– It’s important to live awake and aware of the presence of God at all times. He is with us in the Valleys and He is with us at the Mountain Tops. 
– God will never leave us nor forsake us
– The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us
– The fruits of the Spirit are a product of a life that is awake to the constant presence of God in our lives when we keep our gaze on Jesus
– Galatians 5:16-26 “My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.
22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
– Living wide awake to God does not just happen automatically, it is a choice, a decision that you have to make for yourself. The bible tells us to put on our new nature. Just like when you get dressed in the morning, you make a decision to put on that favorite shirt of yours or to put on those shoes because they look good on you. When you became a Christian, a certain way of living looks a lot better on you than the way you did before. The way you lived before is comparable to old raggedy clothes and the new way of living is like putting on some fresh new gear everyday. When we are wide awake, we wake up and decide to put on our new nature. We give the day to Jesus in surrender. No matter how we feel, we say today I will be awake to your presence and that leads to a life that walks in the spirit, a life that walks in God’s way and direction.
– Col 3:10-17 “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
– The more time you spend with God, the more you get to know him and the more you become like him (spending time worship, reading your bible, church, bible study, fellowship with other believers)
– When we live wide awake and aware that God is always with us and we welcome Him in into our lives throughout our days, we begin to see with his vision of love, we hear his still small voice speak to us and lead us, we begin to change and become more like Christ daily. We begin to act upon what he has truly called us too
– We see with his vision of love – we begin to look at the world around us differently, all of the sudden rockstars and celebrities become less appealing. We see rather eternal things as opposed to natural. We begin to seek to please God rather than to try and be relevant and please people. When you are awake to his love, you start walking in his love –kindness, forgiving, patient
– We hear his voice speak subtle to our hearts and lead us to action to be a light to somebody who is need of encouragement, to tell that person about God’s gift of life Jesus, to help that person who looks like they are dealing with a lot right now.
– When we live wide awake to God’s presence, all of these things begin to take place in our lives and in which case, we find ourselves changing more and more into the person God has called us and wants us to be.
– Gratitude and thankfulness becomes part of our lifestyle because we are aware that God is helping us in hard times
– Love becomes part of our life because we realize that God loved us when we didn’t deserve it, so we are to love others well even if they do not deserve it. We don’t know why people are the way they are. Everyone has a story, and because Jesus died for our sins and rose again to make Salvation and forgiveness available, they too should have the chance to experience the love of God and to know His grace. We can love and speak to them and be that light.
– Worship becomes a part of our lifestyle, because we are aware of how big and awesome our God is and that He is so loving.
– Keeping our focus on Jesus leads to peace
– Putting our trust in God leads to miracles
– Giving our lives in surrender to his purpose gives us vision
– Using what God gave you, ability to speak life into others, leads to a living faith
– I challenge us to live more aware and awake to God’s presence daily. A lot of times we can be forgetful of that. If we come to church or bible study and it doesn’t change who we are or what we are doing throughout the week we are missing the point. Daily make a decision to remind yourself of God’s presence with you where ever you go. Look for opportunity to be a light to people.
– Wake up on purpose, your life is filled with purpose, to be a light to the world. (God has a plan for you every single day, it is up to us to be still and listen, to make a choice and follow
Jon Rouse 