Awake to the Progressive Purposes of God
by Dr. John Tetsola

Ever since the days of John the Baptist the enemy senses a threat to his dark kingdom, and is scrambling with fervency to squelch and muzzle the voice of God which resides in the mouth of His people—the church. The church has been caught sleeping, but she is arising from her sleep, and the gates of hell will not prevail against her.

Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.

Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),

Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.

Eph. 5:14-15, 17 AMP

The apostle Paul said, “…in me, (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” So as long as the church is in the flesh, no good thing will come of her. But we declare that as Jesus is the Light of the world, so is His church in this dark age. The Gentiles will indeed come to our light. Why? Because the church has been drinking. We are getting drunk with “new wine” as we are being filled with the fresh fire of God’s Holy Spirit. This new wine is causing old paradigms to shift. It is causing us to arise from the ashes of spiritual slumber and from the haze of unpurposeful living. We are drunk with His Spirit; therefore we no longer live vaguely—hazy, unclear, and doubtful. The days of carnality and thoughtless living are over. The church is conducting herself honorably as she lives purposefully with determination, understanding, and with the intended goal of firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.

What Time is It?

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed…

The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

Romans 13:11a-12 AMP

It’s time for purposeful, accurate, and worthy living. It is high time to awake from spiritual sleep and slumber in this crucial hour. The church did fall asleep and while she slept, the enemy planted some bad seeds within her, so there must be a laying aside of the deeds of darkness, and a putting on of His armor of light. As the Holy Spirit looks for His fruit in us to bring about deliverance, the enemy seeks to lay claim on things within us for our destruction. So be intolerant of darkness and be present day contenders of truth and righteous living. Deal with the sin that lies crouched at your door. Put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature and make no provision for indulging the flesh. Fling away the works of darkness, and put on humility. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Tie on humility like a dress fastened with strings” (Concordant Literal Translation). The night is far gone and the breaking of day is near. Our deliverance is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

What time is it? It’s time to advance in the progressive purposes of God. It’s time for the church to be redefined and realigned to fit into her rightful place. God is causing a new day to dawn as we arise from our sleep and rouse to attain His intended purpose for our lives. As the year comes to a close, it’s time to hear the clarion call of the Spirit to live the high life—to life above the snake. As people of the Word of God, nurture the qualities that build integrity in our lives, and with intense exertion and zeal awake to the progressive purposes of God.

by Dr. John A. Tetsola