Bro Gary Sunday Morning 7/3/11
Matthew 20:1-16 KJVR
(1) For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
(2) And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
(3) And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
(4) And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
(5) Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
(6) And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
(7) They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
(8) So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
(9) And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
(10) But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
(11) And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
(12) Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
(13) But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
(14) Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
(15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
(16) So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. This parable concerning the idle soul is only recorded in the book of Matthew. The author of this parable is Jesus Christ.
He speaks here of the kingdom of heaven. God has ordained things of this time world to help us identify with things of eternity. The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, and the Church of God are universal terms that have meaning that transcends time. It begins here on earth but doesn’t end with our time here.
The Kingdom of Heaven likened to a man that is a householder: one of authority. Because of the authority of the author of this parable and the authority of this parable I will not be able to over emphasize the meaning of this parable this morning. It comes to you from one of great authority. The householder is God the Father, Jesus the Son and He uses the Holy Spirit to work with us and to meet needs.
This householder went out to hire laborers. Labor is a wonderful thing and will do for you physically and mentally what nothing else will do. It will be what separates the sheep from the goats.
The laborers were hired into His vineyard. (The depth of some of these parables is astonishing. The depths of the thought of the householder, of the laborer, of the vineyard.)
A vineyard is designed to be beautiful. I’m so glad, even though there are a lot of misconceptions about spiritual things: God, Heaven, and His church; He has made everything beautiful. The author of this parable, one of great authority, designed that the vineyard would be beautiful.
DS Warner said, “Sin had made my life so bitter.” You don’t have to even touch someone’s bitterness to know how ugly bitterness is.
Jesus came and taught this parable about a householder that went out to hire laborers into His vineyard. Part of the work that God has designed for his laborers is to help beautify the ones that the destroyer has made so desolate.
A vineyard requires much care. Before you request prayer for any sinner, how much time do you plan to give that soul? We’ve been blessed with grandchildren. It requires much time. Our world today doesn’t bring people to a point of seeking after salvation without leaving them with lots of baggage. I came to God with lots of pain, misconception, error, and misunderstanding. People think they know all about God and the Bible. When they come to God they have much to learn.
In order for a vineyard to be producing there must be much care. For this to happen, the soil must be prepared. You don’t grow anything by just planting it. In order for it to prosper, the ground must be cultivated. We live where rocks are always coming up. There is something about the earth that keeps bringing up rocks.
This householder went out to hire individuals that would be willing to be rock pickers and not destroy the plants that have been planted. Failure, regrets, abuse, being unloved and unwanted, all are rocks in the ground. A vineyard must have the rocks removed, the weeds taken out.
We plant a garden; we never plant weeds. I have one of the most beautiful garlic crops in Paradise but if you come and view that garlic you will also see weeds. We don’t have to do anything to have weeds in our life. We have to do a lot of work to not have weeds in our life. It is difficult to let someone help you get the weeds out of your life.
The roots, very seldom is the raspberry or blackberry taken out that you don’t leave roots behind, the roots must come out.
There must be support for the vine and the branches in a vineyard. It is important that that support be tenderly placed. If your hands are hanging down and your knees are feeble, we are not beating you up this morning. But are you willing to let one of the laborers to help you get a support under that? We are responsible to be a laborer even when we feel like our hands are hanging down. The design of God is to heal and make us beautiful.
The dead and the less bearing grape vines must be pruned out. I’ve never had the courage to go to our apple tree or pear tree and prune them. In the spiritual realm and the Kingdom of Heaven, God wants the laborers to help one another. We must be willing to encourage our brother and sister that the God we serve is able to help them have bigger fruit. Sometimes our fruit is pretty small. I’m not being critical of you and you’re not being critical of me. This parable has a depth that I can only touch the surface of.
Jesus, a man of authority, bought us with his precious blood. Daniel prophesied that in the days of the kings a kingdom would be set up that would have no end. Jesus came along and in wisdom said, “I’m going to teach a spiritual lesson in a parable that a householder went out and sent spiritual laborers into his vineyard.”
When the laborer sees lots of little fruit and prunes out the dead then clears the rocks from the soil. When he sees that there are a lot of clusters and they are going to be just little clusters, since he wants lots of juice and lots of big fruit, then he carefully takes the pruners. He doesn’t want to destroy it all. He takes the branch because he wants to let the sunlight in and the branch he is trimming would take away from the fruit if it was left in the vine.
There are foxes and bears that come into the vineyards. Songs of Solomon teaches for us to take the little foxes… The householder wanted to hire the individuals that could take care of the foxes. Foxes are such that you can tell after a fox has been there but it is hard to catch them there. God wants you and I to be alert and to use what we’ve experienced of the foxes in our lives to help others. We need to be humble enough to admit it and let others know that ‘a fox spoiled my fruit and God had mercy on me’. I want to help others and be a fox hunter in the vineyard. God wants you and me to know what the foxes are.
The bears want to come right before the harvest, right before the reaping. God help us to have an anointing from Him to help us to take care of our self and to help us to take care of each other. I’ve seen it over and over again, many blessings were at the point of being given, God was going to do exactly what was needed, and the bears got in and destroyed everything.
At the time of the harvest, all the family and all the laborers of the household are a part of the harvest. May God help every one of us to have positioned our self so that, having heard the call in harvest time, we’re all involved in the harvest.
There are stations and positions of watch and care 24/7 in harvest time.
Verse 21. The householder went out early in the morning. Jesus goes out early in the morning. There is a call to laborers to come and work in the vineyard. The call of God, His son, and the Holy Spirit is a call to the soul.
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
If you answer the call to the spiritual man first, your life will travel the right highway. If you answer the call to the fleshly man first, your life will be constantly distracted.
I see the Kelly children; there is something about the tender innocent heart of a child that when they feel the spirit of God, they turn to Him.
There is another call that goes out from the enemy of our soul. Paul said that he kept his body under lest when he’d preached to others he himself should be a cast away.
Another call that comes out is the call of the flesh, we all have flesh. The call of carnality goes out; it is the call of rebellion, “I’m going to do it my own way.” How many have heard the call of God in their early years and didn’t want to fully sell out because they wanted their own way? If they choose to answer the call of the flesh in their youth, they will choose their own way as adults.
There is also the call of the world, it calls so strongly. The world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. They are not just a whispering voice. The merchandisers of today have become so skilled atof selling people what they don’t need, they just want.
WE have a natural body, we have eyes and ears. I think of the abuse of people’s ears, they drive by and don’t have to have their windows rolled down and you hear their music. There is something about the flesh that reaches out to that.
There is no music like the music in your soul. No music like hearing Bro and Sis Maxwell sing, “I have no regrets.” No music like the song, “It is well with my soul.” “What a friend we have in Jesus”, the song of Moses and of the Lamb. No music like that.
There is something about the flesh that wants music that will satisfy the flesh and carnality. There is such a call to the lust of the flesh through music.
The lust of the eyes, how people buy things because they desired them. Then they don’t want it after they got it. The lust of the flesh, fathers decide to go their own way, women decide to not be mothers. It is an old problem. David said, “When your father and your mother forsake you the Lord will lift you up.”
Verse 3. At the third hour he saw others standing idle. He’s teaching here about spiritual idleness. People are looking for something; they are standing idle and God calls them to righteous activity. The call to be hired has a definite choice involved. It is as Joshua said, ‘choose you this day who you will serve.’
My message this morning will not force anyone to work. God will not force anyone; He is a King with a heart of a shepherd.
Verse 4. Whatsoever is right I will pay. I want to emphasize this morning:
Isa 65:1 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
I think this morning of the Jews, they rejected Jesus. I think of the sad condition of children that were born and their parents taught them in the ways of truth and when they grow up they decide that they don’t want that straight and narrow way.
Isa 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isa 65:12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
Be encouraged in the thought that the call went out the 3rd, the 6th, the 9th, and the 11th hour. It is wonderful that God calls again and again; the other factor is that people become dull of hearing. I think of the neighbors of my mom and dad that came to them to ask that they quit praying for them so that they could sleep nights because they were not willing to change their life and wanted to remain in the pleasures of sin.
People can forsake God but they never will be able to get away from reaping. We have a wonderful opportunity of either choosing to serve God or forsake God. We have many things that we can fill our time with. We want to choose to be doing what God wants us to do.
“because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.”
Isa 65:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
Seek God early in the day. As the day progresses, seek God again. Seek Him in the night. Have good devotions. Too much is at stake to be careless. I have a soul, I’m near the end of this journey, yet I’ve hardly started the journey. I’m going to live forever.
Those that refuse to be laborers are going to be ashamed. Is there anything like being ashamed? I’m going to deal with one that is eternal. I have every opportunity to be spiritual, to labor, and to bear fruit.
“My servant shall rejoice.” One of these days my story is going to be written. I was there when in the last breaths of my mother she said, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul…” I want to go out praising God. I don’t want to be ashamed or saying, “Oh I wish…”
Isa 65:16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Since the days of Solomon, wisdom cries in the streets. Jesus came and his voice was not loud and boisterous. Wisdom walked among them.
Proverbs 8 “Unto you oh men I call and my voice is to the sons of men.”
This morning before you got here God spoke to you. You may not have listened, your mind may have been thinking of other things. He is calling unto you.
I just skimmed the depth of this parable but I did my best. I can only preach what I know. If God has visited you this morning, if you are saved, are you humble enough to come and bow at the front pew and drive your stake a little deeper? “God you’ve spoken to me before but I let the flesh get in the way, the cares and the fear of whatever to get in the way. God I ask you to forgive me, and I want to drive that stake and ask the saints to help me to get pruned of this for the vineyard is to be beautiful.”
You can know that your sins are cast as far as the east is from the west never to be remembered again. If you’re still remembering your old sin, it will not be long until it is influencing you. You can know that your sin is buried in the depths of the sea. There is great depth to the sea; you can know beyond the shadow of any doubt that your sins are forgiven.
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