One of this year’s most-viewed programs...is a game show!
--Hosted by Howie Mandell, each week the particpant in the game is “tempted” by the host and an invisible banker to “settle” for a guaranteed prize rather than take a risk and remain in the game by opting for a large prize, with the highest of all being a potential $1 million. However, to stay in the game and have a chance for the big priize, the participant must move a choice: to refuse the deal by the banker or accept the offer. So, with much drama, a lot of pressure from the crowd, and some t.v. commercials interspersed in order to heighten the drama, finally Howie asks the participant the defining question, “Deal or No Deal?”
In earlier t.v. history, one of the most popular shows featured the drama and homespun wisdom of a rural family in mid-America.
--Richard Crenna played the role of the adult son and farm owner. Walter Brennan was the real star, playing the role of Crenna’s aging father. The family’s last name was McCoy and the show was called “The Real McCoy.”
--Actually “the real McCoy” is an idiom, a phrase that has made its way into the English language, meaning genuine, authentic.
Today, in the final message in the series we’ve entitled, “Pursuing Meaning,” we come to Jesus parable of the wheat and the tares.
--In essence, it’s a story that helps us understand that there are those in the world who are the “real deal” as believers, but there are also some in whom there has been “no deal”...some who are not the “real McCoys,” but are simply acting a role.
I invite you to open a Bible and turn once again to Matthew 13.
We’ve already read the story...it’s a story that requires an agricultural understanding. It was understood by those Jesus first told the story to.
Wheat was a major cash crop, but there was also at that time a weed called darnel. Darnel was a weed the looked like wheat but wasn’t. It was, in fact, poisonous.
The story: the sower sowed good seeds, but his enemy came along at night, while the owner’s men were asleep, and sowed darnel among the good wheat. As the wheat matured, the phony wheat became apparent, and Jesus uses the setting of the story to tell of the final results as a parable of the kingdom.
A parable is a real life story with a heavenly meaning. As with most parables, the characters in the story are symbolic.
In this story...
--The field owner is symbolic for Jesus, the Son of Man.
--The field is the world.
--The good seed are symbolic for genuine believers, the true disciples, Christians. They are identified by Jesus as “sons of the kingdom.”
--The “tares” are the “posers,” those presenting themselves as believers but aren’t really. Jesus identifies them as “sons of the evil one.”
--The enemy is the devil.
--Harvest time is the end of the age. (When time will be no more, and when judgment shall be meted out.)
--And the reapers are angels.
We’re going to focus most of our attention on the characteristics of the tares and characteristics of the wheat, but first...
LET’S NOTE THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS WE CAN MAKE FROM THIS PASSAGE:
1) There are two families on earth.
--v.38 -- “...as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one.”
--They exist side by side...they are present even in church gatherings today as folks gather to worship.
--There are those who are genuine wheat, but there are also tares among them.
2) There are a lot of phony Christians.
--v.30 -- “...and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles...’”
--There are enough of them that in this story they can be gathered into bundles of bales at the time of judgment.
3) The world isn’t going to get better and better.
--v.41 -- “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness.”
--There are some who erroneously believe the world is going to be constantly approving and that eventually the whole world will become believers.
--That’s not what this passage says. Instead, at the end of time there are going to be many who commit lawlessness and are, in fact, stumbling blocks.
4) Non-believers face a fiery end.
--v.42 -- “and will cast them into the furnace of fire, in that place there shall we weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
--Notice: the weeping we understand. They will be in pain and they will rue their decision to not accept Christ.
--But the gnashing of teeth is double-edged. It involves pain also, but it is also a picture of defiance. It’s a description of the very attitude that brought these non-believers to refuse God’s love...they are self-centered, they are defiant, they resent the idea of God having rule over them. Consequently, they will remain, as sons of the evil one, in a condition of pain but open defiance throughout all eternity.
5) However, there remains a great reward for genuine believers.
--v.43 -- “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
As we begin to look at the characteristics of the “posers,” those who present themselves as Christians but aren’t, we need to be aware of the following:
--The tares being discussed here are DARNEL.
----They are a wheat-looking weed.
----They sprout up quickly, look pretty impressive for awhile, but eventually they reveal that they’re not the real thing.
--The PEOPLE that the tares are symbolic of in this story...
----They might exhibit a lot of “churchianity,” but they’re not real believers, real disciples.
----They might even think they’re Christians, but their lives reveal that they’re not.
----They might even hold positions of leadership in some churches, “having a form of godliness, but lacking the power therein.”
--They negatively influence others only when believers aren’t diligent and alert to their presence and their influence.
HOWEVER, NOTICE THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF TARES REVEALED IN THIS PASSAGE:
1) They operate in darkness.
--v.25 -- “But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares.”
--v.38-39 -- “...the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil...”
--It was while men were asleep, in the dark, during the night, that they showed up on the scene.
--They “flirt” with dark things, operating in darkness is one of their traits.
----They will compromise, push the edge, engage in that which are not actions of those “in the light.”
----They seek “excuses,” they try to justify things like social drinking, using profanity, telling off-color jokes, risking God’s tithe on playing the lottery, etc.
----They believe what they do is “okay,” not wanting to be considered a radical or a hyper-Christian.
----They might even make fun of the “goody-two-shoes” who seek to live a pure, untainted life.
--But actually, they believe what they believe and compromise as they do because they operate in darkness.
----They’re not the “real McCoy,” they just hang around with them now and then.
2) They hang out with, live alongside, are found in the same places many times as true believers.
--v.25 -- “...his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat…”
--v.28-29 -- “...And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.’”
--The tares were in the same field as the wheat, and, in fact, wrapped their roots around the root of the genuine wheat, became very attached to the real wheat, but they were not genuine wheat.
3) They are deceptive in appearance and activity.
--v.26 -- “But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.”
--Mt.7:15 -- “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
--Their deception isn’t discernible at first, but soon their lack of fruitfulness, their lack of the true characteristics of genuine wheat become visible, enough so that the angels/reapers have no trouble identifying the true wheat from the phony.
4) They are proud, bringing attention to themselves.
--1Jn.3:10 -- “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
--Darnel stands tall, is “shiny” and can be seen above the wheat in the fields.
--However, genuine wheat, when mature, actually “bows its head” with the weight of the grain ready to be harvested.
5) They are poisonous, harmful.
--Mt.7:15 -- “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
--Ac.20:29-30 -- “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
--Jude 1:12 -- “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast without fear, caring for themselves, clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted.”
--Darnel looks safe enough, but it’s poisonous, deadly when it is actually eaten, actually added to a person’s diet.
And, finally...
6) They are stumbling blocks, hindrances to true believers and potential believers.
--v.41 -- “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness.”
--These are they hypocrites, those who give Christianity a bad name.
--They “pull down” believers, choke them at their roots.
--They hinder, “turn off” non-believers from wanting a relationship with Jesus at all.
--Their behavior is not that which brings honor to God, but actually disobeys the Biblical law, and turn people off.
--Their minds are not in tune with spiritual thinking, God’s way, but hold to the world’s views, the world’s attitudes and ways.
IN CONTRAST, OBSERVE THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GENUINE BELIEVER, THE TRUE WHEAT...
1) They are born of the Spirit.
--v.37 -- “...The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.”
--They are planted, birthed by the actions of someone else: Jesus, the Sower.
--They are born again, spiritually.
----They aren’t “remodeled,” they haven’t “turned over a new leaf,” they’re not reformed or self-improved.
--They haven’t earned salvation on their own, but have received salvation as the result of Jesus’ work of redemption.
2) They are humble.
--1Pet.3:8 -- “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;”
--Mic.6:8 -- “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
--Wheat, when it becomes mature, bows its head, with the weight of harvest.
--Likewise, believers, the more they mature, the more they bow their heads, the more they recognize God’s majesty, the more they recognize their own weaknesses.
----QUOTE: John Riskin said it well: “I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility any doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men believe greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them.”
3) They produce genuine fruit.
--v.26 -- “...the wheat sprang up and bore grain...”
--Jn.15:5 -- “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
--They demonstration genuine fruit within their own lives...the fruit of the Spirit.
----Gal.5:22-23 -- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;...”
--They also demonstrate the fruit of reproduction, of evangelism, of multiplication, leading others into the kingdom.
----Jn.15:8 -- “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
THERE ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF GENUINE BELIEVERS PRESENTED IN ADDITIONAL PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE:
4) They love people.
--Jn.13:35 -- “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
--Beyond just an emotional feeling, they put love into action.
----Like helping the needy, as we learned in the parable of the good Samaritan.
----Like showing compassion and forgiveness, as we learned in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
----Like going out of our way to reach people with the love and protection of God, as we learned in the parable of the lost sheep.
5) They are committed, persistent.
--Lk.9:23 -- “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
--Theirs is a life-time commitment.
----They didn’t just “say a prayer,” but their lives have been laid on the line before Jesus.
----*ILL>A missionary society once wrote David Livingston and asked, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you.” Livingston wrote back, “If you have men who will come only if they know there’s a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
--They don’t turn and run when things get rough, when they’re being persecuted.
--Instead, they persevere, they “stay the course.”
----They’re like “energizer bunnies,” they just keep going and going and going.
6) They are obedient, even in the hard times.
--1Jn.3:9 -- “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
--The true translation of this passage is that they don’t PERSISTENTLY practice sin, because Jesus within them leads them to desire righteousness, and behave in accordance to pleasing God.
--They’re faithful, they practice righteousness, even when the rest of the world chooses not to.
7) They walk by faith.
--2Cor.5:7 -- “for we walk by faith, not sight.”
--They take God at His word...they’re not afraid to step out and put their faith on the line.
--They trust in God’s promises.
--They believe nothing is impossible with God.
----ILL>Charles Kettering explains it this way: “When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I’d place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: ‘Leave slide rules here.’ If I didn’t do that, I’d find someone would reach for his slide rule, then he’d be on his feet saying, ‘Boss, you can’t do it.’”
--True believers can see with the eyes of faith, the possibilities and the power of God.
8) They abide in, study, and apply God’s word.
--Jn.8:31-32 -- “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you shall know the truth...”
--They don’t base their life on feelings, on worldly “wisdom,” but they know what God’s word says, and they chart their life’s actions on its truths.
----*ILL>Recently, Merv Griffin passed away, but years ago on the Merv Griffin Show, the guest was a body-builder. During the interview, Merv asked him, “Why do you develop those particular muscles?” The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from this chest to his calf. The audience applauded. Then Merv asked again, “What do you USE those muscles for?” Again, the body builder flexed, and the audience applauded. Then Merv asked for the third time, “What do you USE those muscles for?” The body builder was bewildered. He didn’t have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame.
----Unfortunately, the same is true with some Christians: They don’t know WHY they do what they do.
----To engage in Bible study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and taped music, must be for a purpose...they’re for strengthening us, building us up in our ability to grow God’s kingdom.
----They’re not just to improve our “pose” before an admiring audience.
APPLICATIONS / BRINGING IT HOME...
What do we do now, having looked at the truths in this marvelous parable?
I want to suggest these three actions:
1) Be alert, be aware.
--1Pet.5:8 -- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
--We need to be aware that not everyone who claims to be a Christian really IS a believer.
--Not every prophet is a true prophet.
----False teachers advocating the “wisdom” of tares is a powerful method the enemy uses to put stumbling blocks, monkey wrenches, in the middle of God’s work, trying to “choke out” the good wheat from functioning as God would want us to.
--We need to be alert and vigilant. We must not get caught “sleeping” while the enemy plants tares and the tares’ mentality among us.
--And, we need to compare everything we hear with what the Scripture says.
2) Be positive, be sure.
--1Jn.5:13 -- “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life."
--Have you indeed made a life-long commitment? Have you indeed met Jesus? Do you have a personal relationship with Him?
--I don’t mean having “churchianity.” I’m not asking if you’re hanging out with true believers. I’m asking you...are you sure that you are a true believer?
----ILL>Bill Hybels explains it this way: “Sometimes when you’re in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those on standby. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with friends, or sleep. Those on standby, however, hang around the ticket counter, pace, smoke, smoke and pace. The difference is caused by the confidence factor. If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would stand in judgment before God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be? Would you smoke and pace? Would you say to yourself, ‘I don’t know what God’s going to say...”Welcome home,” or “Depart from Me, I never knew you?”
--If you don’t know for sure, it’s quite possible you’re not really a believer at all.
----It’s hard to have made a life-long commitment and not be sure whether you’ve made that commitment at all.
--If you don’t know for sure, you’ll also never really be an effective warrior for Christ.
----You’ll be very uncomfortable ever taking the risk to take a bold stand amid persecution.
--So, the most important decision you can make is to settle once and for all that question.
----Make sure.
--Receive Jesus today by faith, and let today be the first day of your assurance.
3) Be faithful, be fruithful.
--v.26 -- “...the wheat sprang up and bore grain...”
--Let the fruit of the Spirit shine out in your life.
--Be about the business of proclaiming the message of the gospel to those who are lost.
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So, which is it concerning you today? -- Real deal, or no deal?
