In this sermon, the preacher discusses the parable of the wheat and the weeds from the Gospel of Matthew. He emphasizes the importance of seeking understanding and asking the Lord for clarification, just as the disciples did. The preacher highlights the presence of evil and wickedness in the world, even among those who claim to preach the truth. He warns that while the enemy may sow seeds of deception, God will ultimately separate the righteous from the wicked and bring judgment. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the fellowship and communion that true Christians have with God in the kingdom of heaven.

Shall we read from the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 13? From verse 24 up to verse 30 and then from 36 to verse 43 Matthew chapter 13 Matthew chapter 13 Jesus told them another parable The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, the weeds also appeared The servants came to him and said, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them The servants said, No, we don't want to go and pull the weeds with you The servants said, No, we don't want to go and pull the weeds with you Then he gathered the wheat and brought it into his barn And then from verse 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house His disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field He answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man Then he said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one And the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age Then he said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age Then he said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear The disciples of Jesus came to him, asking him to explain to them the meaning of that parable They did well in asking him Then he said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field But it's not like that This is a very deep parable with profound and deep meaning This is not just milk, but this is solid food It was right for the disciples to come to the Lord Jesus and ask him, Lord please explain to us the meaning of this parable And we too should have the same attitude Remember where the Lord Jesus one day said, Some have eyes and yet they do not see, they have ears and yet they do not hear You can explain something to somebody until you are blue in the face And yet he will not understand, he will always come back with his own thing, even the next day and the following year, unless the Lord is gracious to that person and reveals his truth to him He speaks here of the kingdom of heaven The heavenly kingdom And a kingdom that is in heaven And that kingdom is here on earth as well So this kingdom is in two locations, in heaven and on earth In heaven it is a victorious kingdom Where there is no evil An amazing kingdom, blessed is the one who will enter into that kingdom But the kingdom of heaven might be here on earth as well But the kingdom that is here on earth is not exactly like the kingdom up in heaven Because here on earth there is friction, there is fighting, and infighting even in the church of God So much so that those who preach the gospel and those who are shepherds over God's flock here on earth weep tears, their hearts break because of what they see, but in heaven it is not like that, there is no evil In fact the kingdom of heaven is where God's people come together and they have fellowship with him They have fellowship and communion with their Lord True Christians called by him That he gathers together unto him That have been enlightened by him Sanctified by him And kept in the faith Let's have a closer look at the kingdom of heaven here on earth And for the time being we leave the heavenly kingdom in heaven where there is no crying, weeping, no hunger, no death Now this parable of the kingdom of heaven will not be understood by everyone Because it is solid food After some time the disciples of the Lord asked him and said Lord please won't you explain to us now the meaning of this parable What you are right And he said good I'll do that, the sower is the son of man Who is the Lord Jesus himself who became man He is the one who is the sower of the seed of this wheat And he came to the world to come and sow the seed to his field Now we can look at the world in two different ways, we can look at it as the world which is the earth where everybody lives Or we can look at it at that place of evil where the Bible says do not love the world and the things of the world So here we have the first meaning, the earth So Jesus came to this world to sow his seed Now here is the enemy close by, as Jesus sows his seed during the day The enemy comes at night, he works in darkness when everybody is asleep and he sows his seed The enemy comes and he fights and he goes against the son of man And the kingdom of heaven Where does the enemy Satan come from Satan used to be one of the archangels He was one of the chief angels in heaven more beautiful than any of the others But he fell and he forsook God For pride had entered him And since he has fallen, he makes war against God and against all that which is good And he comes and he spreads out and he gives his bait to the children of men, to God's children Just like you sow seeds when you want to catch a bird for them to come closer, that he does with God's children And so he comes and he throws out his seeds in front of you like temptations The temptation of the seed of lust, of immorality, because he wants to catch you with that and other types of sin And so he looks at you and he gauges you and he says this thing will work with this person And he throws that kind of seed or temptation in front of you and he says oh with this one, this will work And one thing which he likes very much is lust, the lust of the flesh and there are so many men who love women and women who love men, immorally The son of man sows his seed during the day and the enemy at night Take note of that There is a great difference between the son of man and the enemy The character and the appearance of the son of man is totally different to the character and the appearance of the enemy With the son of man, with Jesus, there is only light, pure light, only truth Only that which is revealed and open That is why he works in the light Satan, the enemy And the enemy, Satan, is full of deceit and craftiness And working in a hidden, obscure, underground way Working through lies That is why he loves to work at night when it is pitch black, when everybody is fast asleep And so at night he goes about and he sows his weeds when people are asleep, when they do not see what is going on When they wake up, they do not realize that they had been visited by the enemy, that the enemy had been there While they were fast asleep, sleeping a deep sleep, the enemy had been at work and he had been there without their knowledge and without them being aware of it And Jesus had said in the meantime that we should watch and pray For if you are not alert and awake, the enemy will come and he will sow his seeds in our lives So the disciples of Jesus came to him and said, but Lord you have sown good seed And in this parable the servants of the owner came to him and said, sir, did not you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? And these servants are the pastors, the ministers, the preachers, they say, my, where does this come from? So let us have a look. Now let us take a look at the good seed and the weeds If we read Jesus' explanation, we are amazed. When he explains, we might say, well, what is he saying now? What is this good seed? And this bad seed, what does it represent? Jesus says, the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom The children of God are the seed, it is not some seed in a bag. You child of God are the good seed The Lord Jesus says here, the field is the world And the good seed stands for the sons or the children of the kingdom But the weeds are the sons or the children of the evil one It is not something that you just said. The weeds are the children of God, the evil ones And the good seed are the children of the kingdom, the good ones Jesus says here, the good seed stands for the sons or the children of the kingdom It is amazing, he does not just speak about some object here, but he speaks about people He says, the bad seed, those are the children of the evil one People that are in the church, in the kingdom of God, that are evil, those are the weeds And the good seed, the sons or the children of the kingdom And the evil seed are the children of the evil one These weeds are people inside the church, but who do not live for God as they ought, but they are always at loggerheads with the children of God Do not think of weeds as just some weeds out in the field Now these are people that are inside the church, but they are evil They were those who were not alert, who did not watch and pray And so Satan came in the darkness while they were asleep, and he sowed his seed in their hearts and lives And these things started growing up, without anybody realizing, thinking they are still children of God In the meantime, Satan found a place where he could enter in They started off well, and take note of that They started well, but along the way, something went wrong Because of them not watching and praying, not being alert, Satan found a place in their lives where he could enter in And these servants said, what should we do then? Should we pull out these weeds? Should we get rid of these people from our churches? And Jesus said, no, you just continue preaching the gospel It might be that along the way, they will disappear, but if they don't, then at the end, then he will call his angels, and he will say, now it's enough And then he will separate amongst them, and those that are weeds will be tied together in bundles to be burnt, and they will be gathered and thrown into the fire And Jesus said, no, you just continue preaching the gospel And so Satan came in the darkness while they were asleep, and he sowed his seed in their hearts and lives We don't know where people stand and how they stand before God, only God knows, only Jesus knows And therefore he says, you might make a mistake, we might say, well this person is evil, he shouldn't be there In the meantime, he would be one of those who would enter in And another one, we might say, well he's good, and in the end, he will be tied together with the rest in bundles to be cast away You might say, you might say, you want to go to a church, a congregation, where there is no Pharisee No person troubled by lust, no one with evil thoughts Well, you'll never get such a church and such a congregation You can go to any church, any congregation, and you'll find weeds amongst them You'll always find weeds, even there in the first church in Jerusalem, there was a man and his wife, a man by the name of Ananias and Sapphira In that church where there was revival, where they were on fire for God, there were weeds amongst them There were widows, Greek widows, who were complaining and saying, but why do the Jewish widows, why do they get more than what we get? And Jesus will say, now tie them together Those people belong together, they visited one another They scandal together They were together Tie them together now And throw them into that fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to say this. Now examine your life and see with whom are you associated. Who are you grouped together with? Who are those people that are associated with you? Are you one of those that goes to somebody and says, well I'm just telling you this, please don't tell anybody and don't tell them that I've told you. If you're that kind of a person, then realize that you are these children of hell. We are two-legged. And you don't speak about it, or you keep quiet, you don't want to tell anybody who has told you about that, but nevertheless, you had an ear to hear what that person said, and that person still carries on telling others about it, but you want to cover it up and hide it away. Child of darkness, you are these children of the evil one. But the Son of Man, He doesn't work like that. He works in the light. He works during daylight, and He works for the good. But He doesn't work like that. He works in the light. He works during daylight, and He works for the good. But He doesn't work like that. He works during daylight, and He works for the good. I want to ask all of you here today, what kind of children of the kingdom are you? Are you children of the kingdom? Those who go about things the way Jesus goes about them, working in the light, working during the day for that which is good, or are you secretive, covering things up, hiding things away, working in darkness, children of the evil one? Jesus said, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. And of the righteous it is said, they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. They will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. Others will shine like the sun, inside them, like stars, but that does not change His vileness towards them. Whoever looks to the light will hear it. It's amazing, the righteous will shine like the sun. Will you shine like that? But let me tell you, you won't shine like that. If you are doing things in secret, if you're a child of the evil one, where you're a stumbling block to many, but you'll only be here for a short while. But the time will come when you'll be tied together in bundles and thrown into that fiery furnace. Jesus says, they're a stumbling block. There are those who are weak, who stumble because of you, of this which you speak about. Oh, may God work that you will hear and understand, not that you carry on with that evil of yours. If you, like Sapphira, where your husband is like Ananias, and he does that which is evil, then don't identify with him, don't be one with him in that evil. Rebuke him, expose that, otherwise he'll be a curse to you, and you'll be a curse to him, and you'll both be tied together and thrown into the furnace. Jesus says, don't close an eye to that which is wrong, because you love your child, you close an eye to what's wrong. Don't be like weeds. Is your life like weeds before God, or is it like that good seed which shines? And if it shines here on this earth, it'll also shine in heaven. Test and examine your life before God, and say, oh Lord, look at my life. Am I weeds before you, or am I of that good seed? Shall we pray? Oh Lord Jesus, Son of Man, you spoke the truth, because you are God, but you also became man. And you said that there are those who are like weeds in the kingdom of God, and then there are those who are good seeds. And Lord, if in the past we have lived lives that are not truthful, that are deceitful, may this day, Lord, be the day where we will repent, we will humble ourselves, come to you, and confess our sin. Amen.