TWO KINGDOMS pt 7
The Wheat & Tares.
It’s exciting that Jesus spoke deeply with His disciples, but He also was challenging and cautioning them to consider there own hearts, that the ability to do this isn’t in ourselves but comes from HIM, we all need ongoing transformation, but we don’t have the capacity ourselves!
II Corinthians 3:5-6 NKJV “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Matthew 13:24-30 NKJV “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
If we are going to live a Life That Pleases God, we will need to live a life of growth & transformation.
Four powerful Lessons we learn from The Parable Of The Wheat & Weeds!
There is a MACRO & MICRO application to consider here!
The preceding parable was a vivid illustration of the fact that the kingdom of heaven includes those who give only lip service to the King as well as those who are His genuine disciples. The first three soils typify the kingdom in its widest circle—outward profession. The fourth soil represents the kingdom as a smaller circle—those who have been truly converted.
13:24-26 The second parable—the wheat and the tares—also sets forth the kingdom in these two aspects.
The wheat depicts true believers, the tares are mere professors.
Jesus compares the kingdom to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.
One of the most common tare’s found in grain-fields in the Holy Land is bearded darnel, “a poisonous grass, almost indistinguishable from wheat while the two are growing into blade. But when they come into ear, they can be separated without difficulty.”
In Verses 36-43 He gives the revelation of the parable!
Jesus identified Himself as the sower. He sowed directly during His earthly ministry, and has been sowing ever since through His disciples since that time.
The field is the world.
The good seeds mean the sons of the kingdom.
These sons of the kingdom were sown in the world, during His years of public ministry, Jesus sowed the world with disciples who were loyal to the kingdom.
The tares are the sons of the wicked one. Satan always has a counterfeit for every divine reality. He sows the world with those who look like, talk like, and, to some extent, walk like disciples. But they are not genuine followers of the King (2 Corinthians 11:14) The parable teaches that the kingdom of heaven will include the real and the imitation, the genuine and the counterfeit, and that this condition will continue until the end of the age. Then God’s through Jesus and the Angels will separate the false, who will be taken away in judgment, from the true, who will enjoy the glorious reign of Christ on earth.
God has a plan that He is working out over time (be patient!).
A very clear message of the previous first parable of Jesus was that to be a “good soil” Christian means you persevere and work through the first three conditions in your life.
Whether they were physically big or “giants” through their power, Caleb was not afraid to go and take the land from them (Joshua 14:10-12). Joshua granted his request, and Caleb drove the giants out. Caleb wasn’t afraid of anything the Anakites could do because he knew what God could do.
How do we move forward with True Inward Transformation!
Joel 2:12-13 NKJV “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”
Have you ever thought of the proper response to God in our lives?
IN ancient times to tear your clothes was a way of repenting and showing outward sorrow over mistakes, but it was just an outward expression and not necessarily something happening internally.
SO people would make a public display of repentance without actually repenting in their heart. So, rather than tearing your clothes, God says He would rather you repent in your heart.
Tearing your clothes means nothing if your heart isn’t broken before God. Outward expressions should come from true, inward transformation.
And God says that anyone who comes to Him in genuine repentance will experience His grace and compassion.
If you try to hide or ignore your sin, take some time to consider why. God wants you to experience freedom and love. Go to Him with what you’re carrying in your heart, and repent of anything that goes against His ways.
Remember that nothing can remove His love from you. He desires that you live in grace and mercy as a child of God.
We live in a world where tragedies and accidents occur every day and where injustice and violence still wreak havoc in people’s lives.
Where is God and why doesn’t He do something?
The Parable of the Wheat & Weeds teaches us that God is in controls and has a plan for this world and He is working to accomplish it.
However, it’s over time and that means there’s some waiting to do, something we find difficult. Jesus is teaching us patience – the patience of a God who chooses to delay His judgment.
God is not in a hurry and we must be prepared to trust Him and wait for His time. In the end, God will win and good will overcome evil.
James 5:7-11 NKJV “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord —that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”
There is an enemy at work in the world (be alert!).
Alongside the power of the Kingdom another power is at work seeking to disrupt God’s plan.
The action of this enemy, the devil, is a prominent feature in Jesus’ ministry.
This parable presents us with a worldview that accounts for and is not surprised by evil in the world.
It also teaches us that evil will not be completely removed until judgment day but that does not mean that we should not fight against evil in all its forms in the meantime – in our own lives, in the church and in our society.
I Peter 5:8-10 NKJV “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”
This awareness calls us to live lives on spiritual alert while avoiding the extremes of being ignorant of the devil’s schemes or of becoming overly preoccupied with his activity.
God alone is the judge of all people (be humble!).
Right from the beginning of history there have been two seeds or two generations of people – the righteous and the wicked.
We find our place in either group not by birth, by fate or by our good works but by our response to the grace of God that He shows toward us in His Son Jesus Christ.
GOD desires everyone to be saved and to become His children.
BUT Each person will ultimately choose to be either for God or against God and will be treated accordingly.
However, in the meantime it is vital that we not get caught up in determining who is IN and who is OUT.
God alone knows the human heart and He will be their judge, not us. Wheat and weeds look very similar…until the time of harvest when their true nature is revealed. In fact,
Jesus hinted that we may be surprised who is in and who is out.
We ourselves are a mixture of wheat and weeds – people in desperate need of the grace of God.
This should cause us to be humble in our approach to other people.
James 4:11-12 NKJV “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
God has revealed Himself as a supremely loving, wise, beautiful, holy, just and true God.
It is that combination of attributes that we must learn to see when it comes to the matter of judgment.
Romans 2:27-29 NKJV “And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
We are EACH called to partner with God’s purpose (be fruitful!).
In the Parable of the Wheat & Weeds, we are the seed.
God plants His people in His field – this world – and He desires us to be fruitful for Him.
A partnership mentality and attitude helps us avoid complacency (thinking that God or someone else will do it all) and of a messianic complex (thinking that we will fix the world and rid it of evil all by ourselves).
Ephesians 4:1 NKJV “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”
Ephesians 4-6 NKJV “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Ephesians 4-16 NKJV “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Here’s the story, titled “Whose Job Is It, Anyway?”
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
The story may be confusing but the message is clear: no one took responsibility so nothing got accomplished.
It’s a story that plays out often in organizations and companies and on teams—anywhere there is culture that lacks accountability. But how do you get people to take responsibly for their work? Different things work in different situations, but here are some strategies that have proven to be effective:
Become a role model. You can’t tell people what to do if you yourself aren’t willing to hold yourself to the same level. If you want people to act responsibly, you have to be accountable. Your team and your company look to you for direction.
Don’t make assumptions. Don’t assume that others know instinctively what to do and when to do it, or even what you expect from them. Before people can take responsibility for their work they require clear communication. The more you communicate, the better the results are likely to be. Set the standard. If you expect excellence, it’s up to you to set the standards for results and performance. Make each task or goal measurable and set it on a reasonable timeline so it’s achievable. Give people a clear target and they’ll work to reach it—and maybe even surpass it. Get the buy-in to go the distance. You need people to buy in and commit if you want to succeed. Each vision should be compelling; each goal should build toward the whole; each task should be laced with motivation. You need people to feel compelled, inspired and motivated to take responsibility.
Make regular check-ups. One of the biggest reasons people fall short is a lack of follow-through by leadership. Help people stay focused by setting up regular checkpoints— phone calls or meetings where everyone can communicate and catch up, staying focused on moving forward and being accountable. When people know there will be check-ups, they’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to hit their targets.
Provide support and training. Especially with a start-up or a new initiative, people are taking on projects or tasks that they’ve never faced before. Make sure everybody has the training and resources they need to be successful, and provide help in resolving any issues that may arise. Encourage candor. One of the worst things that can happen to a team is for people to feel uncomfortable discussing problems and expressing their honest opinions. Build a culture of candor so that people know it’s the norm to tell the truth, even when it’s difficult or awkward. Concentrate on solutions and not only problems. If people are having problems or falling behind, expect them to come to you with possible solutions, not just the problems. Create an expectation that the first response to a problem is to start finding solutions.
Praise performance. Praise people for good results and be specific with your acknowledgment. Let them know what they did well and how their work is affecting others. If they fall short, coach them privately and let them know how they can improve. And if their performance does not improve, also address this with meaningful consequences that have been explained ahead of time.
To avoid having your team become Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody, commit to becoming the kind of leader who takes responsibility for your own life and leadership.
Lead from within: Don’t let Anybody (or Everybody, Somebody or Nobody) stop you from doing what you need to do to create the kind of leadership and life you can be proud of.
