MATTHEW 20:1-16
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. 20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
OPENING REMARK
Praise the Lord! We thank God for the service and all that have been done, we thank Him for His word that He brings to us now. I pray that it will penetrate every heart and enrich every soul and do something that will turn us in the right direction so that we will be better after the word than before in Jesus name.
INTRODUCTION
Today, we come to an important subject that touches our personal, natural and physical lives, a subject which touches us as young people, as members, providers for the family and also our spiritual lives. It is about what God has put us here on earth to do, not just the work of preaching. Everything we do must be to the glory of God, the growth of the world, the earth that God had made, for our spiritual upliftment that will grant us reward when we get to heaven.
Mathew 20:1. It is likened to the territory of the Almighty God that He governs. When you think about the Kingdom of God from the early hours of the world, He has been reaching out and will continue to reach out to hire labourers into His vineyard.
vs 2. He agreed to pay the labourers a penny a day, to meet their needs daily, hourly and for the rest of their lives. He would take care of them if they would be occupied in His vineyard.
vs 3. He went out in the 3rd hour of the day and saw some people. They were fit, healthy and sound, but were standing idle. They had brains with which to think but they were standing idle.
vs 4-5. The people He first appointed had gone to do what He sent them, likewise those who He appointed at the third hour. He told them that He would give them just payment after their labour. They should not bother about it because He is a good God. He said they should walk by faith because what he would give them would be okay for them.
vs 6. He went out again about the 6th and 9th hours, which shows that he himself was not idle. After the creation of the world, God did not stop working. At the 11th hour, when the day was about to close, and the workday was about to finish, as the world moved from creation to this time when the world is about folding up, he went out and still saw some people standing idle. He asked why they have been idle?
vs 7. They answered that they were idle because no man has hired them. Does anyone need to hire them? Why were they not job creators and also hire other people?
vs 8. At evening, at the close of the day, the lord of the vineyard called the labourers and began to pay them, starting from the last set to the first.
We are looking at the message today titled TURNING FROM IDLENESS TO INDUSTRIOUSNESS FOR GROWTH for personal, church and kingdom growth. It is divided into three parts:
- THE EMPTINESS OF THE IDLE
- THE SLOTHFULNESS AND DESTITUTION OF THE IDLE
(Proverbs 24:30-31; 20:4; 21:25; 2 Thess 3:10-12)
If I am slothful, indolent and idle, I become destitute, empty handed and I don’t have all that is necessary to make a man or woman feel fulfilled. There is destitution and emptiness in the family.
Proverbs 24: The slothful or lazy one is one that is destitute and indolent. He will not plough because of the cold. Looking at the weather and therefore not working is wrong because a particular weather comes around every year. You must deal with the attitude of idleness. It demeans a man to be lazy. When others are harvesting their crops, he will have nothing to reap.
The desire of the lazy kills him. He only desires but have not, and this leads to all kinds of health issues, part of which are hypertension and insomnia (sleeplessness). It is important that we all work and save some, spend some and also give to the less-privileged. Having saved, at old age, you will fall back on the savings you have intelligently done. Anyone who does not work will become a parasite, that is why it is not right to be idle.
If you work hard and earn money, you will be able to take care of yourself and also give generously to the work of God which will expand to the glory of God. There should not be a case of anyone accusing others of not helping him to take care of his family. You married your wife by yourself, and there was no agreement that Bro or Sis so and so will help you take care of your wife. You have the duty and responsibility to take care of your family.
- THE SHAMELESSNESS AND DEFIANCE OF THE IDLE
(Ecclesiastes 10:18; Proverbs 26:13-16; James 1:21-24; Hebrews 2:1-3)
The lazy is shameless. Their houses are collapsing, they can’t pay house rent, and they can’t train their children in the school. Suffering comes as a result of idleness. The roof is leaking but there is no effort to mend it. They avoid passing that side. Their windows are shattered, they cannot fix it, they use cardboards to cover it. The house is dropping, decaying and collapsing and they are still there, managing it.
Proverbs 26:13. The lazy one says there is a lion on the streets, but those who are not as strong and intelligent as you are passing through that same place and nothing happens to them. Wake up, stop all excuses, go out and work and the Lord will protect you. If you are up and doing, and serious to go and provide for your family, you only need to commit yourself to God and He will protect you.
vs 14. There should be balance in how you sleep. If you sleep too much, or too little, it affects your health. If you have an habit of sleeping and sleeping, it will lead to poverty. It becomes difficult for the man to make provisions for the family in terms of feeding, school fees and other needs in the family. To pay the rent will be difficult. This leads to lies to the landlord and debtors.
Some men want to marry, they collect the woman and fail to fulfill promises made to the family to come back and pay the dowry. The lazy ones always feel wise in their conceit. They are defiant against the fact that it is not right for a man to be idle. They sit down there, not responding to every encouragement to work.
As believers, we are to be doers of the word. We are taught Search the Scriptures, there is summary and answering of our questions. When is the change going to happen? When will you rise and kill the habit of idleness? As you hear the word of God, you must be a doer, otherwise,
- You waste the time of the preacher/teacher.
- You make the word you hear unprofitable.
- It makes you equal to those who never heard the word. The punishment of those who don’t do the word they hear will be more grievous than those who didn’t hear at all.
- A habit of hearing and never doing is created. He hears but does nothing about it. He looks into the mirror of the word and does nothing about what the mirror reveals.
There is something about idleness, if you are idle in one aspect, it will spill over to other areas until you become totally idle. If you are idle in secular things, it will spill to your spiritual life.
