The World of Wheat and Weeds | Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application.

This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

Let's dive in together into God's Word.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Are we keeping warm this morning?

It's 20 degrees or less, depending upon which part of town you're at.

It's cold, and it's hard to adjust.

And I think for every year, for a lot of us, it's definitely hard to adjust to it.

Well, today we have a sermon titled, The World of Wheat and Weeds.

You know, the world that we do live in is constantly changing.

Even when we think of just what's happened in the month time that we've been here in 2025, we had...

We have a lot of transitions that are happening, things that are happening in our own world today.

From the fires that's happening in California, to the volcano that was going off in Hawaii, to the TikTok ban, to the change or the transition of power and the administration.

All these things are happening, and it can certainly be overwhelming for us, especially...

It's January.

Come on.

I mean, you'd think this would happen in June or July kind of thing, these kind of events that are happening.

But the reality is, we live in a world where there are wheat and weeds.

And we're going to go over this very famous parable, and you'll see here that we're actually skipping a parable.

We're going to go specifically over the parable of the weeds.

And this is very important for us to recognize, as always, we read the Word of God.

And we want to know what the Word of God has to say in its context.

We also have to learn to know what are the lessons, what are the things, right?

What are the things we can observe?

What are the things that we can learn?

And what are the things that we can apply to our very lives?

For each and every one of us, I hope and pray that you come to know the Lord.

That your journey will be the journey to Jesus Christ, to know who He is, the way, the truth, and the life.

And upon receiving the free gift of salvation, it should be our prayer, and it is my prayer as well,

that you grow in Christ.

That you go from milk of the Word to solid food.

That you will mature, understanding more of the complexities, and stop worrying about the elementary things,

or even the former life that you once lived.

To grow and to be transformed.

Just like it says to be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Just like when we think of this idea of repentance, the changing of our mind,

before we believe in Jesus Christ, and even after.

That we are continually being molded by the Lord every single day.

And so today, we're going to see that this parable of the weeds, or the world of wheat and weeds,

is very real for us today.

There's a lot of connections in here, and if you look at your notes, you'll see there's quite a lot.

But before we go to our notes, let's open the Word of God.

Let's go to that next slide.

It's going to be our scripture reading.

I have the prayer before that.

Go ahead and turn to page 973.

It's going to be the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 24 through 30.

Matthew 13:24–30

As we're turning there, let's pray.

Let's ask for God to reveal truth, wisdom to us, and let transformation happen here.

Father God, we thank you for this time and this opportunity for us to gather together.

We realize and we recognize that we are in a world that is certainly messy.

We live in this world where there's a lot of just strange things that are happening that we may not understand.

But may we point to you.

May we turn to you in times of crisis.

Even when we become Christian and we believe in you and we're saved and we receive the free gift of salvation,

may we trust in you and may we become more like you each and every day.

Father, I pray that truth is spoken here

and that every single person will know that they are loved by you no matter who they are,

where they come from,

when or where they're watching this,

or whatever life is throwing at them,

that they are loved by you.

You call, you send us this invitation,

Father, to receive the free gift of salvation

so that we can be saved and upon that salvation we can grow in you

and become more like you.

So we pray that our ears are open to hear,

our hearts are ready to love,

live in love,

and our minds are open to learn from the word this morning.

It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together,

can I get an amen?

So let's go to that next slide then.

That should have...

Oh, we don't have that.

That's okay.

So the Gospel of Matthew,

let's go back to that title slide if we can.

We had previously the parable,

the purpose of parables, right?

The parable of the sower,

where we learned about the four soils

and how important it is

that our hearts are right with the Lord,

that we receive the seed representing the word,

and that it gets planted into our hearts and it grows.

You have a lot of agricultural language, as it were,

to grow and to bear fruit.

How important it is for us to receive the word.

How important it is for us to grow in the Lord

and to bear fruit.

And so we go into verse 24 then of Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Are we all there?

Are we all ready to read together?

So it goes off by saying,

He put another parable before them,

saying,

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man

who sowed good seed in his field.

While his men were sleeping,

his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat

and went away.

So when the plants came up and bore again,

the weeds appeared also.

And the servants of the master of the house

came to him and said,

What?

Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

How then does it have weeds?

I mean, I'd like to know too, right?

If you were planting a garden,

you have all these weeds,

you're planting a tomato garden,

or you're planting, you know, apricots or something,

or any sort of plant.

What are all these weeds doing here?

He said to them,

An enemy has done this.

So the servant said to him,

Then do you want us to go and gather them?

But he said, No,

lest in gathering the weeds

you root up the wheat along with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest.

And at the harvest time,

I will tell the reapers,

Gather the weeds first

and bind them into bundles to be burned,

but gather the wheat into where?

My barn.

Now,

here is where we go into the mustard seed.

We're skipping that this time.

We're going to go into that in another week,

two weeks from now.

Okay?

So then it goes into verse 36.

I mean, you can even look at verse 34, right?

All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables.

He said nothing to them without a parable.

This was to fill what was spoken by the prophet.

I will open my mouth in parables.

I will utter what has been hidden

since the foundation of the world.

This goes to show the power

and yet the simplicity of parables.

Verse 36.

Then he left the crowds and went into the house,

and his disciples came to him, saying,

Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.

I'd like to know, right?

And he answered,

The one who sows good seed is who?

The son of man.

The field is the what?

The world.

The good seed is the sons of the kingdom.

And the weeds are the sons of who?

The evil one.

And the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the age.

And the reapers are who?

The angels.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire,

so will it be at the end of the age.

The son of man will send his angels,

and they will gather out of his kingdom

all causes of sin and lawbreakers.

And throw them into the fiery furnace.

This gets to really heavy language.

Let's be honest here, right?

Throw them into the fiery furnace.

In that place there will be the weeping

and the gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun

in the kingdom of their father.

He who has ears, let him hear.

And so in your notes here,

it's kind of a breakdown of what's happening.

It's on the first page here, right?

So we have the sower, God,

who plants the good seed, right?

The word into the field, into the world.

You can get this kind of imagery that's happening here.

Then you have the enemy sows the weeds among the field.

Sin.

You're seeing the entrance of sin.

And those who reject God.

Among the wheat, the children of God.

The workers, you have the angels,

ask if they should pull up the weeds.

The sower tells them to let them grow together

and tell the harvest, tell the judgment.

And at the harvest, the weeds,

the judgment on sin are burned

and the wheat believers are gathered into the barn.

And you'll see a lot of scripture verses.

I challenge you, check those verses out.

You will see how embedded in such a simple parable,

you're seeing something here that's very deep

and hidden, as it were.

So let's go to this next slide.

One of the things you can notice here

is that there is,

this actually shows us,

in a very simplistic way,

the story of redemption.

If we think about it,

the sower plants good seed.

Doesn't God created the world and made it good?

Then, the enemy sows weed,

representing sin among the wheat.

Isn't that interesting?

That's where we have the fall.

Now redemption then,

we have Jesus Christ who comes in.

From redemption

comes this time period

where the wheat and the weeds,

they grow together.

And it's giving them time.

And that's interesting

because we've found

in a lot of the other parables,

there's a time that's allotted

before the master returns

or before the bridegroom returns,

signifying that there's a specific amount of time

for you to come to know Jesus.

For you to turn to him

before it's too late.

And this is showing

in the redemption part,

giving time.

And then of course,

you have restoration

or you could call that judgment

and then restoration.

The harvest separates the weeds

and the wheat.

And it's so fascinating

when we look at it like that.

We have kind of an echo,

as it were,

of the story

throughout all of Scripture,

the gospel connection

with the parable.

And so this is simple,

yet it's complex.

There's all these verses

that are connected into it.

So what can we learn from this?

Well, the first thing

that we can learn

is that,

let's go to that next slide,

is that we live

in a world

of weeds and wheat.

We think about it.

In Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:45

verse 45,

it goes on to say,

He causes His Son

to rise on evil

and the good.

In Romans,

Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

there's a section in here

where it's mentioning

that creation is groaning

and waiting for redemption.

Isn't that interesting?

And we have to think

to ourselves

when we're learning

this lesson is,

well, then how can

we faithfully live

while we're surrounded

by weeds?

Right?

You get this image.

Many of you,

you guys have,

some of you guys,

I'm not going to say

all of you,

but some of you guys

have gardened before.

Sometimes you have weeds

that just come out

of nowhere.

Is it a frustrating thing

or has that never

happened before?

Right?

Where did this weed

come from?

Why is it here?

It's going to destroy

whatever plant

that I've put there.

It's a very frustrating thing.

And we see this kind

of connection

with God

looking at the world

and giving time

to happen.

Much like how we live

in this world

where there is sin,

there is brokenness,

there is those

that are saved

and those who,

well, you have those

that are not believers yet.

That's why it's so important

for us to spread

the gospel message

to other people.

how can you live

faithfully

while surrounded

by brokenness

and sin?

You continue

in your walk

in the Lord

knowing that

no matter what happens,

no matter what sin

or brokenness,

your faith

is in the living God.

Not in man,

not in a government,

not in TikTok,

but in God.

Let us be reminded

of that.

Despite what happens

in our culture,

despite what happens

in the world,

we trust

in the living God.

The second thing

is

the Lord

is patient

and His will prevails.

Let's go back.

It's still that same thing.

That's all right.

His will prevails.

We are to trust

in 2 Peter 3,

2 Peter 3:9

verse 9.

It says that

the Lord

is patient,

not wanting

anyone

to perish.

And that's a very

powerful thing

because God

gives us time

for us

to come to Him.

Not forever,

but enough time.

Enough time

from what

He decides

is appropriate.

Isn't it amazing

to know

that the God

who created

heavens and earth

gives us

not only an opportunity

to be restored

unto Him,

but to return

into His presence

to be saved

and He gives us

that choice

and He gives us

time to do so?

Every single day,

if you are not

a believer,

is an opportunity

for you

to come to Jesus.

And for us

that are in the church,

those who are saved,

grow and act

upon your faith.

Be transformed.

Let God work

in and through you,

putting on the new self,

setting aside

the elementary things

that divide us.

Doing good

in the name of Christ.

We can think of

sharing the gospel story

with our friends

and our families,

being ambassadors

for Christ

in our everyday lives.

Our work,

our school,

right?

Our very families.

We think of

all these things.

Sharing in our testimony

and how God

has worked in our life.

Or sometimes

it's just

being a listening ear.

You know,

I've had this conversation

with many people.

the church

exists

for those

who are churched

to grow,

right?

You have

to follow

God's mission

and God's purpose

and plan for you.

But you also have

the church

for the unchurched,

those who are yet

to believe,

those who do not believe

and they don't

understand yet.

And finally,

the church exists

for the de-churched,

for healing

and restoration,

recovery.

Because let's face it,

for many of us,

we get hurt

at times.

Sometimes we get hurt

by the world,

sometimes we get hurt

by other Christians

and we have to remember,

we have got to allow

for the healing process

to happen,

much like we've got to allow

for the growth process.

People need a place

to belong.

People need a place

to heal.

And people need a place

to grow

where they can act

upon their faith,

becoming the man

or the woman

that God has for them.

Finally,

the third thing

that we can learn

is that the final judgment

belongs to who?

Not man.

Not a government.

Certainly not an app,

right?

I know I'm,

that's,

we have to think

about that.

In Romans chapter 12,

Romans 12:19

verse 19,

there's a verse in there

that we can think of.

This is hard.

When it says,

don't take revenge,

leave room

for God's wrath

or God's judgment.

When someone does us wrong,

we want to attack.

More often than not,

let's be honest here.

You've wanted to retaliate.

You don't have to raise your hand.

I know I have.

But you're offering it to God.

Let God be the judge.

I certainly don't want

to be the judge.

You know how hard it is

for us to forgive,

let alone forget,

and knowing that God forgives you

and He loves you

and He gives you a chance

to come to Him

every single day.

Think about that.

I know I couldn't do that.

That's,

goes to show the power

and the patience

of our God

and

ask yourself,

what does it look like

to leave

judgment for God

rather than you taking it

upon yourself

to retaliate,

right?

And it also

challenges us

in how we see

the weeds.

We think of the weeds

representing,

now if we go back

for a second here,

when we learned

about the four soils,

we learned about

the presence

of the weeds

where the seed

was being planted

into the ground.

When we think of weeds,

we can think of

two things here.

The presence of sin

just period,

but also

for sinners,

those who don't know

the Lord.

We have to focus

on our own growth,

but we have to

scatter the seed

as it were

so that other hearts,

because not only

do you see the field

representing the world,

we have seen

in other parables,

the field represents

our hearts.

We allow for God

to transform us.

And here's the

amazing thing.

Let's go

to the application.

So I've got to tell you,

this is heavy stuff.

A lot of times

when this parable

is preached,

it's like,

you're either a weed

or you're wheat,

and it's a done deal.

But do you know

what's missing

in that section?

Is that there's a call

for the weeds

to come to Christ,

because God

makes things new.

Think about that.

Were you not

a sinner

at one point?

We still sin, right?

All fall short

of the glory of God,

but it's a call.

Think about it.

Create in me

a new heart,

O God,

and renew

a right spirit

within me.

Think about

for a second

how

if anyone

is in Christ,

he is a what?

A new creation.

Do you see it?

Do you understand?

That we go

from weeds

to wheat.

That it is God

who transforms us.

Removing the sin.

That's when we think

about the gospel message.

the death,

burial,

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

This is a call.

If you are a weed,

come to the Lord

and be transformed

and be saved.

Become a wheat.

You can't do that

on your own.

That requires

the Lord.

And the thing is,

it's a call for us

to come to God

as we are.

You hear many churches

say that, right?

I hope all churches

should say that.

Come as you are

and be transformed, though.

Not come as you are

and remain as you are.

Be transformed.

And even if you are saved,

continue to be transformed.

That's the thing.

We don't just

come and remain

as we are.

We are transformed

every single day.

God invites us

and he turns us,

let me make this

crystal clear,

we go from,

remember when we went

over Ezra?

The vessels that were

transferred,

they were transported

from the place

they didn't belong

to the place

they belong.

Here we have

another layer here.

Going from a weed

to wheat

because God

takes that

which is broken

and restores it.

You find this

as a pattern

through all of Scripture.

and if we just say

you're either a wheat

or a weed

and that's it,

there's nothing you can do,

we're missing the mark here.

We're missing the point here

that God calls us

to be transformed.

Now, yeah,

it's heavy to think

about the judgment

and the throwing

away of the weeds.

But that's why

it's so important

for us

to come to know Christ.

So for the weeds,

if you are one,

come to Christ.

Receive that invitation,

that free gift

of salvation.

And the second thing then,

for the wheat,

if you are saved,

is to what?

Grow in Christ

and live out the faith.

Be more like Him.

Right?

And wait patiently

for the harvest.

We continue

every single day

we have the opportunity

to scatter the seed

as it were.

That starts

with relationships.

It's not about

being aggressive

or pugnacious, right?

I love that word,

pugnacious.

I think of a little

pug dog, right?

Being aggressive

and angry, right?

You've seen

little pug dogs

when they're angry, right?

Or if that doesn't help,

little chihuahuas, right?

The smaller they are,

the more aggressive

they get.

But in that,

it's all about relationships

that we have with others

or that we cultivate

with others.

We build relationships

and we live out

the word.

We live out

following in the

footsteps of Christ,

being an example

for others to see

because how many times

have you met someone

who is a Christian

and you're like,

I know they're a Christian

and there's no doubt

about it.

I don't know why,

I don't know how,

but there's something

different about them.

You want to live

and follow

in the footsteps

of Christ like that.

Being a light

unto the world.

Being salt,

right?

Salt and light.

And we think about that.

We scatter the seeds.

Now, for some of us,

it can be frustrating.

I've talked, you know,

you talk to your sister

or you talk to your uncle

or you talk to your neighbor

about the Lord,

you know,

every week

and they don't get it.

You still scatter the seed.

Still scatter the seed.

Pray for them.

Pray for hardened hearts,

changed minds,

changed attitudes,

a renewed spirit,

the softening of the heart.

And what if today

is the day you let God

transform your life

and make you new?

Think about that

as one question.

The other question

I want you to think about,

what does it mean

for you to grow in Christ

even in difficult circumstances?

What we seem to forget

at times is

we grow

and we bear fruit.

It's when you're very early on.

That's where the whole,

well, what about the rocks?

What about the rocks?

What about the obstacle?

What about the sins?

As you grow,

you become more firmly rooted

in God.

Just like how we learn

about Christ

being the firm foundation

and building our house

upon the solid rock

and not the sand.

Do you see how

things get connected

with each other?

That's why it's so important

for us to look

at the context

and connections.

We can see

sometimes we have to

wrestle with the text

and that's okay.

Sometimes we have questions

and we're not understanding things.

That's okay as well.

That's part of the growing process.

I mean,

didn't you fall a few times

when you began to walk?

Probably too many, right?

Some of us more than others.

How many times

did you fall off a bike

before you figured it out, right?

That's how it is

when we're growing

as a Christian,

as believers,

as ambassadors for Christ.

We're going to stumble

and fall sometimes,

but we continue on that,

knowing that God

is our firm foundation.

So that's how things

are connected.

So we grow

and we live out the faith,

become more like Him.

Wait,

we wait for the harvest

and we scatter the seed

to others.

We minister.

We evangelize.

We let God transform hearts

because look,

I can't control my kids,

you guys.

I can't.

Okay?

I got to be honest here.

I can't control

all five of my kids,

but I can teach them

and I can guide them.

It's the same thing

with my wife.

I can't control her, right?

I know a lot of us

would like to control

our spouses,

I admit.

But in that,

you scatter the seed.

Let it take root.

Again,

we pray

for those,

we minister,

we evangelize,

and we let God

transform the heart.

That's how things

are so connected.

When we think

in John 15, 5,

if you remain in me

and I in you,

you will bear much fruit.

We think of Matthew

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28

where it says

to make disciples

of all nations.

Not only is the seed

planted in our hearts,

but it grows

and it cultivates.

And I love Isaiah 55,

10 to 11,

my word will not

return to me empty,

but will accomplish

what I desire.

Let us think about

all these

and ask yourself

this question,

who in your life

needs to hear

about Christ?

Who in your life

do you need

to pray about?

Who is unchurched?

Or who is

de-churched?

Right?

We sometimes forget.

We like to think

of those who,

and we should,

our primary objective

is to get people

to believe in Christ,

but what about those

that have been hurt?

What about those

who've been discouraged

or disgruntled?

They need Christ

just as well,

and they need

the healing power

that comes from Him.

You know,

it really hits home

how many people

that I personally know

who have deconstructed

and have left the faith

because of some

silly thing,

some elementary thing.

I pray for them,

for their return,

knowing that

God loves them.

This is why

it's so important,

again,

we place our faith

and our trust

in the living God.

Not on man,

because man will fail you.

How many of us

know that to be true?

Man fails us.

God doesn't.

That's why we have

so many verses

that say that God

is the same yesterday,

today,

and what?

Forever.

Or everlasting

to everlasting,

you are God.

Or when we think

about God

as the solid rock,

we certainly need

a constant

in our life.

And so ask yourself,

who in your life

needs to hear about

Christ this week?

How can you be faithful

in scattering the seed?

That's a question for you

as we close our time today.

Whether you feel like,

maybe you identify

as a weed,

let this be a call

for you to come to Christ

and put off

the old self.

When you think of a weed,

we think of like

a hairy and thorny plant.

It's quite disgusting

when you think about it,

right?

Put off the old self

and become wheat.

Become restored.

And for those

who are wheat,

the call is the same.

Trust in the living God,

grow in faith,

and scatter the seed

of the gospel

wherever you go.

Let us remember

this parable

and how it's connected

not only with

the story of redemption,

but how God

transforms lives,

taking that which is broken

and restoring

and renewing it.

Let's pray together.

Father God,

we thank you

for this time,

this opportunity

for us to

open your word

and to study it.

We have observed,

we have learned

so many lessons.

And I pray, Father,

if there are any weeds here,

they will be transformed.

They will come

to believe in Jesus Christ,

the Son of the living God.

And we pray

for the wheat here.

They will grow.

They will bear fruit,

just as your word

says so much.

And Father,

I also would like to pray

for any person

who has deconstructed

or anyone who's been

hurt by the church,

whether they're here

or not.

I pray for healing

in their life.

Father,

you call all of us

to gather together,

to sing praises to you,

to assemble together

as the church.

And you have done

so much for us.

We pray

for the unchurched,

for a place

where they belong,

believing in you

and being established

in the church.

We pray for the unchurched,

those that are disconnected,

disgruntled,

or hurt in some capacity.

And we pray for the churched

to continue to grow

and to go on their mission,

to make disciples,

to scatter the seed,

and to become more like you

every single day.

It is in the name

of Jesus Christ,

the cornerstone

of our faith,

that we pray.

And we all say together,

can I get an amen?

Amen.

Thank you for listening

for this week's message

from Ontario Community Church.

I pray that you are

encouraged and strengthened

in your walk with Christ.

For more sermons

and resources,

visit

OntarioCommunityChurch.org.

May God bless you

as you live out

His grace and truth

every single day.

NINGNING