As a church we talk a lot about spiritual growth. This is our mission statement "we exist to increase and mature God's people." This process of increasing and maturing is called Discipleship. It's a big Bible Word but it has a simple meaning. A disciple of Jesus is a follower or even more specifically a student or a learner of Jesus. And our job as a church according to Jesus is to "make disciples." We are in the business of making students or learners and followers of Jesus.
Maturing or growing spiritually is learning more about who Jesus is so that we can live more like Him. The more we live like Jesus in the world the more the world will see who Jesus is. Today we're going to take a look at a parable and more specifically the meaning of a parable to help us understand why it's necessary for those who follow Jesus to grow up.
Here's the parable as Jesus tells it, "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.’”
Here's the one thing about this parable of Jesus that you should remember and understand. This parable serves as our motivation. Jesus teaches that the most important command is to love God and love people, why? Because our goal as followers of Jesus is to go to heaven and we want to take as many others with us as we can.
The clue to the meaning in this parable is in the last sentence. "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." The followers of Jesus who heard this didn't understand what He was talking about. They had no idea what this meant. Who were the weeds? Who were the wheat? Who were the harvesters? Who was the farmer? What in the world did all this mean?
So Jesus provides an explanation. Here's what Jesus teaches in Matthew 13:36-43
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!"
Here's three things Jesus points out.
1. The church has a job and that job is to live like Jesus in the world so we can make disciples (vs. 37-38)
Those who are comfortable with Jesus and with His Word are the good seed, the people of the Kingdom. "You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9 We show the goodness of God through the way we live. We are His possession. Jesus commands His followers to love God and to love others because we want them to go to heaven. Our single greatest role in the world is to "make disciples." The only way we do this according to Jesus is to serve the world and bless people. When He discusses the final judgement in Matthew 25 this is what He says, “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” The righteous are those who served the world, and the others who go away into eternal punishment are those who refused to live like Jesus in the world. We live like Jesus in the world because our goal as followers of Jesus is to go to heaven and we want to take as many others with us as we can. "Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did"
2. Satan has followers too and they try to choke faith out of Jesus followers (vs. 38-39)
Do you know someone who used to believe in Jesus but now they don't? Or maybe your faith has been challenged at one time, or you could be wresting with your faith right now. In the same chapter of Matthew 13 Jesus tells a parable that explains how this happens. Some people Jesus said don't understand the Gospel, they can't make sense of it and don't want to. Others fall away when problems come or they are persecuted. And for others faith is choked out by the worries of this life and the pursuit of wealth.
There is one thing in common with all who have lost faith in Jesus. They refused to grow up. In the parable of Jesus it was the seeds, and seedlings that were choked out by the weeds. This is why all those who follow Jesus need to grow up. Weeds can't choke out a grown tree. If you're serious about growing up Spiritually you can start with the 5on5 plan. In the book "Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples" Robby Gallaty says, "Jesus pulled no punches when it came to discipleship. He was blunt and crystal-clear about it: following Him is a choice, a choice that requires sacrifice, commitment, and making Him the number one priority of our lives. There is a price involved with being His disciple. He forewarned us, and many professing believers count the cost and decide it is more than they are willing to pay." The reason we want to grow up Spiritually is because our goal as followers of Jesus is to go to heaven and we want to take as many others with us as we can. James tells us, "Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God."
3. The church of Jesus shares an urgency to mature in our understanding of Jesus so we can live for Him and teach others to do the same. (vs. 43)
Jesus concludes this parable with "anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!" The good news is that anyone can understand. The bad news is that many will choose not to. If you want to follow Jesus you must understand the cost. Jesus demands your life. Many Christians have bought this superficial idea that simply attending church is the life Jesus has called them to. There's nothing for them to do but attend a worship time, maybe Sunday School, and if they're really devout a Bible Study during the week or a small group. For those who are fanatics maybe a service project or two, but, that's just for the folks who don't have anything better to do. And then there's the crazies who tithe 10 percent of their income. Who does that?
Titus chapter 2 provides an outline for how a church should function as it makes disciples. Paul explains in Titus that the church is relational. We do life with each other. We don't just meet together, we do life together. Jesus followers understand the difference between a meeting and sharing fellowship. The end of the world is coming. Even if the end doesn't come in our lifetime, everyone dies at some point. This fact serves as a constant and urgent reminder that our goal as followers of Jesus is to go to heaven and we want to take as many others with us as we can.
Are you a Jesus follower making disciples with your church? Are you content with your faith? Are you mature enough to understand the urgency to share your faith in Jesus? If yes, Praise the Lord! If you are struggling to answer these questions then please hear my heart when I say I pray you grow up. This is why all those who follow Jesus need to grow up. Weeds can't choke out a grown tree.
