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[0:00] Well, it's been said that there are two types of people in the world. Those who think that there are two types of people and those who don't.

[0:10] Now, typically, it's the religious types of people who will think that there's two types of people in the world, right? That there's God's people and that there's everyone else.

[0:23] And it's not just Christianity. I mean, every religion has a version of the us and them. Whether it's us, the servants of God, and then the infidels.

[0:34] Or us, the righteous by faith, and then the unrighteous. Whatever it is. And it's religion and our religion that kind of separates the two groups.

[0:46] Religious observance. But it's not just religious people. You also get a secular version of this, which is people who might not be religious at all, but look at the world as the good people and the bad people.

[1:00] You know? And you've got the decent people. They'll talk about their neighbors as, ah, he's good people. You know? He's part of that crowd. The good people.

[1:10] But then you get the bad people and they're the ones in prison or are going to end up in prison. And it's a nice, neat separation of decent people and criminals.

[1:22] And it's the justice system, in that case, that separates the two. And it's probably why, you know, crime shows, true life crime and police procedures are so popular.

[1:33] Because we're fascinated by the separation process, which is to separate the good people from the bad people. And so for these types of people who think in this way, whether they're religious or not, there are two types of people in the world.

[1:47] And it's relatively easy to kind of separate them out. But, of course, not everyone agrees with that. Other people reject that whole idea.

[1:58] And they'll say, no, there's no such thing as good and bad people. We've all got a little bit of bad in us. We could all be a Hitler or an Idiomen if we were given the right opportunity.

[2:09] There's no such thing as this neat separation. Well, in today's parable, the parable that we come to in Matthew 13 of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus shows how both of those views are actually wrong.

[2:25] By revealing that there are indeed only two types of people in the world. But it's not as easy as we think it is to separate them and even sometimes to tell them apart.

[2:37] That's really what this parable is here to expose. And Jesus teaches this by telling us a story. Now, he's in Matthew 13. It's all we saw last week.

[2:48] Jesus is telling these stories which have these two levels, these parables. And this story he tells about a wheat farmer. And the wheat farmer goes and he's got a field and he wants to grow wheat.

[3:00] And so he sows the wheat seeds so that the wheat will come up. But during the night, he's also got an enemy, it turns out, who doesn't want him to be successful. So he sows weeds in amongst the wheat.

[3:11] When the servants discover this, they're shocked and they want to go pull up the weeds. And he says, no, you can't do that yet. Wait for the harvest. Okay, so that's a simple story. We can all kind of understand it.

[3:23] But as per usual, nobody knows what Jesus is really talking about. Nobody knows the deeper level of this parable until they ask him. And so only later, later on in the passage, after quite a few verses, the disciples go to Jesus and they ask him.

[3:41] So we pick it up from verse 36. You can have a look and follow along. Then he, that's Jesus, left the crowds and went into the house.

[3:52] His disciples approached him and said, explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. He replied, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man.

[4:04] The field is the world. And the good seed, these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

[4:18] The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. Okay, so here's, this is the deeper meaning Jesus is unlocking for us. We could have never known this unless the disciples had gone and asked him.

[4:29] We would have always spent our lives guessing what does this parable mean. But here we have the kind of the decoder. And Jesus reveals some important things in explaining this parable.

[4:41] Important things about our world. And if we get this parable, it will change how we see the world around us. And so he says, the field represents the world.

[4:53] And in this field, there are two types of crops. The first is sown by who he calls the son of man. Now that's a very important title. We've come across it before in Matthew a lot.

[5:06] It's the title Jesus most often used to refer to himself. But equally as importantly, it's an Old Testament title. It comes from Daniel 7, the passage we read earlier.

[5:18] And it's about the prophesied Messiah who is going to establish God's kingdom on earth. So it's a big title. In those three words, son of man.

[5:30] When Jesus says that, he's wanting people to think back to the promises of Daniel 7. And it's an epic prophecy of this human being, son of man.

[5:42] And yet he's divine. And he's bringing God's authority to earth. And he's going to bring God's authority from heaven and come establish God's kingdom over the kingdoms of the world. In fact, you know what?

[5:53] Let's just read it again because it's that good. Daniel 7 from verse 13. This is Daniel's vision.

[6:04] Now it's not just some vision he was making up. This is God revealing things that we couldn't otherwise know or see to Daniel the prophet.

[6:16] And he said from verse 13, I continued watching in the night visions. Okay, so just pause.

[6:31] We've done this passage before, remember? And what we discovered is that Daniel is seeing the perspective from heaven's view. And he sees the son of man coming on the clouds to the presence of the throne room.

[6:45] To be escorted before God, the ancient of days. And so this is a reference to the ascension of Jesus, where he came on the clouds and received his throne. And it goes on what happened then from verse 14.

[6:58] He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.

[7:10] And his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed. Now this is epic stuff. Okay, and what makes it more epic is that it's describing now what's already happened.

[7:22] This is what happened at the ascension of Jesus. And this is why Jesus came to earth in the first place to make this happen. To establish God's kingdom on earth.

[7:36] It's actually all he talks about with his disciples. The kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of my Father. You look and it's always the topic of his conversation is the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom.

[7:48] It's what his disciples ended up sharing with the world in the book of Acts. You look at the topic of their conversation. Their gospel sermons were all about the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom. He took them for 40 days and he taught them all about the kingdom to prepare them to go out into the world and spread the gospel.

[8:04] So it's all he talks about with his disciples. And it's why Jesus did what he did. It's why he came. It's why he died. To make people who are sinners fit for his kingdom that he's bringing.

[8:21] It's why he rose. To defeat death so that we can be part of his future kingdom. And it's why he ascended on the clouds to heaven to receive officially from his father, his father's rule over this world to grow and establish his kingdom.

[8:39] And that is why in this parable, it's his field. Did you notice that? He says the field is the world, but it's his field.

[8:53] It's the farmer's field. It belongs to him. The world belongs to Jesus. He owns it. He has been given possession of it by his father who made it. And that's what we've got to realize.

[9:07] And it puts us in the right perspective of understanding what he's saying in this parable. Jesus is in charge of the world. His kingdom has already started after his ascension. And that is why he is sowing his people in his world.

[9:21] Children of the kingdom. They're described as. All over the world. He is establishing outposts of his kingdom. In every community, in every country, there are children of the kingdom.

[9:35] People who are saved through faith in him and who obey him as their king. You will find them wherever you go. Jesus has brought his kingdom and it is growing.

[9:46] But it doesn't look like it. And that's why this teaching, when we read Daniel 7, is sometimes so confusing to us.

[9:58] I don't know about you, but it's confusing to me. You know, when I read this amazing thing about, you know, he was given a dominion and glory and a kingdom and people of every nation and language serve him.

[10:08] And I'm thinking, I'm sure this is still something that's going to happen in the future. Many Christians read it like that. They read this and they go, okay, this is talking about still the future when Jesus comes to establish his kingdom.

[10:20] But apparently he already has. He's already been given dominion. He's already the king. And yet it doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like Jesus is in charge of this world.

[10:32] It doesn't look like his kingdom is already here. And maybe that's you. Maybe you've always been confused about this. I was for many years. You know, if Jesus is really the king of the world, then why is it still like this?

[10:46] Why are there still wars? Why is there still crime? Why are there still evil people getting away with evil things? Have you ever wondered that? I have. And why are Christians, who are apparently the people of this king, why are they still mocked on social media?

[11:04] Why are they still persecuted in many countries? Sent to jail? Weak? Seemingly ineffective? Why is that the case if this is true, that he is the king and this is his kingdom?

[11:19] Well, if you've ever wondered that, if you've ever had that question, this parable is the answer. This parable of the wheat and the weeds is here to explain why the kingdom of Christ is resisted and evil is still here, even though Jesus is ruling.

[11:41] And the reason we see as we read it is because there's an enemy who's also sowing seed. Look again at verse 39. And the enemy who sowed this seed is the devil.

[12:02] The devil. Now Jesus has already had dealings with the devil in the wilderness. This is a real spiritual being who, from the beginning, has been out to sabotage God's work in this world.

[12:19] Since the beginning. I mean, we meet him in like the second page of the Bible. Right from when God establishes humanity and establishes this world, the devil, Satan, God's great ancient opponent, the opponent of God's people, is there wanting to sabotage God's work in the world.

[12:42] Wanting to undo it. Wanting to stop what God wants. And that's why the world is like it is. This is not the way God wants the world to be. Why is it like this? Because there's this evil force.

[12:53] There's this evil intelligence that's inspiring people. That's controlling things. And that is working every day to sabotage God's work in the world.

[13:05] And he is also sowing seed, according to Jesus in this parable. He is sowing people in the world. Who Jesus calls children of the evil one.

[13:17] Or sons of the evil one, depending on your translation. But it's not just males. And that's why other translations. Children of the evil one. Because it's describing pretty much people who belong to or are under the control of evil.

[13:39] Children of the evil one. So who are these children of the evil one? You see that phrase and you think, okay, they must be easy to spot, right? They must have like pentagram tattoos on their forehead or something.

[13:51] They sound like really rough people. Children of the evil one. Who are these people? Are they the people who do all the really bad stuff in the world?

[14:02] The dictators and the ones who commit atrocities. Are those the children of the evil one? The people that the devil is sowing in the world? Well, here's the shocking thing that the Bible reveals, right?

[14:17] The Bible teaches us that the children of the evil one are actually everyone who's not a child of the kingdom. You see, in Jesus' parable, there are only two types of crops in the field.

[14:34] There are only two types of people in the world. Children of the kingdom or children of the evil one. It's one or the other. Because, you see, if a person does not submit to the rightful king of this world that God has sent and shown, the Son of God, even after His resurrection, which proved Him to be that, to all the world, if people are still not hearing or listening or submitting to that or responding to that, the only reason is because they belong to another.

[15:12] And it's what the Bible reveals in many places. Listen to some references. You don't have to turn there. But in John chapter 8, Jesus is talking to the people who refuse to recognize who He is.

[15:26] And He says these words. He says, If God were your Father, you would love me. Because I came from God. And I am here.

[15:38] For I didn't come on my own. He sent me. Why don't you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word. You are of your Father, the devil.

[15:49] And you want to carry out your Father's desires. You see, now, this is the words of Jesus. I'm not saying this. I'm saying it because Jesus is saying it. But it's not my words. I'm not making it up. But Jesus Himself says, If you don't recognize Him, given everything that God has shown us about Him, and He's talking to decent Jewish people here, He says, You are of your Father, the devil.

[16:13] Later on, in 1 John, John says very clearly, 1 John 5 verse 19, He says, The whole world is under the sway of the evil one.

[16:29] The whole world is under the sway, under the control of the evil one. And then in Ephesians, where later on, Paul is writing to Christians, to children of the kingdom, people who have been saved, and come under the rule of the king, he says to them, in Ephesians 2 verse 2, You previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.

[17:00] That's Satan, the devil. You, whoever you are, the most decent Christian, once were under his control. Okay, so, so there are, you see, only these two types of people in the world, according to the Bible, according to what Jesus is saying here, according to what the rest of the New Testament says.

[17:21] There's people who obey the king, who has been established as ruler of this world, and there are people who obey the king's enemies. Every single human being living is one of those two.

[17:34] But now, that might well lead to the question, well, if that's the case, if Jesus is in control, he's ruling, but there are these enemies that still resist him, why are they still here?

[17:52] Or, in terms of the parable, why are the weeds still in the field, right? If it's the farmer's field, if he owns it, well, that's what we find out next, because in the parable, the workers realize that there are weeds.

[18:05] So, that's an important point. They do see that there's a difference. Eventually, after they grow up, they realize that these weeds, and they want to pull them up.

[18:17] They're getting ready. They're going, okay, we're going to take these weeds out, and the farmer says, stop. Don't do it. And they go, why? I mean, don't you want to get rid of the weeds?

[18:28] The farmer says, no, not yet. Listen to how Jesus puts it in verse 29. This is in the parable, the original parable itself.

[18:41] After the servant said, in verse 28, do you want us to go pull them up? No, he said, when you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. So, he's a wise farmer.

[18:54] The workers want the weeds gone. You know, God's people want evil gone, out of this world. But this wise farmer says, it's not the time yet.

[19:06] There's a reason. For a time, the farmer allows his wheat to grow along with the weeds. And he does it deliberately. And Jesus is telling us, given the interpretation of the parable, that he is going to allow evil to coexist with his kingdom in this world for a time.

[19:30] And even, not just to coexist, but even to grow. Even as his kingdom is growing, evil will grow. It will get worse. And that's what Jesus says is going to happen in this age that we live in, after his ascension.

[19:47] And so, what that means is that there are children of the kingdom inhabiting this world alongside children of the evil one. And notice in this parable, they are sown among one another, in between each other.

[20:07] They go to the same schools. They shop at the same shops. They play the same sports. They're in the same sports club. And it's not even apparent right away which are which.

[20:19] It's a very interesting word Jesus uses in this parable for weeds. It's not the normal Greek word for weeds. It's a specific type of weed.

[20:32] And it's best kind of translated into darnel. I don't know much about weeds and wheat and stuff, but darnel, apparently, you can Google it.

[20:43] It's very similar to wheat. It looks much the same for much of its growth. It's called a mimic plant, actually. It literally has survived over centuries because it mimics a plant that humans like, which is the wheat.

[20:59] And it looks like it for a long time. And it, while it looks the same, its root system gets interweaved. And so, it's very difficult for people to be able to spot to pull it up in time.

[21:13] It looks the same. And I think, I think Jesus chose that specific type of weed to help us to realize that in the same way Satan often makes people who are under his control look very much the same as God's people, look like Christians.

[21:36] They'll come to church. You know, they'll call themselves Christians. Christians. For a time, it'll be very difficult to tell between them. Eventually, it becomes more and more evident as you get to know and walk a road with people.

[21:51] but initially, it'll be very difficult to tell the difference. And it makes sense, you see, because if, if Satan is a wily, clever enemy, which he is, right, he's cleverer than any of us.

[22:07] And if he's, if he's going to sabotage God's work in this world, well, then he wants to sow his weeds as close to the wheat as he can. Right?

[22:18] Even, right here. He wants to, he wants to get them as close to the wheat. And that's one of the reasons the farmer tells the servants not, not to try separate them out.

[22:33] You know, too soon. Because they just might not be able to tell the difference, for a time at least. But eventually, as it grows and they, they do get to spot the difference, even then, the farmer says, don't, don't separate them just yet.

[22:51] Because pulling up the weeds may uproot or damage the wheat. Leave, leave that job to the harvesters. It's not your job. I think he's warning here of when Christians try to either prematurely kind of delineate who's, who's God's people, who's, who's elect, who's not.

[23:17] But also, you know, that's within the church, but outside the church, when Christians try to purge this world of evil in their own ways. And there's many ways Christians try to do that, try to, and for, you know, for good reason, because they, they want to see God's kingdom grow and they want to see God's kingdom coming and so they will, for good reason, but with wrong methods, they will try to purge God's enemies from this world before God actually does.

[23:49] And sadly, Christians have done that in history for, for centuries. They've tried in the past, just like, just like the Muslims have tried and are trying to, to establish Sharia law and create their caliphate.

[24:04] And just like, you know, the Jews are, the Zionist Jews are wanting to establish their own Jewish homeland. Christians have had, have done the same. They've tried the same thing with the Holy Roman Empire or the Crusades, trying to purge this world of God's enemies.

[24:21] But what that does and history has shown us, it only ends up doing damage, doesn't it, to God's cause and often it does damage to the legitimate people of, of the kingdom.

[24:32] As we saw in the Reformation when, when the Holy Roman Empire ended up persecuting and killing the true children of the kingdom. Those who truly submitted to Christ.

[24:44] And so, it, it's messy when you try to do that and it ends up doing more harm than good. Because the truth is, we're not able to actually make the call as to whose weeds and whose wheat at the end of the day.

[25:02] And you know this if you, if you do any gardening. And I know lots of people in Plumstead like doing gardening. It's one of Plumstead's pastimes. And what you'll notice if, if you've spent time gardening is that some of the most destructive weeds can actually look quite attractive and you might not even know that they're weeds.

[25:22] I see some of you nodding. Because you know you've been, you've fallen for this before, haven't you? These weeds that look pretty. And then, on the other hand, some, some plants that actually start by looking like weeds that you actually want to pull up end up being these beautiful flowers if you leave them.

[25:40] You really need an expert gardener to tell the difference, don't you? And that's, that's, that's one reason that we mustn't prematurely try to separate out the righteous from the unrighteous, God's people from God's enemies.

[25:58] It's, we're, we're not that good at telling. But there's another reason that we mustn't try to separate the two just yet or ever because it's not our job.

[26:12] And that's because we who submit to Christ as our king and trust in his death for our sins. We who are essentially weed, not by our own, anything that we've done, only by his grace alone, but we were all once weeds if you think about it.

[26:36] And Paul says that in Ephesians, I read it earlier, I'll, I'll read a few more verses from that. He says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously lived according to the ways of the world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.

[26:55] You were once this. No matter who you are, if you're a Christian, if you believe in Christ, you were once a weed. And we need to realize that because it'll make us hesitant to too quickly try to purge the world of the other weeds when we realize, actually, I was once that.

[27:17] And if, if it wasn't for Jesus allowing this world to continue with weeds, none of us would have been saved. Right? And that's why the wise farmer allows the weeds to grow with the wheat.

[27:36] You know, often people will, who are, who are, skeptical of the, of the Christian faith and existence of God and atheists will use the argument, oh, well, there's so much evil in the world and that proves that a good God can't exist.

[27:55] Have you heard that before? But actually, if we understand what Jesus is saying in this parable, the, the, the continued existence of his enemies in this world actually proves his incredible patience with us who were once his enemies.

[28:13] That's what it proves. It proves God's patience with us. Listen to what Peter writes at the end of his second letter, 2 Peter 3. He talks about, he starts talking about people who are scoffing and saying, ah, God's not there, God's not going to judge us.

[28:31] But then he explains, well, it's only, it's only because of God's patience that the world is still the way it is. I'll pick it up from 2 Peter 3 verse 7. He says, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

[28:51] It's going to happen, Peter says, but dear friends, don't overlook this one fact. With the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord does not delay in his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

[29:14] That is why the world is still like it is, because of God's patience. And it's not our job to purge the world of evil when God himself is holding back from doing that, right?

[29:27] It's not the servant's job to go try pull up the weeds yet. But that doesn't mean that there won't be a separation. And it doesn't mean that we mustn't warn people.

[29:42] And it's a very specific distinction we've got to get right between being people's judge and trying to, you know, rid evil from the world, which is not our job, and on the other hand, warning people of who their judge is.

[30:00] And those are two different things. We must warn people because the next thing we see in this parable, the final thing Jesus wants to show us, is that there will definitely be a separation.

[30:13] Jesus is not finished. Have a look again from verse 41, how he ends. And I want to warn you, these are not nice words to hear.

[30:26] verse 41, the Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness.

[30:38] And 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 their Father's kingdom.

[30:50] Let anyone who has ears listen. Okay, these are heavy words. Whenever Jesus teaches about hell, it's heavy.

[31:01] You know, we don't like to hear it, and rightly so. But what we need to realize, and I think the way Jesus talks about hell in this parable, is to show us that hell is actually necessary.

[31:18] Hell is necessary to fix God's world. world. He describes it from the parable as what's necessary in order to get rid of the weeds so that they can no longer influence the field.

[31:34] I had a huge weeding session in my garden last year because I had let the weeds get out of control. And they had grown into like mini trees.

[31:45] It's crazy how big these weeds can get. And so I spent a good part of an afternoon just ripping them out. And it's very difficult. You've got to do it very carefully, right? Because you rip out the weeds and they've got those little, because they're open and they, I don't know what they're called.

[32:00] Can someone help me? What is it? The seeds of the weeds that fly when you shake it and they fly and then they go plant themselves. So I've got to be very careful, got to cover it up, got to put it in the, anyway what I did was I took all these weeds up, put them in it and I had two big bags of weeds after that.

[32:20] And I thought, how am I going to get rid of these? And how am I going to make sure that they don't carry on infecting the garden? So I started a fire. Because, I mean, fire is cool.

[32:31] You always want to start a fire if you can. And it was an excuse to start a fire. And we've got this fire pit in the back yard. And I started the fire, got a big fire going and then I just spent probably like an hour or two just putting these weeds on the fire until they were all burned.

[32:50] I called that fire pit the pit of hell that day. And I was sending their weeds to their judgment. But I called it that because that's how hell is described in the Bible.

[33:05] A place where all that does not belong in God's world finally meets its end in eternal and terrible and eternal destruction. Ultimate destruction.

[33:19] Because that's always been God's plan and we've got to realize that. God's plan is not for this world to carry on like it is. It's always been God's plan to remove all that does not belong in His world.

[33:31] But He has delayed that to give you and I a chance to be reconciled to Him so that we can belong in His world. not by anything we can do or earn but because of what Jesus has done when He came and died for our sins so that we can be part of the world God has planned.

[33:53] And think about that. God sent His Son to die for you and I because that's how much He wants us to be part of His kingdom that He has planned.

[34:03] because of His mercy. But don't confuse His mercy for God not wanting to bring judgment.

[34:17] Because despite His mercy His plan will still go ahead and that's what Jesus is saying here. He is one day going to purge this world of all who continue to reject His rule and all who verse 41 cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness.

[34:36] It will happen including even those who may look like Christians today. It's very interesting the word Jesus uses there for lawlessness is the very same word He used in Matthew 7 21.

[34:51] Remember that passage? Let me read it again. Matthew 7 21. He's talking to religious people of His day and He says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven on that day.

[35:11] Many will say to me Lord Lord didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons in your name? And do many miracles in your name? Then I will announce to them I never knew you depart from me you lawbreakers.

[35:24] It's the same word that He uses here of what's going to happen at that great separation one day. Those who are law breakers now it doesn't mean they broke society's law it means they did not submit to God's rule in their life.

[35:42] They didn't really submit to the rule of the king that God has sent Christ's rule because they're still under their own rule. They can look like Christians they can come to church they can sing the songs they can call themselves Christians but the truth is they're still living under their own rule.

[35:57] They're still calling the shots in their lives. Jesus is not truly the king. And so this parable as we wrap up it's a serious warning isn't it? For all of us we've got to listen to it.

[36:09] And that's the application. You know there's one command Jesus gives in this passage to His disciples and it's right at the end it's this and we heard it last week as well.

[36:25] Let anyone who has ears listen. In other words if you've heard this if this has gone into your ears today take the warning of last week don't let the devil pluck it away and you forget about it but make sure you really hear it.

[36:46] Realize that this is the reality of the world we're living in. There are only two types of people. So which are you? Now you may not even claim to be a Christian.

[37:02] If that's the case then I'm glad you're hearing this I'm glad you're letting it go in your ears but make sure you actually hear it. Realize that even though not being a Christian might seem to make no difference right now it might seem not to matter it's just personal taste you know what religion I follow you might think that but realize from this passage there will be a future separation and in fact the only reason that hasn't happened yet is to give you a chance to be on the right side of it before it does.

[37:36] So if you haven't yet looked at who Jesus is and what he came to do and the evidence for everything that he claimed come to discover Jesus because that's what that course is for so that you can truly know and believe and submit to Christ but maybe maybe that's not you maybe you do call yourself a Christian and you come to church and you sing the songs and you're indistinguishable from the person next to you but you know in your heart that you're not living under the rule of Christ as your king maybe nobody else knows that but you know that if you had to be honest with yourself you're still under your own rule you're still calling the shots in your life will realize hear this realize there will be a future separation it's going to come and you will be on the wrong side of it if that's you you might be able to pretend to people but you can't pretend to God on that day and so maybe you need to do some business with God if you if you're still deciding what to listen to in the

[38:45] Bible and what not to what to take on and what not to and you're still calling the shots in your life well then you need to actually realize that is rebellion against your rightful ruler that is treason and you need to repent of that rebellion and start doing what your king tells you to do because that proves that you truly believe in who he is not just say that you do but finally you may belong to Christ you may truly have believed and submitted to Christ as your king now of course none of us do that perfectly and that's why we come and confess and we know God's forgiveness for us but we follow Christ we trust in Christ what does this passage have to say to you well I think it's telling you get your expectations about this world right the world is never going to be on your side don't think it will and we'll never truly make a

[39:51] Christian nation because the wheat and the weeds will grow together and don't despair when you see evil increase Jesus said it would but it doesn't mean he's not in control and realize if you're a Christian that he has planted his seed exactly where he wants it he has planted you in his field in his world for a reason alongside the evil and the brokenness he hasn't taken you out of it yet because there's work to do not to bring judgment on people that's not our job but to warn them and to save those weeds which we once were so that when we show them Christ and they trust in him they too can become the wheat and they too as the passage ends can shine like the sun in their father's kingdom will you be there one day and if so will you help others to get there let's pray

[41:03]  Lord Jesus we thank you for teaching us these secrets of our world that we would not otherwise know without you teaching these realities but Lord as you as you say at the end anyone who has ears listen help us to do that this morning help us to really hear what you're saying not just to walk out of here and forget it but to let it sink in and to realize Lord that Jesus is ruling and he is coming back and there will one day be a great separation but help us Lord to do what you've put us here to do in the meantime to warn people to point people to Christ so that they would come under his rule and be saved and be part of that great kingdom you have planned one day in Jesus name Amen