06/25/2023
THOUGHTS ON THE LORD’S DAY
by coach David Robinson
“While the Church slept.”
“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.”
- Matthew 13:25
Sowing is not the problem. Even sowing tares isn’t the real issue. The real issue is those who are sleeping. In Matthew 25, it wasn't just the foolish virgins that were sleeping. The wise were asleep as well. Samson ruined his destiny because he slept in the lap of Delilah one too many times. The disciples disrespected their Master by sleeping while He prayed and missed the opportunity to pray with their Savior. Jonah slept while his getaway ship was sinking, and the Foolish Virgins missed the wedding.
The American Church is a victim of its own making. They went to sleep in the late 1880s while Satan sowed the seeds of Secular Humanism with the goal of removing God from public life. Those seeds have ripened and now dominate America’s entire educational system and governmental policymaking bodies. For decades, the enemy sowed tares in the public square while the Church thought the faith of their Founding Fathers would continue to dominate and grow without tending the public garden.
In Romans 13:11, Paul is calling the Church to awake from her spiritual unconsciousness, unresponsiveness, and inactivity concerning the things of God in everyday public life, not just in her corporate gatherings. During the 1950s-90s in what was known as the “Church Growth Movement,” charismatic leaders across America built mega congregations and para-church ministries. Meanwhile, the enemy sowed seeds of secularism and gained ground in public life, the place where all spiritual battles to advance God’s Kingdom are won or lost.
In case you've been sleeping, the war for the soul of America rages. With few exceptions, the enemy now controls every city council, county commission, and school board in our once-Christian nation. Outnumbered brave Christians who serve in those areas are doing hand-to-hand combat to just hang on. Of what value are packed churches if those attending are losing the very war God commissioned to fight in Matthew 28 and empowered them to win in Acts 1:8 and 2:4?
Christians must awake out of their spiritual slumber. They must dress for war according to Ephesians 6. They must leave the safety of their gatherings and show up every day at the gates of their city armed for battle, where the fighting is most intense. The battle for the gates, the places of influence in your city, has never been greater nor more critical.
If the Church continues to sleep at the gates of influence and authority, Christianity in America as a way of life and a guiding national influence will become a distant memory. While She sleeps, the enemy continues to sow his seeds and delightfully reaps his harvest, starting with our innocent children and gullible youth with every passing day.
“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war. Rouse the Warriors. Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.”
- Joel 3:9
Coach David Robinson