Matthew 13:24-30 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.”
INSIGHT
-Rebellion in Hebrew is written as mered which means to revolt, resist authority or become unfaithful. The parable of the wheat and tares reveals how men become rebellious towards God and His will, and are deceived and turned away by the schemes of the devil even as they sleep. Luke 21:34-36 reminds us of the need to watch and pray always that we may be counted worthy to escape carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life and other evil schemes, but to stand worthy before the Son of Man. The enemy does not plant tares among other tares but among the wheat. The wheat is symbolic to the good seed that grows and develops into the will and purpose of God having faith and hope in the salvation power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The tares on the other hand is the seed that the enemy plants in the hearts of men to distract them from the will of God and draw them away from His kingdom and eventually causing their destruction. That is why we are called to watch and pray always that we may not be ensnared into the trap of the devil and miss our inheritance now and eternally.
PRAYER
Search me Oh Lord and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Have mercy upon me O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions and wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and rebellion, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Forgive us, our families, churches, leaders, president and nation for we have rebelled against You. Guide through Your loving-kindness and lead us in the way everlasting. May You heal our wounds and our land, and grant us Your gift of salvation. And may Your grace help us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling that we may be faithful to You Lord in all things. May You bless us Oh Lord, and make us fruitful according to Your great pleasures and will. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: 1 Peter 5:8-11, Psalms 139:21-24
1 Samuel 15:22-23 NKJV
“So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”
INSIGHT
-Samuel charges Saul over rebellion against God by violating the central requirement of the covenant condition given to him when he became king (1 Samuel 12:14-15). King Saul went to war with the Amalekites and was instructed to destroy everything and everyone. He disobeyed and spared king Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them (1 Samuel 15:9). Saul had saved the best of the livestock for sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel did not suggest that sacrifice is unimportant but that it is acceptable only when brought with an attitude of obedience and devotion to the Lord. Saul was to be dethroned but this did not happen immediately. First, the Holy Spirit and God’s favor left him (1 Samuel 16:14). His son Jonathan and daughter Michal defected to David (1 Samuel 18:1-4, 19:11-17). Further, the insubordination of his own officials (1 Samuel 22:17). God is calling us to take heed to His voice and instructions without wavering and we will continuously enjoy the presence, favor and blessings.
PRAYER
We give thanks to You Lord our God for You are good and Your mercies endures forever. We give thanks to You our Lord our Savior and King for You are Faithful and Your faithfulness is everlasting. We give thanks to You Lord our Maker and Protector for Your power is unending. We give thanks to You Abba Father, for Your love endures forever. You are highly lifted up in all the heavens and all the earth. Dear Lord Jesus may You teach us to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness and all other things You will add unto us. May You give us hearts of flesh that we may be obedient to Your will and Your voice always. May You fill us with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord that we may choose obedience over sacrifice. We thank You for the victory that You have continuously given us, even by dying on the cross for our sins and resurrecting from the grave. May You forgive us all our sins and wash us with Your precious blood. May You set us from all issues that we face in life, family, business, churches, government and nation. May You set us free from failure, delay, pain, lack, disease, shame, condemnation, oppression and confusion. May Your peace that surpasses all understanding reign in our hearts. We honor You dear Lord Jesus and give You praise now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Acts 5:29, Isaiah 1:19
Psalms 107:10–15 NKJV
“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
INSIGHT
-The children of Israel rebelled against God’s word and counsel, and were subjected to bitter and foreign labor possibly in the hands of the Babylonians under king Nebuchadnezzar. They sat in darkness and shadows of death; an imagery of distress and extreeme difficulty. They were exposed to hard labor and they stumbled and their strength failed. They were chained in slavery and imprisoned by bars of iron. They cried out to the Lord and He delivered them. Isaiah 40:29–31 tells us that, Our God gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Let us continue trusting in God and praying without ceasing in every personal and national tribulation, and He will deliver us.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father we come before You this morning thanking You for the gift of life and all that You have done unto us. We praise You and worship You because You love us and care for us. We exult Your name and thank You for this far that You have brought us. May You forgive us for rebelling against You and Your word Abba Father. May You deliver us from every form of slavery, break the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two. May You deliver us from every form of oppression in our nation and save us. May You break in chain in our government and economy and save us. May You deliver us from every form of local and foreign oppression dear Jesus. May You break every yoke and accusation in the spiritual realm and physical reality. May You save us Almighty Father. We worship You Lord and bless Your name. In Jesus Mighty name we pray believing and trusting. Amen
Further reading: Micah 7:8-9, Psalm 34:18
Hebrews 3:7-11 NKJV
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.”
INSIGHT
-After deliverance from captivity in Egypt, the Israelites went into the wilderness and remained rebellious to God. They were not willing to hear and hearken to the voice of the Lord therefore lost valuable time going round the desert and a whole generation perished. The spirit of disobedience resulted in God’s wrath excluding them from entrance into the promised rest of Canaan. The result of disobedience and hardening of heart is thus departing from God, getting lost in sin and escaping eternal rest in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
Your mercies and new each morning dear Jesus, have mercy on us and grant us peace. We have rebelled against You and fallen short of Your glory, please forgive us. We come to Your throne of grace with confidence that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us during our time of need. This is our time of need may You save us dear Master. May You save us from rebellion, idolatry, corruption, love of money, mismanagement of resources, lying, adultery, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life, drugs and alcoholism, LGBTQ+ issues, unforgiveness, and other evil vices. May You save our lives, families, children, marriages, government and nation. May You be our present help in times of need. May You hear all the lost, the orphans, widows, widowers, street children and families dear Master. May You help us our precious Helper Holy Spirit. May You save us our dear Savior Jesus Christ. May You accompany us always in our journey of faith Abba Father. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen
Further reading: Psalms 95:6-11
Psalms 68:18–19 NKJV
“You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the Lord God might dwell there. Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah”
INSIGHT
-The Psalmist delivers a prophetic message of hope regarding the coming of our Messiah. He came to dwell among the people including the rebellious and deliver the captives. Those who believe in Him, He gives gifts through the power of the Holy Spirit. In His kindness and love, He saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5).
SUMMARY
Spiritual awakening involves knowing God and following His divine will. The Israelites were delivered and set free from slavery in Egypt under the rulership of Pharaoh but they did not submit to God. They experienced the wrath of God and went round the wildereness for fourty (40) years where an entire generation perished. They did not enter rest. God is calling us saying, if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:7-11). Later on, the Israelites were captured again into slavery by king Nebuchadnezzar which lasted more than seventy (70) years. They rebelled against the words of God and despised His counsel. They were brought down with hard labor, chains and bars of iron. In their distress they cried out to the Lord and He saved them. King Saul also rebelled against God. He was dethroned and his kingdom taken away from him and his generations. He spared king Agag and the best of the Amalekites livestock even as God instructed him to destroy everything. Rebellion is compared to the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness like idolatry (1 Samuel 15:22-23). We are called to fear God and always do His purpose. The devil is the author of rebellion. He rebelled from the beginning and fought with angel Michael. He has cast down as a fallen angel and deceives men to disobey God and leads the whole world astray (Revelation 12:7–10). He is the sower of tares among wheat (Matthew 13:24–30), and his objective is to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). We are called to obey God and submit to Him in everything. To fear the Lord and to keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). To stay alert and pray always, especially in the spirit.
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus only You are worthy to be praised. Only You deserve to be adored. Only You are God and all the other gods are idols made by human hands. They cannot see nor hear us when we call. Only You are glorified, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father in glory and majesty. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus You are Lord to the glory of God the Father. You are the Holy one of God, thank You for saving us through Your mercy and grace. Thank You for washing us with Your precious blood into a rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. May You save all those who are lost and secure them in Your kingdom. May Your message of hope and peace reach all the unreached and transform our hearts to fear You and follow Your statutes. May You bless all our students undertaking their exams and grant them success. May You respond to all our needs and hearts desires dear Jesus. May You help us and save us from oppression and depression in our economy and nation. May You bless our nation and all its people. May You bless us and keep us Lord. May You shine Your face towards us and be gracious unto us. May You show Your countenance unto us and give us peace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen
Further reading: John 1:1-14