TOPIC : WHILE MEN SLEPT II
MEMORISE:
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. Judges 16:19 (KJV)
READ: Judges 16:19-22 (KJV)
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
MESSAGE
The sleeping state of a man is a state when he is unaware of his surroundings and unable to change things around him. The enemies usually exploit this time to do evil. When a person sleeps spiritually, the devil would use that opportunity to steal from the fellow and destroy valuable things in his or her life.
During one of our conventions some years ago, there was a heavy rain and one of my children came to me and said, “Daddy what happened? You were supposed to be on the mountain praying”. I said, “I fell asleep; it was the rain that woke me up”. At first, when I awoke and saw the rain, I asked God, “Daddy, how could this be?” He replied, “I allowed it to rain because the crowd coming tonight will be much, so I need to cool the place down in readiness for them”. While I was asleep, the Devil was hoping the rain would discourage people from coming for the programme however, he did not know that God would make it favour us.
Believe it or not, as long as you are a Christian, the devil will fight you and if he finds you asleep spiritually, he will seek to devour you. If however, you are awake, you can resist him and he will flee from you. That is why we are warned in 1 Peter 5:8 to be vigilant. Stay awake so you can fight the enemy off. In Judges 16:19, it was while Samson was sleeping in the lap of a harlot that his supernatural strength was taken from him. It is important to note that when the devil wants to make a person sleep, he would provide things to please his or her flesh and this closes the person’s spiritual eyes. Sometimes, the devil uses money or career opportunities that take people away from their first love. That is why, no matter how good things get, you must always remain spiritually alert.
The reason I still go out on prayer walks at night, even at my age, is to avoid sleeping off. Sometimes, you need to get up and go somewhere uncomfortable so you can pray. Don’t allow the pleasures of this world drive you away from the presence of your Father in heaven.
KEY POINT
Spiritual sleep gives the devil an opportunity to fight and defeat a person. Be spiritually alert always.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
John 9-10
AUTHOR : PASTOR E . A ADEBOYE
HYMN 20: Stand Up! Stand Up For Jesus
1 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not suffer loss:
From vict’ry unto vict’ry
His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished
And Christ is Lord indeed.
2 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict
In this His glorious day.
Ye that are men, now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger.
And strength to strength oppose.
3 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you;
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor,
And, watching unto prayer,
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.
4 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long:
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh
A crown of life shall be;
He, with the King of glory,
Shall reign eternally.
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