The Messiah Secret – The Wheat Harvest    

One of the amazing facts of life is that a wheat seed has to die before it can start to grow and in the fullness of time the plant produces many seeds after its own kind.” Contained in the seed is the complete make up of a wheat plant, its colour, height etc.

Jesus described himself as the seed of wheat that had first to die to produce more seeds. 

“Unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and dies it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12: 24.

The wheat seed has first to die and that takes place while it is being stored over several months where the process dying off is completed, afterwards the seeds can be planted in the field. After the seed is planted it lies in the soil in darkness where it germinates and then starts to grow as it is watered by the rain. 

Jesus' words were fulfilled when in his humanity he died on the cross, to produce the seeds of his eternal life.

The Messiah’s Secret Revealed

The disciples and followers of Jesus were devastated when Jesus died on the cross. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus talking to the stranger said, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” This shows that his disciples hadn’t understood that Jesus had to die to fulfil the prophesies of the resurrection of the Messiah. Luke 24: 21. Job 19: 24. Psalm 16: 10. 49: 9.

After Jesus had died on the cross he was taken down and carried by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea to a tomb where he was buried and the tomb was sealed. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. The seed, Jesus, had to die and become the first fruits of the resurrection. Matthew 27: 57-61. Luke 24: 21, 36-43. Romans 8: 12-25.  Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

The eternal seeds the good news about Jesus.

“You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 

The Holy Spirit bears witness, shows us within our being, our mind and conscience of a change that has taken place through receiving into our heart the words that tell us of what Jesus has done for us on the cross and in his resurrection and ascension. These words are the imperishable seeds of faith that germinate within us as they are planted in the heart and unite with our old nature that dies and our new nature appears, so we begin to grow and think in the same way as Jesus showing compassion and wanting to please God and our way of life, we become ‘Christ-like’, a Christian. The seed of faith sown in the heart is complete in itself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It contains the potential to grow to its fullness. 

The seeds sown in the field

The Lord our God created us with a free will, so that we can choose what we believe and many after hearing the gospel message repeatedly turn away from it and seek a self determined way of life. In the parable Jesus identifies these people as weeds not wheat.

Many Christians after receiving Jesus as their Saviour do not move on from there, they continue to look at the cross, and are stuck between the cross and moving forward to walk in the Spirit. 

From my experience I have observed  that for some Christians there is a hurdle of ‘self’ we say what can I do for God? What am I capable of? What am I comfortable doing? The thought of asking Jesus what he wants me to do for him, the brake goes on, the traffic lights change to red. It is as if they are restricted by doubt and wanting the best of both worlds and what usually follows gradually they fall away or like some of Jesus’ followers who fell away when he said that he was the ‘bread of life.’  John 6: 66. 2 Timothy 3: 5.

Jesus died to his own will to do the will of his Father and we find it is the same for every Christian, Jesus calls us to look to doing his will and not our own desires. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus died to ‘ self,’ Jesus said, “Father if you are willing remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will be done, but I your will be done.” Luke 22: 42. The result of Jesus dying to self he was willing to fulfil the task that God his Father had sent him to do which was to literally die on a cross, in great pain and agony, spiritually taking upon himself sin and the causes of sin against God.

We are not under Law but under grace.

When I started woodcarving in the early eighties I went to wood work evening classes one of the items I made was a bedding box  1 &1/2 metres by ½ metre with five carved panels. On one of the panels I carved these words, ‘A Christian is not under law, but is under grace.’ On another panel Jesus walking on water, on another my daughter age 5 her hands praying and on another a cross and on another an open Bible.

The law written into my  heart when I heard at a Bible study in the 1970’s that the commandments are not to be adhered to as a set of rules, and later studying Paul’s letter to the Romans we are not under Law but under grace.  Under grace the Lord God wants us to be like a child dependant upon its parents, we are God’s children and we come to the Father in prayer as we are dependent upon him for our very life. 

The cross is the way to find God our Father’s forgiveness, his love, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16. By faith we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we can’t earn our salvation by good works that is by self effort, I’ll do this to please God, all within the limits of our self control what we decide to do for God. Faith to believe is followed by the Lord directing our path by giving us works to do, so we die to self, we say how we can please God.

Jesus, the eternal Word of God the Father, as we take hold in our hearts of Jesus’ words they are Spirit filled living words by them we are strengthened to stand against the unseen principalities and powers, the spiritual wickedness that is at work in the world.

The Bible tells us that the Cherubim Satan was full of self esteem and he developed a desire for power, his ambition was to be like God. As a result other angels joined him and together they conspired against God. A battle was fought and Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven. Isaiah 14 12-17. Job 1: 7. 2: 2.

Jesus saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Luke 10: 18. 

In Moses account of creation on day two when the atmosphere came into being, the words ‘it was good’ are not written like they are on the other days. It is generally taught that when Satan was cast out of heaven he took up residence in earth’s atmosphere, where he roams to and fro, like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Genesis 1: 6-8. 1 Peter 5: 8.    

Moses inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote that the first people Adam and Eve were created by God a living being and had fellowship with God until they were tempted by Satan to become like God. They responded to the temptation and fell under the spiritual influence of Satan and the condemnation of God. Genesis 2: 7. 3:1-7, 23   

Jesus is the second Adam he has set us free from their condemnation. 

By faith and grace (undeserved giving from God) he gave power to those who believe in his name to become children of God. John 1: 12.  

(I didn't take a picture of the 5th panel Jesus walking on water. The box is to heavy for me to move. Hebrews 11: 1) 
Jesus walked on water in the power of faith, Peter asked if he could join him having the faith to believe he could be like Jesus and then we read his faith faltered and he began to sink and Jesus took hold of him. 
What happened to Peter's faith? Maybe just for a moment the strength of the waves made him unsteady, and his humanity got in the way of his faith. The Lord understands our weaknesses and the enemy will hinder us if he can, but Jesus is always there to lift us up, the Holy Spirit comforts us and Christian friends encourage us. Matthew 14: 28-32                                                                         

The reality of personally knowing that God is our Father.   

I can only speak of what I know from my own experience, this knowing that God was my heavenly Father I realised when I received the Holy Spirit from the laying on of hands by Rev Ronald Freeman in 1980 and I knew personally that Jesus was God made visible in the flesh through studying the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew Chapters 5-7.  

A walk in grace  

I was listening to a home insurance ad on TV, it stated by paying so much a week the benefits you would receive: replacement of breakages: vases, glass domes, TV, windows, even to the extent of re-building your home.

Jesus has paid the payment in full for our salvation and the benefits are enormous, out of this world. 

When any person in the world turns to accept Jesus as their Saviour, Jesus’ final sacrifice deals with all our sin that has stood between ourselves and God. 

It is like erasing words or files on our computer and empting the recycling bin as well, both at the same time. No records kept of wrongs. We are a new creation in Christ, our broken spoiled nature is replaced with a new nature like Jesus himself.   

The enemy would try to recover his lost ground in our life, but we are set free from any condemnation. Romans 8: 1    

When I am tempted by Satan and I fall into sin and I seek God’s forgiveness and say I am sorry to God.  I know that I have been forgiven as there is no condemnation no guilt or fear lingering on as it used to do. The devil cannot recycle my sin, unless I allow him to.  

If I need to be reconciled to someone then the Lord will go before me and enable me to say sorry and if that person still holds onto unforgiveness then that is between themselves and God, I am  free from any condemnation.  

Corrie Ten Boom wrote that we should imagine a pond with a sign ‘no fishing’ and we should throw our sins forgiven into it and leave them there at the bottom of the pond. "Clippings from my Notebook" Corrie ten Boom page 75
  

Angels reap the harvest 
Our gospel reading is where Jesus illustrated this event of the gathering of the wheat harvest, the children of God from among those he described as weeds growing among the wheat. Revelation 20: 6   

Some years ago the Lord gave me a picture of a field with angels sounding the trumpet ready to separate the wheat and weeds that where growing together.  I wanted to carve the picture and make a bed head. I bought beech wood planks and duly at evening class made them up into a large board and started to carve the picture of this wheat field. However, the wood is so hard I haven’t finished the carving. (Below the unfinished wood carving on the bed head)  This unfinished work reminds me of the parable in the reading: the angels gathering in of the wheat harvest at the end of the age that has yet to take place.  

The wheat and the weeds growing together in some cases rubbing against each other, when this happens it is like Christians living and working together with unbelievers. There are occasions when our way of life comes into conflict with those we are rubbing along with. I remember being invited to a lingerie party only I found out beforehand that it was in order to buy sexy underwear, I declined the invitation. The world is overflowing with seducing spirits.  

The close of the age.  

Another picture the Lord gave me in 2002 was of wheat in a field shining like the sun.  I painted it on a small piece of paper and pinned it up in the church vestry. Any picture received usually is associated with scripture.  ( I have kept a folder with the pictures that the Lord has given me.)  

21^st July 2002 St. Mary’s Church. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father Matthew 13: 43. I discerned that the wheat were people belonging to our church.  At that time the young teenagers of St Mary’s and St Paul’s, Kay Street Baptist and the youth from other churches began to move with the Holy Spirit and many teenagers came to Christ.  

All creation waits for the new heaven and the new earth that follows the close of the age. 

After the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ Satan is let lose for a period of time, this is followed by the end of the age battle where Satan and his fallen angels are defeated and destroyed. The books of life are opened and both great and small come before Almighty God’s white throne for judgement. Revelation 20: 7 -15

Jesus ends his parable, “He who has ears, let them hear.”  Jesus’ sense of humour in us having ears like the wheat.