The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 November 2021 – While Men Slept….
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TOPIC: While Men Slept….
READ: Matthew 13:24-32 (NKJV)
- Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
- “but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
- “But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
- “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
- “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
- “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
- ‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ‘ “
- Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
- “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
THE MESSAGE:
In this parable of our Lord Jesus Christ, the three key elements are the owner of the field, the good seed that he sowed and the weeds. An enemy attempts to sabotage the owner’s harvest by secretly planting a seed of a weed that resembles wheat. The enemy’s ploy was only discovered when the crop was established the shoots emerged and the difference between the two types of plants became obvious.
But it was at night, “while men slept,” that the enemy came in (verse 23). Jesus is teaching us among other things, the importance of watchfulness in this parable. Many are spiritually asleep in the church today; the watchmen who should be awake to safeguard the flock are equally in deep slumber. If the enemy must be subdued, the believer must be on the alert. Therefore, “Awake O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you “(Ephesians 5:14).
PRAYER:
Principalities and power
Mustering their unseen array,
Wait for thine unguarded hour,
Watch and pray!
