WHEN MEN SLEPT

TEXT: MATT 13:24-28

TOPIC: WHEN MEN SLEPT

The study will be done with these outline:

·         Introduction

·         Background

·         Foreword

·         How to stay alert

·         Conclusion

Introduction

God made rest and the day for it being the Seventh/Sabbath day Gen 2:2.Sleeping is a form of rest that is needed to keep the body functioning effectively. Having said these, we should note that a lot of things happens in the night which includes but is not limited to the work of the enemy as highlighted in verse 28 of the text. God also visits when men sleeps physically as He did to the following:

Jacob                                  Gen 28:16

Joseph                                Gen 37:5

Pharaoh                             Gen 41:1 ff.

Adam                                  Gen 2:21 (Even God had to make man sleep to remove something)

May God grant us vigilance and understanding in Jesus name.

Background  

The Gospel according to Mathew is the first book in the New Testament written by Matthew before  AD 100.Jesus had started several teaching a while back which includes the chapter before that of the text (chapter 12),this continued in the referenced chapter (13),the chapter has in it several Parables which includes:

The parable of the Sower                                              vs. 1-23

       The parable of the Tares                                              vs.  24-30

       The parable of the mustard seed                                  vs.   31-32

       The parable of the Leaven                                           vs.  33-35

       The Parable of the hidden treasure                              vs.  44

       The Parable of the Pearl                                              vs. 45-46

       The Parable of drawing in the net                               vs. 47-52

        Each of the parable has vital lesson(s) to teach may God help us as we study a phrase in one of the Parables.  

Foreword      

·         A blind Soldier, A mad Soldier and a sleeping Soldier even in a battle or war front (if possible to have any of them) are on fast lane to destruction but can only be saved by the limitless Grace of God. (The world is a battlefield in the realm of the Spirit although so that nobody starts fighting everyone and everything including even furniture. John 16:33,Eph 6:12)

·         According to Advanced Learners Dictionary International Student’s Edition Eight Edition, sleep is to rest with eyes closed, mind and body not active. There are however two kinds of sleep: Physical sleep and Spiritual sleep. This parable is talking more about Spiritual sleep than physical.(spiritual sleep of :sin, Prayerlessness, Laziness all ungodly exhibitions)
 

·           Prayer is a source and preserver of good gifts/things in the same vein sleep is the source/preserver of evil gifts.

How to stay alert CACGHB 7 STANZA 4, 2 KINGS 5:25-26

·         Pray and fast more: Prayers and fasting is not for God but for us, it helps our spiritual sensitivity and alertness. (There is a high dimension of prayer called praying in the Spirit, praying with tongues as the Holy Spirit provides utterance God).pray till: praying grace falls, till spiritual alertness descends or is sharpened.

·         Holiness: Ps 24:3

·         Be an addicted student and doer of the word of God. John 6:63

·         Ask for grace to be alive in the Spirit at all times Matt 7:7,2king 6:17.

·         Listen to and associate with anointed vessels, it sharpens spiritually. relationships either increases, limits or reduces those involved.

Conclusion

In the words of Jesus in Matt 26:41 children of God are underscored the need to watch and pray, to enjoy God, our lives as provided and promised by God 3 John 2,1 Cor. 2:9 being spiritually alert is sacrosanct.

Shalom.

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THE HEART OF A MAN

TEXT: JEREMIAH 17:9-10

TOPIC: THE HEART OF A MAN

The study will be done with the following outline:

Background to the study

Foreword

The nature of the uncircumcised heart

How to purify the heart

Outro

Background to the study

The book (Jeremiah) is named after prophet Jeremiah who alongside his disciples authored the book (as generally agreed in theological circles), he was an unmarried Prophet from the Southern kingdom of Judah. He began his prophetic mission in the thirteenth year of King Josiah (about 627 BC) and finished in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah (586 BC), "when Jerusalem went into exile in the sixth month." During this period, Josiah changed the  religion of Judah, Babylon destroyed Assyria, Egypt briefly imposed vassal status on Judah, Babylon defeated Egypt and made Judah a Babylonian vassal (605 BC), Judah revolted but was subjugated again by Babylon (597 BC), and Judah revolted once more. This revolt was the final one: Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and exiled its king and many of the leading citizens in 586 BC, ending Judah's existence as an independent or quasi-independent kingdom and inaugurating the Babylonian exile.

The hard-heartedness of God’s people as revealed in the book of Jeremiah manifests itself not only vertically (towards God) but also horizontally (toward other people). “This people has a stubborn and rebellious heart,” and as a result “they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless . . . (Jer. 5:23, 28).The book of Jeremiah teaches about God’s tender heart towards the oppressed, it also unveils His desire for his own people to be mediators of mercy to those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Indeed, knowing God includes, by definition, the defence of “the cause of the poor and needy” (22:16). It also teaches the importance of the great mission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20), this can be done by recognising the need for God to do a deep, cleansing work of the heart in creating new people for himself, and being yielded vessels to be used for such.

Foreword

The nature of the heart is not a matter of how long one has been in church. It is possible to be in church and not be in sync with Christ, to be in total oblivion of what He is saying, doing or thinking, for the heart to be really far from God.Is.29:13,Matt.15:8,Mark 7:6.  It is possible to be to be a devil in the gathering of the sons of God. Job 1:6.    

The nature of the heart is not a matter of duty (ies) performed in the church. There is a popular saying that a lot of men of God were never/are not child of God. Little wonder our Lord and Saviour prophesied that He will clearly disown them at the end of the age. Matt 7:21-23.It bothers the mind each time the parables of the Good Samaritan is been read that the two other persons who turned away from the man robbed and severely injured had affiliations to clerical duties. Luke 10:30-37.   

The nature of the uncircumcised heart Act 7:51

The following are the characteristics of an uncircumcised heart:

v  Cheat/deceiver                                                       Col 3:9-10

v  Greedy/Selfish                                                       1 Tim 6:9-10 

v  Rude and mean                                                      Ps 92:6

v  Always thinking and planning evil                       Gen 6:5

v  unloving                                                                1 John 4:8

v  Far from God and godliness                                  Matt 15:8,Mark 7:6

v  Say/preaches something and does the opposite     Matt.23:3

v  Desperate                                                               2 Sam 17:23 as graced as Ahithophel  was the fact that his counsel was rejected was what made him to kill himself, what a desperate man he was.

How to purify the heart

v   By the word of God                                        Psalm 119:11

v   By prayers                                                      Matt 7:7

v  By Godly association                                      Ps 1:1 

v  Godly books                                                    Prov.13:20

v  Guiding the heart                                             Prov. 4:23

Outro

  The great cry of God is to have our heart filled and controlled by Him by this we will represent Him on earth and be guaranteed of eternal bliss. Prov.23:26, Rev 3:20 

Shalom.

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