Saturday, November
02, 2013, 10:27 p.m. – I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, but to no avail.
The song “My Cry for Mercy” kept
playing through my mind. So, I got up to hear from the Lord.
Last night at Bible study someone brought up the scripture
passage from Matthew 13 (vv. 24-30,
36-43) concerning the parable of the weeds. It has been on my mind ever since
then, so I began studying and praying over the passage, seeking God for understanding.
Jesus
told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good
seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed
weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads,
then the weeds also appeared.
“The
owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your
field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An
enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The
servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’
he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat
with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell
the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned;
then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
…Then
he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He
answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the
world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are
the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The
harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As
the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the
age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his
kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them
into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.
The Good and Bad Seed
Jesus Christ is the sower of the good seed. The good seed
are the people of the kingdom of God; the saints of Almighty God; followers of
Jesus Christ; the church scattered throughout the world. We were sown by
God/Jesus in the world to be lights for the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world
around us. He has sent us, and has commissioned us to go into the world to make
disciples of Christ of all nations, and to be his witnesses for the gospel to
all people. We are not to hide our lights, but we are to let them shine
brightly for all to see Christ Jesus in our lives and so all can hear the
gospel and can know the way of salvation.
Yet, our enemy Satan does not want us to share the gospel,
and he does not want us to let our lights shine before men, so he very slyly
and cleverly has sown weeds in among us.
Now, since the field is the world, not the church, these weeds
can be anywhere – in our families, in our churches, in the workplace, in our
neighborhoods, in our homes, and in our governments, etc. They can be anywhere
we are since they are sown in among us. The thing is, these weeds appear to look
a whole lot like the wheat, so they may not really be distinguishable until
they begin to reach maturity. So, it is very possible that these weeds represent
wolves in sheep’s clothing and/or false brothers and sisters living among us
who have the appearance of being Christians when they really are not. Thus, the
purpose of sowing weeds which look like wheat among the wheat would be for the
purpose of deception, and to pull God’s people away from their pure devotion to
Jesus Christ, perhaps to “another Jesus.” Or, they could be quite obvious, but
yet they take us by surprise.
The Servants
The owner of the field is God/Jesus, so his servants are
either angels or they are followers of Jesus Christ. The explanation of the
parable does not define for us who these servants were. Since the method for
pulling up the weeds and for separating them (pulling them away) from the wheat
(the good seed) appears to be divine judgment, and the divine instruments of
that judgment are angels, it would appear either that the servants were indeed
angels, and that God was telling them to wait for the time of harvest, because
they were the ones intended to serve as his agents of judgment, or, perhaps
they were his followers who were calling on him in prayer for divine intervention
and that, through prayer, they would be effecting this divine judgment against
the weeds (the people of the evil one).
As evil reigns in the world and the true church suffers much
persecution at the hands of the evil one, even at the hands of these weeds made
to look like wheat, I am certain there are many followers of Christ who have
prayed to God for mercy and to rescue them from their persecutors and from the
deceivers. And, God has answered back, “Wait on the Lord. Be of courage. The
time is not right. Wait for the harvest.” Yet, when we see all the evil taking
place, and especially when our eyes are opened to see all of the deception,
manipulation, and falsehood that is going on in the world, and much of it in
the name of Christianity, there may be times when we long for God to act in
some way to rescue us, yet he answers back that the timing is not right, for if
the means of removing the people of the evil one is judgment, then that would
mean removing the wheat (the good seed), too, and then who would be here to be
a light for the gospel?
Though it is the evil one, i.e. our enemy Satan, who sows
the weeds in among us, God allows it for a time and for a purpose, because he
is slow to anger, abounding in love, compassionate, merciful, patient, and not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Also,
through the trials and tests we go through because of these “weeds” among us,
it should drive us to Christ’s breast, and it should put within us an even
greater determination and commitment to follow our Lord Jesus Christ in all
ways.
Come out and Be
Separate
So, how does this teaching in this parable jive with the
teaching that we are not to be partakers with the world, but that we are to
come out from them and be separate?
Do
not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have
in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God
and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I
will live with them
and walk among them,
and
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
Therefore,
“Come
out from them
and be separate,
says
the Lord.
Touch
no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
And,
“I
will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says
the Lord Almighty.” ~ 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
“‘Come
out of her, my people,’
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her
plagues;
for
her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes. ~ Rev.
18:4-5
It appears to me that God has called us, as his children, to
go out into the world for one purpose – to be lights for the gospel; to share
the gospel; and to make disciples of Christ of all nations. Yet, we are not to
become like the world, we are not to partake in the sinful practices of the
world, and we are not to have close fellowships with the people of the world.
So, why is it that we have been convinced that we are to invite the people of
the world into the fellowship of the Body of Christ? Who sows the weeds (the
people of the evil one) among us? The enemy! For what purpose does he do this?
- To destroy us, to put us to sleep, to steal from us our pure devotion to
Jesus Christ, to distract us, and to get us to compromise with the world of
sin. And, he is doing a good job at it, too!
If we invite non-believers into our fellowships and into our
times of corporate worship, how does that jive with this teaching? We have
nothing in common with unbelievers. Light cannot be in fellowship with
darkness. We are the temple of the living God! Our times together as Christ’s
body should be for the purpose of fellowship together with Christ and with one
another – to encourage, build-up, edify, instruct, nurture, and help mature one
another in the faith so that we are strengthened and encouraged to go out into
the world with the gospel. Just because the enemy has sown his weeds among us,
and just because some within the church have bought into the idea that we are
to bring the world into the church – into our intimacy with Christ and his Body
– and just because God is loving and patient and he will not pull the weeds out
from among us (wherever we are), it does not mean we are to invite the world
into the church or that we are to continue trying to blend our times of
corporate worship, fellowship and mutual encouragement with evangelism.
I believe scripture is very clear that God’s people are not
to intermingle (mix) with the people of the world and that there can be no
fellowship between light and darkness, and that there is to be a definite
distinction between the church and the world. And, I do believe that God is
presently calling his followers to come out of the worldly institutional church
(Babylon) and to be separate so we don’t share in her sins or her punishment,
and he is calling us to return to the model he set forth for us in scripture
for what the church is supposed to be like, and to the original purpose of our
times together, so that we can be strengthened in our faith, so we can go out
into the world with the gospel of salvation.
Yet, we may not be able to avoid all “weeds” from coming in
among us, so we must trust God that he will remove the weeds, in judgment, when
the time is right. Yet, we should be in prayer for the weeds to turn from the
evil one and to be transformed into wheat before that great Day of Judgment,
and we should be diligent to let our lights shine before them. As well, I
believe we need to pray for spiritual protection from the evil one over
ourselves and over one another, for the strength and encouragement of the Holy
Spirit in one another’s lives, and we need to pray for miracles of God’s grace
in all people’s lives.
My Cry For Mercy
/ An Original Work / October 31, 2013
Based off Psalm 86
Hear my prayer, Lord,
I am needy.
Guard my life, for I’m
devoted to You.
Save me! I’m Your
servant.
You are my God. I
trust in You.
O, Lord, have mercy on
me,
For I call to You.
Bring joy to me, for
to You
I will lift up my
soul.
You are giving and
forgiving.
You abound in love to
all who
Call upon You. Hear my
prayer, Lord.
Listen to my cry for
mercy.
In days of trouble I
call to You,
Knowing that You will
Do marvelous things,
Because You are my
God.
Teach me Your way;
I’ll walk in it.
In Your truth, Lord,
You will guide me.
A pure heart, Lord,
You will give me,
So that I may glorify
You.
Turn to me, Lord, and
grant
Strength to Your
servant.
O, Lord, You are my
help,
For You love and You
comfort me.
Teach me Your way;
I’ll walk in it.
In Your truth, Lord,
You will guide me.
A pure heart, Lord,
You will give me,
So that I may glorify
You.
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