I have had a fairly good week. There have been some difficulties with my new job that was supposed to start this Monday. Now, they are telling me that the start date won't be until 10/9. I am not really sure what is going on. At this point, I will believe it when I see it. Please keep praying that everything will work out as it is supposed to, and the will of the Lord will be done. Pray that I will get enough writing work so that I don't have to worry about a part-time job if this one doesn't work out.
In another matter, it isn't of the utmost importance, I asked you to pray that the mole that was decimating my lawn would go away. Well, that mole did go away. Now, a greater and more destructive mole has taken his place. My front lawn looks like a disaster area. Please pray that this mole will leave. Thank you.
Now, for a very important matter of prayer. The residents of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are suffering greatly as a result of two hurricanes hitting the islands. These folks are American citizens just as much as those who live on the mainland. They need much more aid and help than they are currently receiving. Please pray that these people will get the aid and the help that they need quickly. I know that an aid group from my area is heading down there today. This is from an organization called Heart to Heart. Please pray for these good people that they will be able to help many people in Puerto Rico.
Please continue to pray for peace in the world. Pray for peace in Syria, Libya, South Sudan and Afghanistan. I can't even mention all of the nations that need prayers for peace, help and healing. If you know of someplace that has a need, pray for them.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let's pray for the nations of Sudan and China. Pray that many will hear and respond to the message of the love of Jesus.
We have been studying the parables of Jesus here on the blog for most of 2017. Today, is the final sermon in the parables of Jesus series. Now, there are a couple of parables that I left out. I will go back and finish these later, and I will finish the miracles of Jesus sermons we haven't done as well. I plan to do that sometime late next year.
Today, we are going to study the parable of the wheat and the weeds found in Matthew's Gospel. In this parable, Jesus tells the following story. A farmer went out and sowed good seed in his field. When the farmer was asleep, his enemy went out and sowed weeds in the field among the good seed. Eventually, the two started to grow up, and it became evident that there were weeds amongst the wheat.
The farmer's servants asked the farmer if he wanted them to pull up the weeds. The farmer said no. He was afraid that if they pulled out the weeds they might pull some of the wheat up as well. The farmer said that when the harvest came, they would separate the wheat from the weeds.
Later on, Jesus' disciples asked Him to give them the interpretation of the parable. Jesus said that He was the one who sowed the good seed. The weeds are the children of the evil one. At the end of the age when Jesus returns, the angels will gather all people and separate the righteous from the wicked.
Now, this parable has several different applications and possible interpretations. Let's looks at some of these. First of all, some people think that this is an allegory for the creation. Everything was initially created good, but then Satan tempted humans to sin introducing evil into the world. Since that time, some have been followers of the good and some have been followers of the path of evil. When Jesus returns, He will restore the world to its original state, and all evil will be purged from the earth.
Another interpretation holds that this is a reference to people in the church. In the church, there will be authentic followers of Jesus and those who are just going through the motions. Some may actually be trying to undermine the church. These will continue until Jesus returns.
According to this view, we aren't to go about judging and trying to separate the wheat and the weeds now. That will be taken care of when Jesus comes to judge the earth at His glorious Second Coming.
Now, I think that this parable's meaning is more in line with the first interpretation. Jesus said that the field is the world. He didn't say that it was the church. Jesus says that in this world there will be good and evil people. Sometimes, it will be hard to distinguish the two because we can only look at the outward appearance. Jesus is the one who can see into the heart of a person and make a correct judgment.
The battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil will continue until the Lord Jesus returns. At that time, the angels will come and separate the good from the evil, the sheep from the goats.
Jesus will sit in judgment over all of the people who have ever lived. Those who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives which is demonstrated by what they have done will be part of Jesus' kingdom that will have no end. Those who have done evil and those who professed faith but did not possess faith as demonstrated by their actions will not be part of Jesus' kingdom. They will be cast out.
When Jesus returns, all of the wickedness and evil in this world will be eliminated. The curse that is on the earth will be no more. All will be restored to the Edenic state. All will be well forever and forever.
Any person alive right now can be part of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. He invites you to believe in Him and make Him the Lord of your life. Turn your life over to Him and repent of your sins. Jesus will accept all those who come to Him. Whoever comes to Him, He will not cast them out.
That ends our series in the parables of Jesus. I have had a really great time sharing this series of messages with you. I have several ideas for messages and series for the next several weeks. I am not sure what I am going to do when yet. I hope that you will keep reading the sermons over the next weeks. I do know that I will be going through an Old Testament book and a New Testament book. I may do a series on Judges, and I have several individual sermons planned as well.
Next week I will post the sermon on Friday. There will be a book review on Wednesday, and I will post the verses on Monday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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