The tares are here
Matthew 13:24-30; 1/31/2021; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
Tare is weed, also is the associated plant of grain. It is the product of curse as thorns and thistles. It’s growth is similar to rice, and it absorbs the nutrients in the field. Experienced farmers know how to treat tares. They know the tares are in front of them, but not in a hurry to pull them up. What is the reason? Let’s see the first point:
Tares originated from breaches
That’s right, how did the tares come? Maybe we all care about this question, right? First, when people are asleep. Do you remember that when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, what were the disciples doing? Asleep, right? Jesus asked them, Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour? We would also experience this kind of breaches, agree? Due to the pandemic, It has been awhile that church members haven’t seen each other, and some brother and sisters’ faith almost fell like overnight. When we think back, over the past year, our prayers were focused on his studies and life. We neglect that Satan sneak attacked us while we were asleep and abducted our brother. I am not trying to find out who is accountable ， I mean no matter the church or the family, the group or an individual, we all should pray and be watchful， or we will fall into temptation.
Next, originated from Satan. The disciples asked Jesus, then how did the tares come here? God says： The enemy who sows them is the devil. (Matthew 13:39)” Satan spreads the tares，of course the tares are “the people of the evil one”. Just like Jesus spreads the good seeds, of course what He spreads are “the people of the kingdom”. The way we distinguish the tares is to know who we are. Are you “the people of the kingdom”? The key that we are “the people of the kingdom” is that we affirm Jesus Christ is the Lord, we believe the Bible and the “truth alone”. On the contrary, it’s Satan who spread the tares to the world. Satan’s trick is to make people find truth elsewhere. However, the Bible is the truth, Salvation is found in no one else, and there is no other truth.
Lastly, spread in the field. Jesus says, The field is the world. (Matthew 13:38)” In other words, in every corner of our life, tares are in an ordinary state。 This also means that we live in the world with breaches everywhere. Once we are not watchful, it is possible for us to fall into temptation. Maybe we also help Satan to spread the evil seeds, to spread in the society, also spread in the church. Now the president of the United Sates already spread the Bathroom Bill which goes against God， to the US and the world, also spread in people’s hearts. Texas may be temporarily better, it’s hard to say in the future. How do people in California go to the restroom in the future? Of course, not only when they go to the restroom will they have a breach, but it’s everywhere, agree? This is the reason why Jesus says we should be watchful, or we may fall into temptation! Let’s see the second point:
Bred here, and waited here
What is “Bred here, and waited here”? It means the tares grow next to us and this is the reality we must face. What can we do? First, this is the consequence of sins. The essence of tares is the thorns and thistles from sins，right? The heaven and earth God created in the beginning, God sees them as good, and there is no chaos in it. When people face these tares, they should have a humble heart and calmly accept, be watchful and stay away from sins.。 Today we are the same, If a person is in Christ, he is a new creation, the one has gone, the new is here. What’s the difference, do you know？ Although the tares are still here, we are still the wheat, and rice。 Our essence of loving the Lord does not change, ，then we don’t need to mind about the tares being here, right?
Second, this is God’s will. Now, since we know the tares are here, shall we go and pull them up? ”Pull” is difficult to write in Chinese, it is also not easy to operate in practice. Because “while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. (Matthew 13:29)”. God keeping Satan next to us, is also for our own benefit. After mankind has sinned, they have both the model with God’s creations before their sins, and also the sinful nature after sins from the influence of Satan. On one hand, God wants to heal our illness, and restore our original image. On the other hand, God also uses Satan to sift us， and let us experience His test.
Lastly, this is your waiting. What to wait for? Till God’s time is fulfilled, He will handle altogether. At this moment, the lesson for us from God is to wait. What did David encourage us? He says, Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14) ” ”Waiting “, is this the most difficult thing? I already prayed, how come God still doesn’t help me? How come my illness is not healed? How come my child still does not obey? How come I still can not find a job? It is God’s authority what He wants to give, it’s His sovereignty. All we need to do is to wait, and wait by faith, be strong and take heart to wait. The poet says, I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13) ” Are you willing to continue waiting by faith? Let’s see the third point:
Wait for harvest to be burned
Jesus says, “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. (Matthew 13:30)”. No doubt, The final outcome of the tares is being burned. Why? It is not necessary to explain! The key is how to burn it, when to burn it, and what is the outcome? First, tie them in bundles to be burned. God’s promise is: when He comes again, He will handle our problems all together. Although we look at the world today, there are a lot of activities of Satan’s darkness. There are people who practice deceit, who persecuted churches, who arrested God’s servants, who misinterpreted the Bible, who take graft and commit bribery, and malpractices, also includes those who look neither like a man or a woman. God will tie them all in a bundle to be burned. ”Burn”， is the meaning of judgment. 就 Just like when the Egyptians’ sin fulfilled, God sent Moses to come.
Second, wait for harvest and burn together. Wait for harvest, is to give us the opportunity to share the gospel to all nations. He sees the crops are ripped, He wants to send us to harvest. Until we harvest all the crops, God will burn all the tares together at once. Are you willing to walk with God? No matter you are in Jerusalem, or in all Judea and Samaria, or to the ends of the earth. you should maximize the gospel as your responsibility. agree? Are you not used to the pattern of online churches? Do you have your own feelings as the truth and standard? Or are you willing to walk out of your own area and move to the extensive gospel field?
Lastly, gather the wheat and bring it into the barn. The tares are here, our focus can only be the gospel, agree? Of course I understand our anger when we see tares, but human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires！ Be prepared in season and out of season; save some people. When it’s time of judgment, God will check our “storage”. He will see how much gospel ministry we did in our whole life. How many people were saved? How many gospel friends were invited to church to listen to the sermon and worship? This is Jesus Christ’s heart, are you willing to commit?
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters, the tares are here, are you willing to close up the breaches? The tares are here, are you willing to wait for God’s time fulfilled? The tares are here, Are you willing to co-work with God to harvest the crops?
Let’s pray together!
