Conference Postponed until 2021
Dates to be announced
A Sermon for Your Encouragement
Right now it seems like unbiblical philosophies are being embraced by our nation and secularism is gaining ground. It feels like the world is being filled with weeds and the wheat of God is being choked out. We offer the following sermon on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, entitled "Don't Pull Up the Weeds," written by Rev. Alexander Lange, for your encouragement.
The field is the world. Inside the world, the Lord has planted his wheat—namely, all believers. But that’s not the only thing growing in the world.
Look at all the weeds! Where did they come from? These are the unbelievers. Unbelief and sin were brought into the world by the temptations of the Devil and he still encourages ungodliness to this day.
Look at all the weeds! Look at all the unbelievers! Just as dandelions spread across your lawn, these unbelievers are spreading throughout our nation. You can find them in your cities and in your towns. They are in your stores and in your businesses. They are in the courts and on the news. They are in your schools, in your neighborhoods, in your own house, and perhaps in your own congregation, pretending to be wheat.
What should we do about them?
Mohammad had an answer to that question. Allah wants a pure field that contains only wheat. So, he gives his followers a mission. All Muslims must rid the world of weeds. If Muslims are a tiny minority and have little power in a particular place, then Muslims should try to convert the weeds with their lies and they should spray society with a toxic appeal to tolerance. After they gain more converts and after they have gained the sympathies of the ignorant, the Muslims can take a more combative approach. They threaten those that speak against them and intimidate society through acts of terrorism. Once the Muslims have become the majority and have gained all the power, they declare war against the unbelievers. They use the sword to dig up dandelions, to root out thistles, and to chop up the nettles, unless they convert, or agree to keep their beliefs to themselves and pay a tax.
This is the mission of all Muslims. Quran 9:111 says, “Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have a garden; they fight in Allah’s way, so they slay and are slain.” Quran 48:29 reads, “Mohammed is the messenger of Allah and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.” Quran 9:29 states, “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and his messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” According to Mohammed and his malicious god, Muslims must purify the world by any means necessary.
This is a fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity. When the servants of Allah say, “What should we do about the weeds?” he replies, “Pull them up!” When the servants of Christ say, “What should we do about the weeds?” he replies, “Leave them alone.”
And let’s be honest, our sinful flesh doesn’t like our Lord’s instructions. We don’t want to leave the weeds alone. We would like to do something about them. Oh, maybe we are not willing to wield the sword, but we would like to think that there are other ways to uproot the dandelions multiplying in the government, the thistles growing in our schools, and the nettles spreading throughout our neighborhoods.
For example, Christians are tempted to use political power or money. We are tempted to impress or intimidate with our numbers. We are tempted to impress and manipulate people with all kinds of gimmicks. We are tempted to influence, manipulate, and control, so that some weeds become wheat and the rest of the weeds choose to leave or stay quiet.
The fact is that we don’t trust our Lord the way that the angels do. He says, “Don’t touch the weeds,” and we scoff. It seems stupid. Doesn’t our Lord see how quickly the weeds can spread? Doesn’t he see that our churches are shrinking, while other religions and philosophies are growing in popularity? And doesn’t he care that these weeds will sometimes choke his wheat? Does he care that unbelievers sometimes intimidate, bully, and even kill his people?
Yes, our Lord knows and he cares. After all, he doesn’t look down from his mansion at his field. He actually stepped into his field. Heck, our Lord became one of us. He grew up as a human being, sharing the same soil as us. He was surrounded by weeds—the Pharisees, the scribes, the lawyers, and the priests; Herod, Pilate, and the soldiers; and even one of his own disciples was a traitor. And those weeds choked him. Those weeds killed him.
Did you see what our Lord said to his servants when they brought to his attention the appearance of weeds in his field? He said, “Don’t pull up the weeds, for while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.” Often when weeds grow within the same soil as your crop their roots become intertwined with the roots of your plants. They can become so entangled that, when you try to pull up the weeds, you accidentally pull up some of your crop too. And our Lord refuses to let that happen. He doesn’t tell us to leave the weeds alone because he is a fan of thistles and nettles. He tells us to leave them alone because he loves his wheat so much. He is determined to lose none of his people.
So, yes, your Lord knows all about the weeds. He experienced their thorns himself. He let the thorns pierce his flesh and spill his blood. And yes, your Lord cares. In fact, everything that he does he does for your benefit. It doesn’t look like it or feel like it, but your Lord cares about you. So, repent of your lack of faith. Stop questioning how our Lord manages this world and trust him to do what’s best.
And take heart. The weeds won’t win. No matter how high they grow, no matter how far they spread, no matter how deep their roots go, they cannot win. The world tried to destroy the Lord, but failed. He was crucified, but he was raised from the dead. Now, all power and all authority belong to him.
Therefore, the Day will come when our Lord will send out the harvesters. On that Day every, single weed will be pulled up and will be cast into the oven. In other words, our Lord knows exactly who is a weed. He can identify and find the impenitent and the unbelieving. They will be taken out of God’s creation and they will be punished.
And our Lord can identify and find his wheat too. On the Last Day, we will come out of the graves, just as the wheat comes up from the ground. Our Lord will raise us from the dead. Because we put our faith in the One who was crucified for our sins, we will be declared righteous and we will receive eternal life. We will shine like the sun—we will shine with the very life and glory of our Lord—as we dwell in his Kingdom, where there will be no unbelief, no sin, and no evil. Amen.
Rev. Alex Lange, Documents Chairmen
ACELC Board of Directors
