A Story Of Hope

A Story of Hope

Matthew 13:24-30

June 2001

24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner’s servants came to him and said, `Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 " `An enemy did this,’ he replied. "The servants asked him, `Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 " `No,’ he answered, `because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ "

I. The Reality of the Field

A. The one who sows good

1. Jesus is the good sower

a.) The fruit of His work is the church

b.) We are called to be a light in this dark and desperate world. Jesus is the hope of the world

2. We have the message that brings life

a.) It is important to remember that heaven is counting on us – We are the ambassadors of the Kingdom of God

b.) The church is the messenger of the hope of Jesus

B. The one who sows evil

1. We have a common enemy

a.) Not flesh and blood but rather spiritual powers and principalities

b.) we struggle against Satan’s dark forces

1.) He will do everything that he can to keep us down

2.) He wants us to be unproductive and hindered by his work

3.) He can not touch us or harm us but he can discourage us,

2. Satan is sowing seeds in our world

a.) He sows in discouragement, disillusionment and destructive attitudes within our world and in many churches

b.) His weeds are sprouting and we have to fight back

1.) Prayer is our weapon

2.) Hope is our supply

3.) Resurrection is our firepower

II. The Problem of the Field

A. The good seed

1. People of the Kingdom

a.) You are the good seed - children of God, servants of the Kingdom

b.) We are called to wage war and to keep fighting the good fight

c.) Our goal is to put Satan in his place by the power of God

1.) We must stand in the gap and pray for our lost friends and loved ones

2.) We must be willing to share the message of hope in Christ with anyone and everyone

3.) We must become fully and completely committed to the mission of the Kingdom of Christ

2. We must stand together and be a united front

a.) we must be a people of God who will strive for victory in Jesus

b.) when we stand with Jesus we win because He has won for us already,

B. The bad seed

1. Satan uses and abuses this world

a.) The world is Satan’s plaything and like a small child he destructive

b.) Satan is a lion who roars a lot but has no teeth because he has already been defeated

2. Now is the time to we bathe this church and our community in prayer because prayer is our greatest weapon

III. The Finality of the Field

A. Good and bad will grow together

1. There will be a harvest – A Day of reckoning

a.) There will be a day when we are going to be held accountable for what we have done in this life

b.) We will also be held accountable for what we have not done

2. We must stand together and hold one another up

a.) We must be united in prayer, in purpose and in passion

b.) We must become united against our common foe

B. Weeds will be burned

1. Those who serve the world will be destroyed

a.) We have to reach those who are lost

1.) Monumental task that seems so impossible that we often fail to try

2.) Jesus builds His Kingdom one soul at a time

b.) Jesus loves them and so must we

1.) Jesus died just as much for them as He did for us

2.) Jesus wants them to find a relationship with Him

a.) God’s desire is that none would be lost and perish

b.) Every single person on the face of the earth was created to have a relationship with God

2. Now is the time to stand

a.) we must stand for the principles of the Bible and make them paramount