WHILE MEN SLEPT

God is the creator; He was not created, but created everything. God made the heavens and the earth. When God looked at everything He made in Gen 1:31. He affirmed, “It is very good”. 

Similarly, Vs. 24 of Matt 13 says “…the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seeds in his field”. By the original standard, everything in you and about you is good. Eph. 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. God didn’t plant afflictions, attacks, poverty, etc in your life because James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above and is from the father of light, with whom there is no variableness, nor shadows of turning”.

Since at the begininig, God did not plant bad seeds in our lives, “how, when, and who planted the bad seeds in our lives?” Vs. 25 says, “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among  the wheat, and went his way”. You’re God’s chosen people; His special possession. What the devil does is to steal, kill, and destroy whatever God is doing in your life. All these challenges: struggling, nightmares, closed doors, etc is coming from one source: the devil; he is the enemy of your Lord. In actual sense, the enemy is not really fighting you, rather, he is fighting the one at work in your life. PRODUCTS/PRODUCER. Rom. 8:37 says, “Nay, in all these things, we are morethan conquerors through him that loved us”.You remember when God sent Moses to Pharaoh saying, “Let my people go that they may serve me”. Exodus 5:2 says, “And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Isreal go…” it was not a direct battle between Pharaoh and Isrealites now; Pharaoh had entered into battle with the God of the Hebrews. Ever before God sent Moses, He had settled how Pharaoh would be destroyed. This is the battle of God!

The statement in Vs. 24 is a good testimony. However, Vs. 25 began with “But”. Whenever, you find “But” in a story or statement, no matter the scenario that previously occurred, it cancels it. Though god planted a good seed, but while men slept, the enemy of God and all of His works came in. the enemy knew that there was no way he could have accomplished his mission if men were awake. According to Job 1:7-8 and 1 Peter 5:8, we know that our adversary is going to and fro, walking about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. He will only succeed while men slept. Many of the challenges we are presently battling with came in while we slept. This does not preclude the sleep of the night. Sleep could mean a state of unconsciousness, inactivity, ignorance, carelessness, disobedience, compromises, etc. Many of us slept when we committed a little sin; started missing fellowship with God; relocated; had new friends; started harbouring anger-unforgiveness, unbeliefs, gave in to pressure; disobeyed in tithes, offerings, vows. You remember the story of Samson. If you are just coming to church and you are not genuinely saved; you’re not connected spirit, soul, and body to the vine, you’re still sleeping, and that is a dangerous state to be in.

It was while men slept that HIS enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. Tares/Weeds- an unwanted plant; a wild plant that grows where it is not wanted/planted. Everything the enemy introduced into your life to cut short your joy is cut off in Jesus name. Amen! And because it was while men slept, the enemy finished his work and went his way. Even when they woke up they did not know what had happened until after a period of time when what the enemy planted started manifesting, to the point of threatening the good plants. Whatever God did not plant in your body has a name. Irrespective of what men call it (medical, locally-infertility, barreness,); it has a general name in the scriptures; it is called tares, and all tares must be uprooted and consumed by fire in Jesus name. thak God that somehow they woke up. If they had not woken up, what happened in the rest of VS. 26-30 won’t have been known. The enemy wanted them to sleep off, but somehow by God’s  mercy they woke up. You’re here because God’s mercy located you.

Vs. 27: When the servants noticed this abnormally, they reported to their Master. The bible said, “they came and said unto him…” They approached him, and you will approach Him today. They spoke with expectation because they knew He can answer. They reported to Him because He did not plant it in the first place. He told them: an enemy has done this. You’re going to report every abnormally in your life, destiny, career, to God because only Him can deliver you. In 1 Sam. 17:35-57, David said to Goliath, “You come to me with spear and arrow, but I come against you in the name of the Lord…” in the last part of Vs. 28, they asked, “Wilt thou that we go then and gather them up?” They were asking: do we use our human strength to solve this problem; to uproot this mountain; to overcome this war. Jesus reply was:  Nay/No!  Your human efforts cannot solve spiritual problems; it will only cause more troubles. The answer is 1 Sam. 2:9, “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail”.As you report to God, He will silent the wicked in darkness, because your strength alone cannot prevail.

Vs. 30: “Let them both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into the barn”. 

I believe that God brought you here because it is harvest time: the time of separation between the wheat and the tares; the good and the evil. It is a time when God will sort out your life and destiny by fire. It is also a time WHEN GOD WILL PUT YOUR LIFE IN ORDER. Matt. 3:12. For those who have been sleeping, it is time to wake up, because this is your day of salvation. Rom. 13:11-12, “And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, that day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light”. There will be full restoration this night. The truth is that so long as men are awake, the enemy. The question is, “How do we keep   men awake: awake unto God; prayers; faith; holiness; God’s awesome power?” the answer is: The HolySpirit. Rom. 8:11-13, “But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you”. 

You can stay awake all through your life if you remain connected to the HolySpirit. Vs. 13b say: “But if ye through the spirit do mortfiy the deeds of the body ye shall live” Who raised Jesus from the dead? Who can quicken your mortal bodies? How do you mortify the deeds of the body? The answer to all these questions is: The HolySpirit. When you remain connected to the HolySpirit, you will not only be awake, Ish 40:28-31, says, your strength will be renewed (exchanged);  you will mount up with wings as eagles; you will run and not be weary; you will walk and not faint. Actually, you’re not the one doing all these; it is HIM who neither sleeps nor slumbers that is at work in your life. Halleluyah