Jesus is more than fair | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from acts church.

We hope this message will light up your tea.

So I'm going to be teaching from a parable, and

this is not a strange parable. It's a parable that

many of us have heard before or read before. Mathew

Chapter twenty. Okay, I'm going to read the first about

twenty seven verses of this chapter and then we're going

to go straight into it. And I basically entitled the

message Jesus is more than Fair, and I will explain

it as we go along. Okay, everyone with me. If

you have your bibles, you can turn to your bibles.

If not, the scriptures are also on the screen. But

go ahead and turn to the Bible, so at least

you know where it is. Okay, sound, you don't know

where Matthew is. It's okay. Learn where it's in the middle,

because it's the first book of the New Testament after

the Old Testament ends.

Okay.

It says this At nine o'clock in the morning, he

was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing

around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he

would pay them whatever was right at the end of

the day. And so they went to work in the

vineyard at noon, and again at three o'clock. He did

the same thing at five o'clock. That afternoon, he was

in town again and saw some more people standing around.

He asked them, why haven't you been working today? They

replied because no one hired us. The landowner told them,

then go out and join the others in my vinyard.

That evening, he told the four men to call the

workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.

When those hired at five o'clock were paid, each received

a full day's wage. When those hired first came to

get their pay, they assumed they would receive more, but

they two were paid a day's wage. When they received

their pay, they protested to the owner, those people work

only one hour, and yet you have paid them just

as much as you paid us, who work all day

in the scotching heat. He answered one of them, friends,

I haven't been unfair. Didn't you agree to work all

day for the usual wage? Take your money and go.

I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.

Is it against the law for me to do what

I want with my money? Should you be jealous? Because

I am kind to others. So those who are last

now will be first then, and those who are first

will be last. And then Jesus continues uh verse seventeen.

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the

twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going

to happen to him. Listen, he said, we are going

up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Men will be

betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.

They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand

him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with

a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he

will be raised from the day Verse twenty. Then the

mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came

to Jesus with her sons. She noel respectfully to ask

a favor. What is your request, he asked, She replied,

in your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in

places of honor next to you, or one on your

right and the other on your left. But Jesus answered

by saying to them, you don't know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering?

I am about to drink. Oh, yes, they replied.

We are able.

Jesus told them, you will indeed drink from my bitter cup.

But I have no right to say who will sit

on my right all my life. My father has prepared

those places for the ones he has chosen. When the

ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked,

they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said,

you know that the rulers in this world lord it

over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those

under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever

one to be a leader among you must be your servant,

and whoever wants to be first among you must become

your slave. For even the Son of Men came not

to be served, but to serve others, and to give

his life ransom for many.

The Lord blessed the reading of his word. Amen.

Okay, sounds like a familiar passage. Yes, we have read

it many many times before. And no, maybe for some

of us we might need to go through a cultural

leap to try to understand the verse a little bit better.

Because I don't think any of us have worked in

a vineyard. Anyone if you walked in the vinyard before.

Maybe some of you all did. I don't know if

you all ever went to New Zealand or America on

a workplay visa somehow, I know a lot a lot

of our young people end up in vineyards, maybe because

there are always jobs in vineyards, but not many of

us have worked in vineyards. So we probably need to,

like I said, change our mindset a little bit, try

to imagine. We also need to try to imagine what

a situation like earning a daily wage is, because I

don't think any of us go by a daily wage.

Any of your go by daily wages, very very rarely

in today's day and age that we actually paid daily wages.

That means twenty four hours employment. You have your guadgee

basically your salary at the end of the day, and

so not many of us actually work for a daily wage.

So you need to try to imagine what that looks like.

And really, that is how it was back in those days.

And that's why when you pray the Lord's prayer, it

is give us this day hour, daily break, because every

day they are dependent on the lot. One day they

don't work, they don't eat. That is how it is

and I think it's so important that we remember as

well what work is. I believe we are all created

to work on that means we are not. No one

is created for redundancy. No one is created to sit

around and do nothing in our lives, even though sometimes

a lot of us want to sit around and do

nothing because because we're lazy. Like, okay, I'm also like that.

That day is when I just want to sit down

and be stupid. It's as I tell me, I want

to go into my stupid box. The stupid box is

this box where I just sit down there. I don't

do anything because I don't feel like doing anything. But

that's not why we are created. We are all created

for a purpose. We are all created to work, and

that's why I'd rather we continue working all the days

of our lives until the day you see Jesus. Really,

there are days when I actually tell myself, I think

I don't mind dying on the pulpit. Really, if the

Lord allows me to preach, not like I love preaching, okay,

but if he calls me to preach and he wants

me to do it, I don't mind going on a poopet.

It would be great for me. I'm not so great

for y'all.

Okay, so you're speakers and lipprop, but I think, what

a joy to be able to work and work and

be doing what is purposeful and what is meaningful in

the law all the way to the very And then

that's one of the reasons why sometimes when I talk

to those who have gone through retirement, I always tell them,

don't stop working.

Don't stop working.

You know, retirement is really not a time in which

your whole life comes to an end and then impulse

and then you have got no purpose and nothing to do.

It so very important to make sure if you are

in a retired state, it's not a retired state, Elder

Terrence once mentioned, or you must be refired, refire to

do other things. Okay, you don't need necessarily need to

work back in your company or anything like that, but

don't stop doing because the meaning you stop doing anything

you read, you will degenerate and your mind will at

trophy and everything will go. And it happens very often,

especially with the older generation. So that's why I always

encourage all our young ad hearts. We always say, if

you are ninety nine and below, your youth's doesn't matter

if you are retired, No, you're sixty seventy, you are

still youth, and there is still a plan and still

a purpose. So I want us to bear that in

mind as well as we are talking, because I believe

we're all created to work. It will help us better

understand the scriptures. Okay, everyone's still okay. So other than that,

it's quite a straightforward parable, quite a straightforward story, which

is quite true to life. So when we're reading it,

we're like, okay, okay, okay, working about working, Okay, all cool,

until we reach verse nine. Okay, when you reach verse nine,

verse nine, that's when your eyebrows will start to go

like huhuh. And this is when the owner decided to

make those who had worked for hours wait at the

back of the queue for their wages. Surely, those who

work all day in the heat of the Middle Eastern

afternoon should be the ones that be first at the

pay counter to receive their envelope, right, But no, the

scripture says that those who came last got their envelope first.

And you know, this owner, this landowner is probably starting

to tread on those ready by making a choice like that.

But let's let's let's go on. Let's go on, because

that is not the shock of the story. That is

just the first small shocker. The next shocker is this.

Then they see the people who came at the final

hour of the day to work one hour get a

full day's wage, and of course, in their minds, who

I'm in for a bonus because I started working from

I think nine am, right, that's the time that was stated.

So they thought, Okay.

When I get my envelope, it's going to be a

lot more taker a ticker and world. And this is

where it became even more shocking because they got the

same amount.

Ah and so many parables like this one.

Sometimes there are stories that eventually leads us to a

not a very happy ending. Not happy And of course

I don't know for a fact what happened after all this,

because Jesus was just teaching. It's a parable, it's a story.

It's like watching a series. Like sometimes you're finished watching

your series after episode sixteen. Maybe for Korean dramas, you're

like wondering, actually, what I wonder what happened? The happily

ever After looks like, actually, we don't really know what

the happily ever after, look like maybe for the Taiwanese dramas,

after episode three undred and fifty seven that you start

to want the Taiwanese drama very long and never end one.

Then you're wondering what happened after episode three on nine

fifty seven. Well, we don't know, but this one sounds

like it would probably have a not so happy ending

because I can imagine the relationship between the employer and

his employees probably probably broke down.

I don't think they'll be very happy.

I can imagine those who came at nine o'clock and

those who came at five o'clock, they probably weren't best

of colleagues. I'm not sure. What do you think, No,

you try to think of it. Let's put ourselves in

that position. I doubt they'll be in talking terms. And

so the whole thing seems to sort of like break up.

And yet Jesus teaches that this is what the Kingdom

of Heaven is, Like, wow, he actually starts like that

the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner. Okay, so

what we are seeing here in this parable is not

a picture of heaven, not fully a picture of heaven.

It is actually a picture of something that we are

very familiar with here on earth. It is a picture

of attitudes, which, if we are honest, and I'm going

to be completely honest here, we have it in our

very own hearts because in this story, Jesus is showing

a confrontation between two totally different outlooks. And these two

looks are as far apart as Heaven is from Earth.

It's a big gulf, a big divide. So the question

is whether our attitude is going to be the all

earthly attitude or the new heavenly one. And when I

read this parable, it is an introduction of the king.

It's actually talking more about the landowner more than it

is actually a description of what the Kingdom of Heaven

is going to be like. We are thinking, oh, is

this how the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be like? No,

I think we've got to look at this from the

point of view of the landowner. Very very important. So

let us look at this story, this parable as a warning.

And we love many of Jesus' stories, but if you

were to ask people which is their favorite parable, very

few will say I love the parable of the Vignyard

because it is very, very hard it's very very strong, and.

I doubt anyone would choose this, but this is it.

The reality is a lot of us are always born

with an in built sense of injustice.

How many of y'all realize this? You know? The first

thing that you hear children say is like, that's not fair, right?

You know? I heard I read once before.

I know this parent was saying, if you want to

get the perfect piece of pie that is divided into

two between two children, what you do is you ask

one to cut it into half, and you give the

other one the right to choose their preference first, and

you will get a pie that is perfectly cut into half,

because both will make sure that I'm getting the exact

half that I am deserving of.

Right, So there's always that.

Innate or inbuilt sense of injustice, and it's a very

natural reaction in this story. Actually, it is not fair

that a man who has worked for twelve long hours

in the heat of the noonday in the Middle Age

should get the same wages as the joker who came

one hour only in the cool of the evening. There

is something in us that will rebel because this story

is you.

Are not fair.

The landowner bad dude, But have you ever stopped to

think about what that feeling of if it's not fair

actually does to you? You know, when you are shouting

it's not fair, have you ever tried analyzing it? Because

we say it a lot, we are always very rights

based people. It's my rights, it's my rights, it's my

it's what I deserve. But think about it. No, whenever

we are shouting it's not fair, usually we are making

a very self centered statement because more often than when

you say it's not fair, it's about your own own circumstances.

Very hardly we think about other people's circumstances. Have you

noticed that? I'll be the first to admit that that's

the reality of it. We feel it when we are

being treated unjustly much more strongly when than when someone

else is treated unjustly. Of course, from time to time

we will have mother theresas, but not often.

Mother theisas come few and far between.

Most of us are essentially self centered in our feelings,

so whenever we are shouting it's not fair, it's usually

focusing on ourselves. Another thing when we are shouting is

not fair is this? Have you noticed what it does

to your emotions? I've never really heard a child say

it's not fair in a nice, polite manner.

It's not fair. No, even if it's nice and.

POLITI it's usually full of sarcasm. It's usually very emotive,

full of emotions. Why because a statement like that is

always almost associated with anger, bitterness, resentment, envy, And these

are all the physical emotions or the emotions that we

have in us that that trust me leads to poor health.

I assure you no, I've I've had some neighbors of

late go through some very stressful situations and you know,

because of that, they had high blood pressure and it

led to a stroke. I mean, I'm praying for my

neighbors too. Of my neighbors living on my same street

had a stroke recently. And usually you know, if you

if you understand, high blood pressure doesn't always happen unless

you love eating salt.

For fun.

But usually it's a lot of stress. It stresses that

they're going through at work. It's different kinds of stresses.

And you know, usually when we are shouting it's not fair,

it's not fair, it's usually tied to an emotion that

is really not healthy.

And that is what we got to realize as well.

And then there's something even worse about this feeling of

it's not fair. It always leads us to make a

calculated comparison with other people. And I tell you what

this does, because whenever we start comparing, it destroys our

love for other people. And then what it does is

introduces hatred to each other. You see, it is not

just that I'm being treated unjustly. I may even be

treated justly. But if someone else is getting more than

they deserve, even if I'm getting what I deserve, somehow

hatred can still be born and developed within our hearts,

and then suddenly that person becomes our enemy.

Ever been in that situation?

Ever felt so grateful for or the winner of a jackpot?

Sometimes I speak in spite.

I shouldn't because I always give me the jackpot, give

me the jackpot. So the jackpot one hundred and fifty

million pounds, I'm not in the world. And then I

read in the UK, you read the British newspapers. They've

actually done a series of studies over the years on

the life of the people who want the jackpot, whether

it's euro jackpot, national lottery. It's insane amounts that we

are talking to one hundred and fifty two hundred and

fifty million pounds now, and they can lose it all.

And then I'm like, wonder world, give you.

So much money, go lose everything, and then after you know,

their families crumble, et cetera, et cetera. In my head,

science I'm thinking, God, you give to Mela better, you know,

give to them for what waste money. But really that

is those are the kind of feelings that sometimes creates

en meety in our hearts. So we've got to be

very very because if we are going through life saying

it's not fair, we will end up being very self centered,

a person who is very envious, and a person with

the seed of hatred in our hearts. And this attitude

is poisonous, it is. And so it is this attitude

with Jesus is challenging in this story. It is the

attitude of saying, what is in this for me? Ever,

say that before I wonder what's in it for me?

When I come to a place, when I come into

the company, tell me my benefits, when I come to church,

tell me what I.

Gain being here. It's a it's a it's a normal thing.

I'm I'm passionate only because it applies to me as well,

very very normal.

And then so that when we look at our neighbor,

what's he getting?

We start to compare, and the Kingdom of Heaven is

not like that.

Amen, it's not like that.

So now let us look at the story from a

different point of view. You have to look at the

story from the point of view of the owner, the

vineyard owner. And we find out that instead of the

story being the story of a man who is less

than fair, because that is what we're all crying now

just from reading what we just read. This guy is

less than fair, it is actually a story of a

man who is more than fair. And this is going

to make a whole lot of difference. Why do I

say he's more than fair? Think about it from the

perspective of the landowner. The owner is going beyond what

he needs to do. Do you realize that what was

his primary concern for his primary concern was for others?

And if you read the scripture slowly, you realize that

he was.

Actually going out looking for people who were not employed.

Right, that was what he was doing.

And unemployment is a big problem if you are in

economy you will study about unemployment rates, and you know,

they actually can study about the economic situation of a

particular country, not just on unemployment rates, but especially on

unemployment rates of the youth, the younger people, younger generation,

younger generation not working in a country, something is fundamentally

not right and it will affect the country. And so

think about it. This owner is going beyond what he

needs to do. His concern was primarily for others, not himself.

He was doing favors for people all the way through

the story. He's giving them work in the first place.

And so you may say he needs workers wide for

his vineyard, that's why he gave them work. But you

think about it, he actually really wants to help people

to have the opportunity to work. That's why he went

out and he asked them what you're doing. He's not

doing anything. Come and then when it comes to giving wages,

do you ever realize that this landowner is not just

like any other ordinary landowner because he's actually thinking what

does he need? What does his family need? Because you

have to understand the daily wage that they get. It's

also known as a subsistence wage. Another word for subsistence

is existence another word for existence probably is survival.

Basically, it's a survival wage.

You take away that wage the first chances that the

person cannot really survive. And so he's thinking, this guy

probably has a family, this guy probably has dependence, and

if I only give him a small wage, is going

to be a disaster for this person. Right, So this

owner of the vineyard looks at all the workers and

things of their wifis, things of their children, and he

knows that if he only pays them one hour, because

actually those who came here at five o'clock work for

one hour only. You give him one hour worth of

which what do you think is going to happen to

the family? Think about it, His family will probably go hungry.

And so here is a man who is doing more

than is just. He's actually showing mercy. And mercy is

not less than fair. Mercy is always more than fair.

That's why a man, by Jesus is more than fair. Now,

if you belong to the Kingdom of Earth and have

a worldly attitude, you will say of him, he is

less than fair. It's not fair. That's all you always

cry out, not fair. This parable is not fair. But

if you step into the Kingdom of Heaven, and you

look at him again, you will say he is more

than fair. This is why the owner said, friend, I'm

doing you no wrong. And that was true. The problem

was with the attitude of the complaining laborer. And it

is not a story about justice. It is actually a

story about mercy. It is saying that heaven operates on

a different principle than the world. God operates not on

what a man deserves to get, but on what he

delights to give the person. That's the difference. And this

is the Kingdom of Heaven. And so Jesus comes with

this revolutionary concept. The Kingdom of Heaven is not built

on merit, It is built on mercy. That is why

sometimes you actually hear me saying there is nothing you

can do to earn your salvation, even though we live

in a meritocracy society. Well depends on how you want

to look at it, but that's a different topic for

a different day. But technically society. He likes to function

and operate on meritocracy base society. That means you get

anything because you are worthy of it, you deserve it,

you study enough. I think recently there was this student

who's got very well in STPM, and he didn't get

the cause of choice by anyway, that's a different story.

You're talking another day.

But you understand, You understand where we are at because

we always think I deserve this. And so the God

who owns the vineyard is a god who treats you

not as you deserve, but as he delights in treating you.

That is the picture of God right through the Bible.

And the only people who will object to that are

people who still have pride in their heart.

Because you think about it.

Behind the grumblers, those laborers who are grumbling in this story,

do you think underlying they are grumbling is Greek? Do

you think it's Greek? Because think about it. They would

have been perfectly contented with their days, wages, they were ready,

their expectation was managed right from the very start. You'll

get this, which just that's why they started working. So

technically they are getting what they.

Deserve.

I don't think it was great. It was actually their

pride that was hurt more than what a blur same

amount as me. He was their pride that was hurt.

And so let's take it to the next level. When

did Jesus tell this story to whom was he speaking to?

And he said this actually to his own disciples. He

was talking to his disciples, those who had left everything

and followed him and devoted their lives to him, those

who had already spent two and a half years following

him around. And then you're probably wondering why did he

say to his own followers, And because I believe it

was also because although his followers, his disciples, left their business,

and all of them left their business, their careers, their professions,

whatever they were involved in to follow Jesus. Their businesses

never really left them. Their careers, their mindsets, their attitudes

never really left them. They had not left this calculating

comparison behind them when they followed Jesus. And do you

know actually what happened before this story was told, If

you backtrack a little bit and read chapter nineteen in

the Gospel of Matthew, verse twenty seven, you actually had Peter, Peter,

the one that says whatever he feels like saying it,

and then he came up to Jesus, Jesus, we are

ready to take the step.

We left everything for you. What's in it for us? Peter?

He actually said that, no, what shall we get because

we have left everything to follow you. And Jesus was

so patient. Jesus didn't just give him a palm ad

He didn't. Jesus didn't rebuke him. Jesus was actually very

very gentle. He thought Peter, there was no need to

worry about reward. Anybody who has given up anything for

Jesus will be repaid one hundred fold. Is actually recorded

in verse twenty nine of chapter nineteen. Then he told

this parable. The kingdom of Heaven is like the owner

of a vignia. So technically we have this parable thanks

to Peter, because Peter probably opened his mouth and was

trying to say something, and then Jesus had to explain

that to everyone who had left houses, family members, left

their land for his namesake. He actually said, you will

receive one hundred fold and inherit eternal life. But then

you studied a little bit more. You asked yourself what

happened immediately after this parable, we ready just now what happened.

James and John went to their mother. Wow, this is

James and John, the sons of thunder zabdis uniting right

should be the same too.

They're actually mummy's boys. Not even though father is thunder Father.

But two mummies, boy going to their mom told their mommy,

why did you put a good word in for us

when you meet Jesus and help us get good seats

in the Kingdom of heaven. One on the left hand,

one on the right hand of Jesus. And then Jesus

said that it was not for him to give those seats.

We should be for those his father has prepared for.

And so Jesus gave them a very diplomatic answer in

a way it's outside his control. But look at the

reaction of the other disciples also, they were so displaced.

Actually, in what I.

Read, the Nalty says they were indignant. That means that

they were pissed. They are pass that these two jokers

when they asked Jesus to get box seats for themselves,

and then all of us were we we are we

are the back benches. And so you you can still

see after two and a half years, all of the

twelve disciples were still infected with the concept of merit.

You're still well and trenched in their minds. They still

have not understood that God in Heaven is never less

than fair, He is always more than fair, more than fair.

He's always giving more than he should, and that is

the meaning of this story. The extent to which you

have really grasped the concept of the Kingdom of Heaven

will depend on your reaction to this story, because you

either love this story or you will hate this story.

If you are still thinking in terms of merit, you

will say that it is less than fair. But if

you have got into the realm of mercy, you will

say it is more than fair. And that is my

understanding of this story because if the three closest disciples

of Jesus, Peter, James, and John fail at that point,

then I need to listen to this warning as well.

And this story came because of their inability to see

what Jesus wanted them to see. And Jesus is teaching

us not to let the world around us press us

into a particular mole. Do you know mercy is not

something that you understand or experience because you think about it.

If we are living in this world, If you live

and this world, sometimes we behave like animals. Okay, in

the animal kingdom, mercy don't really exist. One you don't

see a lion hunting an impala, And then before Okay,

before I take it bye, Maybe I'll let you go.

What did you go off and have a good life,

and I will go hungry. I don't think mercy actually

exists in the animal kingdom, but we sometimes live in

the wilderness of this world behaving almost like animals. That's

the reality. Because I'll be the first to admit we

are self centered. We're thinking about ourselves. We are constantly

inward looking is normal, but Jesus wants us to look beyond.

And this is why mercy is an alien concept in

this world. But that is the message, and that's why

service for the Lord is so different. See, the very

concept of merrit can spoil Christian service. Sometimes when we calculate,

and we keep calculating on every approach, the calculating approach

that serves the Lord with one eye on the reward

that will come, we will lead us to wrong attitudes

and will lead us to broken relationships. It will lead

you to begrudge a brother his extra blessing that the

Lord in his mercy has given. Realize that because all

the gifts that the Lord in his mercy has given another,

which the other person probably didn't deserve, all the opportunities

that another person gets and he does not deserve, you

would feel a grudge against that person. That's why I

say somethings. I feel like those who win nottery, you

don't deserve to win not you know, but it's the truth.

When we see someone else gaining, usually it kicks something

in our spirit.

Either we want to compete or we'll be like, uh.

But not only will you be.

Grudge a brother, you will sometimes also be led to

make calculative or you will start to calculate and make comparisons,

which will cause you to despise another person's contribution. Because

I can almost hear those who work from ninety am

going like, but that person only work for one hour,

like as though the one hour was not work. We

will actually make these kind of comparisons and we will

start belittling each other. And so all such thoughts actually

will pain and will affect Christian service. And you know

the result of us not serving in the right place

and the right heart actually sometimes can cause us to

forfeit the reward. And so if you let Marriat into

your thinking about service for the Kingdom of Heaven, you're

going to be in for a bit of a shot,

because you will find that the last are the first

and the first are the last. Again, that's another mind

boggling thing. What does that even mean? The first is last,

last is first. Well, it's not to say that it

is wrong to think of rewards. I'm not saying it's

wrong because Jesus always talk about rewards. If you obey him,

follow his ways, there will be a reward that awaits you.

I mean, all of us are looking forward to a nice,

big mention in heaven, Hallelujah, Praise to Lord. There's nothing

wrong with that, but you need to have good attitude

and good Christian service where you are at right now.

If not, we'll probably end up with a heart in heaven.

Seriously.

No, No, I sometimes and prepare science, I think, or

maybe the lot put it in my mind, like you

continue like that, You're going to have a small little

terrors house up there.

And I'm like, okay, okay, I will know. I love others,

I'll love you. No. Really, I'm learning as well. We're

all learning.

We are not we are not final end products. Yeah,

so let's learn together because Jesus is teaching us that

those rewards are of grace as much as the work.

Which earned them, is given to you by grace as well.

Everything that we have is by grace, not married, but

by mercy. And this is a different world that we

live in. You see, Grace and mercy are two sides

of the same coin. Grace is you getting what you

do not deserve, and that's why we are all saved

by grace. None of us deserve to be saved true faith,

but when we believe in Jesus, his grace comes upon us,

and with that grace is also forgiveness. Mercy is instead

of getting what we should, we don't get. So mercy,

you have always got to understand from the point of

view that we should be getting the worst kind of death. Actually,

what we all deserve as humans is whatever Jesus went

through as a human. Because all of us have got

sin in our lives. All of us can't say that

we are perfect people. All of us are born like that,

and so ultimately all of us deserve death. Not just death, no,

not just a good you know, you live a good life,

and that actually we deserve a gruesome death like Jesus,

because he went through that as a reminder for us

that this is what happens when sin is in our

life because he had to bear our sin, and he

therefore bore the consequence of our sin. And so if

you think about it, Jesus did not deserve anything but

year because he took everything upon him. And now it

is his mercy when he says you are you are

let go. Instead of you being punished, I'm saying you

don't have to go through that anymore. That is God's

mercy in our life. Don't we ever undermine that. I

pray because his grace and his mercy. That's why we

always say it is new every day every morning, because

every day, every morning we need God's grace. We need

God's mercy. If you function and operate in this world,

it will constantly talk about merit. It will constantly talk

about what you do. If you are in the world

of merriat, then you talk about the rights of the worker.

But if you are in the world of mercy, you

will talk about the rights of the owner. And the

owner here is God. Sometimes we question God like as

though he is below us, he is subject to us.

And I think that's where we have to be very careful.

No sciences like God, why you're not fair? So not fair?

And so that's when we talk to God our English

and so go a bit, Hey, why are It's not fair? Lord,

It's not fair. We're always crying out against God. No, God,

why do you allow this? Why do you allow that?

And sometimes when I say that to God, I can

almost hear him replying why not?

Why not?

Isn't he God? Is he God? Or am I God?

Because the days when we question and when I question,

God likes th I am God? And then He has

to put me in place. And that's where the that's

why the fear of the Lord is so important in

our lives, because the fear of of the Lord is

essentially the reverence that we have for God. Have we

come to a state where we no longer revere and

respect God in the way we think of him, in

the way we question him. No, when he doesn't answer

our prayers, we're like And it is his entire, it's

entire within his hand and his control. And that is

why the owner of the vinyard says, is it not

lawful for me to do what I wish with my

own things? And so God is within his rights to

have mercy on whom he will have mercy on, and

he is within his rights to give us more than

we deserve. He is within his rights to give gifts

to one and opportunities to another. He is within his

rights because he lives in the world of mercy, not

in the world of merit. If he would to live

in a world of meriat, none of us would have

made it because on a merit based system, if you

want to base on God's merriat, we will all fail.

That is just the reality of it. And He knows

we will all feel if we go by merriat. But

yet we continue to press on and want to be

marriageous in our behavior.

It's not just that.

He is within his rights and we have no rights

in the world of mercy, because if God calls you

into his service, that is his mercy. I have no

right to be a servant of the Lord. And if

he rewards me for what I do, that is mercy.

I have no right to expect it. But God is

more than just and loves to be merciful. You know,

when God saves me, I come under his lordship, which

means that we are now subject to God. And that's

why serving him becomes not a chaw or a burden.

It becomes a privilege. Many years ago, we used to

have due rosters for our dream teams, and we always

call the roster privilege roster, not duty roster, because it

is our privilege. When God calls us and saves us,

He's not just our savior.

He is our savior and our Lord.

We don't only follow him, we obey him and we

serve him, and serving him becomes a joy, it becomes

an absolute privilege. And this is how I want to

encourage all of us never ever come to a place

where we render service to God as he owes me something.

The more I serve God, that mention better be huge,

better be bigger than normal, because I'm giving up every

Sunday when actually it is.

Our privilege to serve God.

I pray recede from that angle, because that is us

really coming to a place where we acknowledge that He

is God and we are not. And this is the message,

and he's actually a lovely message if you think about it.

Why would anyone wish to work for or a better boss?

Because a lot of people, after reading about this Vineyard boss,

they're like, I don't work for him?

Why not?

He's such a good boss. And we serve a servant king.

Think about it. The band can come up. I'm almost done.

We serve a servant king. And Jesus is the greatest

servant who became the greatest king anyway. And so if

there's anyone who knows about serving and anyone who knows

about leading and leadership, it is Jesus. When we talk

about discipleship, we just need to go back to Jesus

and you have your answer there. What then, does he

expect of earth in our relationship with one another? Because

actually the scripture says, if you serve one another, you

serve me. And you know to that question, so what

is actually expected of us? And the answer actually came

centuries ago, because many centuries ago there was a prophet

by the name of Micah. And when Micah walked this world,

he actually prophesied and to the question what does the

Lord require of you? The answer that was given is

there's a scripture Micah six eight. I'm not sure if

you have it, yep, what does the Lord require of

you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to

walk humbly? What does this mean? Well, he said, what

does the Lord require of you but to do justly.

That is the absolute minimum. We must at least be fair,

seeking to do justly. But that is not all. He

goes on to say, to love mercy, love to give

what people do not deserve, to love, to go the

second mile, to love, to be generous.

That's what the scripture is saying.

And that is not enough either, because you could fall

into the trap of thinking that loving mercy puts you

high on the list. Ever, realize that sometimes when we

are the generous that everyone saying, oh, he's very kind,

he's very generous and hates us to grow. That's why

the third reminder is this, walk humbly with your God.

Because the truth is none of us will ever be

able to outgive God. He has given us everything that

we need, and so justice is the minimum. And on

that justice, doing what is right, we build see and

in order to make sure that our hates doesn't get

too big and think that, oh, we have earned everything,

because it's our marriage. We have done this, We have

done that. The reminder is to walk humbly with our God.

Amen.

And that's why in verse twenty five, Jesus teaches his

disciples that they should not be like others who like

to laud it over people and tell them what to do.

Greatness in the Kingdom is about service. It is about service.

If you want to talk about discipleship, we are always

saying the discipleship when we disciple people is to disciple

them to serve, to serve God, because if you come

in and you think what's in it for me, that

is not the best attitude that the Lord wants any

of them to have. And the greatest example was Jesus

himself who came to serve and to give his life

as a ransom for many, and he was telling them

for the first time the meaning of the cross, and

the meaning of the cross is this, it is going

to be a ransom because when he died, he was

going to be serving people more than he ever served

them before. He was going to be the means of

setting them free. That is what a ransom is. If

you get kidnapped and the kidnapper demands a ransom, it

is the ransom that will set the person in custody free.

And it is one of the hardest things in the

world not to come with your hands full of your

good deeds, all your spiritual possessions. Sometimes that's how we

approach God. God, this is all the good things that

I've done. Here married, here are all the great things

that I've done. Take that into account place.

Lord.

It's actually one of the hardest things not to come

like that I've done this, I've done that.

I didn't harm anyone.

I treated Tiffany very well, you know, even though Tiffany

says something against me, I say on her back. Sometimes

we come like that, I haven't done anything you didn't

ask me to do. Lord, will you accept me? It's hard, know,

when we approach God like that. It's actually much better

to come with empty hands and say, Lord, I'm a beggar,

have mercy on me. Because at the end of chapter

twenty you read about a blind person and this blind

person approaches Jesus and that's what he said, Lord, have

mercy on me, because he realized that he has nothing.

It is no merit because everything that he has he

will have due to God's wonderful mercies upon his life.

You know.

Grace and mercy is sometimes is so hard to understand

in the English language because as he stands alone, if

we don't know the meaning, we can't really catch it.

But isn't it beautiful what we don't deserve. We get

the bad things. The punishment that we deserve, we don't get.

Grace and mercy in Bahasa is actually the word kase

karuna or case kuruna.

Is a lovely gift. That's what grace is known as.

Mercy is blast kasihan is basically having a lot of compassion,

a lot of love and compassion. This is the God

in whom we worship, one who offers us grace and mercy.

And so the real followers are always those who realize

that they are broken and in need of a savior

and Lord to save them and to show them how.

To live in safety.

But if any of us think that we are self

made and we are not subject to God, usually it

is due to pride. You will never step into the

true freedom of knowing Christ. And the only way in

which we are to know the way, the truth and

the life.

Is to know Christ.

And so I want to encourage all of us today,

no Christ more in your daily walk.

Don't let it be high by.

Sometimes you like to high by, like how we high

by it the security gods uh is normal? You know

it's security. We always hello high by high by. We

don't really get to know them. And then last I

remember Christmas chill. We always tell the church a Christmas

time coming. They wonder you'll be kind to the people

that you always high by with get to know them,

because that's probably a son, it's probably a father, it's

probably a husband, it's probably someone with a story, someone

that you can get to know better. And so let's

not hie by God. I pray we get to know

him better and deeper, because when you fully understand God's

mercy upon your life, you will give thanks daily for

His mercies anew every day.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week ahead

for you, Godless