Wake Up Church: From Spiritual Snooze to Revival

A clear call rings out for a new year: live fully awake. The theme is urgency, not anxiety; hope, not hurry. Using Romans 13:11-12, the charge is to wake from spiritual slumber, put aside the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light. This is not about managing a few habits—it is a spiritual awakening. Alarms are not punishment; they are preparation for a new day. In the same way, a 21-day fast functions as an alarm clock for the soul—to rouse hunger for God’s presence, power, and purpose.

The times demand discernment. Scripture’s word for “time” here is kairos—a divine appointment, not a calendar square. Many are awake physically but asleep spiritually: moving, serving, scrolling, yet numb. Spiritual sleep is not mostly laziness, but loss of sensitivity—a faded fire. The enemy doesn’t need to destroy what he can distract, and distraction is often baptized as busyness. Awareness is the doorway to awakening: notice where the heart has grown dull, where small compromises or endless noise have thinned desire. Even well-meaning inputs can deform theology if left unexamined—so guard what forms the soul and the souls of children.

Awakening also requires recognizing darkness. Long exposure to dimness makes the dim feel normal. Like miners rescued from underground who needed sunglasses at the surface, eyes accustomed to darkness find true light initially painful. That pain is grace. Conviction is not condemnation; it is invitation. God reveals to replace—exposure is for healing, transformation, and newness.

The next move is obedience: put on the light. No one enters battle in pajamas; purity, prayer, and obedience are how the church dresses for the day. Revival never begins in the crowd; it begins in the mirror. Fasting is not a ritual but a reset, not deprivation but disruption. The horizon changes before the landscape does—the sunrise arrives before the world looks different. That is the felt shape of awakening: warmth returns, silence starts to sing, what was numb begins to feel.

Finally, the response is tangible. Awakening is also a funeral to comfort. The call is to courage, to carry the cross, to move when it costs something. Those who responded were urged to fill the fast with Scripture and prayer—not merely subtract food, but add communion with God. Opposition will come, but grace is stronger. The day is at hand. Wake up.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Wake up to God’s kairos time Awareness of God’s present movement is the threshold of renewal. This isn’t about managing a schedule; it’s discerning a divine moment and refusing the snooze of distraction. Awakening begins when the heart names the season and rises to meet it. God is moving now—respond while the window is open. [35:33]
• 2. Spiritual sleep is subtle numbness Most souls don’t collapse; they drift. Noise, exhaustion, small compromises, and doing for God without being with God slowly dull holy desire. The enemy wins by distraction more than destruction; numbness keeps faith intact but fire absent. Name the drift, and sensitivity returns. [36:15]
• 3. Let conviction expose and heal When light confronts shadows, it can sting—but that sting is mercy. Conviction unveils what we’ve learned to live with so God can renew what we thought was fixed. He reveals to replace, not to shame; what comes into the light can be made new. [44:36]
• 4. Put on the armor of light Awakening requires dressing for the day—purity, prayer, and obedience are not accessories but armor. Choices shape sight; stepping into light makes the soul see and feel differently. Revival starts privately before it is seen publicly; begin in the mirror. [45:32]
• 5. Fast to disrupt and reorient desire Fasting is an alarm clock for the soul—less about subtraction, more about making room for God’s voice. It breaks comfort, clarifies hunger, and resets direction. Fill the space with Scripture and prayer, or it’s just a diet with no deliverance. [49:46]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [13:49] - New Year, New Series: Awake
• [28:53] - The Snooze Button Story
• [30:07] - God’s Alarm: Wake Up
• [31:06] - Why a 21-Day Fast
• [33:03] - Resolutions vs. Revival
• [33:46] - Romans 13: Wake From Slumber
• [35:33] - Kairos: Discern the Time
• [38:51] - Activity Isn’t Intimacy
• [42:02] - Don’t Call the Dim Normal
• [43:37] - Conviction Is Grace
• [45:32] - Put On the Armor of Light
• [48:30] - Sunrise: The Feel of Awakening
• [49:46] - Fast to Disrupt, Not Deprive
• [61:22] - Closing Blessing and Dismissal

1. In Romans 13:11-12, what two commands are placed side by side, and what reasons does Paul give for them?
2. The word “time” was explained as kairos, a divine moment. How is that different from clock time? [35:33]
3. What pictures were used to describe what waking up looks like (alarm clock, getting dressed, pajamas vs. armor)? [45:32]
4. What purpose was given for the 21-day fast in this season? [31:06]

1. If someone can be awake physically but asleep spiritually, what makes up “spiritual sleep,” and why might distraction be more dangerous than open destruction? [36:15]
2. Why can real light feel painful at first, like the rescued miners needing sunglasses, and how does that help us understand conviction? [43:37]
3. “Put on the armor of light” implies more than stopping bad habits. What does this clothing image teach about stepping into purity, prayer, and obedience as a way of life? [46:24]
4. If this moment is kairos, not just calendar time, how should that shift how a disciple plans, prays, and chooses during a fast? [35:33]

1. Where have you been hitting snooze with God? Name one specific area and one small, same-day step to respond. [30:07]
2. Which subtle drifts are dulling your desire right now—noise, exhaustion, small compromises, doing for God without being with God? Choose one and share how you will simplify or repent this week. [37:49]
3. What inputs are forming you (and any kids you influence)? Name one lyric, show, feed, or voice you will replace this week—and with what. Be concrete. [40:40]
4. Every yes to God is a funeral to comfort. What comfort needs a funeral for you this month? Name one comfort you’ll lay down and the faith-step you’ll embrace instead. [52:31]
5. When conviction stings, what helps you remember it’s an invitation, not shame? Share a recent example and the next obedient step you’ll take. [44:36]
6. How will you “get dressed for the day” this week? Choose one concrete practice of purity, prayer, or obedience you will put on each morning, and how you’ll guard it. [46:09]
7. Fasting is disruption, not deprivation. What specific fast is God leading you to, and how will you fill that space with Scripture and prayer so it’s more than a diet? Be precise about timing, readings, and prayer rhythms. [58:21]