WEEDS

“Another parable He set forth before them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat, and went on his way.  So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also.  And the servants of the owner came to him and said, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have darnel shoots in it?’  He replied to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and weed them out?’  But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the wild wheat (weeds resembling wheat), you root up the [true] wheat along with it.  Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather the darnel first and bind it in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my granary.’”  (Matthew 13:24-30 AMP)

When I was in my early 20’s I moved from California to Northern Oregon to a rural area where the largest industry was wheat ranching.  My step-brother Dan and I worked for a couple ranches that spring pulling rye.   This involved a great deal of walking through wheat fields while the wheat was still green and only about a foot high.  As we walked through the fields we watched for wild rye grass, which at that stage of growth would stand taller than the wheat.  When we spied some rye we would walk over to it and pull it up by the root where it would die and dry out before the seed would develop enough to germinate.  If we were sent into the wheat fields before the wheat had grown to a certain height then we would not have been able to tell the difference between the rye and the wheat.  If we went too late in the season both the wheat and rye would be close to the same height and hard to distinguish apart.  It had to be pulled at a certain time.

 

“Then He left the throngs and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.’  He answered, ‘He Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed means the children of the kingdom; the darnel is the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed it is the devil. The harvest is the close and consummation of the age, and the reapers are angels.  Just as the darnel (weeds resembling wheat) is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age.’”  (Matthew 13:31-40 AMP)

As I read Matthew 13 I remembered my springs in the wheat fields and realized that just as I had to pull those rye grass stalks at a certain time Jesus is not going to cull unbelievers or deceivers out of the Church until just the right time.  My church (and probably yours too) has people in it that have not accepted Jesus as their Savior.  They think they are good enough because they go to church, sing the songs, listen to the sermon and tell the Pastor how good it was but then go out and spend the rest of the week doing what pleases them (Prov. 16:25).  They are potential good seed, if they choose to commit to Christ.  There are people in my church (and probably yours too) that have no desire to become Christians.  I have seen them stir up strife between members, all in the façade of Christianity.  I sure would like to see these people weeded out of the Church.  How about you?  When I look at what is happening in the Body of Christ (and in the world) today I tend to be like the servants in verse 28, “Shall we pull up and destroy the weeds?”

God in His great wisdom knows the correct time and season for the separating of the “wheat” and the “rye”.  If the bad seed is pulled out of the church too soon then they may take the potential good seed with them.  Besides, why am I judging?  (Matthew 7:1-3)  It is not my job to do the culling.  God will send His angels to do that.

“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire;”  (Matthew 13:41-42a NAS)

My job is to weed the old man and old ways out of MY OWN life so that I will be the good seed at harvest (Romans 6:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22).

FORGIVENESS – Part III, Incapable of Forgiving

STOP!  It is important for you to read John 15:1-5; before reading the rest of this article.  It is important for you to know for yourself what the Word of God has to say and not just take my word for it!

“…apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5b AMP)

In the past two weeks I shared about the week long lesson we had at mission school about forgiveness.  One main thing we learned was that we are incapable of forgiving, TRULY forgiving, by ourselves and our own efforts.  We have all heard the phrase, “To err is human, to forgive divine” (Alexander Pope).  There is truth to that statement; humans tend to hold bitterness but God forgives.  What is our natural response to being hurt?  We recoil and lick our wounds.  This is what “…seems right to a man…”  Yet what seems right to us actually causes death (Proverbs 16:25).  What is Jesus’ natural response to being hurt?  “And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34a AMP).  What was right for Jesus brought life (Romans 6:3-5).

The fact that man is incapable of forgiving was drilled home to us just as man is incapable of working his way to heaven (Ephesians 2:8) yet the most exciting thing I learned that week really set me free:  since I am incapable of forgiving by my own effort then I need to call on God and His ability to forgive.  We were taught to pray as follows:

“Heavenly Father, I do not feel like forgiving (insert name here) and I am not capable of forgiving on my own, but You commanded me to forgive so I ask that You would enable me to forgive (insert name here) with the same power that Jesus’ forgave from the cross, and I ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Then we were taught to say the following (when off by ourselves, not within the hearing of anyone else):

“(Insert name here) I do not feel like forgiving you but I choose to forgive you, in Jesus’ Name.”

Do you remember my sharing that during the week they taught forgiveness at mission school I kept remembering people from my past who I thought I had forgiven but discovered that I really had not?  I applied this teaching to every person the Holy Spirit brought to my mind that week.  It was the most liberating thing I have experienced in my almost 40 years as a Believer!  Lewis B. Smedes wrote in his book, Forgive and Forget, "When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself."

I have applied this way of forgiving to every person who has hurt or offended me.  Does that mean I am perfect at forgiving?  No, but I am God’s work in progress!  I just keep on forgiving, again and again…and again…and again until the point when the person who offended me walks in the room and I have no animosity towards them and can greet them with true Christian love.

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it's power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

-(Forgiveness - © Matthew West)

FORGIVENESS – Part II, How Many Times?

STOP!  It is important for you to read Matthew 18:1-35 before reading the rest of this article.  It is important for you to know for yourself what the Word of God has to say and not just take my word for it!

“Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me…?”  (Matthew 18:21a AMP)

Basically the end of this verse asks if I have to forgive at least seven times before I do not have to forgive again, but I think just a little part of Peter wanted to know if he really had to put up with someone hurting and offending him even more than once.  Peter, like many of us, did not understand TRUE forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not “putting up with” someone.  Forgiveness is not being a doormat.  Forgiveness is not letting someone get away with doing wrong.  Forgiveness IS the settling of an account.

When I was at mission school we spent a whole week on the subject of forgiveness.  I really thought I did not have any problems with forgiveness.  I had been a Christian for over 14 years at the time and really thought that I had forgiven everyone who ever wronged me.  Yet during that week images of people from my past kept coming to mind.  I did not realize why I kept thinking about these people until a guest-speaker at our school said, “You know you really have not forgiven someone when you see them walk into the room and you feel uncomfortable about it; they bring back old memories of frustration, anger and/or animosity.”  I realized that if any of those people I had been remembering were to walk in the room that moment then I would feel very uncomfortable and want to leave the room myself.  This surprised me!  I thought I had forgiven these people, when in fact I had ignored and suppressed the offenses they caused.  The Holy Spirit convicted me of my un-forgiveness.  It was an ugly thing!

Alfred Tennyson wrote, “Forgive! How many will say, forgive, and find a sort of absolution in the sound to hate a little longer?”  We cannot say, “I forgive you” but push the hurt and frustration down deep out of sight.  This is not forgiveness; it is a façade.  Sooner or later all that hurt turns to bitterness and resentment and then comes bursting out when the right button is pushed.

One thing that we also learned that week at mission school was that we are incapable of forgiving, TRULY forgiving, by ourselves and our own efforts.  Remember that I mentioned what true forgiveness is?  It is the settling of an account.  Our best example of this is in Jesus.   When we review the Old Testament we realize that Israel hurt God again and again by turning away from Him to do what pleased them.  This pattern of sin and rebellion started with Adam and Eve and still runs through mankind’s motivations and actions today.  We continue to hurt God.  Does God hold the hurt and resentment way down deep inside?  Does He try to ignore our actions?  Does He just “put up” with us?  No, He forgives and He sent His Son Jesus to be our example and teach us how to forgive.  Remember His words from the cross?  “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 KJV).  When Jesus died, He settled the account God had against us.  When we accept what Jesus did for us, ask His forgiveness for our sins, and give our lives to Him in return then we experience the Presence and Love of our Heavenly Father gives with His forgiveness.  Then, in turn, when we extend that very same forgiveness to those who hurt us we are following Jesus’ example.

“To that you were called, because Christ suffered on your behalf, and thereby left you an example; it is for you to follow in his steps” 1 Peter 2:21-23 NEB

 

Stay tuned again for next week I will conclude sharing about forgiveness with how I learned to forgive, but until then I leave you with this:  “Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” - Mark Twain

FORGIVENESS - Part I - An Overview

STOP!  It is important for you to read Matthew 18:1-35 before reading the rest of this article.  It is important for you to know for yourself what the Word of God has to say and not just take my word for it!

“So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.”  (Verse 35 AMP)

“But Lord, how about if my brother stole my car?”

“Forgive him.”

“What if my friend told others that I was a liar?”

“Forgive him.”

“My wife took all the rent money and spent it at the casino.”

“Forgive her.”

“My uncle molested me again and again.”

“Forgive him.”

“God, my dad beat my mother.”

“Forgive him.”

Jesus never said that if the sin against you is really bad then it merits unforgiveness.  If you take all 35 verses of Matthew 18 together, you get a very clear vision of forgiveness.  Verses 1-4 show us with what attitude to forgive:  child-like.  Have you ever noticed confrontations between children on the playground?  When they are resolved they do not hold grudges but move on to what they enjoy most: play.

What about children and those people who are new Christians (babes in the Lord)?  If we hold animosity towards anyone and a child or new Christian sees and imitate us then we cause him to stumble and sin (verses 5-7).

Verses 8-9 tell us what to do (when we give into temptation) to keep from sinning again.  Is it harsh to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye?  Yes, but better that then more sin.  Remember, once you sin it is easier to sin again, and then easier to sin the next time until all-of-a-sudden you notice that you have led yourself (and anyone walking with you) away from the Lord.  There are always people around us observing how we respond to different situations and when we hold hatred or animosity toward someone then they (especially children and new Christians – both not knowing better) will imitate us and fall into the same sin we do.  How important are those children or new Christians to our Heavenly Father?  Verses 12-14 are clear regarding how precious they are to Him.

Should you just grin-and-bear-it when someone hurts or offends you?  No, Jesus is very clear regarding what you should do:  show him his fault (verse 15), if he does not listen/agree then bring one or two believers with you and bring it up again (verse 16), if he still does not respond (“…refusing to listen and obey…” AMP) then tell it to the Church, and if he still refuses to acknowledge his sin and ask forgiveness then discontinue fellowshipping with him (verse 17).

Is walking in forgiveness just a physical and emotional journey?  No, it is spiritual warfare!  Verses 18-20 encourage us to forbid and declare on earth what is already forbidden and declared in heaven.  They instruct us to do this together with other believers.  So if you find it hard to forgive someone then check with the Lord.  Did He forgive the person?  Of course He did.  Now it is for you to imitate Him.  Declare the person forgiven just as Jesus has already forgiven him.  There is strength in the spiritual realm when two or more agree in Jesus’ Name so grab another believer and pray/declare together about forgiving the offender.

So, pulling together verses 1-20 we see there are different aspects to forgiveness, yet there are more!

Verses 23-35 show us what forgiveness is like in Jesus’ Kingdom, concluding with how God will deal with us if we do not forgive.

How important is forgiveness?  According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the word "forgive" is in the Bible 53 times. That's not counting forgiven, forgiving, forgiveness, or forgave.  It seems that when God says a lot about a subject then it is VERY important!

This is just an overview so I will share more about forgiveness next week, so “stay tuned”!