Sermon on 21 April 2024 by Pastor Gaius Lee
Matthew 13:30 - ”Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”“
Matthew 13:43 - ”Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!“
Only the righteous will enter into the Kingdom of God. The verses are from the parable of the wheat and weeds.
Matthew 13:24-30 - ”Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”“
In agriculture, when you want to play a trick on your neighbour’s farm, they will put seeds of weed in their wheat. The enemy doesn’t come directly to destroy you but puts poison slowly. When people sin and fall away from God, it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, when something bad happens, people tend to turn back to God. The enemy tries to get us away from God by sowing impurities. In the first instance, you can’t tell that it is impure. When we start to sin and fall away, we don’t even know it. When we sin, it is so entrenched that it is very difficult to untangle them. If one member doesn’t belong to God and we use our own wisdom to chase them away, we run the risk of those fervent to God leaving. Even for those who come in with the wrong intent, God wants to save them. Our mission place is not in the church, but out there in our workplace, families and friends. They need to see that there is Jesus in us. If at the end of the day, we are very stubborn and don’t want to repent, we need to be accountable for our choices.
Matthew 13:36-43 - ”Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.” Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!“
At the end of the day, we have to be accountable. For Christians, He will send His angels to get us out of the problem. But if we are those who cause sin and cause other people to sin, we will be out of the Kingdom. Many people claim that they are Christians but don’t live like how God asks us to live. If we really love someone, we will go all out to bring them back to God. We don’t need to say much about condemnation but talk about hope.
Time
Time to Aware
Matthew 13:26 - ”When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.“
You need time before you can see the difference between wheat and weed. We need time to be aware if we are bearing fruit.
Matthew 25:1 - ”“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.“
Matthew 25:3-4 - ”The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.“
The wise are prepared while the unwise are unprepared.
Matthew 25:32 - ”All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.“
Matthew 25:45 - ”“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’“
The sheep are not looking for status or fame. They do it humbly. The goats will tell Jesus that they have done so many things, but Jesus actually doesn't know them.
Time to Await
Matthew 13:30 - ”Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”“
God wants to remind us that there will be imperfections. There will not be a perfect church as people are imperfect. Besides Jesus, everyone in the Bible is imperfect. But God used our imperfect mess to fulfill His perfectness.
Matthew 25:5 - ”When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.“
Matthew 13:29 - ”“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.“
Even if there are sinners among us, God wants us to accept them. He doesn’t want us to judge.
Time to Awake
Matthew 13:30 - ”Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”“
If I am the weed, my ending is destruction.
Matthew 13:40-42 - ”“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“
We can be angry but do not sin. Don’t keep the anger.
Matthew 25:12 - ”“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’“
Matthew 25:46 - ”“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”“
The righteous are those who don’t cause sin and are not law breakers.
2. Choice
Do we want to be the weed or the wheat?
Do we want to be law breakers or the righteous?
Do we want to belong to the sons of the evil one or the Kingdom?
Do we want to be burned or go to God’s barn?
Do we want to go to the fiery furnace or live in God’s Kingdom?
Do we want to choose an eternity of weeping or shine in His Kingdom?
Matthew 13:43 - ”Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!“
Amen.
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