Untitled Sermon

Correct Your Faulty View of Fairness (vv.1-15a)

Be Thankful for God’s Grace to You (vv.15b-16)

PP: We must be grateful and rejoice in the grace God shows us.

You know Christmas is coming up and I was thinking about .. Christmas as I was growing up.

I’d always be looking forward to the holiday season in general because it’s not only Christmas that happens … but birthday is 3 days before it.

I remember one particular Christmas. It was one when XBOX one was coming out and I was looking forward to getting it.

Always been a PlayStation guy but always secretly wanted an XBOX. So I looking forward to it that year.

I remember opening presents that day and opening my presents, anticipating the one!

And actually that Christmas day my cousin got it … and i didn’t

I was so upset and didn’t even care about what i did have

which is probably why i don’t even remember what i did get

I was ungrateful

I was unable to see how good my gift was - and it was probably something good

I think a lot of us here can be like I was on that Christmas day. Looking at others and comparing ourselves to them,

saying this isn’t fair why do i not have this,

or why are they like that and I am not.

What we do is we are too busy comparing and we become ungrateful for what God has graced us with

But we have to be grateful and rejoice in the grace God shows to us.

Today we are going to look at a story that Jesus told about men who were ungrateful for the generosity shown to them because they were comparing with others

READ:

The kingdom of heaven is a description of God ruling over the lives of people who truly know God and believe in him

Denarius (v.2) - is day’s wage; a little more than minimum wage today; let’s 20 bucks; so $240 a day,

explain wage: what you earned

between 9 and 10 stop and act out

go back and say why they were upset and began to grumble

When the men who had been working for the full 12 hours saw how gracious the landowner had been,

they felt they deserved more because they had worked longer.

They didn’ think it was fair that the last workers were paid the same rate when they had worked 12 times longer. 

they compared and this is when they said “this is not fair”

I am sure as we read this and are thinking about it

you’re saying “ya this is not fair”

and I think this shows that our view of fairness is a little skewed

1. Correct Your Faulty View of Fairness (vv.1-15a)

Me growing up “that’s no fair” … Dad would say “who’s in charge”

understanding who is in charge is how we understand what is fair;

remember Jesus is telling this story about what the kingdom of God is like;

so in the story the master of the house is God

He says in v.13-15a - I have done no wrong, I did exactly what I said i was going to do

He was faithful - he kept his promise and paid them each what he said he was going to pay them, a denarius (v.13)

As the landowner, he is in the position of having complete control over his vineyard and over his money

and therefore has the right to pay his workers whatever he saw fit

this is Sovereignty

I want you to imagine for an Edge event you go to Defy and the event starts at 5 and ends at 7pm.

Your mom drops you off and says alright I’ll pick you up at 7pm.

7pm rolls around and your mom is there to pick you up

But… you don’t want to go

and see that Jack’s mom allowed Jack to keep jumping till 7:20 till everyone actually left (I know you can only stay for a certain amount of time but just imagine)

you get upset at your mom bc he “supposed lack of generosity”

they are your parents so they are in charge and in control of you and your mom was faithful to what she said earlier, she was there at 7pm and it’s time to go

Your mom could have given you more time and been generous

but again she could do as she pleases

Similarly - God has the right to do what he wants with his generosity

When we compare we come jealous and envious

and it doesn’t come from outside of us

our friend who got more time

or in the parable: the master or the workers

but within us

When we compare, we become ungrateful, and actually we are the unreasonable ones

like the workers

How does comparing right now in your life leading you to become ungrateful?

“better” skills

drawing

singing

can play better -

sports

maybe you want to be in club soccer and you become envious of kids who you know are in it

or an instrument

If only I had … 

lived here & had a bigger house

Comparing your family to others

Side Note: do you guys know what is one the biggest temptations to compare yourself and become jealous

Social Media

All these have to do with being content with what God has given you

look at what the master of the house said at the end of v.15

what he is saying is “are you blind to my generosity because of your comparison”

Fail to loose sight on what they had received

2. Be Thankful for God’s Grace to You (vv.15b-16)

you know there was a group of men who actually went home grateful beyond measure and were thankful to the master of the house

the ones who worked 1 hour

this is grace … undeserved favor, unmerited, unearned

How has God showing you grace right now?

there’s a Phrase … that is common “lavished with grace”

think about it how are you lavished (showered) with grace

Well you’re alive, you're breathing,

You have a Bible that you’re looking at

You are able to go tonight and enjoy dinner

To sleep on a bed, nice and cozy

You are able to enjoy things

your sports

your hobbies

education

your family

friends

Thanksgiving and Christmas

This is grace from God

James 1:27 says that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, from the Father”

Someone was thankful … beyond degree was actually just on the verge of dying

thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43)

What do you think he was grateful for, that Jesus showed him

Grace!

You guys know the secret to being thankful and grateful?

you first have to see you really don’t deserve this

How you ever asked yourself what do I as someone who is created in the image of God … actually deserve?

Turn with me to Eph. 2 - this is gonna help us see what every single one of us deserves

esp. v.3b

explain the gospel after v.4

response at end of v.10

Biggest act of Grace is God sending his Son

is Salvation

So I recently got a haircut by my personal barber … You know guys know i have my personal barber …

he’s my friend who goes our church

when i get to his house … i say the usual hey … “how you doing”

his response always takes me back “better than I deserve”

you could think “why is he saying that”

he’s understands what he deserves and is thankful for grace he’s received … especially in God saving him

Turn back with me to this last verse

think about the thief on the cross

and let’s just imagine if disciple of Jesus saw and heard that Jesus just showed him grace right there

at the end of his life

the thief didn’t walk with Jesus or hear all that he had to say or saw his miracles - and got saved maybe just hours before he died

the disciple could’ve been feeling jealous “man I’ve been following him for 3 years now and this guy just decided to follow him now”

what Jesus says here in v.16 is that both the thief and the disciple share in the grace of eternal life

now this isn’t about rewards … that’s something different

this is talking about salvation in the kingdom of God

it’s like if when you walked in I told you guys to do wall sits for 10 minutes so you can get candy

and you do them for a couple minutes, someone is on their 8th min. and they fail…

and then in walks someone and joins & does it till it hits the 10 min mark we originally said

at the end of it … i give everyone candy

Was I gracious?

Remember God will be gracious to whom he will be gracious

Some get saved later in life and some earlier - they both received something undeserved

We can tend to feel like “things are ours and we’ve been here”

a place we can feel like that … is in our small groups

you might have a tight small group; you have your girls, your bestfriends, your bros

Now what if someone new walks into the Edge and they get put into your small group

they get the attention from your Small group leader, they got chosen for the game

are you going to say they have no right to be here

no … we gotta welcome people and make them feel part of the ministry

And genuinely do it!

Same goes for your friendships

You won’t genuinely show care for them…

unless you realize man I personally have some great friends, a great small group

i want them to experience that

Conclusion:

I want you to imagine when you go back to school your teacher tells you’re going to partner up with someone on a science project that’s due in 2 days.

the thing it doesn’t turn out to be so much of a collaborative project. Your partner is goofing off and he’s playing around.

You end up finishing it by yourself pretty much.

but you gotta be honest you also goofed off a little

At the end your teacher says “Good job guys”

Instead of the usual in your head “phh if only you knew this guy did nothing”

you recognize … “man my partner didn’t deserve that”

that was grace

My prayer is that we wouldn’t compare with others and we’d be grateful and rejoice in what God has graced us with!