Great Reasons Why We Should Labor for the Lord
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 19:27-30; Matthew 20:1-16
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared November 11, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 19:27. Most of you know that by this time, Jesus was only about 3 months away from the cross. And by the beginning of chapter 21, Jesus will be on the outskirts of Jerusalem less than a week before He died for our sins.
*Today's Scripture includes one of the Lord's parables. These simple earthly stories help us understand eternal truths, and based on the stories you include, there are 40 to 50 in the New Testament. Today's parable helps us understand that all of us should labor for the Lord Jesus Christ. Please keep this in mind as we read Matthew 19:27 through 20:16.
MESSAGE:
*Have you ever had a bad boss? For several years, author Jim Miller sponsored a hunt for the worst boss in America. One entry was called "Horrible Hilda." She made an employee carry a 20-pound bag of cat litter up some steep stairs. Usually no big deal, but this guy was still getting over heart surgery.
*Hilda was horrible, but she wasn't the worst boss that year. The worst was a man who called the hospital on the day a worker was scheduled for major surgery. This boss told the employee to get his clothes on and come back to the office right away! He was screaming and throwing such a fit over the phone that the nurse hung up on him. (1)
*I hope you've never had a boss like that! I have been blessed to have some tremendous bosses over the years. At McClendon Baptist Church, Bro. Herman Savoie was my mentor and boss for over 10 years. Earlier, when I worked for the Air Force, I was privileged to have Henry Hearn as my boss. Henry was a great boss. For the first time in my life, he taught me about having proper respect for authority. And that was an important lesson for this very rebellious young man. Henry also blessed me in many other ways. And I hope you have had some good bosses. But Jesus Christ is the best boss we will ever have!
*This truth makes sense when we think about the New Testament meaning of the word "Lord." In the Old Testament, the word "LORD" is usually spelled in all caps. And this name comes from the name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush.
*In Exodus 3:13-14 Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?'' And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.'' And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'''
*"I AM." That is what the name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah" means. And this name for God is also found in the New Testament. In Revelation 19:1, for example, the word "alleluia" means "Praise YAH," or "Praise the Lord." This "I AM" name for God is also found in the name of "Jesus," because Jesus' name means "Jehovah Is Salvation." And Jesus is our salvation!
*But the word "Lord" in the New Testament comes from a different word altogether. This original word is talking about someone who has supreme authority, the owner, the one who is in control. And it is almost always translated as "Lord," but also as "master," "owner," and "sir."
*Jesus Christ is the greatest Lord of all! And today's Scripture shows us some of the great reasons why every one of us should labor for the Lord.
1. FIRST: IT'S BECAUSE JESUS WILL REWARD US RICHLY.
*The Lord Himself tells us this in Matthew 19:27-29. And here's the background: A rich young ruler had come to Jesus in vs. 16 asking, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
*Jesus wanted that young man to see that he could never do enough to earn his salvation. The Lord also wanted that man to see that he was trusting in his money more than he trusted in God. So in vs. 21 Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
*The tragic thing is, that young man refused to let go of his possessions enough to start trusting in Jesus. Instead, he went away in sorrow. Against that backdrop, in vs. 27, Peter asked Jesus a question:
27. . . "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"
28. So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life."
*Have you ever left anything for the cause of Christ? Have you ever given up anything for the Lord? Rick Warren once said, "I'm not going to kid you. If you get involved in your mission in the world, it is going to cost you. -- It will. It is going to break you out of self-centeredness and comfortable things. And it is going to cost you time and energy and effort and money and maybe even your privacy sometimes. But God has promised eternal rewards." (2)
*Again in vs. 29, Jesus said, "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life." A hundred times over? That's ten thousand percent interest on your investment! You're never going to get that at any bank in this world! Ten thousand percent interest!
*Jesus will reward us richly. And we are not just talking about God's super-stars here. Yes, the Apostles will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, but God has great rewards for all of His servants.
*Thom Rainer told about an interview with Billy Graham. The interviewer was curious about Dr. Graham's opinion of his ministry. And he asked if Billy anticipated great rewards in heaven for the millions of lives touched through his world-wide ministry.
*Dr. Graham answered that he was not sure of the extent of his own rewards. But he was certain others would have greater rewards than he. Billy said that "somewhere in America today, a faithful elderly woman is on her knees praying for her little country church, her family, and her nation. For maybe 80 years, that sweet lady has been faithful to her Lord. She has prayed, read the Bible daily, and taught children in Sunday School."
*Billy Graham said that lady and many like her will receive the greatest rewards in heaven. "You see," said Billy, "We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful." And there will be great rewards for all of God's faithful servants. (3)
2. CHRISTIANS: WE SHOULD ALL LABOR FOR THE LORD, BECAUSE HE WILL REWARD US RICHLY. ALSO BECAUSE JESUS WAS FAITHFUL TO FIND US.
*One of the great truths in this Scripture is that the Lord is faithful to find His servants. Jesus diligently seeks for us to serve the Lord. Please listen again to Matthew 19:30 through Matthew 20:7. Here Jesus said:
30. "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
1. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. (Remember that a denarius was the main silver coin of the Roman Empire, and it was about a day's pay for an average working man.)
3. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4. and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And they went.
5. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
7. They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'"
*Here is a picture of the Lord Jesus continuously seeking people to follow and serve Him. Jesus is faithful to us! -- Faithful to save us, faithful to give us a place to serve, and faithful to give us a life worth living.
*The Lord cared enough to seek us when we were lost, and He didn't give up! Jesus Christ kept seeking for us until He found us. This is the message of hope we can also see in Luke 15:4-10. In those two parables, Jesus said:
4. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
7. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
8. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it?
9. And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'
10. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.''
3. WE ALL SHOULD LABOR FOR THE LORD, BECAUSE HE WAS FAITHFUL TO FIND US. ALSO BECAUSE JESUS IS GENEROUS WITH HIS GRACE.
[1] OF COURSE GOD'S GRACE WAS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SALVATION.
*The only way we can ever get to Heaven is by the amazing grace of God. Paul made this clear in Ephesians 2:8-10. Speaking to all Christians he wrote: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
*The last words of Matthew 19:29 also confirm this truth. Again Jesus said, "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, AND INHERIT EVERLASTING LIFE."
*We will receive rewards because we gave up things to serve Jesus. We earn rewards, but those rewards can never save us. We have to inherit everlasting life. And if you have ever inherited anything else, it was because somebody had died. Everlasting life works the same way. We can only inherit everlasting life, because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. And in order to inherit the risen Savior's eternal life, we must be spiritually born again into the family of God.
*We cannot earn our salvation. We are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We are saved to do good works. But you are never going to Heaven, except by trusting in the amazing grace of our merciful God.
*Most of us know that Jesus died on the cross between two thieves, and one of those thieves got saved on the cross. That thief was saved by God's grace when he put his faith in our Lord and Savior. In Luke 23:42, "He said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
*What strong faith he had! -- That request was based on faith that Jesus was bigger than the cross, and even bigger than death. There Jesus was, still hanging on the cross, not risen from the dead. The stone had not been rolled away.
*But the saved thief believed that Jesus would live and reign forever. He trusted that the Lord could save him. And when he heard the Lord's answer in Luke 23:43, the saved thief trusted that Jesus would save him. That's because "Jesus said to him, 'Surely, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'''
*This thief trusted in the Lord's merciful grace. This kind of trust in Jesus will take you to Heaven, and it is the only thing that will get you to Heaven. As D. L. Moody once said: "The thief had nails through both hands, so that he could not work his way to Heaven. He had a nail through each foot, so that he could not run errands for the Lord. He could not lift a hand or a foot toward his salvation. Yet Jesus offered the thief God's gift of eternal life, and he took it!
*Christ saved him, and took him into Paradise." And why? -- Because this thief trusted in the Lord's merciful grace. Have you done that? Are you willing to put your trust in the Lord? (4)
[2] GOD'S GRACE IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SALVATION. BUT IT IS ALSO ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SERVICE.
*Matthew 20:8-10 points us to God's amazing grace for our service:
8. So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'
9. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
10. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
*Matthew Henry explained that the "giving of a whole day's pay to those who hadn't done a tenth of a day's work, shows us that God gives His rewards by His grace and by His sovereign will, not because He 'owes' those who serve Him."
*Henry also pointed out that "even the best of the laborers, and those who begin the earliest have many empty spaces in their time. God sees all of the gaps in our service to the Lord. And from His perfect point of view, we all have so many gaps that it's like we barely worked even one of our hours in the vineyard. But because we are under grace, and not under the law, even such defective service, done in sincerity, shall not only be accepted, -- but by free grace richly rewarded." Praise the Lord! (5)
*Christians: The fact is that when it comes to rewards, we are all going to get more than we deserve. That is a small part of God's grace. BUT WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT ANYTHING WE CAN EVER ACCOMPLISH FOR JESUS IS ONLY BY HIS GRACE.
*God's Word makes this truth clear.
-For example, in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 Paul said, "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the GRACE of God I am what I am, and His GRACE toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the GRACE of God which was with me."
-In Ephesians 3:8 Paul also said, "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this GRACE was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
*God gave Paul the grace to serve. But Church, God has also given us the grace to serve! We know this because in Romans 12:3-6 Paul wrote:
3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6. Having then gifts differing ACCORDING TO THE GRACE THAT IS GIVEN TO US, let us use them. . .
*God has given every Christian the grace to be saved, and the grace to serve Him in different ways. Praise the Lord!
4. LABOR FOR THE LORD, BECAUSE HE IS GENEROUS WITH HIS GRACE. AND LABOR BECAUSE JESUS IS CONSTANTLY CORRECT.
*Jesus always, always does the right thing. Matthew 20 reminds us of this great truth in vs. 8-11:
8. So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'
9. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
10. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landowner. . . ("Murmured" is a strong word there. They really griped and complained against the Lord."
*Now in vs. 11-15:
11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landowner,
12. saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'
13. But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14. Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
15. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'"
*I am sure you would agree with me in answering: "Yes, Lord! -- It is lawful for you to do what you wish with your own things! And yes, Lord, you are good!"
*Jesus always does the right thing, at the right time. And vs. 13 shows the Lord's kindness even when He has to rebuke a griping worker. Jesus called him "friend," and aren't you glad?
*Jesus Christ is supreme in His goodness. He is faultless in His behavior. Jesus is never lazy, dishonest, or unfair. He is also flawless in His decisions. Jesus always makes the right decision. He always chooses the right thing, so He is perfectly reliable. For all of these reasons, and a thousand more, we should gladly labor for the Lord Jesus Christ!
CONCLUSION:
*Joseph Stowell told about David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary in Africa. We don't usually think about how big Africa is, but the whole United States wouldn't even fill up the top part of that huge continent. And this faithful servant of God walked over 29,000 miles in Africa, trying to reach people for Jesus Christ.
*His wife died early in their ministry, but David kept going. He faced stiff opposition from his Christian brothers back home in Scotland, but David kept going. He ministered half blind, but David Livingstone kept on laboring for the Lord Jesus Christ. And in his diary, David Livingstone wrote these prayerful words to God: "Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever me from any tie but the tie that binds me to Your service and to Your heart." (6)
*This is the kind of servant God deserves, and this is the kind of servant He wants us to be. May God help us to labor for the Lord like that! And the more we do, the more we will see that Jesus Christ is the best boss we will ever have! Christians: Let's serve the Lord with gladness!
*And if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ, know that Jesus loves you just like He loved the thief on the cross. Jesus loved you enough to die on the cross for all of your sins. Three days later, He rose again in everlasting victory over sin and death. Now our Risen Savior will give you His eternal life, if you will admit your sinfulness and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Call on the Lord to save you right now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) David Holwick illustration #4185 - CATEGORY: Worst Boss; Leadership; Management - SOURCE: Online USA Today - TITLE: "Worst Boss, Best Boss" - DATE: 09/11/1997
(2) Adapted from "40 Days of Purpose" sermon by Rick Warren - Week 6
(3) Thom S. Rainer, EATING THE ELEPHANT - Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994 - pp. 9-10
(4) D. L. Moody, "Day by Day with D. L Moody," Moody Press - Source: Sermonillustrations.com)
(5) Adapted from MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE (COMPLETE) - Originally written in 1706 - "The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard" - Matthew 20:1-16 - https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/20.html
(6) THROUGH THE FIRE by Joseph Stowell - Victor Books, 1988, p. 150 - Source: Sermonillustrations.com
