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Message Notes:
What is a parable?
Definition = A fictional story anyone can understand, which teaches a deeper truth about how God’s kingdom works.
MAIN IDEA:
Grace is not about what you deserve…
It is about what God wants to give.
Matthew 20:1-16
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like [a]a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a [b]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the [c]third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 Again he went out about the [d]sixth and the ninth hour, and did [e]the same thing. 6 And about the [f]eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 “Now when evening came, the [g]owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ 9 When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a [h]denarius. 10 And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; [i]but each of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye [j]envious because I am [k]generous?’ 16 So the last shall be first, and the first, last.” NASB
MAIN IDEA:
Grace is not about what you deserve…
It is about what God wants to give.
1. Grace works differently in God’s kingdom than our own.
Matthew 20:14
Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. NASB
Romans 10:9
…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. NASB
2. Grace doesn’t always seem fair…but thank God it isn’t.
Psalm 130:3
“If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”
Romans 3:10; 23
…“No one is righteous—not even one… Vs. 23 - For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard NLT
Isaiah 64:6
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags NLT
3. Grace wants you to be happy for others to whom God shows it.
Matthew 20:15
Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous? NASB
QUESTION TO ANSWER:
If everyone is going to get paid the same at the end of the day,
does that mean what I do here on earth doesn’t matter?
Matthew 19:27-29
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” 28 Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new[i] and the Son of Man[j] sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. NLT
Matthew 19:30
But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
Think about this profound statement:
There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.
And there is nothing you can do to make God love you more.*
MAIN IDEA:
Grace is not about what you deserve…
It is about what God wants to give.
CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:
Are you the all-day worker struggling?
Are you the late one who received extra grace?
How does God want you to respond to your situation?
If you prayed the prayer to start fresh with God today text “startagain” (one word) to 97000 so we can connect with you and help you take the next steps in this amazing decision.
My Notes:
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