Properly Approaching (American)privilege-3 Series

PROPERLY APPROACHING (American)PRIVILEGE-III

—Matthew 21:33-46

OR:

A CHRISTIAN APPROACH To AMERICAN PRIVILEGE

Attention & Need:

Americans(& generally any nation which is free) are A Privileged & Proud Nation/People...But many Americans, including yourselves, may find your ‘privilege & pride’ are misplaced--or--centered on illegitimate sources.

Characters/Representations in the parable:

Landowner—God

Vineyard—Israel as the focus of God’s attentions & love(& thus also speaks to the Church)

Wall—Ownership/Separation/Protection

Wine Press—Anticipation of fruitfulness/A return

Tower—Concern/Protection

Vine-growers—Spiritual Leaders/Nurture

Slaves—Prophets(Apostles & speaks to(?Preachers/Teachers?)

Son—Son of God/Jesus

Thru this parable, Jesus highlighted/clarified a proper approach to an God-ordained privilege.

There is a Proper(Christian) Approach to (American)Privilege.

What is a Proper/Christian Approach to (American)Privilege?

Or

How should America approach her God-ordained privilege?

9 approaches to American privilege.

We have previously discovered that we must

Approach our (American)privilege with...

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT(:33a)

2. RELIABILITY/Trustworthiness(:33b)

3. AVAILABILITY(:34)

Furthermore, you must...

4—Approach your (American)privilege with...

HUMILITY(:35-39)

Explanation:(:35-39)

Humble—“Not thinking of yourself as better than other people.”

:35—“And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, & stoned another.”

The spiritual leadership[leasers/renters] “beat,” “killed,” & “stoned” the prophets[servants/slaves].

God, the Owner, will find that those He had ‘left’ to tend the vines & harvest it’s produce, had instead produced animosity toward His servants & thereby, ultimately Himself(the Owner).

:36—“Again he sent other servants, more than the first, & they did likewise to them.”

He was forgiving & patient, & graciously sent other prophets[servants/slaves] in even greater abundance. He did this not to overwhelm but to convict!

The spiritual leaders reacted as before.

Their attitudes were not softened toward the Owner of the land/house.

Such describes the sin of pride, & it’s indifference toward the authority of the Owner.

:37—“Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’”

He then graciously sent his son, believing he would be respected more than the slaves.

:38—“But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him & seize his inheritance.’”

However, the spiritual leaders decided among themselves to kill the son. They reasoned that the vineyard would be given to them if the son were removed from the scenario surrounding the “inheritance.” Without an heir, the obvious inheritors would be those who ‘cared for’ the vineyard.

Abraham ‘supposed’(unmaliciously) that his God-ordained/promised inheritance would go to Eliezer of Damascus(Gen. 15:1-3, 4-6).

Gen. 15:1-6—After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, & the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside & said, “Look now toward heaven, & count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, & He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

They rejected the son as no part of the vineyard[which was His].

Heb. 6:4-8—“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, & have tasted the heavenly gift, & have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, & have tasted the good word of God & the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, & put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, & bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns & briars, it is rejected & near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.”

:39—“So they took him & cast him out of the vineyard & killed him.”

These farmers were so given to their own way, that they even took hold of the son & “cast him out” of his own vineyard. They not only “threw him out” but they even “killed him.”

Explanation/Illustration:

*Pride is cold, indifferent, uncaring, & ultimately selfish. Pride is ‘hot toward self. Pride gives deference(respect) to self. Pride ‘cares’ for self. It is getting, & getting others, to do what you want, in the way you want it. Pride brings about the undoing of everything that is godly.

In churches pride is covered with a religious or pious ‘coat,’ so that it ‘has the look’ without the love. Pride & love do not & cannot exist together in harmony.

Humility “is not abject depreciation. It is not ignominious[shameful/disgraceful] groveling in the dust. That would be a denial of your being the loved creation & handiwork of God.” ““Humility is probably the most unpopular virtue demanded by the gospel, yet until a man is humble, no good thing can come from him no matter what he may do. The Lord can do such great things for[& thru] us if we are humble, & so very little for[& thru] us when we are proud.””(author unknown)—Myron Loss in ‘Humility’ @ SermonCentral.com 2004