Are You Awake? | Matt Chandler | IF:One Day 2026

Well, good evening. It's so good to see you. I have been preaching and teaching at, in some way, some level for close to 30 years. And I think I am more convinced than ever that good content does very little to transform souls. It's like wood without fire or sails without wind. And I don't, like you desperately don't need me to be clever tonight. What we need is the Holy Spirit to minister. And so here's what I want us to do, if you'll just indulge me. I don't have much time, and I'm going to use some of it for this. I want you to just join me in a prayer, and whether you're at home all by yourself or hiding somewhere. I saw where some of you are on the map. I know some of you are probably hiding in a closet or something, but I just want us to pray. It's an old prayer. The church has prayed it for a long time. It's a simple prayer. And I'm going to let us sit in it for a little bit. Come Holy Spirit. And so if you'll just cup your hands, and can we just say that, I mean, you can just say it under your breath, you can say it out loud, or you can, I'm just going to give us some space. I just refuse to be rushed. Honor the clock and refuse to be rushed. Father, we just agree together that if content could bring about revival, we'd be in the biggest revival the world's ever known. I thank you for the gift of feeling the pain in the room coming off that session. What will we do if you don't show up in power? Like, what happens here if you don't hear our prayer to come?

Like, what a good sermon and good music. It's not going to get us safely home, Lord. So we just ask. I'm asking. We're asking. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Amen. It's a weird room for me, I'm not going to lie to you. I do about eight to 10 large men's events every year. I'm kind of that guy, do jujitsu, hunt elk. And so, like, yeah, this is like, okay, Lord, how do you, what illustrations do you, I don't think I can use a World War II illustration, Lord, but clung to them. I want to read you this, I'm going to tell you why I'm pumped to be here. I'm pumped because I think the enemy hates that we're together tonight. And let me read why. This is, I'm just going to read a biblical theologian named Stephen Dempster. He says that one of the great themes of the Bible is woman against the beast. Let me read this. Eve versus the serpent, Sarah and Rebekah versus barrenness, Tamar versus Judah, Jochebed and Miriam versus Pharaoh, Deborah and Jehel versus Sisera, Ruth and Naomi versus death, Hannah versus barrenness, Jehoshabba versus Athaliah, and all these examples of struggle. These women of faith are engaged in a battle to save the people of God. The victory of Esther over Haman dramatically continued. So do you see why the why is so important? You see why the lie is so important to the enemy? Like that sweet woman that came up here, do you see why he has to keep her bound? Because when you believe who God says you are, man, there's tent pegs through craniums. There's tyrants overthrown. There's like, you are not some ancillary player in Christ's victory over darkness. Like he's pulling you right into the heart of it, but you got to spot the lie.

And listen, I'm not, it ain't just ladies that have lies. I've grown up my whole life because of things in my own family of origin believing that I was useful, but not necessarily lovable. Right? Like if I just produce, I matter. If I just win, I can be loved. You know how exhausting that is? And listen, your husband, man, boyfriend, sons, they have, this is his game. He's a liar. It's natural. language and he provokes me. And so Jenny's like, you wanna come speak to a couple hundred thousand women? I'm like, can I set him loose on the enemy? And she's like, I wish you would. And so here I am, Romans 13, starting at verse 11. This is all the more urgent for you know how late it is. Time is running out. Wake up for our salvation is near than when we first believed. The night is almost gone. The day of salvation will soon be here. Okay, World War II. We're all right, we can do this. I'm 51, it was that or Rome. I picked the Nazis. All right, so Nazi occupied France. The night was real. The night wasn't symbolic, it was real. There were curfews, fear, deep shadows.

But here's the thing, this cool thing that was going on. In attics and cellars all over France, the resistance would gather around these janky illegal radios, and they would listen to the voice of the BBC. It crackled, it wasn't clear. But the BBC rolled out that D-Day had happened, that the Allies had landed on the beach. And this is fascinating. If you ever get to study this, ask your husband. Maybe you're a World War II person. Come on, save me private Ryan, I love you. We should watch that together sometime. Band of brothers, I'm in. Stop, Matt, get to your. Like, nothing had changed. And overnight, that group that had been terrified and hunkered and scared and worried about dying and worried about somebody in their family getting killed and worried about this and worried about that, not sure where food's coming from. Like, something just immediately changed in them. Like, all of a sudden, they were more bold. All of a sudden, they began to share bread. They began to defy small orders. They looked at the occupying violent force, not with rage, but with pity. They knew victory had landed, and it was only amount of time before full victory was theirs.

This is the Apostle Paul in Romans 13, being our little radio operator. That's what he's doing. He's leaning into these little huddled up churches in the Roman Empire, and he's saying to them, hey, dawn has broken. Night has been defeated. Trying to put hope into the souls of those who are living in such violence, such disorientation, such discombobulation, that they might wake up and walk in the victory that was sure and at hand. I love this quote from N.T. Wright. He says, the cross was the victory, the resurrection, the symbol of that victory, and the ascension, the enthronement of the victor. Now, we simply wait for the official inauguration of the reign, and this is what he's trying to do in verse 11. This is all the more urgent. Like, it's more urgent now than when you first believed, for you know how late it is. Time is running out. Two commands and some encouragement. Here's the first one. Know the time. The Greek word he's using here, kairos, it's this like decisive moment. Like, know what time it is, and he's kind of reframing it beautifully. He's like, hey, it's ticking down.

Hey, we're in the last time. Like, we're in these last moments. He's trying to orient their lives. The darkness has an expiration date, and we're getting closer and closer to every sadness, every disorientation, every discombobulation, every heartbreaking loss being over. And so he's trying to, you're almost there, he's saying. We're almost there, and you and I. Like, at any moment, the sky could crack open. Like, I'm gonna get into weird theological stuff, but like, there should be a great harvest right before Christ's return. Are you paying attention right now? Like, Ginny and Ilana, it's everywhere, and it's jumping into the church right now. Like, I'm in two different churches this month where the Spirit, at the Village Church, three times in the last year. Like, just normal, ordinary stuff that we're doing. Bam, and then all of a sudden, we're going two hours over. I got elders on the floor weeping and repenting of sin, and we had work to do that night. It wasn't like a prayer night. We came in, we prayed a little bit. One guy that sings on the door started playing a thing. Holy Spirit fell, and then there's tears and snot and repentance and holy fire falling in elder meeting. So the work that night was that work. And Paul's just trying to, hey, don't be afraid anymore.

You're so close. Like, hang in there, except I'm lying. He's not saying hang in there. He's actually calling you to something more than hanging in there. He's making the argument, since time is so short, since we are so close, since victory has been won, and I love the victory of Christ. I don't know if you ever thought about this. Nobody casted out a demon until Jesus got there. How powerful was Moses? I know it's February, like you just got out of Exodus. You're like muscling through Leviticus and Numbers right now, just going, God, the tabernacle again? Right, now listen, Moses, like everyday miraculous for him. Dude had to wear a veil because his face glowed from being in the presence of God. He never casted out any demons. And there were plenty among the people of God. You read that narrative, right? Like nobody, well, because victory hadn't been won yet. Victory was being established. But Christ comes, brother, throwing him out all the time. And none of them ever argue. I don't know if you noticed that. I don't know if you ever watch a scary movie, the priest shows up, you just know that guy's gonna die. You're right, every scary demon movie, you know when the priest comes, it ain't any good for this guy.

That is not the way it works in the spiritual realm. It's just not, and Jesus, he never, like the closest they get is like trying to bargain. Will you just throw us into the pigs? And like, why are you here? Have you come to destroy us before the appointed time? There's no dualism in the Bible against the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The sign that victory's been won is Christ's complete authority over all levels of spiritual darkness of principalities and powers. And the resurrection, watch him work. Victory is ours. What did he not overcome? What has he not conquered? And so Paul's saying, guys, know the time. We're almost there. At any moment, he could crack open the sky. At any moment, he could return. And so the second command is wake up. Paul loves this illustration. If you follow preachers, you'll find out that we kind of tell the same five or six stories. I always kind of work their way into sermons. This is one of Paul's, wake up. And if we cross-reference this one and we head back to Ephesians five, the word he's using here, it's not like your mama woke you up. It's like your dad woke you up.

All right? So when he's saying, hey, wake up, or wake up, oh, you sleeper, in Ephesians five, the picture is not like the light gently comes on, sits on the bed, mom's scratching your back. Hey, babe. Hey. Mama loves you. Hey. She loves you so much. Hey, look, we have to leave for school in two and a half minutes, and so if you'll, if you'll just consider, just consider hopping up, babe. Now, maybe you're like, that ain't me, bro. I'm daddy. And that's what Paul has in view when he's saying, hey, know the time, wake up. So it's almost like, hey, the house is on fire. Get up. It's not light switched on back scratch. It's sheets pulled off of you and water poured on you. It's like, you have got to wake up. You've got to wake up, for salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. Listen to Elizabeth Elliot. If you are breathing, you have a job to do. To be awake is to do the next thing with a heart focused on the king. We aren't just waiting for the end. We are working toward the beginning.

Come on, Elizabeth. Come on. Come on, Mama Elliot. Now, you, and I'm not using the Texas y'all. I'm saying you, you, in that dorm room, in that apartment, in that, you have been uniquely wired and uniquely placed by God for this moment. Like, I keep, I've been saying this for a couple of years now. Like, nobody's coming to bail us out of this mess. It's been given to us, and praise Jesus. Like, we're in a day where God's moving in an extraordinary and unique way. What a gift, a gift to be stewarded. And you, you, with your backstory and your family of origin and your current sin struggle and your, like you, according to Psalm 139 and Acts 17, have been uniquely wired and uniquely placed for the works God had for you today. That's why the life's so important. That's why, if he can just get you to believe that you're a burden, that that's men's work, that that's like, listen, if your husband won't contend for the souls of your kids, contend for it. Contend for it. I'm sorry about that. We're just epidemic of boys who can shave right now. Just overgrown, lazy, captured, sad, pathetic excuses for biblical masculinity. You can tell your man I said that if you want.

I'm not kidding. I don't know him. I don't know, maybe he can kill me. Please don't tell him. But I don't want you to. be like, well, the Bible says use the head. No, no, no, no, no. Get the tent peg out. And when you're, you just get in that room, you start praying like a frothy Pentecostal. I mean, listen, you don't want to see me and Lauren praying in our kids' rooms. We're like calling down walls of fire, building altars in the attic, pouring oil on it, tearing down altars in their room. We're, we've gotten wildly ghosty in these latter years. Why? Why the gospel urgency? Well, I already told you. Why do you need to wake up? Because time is short. Time is near. We're almost there. It's coming soon and very soon. And so what puts us to sleep? I'm going to ask some questions, not trying to start a fight with anybody. Are you being discipled by the algorithm right now? Oh, I touched on something? You're being discipled by the algorithm? Perfectly curated life. You're working on your brand. Hey, sis, I love you. That can't be. I get it. I get the dopamine hit. I get, I'm just laughing. These reels help me, you know, this TikTok just helps me decompress at the end of the day. There's a better place to decompress. I'm not hating on you. I'm telling you, I'm not anti-tech. I'm preaching from an iPad. I've got the new iPhone 17 Max. I love this stuff. Every time my phone's like, you spent eight hours on your phone last week. Every day I'm like, yes, I did. I was working. Thank you. Right? Like I'm just asking you, are you being dis, are you being discipled by the algorithm? You'll, cause it, it feeds the lie friend. It feeds the lie. Like I, I have tried to war for my wife in this day. I didn't eat an organic anything growing up. My mom did not cut my sandwiches into T-Rex's. I ate fruity pebbles. Nobody even knows what that is. Just colored sugar. We put whole milk in it. Whole milk, not, I know some of you are like, should have given you goat milk. No, it was just, yeah. So are you curating a self? You working on your personal brand? Listen, I'm again, this is what puts you to sleep just slowly over time. Your mind's attention, your heart's devotion is no longer Christ in his kingdom because to play in the kingdom is to not care what the crickets chirp about. You will not win them. And if

you have them for a moment, they'll turn on you quick. Ask Jesus. We went from Hosanna save us to crucify him in four days. You don't think those followers will turn on you? You don't think that brand will betray you? No, no, no, no, no. This is staying low. What about like control and security? You got some of that going on in you? The funny thing about control is even as we're losing control, we just try to control harder. Have you ever noticed that about you? I've noticed it about me. I am a very warm, very friendly control freak. I'm like a golden retriever that needs everything in order. And when I feel it slipping through my hands, I grab harder. I grab harder. And this is, it's like a melatonin in my relationship with Christ. I won't turn it over to him. Why am I carrying this? Like he's offered to carry it. Why do I feel like I have to carry this? You're getting put to sleep by control. You got any of that? This stuff, I might get provoked. I'm not mad at you. This mixture specifically among women of biblical truth and new age weird practices, you are screwing around with demons and don't know it. And they might, here's what's crazy about that stuff. Here's what's crazy about this stuff. It's real. And they will help you for a while to pull you further in. And then they'll give you the bills. Only Jesus doesn't give you the bill, but pays, cancels the record of debt is what Paul says in Colossians. But these spirits, these crystals, this nonsense, these things, they might, they might, Oh, you might get something from them. And that make you kind of go back there versus go back there, but you'll mingle it with Jesus's name a little bit. And eventually you have to pay the bill. You have to pay the bill. Well, let me, there's some encouragement in this text, but I want to honor the time he anchors us in this text with hope to drive out our fear. He says the night. is almost gone, the day of salvation will soon be here. I love that, see how he's trying to stir up your hope? Don't be afraid, look, we're so close. Look, you're gonna make it, be bold, live powerfully. And so I wanna, there's this story that, well, it's not a story, it's in the New Testament, it's narrative, it's fact, it happened. Jesus casts out a demon, and the Pharisees and Sadducees

said, hmm, it's by the power of Satan, he drives out Satan. You remember this story? And so Jesus confronts them, and he confronts them with this, this is Matthew 12, 29 through 30. If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure, verse 22. But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons, he trusted in and divides up his plunder. Here's kinda what's going on, I don't have time to cross-reference this to the book of Revelation. He is saying in this moment that Satan has been bound in a way that allows the people of God to plunder. This is an invitation for you and me to storm the strong man's house. Jenny's right, he is powerful, but he's beaten, he's fallen. And the spirit of Christ now dwells in you. And where I wanna encourage you today is plunder. Every time you pray for one of your friends, you're plundering. Every time one of your friends comes to know Jesus, every time you get with your children and pray over them, you're plundering the property. Every time you're generous, every time you're kind, every time, and I wanna call you, I wanna call you to pick up the tent peg. And get in, you will, I'm saying this and I'm done.

You will lower yourself before the Lord and avail yourself to him, or you will watch this epic outpouring of the Holy Spirit happen on YouTube. I don't know where you are. That's unacceptable to me. Like from my heart, from my house, from the church, I get to lead, for the network I get to be in, like I'll tear the whole thing down to the studs. I'll shrink that mug down to 50 people who want that. I don't want to watch this on YouTube. You shouldn't either. You're gonna be such a key part of it, but you gotta know that the time is short and you gotta wake up. Like maybe during that last session, you just kind of felt like there was something you needed to repent of and you just couldn't make yourself do it. Like there was just something holding you back. I know that, Russell, I'm familiar with that, Russell, but I just wanna make the appeal to you that there is freedom in that confession and repentance, maybe a freedom you can't even get your brain around right now. Maybe that curated self is holding you back. Maybe that control, you just need to control everything, is holding you back. Here's Christ inviting you into the rest that only he can bring.

Here's Christ inviting you into the purpose for which you were created, uniquely wired, uniquely placed, uniquely gifted by him for this moment, placed in the neighborhoods and places that you walk, interacting with the people he wanted you to interact with to push back darkness, establish the light and drive tent pegs through the enemy's skull. And I would just hate for you to not step into that. I would hate, like, why? Why would you not want to step into that? The time is short. Wake up. Some of you have just been soothed into sleeping, just one reel at a time, one TikTok at a time, one Netflix show at a time, one kind of romantic fantasy book at a time. Pacifier in the mouth, blankie in the arms, and the call of God on your life is to make war. The church is the bride of Christ, but she is a warrior bride. Come on. She ain't dainty. Yeah. What would it look like for you to step into that? What needs to be repented of? Where do you need to take that next step of faith? Where do you need to wake up? Father, I pray a blessing over these women. I see some of the men in the room. I thank you for your call on our lives.

I think you have purpose and power for these women. And I thank you that, man, you'll put foreign armies to flight in the spiritual realm with their obedience and faithfulness. There's no such thing as just a stay-at-home mom. There's no such thing as just a wife. There's no such thing as just a young single woman. Like you are the empower of victory in the lives of your children. And so we want to surrender to you tonight. But we wanna say, I wanna wake up, I wanna be wrung out. I know time is short. I know abiding in Jesus will be my strength. I don't wanna run in my own strength. I don't wanna curate my own brand. I don't wanna, I want to live boldly for Christ and His kingdom. Pray that you would seal your good work in the hearts of these women. Just ask that it not be choked out by the cares of this world and not be snatched up by the enemy. And that it wouldn't be scorched by the heat of the sun because there's no root. So you supernaturally adopt deeper roots right now into their souls. Pray that you would give them a supernatural hatred for that thing. A supernatural hatred for that thing that tends to put them to sleep.

I thank you that Paul told us nap time is over. And so we surrender and seek to get to work. And it's for your beautiful name I pray. Amen, thank you guys.