A Kingdom of Victory
Matthew 13.24-30
September 21, 1997
Morning Service
Introduction
I. Weeding the garden: Each summer planted a garden, hard work but worth fresh veggies, mid-summer had to pull weeds, sometimes in the hurry we mistakenly pulled out good plants, thought they were weeds or pulled out large weeds
II. There were mistakes made: It was difficult work, sometimes we made mistakes, we stayed with the task of caring for the garden,
III. God is at the task of caring for His garden: He has planted His word in the world and is in the process of caring for the garden, He is at the task of producing fruit, He will one day come to harvest,
Body
I. Sowing the Field
A. The good seed: the owner plants good seed, he is expecting to get a good crop, the field has been prepared, free of weeds, it is good ground, there is an expectation of good production,
B. The bad seed: enemy comes in, in the night - act of cowardice, sows weeds in the field, weeds are tares, tares closely resembled wheat in appearance, difficult to discover until heads appear on the wheat
II. The Discovery
A. The tares appear: the wheat grows and forms heads, the discovery is then made, large numbers of tares show up in the wheat, too late to remove the tares without damage
B. The servants question: astonished by the weeds, ask about the seed sown, ask why about the weeds, crop was sabotaged,
C. The Master’s response: Enemy did this, crime of revenge - lessens the production of the whole crop, Romans made a law against such actions, devastates the whole crop and its yield,
III. The Coming Harvest
A. Plants will grow together: Owner feared destroying the good crop, allowed the wheat and the weeds to grow together, No way to root out the tares, the roots are intertwined, there were still wheat without heads and this lessens mistakes, pulling the tares could ruin the whole crop,
B. Weeds will be removed and burned: Harvest will separate, the weeds will be harvested first, this removes the fruitless problem, the weeds are then burned - fully destroyed
C. Wheat will be harvested: 2nd task bring in the wheat, placed in the barn, place of importance, fruit is placed where it can be useful and protected
Meaning
I. Sowing the Field
A. The one who sows good: Jesus is the good sower, He sows the Word of God, message of good news, He sows in His field - entire world, God is the creator and Jesus was with Him in the beginning, the world is His to command,
B. The one who sows evil: God has an adversary, Satan means adversary, this is the main enemy who sows weeds in the world, He wants to see the church less productive in the world, we are a threat to him,
II. The Discovery
A. The good seed: People of the Kingdom, children of God, servants of the King, we are the good seed and the productive part of the church,
B. The bad seed: Those who have been caught in Satan’s snare, those who are serving the world rather than God, they hinder the message,
III. The Coming Harvest
A. Good and bad will grow together: There will be a harvest, the good and bad will grow together, evil will be allowed to continue even though it is defeated, Satan will be like an enemy in the night, he will do what he can to hinder the church,
B. Weeds will be burned: Those who serve the world will be destroyed, the weeds will burn and be eliminated, Jesus will have nothing to do with the unfaithful, these are the fruit of the world
C. Wheat will be harvested: Those who serve God will be collected and taken to the storehouse, a place of importance and respect, a place of usefulness and a place of greatness, these are the fruit of the Word
Application
I. Sowing the Field
A. The one who sows good: Jesus is the good sower, the fruit of His work is the church, we must be a light in this dark and desperate world, we have the message that brings life, it is important to remember that heaven is counting on us, the church is the messenger of hope,
B. The one who sows evil: We have a common enemy, not flesh and blood, spiritual powers and principalities, we struggle against Satan’s dark forces, he will do everything that he can to keep us down, he wants us to be unproductive and hindered by his work, he can not touch us or harm us but he can divide us, Satan is sowing seeds of dissension, discord, factions, anger and gossip, weeds are sprouting, we have to fight back, prayer is our weapon,
II. The Discovery
A. The good seed: People of the Kingdom, children of God, servants of the Kingdom, we must wage war, fight the good fight, put Satan in his place, we must stand together and be a united front, we must be a people of God, when we stand with Jesus we win, He has won for us already,
B. The bad seed: Satan uses and abuses this world, it is a plaything of his, Satan is a lion who roars alot but has no teeth, This world will attempt to stop our mission and message, they will fail, we must bathe this church and our community in prayer, prayer is the great weapon,
III. The Coming Harvest
A. Good and bad will grow together: There will be a harvest, we are going to be held accountable for what we have done and for what we have not done, we must stand together and hold one another up in prayer, be united against our common foe,
B. Weeds will be burned: Those who serve the world will be destroyed, we have to pray for those who are lost, Jesus loves them and so must we, we must stand for the principles of the Bible and make them paramount, weeds will be removed and destroyed, we will not be seeing those people in heaven
C. Wheat will be harvested: We have a place of protection and provision in the house of God, we have a place like no other there with Him,
IV. Who will you Serve?
A. We can serve the world: we can serve ourselves and prosper for a time, we can serve our families and be loved, we can serve our community and be recognized, we can serve our church and do church work to feel good, Not serve God, The reward is eternal death and destruction
B. We can Serve God: We can serve God by ruling out our selfish intentions, we can serve God with pure and upright hearts, we must be willing to stand up and be strong for God in this world, we must stand up and fight the good fight, the choice must be made and the time is now - who will you serve
