The sign in the window read:
"Boy Wanted". Young
John Simmons, though he was lazy, saw his opportunity and applied.
He was quickly hired by elderly Mr. Peters.
The pace was leisurely so he enjoyed the job.
Toward the middle of the afternoon however, he was sent up to the attic
-- a dingy place full of cobwebs and infested with mice. "You will find a
long, deep box there," explained Mr. Peters. "Please sort out the contents and see what should be
saved." John was
disappointed. It was a
large container, and there seemed to be nothing in it but old junk. After a few minutes he went back to the ground floor. Asked
by the proprietor if he had completed his work, he replied, "No, sir, it
was dark and cold up there and I didn't think it was worth doing."
At closing time he was paid and told not to return. The next morning
the old sign "Boy Wanted" appeared in its usual place.
Crawford Hill was the next to be employed. When he was asked to tidy up
the same box, however, he spent hours separating the usable nails and screws
from the things to be discarded. Suddenly
he raced down the stairs all excited. "At the very bottom I found
this!" he exclaimed, holding up a 20-dollar bill.
At last the store owner had discovered a conscientious boy to whom he
could entrust his business when he retired.
Years later Mr. Peters said, "This young man, who is now my
successor, found his fortune in a junk box!"
Then, correcting himself, he added, "No, he actually found it in
his mother's Bible because he heeded the verse she made him memorize: 'He that
is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much!'"
Matt 21:33 (NIV)
"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.
He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he
rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the
harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his
fruit. 35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed
another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than
the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he
sent his son to them. `They will respect my son,' he said. 38 "But when
the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, `This is the heir. Come,
let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and threw him
out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the
vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 "He will
bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will
rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at
harvest time." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in
the Scriptures: "`The stone the builders rejected has become the
capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43
"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this
stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew
he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they
were afraid of the crowd because the people held: that he was a prophet.
Psalm
126:5-6 They
that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
b
seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
V. 43 We are the people to
which God has given His Kingdom...
I.
Remember the Lord's Blessings and Opportunities:
1.
The bountiful Vineyard is the land of plenty and the freedom to enjoy
the bounty of the Lord's blessings
2.
The Protection of the Lord over the Land of the free and the home of
the brave.
3.
The ability to enjoy the benefits of the vineyard is the winepress to
the benefit of all. (health and strength)
4.
The Lord's blessings on us, our church, our nation, our talent, our
time, our treasures, our children, our freedom, our grace from God.
II.
Are we sowing in tears?
1.
Before the harvest there must be a time of planting.
At the end of long, hard winter all that was left was the bag of seed
for the spring planting. The
father must decide to allow his family to go hungry and keep the seed for the
planting or to eat the seed and hope for the best.
The father decided to keep the seed for the planting for the future.
All of his family may not make it through until the time of the
harvest. Sowing in tears
indicates faith of the father.
2.
We must be concerned to sow in sacrifice and pray for the harvest.
Have we sown?
3.
What sacrifices have you been willing to make for planting of the seed?
4.
Are we concerned enough to sow in tears.
Shows that we care for the souls.
II.
Consider the accountability of the Lord's blessings:
1.
It's harvest time in the Lord's vineyard and now is the time to give
our due to the Lord.
2.
The Lord has sent His Son in our behalf, so that we may enjoy the
blessings of the vineyard of the Lord.
3.
He has sent his messengers to show us the Lord's desires for our life.
Just
Some Thoughts:
1. The Lord not only gave us
a vineyard and all the fixings, but He has also squeezed the grapes and made
the juice that we drink that gives the everlasting life: the life blood of His
one and only Son.
2. Everything we have is on
loan from the Lord.
3. He wants to return it to
Him as He desires from our lives.
4. What have we given to the
Lord.
5. What is it the Lord
requires from us.
Jere
8:20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
Galatians 6:7-9 Do
not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8
The one who sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature a
will reap destruction; the one who sows to
please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9
Let us not become weary in doing
good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [1]
I
had walked life's path with an easy tread,
Had followed where comfort and
pleasure led;
And then by chance in a quiet place
--
I met my Master face to face.
With station and rank and wealth for goal,
Much thought for body but none for
soul,
I had entered to win this life's mad
race --
When I met my Master face to face.
I had built my castles, reared then high,
Till their towers had pierced the
blue of the sky;
I had sworn to rule with an iron
mace --
When I met my Master face to face.
I met Him and knew Him, and blushed to see
That His eyes full of sorrow were
fixed on me;
And I faltered, and fell at His feet
that day
While my castles vanished and melted
away.
Melted and vanished; and in their place
I saw naught else but my Master's
face;
And I cried aloud:
"Oh, make me meet
To follow the marks of Thy wounded
feet."
My thought is now for the souls of men;
I have lost my life to find it again
Ever since alone in that holy place
My Master and I stood face to face.