I do want to state for the record that I maintain the copyright on all my work, including the BLOGS. This means that while I am happy to have others print out and use the material I provide, credit for sources should always be given and should never be used in any publication without my prior consent.
With that said I turn to the Word.
Title: "The Wheat and the Weeds"
By: Mark E. Hardgrove, D.Min.
Text: Matt. 13:24-30
INTRODUCTION
I grew up in the church during a time when the church was very strict. Legalism was a problem. The view of the church was that of a very sterile spiritual environment. It often seemed to me that everything was wrong, everything was a sin, and the only real Christian was a miserable Christian.
We seemed to be all too eager to weed out the sinners, to get the Achans out of the camp. It seems perhaps that we lost a lot of good, sincere, seekers who weren't quite there yet, but who could have been nurtured into a closer walk with God.
Jesus said that that Kingdom of Heaven is like a field where wheat and weeds grow together.
I) THERE IS NO PERFECT CONGREGATION
Over years of pastoral ministry and as a layman, I have come to realize that there are no perfect congregations and it is a farce to think that we can ever get every person in the congregation to arrive at perfection. Christian perfection is a journey as much as it is a destination. The Apostle Paul himself admitted that he had not yet arrived, but he was in the press. The truth is that we are all in the press. There are some who are mature Christians, others who are carnal Christians, and still others who are merely seeking for something. Realizing this is a liberating insight. My expectations for members becomes much more realistic and my role in their lives as minister becomes clearer.
II) THERE IS A PROGRAM FOR THE KINGDOM
When the servants saw the weeds growing in the field they wanted to know if the owner of the field wanted them to go and pull the weeds out. He said, "No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat."
This is not an endorsement of sin, or an invitation to "let anything go" in the church. But it is wisdom. We have communion each first Sunday of the month and the elders distribute the elements. One of the elders was concerned that some of the people who were partaking seemed to be less than committed to the Christian walk. He suggested that the elders be given the authority to deny giving the elements to these people. As a pastor I saw all kinds of trouble with this approach. It places elders in the position of judges, it will potentially offend both weak Christians and anyone related to them. It is a case of pulling up weeds at the expense of the wheat. I think Jesus is saying that there are time when we have to tolerate the weeds to preserve the wheat.
I told the elder that I would make it very clear before the elements are distributed that each person should examine him or herself and make sure that their walk with God is what it should be. Then I will pause for a time of personal reflection, prayer, repentance and forgiveness. Beyond that I would not want to sit as judge for each and every person partaking of communion.
III) THERE IS A PROMISE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Some will insist that the church should do all that it can to remove the weeds. I would suggest that we should do all we can to see a tranformation of weeds to wheat. God turns sinners into saints, the lost into the found, and the darkness into light. The role of judge and jury belongs to God. He said, "Let them 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" (RSV).
A) The weeds will be separated by reapers (angels?), who will then bind them and burn them. No one is getting over on God. They may be in the church for years, may even be charter members, but if their lives do not produce the fruit, if they have been weeds hiding among the wheat, the day will come when they are identified and dealt with. That day and that punishment is in God's hands.
B) The wheat will be taken into His barn. The weeds do not prevent the wheat from being wheat. There is nothing and no one around us who can keep us from being committed Christians. We may sometimes feel like we are a lone shoot of wheat in a field of weeds, but God knows who you are and where you are. When the day comes for harvest, He will find you and take you home.
CONCLUSION
Let me ask you today, Are you a weed or are you wheat? I lived in Kansas and saw massive wheat fields. The thing is that when wheat initially begins to grow, it looks a lot like grass. Weeds may be able to hide among the wheat for awhile, but notice that when the wheat began to bear grain, the distinction was obvious. We will know them by the fruit they bear. Are you wheat or are you weeds. Does your life show the fruit that distinguishes you from the weeds?
If you are here today and are not sure that you would be ready to go to the barn when the harvest comes, I invite you to come and find that assurance. Don't think that simply going to church and doing churchy things will save you. You must be born again. Why not come today and allow God to transform your life?
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