COMPLETE SERMON NOTES
Are You Wheat or Tare?
SKIP AHEAD TO MATTHEW 13:34 “All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
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IT’S NOT THE SEED; ITS THE SOIL – parables can nourish the soil
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FULFILLING PROPHECY – confirming the Word
Parable: A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson
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We often don’t like direct confrontation – parables go thru the back door.
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Self-examination is VERY healthy – “Lord, is it I?”
EXAMPLE OF A PARABLE: Girl who had a dream that her dad hit the car.
Self Examination – am I the tare?
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares 24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
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“But while he slept” . . . the enemy works when we sleep – sin grows in darkness.
Most go thru life asleep to the things of GOD! Why? No self examination:
*It’s not you…it’s the other person…ssshhh Go Back To Sleep.”
*It’s not you…it’s your boss; your job…ssshhh Go Back To Sleep.”
*It’s not you…it’s your family; parents; kids…ssshhh Go Back To Sleep.”
*It’s not you…it’s the government…ssshhh Go Back To Sleep.”
*It’s not you…it’s God...ssshhh Go Back To Sleep.”
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Am I a tare? Am I just playing church, going through the motions – saying the right things?
Characteristic
s
of Tare: You have no heart for God [you say you do, but your actions reveal otherwise] – You’re full of excuses and blame shifting. Pride is the dominating characteristic of your life.
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“Look, look…I’m Wheat,” doesn’t work!
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Or, you maybe be a tiny shoot of wheat that never matures.
GOOD NEWS for Tares: A tare cannot change but a sinner can: “open [your] eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that [you] may receive forgiveness of sins…” Acts 26:18
Isaiah 55:6-7 (NKJV), “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
Repentance is not a recommendation.
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Until we turn back to Soul Searching, Christ centered, Bible-believing, Truth Elevating, Grace-filled Preaching we will not see change.
SETTLE DOWN SHANE – 2,600 Americans die per day; the occult is one of the fastest growing religions, porn is captivating Christians, suicide is an epidemic, Marriages are on Life Support…AND YOU WANT ME TO SETTLE DOWN
“As I was walking in the fields, the thought came over me with almost overwhelming power, that every one of my flock must soon be in heaven or hell. Oh how I wished that I had a tongue like thunder…I fear that you will lay the blame of your damnation at my door.” -Robert M’Cheyne
Pastors Can’t Play With Death – we must confront it
Self Examination – am I dying spiritually; am I being choked?
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This is sometimes why a person is not acting like a Christian. The thorns are choking the good seed.
PARABLE: Some years ago there came to Los Angeles, a so-called “human fly.” It was announced that on a given day he would climb up the face of one of the large department store buildings, and long before the appointed time thousands of eager spectators were gathered to see him perform the seemingly impossible feat…
… In his dead hand was found a spider’s web! What he evidently mistook for solid stone or brick, turned out to be nothing but froth. A good parable of worldly pleasure.
a] America is the number one distributor of the gospel. And the number one distributor of pornography.
b] America has set millions of people free but has destroyed millions of babies.
c] In America, the Bible is the #1 selling book, yet sexual perversion is an epidemic.
d] In America, healthy marriages built this country, but divorce and selfishness ARE killing it.
a] We read our Bibles, yet treat our spouses like garbage.
b] We quote the Bible, but don’t obey it. We’re quick to point out the flaws in others but not our own.
c] We go to church smiling, but anger dominates our home.
d] We hate self-righteous people, but rarely look in the mirror.
“Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” EPHESIANS 5:14
EPHESIANS 5:8-13 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them [this
doesn’t
mean point out the flaws in others, but yourself]. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret [your home is the true gauge of spirituality]…
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If you find yourself saying, “Yeah, I know all that,” you have a doing problem.
THE MESSAGE COMMENTARY Ephesians 5:8-10 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. 11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. WAKE UP FROM YOUR SLEEP, CLIMB OUT OF YOUR COFFINS; CHRIST WILL SHOW YOU THE LIGHT!
Apply – don’t quote! Apply – don’t quote! Apply – don’t quote!
*You can’t mix the purity of God’s Word with the filth of REBELLION.
*You can’t mix the purity of God’s Word with the filth of PRIDE.
Parable/Illustration: BLACK FLAG – That’s what you’re doing in the spiritual.
The Parable of the Tares Explained …37 …“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
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If pastors say, “Jesus will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” we are called Bible thumpers – hell, fire
WHY DID HE USE PARABLES? He used them TO AWAKEN THE SPIRITUALLY DEAD OR DYING!
The Parable of the Mustard Seed 31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” The Parable of the Leaven 33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
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Good and Evil grow together until the judgment
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Growth takes time – do not despise appearance
a] CLOSING: The Kingdom of God in your heart SHOULD affect everything
b] GOOD NEWS for those who are dying spiritually: Remove the tares through Worship, Prayer, & Repentance
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they crush pride, eliminate excuses, soften hearts, transform impossible situations.
c] NO MORE EXCUSES: WAKE UP FROM YOUR SLEEP, CLIMB OUT OF YOUR COFFINS; CHRIST WILL SHOW YOU THE LIGHT!
