Scripture: Matthew 13 v 37 - 40: "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world."
These are the words of Jesus to His disciples, and follow on from His teaching about the sower sowing the seed - some falls by the wayside and the seed is eaten by birds; some falls among thorns and is choked; some falls into good soil and brings forth good fruit.
In between these two portions of scripture Jesus also gives a number of parables concerning the kingdom of Heaven. He is painting a picture for us of this world over the span of 2000 years.
Jesus has sowed good seeds into the Earth and the devil has sown tares, or weeds, and the time of judgment is at hand when the reapers (the holy angels) will separate the tares from the good wheat. The tares will be bundled and thrown into the fire; the wheat will be gathered into the Kingdom of God.
If you are a good wheat seed you will be known by Jesus as one who is born again and bringing forth good fruit ie being obedient to God and using the talents He has given you to enhance and increase His Kingdom. He wants to see an abundance of souls liberated from the world. It is our responsibility to inform the tares of the danger they face in the hope that some will believe and be saved.
If you are a tare you are generally a worldly type who enjoys tainted fruit that poisons the soul like recreational drugs; nicotine; alcohol in vast quantities; free sex; violence and mayhem. There are some tares who go to church, but often gravitate to those churches where the Word of God is compromised by the teachings and doctrines of man. The preachers very rarely expose sin and its consequences! Jesus says of these - They worship Me in vain. They speak My name and sing praises to Me but their hearts are far from Me.
If you are not sure if you are a tare then you probably are one. The good seeds know they are secure in Jesus Christ; forgiven of sin by His grace and washed in His Blood. They know their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. They know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Tares worry a lot about the future. They do not feel secure and at peace. The Holy Spirit is telling them that they need true salvation because they have only made mental agreement with the Gospel. They need to be converted in their heart to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
I cannot emphasise this strongly enough. Jesus says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He says MANY will say to Me, Lord, Lord, we cast out demons and did miracles in Your name. I will say to them I never knew you, depart from Me ye that work iniquity. He is talking about Christians and ministers of God but He says of them that they did not do the will of the Father. (Matt 7 v 21-23).
In India right now Hindu are burning churches and harassing Christians in their homes. This week in Mozambique Christians were beheaded by ISIS militants and their church destroyed. Western nations like France, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are recognising The Palestinian State meaning they are applauding Hamas and its atrocities against Israelis. This will lead to ongoing conflict in the area.
The power of Islam is to destroy Christians and Jews, they do not realise they are the tares with much more punishment ahead of them. Yet we must still try to tell them about Jesus. Thousands of militant ISIS murderers, rapists and persecutors in Syria were convicted by the Holy Spirit and went to Christian families and confessed what they had done. They were born again and even taken into the homes of people they had killed.
This is the love and forgiveness of Almighty God and His mercy and goodness in action. These militants had crucified their children upside down but were forgiven, saved and taken in to their homes to sleep in the beds of the slain. What can we not forgive compared to that?
Bilquis Sheikh was a high born Hindu whose husband was a government minister. She had servants one of whom was a young Christian girl whom she liked. Bilquis had a beautiful fragrant garden but one evening she picked up a strange aroma that fascinated her. It happened that she encountered a couple who were missionaries and smelled that same aroma on them. She became desperate to know what it was and began read in the New Testament she had asked the young maid to smuggle in. She found the place in Corinthians that changed her life.
2 Corinthians 2 v 14 - 16: "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?"
She travelled to the USA to share her amazing testimony and how severely persecuted she was for becoming a Christian. She was terribly shocked at the carnal worldly type of Christians she met. A good wheat seed meeting tares. She wrote a book called I Dared to Call Him Father. An excellent testimony.
So after today you cannot stand before God on the Day of Judgment and tell Him "I didn't know this". Examine your heart closely and make absolutely sure that you meet all God's requirements to spend eternity in Heaven. Disobedience and worldly living are barriers to everlasting life. I do not want anyone to miss that because I neglected to tell you the truth.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Your heart yearns for us, Your children, to make it safely home. You are not willing for any to perish and be lost. Please reveal to each one who reads this study today exactly what their true standing is with you. In Jesus' name. Amen.