NOW HIRING

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOW HIRING: WORKERS for the harvest

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. MATTHEW 20:1-14

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.”

THE LANDOWNER’S 1ST ACTION: A Picture of the Kingdom of God. Assessing the Harvest A Picture of the Kingdom of God.

Assessing the Harvest The landowner watches His harvest. He expects a great harvest of lives. He sees there is need for qualified laborers because He does not want to loose the harvest of the kingdom. He is hiring workers for His harvest now. This is the hiring season.

“ He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.”

2nd ACTION: Hiring Laborers -Early in the morning he goes out to hire laborers for the harvest. -He finds laborers who are qualified and ready to work. -Labor agreement: 1 denarius per day to work in the vineyard.

“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the market place doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.”

3nd ACTION: Assessing the work At the third hour he sees potential laborers for the harvest standing idle in the market place. They were standing inoperative and wasting their time. He hires them to work in His fields. Labor agreement: He will pay them whatever is right.

“He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.”

Assessing the work again 4th & 5th ACTIONS: Assessing the work again At the sixth hour he goes out again to hire more laborers for the harvest with the same labor agreement. At the ninth hour he does the same thing: he hires laborers and sends them to work in His harvest.

“About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us’, they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

Hiring at the eleventh hour 6th ACTION: Hiring at the eleventh hour - At the eleventh hour he goes out again to hire more laborers. - He finds others who had not worked the whole day and are still standing idle because nobody had hired them. - He is surprised that they had not worked at all. - He hires them with the same labor agreement.

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,’ Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.

“When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner “When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I give you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Paying wages to the workers LAST ACTION Paying wages to the workers All workers received the same wage: 1 denarius

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE There is only one harvest: the harvest of the Kingdom of God. The Lord is watching His harvest according to His calendar. There are crucial times to work in the harvest to not loose it The harvest will be great and it is ready to be reaped.

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE The harvest needs workers. No one should be idle standing around. There is work for all. Everyone should be hired to work in it. All workers will receive their wages fairly.

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE The workers of the eleventh hour will work less and easily because there will be more powerful available for them to finish the task on time. They need to respond urgently to the needs of the harvest and the invitation to work in the fields, because the time is running out.

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE For the Church: - We may be living at the eleventh hour. This is a crucial time to hire workers and send them out to the vineyard. The time is running out. The Lord of the Harvest is hiring NOW workers for His fields. This task is urgent and we have to do it well and efficiently.

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE For the Church: The Lord is calling us to respond to the needs of the harvest as a church with a sense of urgency and determination. There is nothing more urgent and more important for the church to do than working in the harvest and sending laborers to reap it, because the time is running out.

TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE For the Church: The Lord is focusing on the harvest. The harvest is His priority. It has to be also our priority. There is a task and it has to be done while there is still time for it. We have to prioritize the harvest in our lives and in the life of the church.

CAN YOU SEE THE HARVEST THROUGH THE LORD’S EYES?

CAN YOU SEE THE NEED TO HIRE WORKERS TO WORK IN THE HARVEST?

CAN YOU FELL THE LORD’S HEART, HIS CONCERN, HIS URGENCY AND HIS FOCUS ON THE HARVEST?

WE ARE AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR AND WE ARE BEING HIRED BY GOD TO GO AND WORK IN HIS FIELDS. THE TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

HE IS ASKING US: WHY ARE YOU STANDING IDLE AT SUCH AN HOUR? WHY HAVE YOU WASTED YOUR WORKING TIME? WHY HAVE YOU BEEN INACTIVE AS THE TIME GOES BY AND THE HARVEST NEEDS WORKERS?

GO TO WORK IN MY FIELDS NOW! HE IS COMMANDING US: GO TO WORK IN MY FIELDS NOW!

HE IS COMMANDING US: WAKE UP AND ADJUST YOUR WATCH WITH MY HOUR- THIS IS THE ELEVENTH HOUR!

ADJUST YOUR PRIORITIES WITH MY PRIORITIES: THE HARVEST IS MY PRIORITY! HE IS COMMANDING US: ADJUST YOUR PRIORITIES WITH MY PRIORITIES: THE HARVEST IS MY PRIORITY!

HE IS COMMANDING US: ADJUST YOUR LIFE SCHEDULE WITH THE URGENT NEEDS OF MY HARVEST!

HE IS COMMANDING US: ADJUST YOUR LIFESTYLE AND LIFE FOCUS WITH MY FOCUS: THE HARVEST

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS Mathew 25:14-28

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS Mathew 25:14-28  14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS  A man entrusted his property to his workers according to their abilities. Distribution: five talents of money two talents one talent

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS The Workers’ Performance The man with five talents immediately put his money to work and gained five more. The one with two talents gained two more. But the man with one talent hid his master's money.

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS 19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'  22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS   23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS  26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS The Workers’ Report The man with 10 talents received the praise of his master for his faithful work and the promise to be in charge of great things and share in the master’s happiness

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS The Workers’ Report The one with 4 talents also was praised by the master and receive the promise to be in charge of great things and share in the master’s happiness

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS The Workers’ Report But the man with one talent was rebuked by the master as a lazy and wicked servant and lost the talent he had been given.

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS TRUTHS FROM THIS PARABLE: A talent was worth more than a thousand dollars

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