Time For Action!
Sermon Notes
October 14, 2007
Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor
Matthew 21:28-32 NRSV
28“What
do you think? A man had two sons; he
went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29He
answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The
father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but
he did not go. 31Which
of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly
I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the
A. Introduction
1. Coach Bob Zuppke
a. College football coach Bob Zuppke was a demanding and intense fellow. Before a big game against
b.
Coach Zuppke grabbed a freshman lineman
and yelled, “Get in there and replace that man!” The kid ran out, took one look at the fellow
on the ground, and then ran back to the sideline. A dumbfounded Coach Zuppke
hollered, “What’s wrong? Why didn’t you
take that man’s place?” The young man
gulped and said, “It ain’t necessary Coach. He’s still breathing a little!” Now there’s a player who took his Coach’s pep
talk to heart! Christians are also
called to give their best effort and to be active in their service to God.
2. Today’s Scripture: Matthew 21:28-32
a.
Different than Coach Zuppke, Jesus gave
a subtler pep talk to believers in today’s Scripture lesson. It is a parable about a man who had two
sons. The man went to his first son and
said, “Son,
go and work in the vineyard today.” In
a rebellious mood the son said, “I will not!”
Later the son felt bad about what he said, repented, and went to work in
the vineyard. The father went to his
other son and made the same request of him.
“I go,
Sir,” was his quick response.
But he never did go out and do the work!
Jesus asked, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” And the
people replied, “The first.” (Scripture quotes from NRSV)
b. The initial
response of the first son was that of an indignant protestor. He had things he wanted to do, but in
thinking about all that his father had done for him he reconsidered, and went
to work. The second son was a
well-intentioned procrastinator. He
meant well, but he never did get around to serving his father. Most of us in the Church are not “protestors”
of God’s will. Most are not people who
cause divisions and stir up problems.
Most of us are like the second son.
We have good intentions. So that
is why Jesus gives special attention, warning, and criticism to people who are
like the second son. The Lord is
concerned that those who profess loyalty to God do more than just give lip
service. Jesus expects us to actively
live the Christian life. Sadly, the
second son is like too many people in the Church today. They are nice, friendly individuals who don’t
tend to argue or complain, but getting them to do anything at times seems near
impossible! Thus, Jesus is trying to
motivate us. Today’s Scripture reminds
us that Jesus intends His followers to be action-orientated people! Today’s Scripture is a call to be an active
duty Christian!
3. George Washington
a. During the
Revolutionary War a young man came up to George Washington and said, “General
Washington, I want you to know that I believe in you and your cause. I fully support you.”
b.
Christ gives us a similar summons. If you believe in Him and the cause for which
He died, then you are called to take up the cross and follow Him! You are called to walk in His footsteps and to
do those good things that He would do if He were with us in the flesh
today! Such a summons, I believe
suggests three words that ought to characterize our discipleship. The active Christian demonstrates AVAILABILITY! They are ready, able and quick to serve
God. The active Christian demonstrates SENSITIVITY! They are sensitive to the needs of
others. They show love. And finally the active Christian demonstrates
ACCOUNTABILITY! They want to do and say things that please
God.
B.
The active Christian demonstrates:
AVAILABILITY!
1. Handyman
a. A
man applied for the job of handyman at a large hotel. The prospective employer asked, “Can you do
electrical work?” The man said, “No, I
don’t know anything about electricity.”
The employer asked, “Do you know anything about plumbing?” The man again responded, “No, not a
thing.” “Well,” the employer said, “how
about carpentry?” “Never done any of
that either,” the man said. The employer
with a questioned look asked, “Then what exactly is ‘handy’ about you?” The man replied, “I live around the corner.”
b.
Sometimes the greatest ability that we have is availability! To be where God has said He would speak to
us, and to be where we can serve the Lord are crucial first steps in being a
faithful Christian. To be within a
whisper range of His summons, that is the beginning of meaningful
discipleship. That is why Christian worship
and study are so important. These are
some of the special places where God speaks to us! Christians who worship hear weekly a special
word from God. Believers who study the
Holy Bible find strength and encouragement.
Disciples who volunteer to be on a Church committee find fellowship,
support, and a way to serve others in the Lord’s name. What God desires more than any talent you
have or don’t have is your willingness to serve. More important than ability is
availability. An unwilling heart no
matter how talented is of little use to God.
Whereas, the willing heart can be trained, and will
serve Jesus.
2. Saving the Cable Guy!
a.
Mavis had just finished a first aid class at the YWCA. She was eager to use her new talent to help
her fellow human beings. Then she saw a
man face down on the ground in a hole behind her apartment building. Immediately she flipped him over and began to
give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The man sputtered, pushed her away, and said, “Lady, I don’t know what
you’re doing, but I’m trying to hook up the cable TV for
b.
Mavis was a bit mixed up and misguided. However, she was willing to serve. With a little more intelligence we need to
have that kind of eagerness and zeal when it comes to serving the Lord. First of all God simply desires believers who
are ready, willing, and available to serve!
C.
The active Christian demonstrates:
SENSITITVITY!
1. I Corinthians 13:1-3
a. In I Corinthians 13 Paul writes: “If I had the gift of being able to speak in other languages
without learning them and could speak in every language there is in all of
heaven and earth, but didn’t love others, I would only be making noise. If I had the gift of prophecy and knew all
about what is going to happen in the future, knew everything about everything,
but didn’t love others, what good would it do?
Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and
make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love. If I gave everything I have to poor people,
and if I were burned alive for preaching the Gospel but didn’t love others, it
would be of no value whatever.” (I Corinthians 13:1-3 LB)
b. These verses say this to us: No matter how spiritual you seem to be, if
you are not sensitive to the needs of the people around you, you are no better
than the rich man who ignored the beggar Lazarus at his gate. You may talk about God and faith, but if you
don’t live it, it’s just empty noise.
Active Christians are ready, able, and quick to serve God.
2. Jewish Boy
a. During World War II some Nazis “arrested”
and detained all the Jews living in and around a small Polish village. Men, women, boys, girls, and even infants
were taken into custody, forced to take off their clothes, and march out of
town. Then they were made to stand in a
line beside a shallow ditched and were machine-gunned to death. As they were shot they fell into the ditch
and all were later covered with dirt.
One young boy shielded by his parents was not hit by any bullets. Covered with blood he lay in the ditch and
pretended to be dead. The covering of
dirt was so thin that it did not prevent him from breathing. Several hours later, when darkness fell, this
ten-year-old boy crawled out of his grave.
With blood and dirt caked on his body, he made his way to the nearest
home and begged for help. A woman
answered the door and immediately recognized him as one of the Jews marked for
death by the Nazis. She screamed at him
to go away and slammed the door shut.
Dirty, bloody, and shivering this little boy limped from one house to the
next begging for help. The response was
always the same; people were afraid to help.
b. Finally in desperation, he knocked on
a door, and just as the lady was asking him to leave, he cried out, “Don’t you
recognize me? I am the Jesus you say you
love.” The lady froze for what seemed an
eternity. Then with tears streaming down
her face, she threw open her door and her arms!
She picked the boy up, carried him into her home, and saved him from the
holocaust! Sometimes we need to be
reminded that as we do unto those the world deems as the “least” of these, we
do unto our Lord Jesus. Faithful
Christians are sensitive to the needs of others. They show love.
D.
The active Christian demonstrates:
ACCOUNTABILITY!
1. Air Force Pilot
a. A
young Air Force pilot was on maneuvers.
They were working on a simulated bombing run and the Commander had
called for radio silence. The young
pilot accidentally turned on his radio and was heard to mutter, “Oh man, am I stupid!” The
Commander grabbed the base microphone, opened all channels, and said, “Will the
pilot who broke radio silence identify himself immediately.” “The pilot replied, “I may be stupid, but I’m
not that stupid!”
b. A
lot of folks don’t like to be held accountable for their actions. Faithful Christians realize and desire to be
accountable to God. God knows best and
we want to please the Almighty.
2. Daniel Webster
a.
Statesman and author Daniel Webster once said, “The most
important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to
God.” Every one is accountable to
somebody or something. Business people
are accountable to the boss and to properly handle the running of their business. Bankers are accountable to the Bank
president, and for handling the money honestly.
Faithful Christians understand that all people are accountable to God
for the kind of life they lead. Those
who fail to recognize their accountability hurt other human beings, hurt
themselves, and dishonor God.
b.
As believers we understand that life is a gift that has been
entrusted to us. We are stewards of all
that we have, all that we are, and all that we hope to be! Even our mortal bodies are on loan to us from
God. We are not our own. We are His.
One day we shall stand before our Maker, and by
faith be welcomed to that
E.
Conclusion
1. Caring Nurse Ellen
a.
There was a nurse who worked at a hospital in a small town. Her kindness and compassion had won the
admiration and respect of the entire community.
She was patient, cheerful, and genuinely concerned for others. She gave far more of herself and her time
than anyone could ever expect. She was
not a complainer even though her salary was inadequate by any standard. One day a doctor friend of hers, who had left
the small town for a lucrative practice in the big city, spoke to her. These are his words and not mine: “Ellen, why don’t you leave this little
community and go where they will pay you a decent nurse’s salary? God knows you’re worth it.” With a smile she kindly answered, “If God
knows I’m worth it, that’s all that matters to me!”
b.
Is your life worthwhile?
Where are you in relation to the
2. Recap: The active Christian demonstrates:
a.
AVAILABILITY! Be a
believer who is ready, able, and quick to serve God.
b.
SENSITIVITY! Be sensitive
to the needs of others. Show love.
c.
ACCOUNTABILITY! Do and say
things that please God.
Time For Action!
The active Christian demonstrates:
1.
AVAILABILITY!
They are ready, able, and quick to serve God.
2. SENSITIVITY!
They are sensitive to the needs of others.
They show love.
3.
ACCOUNTABILITY!
They want to do and say things that please God.
Matthew 21:28-32 NRSV
28“What do you think? A man had two sons; he
went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he
changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I
go, sir’; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said,
“The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are
going into the
Key Thoughts:
“Which one of the two did what his father
wanted?”
“The first, the one who
obeyed his father.”