The Parable of the Two Sons...
Praise God Church!!!
Turn to Matthew chapter 21
a) The commission (Intro)...
How many in here tonight knows that God has called you to a ministry?
Every person in here tonight has been called to a ministry.
Not just the pastors and evangelists and teachers in here tonight,
But as many as were called to salvation,
You were also called to a ministry,
How many know that we’re called to be able men. Amen?
Men who are able to do the work of the Lord.
Men who are instant in season and out of season,
Men set apart for a special cause,
He’s called each and everyone of us to be about our Father’s business,
We are to become an holy priesthood,
And to go out and win souls for the kingdom of God. Amen?
Jesus commanded us to go into all the world preaching the Gospel,
And how many know He demands our obedience?
b) Denying His Will...
Well I’m glad we’re all in agreement here tonight.
I’m glad we all know what God requires of us.
I’m glad that we’re aware of His expectations,
But I can’t help but wonder why if we know what we’re suppose to be doing,
If we know what God has called us to.
And there’s no doubt in our minds that God has already commissioned us,
Why on God’s green Earth are we not walking in our calling?
Why has the Church forsaken the Father’s will?
We’ve gotten away from the Gospel of holiness,
and we’ve gotten into the practice of self satisfaction.
We do what pleases us instead of what pleases God,
We’re so busy chasing the almighty dollar,
That we’ve stopped being obedient to an Almighty God!
Too many Christians today are too busy praying for money,
To be worried about praying that God would send laborers into the harvest!
There to busy having their ears tickled by prosperity preachers,
To actually listen for the voice of God,
Oh, but I can hear Him tonight. Amen?
He’s got a word for you tonight.
He’s saying I’ve called you to be a son,
A joint heir with my son Jesus,
He saying I’ve given you a spirit of adoption,
A spirit that cries abba Father,
He’s saying you are a beautiful child of God,
Through Christ’s sacrifice you were able to claim sonship,
But He’s asking tonight what kind of son are you going to be?
c) The Father Calls His Sons...
Read:
Mat 21:28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
The father in this parable needed workers to tend to his vineyard. Amen?
Scripture doesn’t say what kind of work needed to be done.
It doesn’t say whether or not it was early spring and the vines needed to be pruned,
Or if it was summer when the weeds were cut down,
Or even fall when the grapes were harvested.
The time and season isn’t important.
But what is important is that there was work to be done. Amen?
How many know’s that there’s work to be done in our father’s vineyard today?
The old vines need to be pruned,
The old dead tips of the vines need to be removed,
So that the new growth can take place.
The weeds need to be cut down and hauled off,
So that they don’t choke the life out of the vines,
And how many know the harvest is ripe in our Father’s vineyard?
The harvest is plenteous and the laborers are few,
The Father needs workmen in the vineyard.
And who better to call on than His sons. Amen?
Who’s more suited for a job in the family business,
Than an actual member of the family?
d) Working For Rewards...
In verse 28 He said "Son",
He didn’t call His brother or his cousin,
Or just any other member of the family,
He called His sons who were the heir’s to the father’s vineyard,
In the same ways God has called us sons,
And He’s prepared for us an inheritance,
He’s made us joint-heirs with Christ,
And I don’t know about you but I’m going to protect my inheritance,
I’m going to work to increase my inheritance,
The bigger the family business get’s,
The more it grows
The larger my inheritance gets,
The more work I put in the more crowns I’ll receive at the Bema,
The more rewards that will be waiting on me when I get to the judgement seat of Christ,
And how many knows that God honors that obedience,
He’s not only storing up my treasures in Heaven,
But He’s blessing me right now for walking in obedience,
e) Working For Love...
But it’s not just about what I can get from the Father. Amen?
How many know’s that the Father could find,
Plenty of hirelings to work for wages.
And here’s some revelational knowledge for you tonight...
If it’s only about the rewards to you,
If all you’re looking for is the pay out,
If all you’ve got is payday on your mind,
And your main concern is the treasures,
And what He can do for you,
You’re probably not a son to the Father anyway,
Sounds to me like alot of these preachers and christians,
Are just working for wages,
I guess that makes them a hireling and not a son.
I know that we’re all looking to the promises written in His word tonight.
I know that we want to reap those blessings.
And that’s fine. He promised it and He’s not going to reneg on His promise. Amen?
He wants you to reap those blessings,
But He wants you to do it as a son and not an employee.
You say well what’s the difference brother JB?
An employee comes to work for the paycheck,
But a son is constrained by love,
A son does the Father’s will out of love,
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God,
and when we obey that command the rest is a cake walk,
Obedience comes naturally when we do it out of love.
Why? Because we want to please the ones that we love. Amen?
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us;
See if we’re truly sons and not hirelings,
If we love God like we say we love God,
And it’s not just a bunch of lip service,
Then wouldn’t it seem fit to be obedient to His command,
f) Working Today...
The Father in the parable commanded His sons to work. Amen?
But let’s look closely at verse 28 for a minute.
vs. 28 Son, go work today in my vineyard.
We’ve already established the fact that He’s called us as sons.
But what has He called us to?
He’s called us to a life of service.
He’s called us to "work in the vineyard".
I can only imagine the way the Father must feel,
To see so much work to be done yet,
So many of His children are sitting idle.
God’s called us to be sons and workers.
His desire is for us to fulfil the great commission,
He wants us to bring new souls into the kingdom. Amen?
His will is that none shall be lost.
It’s time for us to step up and say not my will but yours oh Lord.
It’s time for His sons to quit sitting idley by,
Waiting on the paycheck.
The bible says if you don’t work you don’t eat. Amen?
Are you hungry tonight?
The Lord is saying get to work.
He’s got a multitude of talkative sons,
He’s got plenty of sons that give Him the lip service,
But the laborers are few.
Nobody wants to work,
And they’ve all got excuses,
They’ll tell Him not right now,
The young men say not now because they want to wait,
until they get more experience,
And the old men think it’s not worth their while to get started now,
Or they’re thinking of retiring.
But verse 28 says go to work "TODAY",
Not yesterday, not tommorrow, not next week, but TODAY!
Today is the time because soon,
The night comes when no one can work,
To many Christians are complaining I don’t have the time.
What they’re really saying is everything else in my life comes before God!
He’s either Lord of all or not Lord at all. Amen?
What if God put everything else before you?
What if He didn’t have the time for you?
What if over 2000 years ago Jesus had said I don’t have
The time to go down there.
I like it better up here.
I’m not going to waste 33 years on that planet,
With a worthless bunch of bums.
But how many know He didn’t do that. Amen?
He gave His all for us.
Shouldn’t we be doing the same?
He was a Son committed from the beginning to the end?
What kind of son are you tonight?
When God’s calling on you how do you respond?
g) What The Sons Said...
Let’s look at how the two sons in this parable responded to their father’s command,
1. I Will Not...
The first son in verse 29 said "I will not"
He said I won’t go to work for you.
He was showing a spirit of rebellion,
He didn’t sugar coat it
he was out right with the father about this thing.
He said I’m not going, I’ve got more important things to do.
How many knows that that was everyone of us at some point in our lives,
God was calling us but we were too busy with what we were doing in the world,
To take up our cross and follow Him.
We’ve all been there! We weren’t born saved!
We started out in the world. We were born into sin. Amen?
If you’re anything like I was you were a heathen. Amen?
You didn’t want no part of a regular job let alone working for the Lord!
And just like this first son when they told me I was going to be a minister,
I said I will not, I didn’t want no part of it!
2. I Will...
Now the second son in vers 30 said "I go"
And he didn’t stop there,
He said I go, sir,
Judging by his words he seems respectful to his Father’s will.
He seems to have a great reverance for His father,
And a great zeal for His work.
It sounds like the boy has got some "want to"
How many in here tonight have been saved?
Praise the Lord! Every body that raised your hand has been like this second son,
In the sense that you’ve agreed to do the Father’s will.
The day He saved you He commissioned you to work in His vineyard.
And I know that your response was I’ll go sir.
And just like the younger son the words flowed,
Off your lips as smooth as butter.
But did you mean what you said?
Did you follow through?
Did your actions agree with your words?
h) Actions vs. Words...
Mat 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
It’s not "which of the two said He would do the will of his father"
It’s which one actually did it!
It’s not which one of them talked the best,
Or which one made the loudest profession!
It’s who did the deed! Because actions speak louder than words! Amen?
By their deeds are they justified or condemned.
His word is only fulfilled in our doing it!
Not in our talking about!
See the first son might have refused to work in the vineyard,
But the Bible says that afterward he repented and went.
He submitted to the Father’s will.
He was justified by His actions!
But the second son promised to work in the vineyard,
Just like we’ve promised to bring in the harvest,
But he failed! He failed because he didn’t follow through.
He failed because he didn’t live out his words.
There’s too many Christians in the church today not living out their words. Amen?
They’re all talk and no action!
They’re all bark and no bite!
They talk about religion, And they talk about church,
But they’re not preaching the gospel.
Or they’re not living the lifestyle,
And they’re not bringing in the harvest!
Talking about work isn’t working for the Lord,
Anymore than warming your hands by the fire is gathering grapes.
i) God Is Calling Finishers (Conclusion)...
How many in here believe that if you say you are going to do something, you better do it.
It is called follow through. Amen?
And I’ll tell you it isn’t how you start the race that matters
It’s how you finish. Amen?
Moses started out as an abandoned baby, became a great leader.
David started out as little shepherd boy, became a great king.
Paul started out as Saul killing Christians, ended up a great man of God.
The list goes on and on. Amen?
I could go on for days about the men who had lowly beginnings,
And became great men of God.
But let’s look at one who had the chance of a life time.
Judas started out as a faithful follower of Jesus, ended up a traitor who killed himself.
The church is often guilty of getting people started and not helping them to finish.
We spend 90% of our effort to win them to the Lord,
and 10% on teaching them how to grow as a Christian.
“Some pastors want to get you on the membership roll, and worry about the rest later.”
But Jesus needs finishers.
Too often Christians burn out. They drop out, they fall away before the end of the race.
But it isn’t how you start, it is how you finish.
We need to run with patience knowing that when we burn out He’ll send a second wind,
He needs laborers who are willing to work.
Men we need to be about our Father’s business,
And we need to give Him an honest days work.
He’s called us to bring in the harvest,
And we don’t need to stop until the job is finished. Amen?
The Parable of the Two Sons by:
Rev. John Butler Jr. (Copyright © 2008)
