Discerning the Wheat from the Weeds

Introduction

Good morning.

Adam Ford from Adam4D.com made a cartoon that is titled Things Will Never Say Once We’re in Heaven. First frame shows a man. I definitely trusted God too much in my lifetime. What was I thinking? Why was I so worried about sinning? I should have sowed my wild oats while I had the chance. I should have bought myself more nice things instead of giving so much money away. I should have been less vocal about my faith in Jesus. Why on earth did I wait until I was married to have sex? Following Jesus was pretty hard sometimes. I’m not sure it was worth it. Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter thirteen. I’d like to discuss this idea of retrospect. And when you consider yourself as someone who has lived rather than someone with life to live, it kind of changes your perspective on things.

I believe it was last Sunday morning at this hour that Adam spoke, and he used the example of when you’re driving, always look down the road. Look out before you. Let’s forecast, let’s look at our life. Let’s look at the end of our lives, and keep that in mind as we read, beginning in Matthew chapter thirteen and verse twenty-four. He put another parable before them saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good field, goats good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 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? He said to them, An enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 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. This morning I would like to discuss this idea of discerning between wheat and weeds. For any of you who have any interest in or even own a garden or any type of non-concrete yard, as my sister always claimed she would have when she grew older. You understand this concept of good flowers, good vegetation, and annoying, pestilent vegetation like weeds.

In fact, if you’re like me, doing it slow and steady, even though I never seemed to win the race against weeds, you would go out there and spend perhaps hours in your yard, maybe even every week, picking out the weeds. But why? Well, for one, of course, because of appearances, but two, because the weeds can sometimes choke out the good vegetation. And so when Christ uses an example of weeds and wheat here, we see an example that many of us can understand. But I want to ask a question right off the bat this morning, and in light of things we’ll never say once we’re in heaven, what did you think about that comic strip? Did you think that that was something that was pretty invalid? Did you think it was kind of funny?

1. Are You Proud of What You Are Growing?

Because I gotta tell you, if we’re at the end of our life right now, I wonder how many of us would think that way about our lives. Except maybe in a positive direction. Are you comfortable with the amount of stuff that you have that would be left to someone who is not you if you were to pass away this day? Is your bank account filled with money for that future rainy day that might happen fifty years from now? While many Christians you know are suffering and in need of some support. I’d like to discuss, are you proud of what you are growing? If you look at 2 Timothy chapter 4, you’ll see where I’m going this morning. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, beginning in verse 6.

Paul says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Look at verse 7 one more time. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. Let me ask you, are you proud of your garden right now? Are you proud of the way it looks? If I were to drive by your house and evaluate you, something preachers do for fun.

That’s a joke. There we go. Would you be proud of it? Or if you knew company was coming over, would you have an all-out attack on the weeds? Would you mow the lawn with fervor, unknown to man? And get it all cleaned up and nice and pretty so that when company comes, they barely notice it actually. Because that’s the hint of a good yard, isn’t it? When it’s so clean that no one thinks something extra of it. Perhaps we go for it, oh, it’s very colorful, it’s clean kept, but for the most part, it’s to avoid a negative distinction. But I want to ask you more personally.

I want you to consider if you were three days from passing away. How would you live those three days? What would you do with your affairs? Would you get them in order? Would you be prepared? Would you maybe pray a little bit more? Be with family a little bit longer, love a little bit more intensely. I think we would. But more importantly, would you be able to sit back and look like Paul did and say, I have kept the faith. I have finished the race. Would you be able to say, henceforth, there is a crown of righteousness waiting for me. You see, at the end of the harvest, and make no mistake, Matthew chapter 25 and verse 13 says, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The harvest is coming, and the wheat and the weeds will be divided. We’ll talk about the explanation of the parable that Christ gave later on in Matthew chapter 13. But for now I want you to consider where would you be divided? And stop thinking about your garden and start thinking about your life. Because it doesn’t matter how well you can talk, how well you can explain, or how much money you can give away in one day. The question is, what have you been growing? Because if you know weeds, as much as they may seem like it, don’t just appear like that. See, they grow. And by the time we see them, often they’ve grown for a long while. My question is this morning can you sit back and say, you know what?

I have grown into the wheat that Christ has planted. Because we know from the example of the parable of the sower, don’t we? That Christ plants the seed that is the word of God, the path and his salvation. The only question is with the parable of the soils is which soil are you? If you were sitting back and you think honestly, what type of soil are you? What type of seed are you? Because there is only two, and although they are almost indistinguishable from the beginning, at the time of the harvest, it is plain, that which is wheat and that which is weed. At the end time, if it were now, are you growing as Christ has planted you? Are you a plant of the devil?

You see, Paul was sure because he lived the life that Christ had told him to. He was called in Damascus in Acts chapter 9, and he was dedicated to fight the good fight. And he did it. He turned it all over to Christ. He said, Not my will anymore. I’m going to do what God says. I’m going to fulfill the plan that Christ has for me. And sometimes in this life, we get caught up with the weeds because you know what? We may start as that seed, that pleasant flower that’s going to grow and bloom the way Christ has made us. But you know what? There’s still a whole lot of weeds around us. Are you allowing yourself to be choked out, perhaps even taken over by the weeds that are around you?

2. What Does It Profit a Man?

We look at the world a lot and we talk about how wicked is. How lot how much like the world are we? Are we really that much different than how the world is when it comes to spending our money? Studying or not studying our Bibles? You see, God has revealed his very word to us, life is in your hands or on your phones this morning. Hold that life for me, please. Take it out and turn it to Luke chapter 9. Look at Luke chapter 9. You want to look at the words of life? You want to know if you are the plant that Christ has planted, if you are in his form, in his image, look right here. He makes it clear. Luke chapter 9 and verse 23.

He says, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Have you ever actually truly allowed yourself to meditate on that idea? Look again at verse 25. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Because sometimes maybe you’re like me, and perhaps a way that you fall away, the way that you allow weeds to overtake you, is that sometimes you’re worried about gaining some of that world. In fact, we don’t even get the whole thing.

In fact, I often think about the temptation of Christ when Satan was tempting him in Matthew chapter 4, and he says, I’ll give you the whole world if you will bow down and worship me. I very rarely am offered the whole world, and yet sometimes I fall down and I worship the devil. Perhaps sometimes we get so caught up with fitting into the world and growing away from everyone else that we’re not looking to and trying to sprout towards Christ. See, Paul never lost that mindset. His goal, his life was centered around what it came to. The culmination of Paul’s life was his death. Because it meant he could be with God. Do you want to be with him this day, this morning? Because we can make it happen if we read the word.

We can be distinguishable between the weed and the wheat if we read what the wheat’s supposed to be. You see, and that’s the key factor here this morning is when we consider are we proud of what we have grown into. The question more specifically is are what we are what Christ wants us to be? There is no opinion but Christ that is valid. And that’s a startling conclusion. Because it means my life no longer matters. I don’t live for anyone but Christ. A very popular article has come across the internet about the five things that people regret most on their deathbed. If you Google that, you will find this research in several different places. Number one, five things people regret most on their deathbed. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

Number two, I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. Number three, I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. Number four, I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. And number five, I wish that I had let myself be happier. Even from a worldly perspective. This idea of let myself be happier. Why? Why express my feelings? Why stay in touch with my friends more? Because we live like other people. We live like the world expects us to be. It’s all about at the deathbed. I wish I had done something. Why? Something for me, something that makes me happier, that makes me better. But you know what the truth is? If you live in Christ, you will be enormously infinitely better. Because you will be with God in heaven.

3. We’re Going to Answer to God

You see, that’s what to live for. Not to make myself happier. This is garbage. Brothers and sisters, we need to live to please God, because Christ is coming at the harvest, and he will be able to discern what you are made of. Are you willing to be distinguished this day if you were on your deathbed? Would you be comfortable? Would you be able to say, I have kept the faith? Do you have the crown of righteousness waiting for you? You see, a lot of the problem with people is we don’t realize that we’re going to answer to God. We think that we’re going to live this life, and you know what? As long as we do mostly good, and the elders are fine with me, and the deacons are happy with me, and I shake the preacher’s hand every Sunday, I’m okay.

But look at Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. You see, when we consider what we will say to God, all of a sudden our perspective is forcibly changed, isn’t it? It’s no longer just putting ourselves in in the mindset of someone who’s going to pass away soon.

4. At the Right Time All Would Be Revealed

It is coming and it is our life. It is our destiny to meet and to be judged by the very God who loves us and wants us to be saved. Let’s go back to the parable of Matthew chapter 13. We understand we’re judged by the words of Christ. We understand we need to do the will of God. But what exactly is Christ speaking of? What are the implications? And Matthew chapter 13. Notice again in verse chapter 20 and verse 25.

The man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 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? And he said to them, An enemy has done this. They said, Do you want us to go and gather them? He said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. So let’s look at his distinguishing quality here. Verses 25 through 29, we see that that we those weeds, they came up when?

At the harvest. You see, the man who owned the field knew the truth. He knew that at the right time all would be revealed. He also knew that in the meantime, there would be no practical way to distinguish what was good from what was bad. You see, we can live right now perfectly fine. We can go to church, we can do things, we can look like everybody else. In fact, we can look better than the world because, brothers and sisters, the world standard is pretty low. We can look pretty good, and we can look like a knight in shining armor, and we can come people and hold our Bibles and puff out our chest. But you know what? If the word of God, if the Spirit of the Lord is not in you, what does it profit you?

Do you live what you stand for? Are you what you present? One of my toughest cases in college was when if I would uh give a guy girl advice on something. I gotta tell you, sometimes, um, as little as I know about girls, I feel my friends knew even less. Uh I would ask him, I’d say one man, and I’d say, um, what do you know about her? What are her interests or likes or dislikes? I’d say, I I don’t know. Well, uh, what’s your plan? Well, I gotta work on that. Well, are you doing anything? You know, this is uh this is a guy who sometimes wouldn’t even honestly smell that good. Okay? We’re trying to distinguish good from evil. We think about what the world presents.

You know what? Any guy and any woman will tell any guy who’s trying to impress a woman, look nice. That helps. Don’t smell bad. That’s good. Okay? We all giggle at that, we laugh at that, but I’ll tell you what, that guy is married now. And you know what? It doesn’t matter what a good facade he put on when he’s dating, at some point the smell good’s gonna stop. And she’s gonna see who he really is, right? She’s gonna she loves she loves him dearly. I love both of them. They’re my good friends. But I’ll tell you what, at some point the smell’s gonna come off, and the question is, is he still the idol of her affection? Because the time is coming when the presentation is no longer there, and the life is all that’s left to be lived.

You see, it’s the same way when we come into the world of obeying Christ. We can look good, we can put on the smell good, and we can even say some of the right things in Bible class. We can be a speaker in the class, we can teach, we can lead the brigade. But if I go home and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I mistreat my wife, I lose my temperate people, I go to work and I badmouth the boss, I gossip, I steal, I cut out early. God will not be fooled. You may look exactly like all the wheat. You may fit in here, and no one may know, but Christ does. Look with me further in the parable in Matthew chapter 13. He gives an explanation to us, beginning in verse 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. He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace in that place.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But verse 43 shines. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear. What are we to hear? What are we to open our minds and our hearts to? The fact is, if you are righteous, God wants you to be found as the wheat. Okay? It’s not just about avoiding the weeds, not becoming entangled, not growing wrong. It’s about being good, so that we can do what? We can be with God forever. You see, that’s the promise. That’s the gospel in a nutshell, isn’t it? The Son of Man has come, he spread his seed. The question is, will we obey it? Will we submit to it? And the harvest, what did Jesus say it was?

It was the end of the age. There will be a time where there will be not no one will be fooled because God is not mocked, God is not deceived, and there is nothing we can do that God does not know all about. And so that’s a harsh reality when you think about it. Because it doesn’t matter what I think of myself or what others think of me, it just matters what God does. But I’ll tell you what, that makes it kind of simple in a way too, because we know, because God’s told us what he expects from us. So we can just do this. Be like Christ. And when the harvest comes, we will shine in the presence of our Father. See, that’s it’s beautiful, it’s wonderful, but for some of us, like in Matthew chapter 7, verse 21 through 23, we’re going to realize appearances aren’t enough.

5. What You’ve Held Back from God

And I want to ask you really bluntly this morning, what are you prepared to say about what you’ve held back from God? See, there’s a lot of categories in life that we can follow. What does your marriage tell about you? Is your marriage of weed or of weed? Because we’re going to answer to God. I’m going to answer to God for how I treat my wife. I can be the greatest preacher in the world, I can be the greatest teacher in the entire universe, but if I mistreat her or mistreat one of you on an individual basis, guess what? It all goes away. So what does your life reveal? How do you treat other people? Is it like Christ expects us to? Is it full of love, gentleness, compassion?

Or is it full of like we talked about last week at the 9 o’clock hour, people getting in your way? People becoming obstacles to you and to your life and the way you want to live. Is the world out to get you, or are you out to help save the world the same way Christ did? That’s the question. But I want to ask you something else. We hit this all the time, but I gotta ask. What are you going to say to God about your attendance to church?

Where are you when the saints gather? Where are you when a brother is in need? When a sister needs a phone call. Where are you then? That’s one of the moments, perhaps, that leads to the harvest that starts showing the difference between the wheat and the weeds. You see, as they grow, you get closer and closer to being more distinguishable. These moments of our faith, every Sunday morning, you have a choice. What do you think the right thing to do is? To be at church when the doors are open and the elders have asked you to assemble? Or to come for the parts that you need and the parts that you can check off the list and go home for? What about when you know of a brother in need?

What do you hold back from helping them? First John chapter 3 is pretty clear. If anyone has the world’s goods and does not help his brother, that’s a problem. What are we sowing? What life are we living? What are we going to become? Because it’s not just one Sunday attendance. It’s not just a brother we ignore. It’s the life of Christ. It’s the opportunity God put before us. Are you going to grab it? Are you going to let it go by and grow like the rest of the world into a weed and be divided and thrown into the place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? There is no, there’s no other option. You will be burned or you will be a light with the Father forever.

What do you want? What will you say? Because we won’t convince God. Our lives will be the result. When you pull up a weed, you look at it and you say, Yes, this was a weed, I’m going to throw it away. Sometimes you might pull up something good out of your garden, don’t you? And you say, Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that. But you can tell by looking at it. Even if it could talk, do you think if a weed, you pulled it up and it said, I’m not a weed, save me? Do you think it’d be like, oh, I’m sorry, weed? Here you go. And put it back in. No, of course not. What do we think God’s going to do with us? God’s going to look at what we’ve grown, where we’re rooted.

6. What Is Heaven Worth to You?

And who are the two different planters? The devil and the Son of Man. Whose life have you been planted by? What life are you living? Because you know what the truth is? It comes down to the question of what is heaven worth to you? What is it worth to you to dedicate your life to Him? Look with me further in Matthew chapter 13. Following the explanation of the parable of the weeds.

Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. And again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and he bought it. What does that remind you of? Verse 46. Who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it? Maybe Luke chapter 9. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow after me. Verse 25, for what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Kingdom of heaven is worth all that we have, all that we are, put together, multiplied by infinity, and we still won’t come close to the value of the presence of God.

Conclusion

You see, we have that choice to live now. And we can take it. Because you know what? Like Paul did in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verses 6 through 8, we can look with faithfulness towards the coming. The harvest is not something to be feared, but to be treasured, to be valued. Because you know what? If you’re here this morning, you found the pearl of great price. But what is it worth to you, though? You know Jesus offers life. He is the way, he is the Savior. But will you live it that way? I want to conclude this morning with one thought. Going back to our deathbed scenario. You picture your life. And if it were to be taken from you at 6 o’clock this evening.

Think about all the saints in the Bible. Paul. Think about Peter. You think about in the Old Testament heroes of faith like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They trusted in the promises of God. There was no wavering. And there was occasionally missteps, but you know what? They knew that they could believe in God. They knew if they did what he said, God is faithful and will deliver on his promises. And he’s promised us something grand, hasn’t he?

There’s a lot of saints that are reachable. We say, Peter and Paul, I can’t be like that, but you know what? Miss Edith Caps did. Jim Caps did. They ran that race and they finished and they kept the faith. What is our life showing? Are you a weed or a wheat? Do you love or do you sow more seeds of the devil? There is no deceit. There is no hiding from God. Your life will be known. You can make it right though. You can go and sell all that you have. You can find that great pearl of value and grab it with both hands and hang on tight. Peter gave the way. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 37, he was asked, What shall we do?

And Peter said, Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to have your sins forgiven this morning? Have you been living perhaps accepted the pearl of great price and held something back from God? Realizing God will not be mocked, you know what? You can make it right now. You have been given the best opportunity, and that’s this moment in time to make things right. God is a loving God, and He is faithful to where if we confess our sins to him, he will forgive us. If you need to make anything right, if we can help you in any way, please come forward right now as we stand and as we sing.