Dear Brethren,

There are only a few brethren who want to think about the weeding out process that the Church of God must go through and all that it entails.  It is important that we fully realize that we are going through a qualifying procedure where God will determine who will be in the better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35).

Mark 13:32-33  Of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 

It may be that God the Father has a certain number in mind of those who will reign and rule with His Son, Jesus Christ in the millennium.  How close are we to that number being filled up?

Revelation 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Those one-thousand years are only the beginning of an eternity in the Kingdom of God.  All those people who have ever been called to the knowledge of the Sabbath and the Holy Days are among those who make up the list of qualified applicants who aspire to reign with Christ.  In the selection process, God will determine who is ready and able to teach those in the world tomorrow the way of God that leads to eternal life.

Isaiah 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Who better to teach others God’s way than those who have lived it in this lifetime.  And that is where the weeding out process will make all the difference.  God calls the useless and obnoxious weeds tares.  God describes our congregations as being made up of wheat and tares.  Do we examine ourselves and ask, “Am I a tare among the wheat, or am I wheat among the tares?”  We are told that the angels will separate the tares, "them which do iniquity," from the wheat, "the children of the Kingdom.”

Matthew 13:40-41  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.  The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.

Here is the strange thing.  God says to let that mixed congregation coexist with one another, and do not do anything to clean it up.  When asked, “Who sowed these tares among the wheat,” Jesus said unto them:

Matthew 13:28-29  An enemy has done this. The servants said unto Him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  But He said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

The wheat and tares are to grow together, and God says don’t even try to uproot the weeds in the congregation!  Again, why does God allow this hostile environment of false ministers and unconverted brethren to persist in our congregations?  The answer to that question is that’s where true Christians are to build Godly Character.  No one is going into the Kingdom without Godly Character.  Every successful applicant for the Kingdom will have run the gamut Paul described:

2Corinthians 4:8-9 We are beset with trouble on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

Brethren, we have been invited to the marriage supper that God the Father will host for Jesus.  But let’s understand that just being invited to the marriage supper is not enough.

Matthew 22:2-5  The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain King, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth His servants to call them that were invited to the wedding: and they would not come.  Again, He sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise… (We’ll see the end of the story in a moment.)

The bottom line is this:  Many people who have been invited to the Kingdom of God are not going to make the final cut.  It is not enough to meet with friends on the Sabbath or go to the Feast every year.  There is so much more to being a true Christian.  The question is:  Will we have put on the proper wedding garment – which is the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:7-8)?  It is our hope and faith that we will be with Jesus Christ at His return.

Matthew 22:11  When the King came in to see the guests, He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 

Those who made light of the invitation from God the Father will not make the final cut because they refused to put on the proper wedding garment – which is the righteousness of the saints.

Over the years we’ve seen many of those we attended Sabbath services with fall away – never to be renewed.  The sorting out is not yet complete.  It is apparent that the Church of God is not as prepared as it should be to meet Jesus Christ at His return.  The weeding out of the tares will not be complete until just before Jesus Christ returns.  What percentage of those people that we count as brothers and sisters in Christ will actually be teachers in the Kingdom of God?

Matthew 22:14  Many are called, but few are chosen.

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Sermon:

"The Weeding Out"