THE KINGDOM IS GRACIOUS

Matthew 20:1-16

A Sincere Concern

Luke 15 – Lost sheep, lost coin, lost son – the heart of God is to not exclude anyone, but to actively embrace and include everyone in His Kingdom.

2 Peter 3:9 “…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Grace is always driven by a sincere, genuine concern for the well-being of others.

• It acknowledges the experiences of yesterday but moves beyond them in order to open a door to live a better tomorrow.
• If the King is about others’ well-being, then we who are in His Kingdom now ought to be driven by a genuine concern for their well-being too.

Surprising Generosity

Have you ever received unexpected generosity?  How did you react?

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Sour Grievance

Matthew 20:10,11 “So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more…they began to grumble against the landowner.”

Original crew objected – in their heart they said, “We DESERVE better”.

Matthew 20:12 “…you have made them equal to us, and we worked all day in the hot sun.” – a.k.a. “not fair!!; that’s unjust…how can they be equal to us?”

Instead of humble gratitude, (the original crew got what they agreed to)…they defaulted to heated grumbling…the original crew received what they felt the new workers should not have received.

The owner’s confession – “I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.”

Matthew 20:15 “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”

• God’s grace is lavish, extravagant and astoundingly rich.
• The King Is abundantly able to be generous, AND He is abundantly willing to be generous.