Matthew 13: 24-30

The Parable of the Weeds

24Jesus told them  another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who
sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone  was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went  away. 26When the wheat  sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27“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?’ 28“‘An enemy did  this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go  and pull them up?’ 29“‘No,’ he answered,  ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with  them. 30Let both grow  together until the harvest. 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.’”

Matthew 13:  36-43

36Then 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.” 37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the  world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the  sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who
sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters  are angels. 40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
41The 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. 42They will throw  them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of  teeth. 43Then the righteous
will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him
hear.

John 17: 9

⁹I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

II Peter 1:10
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Therefore, brothers,  be all the more diligent to make your calling and  election sure, for if you practice these qualities  you will never fall.

Romans 9:11
though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of  him who calls—

I’ve been asked before if I am a Calvanist or Amenian. My answer is neither; I believe in eternal security and election because the scriptures  and Spirit attest to it. You see I am a believer who simply reads the scriptures and allows them to stand on their own merit. Where there seems to be a contradiction, wisdom from the Spirit and basic hermenuetics (letting scripture interpret scripture) should be applied.  If God is soveriegn, then He is soveriegn in all things including salvation. The problem is in our trying to figure this out or attempting to formulate it. To do so is foolish and one will never achieve a formula for salvation. Take heed God ordains salvation , “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13.48).

John 3:3 states tells us that we cannot even see the kingdom of God before we are born again. This translation from life to death can never be reduced to a sinner’s prayer or human effort. God raises people from spiritual death to life, by his mighty hand.

Believing in our hearts precedes confession. The faith to believe is given to us. It is not a mental construct or exercise. Much of the nonsense that takes place in churches today is because men place dead people in positions of leadership. In a similar way, there are people in the pews that are make believers who have never received the divine grace of the living God. Their motives for coming are many, and many even do good works outwardly, but the recompense awaiting them will chill them to the bone.  Jesus stated, “21“Not  everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the  one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On  that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and  cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  23And  then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of  lawlessness.

Notice Jesus did not say they did not perform works. He said he never knew them.  Never…

Consider the sorcerer Balaam who prophesied by the inspiration of the Spirit and the high priest Caiaphas they were never touched by grace.  Saul, abandoned by God, prophesied as well. There is also the story of the lying, old prophet and his deception that led to the death a young seer (1 Kings 13).  None of these gifts are evidence of salvation – it’s fruit, not signs folks.

And so beloved let us be diligent with matters of faith and focused on bringing glory to God, not bringing tares down or to justice. If we lift Him up people will follow. God has chosen you first, before the foundations of the world. He weighed and examined your life from eternity’s past and shaped you secretly in the womb to bring Him glory. We will never know the mysterious counsel behind God’s selection, but we know He is not arbitrary and He has outlined throughout the scriptures what He is looking for in seekers. And what He looks for, He finds!  You came to know Him by faith and through grace because He enabled you. Stand in wonder and awe and “Be still and know that He is God.” Don’t shake, rattle and roll in deception; be still and know. Rest in His truth.

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One day an aging, lonely raccoon was scavenging for food and bitterly complaining aloud because he was in need and hungered. “There is nothing! What shall I eat!” And so he wandered throughout the area, bereft and desponded he continued to muse aloud, “I’m so tired. My body aches with hunger pains and I’m alone. I wish… I was dead.” Suddenly he heard a voice.

Branch: “Come now my friend. Do not say such things!”

Racoon: “Well look at you! You have no cares! Everything you have you receive. You neither labor or wander. The tree feeds and cares for you! I have struggled all my life and for what! I’m a despised scavenger!”

Branch: “Well my friend it may surprise you but I was once like you. I sought death and relief from the life I led. This great tree here had mercy on me and offered me a chance to be one with it. I accepted and now I am no longer alone, hungry, tired or fearful.”

Racoon: “I have heard of such a tree that works such magic. I was told it devours creatures and that it is the great enemy of all forest dwellers! But… I believe what you say now. My heart is warmed. When I look at it, I can clearly see it is a wonderful tree. Why have I never seen it before? It reaches up into the heavens!”

Branch: “The tree was always here. It marks a point of departure for all who walk in life’s path. You have walked this path many times, but your time to see was not at hand; now it is. For no one can see or hear it until it reveals itself. Once all creatures basked in it’s glory and were fed by it’s fruit and leaves, until a treacherous serpent scattered all of the animals and turned them against one another. I am a spokesmen for this tree and I plead with you  now because if you continue in this path you will be a restless wanderer the remainder of your hours destined for despair and death. However, if you turn from your path you can become a part of this tree and live forever. What will you do my friend?”
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The End

Deutoronmy 32:17

“They sacrificed to demons, which are not God–gods they had not known, gods that
recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear.”

Idolatry and History

A little background first might be in order here. This is the first time the word demon appears in scripture. The demons were associated with cultural gods and were agents of deception and idolatry. Still the question remains; why do people sacrifice to demons? The answer lies in deception, promise, desperation, coercion, tradition or a combination of these and other factors. The verse above talks about new gods the Israelites came into contact with when they encountered other cultures and nations. Historically, these gods were fashioned out of wood, gold, stone, other types of metals or other substances. People were also revered as gods, claiming divine lineage. All of these false gods -people included- required works and sacrifices from their servants in order to prove allegiance.

These gods purportedly aided people in their lives and pursuits. The idols promised success and freedom from certain things in exchange for sacrifices, devotion and works. It was a covenantal exchange system. Men supported the system and scribes wrote the doctrines and approaches down in order to preserve it. Things are no different today, our demons/idols in the west are in systems, approaches, things and ideas. Often they promise comfort, convenience, fulfillment, prestige and numerous others you can think of that can be inserted here ________________.

Systems of Worship and Symbolism

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Satan’s idol was freedom and he knows its seductive power. He sought parity with God to achieve this and transgressed, no longer abiding in the covenant. This faulty logic manifests itself in his doctrine that promised increased freedom to angels, our ancestors (“You shall be like gods…”) and all who would follow him or the systems he is behind. Autonomy and/or authority are the carrots he uses. He was even bold enough to offer the kingdoms of the world to Christ in exchange for worship. (Matthew 4:8-9)

Modern Day Idolatry Defined

So idolatry can be defined as service to a false god. It is always based on some type of works system in which compensation is expected from the god. The Jews believed that their works would win them eventual salvation. The stumbling block was the concept of a gift. A gift required nothing more than receiving. So focus on the past picture here; the Jews claimed to worship the One True God and instructing people about Him and then He showed up and they were offended.  The gentiles responded the same.

No one is safe from the idolatry of ideas, systems or false gods because we were all born with a fallen nature that seeks independence from the true God. The Jews turned to a system of works and laws that omitted the Spirit and the God who authored them in order to be in control while gentile nations have simply created their own gods in order to achieve their pursuits.

When our concepts, ideas and idols are confronted with the truth and our works are revealed for what they are, we stammer trying to make sense of it. The remedy for this is to submit to the truth and then simply stand, shine and stay in the gifts and calling of God for your life. His works through you will produce a powerful witness. God has given us all that we need in this life to glorify Him. Folks idolatry is a serious issue; believers are not immune to its seductive power. The Apostle John admonished us in this way, “Dear children keep yourself from idols.” (1 John 5:21) We should heed the warning and keep our hearts open before the Lord at all times and ask Him to cleanse us when we embrace idolatry in any form.

1 Corinthians 1:18-23 ESV

18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is  written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the
wise, and the discernment of the discerning I
will thwart.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in  the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God  through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews  demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of  God. 25For the  foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than  men.

During the age of Enlightenment man became the center of the universe and science the prophet – harbinger of change. We embraced this in the west and the pursuit of knowledge over the error of religion and superstition was born. It was decided that wisdom came from a natural, scientific perspective alone; therefore, science was the supreme form of knowledge. Religion was considered ignorant and irrevelant by those who followed this approach. Christ crucified and resurrected was not considered a provable fact of history; therefore, He was lumped in with all of the other religious leaders. Science exploded and never looked back as a system, requiring future education to be based on this process. Science became a stumbling block to all who would consider the claims of Christ.

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Perhaps what Paul was trying to do is describe spiritual blindness and how it works and what it accepts as reality by using the Greeks and Jews as examples. Spiritually blind people reject what they cannot control and science is about control. Science is about man’s ability to predict, categorize and when it seems fit to do so control. The canonized appproach of science is this, view all things through the “study of repeatable, observable phenomena.” God does not fit this approach.

God cannot be controlled or manipulated. He is the Supreme Being above all things and gives us the keys to approaching Him and they are repeatable and observable from Scripture. The ultimate key here, and what the carnal self hates and denies, is that everything is on His terms. The rules are these accept Christ and follow His ways. Christ is the chasm between those who belong to God and those who do not. In addition to being, “The way, the truth and the light…” He is the bridge to God and, “no man comes to the Father…” without Christ drawing him. Science cannot create such a bridge to the afterlife and remains a tool in man’s hands and limited by that fact alone.

So what does it mean to be wise in our age.  Well it means you are highly scientific, sophisticated, skeptical and pragmatic. It means you know what people want and are able to create consumer oriented demand for it and a product that delivers this. From the Model T to various forms of personal technology at our finger tips, we have fallen in love with the things we have made, the people who made them and the systems that maintain them. We trust in science with our very lives and sometimes bow at its altar. I would challenge everyone who reads this to ask what place it has in your life. Is it your God? Can it save your soul. God has made man in his image and likeness so it is no wonder we create, fix, study and advance knowledge. The intellectual and spiritual gifts scientist have are a blessing from God, the problem is this, many deny the origin of these things. I fear that we, like the Jews and Greeks, have exalted man’s wisdom to a place it was never intended to have. If we err here, and follow this pattern, Christ will become a stumbling block to us. I pray we keep science in its proper place in our lives as a tool God has given us for good, not an idol to depend upon.

Malcolm Muggeridge wrote from a sagcious perspective; It’s worth reviewing!

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