Hey, Preacher. Leave Those Weeds Alone. Series

Last week we acknowledged the existence of two spiritual kingdoms. There is the kingdom of sin that established itself in rebellion against God’s rule. And there is the Kingdom of Jesus that is crying out for us to rise up against the kingdom of sin.

We also acknowledged the fact that we were originally born into the kingdom of sin but Jesus purchased us with his blood and transferred us into his Kingdom. There we were established, counted as one of his beloved subjects. However, He is a jealous King that will not permit us to remain a subject of the kingdom of sin. If we insist on doing so, we run the risk of being guilty of rebellion and may find ourselves expelled or running the risk of spiritual death. One of the saddest passages in the Bible is when Samson’s unfaithfulness to God caught up with him. We read in Judges 16: 20- 21 “Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.

So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.”

We learned last week that we have been permitted to understand the secrets to the Kingdom of God. This is a privilege not offered to everyone. The secrets are implanted into our hearts like a pace maker so we can have the opportunity to grow in our knowledge of the Kingdom of Jesus.

Today we will venture into unlocking another reality of the Kingdom of Jesus. We will be reading from Matthew 13:24-30 and Matthew 13:36-43. We will be doing a simultaneous reading of these scriptures.

Let’s begin with reading Matthew 13: 24- 26.

“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.”

Now we will read Matt 13:36-39 where Jesus explains the meaning of this parable.

“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.” Let’s consider what we can gleam from this parable.

The first thing we recognize is that Jesus is describing the condition of the world. He makes that very clear. He makes no reference to this being about his church or hypocrites abiding with the saved. The field is the world. And in the world are wheat and weeds. Jesus takes credit for sowing the good seed that would produce the wheat. John 1:3 tells us that Jesus created everything. He created the field. He created the seed. He chose that seed to be wheat. The seed did not get to choose. John 15:16 reads “You didn’t choose me. I chose you.”

But as Adam was sleeping, that is not being alert to the wiles of the devil; the devil came and planted the seeds of sin in the field. After corrupting the perfection of God’s world he was forced to slither away like a serpent.

So now we have a picture of the field we live in. It is a world filled with wheat and weeds. It is a field that co-exists and will continue to do so until the return of Jesus. And the only difference between the wheat and the weeds is that the wheat will grow and produce grain. (Matt 13:26)

This is how Jesus stated it. “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20) It’s our actions that identify us as wheat or weeds.

He also stated “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:8) Wheat brings glory to God, weeds brings shame to his Kingdom.

He concludes with this statement, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

(Luke 6:45) It’s our heart that reveals our true nature. Wheat produces good things, like bread and cereals. Weeds produce evil things, like allergies and chiggers.