Discord fuels Friendly Fire
Notes
Transcript
When everyone gets along it’s a good thing.
We can be that person who brings change to the environment from fractured negativity to Christ-like unity when we choose to have joy no matter what was said about us or no matter what kind of look we may have received. When we choose joy, grace, peace, and love, which is the Jesus way, God will bless and use that to breath new life in the atmosphere.
The atmosphere where life is celebrated, everyone is at peace with each other, where conversation can be deep yet encouraging and honoring. Where people can be challenged and loved at the same time. That is a great place to be because that’s the place where people want to be a part of what’s going on…
Unity is not uniformity: Everyone is different, we all come from different backgrounds, we all lived in different cultures, families, ways to communicate, ways at looking at life, different perspective.
We all see things differently through that lens and that’s simply how God made us… unique.
When I take a couple through premarital counseling, I clear the air because even if 2 people who love each other are committing the rest of there lives to each other they need to accept the reality that these 2 individuals are different. They each come from 2 different families
There are barriers that prevent unity but the benefits always out way the challenges.
The benefits of unity: When there is unity, people don’t feel alone. When unity exists, great things tend to happen because they happen together, in unity.
The purpose of unity: To provide a healthy environment where truth can be spoken, yet people don’t feel judged, they feel safe, and they feel loved.
Carrying offense and bitterness and unforgivness will always prevent unity in the Body of Christ.
We hold onto things that we are not created to hold on to.
When we let things fester that’s when infection sets in.
Matthew 13:24-30
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.” ’ ”
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.
This year our garden was neglected. It was overrun by all kids of weeds. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which one is the weed and which is the garden plant.
Jesus gave a parable about the different types of soils… the rocky soil, the hard soil, the thorny soil but also the good soil. Jesus connected the different bad soils to worry, fear, problems, persecution, having a greater love for this world than a love for Jesus and HIS Kingdom. He said that all those things make it difficult for a plant to take root, grow, and become fruitful. Jesus illustrated the importance of tending the soil so the seed can produce a crop.
We see that good soil makes everything grow including weeds and the enemy knows that.
PRAY
The Characters in this parable
Farmer - The Son of Man, referring to Jesus
Plants the good seed representing the people of the Kingdom of God.
The enemy - The Devil
Planted the weeds in the field among the good seed.
The harvest is the end time judgement. All of us will have to give an account for what we have done and we will be sorted out at the end.
If we are in good soil we are going to attract the weeds.
We live and we grow among the weeds.
If we are in good soil we are going to attract the weeds.
As we remain in Christ we are growing in our relationship with The Lord.
As we grow, we will produce good fruit as we remain rooted in that good soil…
The good soil… not hard pathway, not rocky, not full of thorns… good soil where our roots are growing deep we will produce good fruit… but the enemy will take notice.
Matthew 13:24-26 (NLT) “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
When we are in the place God wants us to be, the enemy will sow the weeds. He will try to discourage us… distract us… to make us loose our faith, our patience, our perspective.
The enemy is still on the same mission, to steal, kill and destroy… he is still a liar… he is the father of lies.
The enemy will uses real people to cause confusion and distract us from living for Jesus.
Remember… as followers of Jesus we are not exempt from the weeds. If Jesus had to deal with the weed, we should expect it as well.
Weeds at the time of His Birth -
Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus as a baby.
Family moving around a lot.
Weeds From the beginning of HIS ministry.
Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days and nights but then who shows up…?
Weeds throughout HIS ministry…
Jesus was hated by the religious establishment…
Jesus dealt with needy people who only cared about themselves. People who were unwilling to give up anything that was valuable to follow Jesus.
In the middle of this weedy garden, Jesus still showed then HIS Kingdom, touched and healed them, and loved them.
Jesus dealt with so many weeds at the end.
Jesus went to the garden alone to pray with the enemy playing with his mind.
Jesus was arrested, without anybody, alone
Jesus went to the cross alone.
Jesus could have pulled the weeds but he didn’t. Instead, Jesus lived and stayed focused on the task at hand. It was all about doing the will of HIS Father.
The devil used the religious establishment to try to get rid of Jesus. They were the ones who were suppose to lead the people toward love, righteousness, holiness, goodness, gentleness however, they wanted control and power over the people.
Jesus came to bring freedom to the people of Israel but also all of humanity. The weeds opened up the opportunity for scripture to be fulfilled and for God’s wonderful plan of salvation to unfold at the cross.
Don’t let the weeds distract you or discourage you or cause you to give up on your faith. Never forget… If we are in good soil we are going to attract the weeds.
The weeds aren’t to be pulled by us we are to grow with the weeds.
We recognize that it is the enemy intentionally planted the weeds in the same field the farmer planted the wheat.
Jesus said, starting in vs. 28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest.
Why do we have to grow with the weeds? Life would be a lot easier… a lot happier… I’d get a lot more done that I scheduled to get done… if only I didn’t have any weeds in my garden.
Why can’t God just pull them… or give us the authority to just pull them out of our life?
Praying that God would remove the weeds.
We negotiate with God… “this cannot be your will that I have to deal with these weeds!” Get rid of them!
Weeds are an unfortunate reality but God has a purpose for us living with the weeds.
Often times, weeds can be people… really evil people who do really bad, godless, even demonic things.
Sometimes those bad people create unnecessarily bad circumstances and cause others to form bad thoughts.
But as we live among the weeds as believers remember what Jesus’ brother says about troubles /weeds…
James 1:2-4 (NLT) 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Jesus is telling us that we live in a world full of evil. Our job isn’t to judge those who are evil.
We are to confront evil through the love of God and through God’s Word and the power and revelation of the HS within the church but ultimately our job isn’t to change people, that the HS’s job.
People make their own choices in life and those choices have consequences both good and bad.
Only God knows what people have gone through. People who have been hurt and abused will react out of anger, rage, grief, sorrow and depression because of abuse, loss, pain.
We never know what sort of evil people have endured in life and because of that, those unpleasant things will come to the surface.
Many times we become the target because we are close to them… a co-worker, boss, spouse, uncle, grandson, neighbor.
Weeds will test our patience… weeds will make our life more difficult but at the end our close proximity gives us an opportunity to show God’s love to people who are dealing with some weeds.
We can encourage… bring life… bless them with some help… build them up and remind them that they are not alone.
Remember… The weeds aren’t to be pulled by us we are to grow with the weeds.
In the end, It’s God who separates the wheat from the weeds.
It’s God who will separate the evil from the righteous.
Matthew 13:40-41 (NLT) 40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
God’s knows our heart, HE knows our actions and we will be judged accordingly.
Jesus says that anyone who causes sin will be removed from God’s Kingdom and as well as those who do evil.
We will all be held accountable by God for our actions. We all will be judged for the things we do and for the people we have caused to stumble or fall away.
There are real, personal, eternal consequences for us being a weed or doing weed-like things.
We will not stand before God and say I made this choice because of my father, uncle, mother… I reacted this way… I made this slanderous statement because…
Nobody else will stand with you to give an account of your actions before God alongside you… it’ll only be you.
Matthew 13:42-43 (NLT) 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
It’s about what we have done that matters. Jesus makes the separation at the end but also gives us the invitation to encounter HIS righteousness.
Our righteousness will always come short of God’s righteousness. Jesus knew that we are still in desperate need of God’s goodness and grace and love.
It’s the righteousness of Christ that justifies us before God. That’s why we to live with a righteous fear of the Lord knowing that HE sees everything we do, HE sees the weed-like things but Jesus also sees when we become humbly aware of those things and repent and turn to Jesus.
That’s how we become righteous, we put on the righteousness of Christ, allow HIM to transform our heart.
The devil may be running rapid… He is a looser. he will never win and he knows it.
Keep going, keep on persevering.
Even though we have plenty of weeds in the garden of life, stay faithful to Jesus, stay connected to HIS Body, and don’t give up… Everything will pan out at the end, it’s out of our control but God sees, HE knows.
We are in a period of grace and God is still transforming hearts, He’s still changing lives, His Kingdom is still moving forward.
TAKE AWAY:
Good soil will attract great opposition but the seed will always prevail.
At the end, we will be held accountable for our own decisions in life.