Kingdom Of Heaven [part 1] Series

Introduction: I am almost 100% sure that I am preaching to some today who are tares. Now, you think you are saved. You hope to are saved. You know the lingo of the church, you look saved and act as saved as anyone around you, but you have never really been born again.

I have just one objective in preaching this message, and that is to get each of you to do what the Apostle Paul commanded the Corinthians to do, 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?", and to do what the Apostle Peter told his readers to do in 2 Peter 1:10, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" The question may come this morning, "Preacher, why are you preaching this message to us?" The answer is: I don't want you to go through life being deceived about your salvation and ending up in hell! I want you to be sure that you are saved by the grace of God!

Are you wheat? Or, are you tares? Someone might say, "Preacher, we're all saved today! There's no need for a message like this!" Friend, you don't know that! You say, "I know that my Mama is saved!" No you don't! "I know my Daddy is saved!" No you don't! "Well, I know my kids are saved!" No you don't! The truth is, you don't know about anyone but yourself, and you may even be wrong about that! Think about this, there are over 200 million Americans who are church members. If they are all saved, then why is there crime, abortion, drinking, drugs, sexual immorality and hellish living in our society? If they are all saved, then why do young people who claim to be saved have premarital sex at the same rate as the world? The truth of the matter is that people often think that they are wheat when they are in fact tares. Allow me to share 3 brief thoughts with you that tell what the wheat and the tares have in common, but which also point out what makes them so different.

While I preach this message, I desire everyone to be tuned in. Please let the Lord speak to your heart today. If you are saved, this message won't hurt you, but if you are lost, it could be the turning point of your life. Let the Lord speak to you today …

What was the DESTINY of the wheat and tares?

1. Both were PLANTED together

Both the wheat and the tares shared the common experience of having been planted. The difference in the experience is revealed in 2 very important ways.

(a) The Character Of The Seed - Obviously, the wheat seed produced wheat while the tare seed produced tares. On a spiritual level, the "seed" is that thing that we have placed our faith in. For the genuine believer, the "seed" is the Gospel of grace. The truly born again person is trusting Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. The tares, on the other hand, may be trusting in any number of emotional, spiritual or physical experiences for their salvation. It all comes down to where you have placed you faith. What are you trusting in for your salvation?

Illustration: There may be someone who says, "Preacher, my Mama assures me that when I was little, I trusted Jesus." Friend, your Mama cannot assure you of your salvation! You had better not depend on the assurances of others when it comes to your eternal destiny. Another might say, "It’s all kind of fuzzy, and I don't remember much about it, but everyone tells me that I have been saved." Folks, we need to realize that Hell will be filled with people who are basing their salvation on some "fuzzy" experience they had when they were a child, or some emotional experience during some revival or good service. What we need to understand is that salvation only comes to a heart that has been convicted of sin and after genuine repentance has taken place. John 6:44 tells us that it is impossible to be saved until the sinner has been drawn to God. My friends, if you have ever been under conviction, you will never forget it. There will be nothing "fuzzy" about that experience!

The question that must be answered today is this, "Where is your faith?" On what do you base your hope of Heaven? It must be in the Gospel, that is, in the death and resurrection of Christ's atoning work at Calvary, or your faith is in vain!