Grumbling Over Grace
Matthew 20: 1-16
This parable grows out of a reply to a statement made by Peter. Peter’s statement was the aftermath of Jesus’ parable about the rich young ruler. Peter said you told the rich young ruler to go and sell everything he had and follow you well we have done that. We left everything and followed you, so what shall we have therefore? Peter was like we have left everything, sacrificed our families, our homes, we have left everything for your sake. Now what we need to know is what will be our gain, what will we profit from this. And that question brings us to our text today. What he was trying to tell the disciples is that Kingdom Pay is given not earned, which makes it Grace. He was trying to tell Peter that whatever they had forsaken for the kingdom were not sacrifices but investments.
1. The Generous Master: (Kindness and Loving kindness)
When you look at the text spiritually you see that owner of the vineyard symbolizes God the Father, then you understand that he was compelled by Grace.
You see that he went to the marketplace 5 times. He was hiring them not because of his need but their need. The Bible says that Jehovah Jireh is our Provider so he was providing for them not for himself.
Matthew 6: 8 says: “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Philippians 4: 19: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 4: 16 says: Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
So it’s saying God is a God who is graciously aware of our needs. And God would rather meet our needs on the basis of Grace. In the text Grace is unmerited favor, but in Hebrews it is God’s Power.
When we sing “Grace woke me up this morning” that’s grace as an unmerited favor. But when we sing Grace started me on my way that’s Grace as enabling Power.
Momma and the toast
A Sunday School teacher asked her class if they knew the difference between kindness and loving kindness. One little girl said she knew the difference. She told the teacher that kindness is like when you ask your mother for some toast and she gives it to you, but loving kindness is when you ask your mother for some toast and she gives it to you with butter and jelly on it.And that’s the way God is. God, in his loving kindness, is an exceedingly generous giver. He doesn’t just give you some blessings, but He gives some blessins with some butter and jelly on it. That’s why the bible says that “He daily overloads us with benefits” David says “He anointeth my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” God says “Bring your whole tithe to the store house and I will open the windows of heaven and pour you out blessings you won’t have room to receive.”
II. The Jealous Murmurers
We need to understand that the murmurers represent believing disciples who suffered from jealous prejudice and spiritual narrowness.
Now the first workers were descriptive of some believing disciples then, but they are also descriptive of some believing disciples now. I don’t know about you all here at 1st Baptist but at St. Luke we have some murmuring going on.
You see this parable was directed to Peter and the disciples who thought since they had come in at its very conception at the ground floor they should have greater Kingdom benefits. By thinking like this they were in danger of serving the Lord for temporal benefits and missing the best blessing.
There is a word that messes us up every time we use it and that word is entitlement. Now that word might be alright in the world but not in kingdom building. It carries the idea of working your way to where you deserve or merit something better. On the spiritual side nobody can work their way to deserving something better, because all our good works are tainted by sin. Now if we begin to deal with merits and entitlements then we will have to include demerits. So that means that we will be guilty of each and every little thing that grace would allow us to be forgiven for. The bible says that a soul that sin it shall die, and the wages of sin is death. Now I will ask the question Do we really want what we deserve.
I don’t know about U but I want God to deal with me on the basis of Grace not on what I deserve. Even though I can’t earn God’s grace based on my merits neither can my Demerits cause God to withdraw his grace.
When you look at the jealous mumerers they did not complain because they received too little but they grumbled because of what the other workers received.
We have to be careful about being jealous and envious about other people’s blessings cause we don’t know what they went through to get it. Instead of comparing our blessings to someone else’s we ought to develop a attitude of grattitude for grace, and with an attitude of gratitude, we don’t have time for worrying about how God has blessed someone else, we will be thankfully counting our blessings. And then we can name them one by one and see what God has done.
III. The Joyful Message
The message here is: How do U suppose the 11th hour, ill deserving, called workers went home? If the 12 hour workers were the only one rebuked for murmering then I would guess they went home with Joyfully. Now the called, last workers didn’t know about the uncalled for generosity of the landowner, but though they didn’t know about it, unlike the first workers who wanted a contract, the last workers trusted His goodness. And, because they trusted His goodness, they got His Grace and his uncalled for generosity and went home joyfully.
And that’s the message from the text don’t worry about contracts with God just trust him for his goodness and you will experience his uncalled for generosity.
Now what I am saying is that none of us are 12 hour workers we are all illdeserving 11th hour workers because we are in desperate need.
We are dead and dying.
We were too mean to live, but not fit to die.
We were walking talking dead men.
Too grand to waste, but to miserable to save.
Too dead to be alive, but too alive to be buried.
We were in the slave market of sin.
We had declared Chapter 7.
And We were totally and permantly bankrupt.
We had a debt we couldn’t pay.
Romans 3 says we were unprofitable. That means something gone sour, and you throw away what has gone sour.
I came here to tell you this morning that if we trust God’s goodness we can experience his grace.
The Old Woman and the Groceries.
And just like the landowner came looking for workers in desperate need God came to us because we are in desperate need. He came in the person of His son Jesus.
He came with Amazing Grace’
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T’was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.
When we’ve been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise...
then when we’ve first begun.
The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.
