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Opposition Doesn't Mean Failure By Paul Thompson

25/04/2004 Matt 13:24-43

Open your Bibles please at Matthew chapter 13
Last week we saw that it's God's utter sovereign choice who becomes his true followers and who doesn't
We noted that, John noted that for us from verse 11 and verse 16
The parable that we are going to look at this morning, God helping us, follows on so very closely from the parable of the sower and the soils
John showed us, he challenged us from this parable last week, what it is to be a true follower of Jesus Christ
And we also saw the critical importance of listening
Listening in such a way that we might come alive and believe in this Jesus
No longer trusting in ourselves and our plans but listening to his words and asking daily for his Spirit's help to do them, despite how I might feel
Now I have very vivid memories as a young child of being dragged through the leading art galleries of Europe to view the world's masterpieces
My parents always viewed these works by standing back then moving up real close in front of the old masters
This was the way to really appreciate any great work of art they said
This morning Jesus takes you by the hand and he leads you into his art gallery
And he shows us a picture that makes the images of 9-11 pale into insignificance
The images are meant to sober us who are Christians and shock you who are not Christians
But in order to appreciate the picture we need to stand back and get the big picture then move up close and examine the detail
Now traditionally this parable has been taught as being all about getting rid of the tears out of the church
Purging out of her those who show themselves to not be real Christians
Now listen, there are serious problems with this popular interpretation
Let me run through the reasons for you
Firstly, the whole context of chapter 13 focuses as John showed us last week from the end of chapter 12 on doing the Father's will
We had the example last week of being a true follower of Christ
Secondly, Jesus says in verse 38a that the field is the world not the church
So how can there be some other fields?
Thirdly, nowhere in Matthew's Gospel does Jesus ever equate the kingdom of God with the church
Fourthly, the temptation to deal with the apparent counterfeits or fakes is not encouraged but quite the opposite
Jesus teaches about excommunication from the visible church in chapter 18
Finally, in Jesus' interpretation of the parable in verses 36-43 which Steve read to us
He doesn't even refer to this misguided zeal to weed out the tears from his kingdom
So Jesus doesn't deal here with the church but with his worldwide kingdom
Why then does Jesus give the interpretation and make sense of it?
He wants to convince his disciples then and us now that yes his kingdom is a mixed bag
But we need to listen with patience and trust him because he is coming to sort it out
Look at the images then with me of Jesus' masterpiece
What do we see as we stand back?
Let me run through the first section there in chapter 13 verses 24-30
Verse 24 we see a man sowing good seed in the field
Verse 25 we see him tucked up in bed asleep and this not very nice bloke comes and sows different seed in his field
We see in verse 26 that the crops have grown but shock, horror there are two different crops
We see his hired help asking him if he has sowed good seed because things seem very wrong with his crop
Verse 28 we see the farmer sowing in disgust and the enemy has done this
and the hired help asking him if they can pull out these bad weeds
Finally in verse 29 we see the farmer telling the hired help to cool it with their gardening skills
because at harvest he will sort it all out with a bonfire
for the bad seed and the normal storage for the good seed
Now look at the images with me as we stand back from the picture
and as we notice two things
Jesus wants you to listen with patience because
and this is firstly, his kingdom seems a mixed bag
because of the reality of a good sower and good seed
Look at verse 24
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed
The tense of the word like implies that the kingdom has become like the situation of a man who
Steve was reading from the NIV I think which brought that out
Now Judaism was used to delays in waiting for the Messiah to come
But here Jesus is saying to us here is
There is a now but not yet idea to my kingdom
and you and I must learn this and live it out daily
Now we do this all the time don't we
Won't it be great when we such and such
Here Jesus says knowing this will help us be patient
at the seeming mixed bag of his kingdom
Look at verse 26
The good seed we saw in the previous parable his elect
Here sprout his corn and produce a crop
But notice who sows the seed
Jesus in his interpretation for the disciples in verse 37 says
He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man
Jesus is referring to himself by this title the Son of Man
because it reflects his character and his mission
Here Jesus is identifying himself with the one described in Daniel 7 verse 13
Let me read it to you
Behold one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven
Isn't that just what Joe read to us from Matthew 24
He came to the ancient of days God the Father
To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom
and all peoples and nations and language shall serve him
So despite the apparent victory of his enemies
Jesus can rightly claim the title of Messiah
because he will have the last word
Next, King Jesus wants you to be patient
not only because of the reality of the good sower and the good seed
but because of the reality of the bad sower and the bad seed
Now it's important to notice what happens next
Look with me at verse 25
But while he slept his enemy came and sowed tears among the wheat and went his way
Now what are these tears?
They are weeds or the technical word is bearded darnel
Bearded darnel which is so close to real wheat it's difficult to distinguish it
from the dinky dye wheat when it's very young
But what happens is that the roots of the two plants twist themselves round each other
But when the heads of the grain appear you're left in no doubt
which plant is the dinky dye one and which is the fake one
But who would do such a mean thing to a man's livelihood?
Well Jesus tells us the enemy who sowed them is the devil
His fingerprints are everywhere in Matthew's Gospel
In chapter 2 he's the prince of demons, in chapter 4 he's the tempter, in chapter 12 Beelzebub
and here in chapter 13 the enemy, also in chapter 12 he's the ruler of demons
And in chapter 13 he robs people of the truth and blinds them to God's glory
which we saw last week
And of course we know he's called the father of lies, the deceiver
What's been the devil's greatest achievement in the last 100 years?
It's to convince us evangelicals that he doesn't exist
But any serious reading of our Bibles and an honest examination of our own heart
tells us that he is a foe that we must fight against daily
He's one who brings the attractions of the world and our own flesh and makes them so appealing
We must not ignore his devices
Who are the tears? But the tears are the sons of the wicked one
If you are not a follower of Jesus you, according to Jesus Christ, are a son of the devil
That's not very nice you say? These are Jesus' words that he said to some people
He said to some people they were of their father, the devil too
Friend, the reality is that if you are not a Christian this morning
you are the devil's child because you have his nature
You are under his control, in his employ, doing his will
Next notice, it's not just the reality of the bad sower and the bad seed
that we need patience with, but Jesus says don't you sort out my kingdom
Don't you sort out my kingdom
Notice something interesting that happens in verses 27 to 30
So the servants of the owner came and they said to him,
Sir, did not you sow good seed in your field? How then are the tears?
And he said to them, An enemy has done this
And the servant said to them, Notice what the servants say
Do you want us to go and gather them up? Can't we just go and exercise some quality control?
Now listen very hard to Jesus' reply
No! No! Least while you are gathering up the tears you also uproot the wheat with them
But let them grow together until the harvest
Let them grow together until the harvest
Brethren, how this grates against our reformed sensitivities
Like the teacher's fingernails screeching across the blackboard
But notice it doesn't write a mention in Jesus' explanation in verses 37 to 40
No! He says it's not your responsibility
Excuse me but out
And instead be patient and trust me
Focus one eye on calling it
And the other on the sober reality that I am the coming King to deal with this
Brethren, haven't we spent far too much time condemning Christians who are not like us
Rather than obeying Jesus and preaching the Gospel
Jesus not only says to us, Don't you sort out my kingdom
But secondly he says we must trust King Jesus
We must trust him
He is coming to sort it out
Why is he coming?
He's coming to harvest
If I sow some seeds I expect with the right conditions to reap a harvest
If this is a life principle that we reap what we sow
Then how much more so for King Jesus as the creator of the world
The one who has come from heaven to rescue people
And restore the relationship lost in Adam
If he's sowing a kingdom of souls of course he's going to come and reap a harvest of souls
Notice people are obsessed these days with knowing their future
You've only got to skim the shelves of your local video store to see the movies that are all about this
Friends, making Jesus your King
Living his way one day at a time is the only way to change your future
Because you're investing in change
You're sowing and you too will reap eternal life
But when is Jesus coming?
He says in verse 39b
The harvest will be at the end of the age
Remember, Joe's reading to us when the disciples come to Jesus
And ask him when there will be a sign of the end of the age
A sign of his coming
Now in his coming he shows mercy to you his child
And he says to you, go to heaven
Notice in verse 38b
Jesus says the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom
What does he mean?
You are either a son or daughter of the kingdom because the King has made you so
You're not born a Christian
Jesus calls you
He stops you in your tracks
He shows you what you're really like
He gives you a new heart
He takes you and he docks you into his family
Your family now
He stamps on your forehead son of the kingdom
But that's not all
Look what you're going to be doing in heaven
Verse 43
The righteous shall shine forth as son in the kingdom of their father
This is a shortened version of Daniel chapter 12 verse 3 that Jesus is quoting from
But what does he mean the righteous?
This is God's new verdict on your life
Despite the fact that you've broken his law and you continue to break it
Why?
Because of what another has done for you
This mighty sovereign king agreed to be guilty
Guilty for you who only deserve punishment and death and damnation
He became sin for us that we might be what?
The righteousness of God
Christian this morning
Jesus is emphatic
You're righteous
God says you're alright
What a relief
What a comfort
In difficult times you're alright
But there's more
Jesus says you're going to shine
How?
Well King Jesus is removing and will remove your sin
Doesn't this hide his brightness?
Yes Jesus said you're the light of the world
How?
Because he is the light of the world
Because Jesus shines you're going to shine
You will reflect the glory of Jesus to God the father
This is why you're being made like Jesus
Parents aren't you proud when you're going out and the kids are all dressed up and well behaved
You're so proud
Well our shining will make our father burst with pride
Now if in his coming Jesus shows mercy to you his children
He must show justice to you his enemy
Why?
Because you're rebelling against his rule
Verse 41
The Son of Man will send out his angels
And they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend
And those who practice lawlessness
Why do the angels do this?
Because anyone or anything that doesn't correspond
100% with the holy character of God
Must by its very nature be eradicated
It can't be tolerated or entertained
Why?
Because heaven can't be heaven unless there's 100% absolute moral purity
I can take you to at least two ladies in this church
Who I know have openly declared open warfare
On dirt and uncleanness in their homes
It will not be tolerated under any circumstances
There are no exceptions except when Australian Idol is on
Seriously
Seriously
If dirt is an offence to these ladies
How much more is your life to Jesus this morning?
And he says to you
No way are you going to be living at my place
The only way is if you are dirt free
Sin free
What must happen then if you keep rebelling against Jesus' rule?
He says
For you it's hell's horrific punishment with no end
In other words he says
Very very sober words to you
That you must go to hell
Verse 40 and verse 42 listen to them
Sober words in God's word
And he will cast them into the furnace of fire
And there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth
If you're not a Christian
Now is the time to do some active listening
Your happiness or lack of it depends upon it
Jesus says
Unless you stop ignoring me and giving me first place in your life
I have no alternative but to throw you into hell
Now listen carefully
You'll experience unbearable pain that will never ever stop
Your conscience will torment you
Because you have rejected and ignored Christ
And Jesus Christ will not be ignored
I have made you he says
And I have a right to enjoy you
For us to be friends
But hey
Unless you become like me
God won't have anything to do with you either
What must you do?
Your only hope is to make some quick and drastic changes in your life
Now listen carefully if you're not a Christian
Scrap everything you're doing
Drop it
This is the most important thing
Throw yourself into it day and night
Eat, sleep and drink the Bible and pray
Until you're sure that you've come into a new relationship with Jesus Christ
It's your only hope
He warns you because he loves you
Why not turn away from yourself
And lean on this mighty, powerful, wonderful King
He promises to clean you up
And make you fit for heaven
There really is nothing quite like being a friend of Jesus
He's the most wonderful friend you could ever have
Start now before it's too late
He's calling you home
Come home today
Amen