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DISOBEDIENT
CHILDREN
As we begin this message, permit me to give you a little
background of the setting for this parable. At the beginning OF CHAPTER
TWENTY ONE OF Matthews we find Jesus making His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem. After entering the city Jesus went to the temple and begin to
clean it up, He started by turning over the tables of the moneychangers
and those who bought and sold in the temple. People was using the church
for business much like they do today Jesus said It is written, My
house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of
thieves. (Matt.21: 13). Because of Jesus actions the chief priest
and scribes begin questioning Him. They want to know what right He had
posing as the Messiah. To answer their questions Jesus raised a question
concerning the ministry of John the Baptist, whom the command people
took to be a prophet from God. The leaders were afraid to reply, because
they might offend the people who believed that John was a prophet or
they would place themselves under an obligation to submit to they were
not ready to do that! You see friends John demanded that the people
confess that they were sinners and in need of a Savior. In contrast, the
religious leaders affirmed that they were righteous and needed no
repentance. They already considered themselves to be sons of the
kingdom. Yes friend they were Jews they were good people they needed no
repentance because they did not sin. “For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
There are many people in the world today who believe this same thing but
they are wrong everyone is a sinner and come short of the glory of God.
As a result of this conflict between Christ and the Jewish
leaders, two questions arose. “Who is sons of the kingdoms?”
and “how may son ship be tested?” These were crucial
question, for their answers would determine whether or not God accepted
those who followed Pharisaic traditions.
For the solution Jesus told a story about a man and his two sons.
So if you have your Bibles turn with me to (Matt. 21:28-32). “But
what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and
said, Son, go work today in my vive yard. He answered and said, I will
not: but afterward he repented, and went and he came to the second son
and said likewise, and he answered and said, I go sir: and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, the
first. Jesus saith unto them. Verily I say unto you that the Publicans
and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came
unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the
publicans and the harlots believed him, and ye, when ye had seen it,
repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Now let’s take a look at this parable and these two sons in
contrast to each other. The sons who professed his father’s authority
but did not go, represents the chief’s priest and scribes. Here we
have these leaders of the Jews that say they are the children of God,
but their lives did not show it. When John the Baptist came and told
them they needed to repent of their sins they said we have no sin. When
Jesus came and told them to follow Him and not their religion, they
said, they could not put their faith in a carpenters son. “Well
hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written this people
honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. How bait in
vain does they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold the traditions of
men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye
do: Making the word of God of none effect through your traditions, which
ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye, (MK 7:6-8; 13).
Yes friends these people followed religion and the keeping of
traditions, they through it was right because that was the way they was
raised, that’s the way their parents lived so it must be right.
Friends there are many people in this country doing the same thing. They
are playing religion and keeping the traditions, they are following man
ways, and not God’s way. They say it was good enough for my parents so
it is good enough for me. Friends I pray that you are not saying that. I
pray that you are following Jesus and not some religion, because I know
there are many people teaching religion here, saying you can live
forever by keeping sacraments and audience of the church.
Dear friend that’s not true Jesus says, there is only one way
to heaven and it is not through religion. This is what Jesus was trying
to tell these religions leaders but they could not understand Him. Now
let us look at the other son.
This son rejected the father’s authority but later repented and
obeyed. The tax collectors and prostitutes represent this son.
God represents the father in this parable. The vineyard is the
church and the sons are two classes of men, to whom the command to go
and work was given.
The son who rejected the fathers authority but later became
earnest in working for his father are like a lot of people in the world
today, that has repented of their sins and turned to God. These people
knew they were sinners, when they were told to repent they did, when
Jesus said you are living the wrong way they believed Him. Friends they
admitted they were wrong and was willing to change. I want you to know
dear friend this does not in no way justify sin. Yes Jesus will forgive
you, but sin leaves scares. When you sin against a Holy God you will
never forget it. Sin hurts your life and you Christians know that it
hurts your testimony for Christ. You cannot live in sin and expect some
one else to see Jesus in you. One thing I can say about the unsaved is
they sure know when a person is living the life they profess. If you say
you are a child of God friend people will know it. The unsaved knows
whom a person is living for. Your life will show what you are. Friends
you cannot say you are a child of God and expect people to believe it if
you don’t obey God’s Word. “God says if you love me you will keep my commandments.”
Most people don’t want to tell others they are a Christian
because they know their life does not show it. There are a lot of you
out there right now, know you are living wrong you know you are not in
God’s will, and you really want to change but no one has ever told you
how. Friends that is why I preach these messages, they designed to tell
people how to be saved. It is the desires of all our hearts here at In
the Name of Jesus, that you will see Jesus and turn your life over to
Him. It is our prayer that everyone realizes they are sinners and
hopelessly lost without Christ, and will spend eternity apart from Him
unless they repent.
The son who professed his father’s authority
but did not obey, reminds us of the Priest. Priest and scribes who say
they know God, but do not obey Him. They are hypocrites they said they
were Christians but you could not find them working for God. They were
working for man and what they could get out of life. Friends there are a
lot of people playing religion. They don’t tell people how to have
eternal life and they certainly don’t tell people how to live by
God’s Word. They made vowels to God but never keep them. There are
some of you who has made vowels to God and never keep the. Friends we
are told in (Ec. 5:4-6) “When
thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure
in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou
shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not
thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin”. Friends you need to keep
your vows to God. If you say you are one of His children you need to
live the life you profess.
The son was right in his confession but wrong in his actions
(Rom. 10:9) “IF THOU SHALT
CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS, AND SHALT BELIEVE IN THINE HEART
THAT GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.” Yes
it is not wrong to make a confession that is how we are saved, but to
confess and not live it is wrong. A lot of people are making the right
confess but have lives that don’t agree. We see that God has given the
command to His children to go into the field and work but not all who
confess Jesus as their Lord goes and works. There is plenty of work to
be done. There is physical and spiritual work to be done. One forth of
the worlds earns less than 75 dollars a year; 460 million are starving
to death. The physical needs are great and we, as Christians need to
work to meet needs. The spiritual needs of the world are also great the
world has five billion people, one billion professes to Christianity,
over one billion had heard the name of Jesus, but friends over two
billion people has never heard the name of Jesus. For us to do the work
of God we can be busy by witnessing, teaching Sunday School and bring
friends and loved ones to church. Friends we live in a lost and dying
world, people dying every day around us who are going off into an
eternity of Hell, because no one took the time to tell them about
Christ. The work needs to be done now Jesus says in John 4:35, say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I
say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest.” Jesus is telling us dear Christian the
need is today. In Luk. 10:2 He said “I
must be about my fathers business.” I want to ask you dear
Christian friend are you doing the work of your Heavenly father? Or of
some other? This is the duty of all children of God. Jesus did and so
should we. Oh dear friend don’t be like the priest and scribes of
Jesus’ day, work for God. “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work,
and commanded the porter to watch, watch ye therefore for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing or in the mourning lest coming suddenly
he find you sleeping. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ don’t
let the Lord come and find you not working.
Our body has great potentialities if you
are a person of average size, you perform in each day of 24 hours the
following functions; Your heart beats 103,689 times; your blood travels
168,000,000 miles. You breathe 23,040 times; you inhale 438 cubic feet
of air. You eat 3 or 4 pounds of food and drink 3 quarts liquid. You
perspire 2 pints through your skin; your body maintains a steady
temperature of 98.6 degrees under all weather conditions. You generate
450 foot tons of energy, you speak 4800 words (men only), move and use
over 700 muscles, use 7,000,000 brain cells, and walk 7 miles. Just
think friends this body belongs to God. I want to ask you with this
activity, how much of it is dedicated to the Creator. This wonderfully
made body should be dedicated to its wonderful Creator. Make it a
present to God today. God tells us in (Jer. 31:3) “Yea
I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving
kindness have I drawn thee.” Friends, is Jesus drawing some of you
today? Do you want to be a true son of God? If you mean business with
God then confess Him as Lord of your life and turn from your sins today.
Doing that will allow Him to use your body for His honor and
glory and you will be glad you did, because when you are working for God
your life grows sweeter and sweeter everyday.
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