Hey. You're listening to Cut for Time, a podcast from Faith Church located on the North Side Of Indianapolis. My name is Claire Kingsley. Each week, I'll sit down with one of our preaching pastors to discuss their Sunday sermon. Cut for time is a look behind the scenes of sermon preparation, and they'll share with us a few things that we didn't hear from the sermon on Sunday.

Thanks for listening. Hey, Jeff. It is cut for time, and we're talking about one of our final sermons in our Lent series. Which which is kind of I mean, I feel sad on multiple levels because I I love the parables, and and I think the series has been great. And there's just so many more great parables to dig into.

And I feel like, oh, man, I'd love to just spend more time going through these stories because they're just they're so engaging and thought provoking. Mhmm. Well, you crafted the series, and so you chose which parables we were studying or not studying. What are some that you, would have loved to get into but knew? Maybe it wasn't the right theme or the right time or we just had you know, we're short on weeks.

You know? Yeah. Excuse me. Right. Because we're we're trying to go over this theme of sort of unexpected outcomes and surprising, you know, reversals in the story.

So there were some that just didn't fit quite exactly with that theme, but I did I love the short little parables that Jesus tells about the man who finds a treasure in the field and the man who finds this one pearl of great price. And I just for me, I, I just love that because I think so much of what what has impacted me and encouraged me in following Jesus is just trying to nurture that sense of wonder and amazement and awe and gratitude and helping myself and wanting to help others see the beauty, the surpassing goodness of Jesus. And that's what those parables are are trying to help us see. Like, the the kingdom is, like, when you see Jesus for what he's really worth and the life that he's offering us, like, what what would you not gladly let go of to have what Jesus is giving us? That's Yeah.

You know? And, of course, the the parable of the prodigal is just so moving and rich, and there's so much depth there of, the the man with two lost sons, really, who were lost in different ways. And there's there's a lot to unpack there. But it's also one that's so familiar to us. I felt a little like, you know, but it I'd almost wanna do a whole miniseries just on that one parable.

There there would be weeks of good study to pull out of that one parable itself. Is there yeah. Okay. So you preached from Matthew chapter 13, and you jumped from verses 24 to 30 and then 36 to 43 Right. In, a sermon entitled the wheat and the weeds.

So would you just give us a little bit of an overview from your sermon? Yeah. It's interesting. So in Matthew 13, Jesus has several of these parables using this agricultural imagery and, the imagery of seeds and and growth for the kingdom. And, we Joey preached, one.

I think he went to Luke, but it's also here in Matthew 13 about the mustard seed, the small seed that just grows. And, Matthew 13 starts with this parable of the sower, and we we started earlier looking at those, you know, different kinds of soil that the seed goes into. And now Jesus tells us another story about, a man sowing good seed in his field, but then an enemy comes and plants bad seed, weeds that come and start to choke out the weed and compete, for soil and nutrients. And, so I I the I think the purpose of this parable is to help us as followers of Jesus explain, make sense of why if the kingdom is growing, why if Jesus is Lord, why is there still brokenness? Why is there still opposition?

Who who can stand against who can stand against the Lord Almighty? Right? We we sing that on Sunday. And yet there is opposition, and there is loss, and there's conflict, and there's struggle. And it's how do we make sense of that based on all the other pictures that Jesus gives of the kingdom growing, expanding, and it's, you know, it's it's spreading its branches out so, so that all people are being drawn to it.

And so there's this tension that, Jesus wants us to both acknowledge and try to make sense of as we walk with him and follow him in this world. So that's kinda what the what the parable is generally about. And in the middle of it, there's a plating of a good seed. There's an enemy who comes and sows bad seed, and and the two plants grow up together. And in the intervening time, some of the some of the king, the servants, the the king's servants come and ask, do you want us to gather up the weeds and get rid of them so they don't bother the wheat?

And the king says, no. No. Yeah. I you're just we're gonna let the weeds grow until the right time. There's gonna be a harvest, and and then the weeds will get bound up and and cast out, and the wheat will be gathered to me.

And so there's also a message there of what is our calling in the in the face of this conflict and opposition to the kingdom in this world, because there's a temptation to say, let's, you know, let's pick up a sword. Let's pick up a, you know, a hoe or a weed whacker or whatever and cut down all those bad people doing bad things. And Jesus says, no. I know. I I know what's happening.

I know what's going on, and I'm asking you to trust and be patient because the harvest will come, and and all will be made right. And I you have to trust, and let me be the one to do the judging at the end. Right. So it was we yeah. We just sort of explored that, and looked at a couple of a couple of key principles, like the reality of Jesus' kingdom.

What does it mean that Jesus has a kingdom? What kind of a kingdom is it? It's not a kingdom that comes by a force. It's not a kingdom that comes with a sword or with a hammer. It's a kingdom that's like a seed that grows in the ground, and Jesus has not given us swords to wield against perceived enemies.

He's given us seeds to plant, to try and bring up a good harvest. That's the work that we have to do in the face of this evil opposition to God's kingdom. And then how do I know if I'm in that kingdom? And am I living as a person who belongs to that kingdom? Who is a child of the king?

Who is has a good the fruit of Jesus' presence being produced in me and through me. Yep. Lots of lots of good things to reflect on. Mhmm. Yeah.

I mean, you did give people an invitation if they've never. They're like, I don't know if I'm a part of that. Like, to Yeah. Step into it and accept that. Yeah.

And and I think an invitation for all of us too to do a little bit of examination and say, okay. If I am a child of the kingdom, am I following and obeying the king? And is there evidence like a a wheat? We don't we don't probably in our language use in English, we don't use this language, but, you know, there is a fruit of a wheat plant. There's a wheat that seed that comes out of it that gets turned into something productive.

Right? That's the difference between the wheat and the weeds. The the wheat is a good crop because it's producing a fruit, that's useful and nourishing and life giving, as opposed to the weeds who are not. So am I if I'm a child of the king, is there fruit of is there evidence of that in my life? What what is the fruit of Jesus' presence in my life?

Something that I appreciated that you said in your sermon, just a small line is just that the the crop is growing. The harvest is increasing, but so are the weeds. Like, the weeds continue to spread. Yeah. But you didn't say it in a in a way that promotes fear or spreads fear.

It was just honest. Like, why should we be surprised? You know? And yet we get surprised when things are, like, in utter turmoil or, like Yeah. When we we're, like, that's a weed for sure.

Why did why are you here? You don't belong here. And you're, like, yeah. It's the world. This is exactly as Jesus predicted, you know, it was gonna be.

I yeah. Right. I I thanks, Claire. Yeah. I appreciate you picking that up.

I, I'm glad that was meaningful because I think that is part of why Jesus tells us this is so that we're not surprised. Like, the weeds are gonna continue to grow, and they're gonna continue to compete. And, they may win some battles. Right? Like, parts of the field may be taken over by the weeds, and we're not gonna be surprised by that, either in our own lives, like with particular circumstances that are expressions of, you know, the the kingdom of darkness and evil, or in the world around us or in relationships or situations.

Like, yeah, people who don't love Jesus are gonna look like they don't love what Jesus loves. And that is a reality in this world, and, a reality that we're not we shouldn't be surprised by, or offended, or taken aback, or have, you know, have it knock us back on our heels, and like, oh my gosh, how did this happen? Well, that's the reality of the world we live in until Jesus comes again. And I think that part of the question is, well, why? And we looked at that, I think the week before too.

God is patient, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. And it's an expression of his kindness and mercy that he hasn't brought about the end yet, right? Because he wants more people to come into his kingdom. And we're the the good the good crop trying to produce more good crop. Yep.

Yep. So what did you have to cut from your sermon on Sunday? Yes. Interesting digging into, this parable. There's a little bit of a history even going back all the way to Saint Augustine in the, I guess, fourth, fifth century of, reading the parable as being about the church and, like, explaining why there's a mixture of believers and unbelievers in the church.

And, you know, we don't we don't deny the reality of that. But that's not I mean, Jesus says the field is the world. And and he's explaining for his followers why the world is broken and messed up and and why life this side of heaven is still filled with conflict and difficulty and and opposition. So it's it's not meant to be a parable explaining, you know, a church that's full of weed and weeds. It's about the world that that's full of children of the king and children of the evil one.

So, yeah, I think we just sometimes people may hear that or run across that either maybe even in modern interpretation and just let you know, Jesus is pretty clear. It's about the world, not the church. And the the other thing that came to mind was, it's not specifically about this parable, but, it comes to mind in terms of how we read the parables and recognizing there are just there are some limitations to the parable as a form of teaching, which is fine. Like, the Jesus is saying, okay. Let me tell you a story about, a field and two different kinds of crops that are sown in it.

And, so we can't, like, go to this parable to try and figure out, like, so what kind of good fruit should the good crop be producing, and how do I know, and what's the measure of that's even where, you know, I went to, Galatians and was pulling out the fruit of the spirit, you know, as an example. But that's just one example of what the fruit of, you know, Jesus presence looks like in our lives. So we can't necessarily go to this parable to answer all those questions of, like, well, so what does that fruit look like in my life? And it's really not meant to be answering that question. So that's where it helps to read broadly, and and recognize, you know, as I'm reading through this particular parable, don't don't try to get it to answer questions that Jesus is not intending to answer.

Mhmm. Yes. Just let it be exactly what it is instead of trying to stretch it to explain all of the aspects of our faith life. Yeah. Which which is, again, why I think Jesus has so many different parables that are exploring different dimensions.

I mean, it's all the same faith. It's all the same life of walking with Jesus, but there's so many I mean, think about complicated and multifaceted our lives are. So God and his kingdom are gonna be even more complicated and multifaceted, and there's just a lot of different ways to look at it. People have used, even in terms of, like, Jesus' salvation as redemptive work. It's like a diamond, and there's so many you can turn it and see so many different facets and different angles.

And you're looking at the same thing, but you can look at it from different perspectives, different dimensions, and see rescue and, freedom from slavery and a debt paid and new life. And, I mean, there's all of those things are true. Right? And Yep. So we need all of those images to talk about a comprehensive salvation and a comprehensive faith.

Yeah. So, in light of the theme of the series, which is disrupted, how should we be disrupted, by this parable? And maybe how did it interrupt or disrupt your life in the last week? Yeah. Good question, Claire.

My name is Nancy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I you know, I I tried to cover some of that in the message. One is, you know, there may be people thinking that they're Christians because they're good moral people. Maybe they come to church, and Jesus tells the parable to really, I think, encourage us to ask, have I do I really know Jesus? Am I really following him? Do I really love him?

Do I acknowledge him as savior and Lord? Because that's the issue. That's what makes us a child of the king. For, you know, most of us who are probably already Christians, I I, you know, I try to ask ask, you know, encourage some reflection on what is the fruit of Jesus' presence in my life. Not not again, you know, I there's such a fine line to walk there because some of us have very sensitive consciences and we can become too introspective and too self doubting.

And maybe I haven't produced enough fruit. And that's not the point of the question. The question is really to ask to go to the Lord and ask him like, Lord, where do you where do you want to grow me? Where where are there areas that I, you know, I I'm maybe I'm not reflecting as much of you as as as you want to by the power of your spirit. Where are the areas where, you know, parts of my life aren't showing a lot of fruit of your presence?

And I I want I wanna hear that, Jesus. I I want I want to reflect the fact that I am a child of your kingdom and to bring your kingdom presence into the places where you take me. And I think you really hit on another area of disruption, which is to not be disrupted by the brokenness and the mess and the conflict in the world and the difficulty that we experience and the ugliness and opposition to Jesus that we see in the world around us. I mean, we should expect that and and not be disrupted, not ever faith threatened or undone, you know, because the the expectation is that's what life looks like. This side of the new heavens and the new earth is opposition and conflict and loss.

And yet the kingdom is still growing. I think for me, it's, at a personal and then at a maybe the larger, you know, kind of more social cultural level. Yeah, it's prompted me to reflect on and to ask Jesus what where are the areas that, you know, I can be thankful for where I see the fruit of your spirit's work in my life, and what are the areas where I could be reflecting more of you? What are the areas where you still wanna grow me, Jesus, and produce more good fruit? That's evidence of of you, so that so that people would see more of you reflected in me, Jesus.

Mhmm. Mhmm. For sure. Thanks for being willing to share her. Yeah.

Thanks. Thank you for your time today, Jeff. Thank you, Claire. It's always good. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Cut for Time.

If you wish to submit questions to our pastors following their sermon, you can email them to podcast@faithliveitout.org or text them into our faith church texting number, and we'll do our best to cover it in the week's episode. If this conversation blessed you in any way, we encourage you to share it with others. Thanks for listening. We'll be back again next week.