Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

If you have your Bibles, I would ask that you

open to Matthew 13. Normally I would read the

text first, but I'm not going to do that today.

It will be embedded within the text. But before

we would ever begin to preach, we ought to ask

the Lord's blessing and help. It is his word.

So would you go to the Lord with me in asking

him to show us Christ this morning? Father, Lord,

we thank you for your word. We thank you for

this time to worship, to hear from heaven. Lord,

I realize that everything will fall on deaf ears

unless the Spirit of God is pleased to use the

preaching of your word to effect change in our

lives. Lord, open our eyes, open our ears, and

open our hearts to the truth. Father, would you

please show us your son, the one in whom you're

well pleased, and we will thank you for this

in Jesus' name. Amen. I remember when Sandy and

I were first married. One day I saw her out watering

weeds in our flower beds, and I was kind of surprised.

I was expecting her to pull them up, and instead

she was tenderly caring for them. Now keep in

mind, Sandy comes from a desert where nothing

green ever grows. So I was looking at her and

I saw her taking care of the weeds and I asked

her what she was doing. And she told me, well,

they're green. She said, I just assumed they

were plants or flowers that you had planted there

on purpose. See, at the very beginning, she was

unable to distinguish weeds from flowers. She

has since grown from that time. Now today in

our text, Jesus tells a parable about that very

issue. An inability to distinguish weeds. From

wheat. Now let's think about the context. Before

Jesus and John the Baptist came on the scene,

there were 400 what's known as silent years.

400 years where there's no new word from the

Lord. No prophet like Amos or Isaiah or Jeremiah

had arisen. And then after four centuries, you

have two men. You have John the Baptist and the

Lord Jesus Christ. Both of them burst on the

scene and they're preaching the same message.

People needed to repent because the kingdom of

God was at hand. They were preaching that that

long -awaited heavenly kingdom was now breaking

through into the earth. Those are strong claims.

Was there any proof to back that up? Yes. Then

we see Jesus' miracles. All his miracles were...

proof of the revealing of the inbreaking of the

kingdom of heaven into the world. Now what do

I mean by that? When heaven, there's no sickness.

So think about Jesus. In heaven, there's no leprosy.

Think about what he done. There's no defect at

all. So Jesus' miracles were a restoration of

what was broken. He was restoring back to pristine

use what had been broken. Giving us a preview

of life and the fullness of the kingdom when

none of those things will be there. No blindness,

no deafness, no one missing a limb or lame or

unable to walk. But that was very unsettling

and confusing to the Jewish mind because they

had always been taught that when the kingdom

of God came, God would then eliminate all evil.

So they expected the fullness of the kingdom

immediately. They thought when Messiah comes,

He's going to rid the world of idolaters and

pagans, i .e. Gentiles. And he's going to exalt

Israel in righteousness. So if what John and

Jesus were preaching were true, why was Rome

still occupying the land of Israel? Why were

God's people, the Jews, still paying a forced

tax to a pagan empire? Moreover... Why was there

still evil and suffering in the world? Those

are very good questions. If the kingdom of God

arrived with the arrival of Jesus, why doesn't

God fix the world now? And people are still asking

that same question. It's a question that often

is posed like this. If your God's in control,

why do we see so much suffering? Why so much

evil in the world? Well, Jesus answered those

questions, but he did so with a parable. It's

a parable about a man who sowed good seed in

his field, wheat. He also had an enemy who sowed

bad seed, weeds, into that same field. Now, by

the way, this was a real problem in first century

Israel. Jesus isn't just making this up. You

would often have competing farmers, and you might

have a vengeful farmer, and he would secretly

sow bad seed or even salt the field of his enemy

in order to try to ruin the crops. So now in

this parable, Jesus teaches something very, very

clearly. Evil, evil men, evil women, the problem

of evil, will not be fully eradicated right now.

It will be present with us until the end of this

age. So there's going to be evil. We would expect

that. But we are not to despair because everything,

including evil, is still under God's control.

It's all part of his plan. As I looked at this,

there's three truths. These are easy truths,

easy takeaways. First of all, this present age

will always have a mixture of good and evil.

That's going to happen. Secondly, God is patient.

And thirdly, a day of final judgment is coming.

Now, if we're going to understand this parable,

we need to understand something about the kingdom

of God coming in two phases. Two advents, just

like the coming of Christ did. They're very similar.

So think about the Lord Jesus Christ. In his

first advent, he came as the suffering lamb,

the lamb of God, who offered himself as a sacrifice

to take away the sin of the world. He came and

he was despised. He was rejected. But at his

second advent, when he returns in glory, he doesn't

return as a lamb. He returns as the lion. triumphing

over his enemies and eradicating all evil. At

his second coming, everyone who opposed him will

then be judged. Now that's why many Jews stumbled

over Jesus. Because they expected the lion, they

never expected the lamb. They could understand

conquering, but they failed to understand suffering.

And it's the same way, this is how they misunderstood

the kingdom of God. They failed to understand

that the kingdom of God first comes in inauguration.

That's at the beginning. We might say it comes

in seed form. Then when Jesus returns, the kingdom

of God arrives in its full consummated form.

It's completed. It's mature, if you will. Now

the kingdom of God began, it broke into history,

and overcame the power of darkness through the

death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So what that has implications for us today. So

we're living in the kingdom, which means we are

already, those who are in Christ, we are already

forgiven of sin, and we already possess eternal

life, but evil is still present. The wicked still

prosper even in this age. But when Christ returns,

as the kingdom arrives in its full consummated

form, then evil will be judged and eradicated,

and there will be a new heavens and a new earth

that are established. Now in Matthew 13, there

are seven parables in that one chapter, and every

single one of them has to do with the kingdom

of God. So if it's so important, and it is, Let's

define what do we mean when we talk about the

kingdom of God. Now Matthew will use, as a Jew

writing to Jew, he will use the phrase kingdom

of heaven so as not to take the word in its name

callously. It's the same thing. The kingdom of

God in its simplest, most basic form simply means

God's reign. It's God's sovereign rule. So that

means, now stay with me for just a moment. Stay

with me until the end, but really in just a moment

here. The kingdom of God is not primarily a realm,

a place. And it's not primarily a people. But

the kingdom of God produces both a realm and

a people. The church. But it's not limited to

that, and I hope to show you that this morning.

I love how John Piper, he said this well. He

said, Jesus sits, that's current, as king on

his throne of the universe and his kingly rule.

His kingdom and his reign govern all things.

The basic meaning of the word kingdom in the

Bible is God's kingly rule. His reign, his action,

his lordship, his sovereign governance. And we

look at Psalm 103. How do we get this? Psalm

103, the psalmist writes, The Lord, Yahweh, has

established his throne in the heavens and his

kingdom. Now notice this next phrase, rules over

all. Not just the church, although that is true.

His kingdom rules over all. That means right

now Jesus, seated as the king of the universe,

he's ruling over all people in all places, particularly

and especially over his church. He governs us

by word and sacrament. But he is still sovereign

over unbelievers. There's nothing outside of

his control. Now with that working definition

in mind, let's look about this parable of the

kingdom known as the parable of the wheat and

the tares. Beginning in verse 24. Another parable

he, that is Jesus, put forth to them saying,

now this is to the crowds. He's talking to everyone

here. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who

sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept,

his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat

and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted

and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

So the servants of the owner came and said to

him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Didn't you buy the good stuff? How then does

it have tares? And he said to them, An enemy

has done this. The servants said to him, Well,

do you want us to go then and gather them up,

the weeds? But he said, No, lest while you gather

up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with

them. Let both grow together until the harvest.

And at the time of harvest, I will say to the

reapers, first gather together the tares, bind

them in bundles to burn them. And then gather

the wheat into my barn. Now this illustration

would have made absolute sense to everyone in

the audience that day. But many of us, now some

of you are, but many of us are not from an agrarian

background. So we need a little bit of explanation

here. Everywhere I read, they are most likely

darnel seeds. Darnel seeds, it's a weed that

looks like a wheat early on. So at the beginning,

you have weed and wheats. They're almost indistinguishable

at the very beginning. But if you let them go

once they're fully grown, well, the difference

becomes obvious. As they grow and they reach

maturity, the tares will remain upright. and

the wheat will start to bend over because it's

heavily loaded down with grain. So wheat provides

nourishment. The tares, these darnel seeds, actually

are poisonous weed, and they can actually choke

out the wheat. So this is really important that

we understand that. So in this parable, we got

a man. He sowed good seed, wheat, in the field.

He had an enemy who sowed bad seed, darnel seeds

or weeds, in that same field. At harvest, there's

going to be a great separation. The tares, the

weeds will be gathered and be burned in fire.

The wheat will be gathered together and put into

a barn. Now the crowd, everyone heard the parable

and that's it. The crowds were not given any

explanation. That was reserved only for the disciples

of Jesus. Now they're not given the meaning.

So they hear the parable, but if you don't get

the meaning, the parable remains obscure. Or

even worse, you can make it fit and mean whatever

you want it to fit and mean. But thanks be to

God, you and I are not left in the dark this

morning. We are blessed and given the meaning

behind it. Let's look down at verse 36. Then

Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the

house, and his disciples came to him. Just his

disciples saying, explain to us the parables

of the tares of the field. Okay. He answered

and said to them, he who sows the good seed is

the son of man. The field is the world, the good

seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares

are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who

sowed them, well, that's the devil. The harvest

is the end of the age, and the reapers are the

angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered

and burned in the fire, so it will be at the

end of this age. The Son of Man will send out

his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom.

What's his kingdom here? The world, it clearly

tells you that. The field's the world. They're

going to gather out of the world all that offend

and all those who practice lawlessness and will

cast them into the furnace of fire. That's hell.

And there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

But then the righteous will shine forth as the

sun in the kingdom of their father. And as Jesus

ends these parables, he does this familiar phrase.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Listen

up is what he's saying. Now, the one who sowed

the good seed, we don't have to guess. It's a

son of man, so we're Jesus. The good seed, well,

that's the sons of the kingdom, the sons of the

righteous. The field, that's going to be the

key, and I'll talk about that in a moment. It's

the whole world. The enemy, the devil. The tares,

they're the sons of the wicked one. Harvest,

end of the age. Reapers are the angels that...

Jesus will send. The burning of the tares, well,

that symbolizes the judgment of the wicked. And

the ingathering of the wheat into the barn is

the righteous entering the kingdom of God. Now,

I will tell you, I've read many, read a lot here,

many see this parable only in terms of the church.

But the field, it says, is the whole world. So

it has a broader application. At the end of this

age, God will remove evil not just from his church,

but he's going to remove evil from the entire

planet, from the whole world. So I think there's

a broader application referring to the world

and a narrower application referring to the church.

My goal when I was putting this together was

to talk about both of them. I went to Sandy early

on in the week. I said, I've got about, I always

do my sermons about 3 ,500 to 4 ,000 words. And

I was at 2 ,500 words and hadn't started the

second one. And I'm like, okay. So next week,

Lord willing, I want to look at the application

to the church. Today, the application we want

to look to is the world at large. How does this

parable apply to the world? I'm glad you asked,

because here's what we're going to do. First

of all, we cannot deny that there is objective

evil in the world. And that's a manifest reality.

Look around you. But as Christians, we also affirm

that Jesus Christ, is king who reigns over all.

How do you reconcile those two truths? I mean,

both are true. Evil exists and Jesus reigns.

So how do you reconcile them? The first and obvious

implication is the presence of evil in this world

is not a failure of God's plan. God has chosen

not to immediately rid the world of wickedness.

Which means there is a purpose behind it. The

scriptures clearly teach that God temporarily

allows evil for his own purposes. Now I say it's

only temporary because as the parable teaches,

at the end of this age, God will forever judge

and remove evil. When I say evil, I'm talking

about evil and evil men and women. But because

God is sovereign, and rules over all things,

he is able even to use evil men with evil intentions

to accomplish his good end. And that's a hard

statement. God, being sovereign, rules over evil

men in such a way that he uses their evil intentions

to accomplish his good end. And we see that clearly

in the life of Joseph. Joseph's brothers sold

him into slavery. And just so you know, that's

an evil thing. They were going to kill him. And

one said, hey, let's make some money off of him.

Let's not kill him. So they sold him into slavery.

That's evil, what they did. But God had a good

purpose in allowing it. And Joseph knew that.

In Genesis 50, he wrote this, or he said this.

But as for you, he's talking to his brothers.

Joseph's talking to his brothers. As for you,

you meant evil against me. That's what your intention

was. It was evil. But God. meant it for good

in order to bring it about as at this day to

save many people's lives. Yeah, you would be

judged. What you did was terrible. But God over,

he trumped your terrible motive to accomplish

good. Now just because you and I often fail to

discern God's good purpose in allowing evil does

not mean that there isn't a good purpose that

God is using behind it. Nothing is simply purposeless.

Nothing. I've had people ask, but what do you

mean? What about the sex trafficker or the pornographer?

Listen, they're evil. And trust me, one day God

will bring terrible judgment upon them. But just

because I, in my limited understanding, cannot

discern the purpose of God behind it, doesn't

mean there isn't one. The failure never lies

with God. The failure is in my limited understanding.

For as the heavens are as high as above the earth,

so are his thoughts above my thoughts, and his

ways are above my ways. Listen, he sees the beginning

from the end. Don't you stand in judgment of

God just because you failed to understand it.

Now, one reason we know for sure that God's delay

is there, his patience is giving wicked men time

to repent. In Acts 17, verse 30, truly these

Acts 17:30

times of ignorance God overlooked. But now he

doesn't ask, he doesn't invite, he commands all

men everywhere to repent. Because he has appointed

a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness

by the man whom he has ordained. Listen, the

day of judgment is coming, you better repent

is what they're saying here. And he has given

assurance of this judgment to all men by raising

him, that is Jesus, from the dead. Oh, God's

being gracious and merciful and patient. So currently,

right now, you and I live in this age, what is

known as an age of grace. God is long -suffering

with evil men and evil women. And his long -suffering

is meant to lead them to repentance. Romans 2

.4. Paul writing, Do you despise the riches of

his goodness? His forbearance, his long -suffering.

That's patience. Not knowing. That the goodness

of God leads you to repentance. Do you fail to

understand what God is doing by not immediately

judging you for what you've done wrong? He's

being long -suffering, makrothumia in Greek.

He's suffering a long time with you so that you

might come to his feet and repent. So the delay

of God's judgment is not weakness, it is divine

patience. 2 Peter 3. Peter writes, and that was

Paul in Romans. But do not overlook this one

fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is

as a thousand years and a thousand years as one

day. Time does not exist in the transcendent

God. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise,

as some men count slow as. He's not delaying,

but he's patient toward you, not wishing that

any should perish, but that all should reach

repentance. Do you see what he's saying? God's

delay is mercy. But don't use his patience to

lure you into thinking that the day of judgment

never will come. Because that's what they're

saying here. Oh, we've been here not forever.

Since our father fell asleep. I've heard that

all these years. Yes, Jesus is returning. Yes,

God's going to judge. And Peter says, mark it

down at will. A thousand years is like a day

to the Lord. Don't judge him on your time. Verse

10. But the day of the Lord, judgment, will come

like a thief. And then the heavens will pass

away with a roar. And the heavenly bodies will

be burned up and dissolved. And the earth and

the works that are done on it will be exposed.

It's terrifying. Therefore, because of that,

we skip down to verse 14. Beloved, looking forward

to these things, be diligent to be found by him

in peace, without spot and blameless. Now notice

this last phrase. This is what I want to focus

on. And consider that the long suffering of our

Lord is salvation. God in his mercy is giving

wicked men and wicked women an opportunity to

repent. Which means, friends, this is good news,

because those who currently oppose God are not

beyond hope. I love what John Piper, he said,

we're not God. We can't see the root. What looks

like a weed today may by God's grace become wheat.

Amen. That's what we were. We were tares. We

were the weeds that God brought in. God's lay

of judgment shows his mercy toward the wicked.

But that, now listen, so since he's allowing

wicked and wicked men to prosper, that means

it's not going to go easy or smooth sailing for

the righteous. Because Satan, the enemy, has

sown bad seed, which is wicked men and women,

into the world. Satan hates God, he hates his

people, and he opposes them at every turn. This

means, now friends, what does this mean for us

as the church, the believers? We ought to expect

opposition. Jesus said, in the world you will

have tribulation. Be of good cheer, I've overcome

the world. The apostles preaching in 2 Timothy,

Paul talking in Timothy, he said all those that

desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer

persecution. Will suffer, not might. As you see

and read through the book of Acts, you notice

the church is just growing by leaps and bounds.

Remarkable growth. God is blessing the church.

And what's Satan doing? Attacking it. Let me

give you a cursory preview. Chapter 4, verse

1. Peter and John were arrested. What were they

doing? Preaching about Jesus. Chapter 5, the

religious leaders put the apostles in prison.

Why? Preaching about Jesus. Later on, that same

chapter, and now I'll start to give you the verses.

When they had called for the apostles and beaten

them, they command they should not speak in the

name of Jesus. Chapter 7, Stephen was stoned

to death for why? Preaching about Jesus, first

Christian martyr. Chapter 8, at that time, a

great persecution arose against the church, which

was at Jerusalem. And they, the disciples, were

all scattered throughout the regions of Judea

and Samaria. Chapter 9, then Saul, still breathing

threats and murder against the disciples of the

Lord. Chapter 12, now about that time, Herod

the king stretched out his hand to harass some

from the church. Then he killed James, the brother

of John, with the sword. Chapter 14, they stoned

Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing

him to be dead. And the last one I could have

gone on. Then the multitudes rose up together

against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates tore

off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten

with rods. What are they doing? Serving the Lord.

As the church preaches the gospel and the kingdom

of God expands, Satan violently opposes the work.

And we see this in the book of Revelation, chapter

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

12. In this chapter, there is a great cosmic

battle between Christ and Satan. Now, let's get

something clear. Let's get our bearings about

this. Satan was decisively defeated at the cross.

Hebrews 2 .14. Inasmuch as the children, you

and I, have partaken of flesh and blood, he,

that is Jesus, likewise shared in the same, that

through death, that's the cross, he might destroy

him who had the power of death, that is the devil.

Satan's destroyed, rendered powerless at the

cross. Destroyed doesn't mean he's eradicated

yet. But his power's been taken away. He's been

defeated at the cross. So in the death, and resurrection

of Christ, Satan was dealt that death blow, defanged.

Christ disarmed him, and I love this, he humiliated

him. Colossians 2 .15, having disarmed principalities

and powers, he made a public spectacle of them,

triumphing over them in it. He didn't just defeat

him, he disgraced him, humiliated, embarrassed.

I love that. So, now, because of Christ's victory,

this is where we're in Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

Satan is cast out of heaven. Look at verses 9

and 10. So the great dragon was cast out, that

serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who

deceives the whole world. He was cast to the

earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now

salvation and strength and the kingdom of our

God and the power of his Christ have come for

the accuser of our brethren who accused them

before our God day and night has been cast down.

What is John, who wrote this letter, saying?

Satan can no longer accuse God's people because

we are justified. We are clothed in the righteous

garments of Christ. In Romans 8. Who shall bring

a charge against God's elect? What's it say?

It is God who justifies. What are you going to

say to God? He's already justified. Are you going

to bring a charge? It's not going to stick. The

Westminster Shorter Catechism says justification

is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons,

he forgives all our sins, he accepts us as righteous

in the sight. only for the righteousness of Christ

imputed that is credited to us and received by

faith alone. Now, you and I, being imputed with

the righteousness of Christ, that is why no accusation

can ever stick that is hurled against us. Because

God's justified us. We have the righteousness,

the perfect righteousness of Christ given to

us, so whatever accusation can't stick because

no accusation sticks against Christ. Now you

say, well, okay, that's Revelation 12. How do

you know that casting out of Satan is talking

about the cross and not to a future event? It's

a great question. And Jesus answered that in

my mind in John 12 very clearly. Jesus, this

is Palm Sunday, John 12. Jesus said, the hour

has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

The hour in John, that's the hour of the cross.

Now is the judgment of this world. When is now?

At the cross. Now the ruler of this world, that

is Satan, the devil, will be what? Cast out.

John 12 speaks of Christ's death at the cross.

And he says that's the time when Satan will be

cast out. Now go back and read Revelation 12,

9 once more. The great dragon was cast out. That

serpent of old called the devil and Satan. He

deceives the whole world. He was cast to the

earth and his angels were cast out with him.

Alright. Because of Christ's cross, Satan has

lost his ability to accuse God's people in heaven.

But the final defeat has not yet come. He's not

in the lake of fire right now. Where was he cast

out to? To the earth. Look at verse 12. Therefore

rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.

Listen, that's great. Listen, heaven's having

a party. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth

and the sea. Here. For the devil has come down

to you having... great wrath because he knows

that it's a short time. He looked at the cross

and was like, I thought I had him. I killed him.

And Christ rose again. He knew he was defeated.

Heaven rejoices because Christ is conquered.

The earth has woe because what? The battle continues

here as Satan attacks the people of God. Is he

cast out of heaven? Yes. No accusation. What's

he going to do there? Nothing sticks against

the people. But he's still walking the earth.

And he's enraged. Christ has humiliated him and

triumphed over him at the cross. He's been barred

from heaven. So he turns his attention to those

living on the earth, God's people right now,

and he desires to attack the church, persecute

the church, deceive the church, do whatever he

can. And as this day goes on, this age, his days

become fewer. So his wrath becomes greater. Notice

the text. Having great wrath. He's in waged,

right? Why? He knows it is a short time. He knows

it's a short time. The idea there, he knows that

his time is limited. He also knows that his ultimate

defeat is inevitable. There's not a thing in

this world Satan can do to stop the final judgment

that's coming his way. And he knows it. But he's

an enraged lunatic who seeks to do as much damage

to God's kingdom as possible while he can. Go

back to the parable. But take heart, because

a day is coming when God will bring judgment.

Satan and all those aligned with him, all those

who work iniquity, all those who practice soullessness,

will be burned in the lake of fire. Not my words.

So that means you and I as the people, we may

suffer now, but you're going to reign later.

R -E -I -G -N. In this age, God has given his

people a cross to bear, right? Take up your cross,

Jesus said. You've got a cross to wear, but in

the age to come, what does God give his people?

A crown to wear. Right now we bear crosses. What

does that mean? opposition, suffering, difficulty.

We tried to sing this song several years ago

in church, and it was a nightmare. It's one of

my favorite songs, but we just don't know it.

It's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Just by the

way of our hands, how many know this, A Mighty

Fortress Is Our God? And that's why we don't

sing it. It's written by Martin Luther. It was

written in the 1500s. I love it. I'm going to

read you the first stanza and the third stanza.

Now, Martin Luther is a theologian. Listen to

the theology in it because he sums it up well.

I want to sing it, but trust me, you don't want

me to. I want to. It's so good. A mighty fortress

is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper,

he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe does seek to work us

woe. His craft and power are great and armed

with cruel hate. On earth is not his equal. Look

at third stanza. And though this world with devils

filled should threaten to undo us, we will not

fear for God has willed his truth to triumph

through us. The prince of darkness, grim, we

tremble not for him. His rage we can endure,

for lo, his doom is sure. And the next phrase

is my favorite. One little word shall fail him.

It's not a battle, friends. Christ, he's done.

That's it. So the outcome is never in doubt.

Christ has already won. What's your job? Trust

him. So what does all this mean for us as we

close? Because of the finished work of Christ.

Satan has lost his ability to accuse you before

God. You're like, Pastor, I know my past. I know

these sins and they're real. They've been washed

away in the blood of Christ. And you've been

given his gift of righteousness. They don't stick,

friends. Christ has borne them. The cross of

Christ has removed all condemnation from us,

which means we're now justified before God. And

Paul said nothing can separate us from his love.

But know this, even though we are justified,

even though we are sons and daughters of God,

on earth this conflict continues. Don't be surprised

by it. In Acts 14 .22, the apostles told the

churches, we must through many tribulations enter

the kingdom of God. Why are we surprised by it?

I mean, it's all over the New Testament. So you're

saying, but then, okay, I get it. What are we

to do? I go back to Revelation 12, verse 11.

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame Satan, the enraged lunatic

who's trying to kill him. They overcame him by

the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony,

and they didn't love their lives unto death.

How do we overcome? We overcome by not in our

own strength, but through Christ's finished work,

the blood of the Lamb. That's what we're going

to celebrate in just a minute. Our faith... is

expressed, it's given visible testimony in our

words, in our testimony, right? And it's proved

in our perseverance, even unto death. They may

kill us, but they can't separate us from God.

And if you're here today and you're apart from

Christ, let me just say this as I close. The

door of grace is wide open. Wide open. You are

called upon, you are commanded, actually, to

repent of your sin, to bow your knee before Jesus,

confess him as Lord, and follow him. But I would

give you one word of caution that our Lord gave

us. Do not presume upon the grace of God and

think that judgment will never come because he

has promised and assured us by raising Jesus

from the dead that a day of future judgment will

come. Today. If you hear his voice, call upon

him and be saved. Friends, if you're a Christian

and you're here and you're in Christ, what a

blessed person. What an agent of grace. What

grace God has given to you. We're coming to the

table. Thank God for what he's done for you and

his son. Thank God for opening your eyes and

your heart to receive the gospel of his son.

For lo, the kingdom of God belongs to you. Let's

pray.