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[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

[0:15] Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application. This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

[0:26] Let's dive in together into God's Word. Alright, well, good morning everyone, as we have had quite the morning. Amen?

[0:37] It's really great, you know, just, I think about how just wonderful it is that God works in each and every single one of our lives. God extends that invitation. He invites us as we've been going over this vineyard language, right, where God is calling us to comfort and to safety and, of course, to salvation through believing in Him.

[1:04] There's a lot of things that happen in our lives, and it's the question of if we are going to respond to not only God's call for salvation, but God's call for our life.

[1:14] God desires that we are to be saved and to transform us, to mold us into the men and to the women that God wants us to be. God has a plan for each and every one of you.

[1:28] The plan that God has is going to be different than the person sitting next to you. You don't have to turn to the person next to you, but if you do, just know that God has a specific plan for them.

[1:40] And so we've been going over this parabolic series, going over the teachings of Christ as He spoke in parables, these simplistic words that have such great depth and such great weight to them.

[1:57] The title of today's sermon is The Vineyard's Call, which is based off of our scripture reading that Mark read today. But it's based specifically on Matthew chapter 21, verses 28 through 32.

[2:11] You are welcome to have your Bible handy and to turn to it if you'd like to. And I had Mark read, starting from verse 23, where the authority of Jesus is being challenged here.

[2:24] And it helps us understand what in the world is going on. Where Jesus enters into the temple and, well, He is confronted about His authority.

[2:37] And instead of answering directly, Jesus challenges the religious leaders with this parable. It's also important to note that you'll see that you have verses 28 to 32, which is talking about the parable of the two sons, and then the parable after that, the parable of the wicked tenants, which is what we did last Sunday.

[3:01] It's important for us as we open the Word of God to understand its context, what in the world is going on. But it's also important for us to understand the connections in there.

[3:14] Where Jesus is talking about, right, the man that had two sons, right? It says, what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, son, go and work in the vineyard today.

[3:26] And he answered, I will not. Well, what an answer, right? But afterward, what happens, church? He changes his mind.

[3:38] He changes his mind and he goes into the vineyard. After he went to the other son and said the same, he answered, I go. But did he?

[3:49] He didn't go. Well, what happened there? You have the first son that says, I'm not going to go. And then he changes his mind. And then this other guy says, well, of course I'm going to go. How many of us had that experience before?

[4:01] We had someone say they're going to show up somewhere and they don't show up. Or maybe you can identify with the person who said they're not going to go. And then they show up anyways.

[4:12] It's a very relatable story in Scripture. And then Jesus is going on saying, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe in him.

[4:26] But the tax collectors and the prostitutes, that helps us understand what in the world is going on. Now, it's important for us to understand. You've heard me use this language of repentance.

[4:40] How many of you have heard the language, you must repent and believe in the Lord, right? You must change your mind. Some people say you need to repent of your sins.

[4:50] When we think of repentance, it's this idea of the changing of our mind. Changing of our mind to who God is. To repent and believe, then, is to change your mind on who the Lord is and to come to believe in him.

[5:05] So it's kind of like we think of this light bulb moment. You think of those cartoons, right, where the little light bulb goes off. Ding, right? And they have an idea.

[5:15] Well, that's a very relatable idea of what we think of metanoia, which is to change your mind. But what's interesting about this is that's not the word that is being used in the Greek of what's happening here.

[5:33] Instead, I want to read this again to you. Verse 29. Well, that's verse 28. The man said, Son, go and work in the vineyard.

[5:44] He answered, I will not. But afterwards, so right in your English, it'll say he changed his mind. Some translations will say he repented and went.

[5:55] This is not metanoia. In fact, this is a much different word. It is, say it with me, metamelomai. Metamelomai.

[6:06] One more time. Metamelomai. It's different than metanoia. Now, what is the difference? Isn't that the same thing that we're talking about here? Well, it's something that is, we have to think about.

[6:22] Metanoia. The changing of mind. This other word is talking about being filled with grief. Being filled with sorrow.

[6:34] Feeling the weight of that rejection, as it were. That word only shows up about six to eight times in scripture. When metanoia shows up over 30 times.

[6:48] Showing the heaviness. Some of us, we may have a background where we may be more familiar with the language of being convicted. How many of you have heard or understand that language?

[7:01] Someone that felt convicted in grief and sorrow, and they're realizing something that they're about to do, but they don't do it. That's the changing of mind that we're talking about.

[7:12] Something that's much more heavier. Something that's much more deep. Do you know who else had that happen, but didn't respond properly? What's the difference? What's the difference? What's the difference?

[7:23] When he was going to exchange the 30 pieces of silver for Christ, he had that deep grief and sorrow, but yet he still did not respond. And we have to think for ourselves, how many moments in our lives where we've had that light bulb go off?

[7:40] Or how many of us, you may identify with this, having that heaviness of heart, feeling this sense of grief and sorrow. And that's what you're seeing in this scene here.

[7:53] So that conviction, a much heavier changing of mind. I will go. He's going to go. He said, I'm not going to go, but he is going to go.

[8:04] And so the question that Jesus was asking, which son, which of the two did the will of the father?

[8:17] Right? Well, the first Jesus said to them, truly, I say to you, then he goes on about the tax collectors, the tax collectors and the prostitutes entering the kingdom ahead of the religious leaders.

[8:31] Because they realize, we have to realize the pattern that exists within scripture, specifically when we are going over parables.

[8:41] Let me give you an example. We had the parable of the wicked tenants, where there was a group that responded to the father's invitation. The parable of the two sons, what we're going over, how one son is responding to God's call or the will of the father.

[8:58] The parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. The tax collector, he repented. He said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And the Pharisee, on the other hand, did not.

[9:11] So it's talking about realizing and recognizing, submitting to the Lord. Recognizing that God is all that we need. Even when we talk about the prodigal son, talking about the forgiveness of the father being restored unto him.

[9:28] The ten virgins, talking about readiness. If you remember the ten virgins, preparing for the wedding feast. Some of them had oil. Some of them did not. We start to see a pattern that is forming within the parables.

[9:41] They teach us these parables, the simple truths, to move us and to respond to God's call for our lives. If you're not a believer, it's responding to God's call for you to believe in the Lord and to be saved.

[9:57] And for others, it might be, well, you might identify as a person that hasn't been to church in a while. You might identify as someone who's gone, had a lot of heavy weight and conviction.

[10:09] You might identify as someone who's just had a lot of life happen to them. Does life happen to us? Say yes, please. Right? Life happens. There are situations that happen in our own life that is outside of our control.

[10:24] We have, well, no control over it. And it's like, well, what am I supposed to do? It is trusting in God even when the storms of life are happening to us. Even when people criticize or they slander your name or they come up against you.

[10:41] I mean, when you think of Psalms, for example, look at all the times David has that raw sense of emotions. Same thing with parables. It's the call for us to respond to the Lord in salvation and return to him if you've been away, if you've been hurt or you've been burdened by the world.

[10:59] It is knowing that God provides comfort. He provides safety. He provides security for each and every one of us. And it's a reminder for all of us, no matter what it is you have been through, no matter what it is you are going through, God still extends that invitation for you to come to him.

[11:18] Can I get an amen? That's very powerful for us to know. And so when we think of the vineyard then, do we have that image of the vineyard by chance?

[11:30] We had this image for last week talking about the parable of the wicked tenants, right? They rejected all of the messengers and they killed the son, which was representing what happened, well, unfortunately, with the people of God.

[11:44] That's the storyline. The prophets being rejected and then the son being killed. It's showing just in a parable what is going on in the biblical timeline.

[11:56] For here, the parable of the two sons then, the vineyard is representing, just like the last one, the covenant relationship or individual people.

[12:07] In other words, you want to be in the vineyard. How many of you guys have been in a vineyard before? I hope that a few of us have, right? If you haven't, go to Sonoma or go to Napa sometimes.

[12:19] Go experience a vineyard. It's a very interesting imagery that we have, right? It's representing covenant relationship and also for us as individuals responding to God's call.

[12:30] You have the wall, which is representing protection, right? You have the tower as well. That's a place that you want to be. I don't know about you, but I want to be protected.

[12:41] If God's calling me somewhere, I want to know that God will protect me. And that's the truth. God is going to protect us. He's going to care for us as well. And so there's a call to live and dwell with the Lord.

[12:59] And that's beautiful. So what can we learn from this parable then? We have a few things, right? The first thing is that conviction invites us to respond.

[13:12] In this parable, we have the situation where the son says, no, thank you. I don't want to go. But eventually he does respond. He later regrets met a melami and he goes to the vineyard.

[13:28] And we can think for many of us, we may feel convicted. We may feel this sense of sorrow, this sense of dread for us to respond. If you are going through this, through a moment of grief or sorrow, may you enter in the presence of the Lord.

[13:46] May you seek God no matter what season it is you're going through. And Jesus, well, he shows us that whether it's the changing of mind or this sense of grief and sorrow, it's an opportunity for us to respond.

[14:03] So it's an invitation. And just as I mentioned, another time that this grief and sorrow comes up is with the difference between Judas and this son.

[14:14] Judas had that conviction, that changing of mind, that realization, and still did not respond. This son, on the other hand, had the changing of mind and he responded, be like this son, if you have that moment.

[14:32] And for some of us, we've had those experiences, haven't we? For others, it might have just been the normal changing of mind, realizing and recognizing who Christ is. So the vineyard is by the change of heart, right?

[14:47] The changing of the mind and responding to it. The second thing then is let your words and your what agree. Your actions.

[14:59] The second son said, yes, I will go. But did he go? He didn't. And so we have to think, when we are saying yes to the Lord, we've got to embody it.

[15:14] That's why I talk so much about knowing the Lord, growing in him and doing good in his name. You want to be able to produce fruit, continuing to be transformed by the Lord.

[15:25] Let God work in your life. And we have to think that the words that we speak and the actions that you don't want to be a hypocrite. That's the thing, that's the very thing that Christ was criticizing the Pharisees for.

[15:39] Calling them hypocrites. When's the last time you've been called a hypocrite? Do not raise your hand. I hope that hasn't happened. Right? But think about that. If you've ever been called a hypocrite, it's not a good thing to be called, let alone from the Lord.

[15:52] I don't want to be called a hypocrite. I want my words and my actions to match up and to be in sync. Does that mean we're perfect? Well, no. But we still have to strive that our words and our actions mean the same thing.

[16:03] Does your, you might have met people who said, does your word have weight? If you're going to commit to something, you see to it that you follow through. It's the same thing in here.

[16:15] And it's just a great reminder for us. That is a lesson that we can learn. It's also like how in scripture, when we see those times where it says, not everyone who says to me, what?

[16:28] Lord, Lord. How many of you have read those passages? Lord, Lord. It's a, it's a plea. It's, it's crying out to the Lord. And you're like, well, what in the world's going on?

[16:41] Mentioning that hypocrisy. So saying, Lord, Lord, you've got to have your actions and words be in alignment. And the third thing then is that response matters more than resistance.

[16:53] What in the world does that mean? Sinners, those that do not believe in the Lord, we are to repent, have that changing of mind, whether it's a light bulb moment or through heavy emotions, we are to respond.

[17:13] How many of you, this is a much harder question. Maybe you've had a light bulb moment. Maybe you've had heavy emotions and you did not respond. Don't, don't raise your hand.

[17:26] But if you've had those moments, how did it feel resisting God's call? I can put myself on the line and tell you that for many years, I resisted God's call for my life.

[17:38] And there was a consequence for that. A series of events that made me realize if I try to go against the will of God, well, it's not going to be easy.

[17:49] And some of us may identify with that. You may actually be resisting God's call for your life. Maybe it's time for you to examine yourself, or maybe ask God to examine your heart.

[18:02] How many of us have done that before? Asking God to search my heart and seeing if it's pure. Just like how David in the Psalms asked for that.

[18:13] Search me, O God, and know me. That's a heavy prayer to ask. But thinking of our intentions. Thinking of our heart before the Lord.

[18:24] Are you resisting the Lord or you're not? Perhaps you are resisting. May this be a call for you to no longer resist the Lord, but to respond to his call for you.

[18:36] Whether that's salvation, whether that's returning, whether that's a specific thing. It's all about whether you respond. That's one of the many premises of the parables of Christ.

[18:51] We then go into the application, and let us remember, I will say this every Sunday, observation represents what in the world is going on, because Scripture is our source.

[19:03] We learn from the text. The I is the lessons that we can learn, and the A represents what do we do about this. I want to remind all of us here that we want to come to know the Lord and learn about him.

[19:21] But we've got to live it out in our lives. We've got to be ambassadors for Christ, representing him in what we say and in what we do. For some of us, we may have known Christians that, well, they tell you they're a Christian, but maybe their lives don't reflect that.

[19:40] You don't have to raise your hand, and you don't have to tell me if you know anyone. But I'm sure that for a lot of us, we've seen that in our own lives, someone that may be, well, hypocritical. We certainly see that in the world.

[19:53] Well, we have to live out the Christian faith, embodying, putting on the new self, living and loving like Jesus.

[20:05] And so what you can do, how you can live this out, is to, number one, examine your heart. Do your words match up your actions? Right? It's possible to say you're a Christian, but not to live it out.

[20:18] Again, that doesn't mean you have to be perfect, and I want to make that very clear here. But you are, you're saved by grace through faith, and you're going to be transformed, being continually transformed every single day.

[20:32] And so, in that, God calls for us to be people of integrity with our words and our deeds.

[20:44] And perhaps for some of us, this is not in your notes, like I mentioned, you can ask God to examine your heart as well. That's a very challenging thing, a very heavy thing, because God can reveal the things that are not in alignment.

[21:01] How many of you guys have gone to a chiropractor before? My wife recently got a, I'm putting her on the line here, kind of a subscription thing to get her back cracked.

[21:12] And it's kind of, you go to the chiropractor, and you feel good after, right? You get an adjustment. Because you're being more in alignment. And that's how we want to be with the Lord.

[21:24] You don't want to be out of alignment. You're like, oh, weird, and all messed up. Think of your spiritual back, okay? Think of your spiritual bones, kind of thing. Being in alignment with the Lord.

[21:35] I'm really trying to make this match up to the real world here. The second thing, then, is to respond to the vineyard's call to Christ. The call to be in the presence of the Lord.

[21:49] The call to respond by believing in Him through faith. And conviction, then, if you've had that light bulb moment, the changing of mind, I realize through the study of Scripture, I realize through being in nature, or I realize through whatever it is, that Jesus is Lord, and Jesus is what I need.

[22:10] That's a light bulb moment. But for others, it might be, hey, I've been a thief. I've been having an affair on my spouse.

[22:21] I've been living in sin. And God is convicting you to change your ways, to respond to Him. Well, may you respond to the vineyard's call.

[22:35] Have you responded to the vineyard's call? Only you can answer that. And that's why, number one, examine your heart. Number two, respond accordingly. And number three, then, is to proclaim the gospel to the soft and the hardened.

[22:53] Because in the world that we live in, there are people who have hardened hearts. I hope we don't know anyone like that. But we certainly may know someone who has a hardened heart, that sense of bitterness, that sense of resentment towards the Lord.

[23:11] And it should certainly be a prayer of ours to pray for softened hearts, to pray for transformation for those that, well, they may have, they may need God to work in and through them.

[23:24] to proclaim the gospel to the soft, it's those who are ready to receive the word, ready to receive the words of your testimony. Or maybe, ready to just receive you, as in just you showing up and they're ready to have a conversation.

[23:42] I don't know about you, but just as I mentioned about not being in alignment in a chiropractic office and getting in alignment, it's the same way when we think about a hardened heart.

[23:54] How many of you have watched The Grinch? Yeah? You can raise your hand on this one for sure. Now, how small was his heart? Movie trivia. It was very smart, right?

[24:06] It was three times too small? Yeah, okay. It was too small. And then, spoiler alert, right, what happens is that he has a bigger heart, right, showing and representing his ability to love.

[24:19] Well, I like to think of The Grinch as someone who had a hardened heart. And maybe you might identify with The Grinch. Maybe you like the color green or maybe you're actually very bitter. In either case, you can still like green.

[24:33] You can still like the color green, but I pray that your heart, your heart will grow and come to know, not only to know the Lord, but to live and love like the Lord.

[24:47] Because let's face it, God's love is much greater than what we can comprehend and what we can understand. And so, it's a call for us to share in the gospel message.

[24:59] It's a call for us to love like Jesus. And it's a call to share the gospel message to the broken and the resistant.

[25:10] When you share in the gospel message or when you live it out through your actions, not everyone's going to respond immediately. I know that's a hard one, right? You want people to believe in the Lord the moment you proclaim the word and it's a done deal.

[25:24] But just like how the sower scatters the seed, right? Just like how we water the plant, it is God that will grow it. So we continue doing what God has called for us by proclaiming the gospel message through words and through actions.

[25:42] And so, the vineyard's call is an invitation for all of us to respond to Christ. And let us remember that just because you speak the words, it must be in alignment with the actions that you do.

[25:58] And, let us remember if God is convicting your heart or if you're having a light bulb moment, don't be like Judas who did not respond despite having that change of mind.

[26:11] He still did the action. may you respond coming to know who the Lord is and responding appropriately. Does that make sense, church? May you understand that.

[26:23] May you recognize that. So ask yourself the question, will your yes mean yes? May you live and love like Jesus.

[26:35] May you be transformed and be in his presence together. and I hope that you see that these two vineyard parables, they piggyback from each other. One is on a small scale about a person who responded to the vineyard's call.

[26:52] And as we talked about the wicked tenants, a people group who responds, which talks about us who respond to the gospel. May we respond accordingly to God's call.

[27:06] Let's pray together. Father, Father, we thank you for this time and this opportunity for us to gather together and to go over your word. We know there's a lot of, just a lot of things that are embedded within your word.

[27:21] I pray, Father, that if there is anyone who does not know you, may they come to know you, believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ.

[27:32] I pray for those that may have been disenfranchised, those that might have been hurt, or those that things just happened, to return to you. And I pray for those of us who know the Lord and are growing, may we live it out.

[27:48] May we all live it out, knowing you, growing in you, and doing good in your name. We love you so much and we're grateful not only for your word, but also for the parables, as there's such simplicity to them.

[28:03] may we embody them, and may we be able to share in your word with others, our friends, our families. And Father, if there's anyone who is being convicted, anyone who's had those light bulb moments, maybe they're going through a time of grief or sorrow, realizing the weight of their sin or the weight of their actions, may they respond accordingly.

[28:28] May we all respond accordingly to your call for our lives. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, Amen. Amen. Thank you for listening for this week's message from Ontario Community Church.

[28:43] I pray that you are encouraged and strengthened in your walk with Christ. For more sermons and resources, visit OntarioCommunityChurch.org. May God bless you as you live out his grace and truth every single day.

[29:01] Please pray voy!