While Men Slept - Pastor Raymond Woodward

today marks 10 weeks since the Sunday morning I flew back home into a totally altered universe I felt like I arrived home just in the nick of time because only four days later on March the 19th our provincial government instituted a state of emergency it's drastic measures included the shutdown of schools the lockdown of hospitals the shuttering of restaurants and the sudden closure of all businesses except those the government deemed essential it totally disrupted life as we knew it and we accepted it because after all there was a virus to fight the personal restrictions were even worse overnight the government's helpful recommendations became ironclad restrictions travelers suddenly became suspect forced to self isolate for two weeks upon their return home shoppers became familiar with standing in lines just to gain entrance to stores to buy groceries or necessities family members were arbitrarily separated from their loved ones even if they were in hospitals or nursing homes and even if they were dying weddings and funeral services were postponed indefinitely and we accepted it because after all there was a virus to fight citizens were encouraged to report neighbors who didn't appear to be keeping the new rules sometimes resulting in fines organizations and individuals began making decisions not based on actual health risks but solely on public perception because to go against the politically correct media driven narrative of panic could result in shaming or outright censure air traffic slowed to a crawl and our provincial borders were closed to all travelers except those the government deemed essential Canada became the only nation except for communist China to actually ban travel between the regions of our own country and we accepted it because after all there was a virus to fight life suddenly and abruptly moved online with bored people gobbling up hours of mind-numbing pursuits Netflix memberships increased dramatically zoom conference calls became the new employee reality pornography use soared literally off the charts and some worried that the internet would crash under the load Facebook and YouTube decided that they would censor any post or video that questioned the official line of the government unemployed armchair warriors with far too much time on their hands took it upon themselves to viciously attack anyone who strayed from accepted public opinion online and we accepted it because after all there was a virus to fight yes I know I know pastor restrictions have finally begun to lift but the Talking Heads are still telling us that it will be months perhaps even next year before they finally allow us to return to the new normal that they will define for us churches have been restricted to 10 people in the building since the beginning of this lockdown we are still operating that way this morning now thankfully at ccc we already had an established internet presence so we were able to carry on with a skeleton crew but many smaller churches have suffered irreparable financial damage during this time and some will not survive they will close we will have our first outdoor service tonight and for many of you it'll be the first time in ten weeks that you've seen your brothers and sisters in Christ outside of your own family but you will have to remain in your vehicle at all times and just wave at them as you see them or as they pass by now the new restrictions as I mentioned will allow us to have prayer meetings in shifts and small gatherings but they tell us we are still weeks or maybe even months from being able to gather in our building again in New Brunswick we have some of the most stringent restrictions in the world and we have accepted it because after all there is a virus to fight it has been inconvenient for pastors to preach to video cameras in empty sanctuaries hoping that somehow the message will penetrate all the distractions at home it has been worrisome for pastors to be separated from those they minister to especially those who are not online at all or those who remain inaccessible in some medical facility it has been frustrating for pastors to see liquor stores cannabis providers and fish food merchants deemed to be essential services while churches have been told they must remain in lockdown and it has been disturbing to see pastors called con men charlatans and conspiracy theorists or worse if they've dared to question the sanity of any of this this week on Friday President Trump challenged American governors in every state to open up houses of worship because they are essentiall his words were quote in America we need more prayer not less but unfortunately we have no such leadership in Canada so our progress has lagged far behind and we have accepted it because after all there is a virus to fight now I know I've made some of you very nervous in the last few minutes it has been uncomfortable to have all of the unprecedented authoritarian measures taken by our own government summarized in just a few paragraphs oh it's far more comfortable for us to just turn on Netflix or scroll through Facebook and simply not think about how much we resemble a police state right now some of you are wondering if pastor is suddenly going to join the ranks of those churches who have defied government orders and been vilified by the media so let me put your mind at ease over the last 10 weeks in addition to all of our other pastors I myself have preached messages like contagious which encouraged us to help flatten the curve to be part of the solution not part of the problem I've preached messages like house to house which encouraged us to turn our homes into churches I preached the lost Bible which encouraged us to use our extra time to renew our relationship with the Word of God and I even taught you a seven part series on the book of first Peter calls scattered witched encouraged all of us to make the best of self isolation to obey those in authority over us and to serve God regardless of persecution and opposition and I did all of that because after all there is a virus to fight I'm not a medical professional so I'm not going to do battle with the coronavirus this morning I'm not a politician so I'm not going to attack those in leadership even though I'm troubled by the biggest government overreach and economic rio 'very action in our history I'm not a news broadcaster so I'm not going to mount a counter-attack on the media even though they have created tangible fear anxiety and even paranoia among our citizens and I'm not a conspiracy theorist so I'm not going to question the official politically correct narrative of this pandemic at least not yet but I am a pastor so I will go on the offensive against another virus that is far more dangerous than the coronavirus and this virus can have eternal consequences I come to this recently sanitized pulpit in this nearly empty auditorium with a burden for you this morning because after 10 long weeks of sitting at home and doing Church online only it is so easy to slip into the new normal that all the Talking Heads are talking about let me say emphatically clearly and directly the new normal is not normal the new normal is sub normal the new normal is abnormal so resist the pressure and don't ever get used to it don't ever accept it don't ever conform to it we've finally been granted a tiny measure of freedom to gather together outside so as inconvenient as that may be for you or as awkward as that may feel to you you yes you need to take advantage of it eventually we will be allowed back in our buildings and when that happens no doubt there will be a hundred restrictions we'll have to obey and it will be inconvenient and awkward but when that happens you need to get yourself and your family back to God's house as quickly as consistently and as faithfully as humanly possible many secularists Christians and unfortunately even some pastors have taken this time of shutdown and locked down to begin bashing away once again at church gatherings you've heard all the quotes a we can practice our faith at home we don't need buildings to worship that's not necessary those inane statements are technically correct but totally incomplete especially since the Bible commands us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together even more so as we see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ approaching and that command brothers and sisters was written to first century believers who didn't even own church buildings but they still knew how critically and spiritually important it was to gather together as they served God I expressed my concern to our leadership team in an email just this week here's what I said the media has done its job the devil has been at work and unredeemed human nature has been left in charge with only online church services to offer any resistance many of our folks have experienced spiritual setbacks during this time away from in-person church especially those on the fringes of CCC so we are anticipating a serious struggle with the fear and laziness that 10 weeks of sitting at home has created but we can overcome it if we have your help let me say it clearly it is not Church when you merely sit at home and watch without singing without praying without worshiping without participating without responding that is not Church now that's great if you're disabled or chronically ill or or if you've been under a government lockdown like we have for two-and-a-half months but it's not great if you have an opportunity to gather with believers and you don't take it there's a viral epidemic floating around in the atmosphere of the last days and there are contagious carriers walking around everywhere in the end times some of them are symptomatic and some of them are asymptomatic they appear normal they don't sound sick but they already have this fatal disease working inside of them it will kill them and it's just waiting to kill you it's not called coronavirus it's called spiritual sleep spiritual slumber and it is the prophetic pandemic of this last days generation studies show that drowsy drivers contribute to more than a hundred thousand highway crashes every year causing more than 70,000 injuries and more than 1500 deaths you see just like drugs or alcohol sleepiness causes accidents because it slows reaction time it decreases awareness and it impairs judgment one reason that driving while drowsy is such a danger is it so difficult to stop yourself from nodding off you may think you can force yourself to stay awake but you can so easily doze off without even realizing it and when you're driving a motor vehicle closing your eyes for even one second can be disastrous although sleep is a natural process a physical process scripture also uses sleep as a spiritual symbol of death and as a negative symbol of laziness and spiritual sleep is far more dangerous than dozing off in a moving vehicle because with spiritual sleep you endanger not just your body or your life or others you endanger your eternal soul there are so many influences in our modern society especially now that can contribute to spiritual sleep and even Christians even good Christians can fall asleep at the wheel if they are not constantly vigilant it's why Paul writes in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 6 let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober Paul says don't you be loved to sleep like all the others around you wake up wake up Luke 22 verse 46 Jesus said why sleep ye rise and pray lest you enter into temptation Jesus said temptation is trying to infect your spirit like a virus and kill you so wake up wake up in Ephesians Paul says in 5:14 awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give the light Paul said you can die spiritually if you fall asleep in this age you can die spiritually if you let this virus infect you so wake up wake up romans chapter 13 verse 11 Paul writes again that knowing the time that it now it is high time it's about time it's past time for you to awake out of sleep why Paul for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed Paul what do you say I'm saying jesus is coming back sooner than you think so you need to wake up you need to wake up I wish I could stir you this morning I have been asked the question dozens of times over the past 10 weeks because I preached in a whole bunch of services online that had nothing to do with CCC and I've been asked this question dozens of times do you think it's dangerous right now with this virus do you think this is the end do you think this is the end times do you think this is the sign of the end and I've said repeatedly I think this is a dangerous time but I think the most dangerous time is when the restrictions begin to lift and everybody breathes a sigh of relief and they tell us we can go back to the new normal and the new normal has been conditioned by ten weeks of sitting at home kicking our feet up relaxing while we participate in religious activities online I said if Jesus is coming it says it's going to be at an hour when you think not the whole world is in pandemonium right now he could come at any time oh you know I believe that but I think it's more likely that when everything relaxes and people slide into a little bit of spiritual ease that Jesus could come at any time so you need to wake up I do not fear the coronavirus but I do fear spiritual sleep in Matthew 13 this is the scripture that God brought so forcefully to my attention this week for you Jesus tells a parable 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 man I slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way this is called the parable of the tares and it's a stern warning from Jesus himself yes your pastors have been diligently sowing the good seed of the word of God in the field of your lives during this time we may have had to use different methods but we've never stopped sowing the seed of the word of God but don't forget that Jesus told another story just before this one in Matthew 13 called the parable of the sower and in that story jesus warned us that the growth of the seed the growth of the good seed of the word of God depends entirely on the condition of the ground the seed can't grow in trampled ground shallow ground or crowded ground and I would tell you the word can't grow in a trampled life in a distracted life in a shallow commitment or in a life that is so distracted and overwhelmed by other priorities only fertile nourished tender good ground yields a harvest yes your pastors have been busy during this time but the devil has been busy too and that's why today came to of this pulpit with a heavy burden for you you may not have noticed this because you may have drifted off to sleep over the last 10 weeks and while you've been sleeping the enemy has come into your field and sowed weeds among the wheat he was in and out before you discerned his movements he was there and gone before you could even mount a defense he sowed tares in your life under the cover of darkness and he left behind maybe a carnal attitude a paralyzing fear a bad habit a crippling addiction or a lazy excuse and without you even real those tears have been growing in your field you feel emotionally lethargic you're drowsy when it comes to your spiritual disciplines and you are in danger of falling asleep and just accepting life on the couch for a little while longer the parable continues in verse 26 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 master didn't you sow good seed in your field so where did these tears come from from whence then hath it tares you see the problem with tares and wheat is that they look identical in the early part of the growing process they are nearly indistinguishable to the casual observer that's why the weeds are allowed to flourish unhindered but while wheat can feed the world tares are bitter poison they are useless for food and they are only fit for burning and destroying but the problem is once the tares get in the field you can't even see the problem until months later when the crop has matured and the damage has already been done that is unless the discerning eye of the sower lets you know somebody has been messing with your field unless God lays it on the heart of a galled God called pasture with a Shepherd's heart to say I think the devil has been sowing weeds among the wheat in your life verse 28 the master said back to his servants an enemy has done this so the servant said well will you will you then that we go up and gather them up do you want us to just pull up all all the terrors all the weeds and he said no don't do that because when you're gathering up the tears the weeds you could root up you could tear up the wheat with them he says the enemy has been at work a second big problem with tears is that you can't just root them out immediately because that would also sacrifice much of the wheat once weeds get established in the soil of your life you're forced to deal with them until you can finally cut them down and separate them from the wheat see for a while you can't even tell what's wheat and what's weeds and pasture I say this very humbly and cautiously pasture discerns that that's the case with some of you folks that are listening to me this morning right now you can't even tell what's wheat and what's weeds because you've had a steady diet of what media in various forms has put into your spirit your heart your attention and your mind for weeks now even with online church you've been going from service to service church to church city to city pasture to pasture voice to voice nothing wrong with that Beverly and I do that too but if you're not careful somehow the voice of your church your pastor your man of God gets drowned out with all the distractions and you can't even tell what's wheat and what's weeds there's so many opinions so many perspectives so many doctrines floating around today and that's why early detection of the enemy's activity is so very important and that's why the warning voice of your pastors preaching is so critical in your life pastoring is kind of a little bit of a head trip now and again because you know if you preach what thus saith the LORD somebody's gonna have a problem with it somebody's going to criticize it somebody's going to say you're arrogant and overreaching they you're trying to be a control freak and what business is it of yours anyway and yet God called pastors have such a burden for the people of God that they're pushed and compelled to preach the word to you here was the Masters solution in Jesus parable in verse 30 he said unfortunately we've got to let both grow together until the harvest and in the time of harvest I'm dealing with this I'm not talking about pastor I'm talking about Jesus he said I will say to the Reapers gather ye together first the tares the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a theologian to discern what Jesus is alluding to when he talks about burning the weeds he said but you gather the wheat into my barn there is coming a time of judgment when the Lord of the harvest will deal with the tares don't you worry he will deal with it the return of Jesus Christ is not something to trifle with it is the reality that should impact everything we do every day remember that Jesus told another story the parable of the ten virgins to warn us about his coming all of these prospective brides were virgins all of them expected the bridegroom to come at some point and all of them fell asleep while they were waiting because falling asleep is so easy when you're waiting for his coming for so long only five of them had oil in their lamps so only half of them got to be part of the bride now you listen to me the only reason Jesus told that parable was to warn us that it is possible to believe you are ready for his coming and yet in reality not be ready for his coming at all Matthew 25 while the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept it's the spirit of our age spiritually speaking but at midnight there was a cry made behold the bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him that cry that call that trumpet that moment that appointment is still coming at us it's a treacherous thing to live in the end times so close to the coming of the Lord when the awareness is so low and the stakes are so high an epidemic of sin is destroying the world and a pandemic of slumber is attacking the church this is the era of casual uncommitted unconcerned Christianity we live in the hour of astonishing signs of the times that would have scared our elders fear to death but nobody even notices them anymore it is the time just before the end of time and it is time to wake up it is time as restrictions begin to lift not to ease yourself back into church involvement you need to run to church involvement you need to run to any gathering that you can possibly get to it's so critically important because it defies the spirit and the attack and the slumber of this age in the kingdom wheat and weeds are growing side by side and there's nothing we can do about it some good people some hypocritical people some dedicated people some unconcerned in every local church weeds and wheat grow side-by-side and there's nothing pastors can do about it because we're instructed by Jesus to let the wheat and the tares grow together until he comes so we don't pick out people and pick on people and we don't target people but every once in a while there's a warning to the church not everybody's going to get it not everybody will receive it you may have already tuned it out by checking your email your Facebook feed or something else while I've been preaching so sadly I may not even be talking to you but I am talking to somebody that can feel the hand of the Holy Ghost on your shoulder and he's shaking you saying wake up wake up and you resisted at first and you didn't think it was important or you thought it was just you but he's shaking you more insistently just like your parents shook you in the morning when you needed to get up for school or for work or for a job interview and they said wake up you've got to wake up you got to get up you'll miss it if you don't wake up well pastor came to this service online this morning to shake you one more time and say if you can hear me at all if there's any discernment at all then wake up it's the hour the urgency of the end times didn't go away because we've been in lockdown for 10 weeks the urgency of the end times is still with us and even more so so wake up wake up in the kingdom weeds and wheat grow side by side nothing we can do about it in the local church weeds and wheat grow side by side nothing we can do about it and in your life your own life may be weeds and we'd have been growing side by side over this time of social isolation because the enemy has been busy during this season and maybe just maybe you've dozed off spiritually here's the difference while you can't control what others do you can fully control what you choose to do we can't pull the weeds out of the church without hurting the wheat we can't pull the weeds out of the kingdom without hurting the wheat but listen to me you can pull the weeds out of your life because you control your life you can make a decision as to what happens in your field and you can influence what happens in your home and in your family so I came to this online service I'm grateful for it and I despise it at the same time I'm grateful I can communicate to you and share the Word of God but we miss you and it is distasteful to me to preach this precious gospel in a nearly empty building when we've got a job to do I know I've heard all the rhetoric some from saying some even from pastors unfortunately well we don't need buildings come on back in February when we've got 10 feet of snow on the ground and let's talk about how much we don't need buildings buildings are not sinful buildings are not evil and in our climate buildings are even necessary but what's even more important than this building is what you're building in your life and if you've eased off if you're not feeling this intense desire to get back together with the saints of God at the house of God somewhere sometimes somehow I just have two words for you wake up wake up wake up throw aside your feeble excuses and wake up push back against the lethargy of the last days no I'm not mounting some stupid rebellion against the government or our leaders or our medical professionals we're doing everything we can to keep all of their recommendations even if we don't agree with all of them I'm not mounting a rebellion except I'd like you to mount a rebellion against the devil in your own heart in your own spirit and in your own home and I like you to wake up because Jesus will be back before we know it Lord Jesus I thank you for the privilege of addressing your people and our friends and our guests who have joined us and I know the word is intense this morning it's just some of them they've already tuned it out I know the word is invasive this morning so some of them have already tried to distract their mind they're already getting ready to go on about their day go to something else on the internet I got it I know it Jesus but God you're reaching for somebody that can feel the gentle shaking of your hand on their shoulder saying it's high time to wake out of sleep it's high time to get yourself back to church it's high time to get yourself back in the word it's high time to get your little self back in prayer it's high time wake up wake up wake up and so god I don't control anybody that is the paradox of preaching I can't make anybody do anything but I have tried my best I have preached what you forcibly gave me to preach today and I pray right now that you would do the work that only you can do and I ask for conviction to drop like a bomb in somebody's spirit and in somebody's living room and in somebody's kitchen right now shake us Jesus what a tragedy it would be to stumble in the last mile of the race so God do what only you can do I leave it with you and I leave it with your people and I leave it with those hearts and those souls and those individuals who have been watching this morning if you would right now we don't normally do this maybe we should but I like everybody that would to join me in a prayer of repentance right now because repentance is your first step to getting to God or to getting back to God so let's pray repentance is turning away turning around from everything the enemy's tried to sow into your life so let's pray together right now before we go about our busy days Lord Jesus right now I open my heart to you I am not resistant to your word I am receptive I am convicted and I am challenged and Jesus I repent of dozing off in my spiritual disciplines I repent of just living life like every neighbor on every other street corner in this city I repent God sitting at home online and it'd be easy for me to just kind of bury Church among everything else I do on the internet I [Music] repent Jesus I ask you to forgive me for a casual attitude or a calloused heart and I give you permission Jesus this morning to dig deep in my heart and in my life and in my spirit and I turn away from that because I will not let a 10 week pandemic of a virus distract me from serving you I will not let 10 weeks of self-isolation at home I will not let that deter me from getting my little self back to the house of God as soon as I can and as frequently as I can I will not let a viral pandemic keep me out of heaven I'm coming back Jesus better than ever more committed than ever more prayerful than ever more worshipful than ever in Jesus name I pray if you just prayed that prayer you can lift up your hands right now and begin worshiping God and he can fill you with the Holy Ghost right where you sit right now this very moment if you prayed that prayer your very next step is to be water baptized in the only saving name of Jesus Christ and we can do that here at this building keeping all procedures and protocols in place and we'll do it before the Sun sets tonight because this is important and Jesus is coming and we need to wake up so Holy Spirit you're welcome come flood this place fill the Atmos your glory God is what comes to be [Music] holy spirit' you're welcome here come flood at this place [Music] your dory gosh what a hard slow to be [Music] up here right here Jesus this place [Music] hearts love for to me [Music] spirit receive the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus right where you [Music] this world [Applause] [Music] you [Music] Oh [Music] you're welcome [Applause] [Music] [Music] spirit [Music] aha [Music] be healed in the name of Jesus right where you sit in Jesus name spirit [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] sing that last long team your presence [Music]

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 49,141

Rating: 4.8837209 out of 5

Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, apostolic, christian, preaching, sermons, sermon, raymond, woodward, jack, leaman, matthew, bible, study, biblical teaching, WHile, men, slept, while men slept

Id: xQP7PoWim9k

Length: 42min 43sec (2563 seconds)

Published: Sun May 24 2020