Title: Strange Boss / Matthew 20:1 ~ 16
What kind of place is heaven? There are many books about seeing heaven in bookstores, but none of them are bestsellers, whether fortunate or unlucky. In the modern church, heaven has become a lost word and a very insignificant concept. To believe in Jesus and be saved is to have the hope of enjoying eternal life with God in heaven.
However, we tend to dismiss heaven as longing for the elderly on the verge of death. Instead, dynamic believers tend to value being a light and salt in the world and an active influence.
The early church was the church that had the greatest influence on the world in the history of the church. The book of Acts records that they shook the world. In other words, it was a church that could revolutionize the world. Nevertheless, the greatest longing of the early church members was the longing for the second coming of Jesus and heaven. They cried, "Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!"
What the early church members who shook the world and had a great influence on the world had was not the dynamism or vision, but the longing for heaven. It was this longing that made them risk their lives, share a life of giving and receiving, and make them devotees.
Do you want to be a strong Christian? Life on this earth is not everything, but there must be an awareness of the limits of life and a longing for heaven. Paradoxically, these people are the most influential people on this earth. The fact that they believed in the existence of heaven and longed for heaven made the early church members immortal. The shortcut to the church becoming incapacitated and myself being incapacitated is when there is no desire for heaven.
It was Jesus who spoke the most about heaven. At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 70% of the parables in the Gospels were about heaven. Today's parable was also about the kingdom of heaven as in verse 1. The owner of the house is God. In other words, heaven is God.
Therefore, if we understand God, we can understand Heaven. When the knowledge of God is full, the knowledge of heaven is full. Then let's see who God is.
I. A person who focuses on life
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At the time of Jesus, Judea was very poor economically. At that time, people lived a day to day life. One denarius was the daily wage of a worker, that is, the cost of living for one family. The market was full of people to become laborers to earn a denarius. In today's parable, they are called to be laborers at 6, 9, 12, and 3 and 5 in the morning.
The person who came at 5pm worked an hour and got a denarius. The owner worked an hour, so why did he give it so? Because that money was absolutely necessary for their survival. I needed money even if I didn't work. Heaven is also a place that pays a denarius. It is a place that pays the minimum cost to sustain one life. It has nothing to do with the amount of work.
We are used to giving as much as we work. It is a work-oriented culture. I think it is natural for those who work hard to receive more and those who work less receive less. However, the kingdom of God is a culture centered on life. God's greatest purpose is to save people.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”
To give that life, I gave one denarius regardless of work. We call the work that housewives do at home as housekeeping. The etymology of the word “salim living” is twice the same as “salim (save)” and “save” (save). A mother who makes a living like this does not give food to her children in the order of filial piety. Also, they do not serve meals according to the order in which they arrive early.
In the same way, Heaven does not give as much work as it is sincere. It's a place where one denarius is given only to save. You can find that equity breaks down when you are doing household chores and saving lives. A living mother gives another rice cake to her ugly child. But to save.
In verse 7, when asked, "Are you playing?", he answered, "I have no one to hire as a laborer." The reason was that he was playing because there was no one to call him because he was incompetent and useless. But the owner of the vineyard calls you also into the vineyard. And he gave them a denarius, unequally with those who had worked since early morning.
The reason is that even an incompetent needs a denarius. We're not giving a denarius the cost of survival. With the logic of the world, I don't think they will pay it back, so I don't give it.
Are we unable to influence the world? Because you don't own heaven. There are people who need a denarius of material, encouragement, praise, and understanding. But we are giving these to those who already have them. God's work is not a business, but a household. You should give what you need, not what you work for.
Ⅱ. He is a focus of grace
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When everyone received one denarius, those who came first protested. In verses 11 and 12, they demanded, “Please pay for 12 hours of work.” Then the master asked in verse 13, “Didn’t I promise to give you a denarius?” Then, in verse 14, he says, “It is my will to give to this last one as you do.”
Then, in verse 16, it says, “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” When we ask for a reward commensurate with our abilities and a price commensurate with our abilities, we become the latter. This is what the disciples in Matthew 19:27 and below looked like.
In 19:27, Peter asked, "Then Peter answered and said, Behold, we have left everything and followed you; therefore, what shall we gain?" They devoted themselves to death and gave up everything they had to follow Jesus. So Peter said, “There must be a price for our sacrifice and allegiance, right? expected that.
Jesus answered this in 19:30, saying that the first will be last, and the last will be first. Then he said, "Peter! The moment you ask for as much as you give and as much as you can, you become last and last."
If we ask for as much as our prayers and as much as our devotion, Jesus can give us, “There is no one righteous, no, not even one.” We are all sinners. The only suffering the sinner suffers is death and death. Jesus said he has nothing to give but hell. Heaven is not a place that rewards me as much as my ability and effort. The kingdom of God is not a “reward system” but a “grace system”.
Grace is God's gift to those who do not deserve it. The moment we think we deserve it, we move away from heaven and from grace. Among the parables of heaven, there is the parable of the field. It is said that in a field like fertile soil, the seeds of heaven produce 30, 60, and 100 times more fruit.
The best fruit that can be produced naturally cannot be more than tenfold. But it is said that it bears 30 times, 60 times, and 100 times more fruit. Heaven bears such unimaginable fruit. Will you still ask for compensation and pay for your hard work? Giving fruit beyond my ability is heaven.
If Paul had demanded as much as he did, he should have already died. He was an assassin against God and a man who killed countless believers. But God changed Paul like that.
Paul confessed that what I am is the grace of God. It's not about giving miracles as a result of hard work and loyalty. give by grace. Paul's power made him an evangelist, but by grace he became an evangelist. Paul's knowledge made him proud, but God's grace humbled him.
God will repay me with the size of his grace, and when I believe in it, it will bear fruit 30, 60, 100 times. God reigns with grace. I am a useless servant, and a willingness to seek only grace can change the world. When you go out into the world with this, you can turn the world upside down. The early church longed for the grace system, not the reward system. This drove them to martyrdom, the food of lions.
I hope you long for this grace system. When I focus on life and focus on grace, my place becomes heaven. Chapter 495 The hymn "The kingdom of heaven is where my Lord Jesus is served" becomes possible. When I focus on life and grace, the place where I stand will be transformed into heaven. End