WHILE MEN SLEPT
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way (Mathew 13 vs. 25 KJV)
Beloved, in times like this, when brethren in the kingdom are asleep unconsciously. They have forgotten that the coming of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ is going to be like a thief in the night. Jesus Christ said, ‘watch and pray.’ Many believers are praying without watching. Not watching in the sense that they are no longer conscious of the fact that Jesus can appear any time and they must not be caught unawares like the five virgins who did not put oil in their lamps. They are occupied with so many worldly things (tares) to the extent that they are ready to sacrifice the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar of the devil in order to possess them. Some even believe that Jesus Christ is not coming again, while some are busy calculating the time the world would be brought to an end with human’s wisdom but to no avail.
All the end time signs have started manifesting (2 Timothy 3 vs. 1-9) but the exact time rapture would take place is not known even by the angels (Mathew 24 vs. 36 – 51). Only God the father knows and He can decide to cut the time short because of the chosen or elect (Matt 24 vs. 22). Jesus Christ said, “heaven and earth would pass away but, none of His words would not come to pass.” As a matter of fact, it is dangerous to sleep physically and spiritually as the two can lead to death. Eutychus slept physically while the word of God was being preached. He fell from a three storey building and died. Apostle Paul later prayed for him and he came back to life (Act 20 vs. 8 -12). His enemy, the devil, made him to fall into a deep sleep at the most crucial hour when what would benefit his life, the word of life, was being preached. Some of the Disciples of Christ also slept spiritually even when He was in the earth by refusing to follow him till the end. They felt that the word of life propagated by Him did not matter for their existence in this world and in eternity. Peter, Paul (2 Timothy 4 vs. 7 - 8) and some other disciples held on to the gospel till the end while Demas, Judas Iscariot and other people slept spiritually and they lost eternity. These Men slept physically and spiritually when the enemy sowed tares of discouragement, unbelief, wickedness, Sin and the love of things of this world in their lives.
As earlier mentioned, Jesus Christ admonished believers to watch and pray less they fall into temptation as this can make them not to inherit God’s kingdom. As believers, we are to examine ourselves genuinely whether we are still in the faith and whether when Jesus Christ eventually appears we shall be able to reign with Him. This will also make us to avoid whatever will debar us from reigning with Him on the last day.
Some of the signs which show that a believer is sleeping either physically or spiritually are:
- When a believer is acting contrary to the word of God
- When a believer did not accept the Salvation Ministry of Jesus Christ to mankind.
- When a believer did not believe in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and is not preparing for it.