It Ain't Hard to Tell For God

It’s Hard to Tell

Nas, one of the greatest lyricist of all time wrote a song on his debut album called “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”, he ends the second with the profound bars “so analyze me, surprise me but can’t magmatize me, scannin while your plannin ways to sabotage me”

This song would appear on his debut album Illmatic, many of my R&B fans are familiar with Human Nature by Michael Jackson and Right Here by SWV if hip hop isn’t your thing. The peculiar thing about this song is not necessarily the sample or the fact that SWV used it’s that it was recorded in the same place right after one another. SWV’s song would go on to be played on the radio weeks following the recording of that song. Nas goes on to say that it was very discouraging to see things unfold like that but one thing he says helped him realize that everything would be alright was not the fact that it was not immediately on the radio but the fact that he showed up to a autograph meet and greet and there were so many people there he realized that everything would be alright. As the car left kids were screaming, he says you would have thought I was “N’Sync”.

Often times when we are planted in the same space that the enemy plants we look around and people are growing faster or growing at the same rate we question our call, we question our talents, nonetheless as it pertains to this Christian walk God does the identifying, God does the separating we just have to SHOW UP.

Jesus gave a lot of life changing lessons in the form of a parable. Alike many of his parables he uses this horticultural analogy. One can infer that during that time people knew a thing or two about farming. In this specific parable He explains that a good man sows good seed in his field and while he sleeps the enemy swoops in and sows darnel or tares in his field. The questions that arise are how do we deal with combating the enemy when we must rest? How do we operate in a field in which the enemy has access to? What do we do when we see the sprouted seed of the enemy?

There are a few tenets of discipleship we see throughout the parables expressed by Jesus. Initiative, work and most importantly faith.

Jesus gives us illustrations on what the kingdom of God should look like. What we should expect and what we should teach and how we should treat others within the kingdom of God.

It Ain’t Hard to Tell That Everyone is not Sowing for the Right Reason.

The kingdom is about planting proper seed. Nonetheless even when we do our due diligence the enemy is always trying to destroy what we are attempting to do.

The enemy is a disrupter, his goal is to plant things that can blend in the midst of the crowd.

Typically we do not see what the enemy has planted until it sprouts.

Scholars in this text depict this as wheat vs. darnel weeds. The danger of what has been planted by the enemy is the fact that the farmer does not know which plant is which until it shows it’s true colors, or until the ear appears.

Hence the idea that Jesus explains later in the chapter in verse 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The ears of this crop are the definitive distinction of the wheat versus the weeds. The danger is also the fact that because they grow so close together, wheat can transform into darnel!

Conforming is dangerous, it can change your entire identity. Often times we can identify what people will deal with by what they put up with.

What’s growing alongside the things God planted in our life. It’s difficult to see because the enemy plants things in our life when we are sleep or aren’t looking.

Everyone Must Be Locked In

The New King James Version Chapter 13

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

While we are working in the world, sometimes various things are revealed to us where God has planted things.

The first response of seeing the weeds was to consult with the owner! When we see something that does not belong our first response should be to talk to God about how we should handle it.

Our issues have persisted because we try to do work for God and end up damaging the people God planted in the kingdom for the benefit of the world.

A lot of times we make the mistake of uprooting to quickly and we end up killing what God planted.

Weeds grow in fertile ground too, this is why the enemy planted them there.

What Has the Devil Planted in Your life?

The issue is not that the enemy planted something, it’s that the enemy plants His right next to God’s seed.

The enemy will plant things in your marriage, the enemy will plant things in your children, the enemy will plant things in the people we sit next to at church. Often times we do not know what the enemy has planted until it pops up.

Even with Adam and Eve the issue was not the fact that Eve asked Adam to try the fruit, it was the seed the serpent planted.

The root of the issue was not the betrayal of Jesus by Judas the issue was the fact that he took money to betray the savior.

Many times we look at what’s sprouted and forget about what was planted.

Working in the World Is Going to Take Patience

I’ll never forget, one of my biggest takeaways during this pandemic happened at the hands of a ministerial zoom was on with Dr. Warren Blakeney, who has been pastoring at the North Peoria Church of Christ for over three decades. He stated once that when you are dealing with people you don’t often realize that it is like pulling weeds in the garden, you may see what’s sprouted on one side of the garden but it’s roots are connected to a plant way on the other side.

People operate in a similar way, you never know who people are connected to and sometimes you just have to let the angels of the Lord do the dividing.

Understand that we are known by our fruit!

New Living Translation Chapter 7

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

In this parable the land owner gives a directive of patience considering the weeds would grow with the wheat.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

This text also shows a very peculiar relationship, that the work of the disciples and Jesus is a co-laboring against the enemy!

We see that Jesus gives a lesson to essentially encourage us to let something and some people run it’s course!

Even if we do not see the punishment or the consequence know that God will do the separating!

New Living Translation Chapter 13

No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 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.’ ”

Conclusion

This parable is a reflection of the world today and how God is at work in the world. Not every one that saith unto me, LORD, LORD, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Goldsworthy summarized the Kingdom of God in even fewer words as, "God's people in God's place under God's rule." One thing we have to understand is that as it pertains to the kingdom, there will be people who will try to overthrow the kingdom, destroy the kingdom, claim false allegiance to the king! This is why it is imperative that we live our life according to the instructions of God. It is up to us to be the light for the lost. God is sowing his seed and is expecting fruit in return, He is sowing into people so that we can produce a harvest and there will be no excuse for crop failure when he returns.

God plants us where he wants us, you might be planted by the words tare in the vineyard just know that God has you planted there for a reason! Do not hoard your truth, share it with folks! No matter the circumstance, no matter the situation!