The World of Wheat and Weeds | Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

[0:15] Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application. This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

[0:26] Let's dive in together into God's Word. Well, good morning, everyone. Are we keeping warm this morning? It's 20 degrees or less, depending upon which part of town you're at.

[0:41] It's cold, and it's hard to adjust. And I think for every year, for a lot of us, it's definitely hard to adjust to it. Well, today we have a sermon titled, The World of Wheat and Weeds.

[0:56] You know, the world that we do live in is constantly changing. Even when we think of just what's happened in the month time that we've been here in 2025, we had...

[1:12] We have a lot of transitions that are happening, things that are happening in our own world today. From the fires that's happening in California, to the volcano that was going off in Hawaii, to the TikTok ban, to the change or the transition of power and the administration.

[1:27] All these things are happening, and it can certainly be overwhelming for us, especially... It's January. Come on. I mean, you'd think this would happen in June or July kind of thing, these kind of events that are happening.

[1:39] But the reality is, we live in a world where there are wheat and weeds. And we're going to go over this very famous parable, and you'll see here that we're actually skipping a parable.

[1:56] We're going to go specifically over the parable of the weeds. And this is very important for us to recognize, as always, we read the Word of God.

[2:08] And we want to know what the Word of God has to say in its context. We also have to learn to know what are the lessons, what are the things, right? What are the things we can observe?

[2:19] What are the things that we can learn? And what are the things that we can apply to our very lives? For each and every one of us, I hope and pray that you come to know the Lord.

[2:31] That your journey will be the journey to Jesus Christ, to know who He is, the way, the truth, and the life. And upon receiving the free gift of salvation, it should be our prayer, and it is my prayer as well, that you grow in Christ.

[2:48] That you go from milk of the Word to solid food. That you will mature, understanding more of the complexities, and stop worrying about the elementary things, or even the former life that you once lived.

[3:03] To grow and to be transformed. Just like it says to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Just like when we think of this idea of repentance, the changing of our mind, before we believe in Jesus Christ, and even after.

[3:19] That we are continually being molded by the Lord every single day. And so today, we're going to see that this parable of the weeds, or the world of wheat and weeds, is very real for us today.

[3:34] There's a lot of connections in here, and if you look at your notes, you'll see there's quite a lot. But before we go to our notes, let's open the Word of God.

[3:44] Let's go to that next slide. It's going to be our scripture reading. I have the prayer before that. Go ahead and turn to page 973.

[3:58] It's going to be the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 24 through 30. As we're turning there, let's pray. Let's ask for God to reveal truth, wisdom to us, and let transformation happen here.

[4:15] Father God, we thank you for this time and this opportunity for us to gather together. We realize and we recognize that we are in a world that is certainly messy.

[4:26] We live in this world where there's a lot of just strange things that are happening that we may not understand. But may we point to you. May we turn to you in times of crisis.

[4:39] Even when we become Christian and we believe in you and we're saved and we receive the free gift of salvation, may we trust in you and may we become more like you each and every day.

[4:52] Father, I pray that truth is spoken here and that every single person will know that they are loved by you no matter who they are, where they come from, when or where they're watching this, or whatever life is throwing at them, that they are loved by you.

[5:11] You call, you send us this invitation, Father, to receive the free gift of salvation so that we can be saved and upon that salvation we can grow in you and become more like you.

[5:24] So we pray that our ears are open to hear, our hearts are ready to love, live in love, and our minds are open to learn from the word this morning. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, can I get an amen?

[5:39] So let's go to that next slide then. That should have... Oh, we don't have that. That's okay. So the Gospel of Matthew, let's go back to that title slide if we can. We had previously the parable, the purpose of parables, right?

[5:55] The parable of the sower, where we learned about the four soils and how important it is that our hearts are right with the Lord, that we receive the seed representing the word, and that it gets planted into our hearts and it grows.

[6:13] You have a lot of agricultural language, as it were, to grow and to bear fruit. How important it is for us to receive the word.

[6:24] How important it is for us to grow in the Lord and to bear fruit. And so we go into verse 24 then of Matthew chapter 13.

[6:35] Are we all there? Are we all ready to read together? So it goes off by saying, He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

[6:49] While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore again, the weeds appeared also.

[7:01] And the servants of the master of the house came to him and said, What? Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?

[7:12] I mean, I'd like to know too, right? If you were planting a garden, you have all these weeds, you're planting a tomato garden, or you're planting, you know, apricots or something, or any sort of plant. What are all these weeds doing here?

[7:25] He said to them, An enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

[7:41] Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the harvest time, I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into where?

[7:53] My barn. Now, here is where we go into the mustard seed. We're skipping that this time. We're going to go into that in another week, two weeks from now.

[8:04] Okay? So then it goes into verse 36. I mean, you can even look at verse 34, right? All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables.

[8:16] He said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fill what was spoken by the prophet. I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

[8:27] This goes to show the power and yet the simplicity of parables. Verse 36. Then he left the crowds and went into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.

[8:41] I'd like to know, right? And he answered, The one who sows good seed is who? The son of man. The field is the what? The world.

[8:52] The good seed is the sons of the kingdom. And the weeds are the sons of who? The evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age.

[9:05] And the reapers are who? The angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

[9:17] The son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and lawbreakers. And throw them into the fiery furnace. This gets to really heavy language.

[9:28] Let's be honest here, right? Throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father.

[9:39] He who has ears, let him hear. And so in your notes here, it's kind of a breakdown of what's happening. It's on the first page here, right?

[9:50] So we have the sower, God, who plants the good seed, right? The word into the field, into the world.

[10:01] You can get this kind of imagery that's happening here. Then you have the enemy sows the weeds among the field. Sin. You're seeing the entrance of sin.

[10:14] And those who reject God. Among the wheat, the children of God. The workers, you have the angels, ask if they should pull up the weeds.

[10:25] The sower tells them to let them grow together and tell the harvest, tell the judgment. And at the harvest, the weeds, the judgment on sin are burned and the wheat believers are gathered into the barn.

[10:39] And you'll see a lot of scripture verses. I challenge you, check those verses out. You will see how embedded in such a simple parable, you're seeing something here that's very deep and hidden, as it were.

[10:59] So let's go to this next slide. One of the things you can notice here is that there is, this actually shows us, in a very simplistic way, the story of redemption.

[11:14] If we think about it, the sower plants good seed. Doesn't God created the world and made it good? Then, the enemy sows weed, representing sin among the wheat.

[11:31] Isn't that interesting? That's where we have the fall. Now redemption then, we have Jesus Christ who comes in.

[11:43] From redemption comes this time period where the wheat and the weeds, they grow together. And it's giving them time.

[11:55] And that's interesting because we've found in a lot of the other parables, there's a time that's allotted before the master returns or before the bridegroom returns, signifying that there's a specific amount of time for you to come to know Jesus.

[12:12] For you to turn to him before it's too late. And this is showing in the redemption part, giving time. And then of course, you have restoration or you could call that judgment and then restoration.

[12:27] The harvest separates the weeds and the wheat. And it's so fascinating when we look at it like that. We have kind of an echo, as it were, of the story throughout all of Scripture, the gospel connection with the parable.

[12:47] And so this is simple, yet it's complex. There's all these verses that are connected into it. So what can we learn from this? Well, the first thing that we can learn is that, let's go to that next slide, is that we live in a world of weeds and wheat.

[13:04] We think about it. In Matthew 5, verse 45, it goes on to say, He causes His Son to rise on evil and the good.

[13:17] In Romans, Romans chapter 8, there's a section in here where it's mentioning that creation is groaning and waiting for redemption.

[13:29] Isn't that interesting? And we have to think to ourselves when we're learning this lesson is, well, then how can we faithfully live while we're surrounded by weeds?

[13:41] Right? You get this image. Many of you, you guys have, some of you guys, I'm not going to say all of you, but some of you guys have gardened before. Sometimes you have weeds that just come out of nowhere.

[13:53] Is it a frustrating thing or has that never happened before? Right? Where did this weed come from? Why is it here? It's going to destroy whatever plant that I've put there.

[14:05] It's a very frustrating thing. And we see this kind of connection with God looking at the world and giving time to happen. Much like how we live in this world where there is sin, there is brokenness, there is those that are saved and those who, well, you have those that are not believers yet.

[14:29] That's why it's so important for us to spread the gospel message to other people. how can you live faithfully while surrounded by brokenness and sin?

[14:43] You continue in your walk in the Lord knowing that no matter what happens, no matter what sin or brokenness, your faith is in the living God.

[14:55] Not in man, not in a government, not in TikTok, but in God. Let us be reminded of that.

[15:06] Despite what happens in our culture, despite what happens in the world, we trust in the living God. The second thing is the Lord is patient and His will prevails.

[15:22] Let's go back. It's still that same thing. That's all right. His will prevails. We are to trust in 2 Peter 3, verse 9.

[15:35] It says that the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish. And that's a very powerful thing because God gives us time for us to come to Him.

[15:48] Not forever, but enough time. Enough time from what He decides is appropriate. Isn't it amazing to know that the God who created heavens and earth gives us not only an opportunity to be restored unto Him, but to return into His presence to be saved and He gives us that choice and He gives us time to do so?

[16:13] Every single day, if you are not a believer, is an opportunity for you to come to Jesus. And for us that are in the church, those who are saved, grow and act upon your faith.

[16:30] Be transformed. Let God work in and through you, putting on the new self, setting aside the elementary things that divide us.

[16:42] Doing good in the name of Christ. We can think of sharing the gospel story with our friends and our families, being ambassadors for Christ in our everyday lives.

[16:53] Our work, our school, right? Our very families. We think of all these things. Sharing in our testimony and how God has worked in our life.

[17:06] Or sometimes it's just being a listening ear. You know, I've had this conversation with many people. the church exists for those who are churched to grow, right?

[17:24] You have to follow God's mission and God's purpose and plan for you. But you also have the church for the unchurched, those who are yet to believe, those who do not believe and they don't understand yet.

[17:39] And finally, the church exists for the de-churched, for healing and restoration, recovery. Because let's face it, for many of us, we get hurt at times.

[17:55] Sometimes we get hurt by the world, sometimes we get hurt by other Christians and we have to remember, we have got to allow for the healing process to happen, much like we've got to allow for the growth process.

[18:08] People need a place to belong. People need a place to heal. And people need a place to grow where they can act upon their faith, becoming the man or the woman that God has for them.

[18:22] Finally, the third thing that we can learn is that the final judgment belongs to who? Not man. Not a government.

[18:33] Certainly not an app, right? I know I'm, that's, we have to think about that. In Romans chapter 12, verse 19, there's a verse in there that we can think of.

[18:45] This is hard. When it says, don't take revenge, leave room for God's wrath or God's judgment. When someone does us wrong, we want to attack.

[19:00] More often than not, let's be honest here. You've wanted to retaliate. You don't have to raise your hand. I know I have. But you're offering it to God. Let God be the judge.

[19:12] I certainly don't want to be the judge. You know how hard it is for us to forgive, let alone forget, and knowing that God forgives you and He loves you and He gives you a chance to come to Him every single day.

[19:28] Think about that. I know I couldn't do that. That's, goes to show the power and the patience of our God and ask yourself, what does it look like to leave judgment for God rather than you taking it upon yourself to retaliate, right?

[19:55] And it also challenges us in how we see the weeds. We think of the weeds representing, now if we go back for a second here, when we learned about the four soils, we learned about the presence of the weeds where the seed was being planted into the ground.

[20:15] When we think of weeds, we can think of two things here. The presence of sin just period, but also for sinners, those who don't know the Lord.

[20:30] We have to focus on our own growth, but we have to scatter the seed as it were so that other hearts, because not only do you see the field representing the world, we have seen in other parables, the field represents our hearts.

[20:47] We allow for God to transform us. And here's the amazing thing. Let's go to the application. So I've got to tell you, this is heavy stuff.

[21:00] A lot of times when this parable is preached, it's like, you're either a weed or you're wheat, and it's a done deal. But do you know what's missing in that section?

[21:12] Is that there's a call for the weeds to come to Christ, because God makes things new. Think about that. Were you not a sinner at one point?

[21:25] We still sin, right? All fall short of the glory of God, but it's a call. Think about it. Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

[21:40] Think about for a second how if anyone is in Christ, he is a what? A new creation.

[21:53] Do you see it? Do you understand? That we go from weeds to wheat. That it is God who transforms us.

[22:05] Removing the sin. That's when we think about the gospel message. the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a call. If you are a weed, come to the Lord and be transformed and be saved.

[22:23] Become a wheat. You can't do that on your own. That requires the Lord. And the thing is, it's a call for us to come to God as we are.

[22:38] You hear many churches say that, right? I hope all churches should say that. Come as you are and be transformed, though. Not come as you are and remain as you are.

[22:49] Be transformed. And even if you are saved, continue to be transformed. That's the thing. We don't just come and remain as we are.

[23:02] We are transformed every single day. God invites us and he turns us, let me make this crystal clear, we go from, remember when we went over Ezra?

[23:14] The vessels that were transferred, they were transported from the place they didn't belong to the place they belong. Here we have another layer here. Going from a weed to wheat because God takes that which is broken and restores it.

[23:33] You find this as a pattern through all of Scripture. and if we just say you're either a wheat or a weed and that's it, there's nothing you can do, we're missing the mark here. We're missing the point here that God calls us to be transformed.

[23:49] Now, yeah, it's heavy to think about the judgment and the throwing away of the weeds. But that's why it's so important for us to come to know Christ.

[24:00] So for the weeds, if you are one, come to Christ. Receive that invitation, that free gift of salvation. And the second thing then, for the wheat, if you are saved, is to what?

[24:19] Grow in Christ and live out the faith. Be more like Him. Right? And wait patiently for the harvest.

[24:34] We continue every single day we have the opportunity to scatter the seed as it were. That starts with relationships. It's not about being aggressive or pugnacious, right?

[24:46] I love that word, pugnacious. I think of a little pug dog, right? Being aggressive and angry, right? You've seen little pug dogs when they're angry, right? Or if that doesn't help, little chihuahuas, right?

[24:57] The smaller they are, the more aggressive they get. But in that, it's all about relationships that we have with others or that we cultivate with others.

[25:08] We build relationships and we live out the word. We live out following in the footsteps of Christ, being an example for others to see because how many times have you met someone who is a Christian and you're like, I know they're a Christian and there's no doubt about it.

[25:23] I don't know why, I don't know how, but there's something different about them. You want to live and follow in the footsteps of Christ like that. Being a light unto the world.

[25:37] Being salt, right? Salt and light. And we think about that. We scatter the seeds. Now, for some of us, it can be frustrating. I've talked, you know, you talk to your sister or you talk to your uncle or you talk to your neighbor about the Lord, you know, every week and they don't get it.

[25:55] You still scatter the seed. Still scatter the seed. Pray for them. Pray for hardened hearts, changed minds, changed attitudes, a renewed spirit, the softening of the heart.

[26:12] And what if today is the day you let God transform your life and make you new? Think about that as one question.

[26:22] The other question I want you to think about, what does it mean for you to grow in Christ even in difficult circumstances?

[26:33] What we seem to forget at times is we grow and we bear fruit. It's when you're very early on.

[26:44] That's where the whole, well, what about the rocks? What about the rocks? What about the obstacle? What about the sins? As you grow, you become more firmly rooted in God.

[26:55] Just like how we learn about Christ being the firm foundation and building our house upon the solid rock and not the sand. Do you see how things get connected with each other?

[27:05] That's why it's so important for us to look at the context and connections. We can see sometimes we have to wrestle with the text and that's okay. Sometimes we have questions and we're not understanding things.

[27:17] That's okay as well. That's part of the growing process. I mean, didn't you fall a few times when you began to walk? Probably too many, right?

[27:28] Some of us more than others. How many times did you fall off a bike before you figured it out, right? That's how it is when we're growing as a Christian, as believers, as ambassadors for Christ.

[27:42] We're going to stumble and fall sometimes, but we continue on that, knowing that God is our firm foundation. So that's how things are connected. So we grow and we live out the faith, become more like Him.

[27:56] Wait, we wait for the harvest and we scatter the seed to others. We minister. We evangelize. We let God transform hearts because look, I can't control my kids, you guys.

[28:11] I can't. Okay? I got to be honest here. I can't control all five of my kids, but I can teach them and I can guide them.

[28:26] It's the same thing with my wife. I can't control her, right? I know a lot of us would like to control our spouses, I admit. But in that, you scatter the seed.

[28:38] Let it take root. Again, we pray for those, we minister, we evangelize, and we let God transform the heart. That's how things are so connected.

[28:54] When we think in John 15, 5, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. We think of Matthew chapter 28 where it says to make disciples of all nations.

[29:11] Not only is the seed planted in our hearts, but it grows and it cultivates. And I love Isaiah 55, 10 to 11, my word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire.

[29:27] Let us think about all these and ask yourself this question, who in your life needs to hear about Christ? Who in your life do you need to pray about?

[29:38] Who is unchurched? Or who is de-churched? Right? We sometimes forget. We like to think of those who, and we should, our primary objective is to get people to believe in Christ, but what about those that have been hurt?

[29:54] What about those who've been discouraged or disgruntled? They need Christ just as well, and they need the healing power that comes from Him. You know, it really hits home how many people that I personally know who have deconstructed and have left the faith because of some silly thing, some elementary thing.

[30:15] I pray for them, for their return, knowing that God loves them. This is why it's so important, again, we place our faith and our trust in the living God.

[30:29] Not on man, because man will fail you. How many of us know that to be true? Man fails us. God doesn't. That's why we have so many verses that say that God is the same yesterday, today, and what?

[30:45] Forever. Or everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Or when we think about God as the solid rock, we certainly need a constant in our life.

[30:59] And so ask yourself, who in your life needs to hear about Christ this week? How can you be faithful in scattering the seed? That's a question for you as we close our time today.

[31:13] Whether you feel like, maybe you identify as a weed, let this be a call for you to come to Christ and put off the old self. When you think of a weed, we think of like a hairy and thorny plant.

[31:29] It's quite disgusting when you think about it, right? Put off the old self and become wheat. Become restored. And for those who are wheat, the call is the same.

[31:44] Trust in the living God, grow in faith, and scatter the seed of the gospel wherever you go. Let us remember this parable and how it's connected not only with the story of redemption, but how God transforms lives, taking that which is broken and restoring and renewing it.

[32:09] Let's pray together. Father God, we thank you for this time, this opportunity for us to open your word and to study it.

[32:22] We have observed, we have learned so many lessons. And I pray, Father, if there are any weeds here, they will be transformed.

[32:32] They will come to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. And we pray for the wheat here.

[32:44] They will grow. They will bear fruit, just as your word says so much. And Father, I also would like to pray for any person who has deconstructed or anyone who's been hurt by the church, whether they're here or not.

[33:03] I pray for healing in their life. Father, you call all of us to gather together, to sing praises to you, to assemble together as the church.

[33:17] And you have done so much for us. We pray for the unchurched, for a place where they belong, believing in you and being established in the church.

[33:32] We pray for the unchurched, those that are disconnected, disgruntled, or hurt in some capacity. And we pray for the churched to continue to grow and to go on their mission, to make disciples, to scatter the seed, and to become more like you every single day.

[33:54] It is in the name of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith, that we pray. And we all say together, can I get an amen? Amen. Thank you for listening for this week's message from Ontario Community Church.

[34:09] I pray that you are encouraged and strengthened in your walk with Christ. For more sermons and resources, visit OntarioCommunityChurch.org. May God bless you as you live out His grace and truth every single day.

[34:24] NINGNING