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[0:00] Please remain standing with me as we read from the book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament,!

[0:30] Verse 24. This is the word of God. Jesus told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

[0:40] But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

[0:51] The owner's servants came to him and said, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied.

[1:02] 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. Let both grow together until the harvest.

[1:14] At that time, I will tell the harvesters, First, collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then, gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. And jumping across to verse 36.

[1:27] 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.

[1:40] He answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man. 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.

[1:54] 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.

[2:04] The son of man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[2:17] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear. We're visiting the Sea of Galilee this morning in the northern portion of Palestine.

[2:35] 2,000 years ago, there were fishing boats, perhaps fishermen mending their nets. But something special is happening on this day.

[2:45] Jesus of Nazareth is sitting in a boat, pushed out a ways from the shore, and he's teaching. And standing along the shore are crowds of people, large crowds of people listening.

[3:01] We're going to join them for an important lesson from the Son of God. Now, Jesus often taught the people using parables, and that's what he's doing this day.

[3:14] He actually gives six parables on this day, taking simple things from common life to teach spiritual lessons. And in this way, he moved from the clear, what they were familiar with, to the unclear, the unfamiliar.

[3:32] From the known to the unknown. Now, farming was a major occupation of the day. And that's what he then speaks of in this parable.

[3:46] The parable that precedes it was the parable of the sower. The sower, as he sowed his seed on four different types of soil. And now, the masterful storyteller is telling another farming parable.

[3:59] The parable of the wheat and the weeds. Well, consider the earthly story first, and then the spiritual realities being taught. The earthly story is found in verses 24 to 30.

[4:13] Jesus told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like. Several of the parables are introduced in that way. The kingdom of heaven is like.

[4:25] And we're not just to finish the sentence and think, well, that's what the kingdom of heaven is like. We're to take everything that's said in the parable and to realize that the entirety of the parable has something in common with the kingdom of heaven.

[4:43] Not just like a man sowing good seed in his field, but the entire parable. So, verses 24 to 26. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

[4:57] But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

[5:10] So, in sowing seed, the sower would carry a seed bag. And he would reach in and grab a handful of seed and scatter it on his newly plowed field.

[5:22] And that's the way he went. Sowing his seed. Now, this particular day, we're told that the enemy came along and did the same thing.

[5:33] At night, while everyone was sleeping. But it was weed seed that he was sowing. Grabbing his handfuls and casting them over the wheat seeds.

[5:48] Now, this particular weed has been labeled the bearded darnel. And it was poisonous to animals and to men. But the terrible thing about it was that none of this was known until the wheat sprouted and formed heads.

[6:05] Because this particular weed looks just like the wheat. And it's almost impossible to distinguish it from the wheat until the wheat starts sprouting heads of grain.

[6:17] And then they could realize, oh, this is not wheat. These are weeds. Can you imagine the trouble that this would cause? Waiting that long only to find that the crop is infested with weeds.

[6:32] Now, Jesus wasn't just making this up. This was something that actually happened. It was an act of malicious revenge that was sometimes practiced among the people of the East.

[6:44] And indeed, the Romans even had laws on the book stipulating the punishments for people who did this sort of thing. So when the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

[6:59] Then it was seen what they really were all along. Now, what should we do about the situation? Well, that's what we see in verses 27 and 28.

[7:11] The owner's servants came and said to him, sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied.

[7:23] So it's no accident. It was a deliberate evil deed of an enemy seeking revenge. And so the servants asked him, do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?

[7:37] What a job that would be. Well, the owner's words to his servants before the harvest are clear. No. Verse 29. No, because while you're pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.

[7:51] Let both grow together until the harvest. Maybe some of you gardeners have had that situation where you're pulling weeds and maybe you pull on a bigger wheat and you end up pulling out whatever plant that you have planted.

[8:06] That's the way it was that by now the roots would be intertwined and so to pull up the wheat or the weeds would to threaten to pull up the wheat and it wasn't yet fully developed.

[8:20] So it would be a total loss of its harvest. So, therefore, until harvest, let both grow together. The weeds and the wheat together.

[8:33] But the owner's words to his harvesters later at harvest time would be quite different. Verse 30. At that time at harvest, I will tell the harvesters, first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned.

[8:49] Then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. So these are two different directions given at two different times. First to his servants, let them grow together till the harvest.

[9:00] And then at harvest to his harvesters, first gather the weeds and burn them and then the wheat into my barn.

[9:13] All the people on the shore say, yes, that makes good sense. He's a wise farmer. So that's the parable. We come now to the spiritual realities that it's illustrating.

[9:26] Verses 36 to 43. And we need to realize, first of all, that the spiritual meaning of the parable was only taught later. After Jesus left the crowd and went into the house and is alone with his disciples.

[9:42] And they asked him to explain to him the parable of the weeds in the field. Now, sometimes Jesus spoke parables to help people understand.

[9:54] But according to Jesus' words earlier in verses 11 through 15, he is now intentionally teaching this crowd in parables so that they would not understand.

[10:06] He was withholding further light from them, purposefully hiding the truth from the hard-hearted who had already heard the gospel of the kingdom and had rejected it.

[10:21] And so it's a form of judgment. You didn't want my words? You will not have them. You will have the fine story about the farmer, but you will not have the mystery that it reveals.

[10:33] Only to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Only those who have embraced the kingdom message, the gospel of faith in me.

[10:48] Those who want to know and do what I say. And so only to them does he explain the meaning of this parable.

[10:58] Now, let me say to some of you who are not disciples of Jesus Christ. No doubt you've heard the gospel of the kingdom before, perhaps many times and have rejected it dozens of times.

[11:16] According to Jesus, you don't deserve to know and understand the rest of this parable and what it means. In fact, if you'd have been there that day, you wouldn't have even heard Jesus' explanation.

[11:30] He reserved that for his disciples alone. So, don't miss the great mercy that God is showing you. He has recorded what he said to his disciples in the scriptures for all to read, for you to read and to understand what those people on the shoreline would not have heard.

[11:55] What a privilege that you have to know the real meaning of this parable. So, listen, learn, take heed, trust, and obey the gospel of the kingdom.

[12:11] So, verse 36 says, He left the crowd, went into the house, his disciples came and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. Verse 37 through 39, he answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man.

[12:25] 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.

[12:35] The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. So, Jesus here just gives us an index. He gives us a key of the people, the factors of the parable.

[12:50] Who's who? There you have them. Do you understand the parable? You say, no, not yet. We need more than just the index. Well, let's look briefly at each item of the index to help us understand the kingdom of heaven in its present form, as it was in Jesus' day, and as it still is in our day.

[13:12] First of all, he speaks of the one who sowed the good seed. He is the son of man. That was Jesus' favorite term for himself. Coming right out of Daniel chapter 7, and Pastor Colin will be getting there probably in three years on Sunday evenings.

[13:28] But in that passage, in Daniel 7, we see the son of man coming with the cloud of heaven and approaching the ancient of days and was led into his presence.

[13:40] And the ancient of days gave him authority over all the nations of the earth. They all worshipped him. And his dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.

[13:52] And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. And the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever. Yes, forever and ever. This is the son of man.

[14:06] The long expected Messiah King who has come to reign with his saints over a worldwide kingdom that lasts forever and ever. It's Jesus himself who is the owner of the field, who sows the good seed, and who sends his harvesters, the angels, to gather up the harvest.

[14:29] The one who sowed is the son of man. Notice it was good seed that he sowed. The first parable of the sower identifies the seed as the word of God, the message of the kingdom.

[14:42] And indeed, Matthew 4, verse 23 says, Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.

[14:55] That was the message he preached. The good news of the kingdom of God come now in Jesus Christ, the king. The kingdom, heaven's kingdom is here because heaven's king is here.

[15:08] He is Jesus, the Messiah. And so the summary of John the Baptist's message as he was preparing people for the coming of Messiah and the summary of Jesus' message that he preached, they were the same.

[15:23] Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's here. It's here in the king. So repent. That's the good seed.

[15:35] The repent and believe the good news. And then we're told the field. The field is the world. It's not the church, as many commentators seem to suggest.

[15:47] Jesus says, not the ecclesia, but the cosmos. The world. The field is the world. That's the place where the gospel of the kingdom is being sown.

[15:58] Not just Israel, but the whole world is to receive the seed of the kingdom, the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it wouldn't all happen at once. No, it would take time to move from Jerusalem to all Judea, to Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth.

[16:17] Yes, to the United States of America. The seed of this gospel of the kingdom has come a long way to reach us. And don't miss this.

[16:32] Wherever the message of the kingdom goes, it is the Son of Man who is sowing the seed. He is here today as his gospel is being sown.

[16:46] He is the one sowing. He is the one saying, come to me that you might have rest. What are you doing with the good seed that he's sowing?

[17:01] Well, next he says the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. So this is the seed, the good seed that grows up to be true wheat. It's the sons of the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God.

[17:15] The Bible says there are only two kingdoms. And we have all of the different kingdoms and nations of the world, but you can put them all in a big basket and there's only two kingdoms as God sees them.

[17:26] There is the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the devil, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of God's dear son and the kingdom of Satan and his demons.

[17:40] And no one is born in the kingdom of heaven. We enter the world in the kingdom of darkness. No, it's only by a new birth, by being born again, that we enter the kingdom of heaven.

[17:53] And as Jesus told Nicodemus, truly, truly, I say unto you, unless you're born again, you will not see the kingdom of heaven.

[18:04] You'll not see it. You'll not perceive it. And he says, well, how can this be? Surely I can't get back into my mother's womb and be born again. And Jesus says, I told you, you wouldn't perceive it.

[18:16] You have to be born again to even perceive it. And I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he's born of water and spirit. Flesh gives birth to the flesh and the spirit gives birth to spirit.

[18:30] You must be born again. The only way into the kingdom. And that's not something you do. You don't born yourself. You don't birth yourself.

[18:41] You were born. And to be born again is something that the spirit of God does, not something you do. And your response to him giving you a new birth, giving you life whereas once you were dead, your response is to repent from going your way and to submit in faith to Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

[19:07] That's the good seed. It produces wheat. They're born again. They repent and trust in Jesus, the king of the kingdom. And then he tells us that the weeds are the sons of the evil one.

[19:21] These are the unbelievers, those who reject the gospel of the kingdom. Every one of them in all the world, in this place, in every place, everyone outside of Jesus Christ are sons of the evil one, whether they realize it or not.

[19:37] Doesn't mean they're avowed devil worshipers. They may not even know that they belong to the evil one, that they belong to his family. That's the way it was in Jesus' day.

[19:49] He says in John 8, 44 to these religious Jews, they thought God was their father. Oh, no, he says, you belong to your father, the devil. Oh, that was the last thought on their mind.

[20:00] And I dare say it's the last thought on most people's mind today, that they are sons of the devil. That's Jesus' word. And you show it by wanting to carry out your father's desire.

[20:14] What's the devil's desire? It's sin. It's rebellion against God. That's why he came from heaven and to spread his rebellion. He's your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there's no truth in him.

[20:27] When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. He says, you show you belong to him and his family because you don't believe the truth that I'm giving you.

[20:42] You believe his lies and want to do what he does. Ephesians 2 says the same thing by the Apostle Paul, that we all enter the world spiritually dead in sin, following the ways of the world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

[21:01] And we were by nature the children of wrath. Believers, that's what we were. We were children of the devil, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

[21:14] Ephesians 2.3. But thanks be to God, he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transplanted us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

[21:28] Two kingdoms. Sons of the kingdom. Sons of the evil one. The enemy who sows them is the devil.

[21:39] So Jesus is not the only one scattering seed today. The devil is scattering his lies. And he's keeping boys and girls, men and women, from becoming followers of Christ, from entering through the door into Christ's kingdom.

[21:59] And he does it with his lies. He's keeping the sons of the evil one in his grip, filling the earth with his slaves of sin, living for this world, who stir up trouble for the children of the father's kingdom.

[22:12] Tempting them to sin. Alluring them into the world. Mocking, insulting, persecuting. Yes, and sometimes even murdering. The sons of the kingdom of heaven.

[22:24] And then he says the harvest is the end of the age. Just as all people can be divided into two kingdoms. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. So all of time divides into two stages.

[22:39] This present age and the age to come. And the harvest does not take place until the end of this present age and the beginning of the eternal age.

[22:53] And then the harvesters, they're the angels. Not all of them. They're the elect angels. The holy angels that did not fall along with Lucifer and the demons that fell with him. These are the ones sent by the Son of Man.

[23:06] The owner of the field to bring in the harvest at the end of this age. Now we've taken a lot longer to explain things than Jesus did. He just gives us the bare index of who's who.

[23:20] And then he immediately goes to the climax, to the focus of the parable. It is the final judgment. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels.

[23:36] Verse 40 and following. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

[23:50] They will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

[24:05] He who has ears. You have ears? Let Him listen. Let Him listen. Let Him hear. One of the first things we need to ask in any portion of Scripture is, why is it here?

[24:21] Why did Jesus tell this parable? And no doubt there are several reasons, but first of all, because it addresses a problem. When the servants recognized, after all the weeks of the development of the two growing together, when they finally recognized that some of these plants are weeds and not wheat, they wanted to go and pull them up.

[24:44] They'd go and ask the Master, shall we go pull them up? It was painful for them to see the weeds growing together with the wheat. But they're forbidden.

[24:56] They're forbidden from doing so. And they are told, let both grow together until the harvest. Now you see, this is the way the kingdom of heaven is right now, was in the days of Jesus, is right now, and will be until the end of this age.

[25:15] The righteous and the wicked growing side by side in this field called the world. And that's been a problem ever since the devil planted sons of the evil one in this world.

[25:31] The seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent have been growing together. Cain, one of the devil's weeds, murdered Abel, one of God's precious weeds.

[25:42] Ishmael, the son born after the flesh, persecuted Isaac, born after the Spirit. And right on through history, the children born in the ordinary way, just natural generation, persecute those born again by the power of the Spirit.

[25:59] Galatians 4. So it's wheat and its weeds together in this world that cause trouble for the wheat. And yet Jesus declares, this is to be the case in phase one of the kingdom of heaven.

[26:15] And only at the end of this age will the harvest take place and a total separation between the wheat and the weeds forever and ever. Now sometimes the trouble comes to God's children by way of temptation from unbelievers.

[26:31] Other times because of persecution from unbelievers. So there are real problems from wheat and weeds growing together. Can you identify with that?

[26:42] Are you facing any temptations from unbelievers around you, the world? Pressures to follow the crowd into sin, to live for this world rather than the world to come?

[27:01] Temptations to hide your light under a bushel, to not speak up for the truth and for your Savior, lest they persecute you? Sucked into the world's immorality, its pornography, its music, its movies, its immorality, its fashions, its temptation, its priorities, its values, its idols, its use of the Lord's name, its use of the Lord's day.

[27:27] Any of you? Finding trouble being a wheat in the midst of weeds all around you. They're a constant source of temptation to the wheat.

[27:38] But there's another problem we can fall into as both grow together until the harvest. It's the problem of Asaph in Psalm 73. He's a godly worship leader.

[27:49] But he's growing together with evil unbelievers. And he looks over and he sees the wicked are prospering. Well, me, the righteous, I'm suffering.

[28:05] They have all the money they want. I'm barely getting by. They're healthy and strong. I'm sick and weak. They have no struggles like I do. They're carefree without the burdens common to man.

[28:17] Well, I'm plagued all day long and punished every morning. And you see, because they're growing together, Asaph is drowning in envy of the wicked.

[28:29] He actually wishes he could trade places with them that he could be the weed and not the wheat. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.

[28:42] In vain have I washed my hands in innocence. What good has it got me as I look over and see the wicked flourishing and me floundering?

[28:54] Why is this problem? It's because the wheat and the weeds are together until the day of harvest. It was the same problem in Malachi's day.

[29:06] You had the wheat looking over at the weeds beside them. They're living wicked lives. They're trampling all over God's commands and he's not doing anything about it. He's not punishing them.

[29:18] There's no fire from heaven. He's just letting them go. And so they complained. Chapter 2 verse 17 of Malachi All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord and he is pleased with them.

[29:30] Where is the God of justice? Chapter 3 14 and 15 It's futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?

[29:42] But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper and even those who challenge God escape. There's a problem with weeds and wheat growing together.

[29:57] And we can even question the judgment of God his goodness his care for us. And so God sends a message through Malachi to correct and to comfort his people living in such trying times.

[30:09] And he assures them chapter 3 verse 17 and following A day is coming when I will make up my treasured possession and I will spare them just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him and you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked between those who serve God and those who do not.

[30:36] You see the distinction is coming. The separation is coming but for now they're just growing together. But the promise is that a day is coming when you will see the distinction of the righteous and the wicked when the wicked will be punished and the righteous will be rewarded.

[30:56] He carries on into chapter 4 Surely the day is coming it will burn like a furnace and all the arrogant and every evil doer will be stubble and that land and that day that is coming will set them on fire says the Lord Almighty.

[31:12] Not a root or branch will be left to them to them but for you you who revere my name the son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings and you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall and then you will trample down the wicked they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things says the Lord Almighty.

[31:36] Then you'll see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked. very often as here in Malachi such promises were attached to the coming of the Messiah King and the kingdom of heaven that he would bring.

[31:56] It will be a glorious reign of peace and prosperity for those who serve God. There will be no more troubles coming from unbelievers. they're gone and with them all temptation and fear and persecution and sin and evil the curse the tears the death it'll be gone it'll be a whole new world for the righteous who serve Messiah King in his kingdom and you'll experience it when the king and his kingdom comes.

[32:26] Well the kingdom had come you see that's the problem he came he announced repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand he called people to repent and enter the kingdom through the narrow gate and indeed many were pressing into the kingdom with violent force they were born again they were showing themselves to be the subjects of the kingdom with those beatitudes marking their lives Matthew 5 through 7 John the Baptist had said repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and the one coming after me is coming in judgment and the axe is already laid to the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire the axe is already there at the root of the trees and his winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear the threshing floor gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire and so expectations are running high

[33:39] Messiah is here and they're expecting immediately to see the promised distinction between the righteous and the wicked the separation as was foretold about the kingdom of heaven yet there was no such separation taking place the wicked were not being punished the righteous were not being rewarded things went on basically as they had before Jesus even came in that sense and even John the Baptist that forerunner Jesus finds himself where imprisoned by a wicked King Herod well what was his crime preaching the law of the king it's not right for you to have her and they throw him into prison and he's thinking this is not the golden age of Messiah we're supposed to be trampling them and so John sends messengers to Jesus from prison and says are you the one who was promised are we supposed to look for another we don't see the glorious messianic age are you the Messiah or do we look for another we're not seeing this golden age of Messiah's kingdom the Old Testament promised but that's because it is only in the New Testament that the mystery hidden in the Old Testament is revealed and it's this that the kingdom comes in two stages they didn't know that in the Old Testament they thought when Messiah comes it will be instant separation righteous wicked end of our trouble no what we learn in the New Testament is the mystery is now unraveled

[35:36] Messiah's first coming in this age is one thing and that his second coming in the end at the end of this age will be another some of the things spoken of in the Old Testament of Messiah and his kingdom referred to his first coming other things referred to his second coming and the mystery of these two comings was not known so Jesus is now revealing it to his disciples to prepare them for they're about to see him nailed on a cross their Messiah their King the one who's bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth and Jesus is preparing them it's only at the end of this age that you'll see the great separation no at his first coming he's coming to purchase salvation for all who will trust in him and then at his second coming he's coming to judge the world in righteousness righteousness and to separate the righteous from the wicked forever and ever so Jesus wants his people to know that this present situation that you're living in and he wants you and me to know brothers and sisters that this present situation that we're living in of the righteous and the unrighteous growing together in this world it's not going to last forever it's not going to end at Jesus first coming but there is a second coming and then it will end for good at the end of the age the harvest so this passage and many others teach us that the final judgment is a day of separation that word keeps popping up a day of separation separation of believers and unbelievers the righteous the wicked those who serve God those who don't those who obey God those who do evil violate God's law those who are true wheat and those who are weeds so what will happen at the end of the age first he talks about the weeds the sons of the evil one who did his will verse 40 to 42 as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire in the parable so it will be at the end of the age the son of man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil they will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth just three parables later in verse 47 we again see the final judgment being called separation being clearly a separation verse 47 once again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish when it was full the fishermen pulled it up on the shore and they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets and threw the bad away this is how it will be at the end of the age the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth that's Jesus' description of hell the lake of fire the fire that's not quenched the everlasting fire that is the punishment of sin and whatever that means the effect upon those there is clear it will cause them great torment and agony such that they will weep and gnash their teeth see the same thing in Matthew 20 verse 25 it's not a parable it's a straightforward teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25 31 when the son of man comes in his glory at his first glory at his first coming his glory was veiled but then he's coming in his glory and all the angels with him and he'll sit on his throne in heavenly glory and all the nations will be gathered before him all who have ever lived and he will separate the people one from another it's individual separation one from another

[39:37] as a shepherd separates sheep sheep from the goat and he'll put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left the only two kinds of people in the world and then the king will say to those on his right come come you who are blessed inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world and then he'll say to those on his left depart from me you who are cursed into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels then they will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life you see the final judgment is a final separation the two will never meet again there are some who pretend to be kinder than God and say the wicked will not suffer consciously forever but will be annihilated that that would be cruel and unusual punishment the Bible says no it is only punishment that matches the horrendous reality of sinning against a holy God they will be tormented with burning sulfur and the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever there is no rest day or night for them

[40:52] Revelation 14 10 and 11 at long last separation is coming the wicked and the righteous no longer growing up together well that's what will happen to the wicked what of the righteous well verse 43 then the righteous will shine like the stars in the kingdom of their father Daniel chapter 12 contrasts the two eternal destinies of all mankind at the final resurrection saying multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake there will be a general resurrection of all some to everlasting life others to shame and everlasting contempt those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heaven and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever the righteous shining like the sun speaks of the glory that will be theirs remember on the mount of transfiguration when Jesus went up with Peter James and John and he was transfigured before them and he showed them his glory the same one that they would see suffering on the cross dying in apparent weakness he's wanting them to know something of his glory and so the veil is pulled back and it says his face shone like the sun

[42:11] John sees him in vision in chapter 1 of Revelation verse 16 his face was like the sun shining in its power in its high noon state that's the sun of God that's the king shining in his light and here Jesus is saying the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their glory will be seen in that day even now they're being transformed from one stage of glory to another but that day will finish the process they will see their Lord and become like him made like our Savior sharing in his glory without fault and with great joy all who were called and justified now glorified shining like Jesus with the glory that is his given to us what a difference

[43:13] Jesus makes weeping and gnashing of teeth forever shining like the sun in their father's kingdom forever and ever behold what manner of love the father has lavished upon us that we we sons of the devil should be called children of God and that is what we are can I ask you Christian is the world treating you like royalty they're treating you like the son of the king of the kings is that how they're treating you or or are they persecuting Christians laughing mocking are they pitying them rolling their eyes feeling sorry for you believing those things no and John tells us why he says the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him they don't treat us as royalty because they didn't treat our king as royalty they said we will not have this man to rule over us and they crucified him oh dear friends now right now here and now as we're growing with unbelievers in this world now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he is made known to be the king of kings and lord of lords he is made known for who he is then we shall be like him for we will see him as he is and then the world will know who we are sons of the living

[45:03] God members of the kingdom of heaven and no longer will they persecute and pity us but envy as we shine like the sun in the kingdom of our father Christ in you the hope of glory glory is coming you see the encouragement why we need this this parable and its interpretation so he who has ears let him hear give serious thoughts to these words first of all which are you weed or true wheat are you true wheat or are you only a weed that looks a lot like the wheat that only the day of judgment will prove what you really are examine yourself who are you serving who are you living for who are you trusting and obeying who are you seeking first in the way of his kingdom and righteousness be sure you're in Christ today a part of his kingdom by submitting in faith to the king this parable is in our bible to wake up a sleeping population who are not thinking of what will happen at the end of the age do you sense it do you think our world is just considering you know all this is coming to an end one day and those who know

[46:26] Christ will go to heaven and those who don't will suffer in hell you think our world is considering that no that's why it's in our bibles notice the mercy of god in it peter said there'll be scoffers in the last day where is this coming that he promised!

[46:46] and they deliberately forget that no this world once was destroyed by water and it's reserved for fire the next time that day of final separation is coming a day of separation forever children listen to me there is no family plan nobody gets onto the right side of Jesus because mom and dad are there each one will be put in their right position by the judge who did you serve who did you trust for salvation the king will know and though families sit together and live in the same house here parents and children will be separated forever on that day husbands and wives that live and share life together here on that day will be separated forever grandparents and grandchildren separated forever fellow workers friends neighbors students one on the right one on the left and which side you'll be on will make all the difference for all eternity oh be sure you're in Jesus

[48:14] Jesus says come to me we sang it we read it I want you to know that I was once a son of the evil one and Jesus rescued me and he's made me true wheat I didn't do that he did that but it ought to be an encouragement to you we all every believer here was once a weed we were born into this world as children of the devil and we've been translated into the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins it's all what he has done and you could be wheat real wheat precious to the father to be gathered into his barn forever and ever may you seek him it's been 2,000 years since Jesus said this 2,000 years of wheat and weeds growing together lost person don't miss the kindness of God in that if

[49:16] Jesus would have come last week he'd come 10 years ago he'd come 100 years 1000 years some you wouldn't even exist some of you would not be saved but he's not being lax in his coming he's being patient giving you opportunity to repent don't take it lightly but rather let the goodness the kindness the patience of God lead you to repentance oh that I would turn from my way and turn to the Savior because he's been so kind and so patient and long suffering and dear believers this living together with unbelievers to the end of this age calls for great endurance and patience you know one reason he's got the weed and the wheat together for 2000 years now it's that the wheat might tell the weeds how to become wheat it's that you growing up with unbelievers all around you yes there are things that irritate but you've been put there to let your light shine that they might see your good deeds and glorify your father on the day he comes to visit us that they might hear from you how

[50:32] Jesus saves what a wonderful savior God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life get into Christ today by faith and know this glorious destiny of your face shining like the sun in your father's heavenly!

[50:59]  kingdom Amen Amen Amen Amen