The Immensity Of God's Grace Pt. 1

[Music] reality the people of god said amen open your bibles with me into the gospel of matthew again this time in chapter number 20. verses 1 through verse number 16 the gospel record of matthew chapter 20. for the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that is a householder which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard and when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day he sent them into his vineyard and he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said unto them go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right i will give you and they went their way again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise in about the 11th hour he went out and found others standing idle and saith unto them why stand ye here all the day idle they say unto him because no man have hired us he said unto them go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right that shall ye receive so when even was come the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward call the laborers and give them their higher beginning from the last unto the first and when they came that were hired about the 11th hour they received every man a penny but when the first came they supposed that they should have received more and they likewise received every man a penny and when they had received it they murmured against the goodman of the house saying these last have wrought but one hour and thou has made them equal under us which have borne the burden and the heat of the day but he answered one of them and said friend i do thee no wrong this not thou agree with me for a penny take that thine is and go thy way i will give unto this last even as unto thee is it not lawful for me to do what i will with mine own is thine i evil because i am good verse 16 reads so the last shall be first and the first shall be last for many be called but few chosen thank you you may be seated [Music] the grass withers and the flower fades with the word of our god shall stand forever i want to talk to us this morning about the immensity of god's grace the immensity of god's grace the springboard the the the platform the the reason the occasion of this parable is in chapter number 19. in chapter 19 there is a story of this rich young man who who comes to jesus and he says good master what shall i do to inherit eternal life and jesus said why are you calling me good there's none good but one you know the commandments love the lord your god with all your heart with all your might with all your strength with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself this do and you will live the man said i've done all of that since i was a youth what am i lacking jesus said go sell what you have give it to the poor and come back and follow me go give everything you have to the poor come back and resubmit your application and then you may be worthy to walk with me in the kingdom and the bible says the young man went away sorrowfully because he had great possessions and then peter said lord we've left everything to follow you what's in this for us jesus said no man having left mother and father houses and land brothers and sisters for my sake when i come in the kingdom he will not receive it again because the first shall be last and the last shall be first so to to underline uh what jesus meant to to embolden what he's trying to get over to them to italicize what he wants them to understand he tells them this story of this landowner who hires these workers to work in his vineyard he goes out early in the morning and he hires some laborers at six o'clock in the morning and he makes a legal contract with them he he makes an agreement with them they they come into agreement that they will work for a denarius that's a day's work the story begins with with this landowner recruiting workers to work in his vineyard he goes early in the morning and he recruits some workers at six o'clock they kind of get this over to you it would be some day laborers waiting around at home depot uh standing around in the parking lot at home depot uh waiting for somebody to give them some sheet rocking work or or some concrete work or some some yard work they're they're not lazy nobody's hired them they want to work but it but right now they're just idle they're looking for something to do but nobody has contracted with them so they are in the place where people hang out who are looking for work they are idle they are in the marketplace and this landowner hires them to come and do some work he hires this crew at six o'clock in the morning and they start working at six o'clock in the morning and then he goes back to the marketplace and there are some more people standing around idle he hires a 9 a.m crew but he doesn't make any contract with them he just tells them to go in the vineyard and work and whatsoever is right i will pay they take him at his word no contract they just go in the field and start working and then there's a 12 o'clock crew that he goes because there's some more workers that need to to work perhaps there's there's more to be done than there are workers to get it done so he goes and he hires a 12 o'clock crew no contract just go into the field and work then there's still some work to be done and he hires a three o'clock crew no contract no word other than go into the vineyard and work but then there's still some work to be done and there's still some people idle in the marketplace and unlike the nine and the twelve and the three o'clock people he has a conversation with those who are there at five o'clock he says to them why are you out here idle they're not lazy they're not looking for a hand down they're not trying to uh beat anybody out of anything they're not hanging around waiting for somebody to give them something they say the only reason we are not working is because no one has hired us he says you too go in the vineyard and work and whatever is right i will pay that's the recruitment he he recruits a six o'clock a nine a twelve a three and a f five groups of people have been hired the only people he corresponds with or makes an agreement with are the ones hired at six and the ones hired in the 11th hour the ones at 9 12 and 3 say listen i ain't mad with nobody i'm just glad to be in the service one more time i'm grateful to be hired i wish lily grove had some 9 and 12 and 3 o'clock people who are not looking for anything other than what the master is willing to give whatever is right he says i will pay i'm not i'm not getting in no contract i'm not making no covenant god if you want me i'm available if you need another worker i'm going to put my hands to the plow i don't need to be the president i don't need my name on the program i don't have to have the mic i don't have to leave a song i don't have to be out front you don't have to call my name i'm just grateful that you let me work that's the recruitment that's that's that's that's what the lord is looking for the lord is looking for some workers the lord has need of workers to till his field today so kindly he has led us to walk in wisdom's way i pray for grace to guide me with with all my heart to say o blessed savior count on me can the lord count on you when some work needs to be done can the lord count on you when some missions need to be accomplished when when the heavy lifting needs to be done when when it's time to go in the hot sun and witness can god count on you when he's shooting in haiti can the lord count on you when it's people who can't give you anything in return can the lord count on you can god get something out of you that will inconvenience you [Music] because 7 30 is convenient i mean you know who don't want to come to church at 7 30. 7 30 good time to come to church you got the rest of the day for yourself you do what you want to do for the rest of the day nobody nobody ought to brag on being here early in the morning god woke you up god gave you health and strength nobody had to dress you nobody had to feed you you're here because god let you get here that's no big deal that's your reasonable service coming to church is the least you can do don't brag about i'll go to church every sunday the devil go to church every sunday liars go to church every sunday hypocrites go to church every sunday no good people go to church every sunday you're not doing anything talking about you going to church that's like pulling up your pants talking about i take care of my children you're supposed to take care of your children you don't you don't need a congressional medal of honor because you take care of your children i ain't supposed to take care of them no you're supposed to go to church you ought to present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto god which is your reasonable act of service but can god count on you when it's reigning can god count on you when it's inconvenient can god depend on you when nobody's looking can god get service out of you when nobody's paying attention dirty work like like helping folk who can help themselves being being right and being on the right side even when it's unpopular can god count on you to stand up for him when nobody else wants to stand up for it i meant to i meant to leave this for another time but this is a good place to insert this i was at the the democratic debate on this past thursday night and i was i was miffed about several things because uh i don't i don't get i don't get agitated about stuff like that because i don't care nothing about i'm not star struck with these with these uh politicians and celebrities and all of that that doesn't move me too much because you can't you can hardly put nothing in what they say but but i was invited and reverend reverend sharpton invited me to come to the debate he had them to send me a ticket the democratic committee called and wanted all my information they sent me a ticket so i get to the debate and uh i had i got a samantha townsend i'd park my car at samantha's house because i couldn't find any parking spot around there i'm a dignitary i'm supposed to have a parking spot but i parked my car over at samantha samantha dropped me over at the debate and i got there i'm terry anderson pastor lilly grove church uh i present my credentials reverend sharpton has invited me i'm his guest i get there there's no seat for me and so i feel my pressure going up from my feet my blood is boiling going up all the way up to my head by time uh in fact a minute or two i'm i'm red because i'm so angry but i didn't let that bother me uh i took a seat wherever they could find a seat for me but but something happened in the debate that caused me to get up and walk out not because i didn't have a parking spot not because i didn't have a seat that had been promised to me i got up and left the debate because the the texas democratic chairman stood up to the microphone to welcome the thousands of people who were in that auditorium and in his remarks he said when god put us on this earth she put us here for a reason i got up and walked out i said y'all can have my seat brethren because you're not going to blaspheme the lord's name in my presence and i'ma stand here and take it the auditorium was full with pastors and preachers and dignitaries of every stripe the only two preachers who walked out was me and jimmy dixon because the democratic party chairperson said when god put us on this or he said it three times she put us here for a reason i got up and walked out because as a christian preacher pastor of the lord's people when i read the bible i don't care what these non-binary people are saying that they are not male or female they can call themselves whatever they want to call themselves the bible says god made them male and female somebody would help me preach it and the scriptures call god father so jesus didn't know what he was talking about when he said i and my father are one [Music] if you have seen me you have seen my father also somebody helped me talk it there are some things my mother can do for me that my father can't do but there are some things my father could do for me that my mother could not do my mother gave me birth but my father gave me life my mother cooked our meals but my father provided the food my mother corrected us but my father disciplined us i wish i had one or two witnesses here god is not my mother god is my father because as my father he's my protector he's my shield he's my guide he's my strength and god can count on me to defend his name my hope is built on nothing less than jesus blood and righteousness i dare not trust i wish i had a witness the sweetest frame but holy lean on jesus name on christ the solid rock i stand all over ground democrats all over the ground republicans all over ground by non-binary people is sinking sand i'm trying to leave it alone but in the scripture in in the hebrew and greek there are words that are masculine feminine and neuter and whenever the name of god is mentioned is always masculine so when you call god she you're not changing gender you're changing the subject [Applause] somebody help me talk here i'ma stay on the subject god is my father who sent his son to die and on the cross in my place jesus did not say i and my mother are one [Applause] jesus didn't say if you've seen me you've seen the mother he said if you've seen me you've seen my father [Music] god can count on me to be the only one if i have to be to tell the truth about who god is and you and you and you need to be the one on your pew in your section on your street on your job in your family if necessary if i am the only one who has to be a witness then i'm just gonna have to be the only one who has to be a witness shadrach meshach and abednego said king we're not scared to answer your concern in this matter for the god we serve is able and he will deliver us out of your hand but if not we're still not going to buy i said thank you reverend sharpton for the invitation but i got a parking spot at lilly grove i got a seat at lily grove cause every sunday morning my convention meets every sunday morning and who i serve is not up for re-election on christ hey on christ the solid rock i stand oh other ground is sinking saying that's that's the recruitment god needs to recruit somebody who's willing to work no matter what the situation [Music] but then we come now after the recruitment to the recompense the day is over and it's time to be paid so the foreman is given instructions by the landowner to call in the workers because they have worked from sunup to sundown some came at six they were the first hire some came at nine some came at 12 some came at three and some came in the 11th hour five o'clock it's six o'clock now and he says call him in and pay everybody starting with the last ones first and so the ones who had worked at five only worked one hour and they were expecting a fraction of a denarius but when they got up to the window they got a whole day's wage they had just worked one hour but the landowner paid them for the whole day and so the ones who were hired first were checking that out and rubbing their hand saying we gonna party tonight cause if he paying them a whole day's wage and they just got here he finally break us off for real they started placing the money and putting the money here and deciding what they were going to buy with it because they were sure that the landowner would pay them more because they'd work longest stay with me so they paid the five o'clock workers a whole day the three o'clock workouts a whole day the 12 o'clock workers same denarius nine o'clock workers a whole day so when the six o'clock workers got to the window put their hand out they were looking for more because they had worked more but when they got to the window they got a day's wage and they looked at it and they looked at the former they looked at the money and looked at the former and then looked at the money and they said oh [Applause] i know better than this we have borne the burden in the heat of the day watch their complaint watch watch their complaint listen to their complaint they said to the landowner you have made them equal to us not you've made us equal to them you made them people equal to us we've been here all day and you made them equal to us we've been at lilly grove 40 years [Applause] and he just got out the pen and you made him equal to me [Applause] i've been teaching sunday school singing in the choir all these years they've been on dope horn in the street and they joined church and you made them people equal to me [Music] and the landowner said hold on boo i haven't been unfair to you i'm paying you what you agreed to work for watch this because i have been generous to them does not make me unfair to you because it's mine to do with as i plead you mad with me because of my generosity let me see if i can bring it home god does not pay anybody because of what they merit because not one of us merit anything salvation is solo gratia grace alone listen the landowner says i didn't have to hire anybody i could have let the crops burn in the field or i could have hired some other people other than you i let you work for me you haven't done me a favor by working for me the people who were hired at nine and twelve and three and five it's not that the land owner did not know how much work had to be done he was a landowner god hires not because he does not know how much work needs to be done god knows everything god just hires because he wants some more workers he doesn't need anybody else he wants somebody else god does not need you in the kingdom he wants you in the kingdom and when he wants you in the kingdom don't grumble about what he wants to give listen to the landowner listen listen listen to the landowner he said i want to pay you what i owe you talking to the six o'clock people but to the five o'clock people i want to give them what i want them to have so if i paid you i'll give you pay or give both generosity because i didn't have to do either one let me talk to some six o'clock worker in here this morning because i'm moving now from recruit recruitment i'm moving now from recompense i'm moving now to revelation here's what the parable reveals peter said lord we've left everything we've dropped our nets we've left everything to come follow you now we want to know from you what's in this stuff for us we've been lied on we've been talked about we've been we've been maligned we've been misused uh just just tell us plainly you know we don't know no story we don't want no parable tell us what's in it for us and jesus said if you leave mother and father houses and land brothers and sisters for my sake when i come in the kingdom you will sit on the twelve thrones of israel judging the twelve tribes of israel but you're coming first does not give you any kingdom advantage [Music] because the kingdom is not about who has the advantage it's not about competition it's about cooperation it's not about rivalry it's about reinforcement it's not about who is paid first or last it's about god paying anybody at all because whether he pays you or gives you generosity he owes you nothing but but there's a further dig in this story who do you think are the 11th hour workers these people who just made it just got in at five o'clock who are these five o'clock latecomers who are these johnny come lately who just get on the scene and think they're gonna get in here and play play play play the music they're going to get in here and usher who do they are who do they think they are just getting in here and you sitting on the front seat i've been here all these years you just come here last night and you think you're going to run me i don't think so i've been in church all my life in this church all my 40 50 years and you just got here sit down latecomer who are these new people who just got in here at five because you know these six o'clock people got a bad habit of running away five o'clock people these these six o'clock people got a chip on their shoulder these six o'clock people got an attitude about themselves they got a swagger about themselves that they just walk around like you're supposed to get out the hall when they're walking down the hall you're supposed to open the door when they're trying to get in the elevator you need to get up when they come in the room because they six o'clock who are these latecomers we would think that there's somebody who on their deathbed make a confession and god saves them at the last minute or somebody who's on death row and been a criminal all his life and they put forth to put that needle in him and then he says lord have mercy and god saves him or somebody who who just barely just gets in because they're not worthy they're low down they've been no good all their lives and at the last minute they get saved that seems to be unfair [Music] but can i tell you who the five o'clock people really are us because you ought to be privileged that god let you get in in the first place [Applause] you don't get in here because of your work you don't come to church because of the work you do for god you come to church to praise god for the work he's already done for you you don't come to church because you want to get credit for coming to church you come to church because god just loved you so much that he picked you out from the crowd when you were just as low down as everybody who was around you he looked beyond your faults and saw your needs so really the only folk who can shout right right now are the folk who knew that he just got in at five o'clock i thank god for you six o'clock workers i'm not mad which i'm glad you've been here all these years god be praised that you found the lord before we did but thank god for those who know that your being in here this morning is simply and singly and solely by the grace of god you're not here because you've been careful you're not here because you've kept the lord's commandments you're not here because you've been so holy you're not here because you've been teaching sunday school or you know how to quote some bible verses because even with all the stuff you know about god god still has to show your grace because if god took his hands off you you'd go right back to what you were doing before he found you so is there anybody here [Music] no you came at five but god still let you work in the vineyard you were unworthy you didn't deserve anything but god just had favor and decided to show you some generosity brothers and sisters i'm glad god is not fair with me because if god were fair with me i would have been dead a long time ago but thank god for grace thank god for mercy thank god for the immensity the largeness the expansiveness of his grace towards people who don't even deserve it now you need to take a look around here this morning and you might notice some high brow kind of worshipers some sophisticated kind of worshipers they don't speak they don't smile they don't shake anybody's hand they don't hang around the fellowship with anybody they don't want to be bothered with anybody they just come to sit in their holy seat and put on their holy mask and act like they are really holy notice them i don't want you to look at them too hard because they might get up and leave but notice how pious they look notice how religious they look notice how upright they are seated their backs are erect their head is straight and they're acting like i'm not even talking to them they're playing on their phone or they thinking about what they gonna eat when they get home are they worrying about what bills they're gonna have to pay in the morning don't look at them too long they're gonna get mad and go sit somewhere else because they are so strict they are so religious that they do everything nobody does anything right but them nobody knows anything but them nobody can pray but them nobody knows how to read a scripture like them nobody can teach a sunday school lesson like them nobody can dress like them nobody lives right but them notice them just take a look at them right now every hair is in place their makeup is perfect they look irritated and sophisticated don't look at them too long they're gonna get mad and leave but there's somebody else in that pew i need you to look at them also they know that they should have been dead they know that if it had not been for the lord on their side they know god brought them from almighty lord they know that if they had been found out they would be in jail this morning they know that the lord opened doors for them they know god put food on that table close on their back god help them graduate out of college they know that god's been given to them they know god help them raise their children by themselves they know that when they were in the hospital it was nobody but jesus is there anybody here who was down to your last dime and the lord stepped in on time is there anybody here who had problems in your life nobody knew what you were going through but the lord kept you sane and in your right mind you stayed up all night long but god showed up and made a way out of nowhere you cried and you cried you prayed and you prayed and here you are this morning standing at lilly grove church saying can't nobody do me like jesus can't nobody do me like the lord it was nobody but jesus if the lord made a way for you and you're not ashamed to testify if you know it was nothing but his grace come on help me magnify if you know it was god who kept you let me tell him thank you if you know it was god who raised you help me give him the glory amazing grace how sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me i once was lost but now i'm found i was blind but now i see through many dangers through many dangers through many dangers toils and snares i have already come it was grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home if you know it was jesus we brought you and kept you why don't you grab somebody why don't you tell somebody you don't know like i know you can't tell it like i can tell get out of my way i'm about to shout right now move aside a minute i'm about to shout right now give me some space right now i got a story to tell he brought me he kept me he saved me he raised me it was nobody but jesus nobody but jesus born in bethlehem reared in nazareth he died didn't he die with all power in his hand if you know it was jesus help me testify if you know it was god help me give him the glory if you know it was the lord tell him thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you i know [Music] [Applause] [Music] i'm not here [Music] i'm i'm not standing before god demanding anything because everything god gives me strictly because of his grace i haven't merited it i haven't earned it i don't deserve it salvation has just been freely given to me he died didn't he die but early sunday morning [Music] he was raised from the grave he became sin for us who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of god and we're in here this morning not making any demands on god because you can't make god do anything the landowner said am i not free to do what i want with what's mine that's my money and if i choose to be generous why are you angry at my generosity it was mine when i paid you and when i gave it to them so whether i pay or whether i give all of it is mine

Channel: lillygrovembc

Views: 30,540

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Id: 4XpZa5un6Fo

Length: 47min 26sec (2846 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 13 2020