Persevering Among Weeds

Opening Revelation

Psalm 119:41–48 ESV

41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. 44 I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, 45 and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. 46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, 47 for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. 48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

Introduction

In the early 1980’s, a new phenomenon was created. Popularized and diversified more specifically in the mid-90’s, came the introduction of television channels dedicated to News.

One of the controversies or challenges as news channels began was the question that arises from all TV channels which is this:

How do we entertain our viewers?

Now, here we are 30-40 years later and I have to ask a question in reply...

Are we any better off?

I only ask because of what Christ’s parable for our day of worship today is about.

More specifically, I ask because I hear far too often in our church and other churches, this constant muttering, or complaining, or grumbling about all that’s happening in our world today. I hear far more of that than I do reminders to persevere! Reminders of the inevitable triumph of God, culminating in the harvesting of the redeemed and the destruction of the wicked!

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And don’t get me wrong, this is not a new trouble or a new invention because of cable news, but cable news has not been a remedy to this problem! Whether it’s OAN, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, or even a news aggregator like Google News… If what you watch is not calling you to persevere in righteousness and holiness, then it may be more pernicious (having a harmful effect) than precious! More harmful than good to your souls!

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I worry for you, church. I worry for myself, for my kids, for my wife, for this country, for this world… But my calling as a Christian is not to worry, it’s to persevere knowing and trusting in God’s inevitable conclusion He’s set forth.

The Bible is full of commandments to persevere, and lacking in commandments to worry or to lose hope because of all the horrible things around us. Whether in our culture or in our world, the command of the Lord is never to get bogged down with worries, but to persevere in faithfulness to the One who has stretched the scroll of the beginning from the end, marking the days as He sees fit.

Or, to use wording from our parable today, from the farmer who has set a day for His harvest. Ready to receive the wheat and cast the weeds into the fire to be burned up forever and ever in His fiery wrath.

Let’s read our text for today.

Matthew 13:24–30 ESV

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.” ’ ”

Jumping to the explanation in verses 36-42

Matthew 13:36–42 ESV

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.

Christians are the “good seed” that Jesus has sown (13:24, 37-38)

As the Lord sows His people across His kingdom, which in this parable is understood as across the entire world (13:38), the Lord expects His people to be “good.”

What does it look like for a Christian to be a “good seed?” It looks like several possible things, but most of all it looks like a person who is growing in Christ for the purpose of producing fruit for Christ. Good seed grows up for the purpose of being harvested, of producing for its master what its master desires. It remembers that it was planted as good seed and it should remain good seed.

Good seed lives a life set apart in the purpose of its planter.

Yesterday, when we were in Lisa’s backyard, I was impressed by the grape vines that she had planted. They had become intermingled with blackberry bushes, but had remained steadfast and strong in growing. Blackberries, by their very nature, choke the life out of most plants and their thorns make it very difficult to harvest what’s around them.

But Lisa’s grapes, however, had survived being intermingled with invasive blackberries. Both plants were producing fruit right next to each other, in fact, but the grapes were still producing exactly what they were intended to produce. They had grown out from where Lisa had planted them, taken their job seriously, and done their “holy” or “particular” purpose.

Good seed lives a life set apart in the purpose of its planter. The purpose of a Christian is to live a holy and dedicated life to the Lord, mortifying or murdering sin as it begins to take grow and intermingle in his or her root structure. In the words of the Apostle Peter: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

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The essence of persevering among weeds is this: Good seed remembers that it is good seed. It does its duty of producing for its master. It does not do well to fret over the weeds growing amongst its field, but instead continues to grow despite the weeds that are around it.

Application: Your duty as good seed is not to be panicked about the weeds, but to grow as the seed you were planted as. Christians are the “good seed” that Jesus has sown in this world, and so we are meant to grow up to be harvested by our sower.

Things that tempt Christians and the unrighteous are the weeds (13:25-26, 38, 41)

Now, let’s raise the question of what the weeds are. According to Christ in verse 41, they are “all causes to sin and all lawbreakers. This means that the weeds that Satan has sown in this world are both the temptations to sin and the unrighteous.

One of the deepest struggles that people have dealt with since the Fall in Genesis 3, is what happens to the wicked. That good ol’ “Problem of Evil” that philosophers have been wrestling with over the past few centuries, but the issue has been around much longer than that. Psalm 73 captures this struggle well, where Asaph writes of the wicked:

English Standard Version Psalm 73

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

3  For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4  For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

5  They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

6  Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them as a garment.

I would argue that many of us are in this same situation, envying wicked people who have wealth, power, health, or are even seemingly mentally healthy… Yet are spiritually rotten and depraved.

But the problem isn’t just the wicked, it’s all the temptations that choke into our spiritual lives. The temptations that root deep and unseen in our souls, that grow out of our hearts. The envy, the pride, the hubris we disguise as wisdom or helpfulness. The sexual temptations, slothfulness, the lack of zeal we have for living to the glory of God.

The wicked aren’t the main enemy we should want defeated, those who “are not stricken like the rest of mankind,” but the root of their wickedness and the spread of temptations are the things we should really want taken away. These are the things we should really look forward to Christ uprooting at the harvest.

Application: Therefore, I want to challenge you to not fear the wicked that has grown up next to you, but the wickedness that is growing up inside you. Persevere not just against the enemies around you, but persevere against the overcoming enemy within you!

May we all come to the point where Paul was at in Romans 7. People who instead of just crying out for the death of the wicked, be those who cry out for the death of our own sin be removed.

English Standard Version (Chapter 7)

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Christ has a set plan for what He will do (13:30, 39b-43)

Now, the final thing I want us to glean from this passage is what I feel to be the key to persevering while being surrounded and attacked by the weeds. It’s the reminder that Christ has a set plan for what He will do. There is an appointed time for the harvest, an “end of the age” that is the point of completion.

It’s when the “good seed” has come to its full growth, when it’s finally fully ready for harvest. To use Jesus’ words in v. 41-42:

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

I realize that many of use read this parable and think of the “rapture,” but that is not the harvest that Christ is pointing to. This is the real end of the age, when the angels are sent out to gather not just the Christians, but the “causes of sin and all lawbreakers” as well to be thrown into the fiery furnace.

This “end of the age” attested in this passage is what we read in Revelation 20:9-10. It’s where instead of Satan achieving victory with his army over the the whole earth, surrounding the encampment of the saints, fire from heaven comes down and consumes Satan, his demons, and his whole deceived army, throwing them “into the lake of fire and surlfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

That is the inevitable, unshakeable, set plan that Christ has at the “end of the age.” This is sure, this will happen.

Application: So, friends, as we feel the temptation to feel defeated in the midst of persecution and in the midst of this wicked world surrounded by weeds, we need to remind ourselves with this plan of God. We, like Asaph, should not fall prey to discouragement or be confused by the weeds Satan has sown around us. We should not act hopeless, but remind ourselves that there is an end designated for all the weeds around and among us.

I know I keep harping on this, but I want us to really get it! All the bad news in the world should not shake our hope! God’s requirement of us is not to be bogged down, to get stuck in mud, but to live holy lives missionally for Christ! This is what “perseverance” is, saints! It’s to stand firm, the endure, to do as Paul says in Galatians 6:9:10:

Galatians 6:9–10 ESV

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

To, by the mercies of God, do as Paul also writes in Romans 12:1-3:

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

...to present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...

Conclusion

Church, I think our sin as a congregation, and the sin of the American church is to grow weary because of the weeds surrounding us. To pay lip-service to the reality of God’s inevitable harvest, but to forget with what sureness and certitude our Lord says Matthew 13:30:

English Standard Version Chapter 13

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.” ’ ”

“He who has ears, let him hear,” our Lord says at the end of 13:43. Wicked temptations and the wicked people will be eradicated. They get their due punishment, they inevitably perish.

Back in Psalm 73, Asaph closes his psalm of lament and struggle against the wicked like this:

English Standard Version Psalm 73

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28  But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

Stop fretting. Stop panicking. Persevere among the weeds. We have nothing to fear, for God the harvester will reap. He will complete His plan at the precise moment He intends.

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It’s hard to not lose hope in this world, so pray for the strength to stand firm. One of my favorite metal bands puts this prayer in one of their songs:

As the battle rages on and on I face the things that put my faith to the test When fallen angels won't leave me alone Father, come and lay the demon to rest When my sword has broken off in my hand I see the dark futility of the flesh When I'm about to fall, please help me stand