Shine On
Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 Victory Fellowship
October 15, 2023 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. Introduction
a. Letting Oliver see his reflection in Jaime’s car
b. Sometimes we like our reflection, other times we don’t.
c. The church & individual Christians reflect God’s love and righteousness. Or not.
d. In this familiar parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus contrasts the evil and the righteous and offers a promise to the faithful.
II. Jesus relates a parable about good persevering in the company of (and in spite of evil) Jaime read the Lord’s explanation. Vv. 24-30 are the parable…
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When 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 uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let 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.’”
III. The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father (v. 43)
a. When our lives reflect our relationship with, and the teaching and example of Christ – we shine on.
b. What cause the righteous to shine on is their ability to endure in the world (IN but not OF the world)
c. Jesus relates in this parable that the children of God are not insulated from the world (vv. 25-26)
i. Our faith will be attacked
ii. Evildoers will cause us strife
d. Jesus relates in this parable that the children of God are not isolated from the world (vv. 26-29)
i. We have the power to overcome evil (Matt 16:18)
e. Jesus relates in this parable that God will have a day of reckoning. (v. 30; 39-42)
IV. Application:
a. Those who endure in the world and are not choked out by the weeds of sin and evil are the righteous who will shine forth as the sun in God’s kingdom. Shine on.
b. Righteous people who shine on like the Son are specific and Intentional in the practice of their faith
i. They simply desire to serve Jesus Christ over and above anything else in the world
ii. They care about people more than they care about status or possessions
1. “If we love things we will use people.
If we love people, we will use things.”
V. Songs my Grandchildren Sammy & Ella like:
a. Amen song(s); Twinkle Twinkle, Good God Almighty
VI. History repeats: Songs my Children liked:
a. Tesia - “Hallelujah Car”
b. Samuel – “Greensleeves” – What Child is This?
c. Erick – “Friends are Friends Forever” 1983 Michael W Smith
d. Bryon – “You are my sunshine” chun chine
VII. The song “You are my sunshine” is like Jesus’ parable. The evil tares grow up with the righteous like the lyrics vs the chorus of this song. They remain together but only the chorus shines on.
Despite its sunshiny lyrics there is a melancholy element to “You Are My Sunshine,” That last line of the chorus implies some danger that the singer’s sunshine will be taken away — it will disappear behind a gray cloud or set on the horizon. The verses — so often deleted from performances, especially those intended for underage audiences —reinforce that desperation.
The first verse opens with the narrator dreaming of his true love, then waking to find her gone: “I hung my head and cried.” She had told him she would love him always, but “now you’ve left me and love another / You have shattered all my dreams.”
a. Like the tares that grow up with the wheat, we have transformed the original message of the song to one of hope and joy. We cannot sing You are my sunshine without shining ourselves. (try it now)
VIII. Conclusion:
a. True children of God reflect His love and grace and righteousness – we shine on like the son, while the tares in the church do not because even though they are involved in the church, they are not true children of God.
b. We become true children of God when we accept Jesus John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name
c. Go now and, after the example of Christ, shine on for God. Reflect the SON.
PRAYER
SONG: Behold the Son of God
Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 (NLT): The Parable of the Weeds Explained
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.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and 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. 41 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. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
*http://www.salon.com/2013/05/26/you_are_my_sunshine_how_a_maudlin_song_became_a_childrens_classic/