"Getting into the Weeds"
Notes
Transcript
“The Work of the Enemy”
Pastor James Montgomery Boice once said, “Some sections of the Bible give us Grand Theology, some move us to Grateful Responses to God, the Parables ask us if there has been any Real Difference in our lives.”
Is your life different today?
In other words, as you pick up God’s Word to read it and study it and hear it proclaimed, is the wonderful truth of God and His Word changing your life? Can you look back and see where you were and see the difference today?
Would you turn in your Bibles this morning with me to Matthew chapter 13 and we are going to start in verse 24.
24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Have you ever stopped to think about or notice the work of the enemy? The enemy can be so sneaky and so clever. Growing up my father use to tell me stories about his time spent in Vietnam. My father was in the Navy and spent most of his time in a river patrol boat going up and down the rivers in Vietnam. There were many times that the enemy would hide along the river and wait for him and his patrol to doze off or not pay attention, and then they would begin to fire at my dads boat. Many times he would tell me that they were just sitting ducks in open water. The enemy was very sneaky and clever.
But spiritually speaking opposition comes our way many times. You may face opposition in many different forms. You may face a family member or coworker who are unbelievers and who don’t agree with your view of following God and His Word. There will also come times where you will face satanic and demonic opposition. How do we know this?
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
This parable here in Matthew chapter 13 helps us to see how the enemy Satan comes against this farmer. He comes against the farmer by sowing these weeds in God’s field. What we see here is a picture of unbelievers mixed in with those who know Christ and have been changed by Him. (These are the believers.) This parable should cause us to wake up and be alert and aware of all the sneaky strategies that Satan will try to hinder the work of Yaweh until He returns again.
So, what is the meaning of this parable? Well Matthew the author of this gospel gives us a very simple and straight forward explanation of what the Lord has for us. Let’s take a look.
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
So, Matthew explains this well for us and gives us the significance of all of these features in this story. Notice here that each of these identifications are expressed by a verb is or are. So, before we get into what this parable is all about let me explain the obvious here. This may be questions you have about this parable that we need to make sense of.
First, who is the sower? Last week we talked specifically that the sower is anyone who is proclaiming the good news of Jesus, but here in this parable we see in verse 37 that the sower is specifically identified as the Son of Man. This helps us to see that the author is clearly talking about Jesus. This term Son of Man is used by Jesus to describe himself. We see this back in chapter 8.
20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Jesus is the one who sows the good seed. In fact, we see many images or descriptors about Jesus. Jesus is the sower, the shepherd, the bridegroom, the rock, the vineyard owner, the lord and king.
Second, what is the field? And then what is the world? The field is the world. The world here is the Greek word (kosmos) is a very broad term for the created universe and for the entire society as well. There are is some debate here to wether or not this is actually referring to the church. I would just say that wether or not the word is the world or church is not the main focus here. The bigger focus is that clearly Satan is going to try his best to bring people who look like Christians and may even talk like Christians, but are not true believers, in order that the servants of Jesus will not be able to really tell them apart. So, we know that there is the visible body of Christ and then there is the invisible body of Christ that only the Lord truly knows.
The next thing we need to explain is what is the seed and what are the weeds? We now move on to the mixture of the good and the bad. Let’s start with the good. The seed here in verse 38 means people who are sons of the kingdom. This helps us to understand that these people belong to Jesus and belong to the kingdom of heaven. This is in sharp contrast to the next thing we see in verse 38 which is the children or sons of the evil one. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. (This is referring to unbelievers) The weeds that we see back in verses 25-26 are known as (darnel). This is a very specific weed that in its early stages of growth looks almost exactly like wheat. However, as it begins to grow the grains are actually poisonous. So, when you mix this in with the good stuff, or the good seed, the crop becomes useless and even potentially harmful. The only thing left to do once these two are mixed together is to painstakingly separate out the cut stalks or burn up the bad weeds.
There are a few more terms that we need to address quickly here so let me do that.
Fourth, who is the enemy? The devil himself is the enemy of the harvest here. We see this specifically in verse 39. He is known as the evil one. He is a liar and deceiver.
Fifth, what is the harvest? The harvest is the end of the age, or the day of judgment. We see this specifically is several passages.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and the time of her harvest will come.”
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.
When I restore the fortunes of my people,
13 Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.
These texts refer to a time where God’s judgment will come,
Finally, the last thing we must clarify is who are the reapers or harvesters? Here in verse 39 we see that the harvesters are the Lord’s angels.
Now that we have really clarified what the symbolism means here, I want to give you several applications of this parable. In fact, I want to give you 3 Things we must be on guard against! Three things to look out for.
1. Be on Guard against the enemy!
1. Be on Guard against the enemy!
26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
“The enemy has done this!” Church, we must be on guard against a very real enemy who is Satan. There are many believers today who are not on guard, they have dropped their guard only to allow Satan to step in and defeat them and side track them. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes to the church and gives them a warning, pointing out that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
We talked about this last week. Sometimes there will seem to be some good soil. Sometimes people will look like believers and talk like a Christian and they may even serve within the church. Servants of righteousness can even mean ministers. Don’t be surprised that there are some people who are serving and ministering in the church, but who walk away from their faith and leave the Christian fellowship. John wrote about this in 1 John 2:19
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
It has become plain that these were in fact the weeds mixed in with the good seed. We as believers must be on guard so that is why we must be in God’s Word, growing and following Christ. As God’s Word changes our hearts and mind he alone opens our lives to what is true and what is not. So Christian, be on Guard against the enemy.
2. Be on Guard against spiritual confusion!
2. Be on Guard against spiritual confusion!
27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
Do you see the question here? Do you see the confusion? How in the world did the weeds get there?We see here that these sons of the evil one are infused with the Christian community. Because of this there is much confusion happening in the world today. We have talked about this over the past several weeks. What is right and what is wrong? How are we to act as believers in a dark world? Much of this confusion has even crept into the church. So, we must be on guard against Satan’s tactics.
Sadly, I believe the church has tried to look more and more like the world. The church is doing everything they can to reach the world.
But are we not to look different?
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
As believers we have been called to look different than the world. We are to talk different, act different, think different, live different, raise our kids differently, work differently as unto the Lord. So, why are we trying to intermingle? Sure, we are to be the light in a dark world. Yes, we are to share our faith and love our neighbor as ourselves, but this does not mean that we compromise on the truth of God and his Word.
I think the main problem arises when we begin to love the world more than God. So many folks have been taught that we are to love the World. Many of us who have grown up in church have been taught God loves you and has a plan for your life. This is wonderfully true, but it leaves out the central problem. God hates sin and wants us to turn from our sin and trust him as our Lord and Savior. When we present the simple message of God loves you and has a plan for your life it can cause certain people to remain in their sin without seeing the central problem. We must turn from sin!!!
So, how will we recognize the true believers from those who are weeds. Here is how.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
No way! True believers will bear fruit. So, Jesus comes to call sinners to repentance. Has there come a time in your life where you have turned from your sin and placed your faith in Christ? There is nothing confusing about this message. Trust in Christ alone by faith alone and by God’s grace alone. There is no other message that is as important as this. In a world full of confusion we need to be pointing people to Christ.
3. Be on Guard against the pleasures of sin!
3. Be on Guard against the pleasures of sin!
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
As Christians we realize just how messed up we truly are. We realize our sin and our impure hearts and our need for God. As unholy and sinful as we are we realize that we cannot always tell the difference between those who are truly Christians and those who are not. But, we know that there is coming a day where we will all stand before God. In fact, someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! The harvest is coming. So, church this is why I plead with you today to be on guard against the sinful desires and pleasures of this world. Watch out so that you don’t get caught up into all of the things of this world, which is the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and much much more. These are the things that Satan will throw out or cast out to distract us. We must be on guard against the pleasure of sin because there is coming a day where the wheat will be gathered together into God’s house, and the tares (those who do not truly know God) will be burned.
verses 41-42 also fit together with verses 49-50. These two passages provide us with one of the most detailed accounts of the judgment of God. Those who do not know God will be thrown into hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth forever.
Church, please here me today. You must take time to examine your lives, and to do some soul searching. Meet with the Lord and ask yourself wether or not you are truly a child of God? We must be careful, we must be on guard in order to confirm our calling and election.
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
Conclusion: Church I cannot stress the importance today for us to be on guard against the schemes of the devil, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. This is exactly what Paul warns up about in Ephesians chapter 6. In fact, Paul lays out specific instructions to armor up against the attacks of the enemy. Are you ready for battle? Are you prepared for battle? Do you know that we are in a war right now?
As the Bride of Christ, the visible church we must stand up, armor up and follow God’s Word in this world of weeds. The church for too long has given into the worlds wisdom, the world’s theology and ideology and all their methods. The church today is more confused than it has ever been. So, that is why we must look too God’s Word which is light and truth for our weary souls.
(Pray and lead into Communion)