You can raise your family without Christ. Here is the process in which the branch is cut off, and then it withers -- grows dry and dull and dead. But if you try, you find that there will be no fruit, no Christlikeness, no manifestation of that beautiful character which arrests the attention of others. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. We are only stewards of what God has graciously allowed us to use. You are to rest upon his ability to see you through, to work it out. There is a spiritual principle here. (LogOut/ That might be valid, yet God will not remunerate us for the measure of work we have done. He does not even owe us a denarius. It is the third of these parables that we will study, and notice in verse 1 that the Landowner is our Lord Himself, and the Workers He sent into His vineyard represent all who have been saved (Matthew 1:21), chosen (John 16:16), and commissioned by Him (Matthew 9:38). Pride got in their way. (4) workers who visit and use their practical skills (Acts 10:38). I have been a member of the Presbyterian Church for thirty years, and have tried to be a consistent one all the time. Do you love God for Who He is, or do you love Him for the benefits He gives you? But we are to be sober, be vigilant, and be steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). The thief who asked to be remembered as he was dying on the cross beside Jesus (Luke 23:40-43), will be alongside those individuals who have accepted and served God for a long time. Many individuals that we do not anticipate finding in the Kingdom will be there. But if you pray because you are talking with One whom you love and want to know more of, sharing with him out of the fullness of your heart, then prayer becomes a beautiful and marvelous experience. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/BenGoode. There are no Bible studies, no meetings; it is a very low-key approach. But when he came into his vineyard and looked for grapes, he found wild grapes instead sour, tasteless grapes. But you learned from the Word that it was wrong. Doors of opportunity are closing in many parts of the world - look up 1 Corinthians 7:29. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? Gods vineyard is the entire earth, and the workers in the vineyard Should we not focus on the other four groups of workers? Gods grace is there for anyone at any time? The late evangelist pastor, and writer, R. A. Torrey had an interesting perspective on this. The religious leaders of the day knew that Jesus was speaking of them. A friend of mine passed through Palo Alto this week on his way to Colorado to participate in a very unusual ranch. The person might have never addressed hundreds or thousands of individuals like some ministers and evangelists do, yet they loyally brought up their youngsters, and possibly those kids became teachers who served God on unfamiliar soil or someplace within their own country. By doing so, we heed Pope Franciss advice in Evangelii Gaudium to say no to an economy of exclusion and inequality andyesto an economy that restores human dignity (No. RayStedman.org/permissions. Secondly, there is the demonstration of discipleship, Verse8: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[ a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard. In the first 13 verses of chapter 20 of the Book of Matthew, Jesus is telling the parable about workers being paid equally. In this parable we encounter a situation that just does not seem right. All of this is designed to relate to him -- "Abide in me." That is, he cuts it off, he eliminates it from the life of the vine. Second, "and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." But there was no life in him. When that happens, there will come these additional benefits: answered prayer, a glorifying of the Father through the demonstration of discipleship, a deepening of the experience of love, and joy made full. They are mistaken! By the time it became a federal holiday, thirty states had already officially celebrated Labor Day. But that was not the end of it; there was to be more as they went on. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. It seemed to me a far cry from cleansing away debris to pruning back the branches -- until I learned that, in the usual practice of viticulture (i.e., the care of vines), the branches are pruned back each year in order to cleanse them. He says, "Now, it may seem strange to you that I should ask that last question. It is His vineyard and He chooses to do with it as He sees fit. We are workers of the eleventh hour! Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. Let me tell you why they are the way they are." What we receive from God is a gift and undeserved. Though it is wonderful when one has the privilege of leading many to Christ, and any of us perhaps can do this on one occasion or another, it is no indication of fruitlessness if you never have had this experience. Instead there will be a shabby sham, a phony imitation of the real thing, which will drive people away from Christ and will produce nothing but a dull, mechanical religiosity which is piousness without God. There he is, back on the subject of that basic relationship which is already established by the coming of the Holy Spirit into an individual's life: "You in me, and I in you." And from that we saw that obedience grows out of love. Caring for Gods Vineyard: My Sermon on Matthew 21:33-46. What Is the Meaning of Psalm 91 and Why Is it Popular? So from this point on we properly should no longer call this passage of Scripture the Upper Room Discourse. Probably they will respect him when they see him. But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir. But many are troubled by those who claim that, unless a Christian is constantly winning others to Christ, he is a fruitless Christian. And many a churchgoer is in that state. And if you are truly loving him, you can ask whatever you will. (John 15:6 RSV). 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. That is abiding in him. We can comfort others and show them the lifestyle choice since we have been assisted with our concerns by God and his workers (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). Several times, he found people standing idle in the marketplace, which may just mean that were unemployed, not that they were lazy. Many will read this parable and remark about how unfair it was for the last group of workers, those who only worked for about an hour, to receive the same compensation as those who worked all day. By the third evening the guests are all asking, "Where did you ever get this tremendous crew of young people? The fact that the labourers are in a vineyard suggest the Eucharist, with the clergy as the workers providing the super-substantial bread and wine of salvation. But it is conceivable that the master had a lot of work to do and wanted all the workers he could find to do it. God is glorified when his people manifest fruit, i.e., Christlikeness. Therefore, while Jesus acknowledged that His followers, particularly the Twelve Disciples, would receive a hundredfold reward and will inherit eternal life, He goes on to explain the nature of Gods reward. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. No matter who a person is or what they have done in their life, or how late in life they repent and trust in Jesus, they will be saved and we should rejoice in their salvation, not grumble about it. We trade the Giver for His gifts. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. Or is your eye evil because I am good? So the last will be first, and the first last. If they can assure him that they love work, love people, and love Jesus, then they have a tremendous opportunity to work at that ranch. Did you ever see a bunch of grapes struggling to hang onto the vine, trying to grow larger? None of us get to dictate to God what we will receive. So he has designed this ranch for that purpose. Christ then becomes real to you. They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, No matter how long you have been a member of the church, have served on different committees, been a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, or whatever you have done, you do not deserve Gods grace, and you certainly do not deserve more of it. When our hearts are moved by love it is easy to obey his word, for we obey the one we love. All of us have learned, one way or another, that love demands a response if it is to grow. All things being equal, we expect businesses would not pay workers the same wage who worked less than others. You can make it run well. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.. We know that your work with us is to the end that we may produce more fruit, that all of us here in this vineyard will be so fruit-laden, that it will be a fruitful place which will make the world around us drool with desire to learn the secret of such fruit. He even shared in the experience of ministry with the other disciples. Perhaps you were manifesting or defending some attitude. The steward, perhaps, represents Jesus Christ, to whom has been committed all judgment. This is the glory of Christian liberty. Unite Here Local 11 in Los Angeles works tirelessly to support its members, hospitality workers who have suffered due to the pandemic closing their places of employment. Many are called to do Gods work. (3) Still others at the sixth hour (verse 5) - the Reformers? This anecdote is not about remunerations, yet it is about salvation. And do not compare yourself to others. Remember that earlier in the passage our Lord had said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," (John 14:15 RSV). He will call you into the fold and pay you more than you ever deserve. Gods kingship overturns all our expectations of being treated as we deserve, all our human conventions of social honour, all our natural desires to be recognized as But many who are first will be last, and the last first.. More information about Good Hope may be found at the following site: www.GoodHopeBC.org. God calls each of us to work in His vineyard while we have time. Here is the case our Lord mentioned earlier when he said, of one aspect of the Father's work, "every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away." Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." His joy, the joy that was always there at the bottom of his heart, that gladness of relationship with his Father, is now to be our experience. The good news is that God does bestow grace on us, the eleventh hour workers, and we receive the same reward of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal glory as the earliest workers. That is, it will be fruitlessness again. The invitation has been given, many will accept it and work, many will not. 63). In order to appease the union workers, the government recognized Labor Day. The same is true for God. Aside from the first group of workers who were hired at sun up, the master promises to pay the workers what is right. These workers might have expected to receive a fraction of a days wage, but the master of the vineyard never specifies what he will pay. The vineyard is the kingdom, the sphere of Gods rule. Catholic social teaching upholds the dignity of work and the rights of workers. Now we must choose to maintain that relationship by the decisions we make, i.e., decisions to expose ourselves to his Word in order to learn about him, and to relate to him in prayer wherein we converse with him, and to relate to other believers in body-life experiences, i.e., bearing one another's burdens and confessing our faults and sharing in fellowship with one another, wherein we learn about and see Christ in one another. What a temptation to be slack, careless and half-hearted in the Lords work. He is teaching us here that right in the midst of the circumstances of life there can be more likeness to Christ, more of the moral character of Jesus, more fruit. Does the Pandemic Still Affect Church Attendance? If you try to make all the choices and carry all the responsibility yourself, you will lead a fruitless life. That is also true for God. Thus, the parable is not about us, but about Him. This illustration is particularly for the individuals who might feel privileged due to their heritage or by the alleged position of authority that they may hold. The Gospel reading was -- and remains -- one of the most incendiary of Jesus' parables: that of the generous landowner Many employees look forward to this day as another paid day off from work. (1) Some early in the morning (verse 1) - the Apostles? On others you see luscious, tempting, delicious fruit which gladdens and delights your heart, glorifies you, and we thank you for that. Making decisions and then trying to do the whole thing yourself, as though the whole responsibility rests upon you, is going to produce a fruitless Christian life -- intense activity, but no results. So it is a complete cycle which keeps producing deeper and deeper experiences of love. (LogOut/ Economic security is an essential foundation for strong families, explained Father Ty Hullinger, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, who joined other Baltimore Catholics in a successful campaign for Right to Recall in his city. Those who focus on that are really focusing on the material reward for their efforts whats in it for them. From then on there are still no meetings, but invariably every week there are those guests who come and say, "I want to know more about this." Leaders of the church need to stand strong and have boldness and never deviate from the truth. As a result he was cut off, and he withered. We are to each be working to make more disciples of Jesus Christ while we have time. There is no other way to salvation but by faith in Jesus Christ. I love the saying, "Joy is the flag which flies over the castle of the heart when the King is in residence." New Heart English Bible For we are God's fellow workers. There might be those that were offered the gospel at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour yet denied the call. None of us deserve Gods grace. Change). We are His Laborers Working for His Harvest. 1. (1) preachers who are used by their Spirit-filled preaching. (LogOut/ God has blessed me tremendously and so thankful for His grace and the people He has put in my life and His work in and around me. Somebody might vocally protest that "those individuals did not function or work as hard as I did." We would be foolish to appeal to God for justice rather than grace, for if we really received justice, we would all be condemned. Now remain in my love. Their diversity of thought has a common theme, service to God and neighbor as a reflection of our faith in him and our acceptance of his salvation. All rights reserved. We should never compare ourselves to others. WebThe Workers In The Vineyard Matthew 20:1-16ESV / 10 helpful votes HelpfulNot Helpful For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire The marketplace represents the world, furthermore, it is from there that the Gospel of Christ has called us. I have been praying for a long time for something that I am confident is according to Gods will, but I do not get it. Jesus says, "Abide in me, and I in you." He was with the Lord -- spent three and a half years with him. In the parable that Jesus tells, the master of the vineyard called many, You too go and work in my vineyard!. There is an activity which is to be done, and a passivity which is to be acknowledged -- an active voice and a passive voice. Given the circumstances, we should center around God's benevolence toward us, and be grateful for what we have. The denarius was a standard minimum days wage at that time and the workers had agreed to it. That is, "This pruning has gone on in your life already." Jesus needs laborers (Matthew 9:38) who know how to function and manage individuals' concerns. 3 About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. Note in verses 4 and 7 that He sent them out. They may have been members of churches for years, but there is no life evident at all. We think of God as some sort of vending machine where we can deposit a prayer or two and get a specific result. A temptation to be slack, careless and half-hearted in the first group of workers who were at! Members of churches for years, but about him a complete cycle which keeps producing deeper and deeper of! And use their practical skills ( Acts 10:38 ) us, and be steadfast in the vine will respect when. Was cut off, and have tried to be sober, be vigilant, and the workers had agreed it... Among themselves, saying, this is the Kingdom will be there,... 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