Seize the Day and Make it Count

Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 19:30 (ESV) – But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Good morning and welcome to WHCC. Today, we begin a brand-new year together. As we start this year, our challenge to each of you is this: Make this Year Count: Live for the Glory of God like you have never lived before.

Today, we begin a new series that focuses on this very challenge. God has great things in store for you and He wants to utilize you to make a Kingdom Impact in this world. It all begins with learning to “Seize the Day and Make it Count for the Lord.”

I understand that as we go through this life, it seems that we have more days that hard than are good and often you may feel like the character, Alexander in the book…

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

This popular children’s book from many years ago is about a little boy whose day starts out bad and goes downhill from there. He gets gum in his hair and gets his sweater wet in the sink and he trips over his skateboard and doesn’t get a prize in his cereal box and that’s all before breakfast! He could tell right away that it was going to be a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Then he goes to school and his teacher doesn’t like his drawing of an invisible castle, he doesn’t get a dessert in his lunch bag and his best friend doesn’t want to be his best friend anymore. And after school his mom buys him plain white sneakers instead of the ones with red and blue racing stripes, his dentist finds a cavity in his tooth, there are lima beans for dinner, and he gets soap in his eyes when he takes his evening bath.

If you’re like me you can relate to this story because we all have had days, weeks, months, and sometimes years like Alexander, days when nothing works out the way we want and by the time we fight our way home we are wore out physically, emotionally, and sometimes spiritually.

It is in these moments that we must remind our hurt hearts and bruised egos that God is with us and nothing can separate us from His love. It is in these moments of weakness, hurt, hurry, trial, and difficulty that God’s grace shines through as bright as a full moon in the darkness of night. Remind yourself in these moments to seize the day and make it count for the glory of God.

Now this is sometimes easier said than done. This is why we look to Matthew 20:1-16 to teach us how to be imitators of the Lord day by day. Turn with me to our text today.

Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV) – 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Big Idea – Seize this Day and Make Your Life Count for the Kingdom of God

Key Quote – “God is looking for those with whom He can do the impossible—

what a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” – A.W. Tozer

Let me tell you a story about a vineyard owner, his workers, and the surprising way he ran his business. You’ll find this story in Matthew 19:30 through Matthew 20:16, and it’s not just about grapes—it’s about how we choose to live our lives in light of eternity.

As we step into this new year, I want to challenge you to seize the day. But not just for yourself. Seize it for something bigger, something eternal. Here’s what we can learn from this vineyard owner’s story.

Three Lessons Learned to Make Each Day Count

The Right Perspective

As we begin studying this text, we see that Jesus identifies it as a parable by declaring, “the Kingdom of heaven is like…”

This has been the main subject Jesus has been teaching about since Matthew 19:16 as we see Him interact with the rich young ruler who wanted to know how to receive eternal life (19:16), which every Jew knew was equivalent to the hope of salvation and heavenly citizenship.

This parable that we study today teaches a magnificent truth about the kingdom of heaven, which, Jesus said, is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. It is here that we see the invitation given and Jesus begins to paint a picture of the spiritual realm where God reigns in righteousness and extends His majestic grace to all who choose to come to Him.

Matthew 20:1-7 (ESV) – 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

As we begin studying this text, we see that it introduces us to three main characters: (1) The Master, (2) The First Workers, and (3) The Last Workers.

The Master represents the Lord our God.

The Workers, both first and last, represent the followers of Christ.

Note that this main idea is reiterated by the soul stirring statements of the Lord found in Matthew 19:30 and Matthew 20:16 where He states,

“So the last will be first, and the first last.”

As we fix our focus on Lesson #1, we find it in verses 1-7 as we see the “Unexpected Invitation” from the Master to his workers.

The parable begins with a surprise. Let’s look at it for a moment. First, we see a landowner who rises early, seeking workers for his vineyard. At dawn, the first hour which in Jewish life was 6 a.m. then he finds eager workers and he promises a fair wage, a full day of work for a denarius which was equivalent to one full day’s pay of a Roman soldier. These workers seeing the blessing of the reward for serving this Master eagerly go to work for him.

The Master went back to the marketplace again at the 3rd hour (9 a.m.), the 6th hour (Noon), the 9th hour (3 pm) and finally at the 11th hour (5 p.m.) and saw more workers and he unexpectedly gives them the same invitation to come and work for him which all these workers eagerly accepted.

Why were these workers still looking for work at such a late hour? We do not know but we do know that even in this late hour when others had stopped these men continued to press on and look for work.

There is a picture here that is important to see. The invitation to come to the Lord is given to all mankind and some come to the Lord when they are young because the see the value of living a life for the Master early on. Others come to the Lord when they are in the middle of their life and through seasons of difficulty and unrest, they begin to see the value of the Lord which they had been blinded to see before. Finally, there are some that come to the Lord at the end of their lives recognizing that they needed to make themselves right with the Lord before it was too late.

The invitation is unexpected by many people but the Lord does not give up in continuing to offer eternal life to anyone that would come and surrender their life to Him no matter what your age.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Amos 5:6 – Seek the Lord and Live…

Matthew 11:28 – Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.

Lesson #1 – The Right Perspective: Open Your Eyes, Look for God’s Invitation,

and Respond to Him Every Day

Illustration: Story of Jane – Let me tell you the story of a lady by the name of Jane. When I met Jane, she was a nurse for hospice and she loved life. She had a tinder spirit in her and she loved to care for those that were facing their last days. She was full of love, life, and compassion yet she had never surrendered her life to the Lord. One day, Jane came to me and said she found out that she had cancer and only had a short time here on this earth. She had already started treatments and her strength was not great but she said she wanted to make sure she finished faithfully in this life so she wanted to give her life to the Lord and be baptized. On the day of her baptism, she had invited her son, daughter, friends, and family to be there with her. Even though, she barely had enough strength to enter the water she had the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face as she went under the water and came back up out of the water. Then with great joy, she looked out over the baptistry and looked to her kids saying, “Praise the Lord for I know I will live forever with my Savior. I love you all and my one request for each of you is that you would come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior too. I waited to long in my life to experience this joy and this peace. Come to Him early and live for Him always. Then we will see each other in eternity as I will be waiting for you!”

Key Quote – “You cannot bring back wasted time, but you can make better use of what is to come.” – Charles Spurgeon

Seize this Day and Live for the Glory of God in this Moment!

The Right Priority

The second lesson is found as we move into verses 8-12 and we see the importance of both the right priority and the right attitude among followers of the Lord.

Matthew 20:8-12 (ESV) – 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

As the story unfolds, the day comes to an end the workers gather to receive their wages promised to them by the landowner. The landowner starts by paying those who were hired last and he bestows great grace upon them giving them a full days pay.

As we read these verses, we come to the understanding that everyone who worked that day, no matter how long they worked all received the same reward and when those who worked a full day realized what was happening, they were astonished, frustrated, and grumbled toward the master of house.

Their normal, very human reaction was, “That’s not fair! Those men only worked an hour at the end of the day. We worked hard all day long, including during scorching heat. Why should they get paid as much as we did?

My friends, I fear that you and I have fallen into this category at different times in our lives. As we live this life, we often try do good things for the Lord and we place our good works in the imaginary scales of grace and sometimes without realizing it, we compare our works to the works of others and say to ourselves under our breath…”Well, I have done this more than him or I have avoided temptation more than her. I have done more good and prayed more prayers than those people over there…(Thus we deceive ourselves)

With such a mindset, we believe that the scales of God’s grace tip in our favor all because of our goodness. Yet, this is not how God’s grace works. The grace of our Savior is not dependent on our good works, nor is it dependent on our perfection toward His law. We will never be good enough, smart enough, or wealthy enough to earn God’s grace on our own merit.

The reason why is because God’s grace is freely given to whom He chooses and when He chooses and it wipes away the multitude of sins that plague our past, present, and future.

Romans 3:23-24 – 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…

Therefore let us praise God for His endless and incomparable grace this day. Let us live our light in the light of His mercy then we will be free of the comparison trap and find a life of contentment, rejoicing when God’s great hand of grace falls on those around us!

Romans 11:33-36 – 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? 35 Or who has ever first given to Him, and has to be repaid? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Lesson #2 – The Right Priority: Live a Life of Gratitude Toward the Lord and You Will Find K

and You Will Find Kingdom Contentment

Key Quote – “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed.

But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.” – Corrie Ten Boom

Application: Start this year by silencing the voice of comparison. Rejoice

in what God is doing in your life and celebrate His blessings in others’ lives.

Comparison distracts us from the joy of living in step with God’s purpose.

Purifier vs. Polluter

Fred Smith once said, “There are two kinds of people in any organization:  polluters and purifiers.”  Several things on a team are not contagious:  talent; experience; diligence.  But you can bet that attitude is contagious. 

Polluters are like smokestacks, belching out dirty smoke all the time.  They hate clear skies and no matter how clear the air is, they can find a way to poison it with gloom.  People who have to work around polluters must breathe in their toxic refuse and they usually feel sicker and weaker for it.

Purifiers, on the other hand, seem to clear the air around them.  No matter how rotten the atmosphere, they seem to find a way to filter out the toxins.  And they filter their own words and attitudes before letting others breathe them in so that anything that pollutes is filtered out and only what purifies is heard.  They can receive polluted air, but somehow they seem to breathe it back out as purified air.

So when others are around you, do they walk away sick and weak or energized?  Are you an air-clearer or an air-killer?  Most people tend to assume the attitudes of those they are forced to work with.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption”(Ephesians 4:29-30). Here’s to purifiers!

Seize this Day and Live for the Glory of God in this Moment!

The Right Practice

The final lesson that we learn is found in verses 13-16 as we see the Master’s response to those who chose to serve him.

Matthew 20:13-16 (ESV) – 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Did you know that the final words of almost every parable given in Scripture are extremely significant? The lessons learned in these final words are actually known by Biblical scholars as “The Law of End Stress.” This law states that is what is said at the end is of most importance otherwise these final verses are the climax the teaching of Jesus in this parable.

As we come to the end of this text, we see the twist of the plot. When the frustrated workers complain, the owner responds with a question: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

The workers wanted fairness, but the master offered compassionate generosity. Today, I thank God that He offers each of us something that beyond comprehension, something far outside the boundary of fairness. Today, through the power of Jesus Christ God offers us something better: It is His Grace. And grace is always surprising because it’s undeserved.

Ephesians 2:8 – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The workers weren’t cheated; they just couldn’t see the generosity of the owner’s heart.

When you and I start comparing our lives to others, we miss the beauty of grace. God’s plan for you is unique, and His generosity to others doesn’t diminish His goodness to you.

The story ends as it began with the profound lesson: “So the last will be first, and the first last.” God’s kingdom operates on the principle of grace, not merit. God’s Grace is marvelous for it lifts the last to first and welcomes the least deserving into God’s blessing. It’s not about what we’ve earned but about what Christ has done.

John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” declared, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Lesson #3 – The Right Practice: Trust God’s Grace for His Ways Are Perfect and His R

and His Reward is Eternal

Application: Reflect on God’s grace as you begin this year. Let it inspire awe and gratitude. Extend this same grace to others—whether in forgiveness, generosity, or love. When we live in light of God’s grace, we reflect God’s heart to a world in need.

Share the Story of the Recent Funeral –

Seize this Day and Live for the Glory of God in this Moment!

Memory Verse

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) – A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.

Challenge:

You are called to consistently apply the divine principles and truths found in the Word of God. Take the next step in your study by (1) Discussing and applying the sermon with your family or small group or (2) Participating in a Sunday School class.