While The World Slept

While the World Slept

7/17/17

Many of us understand that many things occur during the nighttime and that most of the crimes that are committed occur during the dark times as well.  But as most of us have the luxury of feeling secure at night there are still occurrences that happen that we may never know about, including spiritual things.  A perfect example occurred to me on Saturday night when I was trying to go to sleep.  God decided to show up and show me a very important and daily event that takes place in our world, an event that many of us either do not hear or flat ignore but one that needs to be recognized; for life itself depends upon it, for if we do not recognize that our given dominion is being voluntarily ripped apart by our enemy, how then can we begin to understand what God is trying to say when His bells are ringing from His presence. 

The majority of the world understands that there is one week set aside that represents Holy Week and that it is one of the high points in the world of Christianity.  It does not matter which group of people that I am referring to either for even the enemies of God know about this time frame especially with the accumulation of Easter during that weekend.  During this week and all other weeks, we commonly hear of car bombs, hostage taking, group assassinations, and even an occasional natural disaster that occur during this time, and with so much commonality of these events have made them almost un-reportable anymore.  To see such a season of joy and hope being ravaged by death and destruction is the perfect eye opening experience that should call of God’s people to spiritual arms, yet we quietly sleep in our houses and miss what occurs in the darkness.  However, on the spiritual side of things it would seem natural for tension to be witnessed during this season; yet, I wonder why it seems like we only see the enemy’s kingdom being advanced during this time.  There is a simple explanation for these tragedies that occur and there is a simple way to correct them as well.

I was lying in bed one late Saturday evening and doing my best to fall asleep.  I knew that I had to work the next morning and even though I did not have to go in early I still wanted a full night’s sleep in order to be fresh for the workday.  As I was lying in bed my mind I could not figure out why my mind was not “turning off” which would allow me to get the rest that I needed, the coffee and the excitement of the movie that we had watched earlier that evening crossed my mind but whatever the cause it did not take me long to figure out that I was not going to fall asleep anytime soon.  If one has lived in Colorado for very long they will know that springtime is a very unpredictable weather time of the year so some nights can be cold and others warm.  It was one of those warmer April nights so I had the window open in the bedroom so that the cool air would be able to penetrate and provide a good sleeping atmosphere, and while the weather outside might have been good to sleep by that does not mean that my mind cooperated with the sleeping pattern, or was the coffee that I drank later in the evening finally changing my nighttime metabolism enough to keep me awake, a question that I would soon understand the answer.

After a while of tossing and turning and quickly becoming frustrated at the situation, I had conceded that I should get up and pray a while but before I could get out of the bed my ears believed it heard a distant sound.  A few seconds later I heard it again and by then I had confirmed that it was a bell gently and methodically ringing.  Many of you know that we live in a small town and if there is any type of loud activity that occurs, many people have the opportunity to hear it as it is happening.  This town has the perfect settings for those of us who like to find out where the action is when the sirens and lights are alerting everyone.  A few blocks down from our house is an Orthodox Catholic church.  It is not a very large building but it is well attended even during holidays and other feasts and festivals.  I pass this building every day that I go to work and many times I focus my eyes upon the church until I completely pass bye.  It is a simple building yet it represents so much to the people that attend its services and to those of us who thank God every day that we still have the opportunity to worship God freely.  But I could not imagine why the bells would be ringing now for “Easter” was the previous weekend (5 April 2015) and when I took a look at my watch it was midnight.

I got out of bed and stood at the bedroom window and listened to the beautiful and gentle sounds of a church bell breaking the silence of a small town night as it proclaimed a call to attention for what was occurring according to the Orthodox Catholic faith.   I will be the first to admit that I am not Catholic by any means and that I do not know very many details about the Orthodox Catholic mass or any of the ceremonial conduct that occurs within the services.  I do know some small details about the saints, feasts and the observations that go along with those dates, but for the most part, the remaining procedural steps remain hidden to me.  And I do know that on certain occasions the Orthodox Church will ring its bell at certain times during their meetings and services and while I do not hear it ringing every time it is a blessing to my ears when I do.  After I had realized what was transpiring I remained at the window and was serenaded for approximately 5 minutes worth of bell tones which soothed my heart and spirit and for some reason calmed my entire body into a relaxed state.

After the allotted time for the bells to ring, they stopped and silence once again filled the air.  I was still standing by the window wondering if there would be another round of music but none graced my ears, the serenade was over.  At that moment I still did not understand why the bells had chimed but I did know that my spirit was at ease.  Before I stepped away from the window and go downstairs to pray I took a quick look at my immediate neighborhood and street.  My eyes did not see much for every light in every house that I could see was out and each house was pitch dark.  While this gave me a sense of security God decided to show me what He wanted us to understand about what had just occurred but not all of the message would be delivered to me that night the remaining portion would come in the morning, quite fitting as we shall see.  My eyes took another sweep along the street just to verify that all was well and God dropped into my heart that everyone one this street was asleep and missed those bells.  I knew that the bell came from the Orthodox Church and that when bells rang from a church it always had a significant meaning, yet the people in this neighborhood totally missed the sound of what the church bell was conveying.  It was here that my heart went from peace and tranquility to sorrow and mourning.

Not all adjoining neighborhoods enjoyed the peace and quiet of the night for in another direction I could hear engines revving and tires squealing on the pavement as signs of young life made their mark on the town.  However, the common issue that both sides of the town shared was that all had missed what the bells were sounding and that their immediate lives were more important than what God was proclaiming to everyone that wished to hear.  I cannot exclude myself in this event because up until that next morning I was not aware of a small detail about the celebration of Easter, a detail that when I was told about my heart sank and the truth of the night before became ever more real to my spirit.  This detail actually was demonstrated in a message God gave us a few years ago concerning Christmas and the meaning of this special holiday for it is not about the specific date but the representation of the event that should be the defining moment in our lives.

The detail that the young lady that was staying with us at the time provided made everything line up accordingly to why God had spoken to me the previous evening while I was standing at the window.  Up until that moment, I had not counted on the fact that the Orthodox Church does not always celebrate Easter on the same day as Protestants do which means that in 2015 the celebration of Easter began at midnight on Saturday / Sunday 12 April 2015.  What my ears hear that night was the sound of a bell ringing to the neighborhoods that Jesus was alive and that He had risen from the grave as He said He would do.  I do not know how many people heard that bell ringing out the truth and I do not know how many people wanted to hear the bell ring or to understand what its meaning meant, but I do know that the bell rang and at least this set of ears heard it and understood why the bell completed its job.  Another tidbit about bells, they do not ring themselves for they have to have people contribute to their output.  Modern bell setups can be initiated with a push of a button but even then the human must authorize the ringing.  It is this initiative that Jesus gave us to do when He said that we should go out into all the world and preach the Gospel, for the Gospel is the bell that we need to be ringing and not allow to sit silently.  Pascha was celebrated that evening and now I purposely look on the calendar for that evening and listen for those bells of life.

Once I had heard and understood the meaning of why the bell was ringing at midnight, my entire thought process of what I heard the previous night had an entirely new meaning.  I could not believe that I had stood in my window and heard the bell that proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection and did not know what I had the privilege of listening to.  Understanding the meaning of why the bell rang placed an entirely new meaning in my spirit about the bell and how its chimes penetrated the darkness, exactly what God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit’s Kingdom are supposed to do.  I had the opportunity to listen to a sound that my ears can now recognize that Jesus has risen just as the people’s voices proclaimed that glorious day two thousand years ago.  One cannot help but think that there were countless numbers of people who slept on that bright morning too, and while it was a spectacular truth that unfolded Jesus knew that the work that must be done needs to be completed from people who are not in the dark but serve the Light.  How many more divine questions that lay uncovered because the Church is in the dark snoozing away, the answer to that single question is countless numbers.

This is where we place denominations aside and behind us and seek out the truth about God’s Word so that we can effectively fight the ruler of this world.  Denominations have served its purposes of division for long enough and it is high time that with all of the signs and wonders unfolding in front of our eyes we need to make sure that these signals from God are not being missed by anyone.  However, the sleeping Church is not doing what she was instructed to complete which is allowing Satan and his kingdom walk over those who do not understand that Jesus is alive and has the eternal answers for their lives.  The Church is committing the highest crime by living in such manner to miss the signals that God is producing for His children and since we refuse to wake up and hear then understand these signals (bells) our physical loss will not be the only thing we shall lose and be held accountable at some point in time.  It is also through these lies of denominational impurity that we need to start from the basics in many cases when it comes to the salvation message; YES, THAT INCLUDES CHURCH MEMBERS TOO!!!!  To be honest, many of the people that attend church have no clue about what salvation is or what it means or what it stands for in their lives, a sad state but one that should at least wake us up enough to stop our snoring in the pews.

Bells grab the attention of a still night or day and were designed to draw attention to those around that some event or news was important enough to share with everyone in the area.  Do we not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that through His pure and holy sacrifice provides us with the ultimate covering for our eternal salvation?  Have we lost touch with just how important it is and why it is so important that we understand and live under this covering?  Why have we tossed this eternal setting aside and while we know it is there treat it as a side dish in our lives?  We have cheerfully adopted the philosophy of Lot’s wife while trying to fend off the world, we just cannot seem to grasp the real truth and importance of this protection, even though she and her family were previously saved from captivity. 

A Church that is asleep shall fall victim to the world’s sufferings because they will not know how to defend herself when the enemy arrives.  She will also not understand the workings of God nor figure out why things, events, and issues arise either.  But we can change this with one simple movement of the heart.  Church you cannot afford to be asleep when the bells of salvation need to be rung to the dying world and there is absolutely no excuse as to why we do not even hear these bells ringing signaling that Jesus is alive.  Repent Church and throw away your selfish and punitive denominational scarves for there is the world out there that needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Easter can be celebrated on different days of the year and still be effective against the wiles and darkness of Satan.  This message has one purpose only and that is for us to understand that every day of our lives should be a continual testimony of Jesus Christ and the changes He has made in our lives to those who do not understand what is at stake.  Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and every other holiday that God is represented should NOT be displayed just on one day or celebrated with a week or remembrance but should be exemplified every day of our lives no matter what we do, where we go, and most devoutly what we say each second of our lives.  God is not dead and Jesus is not a figment of our imagination, but these eternal Beings represent our creation our present and our future and we need to be out there telling the world this truth.  THIS is what Jesus wants His Church to be doing and not being labeled by the world as an organization to be run over, to annihilate at a whims notice and most importantly the reason while the world slept.

DLB