SNBS - The Book of Matthew part 18

Guys, back at the church.

I decided to do another one of these live instead of a pre -recorded Sunday night bible study.

Mostly because I'll be gone.

I'm going to a mission trip in the Bahamas.

I leave Saturday.

So I decided to go ahead and do this bible study live.

So that's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to knock this out and we'll see how far we get.

Probably halfway through chapter 20 of Matthew.

I want to remind you that last time I did this live video, last week, we did Matthew chapter 19

about the rich young ruler.

You can go back and check that out.

And remember, Matthew 1 -18, along

with hundreds of videos and sermons we have are on YouTube.

The entire book of Revelation is on there.

Almost the entire book of Matthew is on there.

Many of Pastor Jeff's and Brother Jeremiah's, Pastor John's sermons

are on there.

It's a pretty awesome resource for free.

Anyone can use it whenever you want.

So that's on YouTube.

Subscribe to Witten Media Ministry.

Go like, share, all that stuff.

Alright, so this ain't going to take long, but I just want to go

over a pretty cool parable in Matthew chapter 20.

And one that I think is pretty applicable in our lives today.

So, here we go.

Matthew chapter 20, verse 1.

And verse 2.

Now remember, chapter 19 ended with, the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

So this parable is an explanation of that sentence.

The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each one of them

received a denarius.

And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master, saying, These last worked only an hour, and you've made them equal to us,

who have borne the burden of the day in scorching heat.

Now, verse 13, he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

I want to just hone in on this, because I think if most of you were being

honest, I think most of you being honest, if I didn't tell you

this story was from Matthew 20, I think you would disagree with Jesus.

I'm going to say that again.

I want everyone to listen to me.

This is only going to take like 10 more minutes.

I'm going to retell this parable, and I think if most of you were honest, if you didn't know this was from the

Bible, you would disagree with Jesus here.

And let that sink in to who needs to change, you or Jesus.

I'm going to say all that again.

Here's what just happened.

Jesus went out, the master, the owner of the vineyard, the owner of the

farm if you have to, hired a bunch of guys at 6am and agreed for denarius a day.

Let's call that about $100 for working all day.

$100.

So he hired them at 6am and said I'll pay you $100 to work.

Now remember, it's his vineyard, right?

He can pay him whatever he wants.

He said $100 a day.

Then he went out at 9am, three hours later, so the mother dude's already been working three hours, and said I'll pay you all $100 to

go finish out the day.

The day stops at 6.

Then he goes out at noon, and then at 3pm, and then at 5pm when there's only one

hour left in the day, and he agrees to pay all of them $100 for the day.

The dudes at 6am agreed at the $100 a day.

So here's the problem.

When he goes to pay the people at the end of the day, he pays them all what he promised them.

He pays every one of them $100 a denarius, if you will.

The guys who got there first, who'd been working longest, who'd been there since 6am,

expected to receive more.

But they got exactly what he promised them.

$100 for the day, one denarius.

And they said how is that fair?

Now listen in case you agree with them and not Jesus.

How is that fair?

We've worked here all day, and you only paid us $100.

They've worked here an hour, and you paid them the same amount you paid us.

That's not right.

Be honest with yourself.

Do you agree with them or with Jesus so far?

This is Jesus' response to them.

Remember, they worked for 12 hours and got paid $100.

Now remember, they agreed to that price at the get.

These other guys worked one hour and got paid $100.

And they complained to the master of the house.

That's not fair.

This is Jesus' response.

Matthew 20, verse 13 and 14.

He replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for denarius for $100?

Did you not agree to that?

Verse 14.

Take what belongs to you and go.

I choose to give to the last worker as I give to you.

Verse 15.

Am I not allowed, this is the master of the house talking.

Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

Or do you begrudge my generosity?

So the first will be last and the last will be first.

Let that story sink in again for a minute.

Jesus agrees to one denarius.

The master of the house agrees to one denarius.

Again, we're going to call it $100.

He agrees to pay $100 for someone working for 12 hours.

They say deal.

Shake hands.

They agree.

So at the end of the day, what should they get?

$100.

Is it any of their business what he hires the other people for?

The answer should be no.

And the master of the house decided to hire someone for one hour and pay them $100.

The master's response is this.

When they complain that they should get more, he said, Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to

me?

In other words, can I do what I want with my money?

I chose to be very generous to people at the end of the day.

You agreed to a price.

I did you no wrong.

It's mine.

I can do what I want with it.

That's what the master of the house said.

The focus of this teaching.

I'm going to read what I wrote a while back.

The focus of this teaching is, of course, noting that God's grace is extended in some

level of abundance to all who genuinely call on his name and submit to him as Lord.

There is not a lesser heaven for those who disobeyed God's word for half their life and then submitted as to

those who were converted at a young age and have obeyed the word their whole life.

In other words, you can think of it this way.

The people who worked there since 6 a .m. are the people that got saved when they were young and they've been obeying their whole life.

And the people who started working at 5 p .m. are the people who got saved late in life.

There's not a lesser heaven for those.

The thief on the cross who was saved a few hours before his death will be waiting for us in glory, even though he lived most of

his life as an unbeliever.

This lesson will be very applicable to the apostles who will encounter many Gentiles who come from a faith

very late in life and they just begin to obey God's word.

They receive the same grace as the rest.

There is, of course, by the way, ladies and gentlemen, an obvious financial and worker -to -boss relational

application to this parable as well.

Our value as a worker can never be based on other shortcomings.

The character for who you are as a worker needs to be only based off your efforts and attributes,

not the lack of effort attributes from others.

It doesn't need to be comparisons to you and someone else.

It needs to be about who you are.

Humility is key in understanding this parable.

Those who think of themselves first will be last and those who treat themselves as last will be first.

The moment you think you've earned grace or God's favor or God's blessing, you're

no longer talking about grace, favor, or blessing.

Like the master of the house, God can do with what he chooses what belongs to him.

Since everything belongs to him, he has the prerogative to do all with it that he pleases.

Psalm 115 .3 says, Our God is in heaven and does what he pleases.

If the master of the house in Matthew 20 can do whatever he wants with what is his,

since everything is God's, he can do whatever he wants with what is his.

Let us never forget this view

of God's sovereignty, of having the right to rule and that everything is really his, is played out in

the book of James where it says, Think about this.

Don't say, Next year I will go in such and such a town

and buy this land and build this and make a profit.

Because you don't even know what tomorrow will bring.

You are nothing but a vapor in the wind.

Instead you should say, If the Lord wills, I will do this, this, that, or that.

In other words, God is in total sovereign control.

You can do nothing without his permission.

You can do nothing without his aid.

So we need to be very careful when we say that that is mine, or I have earned that, or I have gained that.

Don't be like the workers in the vineyard who decided that since they had been there longer they deserved more when they had

already agreed with the price for the master who actually is the owner.

God owns everything he can do with what he pleases with what is his.

Everything is his.

We need to have that humility.

The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

Let me just give you this last picture of God's grace and then I'm going to leave you guys alone.

You ever had your child, your toddler, try to border with you and say, Daddy, if you do

this, I'll do that?

And you look at her like, Who the heck are you to speak to me that way?

We are creatures made from dirt.

Yes, we are creating God's image, but we are creatures made from dirt.

God formed us out of the dust of the earth.

And sometimes we as creatures from dirt talk back,

defy, question, or try to border with the sovereign

ruler of the universe.

Isn't it such amazing grace that God calls some of those creatures made from dirt his children?

Any, not everyone, only those that call on his name, who submit to him as Lord.

They become his children and can approach that throne with boldness, not

groveling in fear.

Pretty incredible stuff, huh?

He can do whatever he wants with what's his and he chooses to give it to his children.

Love you guys very much.

I hope this was beneficial to you.

That's Matthew chapter 21 through 16.

Pray for us as we go to the Bahamas and do that work.

Until next time, see you later.