Living as True Children of the Kingdom
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Like that is what defines us as his children, that we have been changed and our lives bear fruit. I also bring this up because, much like we talked about last week, there's a lot of folks that think they're wheat and they're a weed. There's a lot of folks that think they're secure in who they are and they don't know who Jesus Christ is. You're not good enough on your own to make it to heaven. You can't give enough away, you can't do enough good stuff to meet the standard. Because we have all not met the standard already because we have all sinned. And the standard for entrance into heaven is sinlessness. And the only way for us as sinners to make it into heaven is to claim the blood of Jesus Christ over our sins. [00:54:40] (44 seconds)
And then the Father doesn't see us as a wretched sinner anymore. We're now the righteousness of Christ because of the blood of Christ. I bring this up again because, and I'll say it again, I've been in ministry long enough and I've lived long enough because I lived it too, that I was a weed for a long time that thought I was wheat. I was a weed that did everything to make it look like I was wheat and I was not. And it wasn't until I confessed that I was a sinner and needed a savior that I became a child of the kingdom. Jesus says in Matthew 9, 9, Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we insert whatever good work you want in your name? And he's going to say, Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. [00:55:24] (45 seconds)
That's a scary thing, folks. And I said it last week and I'll say it again because it's still true. There are people in churches every Sunday that think they're going to make it to heaven because they're butts in a seat every week in a sanctuary. And they're going to meet Jesus face to face for the first time after they leave this world. And he's going to say, Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. This is why these parables, in my opinion, are so important because this wheat and this weed look so much alike that you can come in here every Sunday and you can fool everybody in this building. But Jesus will not be fooled. [00:56:09] (38 seconds)
And every knee and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether we do it here or we do it after we leave this world and we're cast into a lake of fire. But everyone is going to confess Jesus as Lord. The question is when and where. And then, of course, that gives us a couple different outcomes that we're going to talk about as well. So then we get to what he talks about here with the harvest and the end of the age. So he talks about that he tells him not to uproot the weeds because he doesn't want to uproot the wheat in verse 30. And then he tells his disciples in verse 40 that the harvest he's talking about is the end of the age, the end of this world, right? That's the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. The weeds and the wheat are people, the people in the world. And he says that we're going to go to one or two places once he comes. [00:56:47] (52 seconds)
If we're a weed, we're going to be plucked first. It says he's going to bind us up and we're going to be thrown into the fire. Let's look exactly what he says. He says in verse 42, 41 and 42, the Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, his kingdom, all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So I have on here judgment. But the ultimate judgment is if you're a sinner that leaves this world without a relationship with Jesus Christ, you're going to end up in hell. And we don't like to say that a whole lot in churches anymore. Jesus said it a whole lot. Jesus talked about hell a lot more than he did heaven. [00:57:38] (46 seconds)
The reality is if you leave this world and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you're going to go to hell. No matter how many good things you've done, no matter how much money you've given to the church, no matter if you've got perfect attendance in Sunday school your entire life, none of that is going to matter in eternity. Now, I know that we're going to be judged in the gold and the chaff. I understand that. But I'm talking about for eternity. If you think any of that's securing you anything in eternity, you are woefully wrong. And you're going to be turned away. And you're not going to be with him for all eternity. Like he says, the wheat's going to be gathered into his barn. And I love the way. he says this, then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. [00:58:14] (50 seconds)
Friends, that is the goal. That is the goal. Everything on this earth is for that goal, that in eternity, we are going to be in the kingdom of our father. We're going to shine like the sun in the kingdom of our father, that we're going to be in the presence of our savior for all eternity, like we sang about today, that we're going to see the one who bled and died for us face to face. Everything in this world should point to that. Everything in this world, that should be the goal, to hear, well done, my good and faithful service, enter into your rest. To spend eternity with our savior. And we make jokes, people make jokes all the time about, ah, all my friends will be in hell, right? That's where I want to go. No, no, you don't. Hell is not one big party for the rest of your life. It is fire, it is weeping, it is gnashing of teeth, it is a separation for eternity from the God who made you. [00:58:35] (57 seconds)
You're getting grace that you don't deserve as we all do, right? Because the Lord just blesses us. This is his creation and he is sustaining it. He is blessing it. But one day when this is all gone and you're either in heaven or you're in hell and there is utter separation between you and the Father, you're going to realize that it's too late. That this isn't, that hell is not what we thought it was. He's pretty clear about what it is. Weeping and gnashing of teeth don't sound like a good time. I'm not interested in weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I hope you aren't either. I hope that you see the love that he has for us. And this is why he keeps telling us these things and gives us these chances. [01:00:22] (44 seconds)
And he keeps talking about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven. So let's, we're going to look at these other two parables quickly, but I want to talk about, since we keep saying the kingdom of heaven, I want to talk about what the kingdom of heaven is because isn't God king of everything? Because this is his creation, right? Yes, king of kings, lord of lords. I want to look at it in these, I want you to think when we think kingdom of heaven to think of these two ways, that the redemptive reign of God through Christ, when we talk about the kingdom of heaven, and that redemption of sinners is at its core. Redemption of sinners is at its core. That's what the kingdom of heaven is all about, is the redemption of sinners welcoming us back into a relationship with the holy God because of what Christ has done. [01:01:06] (43 seconds)
So there is no stopping this kingdom. And this is what he's talking about in this parable, that once it's in the world, it's not leaving. It is there and it's going to be there. And man, when we see the kingdom take hold and we see people come to Christ, what a testimony of the power of the kingdom. Every person that comes to Jesus Christ is a miracle. This is what he's talking about with the kingdom. So he presents this kingdom of heaven. We keep hearing about this kingdom of heaven, but he's also presented another kingdom in that first parable because there's two kingdoms at war against one another, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the enemy or the kingdom of the devil. So it comes down to this, which kingdom do you want? [01:07:42] (41 seconds)
Of first importance, what Paul says, I delivered to you, what is of first importance? If you think about all the words that Paul wrote in the New Testament, he says, I delivered to you of first importance that Christ died. That Christ died. Of first importance that Christ died, and right with it, that he rose again. And it was all according to the Scripture. It was all according to the Scripture. It was all foretold by the prophets. It was always plan A, because God doesn't need a plan B. This was his plan from before the foundation of the world, that we would rebel against a holy God, that we would forsake him over and over, and that he would send his son to a cross to pay our debt. [01:19:30] (44 seconds)
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And then the Father doesn't see us as a wretched sinner anymore. We're now the righteousness of Christ because of the blood of Christ. I bring this up again because, and I'll say it again, I've been in ministry long enough and I've lived long enough because I lived it too, that I was a weed for a long time that thought I was wheat. I was a weed that did everything to make it look like I was wheat and I was not. And it wasn't until I confessed that I was a sinner and needed a savior that I became a child of the kingdom. Jesus says in Matthew 9, 9, Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we insert whatever good work you want in your name? And he's going to say, Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. [00:55:24] (45 seconds)
That's a scary thing, folks. And I said it last week and I'll say it again because it's still true. There are people in churches every Sunday that think they're going to make it to heaven because they're butts in a seat every week in a sanctuary. And they're going to meet Jesus face to face for the first time after they leave this world. And he's going to say, Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. This is why these parables, in my opinion, are so important because this wheat and this weed look so much alike that you can come in here every Sunday and you can fool everybody in this building. But Jesus will not be fooled. [00:56:09] (38 seconds)
And every knee and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether we do it here or we do it after we leave this world and we're cast into a lake of fire. But everyone is going to confess Jesus as Lord. The question is when and where. And then, of course, that gives us a couple different outcomes that we're going to talk about as well. So then we get to what he talks about here with the harvest and the end of the age. So he talks about that he tells him not to uproot the weeds because he doesn't want to uproot the wheat in verse 30. And then he tells his disciples in verse 40 that the harvest he's talking about is the end of the age, the end of this world, right? That's the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. The weeds and the wheat are people, the people in the world. And he says that we're going to go to one or two places once he comes. [00:56:47] (52 seconds)
If we're a weed, we're going to be plucked first. It says he's going to bind us up and we're going to be thrown into the fire. Let's look exactly what he says. He says in verse 42, 41 and 42, the Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, his kingdom, all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So I have on here judgment. But the ultimate judgment is if you're a sinner that leaves this world without a relationship with Jesus Christ, you're going to end up in hell. And we don't like to say that a whole lot in churches anymore. Jesus said it a whole lot. Jesus talked about hell a lot more than he did heaven. [00:57:38] (46 seconds)
The reality is if you leave this world and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you're going to go to hell. No matter how many good things you've done, no matter how much money you've given to the church, no matter if you've got perfect attendance in Sunday school your entire life, none of that is going to matter in eternity. Now, I know that we're going to be judged in the gold and the chaff. I understand that. But I'm talking about for eternity. If you think any of that's securing you anything in eternity, you are woefully wrong. And you're going to be turned away. And you're not going to be with him for all eternity. Like he says, the wheat's going to be gathered into his barn. And I love the way. he says this, then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. [00:58:14] (50 seconds)
Friends, that is the goal. That is the goal. Everything on this earth is for that goal, that in eternity, we are going to be in the kingdom of our father. We're going to shine like the sun in the kingdom of our father, that we're going to be in the presence of our savior for all eternity, like we sang about today, that we're going to see the one who bled and died for us face to face. Everything in this world should point to that. Everything in this world, that should be the goal, to hear, well done, my good and faithful service, enter into your rest. To spend eternity with our savior. And we make jokes, people make jokes all the time about, ah, all my friends will be in hell, right? That's where I want to go. No, no, you don't. Hell is not one big party for the rest of your life. It is fire, it is weeping, it is gnashing of teeth, it is a separation for eternity from the God who made you. [00:58:35] (57 seconds)
You're getting grace that you don't deserve as we all do, right? Because the Lord just blesses us. This is his creation and he is sustaining it. He is blessing it. But one day when this is all gone and you're either in heaven or you're in hell and there is utter separation between you and the Father, you're going to realize that it's too late. That this isn't, that hell is not what we thought it was. He's pretty clear about what it is. Weeping and gnashing of teeth don't sound like a good time. I'm not interested in weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I hope you aren't either. I hope that you see the love that he has for us. And this is why he keeps telling us these things and gives us these chances. [01:00:22] (44 seconds)
And he keeps talking about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven. So let's, we're going to look at these other two parables quickly, but I want to talk about, since we keep saying the kingdom of heaven, I want to talk about what the kingdom of heaven is because isn't God king of everything? Because this is his creation, right? Yes, king of kings, lord of lords. I want to look at it in these, I want you to think when we think kingdom of heaven to think of these two ways, that the redemptive reign of God through Christ, when we talk about the kingdom of heaven, and that redemption of sinners is at its core. Redemption of sinners is at its core. That's what the kingdom of heaven is all about, is the redemption of sinners welcoming us back into a relationship with the holy God because of what Christ has done. [01:01:06] (43 seconds)
So there is no stopping this kingdom. And this is what he's talking about in this parable, that once it's in the world, it's not leaving. It is there and it's going to be there. And man, when we see the kingdom take hold and we see people come to Christ, what a testimony of the power of the kingdom. Every person that comes to Jesus Christ is a miracle. This is what he's talking about with the kingdom. So he presents this kingdom of heaven. We keep hearing about this kingdom of heaven, but he's also presented another kingdom in that first parable because there's two kingdoms at war against one another, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the enemy or the kingdom of the devil. So it comes down to this, which kingdom do you want? [01:07:42] (41 seconds)
Of first importance, what Paul says, I delivered to you, what is of first importance? If you think about all the words that Paul wrote in the New Testament, he says, I delivered to you of first importance that Christ died. That Christ died. Of first importance that Christ died, and right with it, that he rose again. And it was all according to the Scripture. It was all according to the Scripture. It was all foretold by the prophets. It was always plan A, because God doesn't need a plan B. This was his plan from before the foundation of the world, that we would rebel against a holy God, that we would forsake him over and over, and that he would send his son to a cross to pay our debt. [01:19:30] (44 seconds)
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