Be Patient With Others Matt. 13:24-30,
36-43 Oct. 14, 2007
Introduction
Recently I saw a parent dealing
with an unruly child; I enjoyed seeing how the patience of this
parent calmed the child and brought corrected behavior. Have you notice
what a significant
difference a patient leader makes? Recently I witnessed a person
moderating a meeting who did
not practice patience, and his actions extended the meeting and caused
much confusion. When
we practice what the Lord taught we will Be Patient With Others.
1. Be Patient With Others Considering The Lord's
. . Enemy. 13:24-30
A. Considering The
Enemy's . . Work. 13:24-26
24 He presented another parable
to them: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good
seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among
the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds
also appeared.
B. Considering The Enemy's . . Weeds. 13:27-29
27 The landowner's slaves came t o him and
said, 'Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field?
Then where did the weeds come from?' 28 " 'An enemy did this!' he told them. " 'So, do
you want us to go and gather them up?' the slaves asked him. 29 " 'No,'
he said. 'When
you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them.
C.
Considering The Enemy's .
. Wrong Doing. 13:30
30 Let both grow together until the
harvest. At harvest time I'll tell the reapers: Gather
the
weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat
in my esoteric.'"
Some commentators share with us how in the Middle East, and the Far
East even today enemies sow weeds in another's field just to cause them
trouble at harvest time. Move this over
to our interactions with people. When someone tries your patience; do
you ever think it might
be the enemy sowing weeds in the actions of the one you are dealing
with? How about if you or
I
respond in a very negative and impatient manner? Do you normally give
much thought to this
being the devil's activity? I am sure from the text that He would like
to mess up any and all
activities of we Christians. In fact I will say, "it is a major part of
his work." It is curious how
the Lord allows the work of Satan to exist alongside of Christian
activities. In the text the men
wanted to correct the situation immediately, but the Lord's patience
demonstrates the patience we
need to copy. Most of the time we see God take care of a situation He
does it much better than
we ever could. (This happens simply because we patiently waited, and
allowed Him to work.)
The Lord knows the final word comes from Him, and at judgment the Devil
will get his due. This will further prove the benefits of being patient.
2. Be Patient
With Others Considering The Lord's . . Explanation. 13:36-43
A. Considering The . . Privileged Explanation. 13:36
36 Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the
house. His disciples approached Him
and said, "Explain the
parable of the weeds in the field to us."
B. Considering The . .
Personalities Explained. 13:37-39
37 He replied: "The One who sows
the good seed is the • Son of Man; 38 the field is the world;
and the good seed--these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the
sons of the evil
one, and 39 the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the
end of the age, and
the harvesters are angels.
C. Considering The . . Plan Explained. 13:40-43
40 Therefore just as the weeds are gathered 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
gather from His kingdom
everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 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 their Father's kingdom. Anyone who
has ears should listen!
(HCSB)
The disciples request to understand the parable received the a
privilege of an explanation
from the Lord. This parable is simple to understand, especially, when
you get the explanation
from Him. I have heard some fanciful explanations of the details of
some parables, but it was not
wisdom from above. A good rule of thumb would be to not make the
parables say something the
Lord did not specifically explain. He tells us about the individual
personalities of the parable,
and when He does it makes things much clearer. In other verses we are
told about the actions of
His angels as they thrust in their sickles during the judgment of
harvest time. I think all of us
will benefit from showing patience when interpreting scripture, and not
quickly jump to
conclusions? Ultimately the plan that God has will be accomplished. We
do not need to be
running ahead of God but following Him and seeking His knowledge. Truly
we need to Be
Patient With Others. Amen? Amen!
