Sermon # 43 - Know God's Will And Do God's Work Series

We read in Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a person who is efficient in his work? He will serve kings. He will not serve unknown people.”(GW)

When a person gets a good job, their entry to that job is only the first step. Their goal should be to fulfill the expectations of their superiors, and to efficiently accomplish all that is entrusted to them. For instance, we have medical professionals like doctors and nurses who serve patients. However, the way each one treats their patients is varied, and you will notice that patients who have to come back for treatment will prefer those doctors or nurses who treated them well. So also, if you go to a bank you will notice some of the officials will treat the customers with much curtesy. This is true of government offices or any other place of work. Generally anyone who joins a new job will do so with a desire to serve well, and do something meaningful for society. Sadly, as the years roll by, many become slack and careless in their work because they fail to understand the purpose for which they had been hired.

We too as children of God need to understand the purpose for which God chose us. Yes, we know we are children of God when we have repented of our sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour and Lord of our lives. This is only the first step, and if we don’t go further to comprehend the purpose for which God has called us to be His children, we will never be able to accomplish His plans for our lives.

The parable of the two sons

We are going to meditate on a parable that Jesus taught as found in Matthew Chapter 21.

In Matthew 21:28 we read, "Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' (GNB)

This parable that Jesus taught talks about a father who had two sons, and the father was the owner of a vineyard. The father requested his son to go and work in his vineyard.

Any father will be elated when his son carries on the work that he was involved in, and does it much better than the father himself. So also, our heavenly Father yearns that not one person should perish or that one person should die without having their sins forgiven, and end up in hell. This was the precise reason why God the Father sent His son Jesus into the world. Only through the death of Jesus on the cross, who bore the sins of all mankind is the sins of everyone who believes on Him is forgiven. Becoming a child of God is only the first step, and a great privilege, but this is not the end in itself. The Lord Jesus wants us to carry on the work of the Heavenly Father that He has entrusted to us.

Here are two important reasons why we have been chosen to be the children of God.

1. Do God’s will

2. Accomplish the work He has purposed for us

The way Jesus did this

We read in John 4:34, "My food," Jesus said to them, "is to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do. (GW)

Food is one of the most essential thing for our sustenance, and most of us eat three to four times a day. However, Jesus declared that His food was solely to obey the will of the Father who sent Him, and to complete the work that He was sent to do.

Also in John 14:31 we read, “but the world must know that I love the Father; that is why I do everything as he commands me.” (GW)

Here again Jesus proclaimed that He loved the Father, and that was the reason why He did everything the Father commanded Him to do.

The son who refused but repented

Let us continue with the parable as found in Matthew 21:28-29, “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. (ESV)

When the father requested the elder son to go to work in his vineyard, the son’s immediate response was in the negative. There could have been two reasons for this refusal to obey the father. One could have been his rebellious nature. Secondly, the son might have had his own agenda which he wanted to carry out, and hence he would not have been willing to let go of his own personal plans.