Living Hope Fellowship Church

WHILE MEN SLEPT

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

WHILE MEN SLEPT

Preface

(the church is asleep, laziness)

          Matthew 13:24-25 says, “. . . The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”

          While men slept, the enemy has come and done this thing to the church.  People are slothful and asleep in their hearts!

          Jesus said there were tares in that field because men were asleep.  God has commanded us to get out of this slumber.  He is calling you into the prayer closet to seek God’s face again. 

WHILE MEN SLEPT

(the church is asleep, laziness)

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

          In Matthew 13:24-28 Jesus said, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which 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 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. . . .”

          Some do not understand why the tares (being the hypocrites and the sinners) are mingled among those that are supposed to be the wheat (God’s children, Christ’s body, the church).  Jesus gave us this parable.  While men slept, the devil came in!  A religious spirit came and planted deeply in the church a hypocritical counterfeit of the real thing of God.  God’s Word gives examples and instructions, and it is applicable for today. 

          Jesus said in Matthew 13:28, “. . . An enemy hath done this. . . .”  Verse 25 tells us it was while men slept.  There is a spirit of slumber in the land!  Tares have been sown, and multitudes of them are spreading across the land.

          In our area, Johnson grass might be likened to a tare.  In some areas it’s even illegal to have it on your field, and you could receive a fine for it, because it could spread and destroy other men’s crops as well.    

          If a man sleeps all the time, and doesn’t cultivate or get the proper herbicide to destroy Johnson grass, it will spread until it chokes any seed you plant and any crop that could come forth.  This is a similitude concerning the Word of God and His church. 

          The best way to get rid of a hypocrite is to look in the mirror and say, “I’m not going to be one myself.”  Believe God for a change and come on for Jesus. 

          Look at the scriptures again.  This came about while men slept, and there is a deep sleep on this land.  Proverbs 24:30-32 says, “I went by the field of the slothful [that means lazy], and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding [one who has not listened or has not heard things he should know];  And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.  Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.” 

          People need to receive instruction.  They are looking for something, but have found tares, counterfeits.  In their soul, some will realize that it doesn’t line up with the Word of God.  It’s close.  It’s a tare, and it’s not of God. 

          Proverbs 24:33-34 says, “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:  So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.”  The church is in poverty today.  Do you remember what Jesus said in Revelation 3:17?  “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

          The church is full of tares, full of things that are not of God, and how did it happen?  The shepherds were asleep.  Many pastors and evangelists have preached a smooth gospel that they might continue to make a living.  Jesus preached hell, fire, and brimstone at times.  He looked the Pharisees straight in the eye and said in Matthew 23:33, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” 

          If a preacher said it to you, would you continue to pray for him and continue to pay tithes and offerings that he might continue to preach without having to labor on an outside job, so that he might stay in the Word of God and prayer?       

          Many would shut the preacher completely down.  Many who are preaching know that this is the truth, and they cannot stand to be without food.  I know that this is getting in an area that is going to make some people upset, but beloved, we need to be upset enough to do something about it.  Look up to heaven and say, “Have we really missed it?  Is there something to what this man is preaching?  God, reveal it to me now by your Spirit.”

          Let’s get back into the scriptures.  The field was grown up because they were slothful in the vineyard.  The church wasn’t praying and seeking God.  They were having organized groupings.  They were having suppers and little get-togethers, but they weren’t praying and seeking God. 

          Years ago the Lord dealt with me and said, “Would you not watch with me one hour and have others do likewise?”  I said, “Yes, Lord.”  We began a prayer meeting where we just pray, and it’s not long at all.  It is an act of faith toward God, showing that our church wants to come on for God.  We have a prayer meeting on Friday nights that goes a solid hour.  You may not think that sounds like much.  However, to try to get a bunch of people to really believe God for a solid hour, without having to entertain or feed them, or give them something later is a pretty awesome task in this area, and in these times, especially in America.     

          God says in Hebrews 11:6 that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  God wants you to diligently seek him.  He doesn’t want you lazy or slothful.  He wants you to come on for God.  This is what keeps the tares from being sown.  If they had not been asleep the enemy would not have been able to sow the tares.  There wouldn’t be the hypocrites that there are now.  Sure, there are going to be some scattered here and there, but I dare say that the field is almost completely consumed.  However, beloved, I also know that God says that He has a remnant. 

          I’m telling you now, wherever you are, that God is calling you out of the field choked with tares.  He’s calling you in to the prayer closet to seek God’s face again, because while men slept, the enemy has come and done this thing to the church.  We believe God today for deliverance.  God wants to set people free. 

          What has been going on with all these things that we see and cannot seem to get the victory over?  In Romans 11:8 it says, “(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.” 

          Right now—Now faith—This day—Isn’t the Word of God for right now?  Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  Isn’t this word just as real today as it was two thousand years ago or all the way back to the beginning of time?  Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 

          What do we see then?  Up until right now, even as we speak, God has given the spirit of slumber on His church.  Why?  It is because they were asleep in their heart.  They were slothful.  They didn’t fast, and pray, and continue to seek God.  They got lazy.  Some copy Grandpa and Grandma, rather than how they got it!  They bounce around and look religious and say religious things.  They will send out tapes and books and get on the radio, but God knows that they are asleep.  There is a spirit of slumber. 

          Some people don’t even know that there is a drought in the land, a famine in the land for the Word of God.  Amos 8:11 tells us, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” 

          Jesus said there are tares in there because men have been asleep.  God has commanded us to get out of this sleep and slumber.  God doesn’t want us to stay in this thing.  God wants us to get up and wake up!  This is why we are calling to you today, “Wake up, in the name of Jesus.”  We must tear the nettles out, pull the thorns out, and rebuild the wall, which is the hedge between us and the devil.  Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you.  How do you get this thing done?  Preach holiness, believe God, begin to witness, and seek God’s face for the whole truth and nothing but the truth in Jesus’ mighty name.         

          God wants his people alive and awake.  Did you know that there are bondages of the devil that keep men asleep?  These things literally hold on to them, and they will fall asleep at any given time.  It doesn’t matter what they are doing.  They could be going down the road or just walking, and they could fall asleep.  That is a devil from the pit.  God wants you to be set free.  This is something that takes place in an individual.  However, it is taking place in the whole church spiritually. 

          Look around, and see that some people are contented and pleased, because things are going smoothly as usual.  God says that it is an abomination!  There is not revival in the land!  The deaf are still deaf; the blind are still blind; those in wheelchairs remain there; those who are bound and devil possessed continue to be so.  The tares that you dislike so much are still bound and possessed or oppressed of the devil, because somebody has gone to sleep at the wheel.  The whole train is going completely off the rails and is being derailed.  There is an accident.  Why?  They went to sleep right in church.  Why?  God has sent a spirit of slumber.  Why?  They have not sought God as they are supposed to. 

          Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart.  God is calling us out of sleep.  He’s calling us out of slumber that we might seek His face and ask forgiveness.  We must ask Him to set us free from the spirit of slumber that the tares would be rooted out and the wheat would remain and prosper. 

          There will be a final move of God, and I believe God’s going to do a quick work on the earth.  However, we aren’t going to see or receive anything from God unless we wake up and believe God again!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL  62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail  livinghope@hughes.net

www.livinghopefellowshipchurch.org

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord.  Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication.