WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.720 This podcast is the Ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church. 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.080 For more information in our church, please visit grandparkway.org. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:17.199 Well, we are continuing on in our uh in our sermon series on the parables of Jesus, and we'll continue to do that all the way uh through mid-August, and then uh we'll start something new. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:21.760 I think it's on August the 18th, uh when uh things resume as normal around here. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:26.960 So uh but we are in the in the uh we're gonna be talking about the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:28.160 That's a mouthful. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:40.399 Uh the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, and it is in Matthew chapter 20, and we're gonna read the first 16 verses of Matthew 20 as we look at the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:44.960 And and and this there's a few things that God's gonna impress upon our hearts and our minds today. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.759 The first one is this we have all got to have a proper perspective on who God is. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:01:00.240 I wrote a bit a little bit about that in an email yesterday, just this God of perspective, and uh, I was surprised that none of you chastise me on my opinion of soccer, uh, which means you all must agree. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.879 Uh either that or all of them are in Costa Rica playing whatever games they're playing. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:10.640 Uh but nonetheless, uh we we have we've got to have this perspective on God that that is true and that is right. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:17.840 Uh Tozer said that the most important thing about a person uh is what comes into their mind whenever they think about God. 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:26.480 And so whenever whenever you mention God, or you you hear the word God and understand the names of God, what comes into your mind is the most important thing about you. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:34.159 Uh and so, since that's true, we've got to have a great, beautifully text-centered uh appreciation and perspective of who God is. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:38.879 And the second one is this if you hear nothing from me for the rest of the day, I'll just give away the end. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:39.599 You can leave. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.159 If you have a potty break, you never want to come back, that's fine too. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:43.120 Whatever you need to do. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:45.040 Yes, I'm the father of two preschoolers. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.040 Potty break is normal language for me. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:54.560 Uh but whatever it is, if you hear nothing from me for the rest of the day, is this the kingdom is not about what you deserve. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:59.439 And that is unbelievable and unbelievably good news. 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:02.640 And I say unbelievable because in our minds, it truly is. 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:10.800 It's so good and so far out there that to really, really grasp the depth and the breadth of that statement, uh, it can be really unbelievable. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:14.960 But the kingdom is not about what you and I deserve. 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:17.680 It is about God's generosity. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.919 And that's exactly the point that Jesus makes today in Matthew chapter 20. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:27.599 If you don't have your Bible, we are on page 825 of the Bible on the end of your row. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.719 Please pick that up, and we'll be reading from there shortly. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.319 Before I get to that, let me just say this that Jesus is about to enter into his Passion Week, his last week on earth. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:48.639 And this is actually the final parable that's recorded in the book of Matthew before he kind of takes the turn and gets on a donkey and rides into Jerusalem, and literally all hell breaks loose on earth to take down the Savior. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:03:03.520 So this is the last one that he tells his disciples, and he's continuing to try to reorient their minds, continuing to try and take the lens of the world off of their eyes and perform cataract surgery to put new lenses on, kingdom lenses on his disciples. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:16.960 And so he's walking around and he's inviting children to come to him, and he's he's addressing young rulers that are unbelievably wealthy and rich, and saying, no, just because he's rich, that doesn't mean that God's approval is on him. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:20.000 Matter of fact, because that's what the culture would be saying. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:21.759 Well, he's rich, God must love him. 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.680 I'm poor, so I must be a sinner. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:27.360 My circumstances are great, so God must be approving of me right now. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.319 My circumstances are terrible, so what did I do wrong? 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.680 That's not so different than the world we live in today. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:47.759 And so Jesus enters into all that, and then he says this in Matthew chapter 20, 1 to 16, which says this, For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:04:02.240 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard, and going out about the third hour, or 9 a.m., he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:03.199 So they went. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:08.639 Going out again about the sixth hour, or noon, in the ninth hour, or three PM, he said the same. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:15.919 And then at about the eleventh hour, or five PM, he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.639 And they said to him, Because no one has hired us. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:21.199 And he said to them, You go into the vineyard too. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:30.000 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:35.680 And when those hired about the eleventh hour, five PM, came, each of them received a denarius. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:40.800 Now when those hired first, say around six AM, they thought that they would receive more. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:55.680 But each of them also grumbled, but each of them also received a denarius, and on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, These last worked only an hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:59.600 But he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:03.199 Do you not agree with do you not did you not agree with me for a denarius? 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.000 Take what's take what belongs to you and go. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.839 I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.839 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.560 Or do you begrudge my generosity? 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:21.759 So that the last will be first, and the first will be last. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:27.920 What unbelievable statements by Jesus as he's continuing to reorient his disciples. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:33.040 What we know about this is that this would have been a real life situation that his disciples would have been able to relate to. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.199 Maybe hard for us several years later, but here's what was going on at the time. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:45.120 Jesus is telling this story about uh uh a very wealthy landowner, so obviously it's not wealth that gets you into heaven, it's not wealth that takes you out of heaven. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:47.839 It's this landowner that looks and it's harvest time. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.279 And his normal hired hands cannot handle all the work. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.360 And so he goes into the marketplace and he hires day laborers. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:56.639 Uh, much like today. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.120 I remember growing up, this is probably illegal on all levels. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:10.160 Uh, but I remember growing up and being in my dad's suburban and going into, I mean, in every probably nook and cranny of any town in America, you can find day laborers. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:17.199 Uh, I remember going and hiring day laborers and bringing them over to the house, and they would work all day, and my dad would pay them a generous wage. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:18.240 Very same thing. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:19.600 I loved those days, by the way. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:20.959 That meant I didn't have to do any work. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:22.959 That meant I wasn't paying, I wasn't picking the weeds. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:26.319 I was out doing something fun, or we were out at Galvison or whatever. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:27.439 I loved those days. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:32.639 Uh so it's very, very similar to things that we might see, definitely things we notice uh along the road. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.079 And so it's harvest time. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:44.720 The landowner needs a bunch of labor, so he goes into the marketplace and he starts to pick and choose his workers uh for the much work that needed to get done. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:46.240 He does so at 6 a.m. 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.920 Of course, there are laborers there, and he does all throughout the day. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:54.160 Now, I don't know about you, but it's a strange thing to hire somebody new at 5 p.m. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:56.160 Yeah? 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:58.800 I mean, you're not gonna go to work on Monday and at 5 p.m. 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:04.560 your boss shows up and says, Hey, this is uh Bob, they're gonna be taking care of for the rest of the day, they're gonna be working here just today. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:05.920 That's not gonna happen. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:14.000 Uh and so Jesus does kind of just peculiar and tells peculiar points to stories to prove really, really poignant points. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:20.560 Uh and so as we get into this, uh, he just basically tells us there's two people in the kingdom, two types of people in the kingdom, and then there's him. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:21.920 There's himself. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:23.199 It's he is the giver. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:30.319 He is the generous, good, gracious master of the house, the landowner that we'll read about and hear about at the end of all of this. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.000 But there's two people that come before that. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.600 There's those who bargain, and then there's those whose trust. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:39.600 In the kingdom, there are those who bargain and there are those who trust. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:50.800 And so for the rest of our time, I just want to look at kind of the characteristics of these two people and the results of what happens when we live out of these two mindsets, especially when we apply those mindsets to God. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:55.680 The first one is this is that bargaining with God is absolutely disappointing. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:02.000 Bargaining with God is only going to produce disappointment in your life. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.800 Now, I'm not talking about Moses bargaining with God. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:05.759 Hey, these are your people. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:06.879 Don't forget about your people here. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:14.079 I mean, if you do this, I mean, if you if you if you destroy your people, I mean, all the nations around us are gonna wonder, that's the God that rescues them? 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:14.879 I don't think so. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:16.879 All right, all right, all right, I'll relent. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.839 I'm not talking about the the the bargaining that Abraham did. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.959 Lord, if there's 50 people, if there's 40, how about 10? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:27.600 I mean, that takes a lot of boldness to approach God in such a way and start baring. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:39.120 I'm not talking about that, because in those instances, those two men stood in the place of God's people to take away God's wrath, to appease and satisfy God's wrath. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.240 That's not what I'm talking about. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:47.919 Matter of fact, that's not even our position to do, because the wrath of God has been appeased and satisfied in Jesus Christ alone. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.039 And not only has it been satisfied, it's been taken away. 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.200 That's an unbelievable statement. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:57.039 It's not even in the realm of where we live, it's not even in the vineyard. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:01.840 God's wrath has been literally taken away, thrown into the sea. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.919 I'm not talking about that bargaining. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:09.600 I'm talking about the bargaining that approaches God, much like the workers did in verse 2, where it says this. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.960 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, that's all I have to say. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:19.519 See, they are in the marketplace and they're all there. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.000 This is what we know about the text and about this story. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.399 All these different workers are there early. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:25.919 They're all there at 6 a.m. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:38.000 And if you don't know anything about day labors, what ends up happening is the guys that are buff, I mean the guys that are flexing with their shirt off, they're proving to everybody else that I can be a good worker for you for the rest of the day. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.320 And so those are the guys that get picked first. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:40.799 Okay? 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:48.240 Those are the guys that the the landowner, the master of the house is coming out to the marketplace and saying, All right, I'll take you, you, you, and you. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:48.720 Why? 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.480 Because of their skill set, because of what they look like, because they they're gonna prove to be good workers throughout the day. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:56.240 You guys following that? 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:56.799 Yeah. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:57.360 Okay. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:06.799 So uh most of us didn't show up on, or not gonna show up on Monday and flex and ask your boss to hire you for something, but but the reality is a lot of us will show up really early. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:10.639 We're eager beavers, we're we're the early bird gets the worm kind of people. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.919 And an American society that's absolutely valued. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.639 And that's not what this is text is about, though. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:22.639 This is about the heart in which we approach God because they're all there in the marketplace early. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:27.519 These bargainers approach God, approach the landowner, approach the master of the house. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.759 They were eager, they were certainly, they were hired at six. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:31.039 There's good things about them. 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:33.200 They were competent, they were strong. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:44.559 The problem is they wanted a wage, and they agreed upon that wage, and they approached the landowner with this heart that says, Hey, I've been taken advantage of by pretty much everyone else in this world. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.440 I need to know what you're gonna give me up front. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.519 I need to know what you're gonna do for me up front. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:58.960 And let me just say that if we are approaching God with that posture, what we'll find out later on is that he's got fullness. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.360 It's not like he's just got like a bank account and there's only so much in the bank account. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:08.960 And so if he gives some to build, then that means less for you over here, and if he gives some to you over here, that means less for you over there. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:15.279 No, he's got a treasury of fullness, grace upon grace that we'll find out here at the end that John talks about. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:34.159 And so when he when he's hiring you, bringing you out of the marketplace, which is where all of our faith begins, and brings you into the vineyard where you didn't belong to be in the first place, he's not he's not telling you, and he's really warning all of us hey, don't have the posture that says, I need to know what you're gonna give me right up front. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:41.120 When we do that, we're we're we're it's not accusatory yet, but when we approach God in that way, what we're really saying is we don't trust you. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:47.039 We've been wronged and we've been hurt by too many people in this world, and so we don't trust you. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:51.600 Because when that happens, we read it at the beginning of service in Psalm 1 uh in Psalm 18. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:53.120 We read this at the beginning of service. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.840 It says, With the merciful, you show yourself merciful. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.080 With the blameless, you show yourself blameless. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.000 With the purified, you show yourself pure. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:04.879 But listen, with the crooked, you make yourself seem tortuous. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:07.679 Why is that? 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:11.440 Because our heart in approaching God is totally off. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:22.960 And so he's going to make it to where we we may miss the goodness and the mercy and the generosity of God if all we're doing is going, I just need to know a little bit of certainty here as to what you're paying me. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:26.399 They were expecting to be taken advantage of. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:28.240 That was the first thing that probably they did wrong. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.080 Second thing is verse 11 and 12. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:35.919 They get to this point at the end of the day, and the master of the house is purposefully paying everyone in reverse order. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:39.919 Uh and they get to the end of the day and they start to grumble against their neighbor here. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:47.200 Verse 11 and 12, and on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, These last worked only an hour. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.799 I mean, how dare you? 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.159 You and I all can relate to this first worker. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:59.919 You all have worked a job that's been too hard, you've been overworked, you've been underpaid, and you look around, you're like, okay, this is just not right. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.960 At the end of the day, I mean, you're just taking advantage of me here. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:05.440 Uh, it's basically the equivalent of this. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:30.960 It's it's being hired, going in on an interview, being hired, and on your interview you talk about uh an agreeable wage, uh, whatever your salary might be, and you get hired and you start, and all of a sudden you realize you didn't know this, but you're the first person in this job, and other people start to get hired, and all of a sudden you start to realize, hey, they're not working as hard as I am, and uh, you know what, I got other problems with not only just their work ethic, but I come to find out they're getting paid more than me. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:36.799 All of us, most of us have been in a similar situation, if not the exact same situation. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.840 So we can relate with this first type of worker. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.799 The problem is that they have this uh this unceasing sin of comparison. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:48.480 The sin of comparison will rob us. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:51.919 It is sneaky, and it'll it's here before we even know it. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.320 The sin of comparison will rob us of freedom. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:05.440 The sin of comparison will rob us of the promise, the sin of comparison robs us of joy because all of a sudden, what was fine, our salary was fine until I figured out what you're making, and now I'm not okay with that anymore. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:15.600 The sin of comparison is something that's been in the people of God for a long, long time, robbing us of freedom, robbing us of the promise. 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:31.360 In the book of Numbers, uh, we see this grumbling spirit in the book uh yes, in the book of Numbers and in the people of Israel, when they are wandering in the desert, and Moses is leading them as any good shepherd would, and uh they don't quite know where they're going, they don't quite know where they're headed. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.279 Moses doesn't even know really where they're headed yet. 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:41.600 God hasn't revealed that, and so they're kind of doing a couple of circles in the sand, and they realize, hey, this little speck of sand, Moses, looks a lot familiar to me, and I'm not okay with that. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.480 I'm gonna appoint a new leader, and we're headed back to Egypt. 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:52.799 And so in Numbers 14, uh, verse 2, it says, And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:15:06.320 Now, we don't know how many people were there, but safe estimations are in the millions of people, of Israelites in the desert, and they've been there and they're looking around and they're going, Okay, this rock right here looks familiar. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.720 I can see the setting of the sun, I know I've seen that before. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:11.120 Moses and Aaron, y'all even know what you're doing. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:18.399 Because although Egypt was full of slavery and oppression, and oh, by the way, they tried to kill our firstborn, I'd rather go back. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.240 You don't even know where you're headed. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:21.679 I'd rather go back. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:28.159 There is a grumbling in the people of God that if we are not careful, it will rob us of the promise of what's ahead. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:36.960 Even though we can't see it, even though we don't know exactly what it's gonna look like, if we would just trust God's intentions for us, then we'll be able to find it one day. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.279 And I must say that my wife is really the one that's been preaching this sermon to me for years. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:48.000 And so there's the first uh, I don't know what I want to call it, Melissa ism. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:59.120 That I told her we were going to dinner last night, I said, uh the things that you have all over this house are starting to seep into me and now are gonna come out all in one sermon. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:00.720 She's like, All right, well, that's awesome. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.919 The first one is this, she's got it written up on our on our mirror, our bathroom mirror. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.639 Trust God's intentions for you. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:11.279 That's what the first worker just could not do. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:19.759 And so they not only grumble, they not only complain because they have seen that their fellow workers are getting paid the same amount for less work. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.000 That's not okay in their eyes. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:33.200 But then they get through this hardship at the end of verse 12 and they say this these last workers, they only worked an hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:42.080 So when we come to God and we have an entitled attitude, we're gonna start thinking that he owes us something because life is hard. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:47.039 And he'll answer us because he's gracious and generous. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:50.639 There are a lot of days when I'll be this guy, I'll just go first. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.039 We're not having confession time, but I'll go first. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:57.360 Uh recently, one of your pastors definitely thinks this way. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:04.640 Uh recently, I I've been going through like a whatever they call a dry season or dry spell in the desert, which is exactly where God wants me. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.519 And so uh been praying to God, been asking God, been, you know, Lord, just answer me, please. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.319 What do you think about this? 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:11.039 And what about this? 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:12.799 And oh man, we got big plans for the fall. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:16.000 And if not, if you don't come through, if you don't start speaking, I mean, come on, man. 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:18.960 I mean, I'm gonna be desperate here if you don't start showing up. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.039 I mean, I'm journaling over here, Jesus. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.960 Do you understand how I mean that's like at least 50 extra points? 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:30.799 I love to journal, but I hate to journal. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:35.359 But I'm I'm I'm just pouring myself out, and I go to bed one night and I just go, you know what? 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.440 I'll tell you what, you're probably not gonna listen to this. 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:39.839 But I just I'm sick of the silence, Jesus. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.319 Can you just break through a whisper, an earthquake, a raindrop? 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:45.440 I don't care. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:46.960 I just need to hear you. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.960 Just something personal, just for me. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:49.680 I need it. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:53.680 I go to bed, and uh the phone rings at 4 a.m. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:55.759 Awesome. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:01.039 Uh and so I get up and I answer it, and it's the alarm people uh for here. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:06.079 And uh I think the Holy Spirit set off the alarm that night just to get me out of bed. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:07.599 And that's okay. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:11.759 Uh I grumbled about it on the way home because that's what apparently I do. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:16.000 Uh but I got here and on my way, I'm I got in the car, and they're like, how long is it gonna take to get here? 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.279 12 to 15 minutes. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:18.400 What kind of car do you drive? 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:19.680 Uh black trailblazer. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:20.319 I'm on my way. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:21.359 We'll be looking for you. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.160 Okay, I don't know who else is coming it for, but I'll be there. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:29.279 Uh so I get in the car and I realize my I'm gonna run out of gas before I get halfway there. 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:34.319 So I'm sitting there and I'm like, all right, well, I ain't stopping. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:35.359 We're gonna go. 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:36.640 I'm past E. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:40.559 I've had my car for a long time now, and I know when I run out of gas, it's happened. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.079 Uh and so I know where I'm at. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:43.680 I'm like, this is this is not good. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.000 I checked how many miles I've got per this tank. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:49.279 It's it's right at that point where it's just past the limit. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.440 And uh so I go, I'm like, I'm not stopping. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.279 If I stop, I don't really don't want to get you know stranded at four in the morning. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:56.079 Who am I gonna call? 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:56.799 No, no one. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.480 My wife's definitely not getting out of the bed, uh, and definitely not getting the girls out of the bed. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.000 Uh and so, all right, well, we're just gonna go. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.759 And I just whispered this prayer in my heart. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:06.000 I said, Lord, can you just take care of the gas? 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.160 Can you just take care of it? 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.240 So I get to the church, cops are here, we're walking around, nobody's here, it's fine. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:20.000 So I get in the car because I'm too lazy to walk back to the warehouse, and I drive back to the warehouse, and I realize I looked at my gas gauge again, man, that's a that was a dumb decision. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:21.599 Why am I driving this thing back here? 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:22.160 All right. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.720 Uh so I get back there and I look at everything, everything's fine. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.240 There's some cars back there checking on things. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.839 I get back in the car and I look down at the gas gauge and I got a quarter tank. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:50.000 So there are just points like that where I can grumble all I want, and I did grumble some more. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.680 Of course it's four in the morning, you're gonna continue to of course you've got to make it inconvenient for me. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:54.880 Ah ha ha ha ha ha. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:59.279 But I giggled a lot after all that happened got done. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:04.799 And giggle is like, you know, like a kid's word, but Jesus says we're supposed to be like children, so don't judge me. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:09.680 But I giggled all the way home, and then I laid my head back down to sleep, and I said, now can I go back to bed? 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.240 Or is this like, are we we still doing lessons here? 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:13.279 He's like, Yeah, you're good. 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:14.480 All right, sweet, I'm going back to bed. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.720 Wake up the next day, told Melissa about it was great. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:23.519 But I there's a point where, I mean, even in my posture towards God, hey, I'm gonna do great things for you, God. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:27.119 Aren't you don't you want to honor that and listen to me and speak to me? 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:31.599 There's a grumbling that comes along and an entitlement that comes along in being in the vineyard. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:36.079 When you're there long enough, you forget that your place is really in the marketplace. 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:41.519 Desperate, destitute, without purpose. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:49.039 And what we'll find out about this master of the house, this landowner, is he's just gonna keep pursuing us like crazy. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:54.880 We finish with these contractors, these bargainers, they will always lose out. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:59.359 They will always lose out because they'll always be thinking about what is in it for me. 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:01.680 I need to have this certainty of pay. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:05.119 And they think they've earned their position in the vineyard. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:10.559 Based on their abilities, based on their strengths, based on the fact that they got picked first at 6 a.m. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:11.680 before everybody else. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:14.319 I mean, that's like getting picked first for dodgeball or whatever. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.000 I mean, I'm awesome, I must be. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:20.960 I got picked first, and so I'm here, and there's a little bit of entitlement that comes along with that. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:26.640 And if the story ended there, we'd we'd see a sad story of a really stingy people. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:33.200 But Jesus goes on to tell us about another kind of person in the vineyard those who trust God. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:42.799 And what we'll find is that these people really paved the way for us in Jesus' story that trusting God will ultimately lead to gratitude. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:46.079 Trusting God will ultimately lead to gratitude. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:50.400 If we were to read verses three to seven, we'd understand there's not a lot revealed about this group of people. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:57.039 We do know, though, they weren't hired first, they were left in the marketplace, and they increasingly become desperate. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:00.480 I mean, like I said, who's out there at five P.M. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.079 still waiting for a job, much less who's out there at 5 p.m. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.279 hiring people. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:06.559 So they're desperate. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.359 They are ri they need to feed their family. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.960 And so we see their heart in verse 4 and 5. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:14.079 It says this. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:24.880 And to them, those who have been hired a little bit later in the day, he said, You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give you. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:26.480 So they went. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:28.480 Now notice something. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.759 There's no measurement here of a wage. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:34.400 There's no there's no negotiated price. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.119 There's no salary being discussed. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:41.920 Hey, I'll pay you whatever is right, but here's the deal. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.079 You gotta trust my character. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.480 You gotta trust who I am. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:52.400 In order for this to work out for you in the end, you gotta trust my goodness and my generosity. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:57.200 If you don't, if you come to me with a bargaining chip in your hand, you're never gonna see my goodness. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:00.640 You're always gonna look at me through the lens of what you're entitled to. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:04.960 So you just gotta trust that I've got your best interests in mind here. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:05.759 I'll pay you. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:14.880 I am a fair person, I am a just person, I am a right person, and I will give all of that to you if you will just come and work and do your due diligence. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.240 Just come to the vineyard and what's right will be yours. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:22.400 Willing to work? 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:23.599 They were there at 6 a.m. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:24.559 for sure. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:26.079 But the other guys got picked. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.799 They were there at nine, they were there at noon, they were at 3, and then at 5. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.799 It wasn't that they were lazy. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.559 I mean, Jesus says and asked them, hey, why are you why are you standing here all day? 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.799 Why are you idle all day long? 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:40.480 And we can hear that and think through our Western eyes, well, they must have been lazy. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:41.759 There must have been something wrong with them. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.319 No, they were just as good as everybody else, perhaps. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:46.079 Or maybe they just got passed over. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:51.519 Maybe they weren't the muscular guys at 6 a.m., but they still had a lot of expertise and a lot of stamina. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:56.160 We do know they put in a good day's worth of work, however long it was. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.119 But they never negotiated. 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.599 They were simply unemployed. 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:07.200 There's something so much more to gain when we approach God on the basis of faith. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:12.319 We approach God based on the basis of trusting his goodness and his character. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:16.960 Not what we can see, but beyond what we can see, beyond what our eyes can see. 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:20.160 I mean, that's what Hebrews talks about when he talks about faith. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:24.240 It is assurance and conviction of things unseen. 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:32.799 And that's the second kind of worker that Jesus is just saying, hey, this is the guy, by the way, that's going to be first in my kingdom. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.759 For them, the wage was not the most important thing. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.640 Getting credit, getting a reward cannot be top priority for us. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:43.519 And this is where we can get way off. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:48.640 I remember being in seminary, and seminary is an interesting place for a lot of different reasons. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:56.319 Uh I can't even go into them all, but here's one that just there's a few experiences that anybody that goes to seminary, you're gonna go, man, I remember that day. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.839 Wow, that was an interesting day. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:58.960 This was one for me. 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:02.319 We were in evangelism class, so take note of that. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.440 Evangelism class. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:11.039 When you go and you're taught methods and you're taught why, and you're taught the mission of God, and that God is a sending God, a giving God, He's gonna send people out. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:13.519 May as well be a missions class, but it's an evangelism class. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:18.880 We're talking about going out and methodology and all these different things, and hey, question came up: well, why don't we do these things like we should? 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:20.640 I mean, what's really holding us back? 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:29.359 And I don't remember what the answer to that was, but I do remember what someone said just shortly after that when they answered or they raised their hand and they said, Yeah, about this whole evangelism thing. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:31.359 I mean, come on, guys, I mean, we got to get in the game here. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:32.400 I mean, here's the deal. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:37.440 When we get to heaven, I mean, all these people that come to faith, when we get to heaven, we get credit. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:39.519 We get credit for all that. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:45.519 And um, there are certain points in my life where I've been so angry that I can't talk. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:46.799 Uh, and that was one of them. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:51.440 I was just like, okay, I can't, nope, can't, nope, nope, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:26:11.039 And I sat there, and the reality was this is if we have that attitude where we get credit, if we're working and we're in the vineyard, we're accepted, we're we're in with God, and we're all of a sudden doing the things that we're doing, holding babies, teaching in the in the kids' ministry, upstairs, doing whatever we're doing, doing whatever it is. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:16.240 If we're doing it for reward, we're gonna be sorely disappointed when we get to to heaven. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:23.279 Here's why I'm saying that, because whatever reward God God gives us, He's gonna lavish on us reward. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:25.119 It's gonna be beautiful and great. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:29.599 And then once we get it, we're gonna go, here you go, Jesus, is all for you. 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:35.680 Because it's you that get the credit, it's you that get the glory, it's you that get the reputation. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:38.319 That's why that band is called casting crowns. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:41.359 You cast your crowns at Jesus. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:43.039 Did you know that? 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:48.720 I think I just put that together right here, right now. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:49.440 No. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:27:07.359 But the wage was not the most important thing for the second class of workers, and these are the ones that all of a sudden they realized that God's rescue of their lives in the marketplace, destitute and desperate, that was the thing that carried them through the whole workday, whether it be at 9 a.m. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:13.599 or 5 p.m., they were working to love and worship he who hired him. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.480 Of course, we see the picture that it's God. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.240 And there's no workers, there's no vineyard, if there's no master of the house. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:26.640 So it's he that we now turn to and realize this second Melissaism of the day. 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:28.799 And I think I butchered it, so I'm gonna say it. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:30.319 This is probably the wrong words. 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:34.000 But God's generosity will never be outdone. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:38.480 God's generosity will never be outdone. 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:44.160 He will never be outdone or outmatched in his generosity towards his kids. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:53.359 And so we look at God and we approach God, He, there's no measure that we can put on just how much favor He has for His kids. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:55.839 He sought out all the workers. 00:27:55.920 --> 00:28:03.599 I mean, these are all gracious and generous acts that all these people were in need of provision, were in need of help, were in need of rescue. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:09.680 They're at the marketplace looking for someone to hire them, someone to trust them, someone to just invest in them a little bit. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.880 And he did all that. 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.400 He went back and he went back and he went back and he went back. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:24.319 And it should tell all of us that no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, God is going to come back for us, even if it means it's at the 11th hour, literally. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:27.039 He'll come back for us. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:33.200 He sought the destitute, he sought the rejects, and he kept going back to prove a point. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:42.960 And it was this to say to all of us and all of them, that master, that landowner, Jesus, who we now know his name, he's this guy out of Ezekiel 34. 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:45.920 This shepherd that comes and seeks out his flock. 00:28:46.079 --> 00:29:02.640 It says this in Ezekiel, as a shepherd seeks out his flock, when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.680 Do you see it? 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.039 And I will seek the lost. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:06.000 Look who he's seeking. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:09.279 I'll seek the lost, not those that think they have they found their way. 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:12.480 I will bring back the stray, not those that know where they are. 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:21.759 I will bind up the injured, not those that think they got it all together, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat or the rich and the strong I will destroy. 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:24.720 Those that depend on yourselves, there will be destruction. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:31.200 And those that realize you're lost, destitute, desperate, all those different things, those who I'm seeking. 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:35.920 But it's no wonder at the end of it, he says, These are the first, and these are the last. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:46.640 But as we read through verse 13 to 16, as we finish up today, there's a couple different things that we see about the character of God that are just so poignant and so juicy. 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:49.119