridegroom! Five of them had
          lamps that were going out! Those words send a chill up
          my spine--lamps going out! A fire that is dying! A
          vessel in which there is no more oil! The anointing is
          gone! A lamp that once burned so brightly--going out!
          At midnight, with Jesus' coming at the door--going
          black, dark, empty! No joy, no faith, no confidence, no
          leading or convicting of the Holy Spirit! What it means
          is: The glory of the Lord is departing from some in
          this midnight hour!

          Preachers who used to thunder with unction and
          anointing are now squatting in front of the TV idol,
          getting fat and lazy, with no word from God, no fresh
          unction! Their lamp is going out! They are asleep!

          Christians who once were on fire for God, once full of
          love and joy in Jesus, once looking for His return--are
          now drifting, cold, full of doubt and fear. They are
          half asleep, but will soon fall into a deep sleep! They
          once had the glory of God, the power of the Holy Ghost.
          But now, their lamps are dim and dying! They now have
          adultery in their hearts; they play hard; they eat and
          drink; they act religious, but their hearts now grow
          cold and a hardness is setting in.

          Look at the wise virgins with their lamps ablaze. They
          are full of Holy Ghost fervor and excitement, and they
          are going out singing, marching into the marriage
          supper! Their eyes are only on their Beloved and they
          are ready to leave this wicked world.

          But look at the foolish ones--weeping, rushing about,
          trying to regain the fire! They are rushing about in
          circles, begging, pleading, "Somebody, help me! Oil--I
          need oil! My lamp is going out!"

          I look at multitudes in God's house half asleep on to
          Lord, and I must warn loud and clear: Your lamp is
          going out! You have just a spark left! You are
          spiritually empty! You need a fresh baptism of the Holy
          Ghost! You are living on an old anointing! It isn't
          enough! You need more! You are in real danger of
          missing the marriage supper! You will be outside in the
          dark and He will say, "Depart, I don't know you!"

          If we took God at His word, we would not be so lazy and
          half-hearted! We would not live another minute in doubt
          and unbelief! I don't fear the Devil and all the forces
          of hell as much as I fear God's curse of a spirit of
          slumber! I take it like it's written, "God hath given
          them the spirit of slumber... For the Lord hath poured
          out upon you the spirit of deep sleep... You are blind,
          deaf; the word is sealed up."

          I refuse to shrug off this awesome warning to the
          people of God! These were God's people--an unbelieving,
          rebellious, doubting people of the Lord; and God put
          them into a spiritual coma.

          I've seen Christians who are living under that deep
          sleep from the Lord. Their favorite expression is, "I
          don't see it! I just don't understand! I'm not
          convicted! I don't feel anything." They are empty; they
          have no zeal, no fire, no commitment! They coast along!
          They are drifting with the spirit of this wicked age.

          You can preach like Paul to them; they can sit through
          precious Bible studies; they can be around other
          Christians who are growing in the Lord--but they go
          nowhere! They simply shrug it all off. They don't
          believe it's necessary to change anything in their
          lives. They are not hearing what God is saying! They
          have rejected the Lord's Word for so long, they have
          wallowed in fear and unbelief for so long, they have
          complained and griped so much, they have lived for so
          long all to themselves--they are falling into a
          spiritual coma! Soon they will be numbered by the
          spirit of slumber. They will go around in a deep sleep
          and not even know it! They are deaf, blind, and dumb to
          the things of God!

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               II. A spirit of slumber leads to two hopeless
                                 conditions
             --an inescapable trap and an everlasting burden!

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          "And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and
          a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto
          them... and bow down their back always" (Romans
          11:9,10).

          Paul quotes David from Psalm 69:22, "Let their table
          become a snare before them: and that which should have
          been for their welfare, let it become a trap." David
          said, "Thou preparest table before me in the presence
          of mine enemies" (Psalm 23:5).

          The table of the Lord represents worship; blessings of
          His Word; all that is intended to comfort us, make us
          grow, build us up, and make us rejoice! It is the house
          of God, good Christian friends, His holy Word, and the
          presence of the Holy Ghost! It is all part of the table
          He spreads!

          "Let it be a trap--a stumblingblock." It is almost
          unspeakable--too awful to contemplate--but so true that
          those who are overcome by this deep sleep, the curse
          upon their stubborn unbelief, enter a trap every time
          they get near the table of the Lord. For them, walking
          into God's house is walking into a trap! Being in God's
          holy presence is a stumblingblock!

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                           Here Is How It Works

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          Every message now only hardens them. It is just another
          layer of hardness piled upon layer after layer of
          hardnesses, caused by other meetings and other messages
          sent from God! None of it registers!

          While they sing, they dig their graves even deeper. God
          called and called, so often, so long--and they rejected
          it all. Now they are trapped. They fear going back to
          the Devil. They know there is nothing for them back in
          sin, but neither is there anything for them in God's
          house at His table. It bores them. They go through the
          motions, but they are trapped in a spiritual vacuum!

          They are trapped in a lukewarm, no-win situation. They
          enjoy nothing. They can't enjoy the company of true
          saints. They simply endure worship. But they are just
          as miserable outside God's house! They are
          uncomfortable with both crowds. And because they are
          neither hot, nor cold--but trapped in lukewarmness--God
          will spew them out of His mouth. "So then because thou
          art lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spew
          thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16).

          I wonder why some even go to church. They don't enter
          in; they get very little out of it, and if they are in
          a deep sleep, nothing in God's house can help them.
          They are dead! They are like the man in the
          hospital--totally paralyzed, yet able to hear every
          word but unable to move--lost in coma!

          Every time the church doors open, multitudes walk right
          in, week after week, sitting there trapped! They are
          the walking dead! That which should have been for their
          welfare has become a trap! They should be getting
          blessed; they should go away comforted; they should be
          encouraged and set aflame! Instead, it adds to their
          sorrow! They become spiritual zombies--walking in their
          sleep.

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                       "Bow Down Their Back Always"

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          David goes on to explain what this heavy burden is that
          bows them down. "Let their habitation be desolate"
          (Psalm 69:25). Let their homes be a place of emptiness,
          weariness, and joylessness! Let them become places of
          grief, misery, and ruin. Nothing could be worse than to
          be trapped in the house of God and in a home that is a
          desert--a place without love, peace, or happiness. When
          will the church wake up and recognize that the
          desolation in Christian homes is the result of a
          complaining, unbelieving, lukewarm spirit?!

          The home becomes a burden; it is no longer a place of
          refreshing and joy, but a place of death and gloom!
          That is why multitudes of Christian couples merely
          exist. They are in a deep sleep! A spirit of slumber
          has endangered their homes and they are trapped both in
          church and at home!

          David adds, "Let none dwell in their tents" (Psalm
          69:25). There is such gloom there in that home, such
          desolation, no one will want to enter or stay there.
          Finally, a husband or wife leaves, and it ends up
          closed down--shut up! Up goes the "For Sale" sign. "Let
          them no longer live in that home! Let their habitation
          be desolate!"

          I look about and I see empty, bored Christians sitting
          in God's house, trapped. Then I see their messed up
          homes, their sadness and lack of joy, their existing
          from day to day--and my heart cries out, "My God, how
          severe! How tragic! What horrible judgment You pour out
          upon the lukewarm and the doubting!" Then I ask myself,
          "Why can't they see it? Why won't they wake up and
          shake themselves before they are hopelessly lost in
          that terrifying deep sleep from the Lord?"

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                III. God's Word promises a mass resurrection
             of believers from the dead - in these last days!

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          God took Ezekiel into a valley full of dry bones, and
          there gave him a revelation about what the Holy Spirit
          is going to do before Christ returns.

          "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out
          in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst
          of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to
          pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very
          many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry"
          (Ezekiel 37:1,2).

          What a vivid picture of the church right now--one big
          valley of very dry, very dead, bleached bones. "And he
          said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I
          answered, O Lord God, thou knowest" (Ezekiel 37:3).
          That is the question the Holy Spirit now puts to all
          godly shepherds--all true men and women of God! "Do you
          see how dead and dry My people are? Do you see death as
          far as the eye can see? Do you see evidence of life? Is
          there a sign of Holy Ghost breath anywhere? Do you
          believe that I can change all that? Do you believe I
          can breathe once again by My Spirit and raise up an
          army of live, vibrant worshippers?"

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                       "Don't Give Up On My Church!"

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          God is saying, "Don't give up on my church!" There is a
          great shaking coming, a great breathing of God's holy
          breath! New life is coming! An army of resurrected
          saints, once dead, are now being raised in power!

          "Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and
          say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the
          Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold,
          I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall
          live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up
          flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath
          in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am
          the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:4-6).

          It's a day of judgment and destruction of this nation.
          The wicked and the violent will be cast down. But it is
          also a day of resurrection! It is a day of revival--a
          time of Holy Ghost activity.

          "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I
          prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking,
          and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when
          I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon
          them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no
          breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the
          wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus
          saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath,
          and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I
          prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into
          them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, and
          exceeding great army" (Ezekiel 37:7-10).

          "O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to
          come up out of your graves... And I will put my spirit
          in you, and ye shall live" (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

          This is a dual prophecy from God; first, to Jewish
          Israel--and second, to Israel of faith--the believers.

          An exceeding great army is going to come walking out of
          their graves! Spiritual Lazaruses, ripping off grave
          clothes and breathing new life, will walk out of the
          valley of dry bones and join the ranks of the
          overcomers! Many who have been in that deep sleep,
          bound by the grave clothes of a spirit of slumber, will
          be breathed upon by the Holy Ghost and will spring to
          life!

          We are instructed in this passage to call upon the Holy
          Spirit to come and breathe! The prayer of all who walk
          with God should be, "Come, Holy Spirit, awaken the
          dead. Awaken the slumbering; open their graves; bring
          them up and out of death and dryness--to new life!"

          If the the Spirit of God be in you, you will live! He
          is the Spirit of life. There can be no death nor
          slumber where He abides!

          The remnant is "an exceeding great army." If only
          one-tenth of the world's present population will be
          saved, that is one-half billion redeemed! It is a
          remnant only as compared to the great numbers of the
          unbelieving and damned.

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                          Get Ready to Be Shaken

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          Are you dead? Dry? Get ready to be shaken! Get ready to
          be re-made, worked over! Get ready to be visited by the
          breath of almighty God! You have an appointment; you
          are chosen to live, to get out of your grave! God will
          say to you, "Live!" And you will rise up--and live!
          That is, you will live if you respond to the mighty
          breathing of the Spirit upon you.

          Saints of God, O holy remnant--rejoice! The wind of God
          is blowing! The breath of almighty God will rattle the
          gates of hell and send every demon into shock as the
          spiritual graves open and as those who have been very
          dry for so long come out of their bondage and become
          alive to holiness and worship in spirit and truth.

          As certainly as Satan could not keep Christ in the
          grave, he can neither hinder nor stop this great
          awakening from the dead in God's house! Just before
          judgment falls, He will breathe upon all flesh in even
          greater power. The remnant will respond, rise, and walk
          in new resurrection life!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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