Title The Reliable Worker/Matthew 21:33-41
God wants our faith to grow. Just like parents want their children to grow up well, God still wants our faith to grow. Although the results of growing faith appear in various ways, a person who has grown in faith becomes a “reliable worker” in the sight of God.
Church school education has a clear purpose. Of course, it is also important to teach the basics of faith. However, more important than teaching the content of faith is to nurture “reliable workers” in God's eyes. In particular, what the church school will focus on this year is to nurture “workers of the new age”. The workers of the new age are reliable workers, and these reliable workers are necessary for the church, for the family, and for this society.
But, how can someone like me, who is in various difficulties like me, do what? think so, but it's not. There is a western proverb that the frog that does not give up makes butter. This is a proverb from a fable that two frogs fell into a milk carton, and one gave up and died, while the other frog did not give up and vigorously stirred its legs so that milk suddenly hardened into butter.
People like me are in a pit from which I can't get out. How can a person like me handle God's work? But it is not. When the frog that fell into the milk carton swung its legs, a way was opened. No matter how difficult it is to do God's work, don't be discouraged and make an effort to become a "reliable worker".
So, who is a reliable worker? This can be seen in the parable of the vineyard farmer.
A vineyard owner rented a farmer and went away. When it was time to harvest the fruit, the master sent his servant to the farmers to fetch the fruit. But the peasants drove out their master's servant. A second servant was sent, but it was the same. The owner sent his third beloved son himself. But the peasants have an evil idea that if we kill that son, we will take over the land. He said that we could become very rich, but in the end he killed his son. Eventually, the owner got angry and the bad farmers were driven out and rented out to others.
The words of this parable paint us a picture of a "reliable worker."
A reliable worker is one who knows who the owner is. When the harvest time came, the master sent his servants. Obviously, the servant would have conveyed his master's thoughts to the peasants. But the farmers completely ignored their master.
If we are to become faithful workers, reliable workers in the eyes of God, we must know who the master of our lives is. What we mean by calling Jesus Lord is a confession that “Jesus is our Lord.” What I have belongs to the Lord, and the Lord is the owner of everything I have, and we are only administrators. In the words of Haggai, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts." The idea that God is the master of our lives is the stewardship idea. God is the owner and we are the stewards.
One of the greatest teachings of the Old Testament is the truth that "the whole world belongs to the Lord." The sun is God's, the earth is God's, the stars are God's, the soil is God's, the air is God's, and the water is God's. God has rented this earth out to us so we can use it for a while. It is as if the Garden of Eden was created by God and gave Adam and Eve the right to use it.
Our bodies also belong to God. Paul described our body as a tent house. It was given to us free of charge so that God could use it while living in this world. The health God has given us is not mine. It is of God. The time given to us is not mine. It was rented out to us to use for a while. It is our responsibility to manage our time well. The material given to us is not mine. God has given us the responsibility to manage.
A reliable worker is the most basic condition for a reliable worker if he always confesses that everything he has is "God's" and "Lord's."
Next, the person who knows who the master is must obey the master's intentions. This man is a reliable worker. The master sent his servant to convey his thoughts to the farmers. However, the peasants ignored the master and did not cooperate with the master's intentions at all. Conversely, a reliable worker knows who the owner is, and a person who obeys the owner's intentions is a reliable worker.
Jesus needed a donkey to enter Jerusalem. He told the disciples to bring a donkey. Can someone put out the donkey, and then immediately? Jesus tells us to say, “The Lord will use it.” The disciple does this. Think of the owner of the donkey. He is truly a reliable worker. He knew who the owner of the donkey was and knew the intention of using it.
Now is the time for reliable workers. This is a time when we need someone who knows who the master of our lives is and can obey the master's intentions.
So, what is the owner's intention? It's about harvesting fruit. It was the master's intention to have the harvest time come and the harvest would be delivered to the master. But the peasants cast out their master's servant and killed his son. The owner's intention is "harvesting fruit".
Specifically, what is bearing fruit? It is to reap the "fruit of life." Of course, making love to the hungry and building a good home for the homeless is really important. However, the fruit that God considers most important is the harvesting of the “fruit of life.”
How many people are still dying around us? He wants "the fruit of life." He wants even one person to believe in Jesus and be saved. He wants you to believe in Jesus and have eternal life.
But what of the impure peasants? Rather, he killed his master's son. He acted completely contrary to his master's intentions. God's intention is for the fruit of life, but the bad farmers killed their master's son. We must clearly know God's intentions. He wants even one person to believe in Jesus and be saved and have eternal life. Our church exists for this work.
But, why can't we be reliable workers? It is because of the interests that lie before our eyes. Because of the greed set before our eyes. The naughty peasants think that if this son is killed, there is no inheritance to inherit, so this land will return to me soon. He was blinded by his own interests and blinded by his own greed, so he made the terrible mistake of driving out his servant and even killing his son.
Dear saint! Let's become the workers of the new era. Let's become a reliable worker in the new millennium. how? Let us confess that the owner of everything is God. The health you have given me, the time you have given me, the material you have given me, the talents you have given me, the knowledge you have given me, the wisdom you have given me all these things are not mine, but God’s.
God has entrusted time to me. You have entrusted the material. You have entrusted your talents. I hope that it will be used for the purpose of God through what he has given. What is God's intention? It is the fruit of life. It is to share the news of the life of Jesus to many people.
Colossians says, "Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as to the Lord, and not to men." This verse clearly states the life course of a reliable worker. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as to the Lord. If giving a cup of cold water to a little person is to give it to a little person, you may not give it, but the shocking statement is that that little person is Jesus.
Dear saint! I hope that I will become a reliable worker who "does everything I do as to the Lord" with the clear conviction that everything I have belongs to the Lord.