Let's Let God Be God, Part 3

Today from Chuck Swindoll a lesson on fairness as life unfolds is amazing how you were able to take words out of your vocabulary like it's not fair and it's not right, especially if you live your life under the constant awareness of the sovereignty of you realize, as you move toward older years.

Right all along. Ignite a firestorm quality in the workplace. After all, is not fair when two employees on the same team are compensated at two different levels today on Insight for living, going to focus not on the hotly debated topic equal opportunity, but on the much deeper spiritual issue of divine fairness. How does God keep everything in balance. Chuck Swindoll recounts a parable from Jesus found in Matthew chapter 20 about workers in the vineyard better exposing the favoritism of their employer, titled today's message. Let's let God be God.

Your life moves eastward toward pain another's life westward toward Jane, regardless of how those differences are perceived is your acceptance of God's competence, not your feelings about fairness that determines the rewards.

Your receipt.

All this brings us to a story Jesus told spontaneously.

There is no script. It rolls out of the dialogue with the rich young ruler, and then a conversation with Peter who wants to know what they have, to look forward to since they live broke this guy's got everything you could ever want to buy but that about what we look forward to Jesus. After a brief dialogue about that tells this story. It's a parable, you often find the word as are like in the parable, you'll find that in verse one of Matthew chapter 20 the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner. There is so by the way, when Jesus compared things he always went from the known to the unknown always went from the familiar world I could understand. To the unfamiliar spiritual lesson that most people have not ever come to terms with it never surrenders the main character in this case, the main character is the land owner.

Verse one.

These out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and and and sent them out to work so this is this is daybreak or maybe even before daybreak so the workers were promised you work for me today. I'll pay you the denarius sets today's wage got not a clock comes your Bible reads 1/3 hour we got another group he was passing through the marketplace.

Also people standing around doing nothing.

So we hired them. That's group to telling them he would pay them when I was right at the end of the day so they were to work in the vineyard at noon. Group 3 at 3 o'clock group for at 5 o'clock verse six group by you whipping by groups of day laborers work the vineyard for this land owner. He pays the people whom we hired last first and he pays them in areas you see that verse nine when those hired at 5 o'clock.

Repaid is received full days wage okay.

They worked in our evenings around six and in the got a days wage and that's fine and the next group came in they been hard first so they were painted in areas and that's when trouble started. Before going further will give you the main message major words.

The major message of the parable God's grace is just and generous.

So we come now to the group that's paid second though they have been hired first and what happens verse 10, when those hired first came to get their pay.

They assumed that they would receive more than the ones you had been hard at five the day to repay today's wage God's grace is fair and generous, but when they receive their pay verse 11, they protested, what I comparison the 5 o'clock guys got the various various is not fair. Look at the answer. A lot. The answer verse 13, he answered that he is the landowner so yeah landowner says are interesting you bring that up Brandon. I haven't been on fair didn't you agree to work all day for the usual way and is noted in areas and don't you have been in your hand didn't I pay you that take your money and go on. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you guess what. Last time I checked on the landowner on the paymaster, I determined what you're going to make this my right is my land is my choice. You will determine what I will pay. I do because you don't own the land but by my grace I have paid you for these work and back verse 15 goes on. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money.

Should you be jealous because I'm kind of others. Great question.

Great question. When you compare your jollity become jealous and envious Hackenberg got a home at the beach and all we've got is as old job in the swamp area where we live come they could drive a new car every three years and I can remember the last time we bought a new pack, her husband is never sick and my husband is very sick and he's a good man receipt when I operate my life like that. I set myself up for one miserable existence was the fault in it. I II simply want God to be like a my great-grandfather was a good man and was always fair.

As I saw fairness and he operated like this earth operate. God is God's nonoperating based on this earth and how we view things would you ever get that clear your mind. You see, he's in charge of all the planets. Earth is just one of you are you are one of the family of God by the grace of God, as I am what you see when when you are not would you view your life as if you own it and you're ready to believe one life moves eastward toward pain and another's life westward toward gain. Regardless of how those differences are perceived.

It's my acceptance of God's compass, not my feelings about fairness the determines the reward a receipt where you were you in the parable, you're in here somewhere. The grace of God been very generous to you absolutely your living you know the Savior you have the promise of eternal life. Your sins forgiven. Absolutely you have a secure home reserved for you in heaven.

You didn't build that he's plan for you absolutely. That's called the grace of God he found you when you weren't looking for in he saved you when you were so undeserving as we all still are, but if you're not careful, your life will turn to a life of grumbling and begrudging rubbing a good grumbling personally because not disclosing what you got a fair shake and begrudging others because they have, that sounds like you're the landowner and you're not as life unfolds is amazing how you were able to take words out of your vocabulary like it's not fair and it's not right, especially if you live your life under the constant awareness of the sovereignty of God is amazing how that adds oil to the gears that run day and night. Amazing. You realize, as you move toward older years. God was right all along. John Knox and him putting these words he writes in characters to grand for our short site to understand. We catch but broken strokes and try to fathom all the mystery of whether hopes of death of life, the endless war.

The useless strife, but there with larger clear oversight. We shall see, this is way he was right's way was right.

This is our true and I know that it is one thing to preach.

It is very difficult to live this I will tell you that I'm not always a model of of living it well. My wife could tell you of the times at night when she's whispered to me, just let it be. Just go to sleep just let it be. I want to know. I said to St. has the stroke, and 10 other people that are just sorry to the bone don't get a stroke but you know what God's way is right you would be the first person to tell your stent to sing what you will find an ounce of bitterness in him and I just I just wanted how we Hendrix to live forever. Forever. You never want a mentor to die in the diet, and you notice that better than anybody's window. Jean and put a message. She lives for all of us is way was right not easy right when you embrace the sovereign hand of God. It is remarkable what it does to what we would otherwise label tragedy remarkable listen to AW toes are. Don't fish for your keys while on the read this to you.

Don't leave, don't leave toes or from his book the root of the righteous, and was the enraptured Rutherford who could shout in the midst of serious and painful trials. Praise God for the hammer. The file and the furnace.

The hammer is a useful tool but the nail if it had feeling and intelligence could present another side of the story for the Mayo knows the hammer only as an opponent of brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pounded into submission to beat it down and out of sight proclaims it in place that the males view of the hammer and it's accurate except for one thing, that the Mayo forget that both it and the hammer or servants of the same workmen let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workmen and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides who's head shall be beaten next and what hammer shall be used in the beating that is his sovereign right when the mail has surrendered to the will of the workmen and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future. It will yield to the hammer without complaint.

The file is more painful still for its business is to bite into the soft metal scraping and eating away the the edges till it has shaped the metal to its will get the file has no as in truth, no real will in the matter but serves another master. As the metal also does. It is the master and not the file that decides how much shall be eaten away what shape the metal shall take and how long the painful filing shall continue let the metal S accept the will of the master and it will not try to dictate when or how it shall be filed. As for the furnace, it is the worst of all, ruthless and savage. It leaves at every combustible thing that enters it and never relaxes its fury till it has reduced it all to shapeless ashes. All that refuses to burn is melted to a mass of helpless matter without will or purpose of its own. When everything is melted that will melt and always burn that will burn them and not till then the furnace comes down and rests from its destructive fury with all the snow to him. How could Rutherford find it in his heart to praise God the hammer. The file in the furnace. The answer is simply that you love the master of the hammer. He adored the workmen who wielded the file he worship the Lord who heated the furnace for the everlasting blessing of his children. The rest of this message is up to you, not me.

What you do with it will be determined. The next time you face the unexpected moment the phone call in the middle of the night, the loss that you never would've predicted the hardship that you would've never wish that on anyone but is come on you, it will be your move and I will tell you you have a choice. You can grumble and complain. You could even begrudge another for not having had such loss or sickness or quote tragedy. Or you could say to your Lord and Master.

I'm yours for as long as you wish to do with as you please. All for your glory. Then take me home use me in the meantime, heartbreak, hardship, notwithstanding that, please about these words might have aroused within you and awareness that you you have really been playing around with the things of God. You really haven't trusted in Jesus Christ as mastery Lord, you have you you you have talked to religious things you've attended religious events and even made Christian friends but you've never come to the foot of the cross and turned it all over to Christ do that now. Please do that now trust him to forgive you and to use you and to test you and to teach you as Job wrote he knows the way that I take when he is tried me, I will come forth as gold. My foot has held his steps, his way of a captain not declined event. Neither of us turned back from the command of his lips.

I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food praise you father for the hammer. The file in the furnace and so our Lord when we bow before you. We bow before our master and we acknowledge that moment by moment we are In your love, moment by moment.

We walk by faith, moment by moment we live this life and so little of it is as we would've planted give us a deep sense of satisfaction in you and deliver us from the self-serving always, always focused attention on what we want or what we expect may we release and relinquish each moment your greater glory in the blessed name of Jesus Christ's. Everyone said amen teaching from Matthew chapter 20 you're listening to Chuck Swindoll. Chuck titled today's message.

Let's let God be God.

This is insight for living to discover the resources we have available for today's topic, please visit us online@insightworld.org is possible. Today's program has clearly addressed your current struggles. Perhaps you feel like that mass of metal that's exposed to blistering heat, the kind that AW toes are described. These are moments that test our metal and especially so when our suffering seems patently unfair. Will Chuck is recommending a helpful book written by a pastor who has keen biblical insight on fairness, especially as it relates to our culture is called fault lines by voting Baucom in his book voting helps Christians understand the nuances of the social justice movement, and in particular the implications of critical race theory.

Now this isn't an academic book faultlines is written for anyone who truly wants to understand how to engage in conversations about social justice from a biblical perspective to do so with grace and compassion, and whether you're a layperson or a pastor you want to read faultlines purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org/offer. Let me add when you give a donation to insight for living your gift is handled directly toward reaching other people checks Bible teaching so they can benefit from life lessons just as you have your gifts are truly making a difference. One of your fellow listeners left this, said I've been going through a particularly difficult time and find myself encouraged and strengthened as I listened bless you for your faithful making this ministry available to those of us who listen. These moments are sponsored by all those who give donation contribute right now, here's the number call listening in the US, one 800-7788.

Forgive online insight.org to give a one time donation today go online to our website and you'll find is it insight.org in March 2022 insight for living ministries is hosting an unforgettable journey to Israel carefully planned to deepen your understanding of the Bible and draw you closer to God. Chuck Swindoll for thousands of years no place has been more meaning to God's children in the land of Israel. The rugged landscape reminds us to find refuge in God alone.

The fertile valleys invite us to follow hardship. Jerusalem's position at the very center of the world announces the good news of Christ to every nation, and now you can see Israel with Chuck Swindoll insight for living ministries six through 17, 20, 22, every time I visited the holy land of returned home with a refreshed heart for God and a renewed vision for the world, really. I read it every time. So I want you to have the same life changing experience to learn more, go to insight.org/events call this number 1-888-447-0444 insight for living ministries tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. Join us when Chuck Swindoll presents what he calls a roadside reminder and reproof Friday on insight for living.

The preceding message. Let's let God be God was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited