Awakening: Week 1 - Do Not Refuse Him Who Speaks (Hebrews 12)
Awakening Begins with a Voice: Will We Refuse to Hear?
There is a posture God continually calls His people back into—awe and wonder.
Not the kind produced by lighting, sound, or atmosphere.
Not the kind sustained by momentum, hype, or branding.
But the kind that quiets us enough to realize: God is holy, God is present, and God is speaking.
Awakening does not begin with activity.
It begins with attentiveness.
What Do We Mean When We Say “Awakening”?
When the church talks about awakening, we often associate it with revival—large gatherings, emotional moments, cultural impact, or historical movements.
And to be fair, awakenings often include those things.
But Scripture is careful with its language.
The Bible does not commonly use “awakening” as a label for a move of God. Instead, it uses words like:
wake up
be alert
be watchful
You see this language in places like Isaiah 52:1, Ephesians 5:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:6, and Revelation 3:2.
In Scripture, “waking up” is a call to repentance, readiness, attentiveness, and faithfulness—not to excitement or eventfulness.
Even historically, the phrase Great Awakening wasn’t used during the movement itself. It was a name given later, once people looked back and tried to describe what had happened.
Which raises an important question for us today:
Are we pursuing awakening… or just trying to recreate its effects?
God Is Always Speaking — But We Are Easily Distracted
Many of us pray, “God, speak to me.”
But Scripture paints a different tension:
God is not silent. We are often distracted.
One of the great dangers of spiritual life—especially church life—is that we can grow deeply familiar with spiritual language, spiritual environments, and spiritual rhythms… without actually being attentive to God Himself.
And that danger increases when the church begins to confuse means with ends.
When the Church Begins to Worship the Wrong Things
Throughout church history—and very much in our modern moment—the church can drift into worshiping what it creates for God rather than responding to the God who speaks.
This can look like:
trusting systems and processes more than discernment
measuring faithfulness by participation instead of obedience
equating emotional response with spiritual transformation
assuming that the right atmosphere will produce the right outcome
None of those things are evil on their own.
Processes matter. Excellence matters. Environment matters.
But none of those things awaken hearts.
They can shape experience.
They can influence emotion.
They can even grow attendance.
But they cannot replace the voice of God.
And when culture, methodology, branding, or atmosphere become the primary markers of success, the church subtly shifts from being responsive to being performative.
This is not a new struggle.
The Great Awakening — and a Warning We Still Need
The Great Awakening of the 1700s was marked by repentance, reverence, and deep personal transformation. But its leaders were also deeply concerned about emotional excess without obedience.
Three prominent voices offer warnings that still speak clearly today.
Jonathan Edwards warned that people could experience powerful emotions without genuine spiritual change, saying that many religious affections are not truly spiritual or gracious.
John Wesley cautioned against confusing enthusiasm with inspiration—urging people not to expect too little from God, but also not to imagine God’s work where obedience was absent.
George Whitefield grieved that many rested in outward emotion without pressing on to inward holiness.
Their concern was not emotion itself.
Their concern was mistaking emotion for awakening.
What Awakening Actually Is
Here is a simple, biblical definition:
Awakening is a renewed attentiveness to God’s voice that leads to faithful response and ongoing transformation.
Or more plainly:
Awakening is not God deciding to speak.
It is people listening and responding.
That distinction matters—because it removes control from us.
We cannot manufacture awakening.
We cannot brand it.
We cannot schedule it.
We can only respond.
Awakening in Scripture Always Begins the Same Way
Throughout Scripture, the pattern is consistent:
God speaks. People respond.
God speaks to Abram — and Abram departs.
God speaks to Moses — and Moses obeys.
God speaks through prophets — and the people are called to return.
God speaks at Pentecost — and the church is formed.
When God speaks and people respond in obedience, transformation follows.
When God speaks and people resist, delay, or distract themselves, awakening stalls.
Hebrews 12:25–29 — A Warning to God’s People
Hebrews 12 is not written to those far from God.
It is written to those who are already near.
“Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear Him who speaks…” (Hebrews 12:25)
This is a sobering reality:
It is possible to live immersed in church culture and still refuse the voice of God.
We can appear awake—active, engaged, faithful—while actually sleepwalking.
Hebrews reminds us that God will shake what can be shaken so that what cannot be shaken will remain.
God’s consuming fire is not about destruction.
It is about purification.
He removes what does not belong so His people can walk unbound.
The Question That Remains
Awakening is not about God doing something new.
God is already speaking.
The question is not whether He will talk.
The question is whether we will listen—and respond.
Will we cling to systems, atmospheres, and familiarity?
Or will we quiet ourselves enough to hear the voice of the living God?
Because awakening is not marked by noise.
It is marked by obedience.
And obedience always begins with listening.
Closing Prayer
God, give us ears to hear and eyes to see.
Guard us from mistaking culture, emotion, or method for Your voice.
Shake what must be shaken.
Consume what does not belong.
And give us courage to respond in obedience.
Amen.