You can always find God’s goodness in your life, if you slow down and take time to observe!
I was reading the Parable of the Evil Farmers, in the Bible, during my devotional time. I don’t think I’ve ever read this passage of scriptures—or this is the first time the scripture reading really spoke to me. Read Luke 20:9-19
Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grapes juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, “Surely they will respect my son.”
But the tenant farmers said to one another, “Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!” So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do? Jesus asked, “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.”
The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Christianity THEN & TODAY
Our Heavenly Father owns the vineyard—the World. God planted grapes in the vineyard—he created humanity. He built a wall around it, God provided His Word to guide and protect humanity—the Bible. The Church was created to teach the Word, help humanity to develop a relationship with the Father and reproduce disciples to enrich the earth. God leased the vineyard to Christian leaders—apostles, teachers, pastors, prophets, evangelists and disciples—those whom he called to spread His gospel. He is observing the church’s productivity from Heaven.
Each millennium, since the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians have been called, equipped, sent and persecuted because of their faith—the Church due to limited thinking and wavering faith has not conquered the necessary territory to spread the gospel and manage world systems effectively. Many Christian leaders of our day have focused so much time on religious doctrine, rituals, traditions, programs and eisegesis that they have forgotten the true mission. Jesus conquered death and sent the Holy Spirit so that we “the Church” could maintain an authentic relationship with our Heavenly Father and obtain the strategies necessary to establish His kingdom on earth.
There are many people today who attend church, but have not established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Daily meditation, prayer and Bible study are essential to reap a harvest. All of these practices can be executed from the comfort of your home. After the acceptance of Christ and learning His principles, people are afraid to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others—we have spent too much time inside the walls of the church. We only want to fellowship with people who are already Christians–let’s step out our comfort zone. Everyone is called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. But other forces like fear and pride get in the way of us moving out into the world. However, it is easy—you can speak with people about Jesus during your everyday life. People are waiting to receive kingdom information. When you speak to others you are never alone—the Holy Spirit is always present to guide you.
Our heavenly Father has sent his servants to make a report of our progress. Our productivity to date does not look good. Prior to the pandemic, Church time management was inefficient—there were too many rituals, traditions, programs, meetings and self gratification, and not enough servanthood, community outreach and discipleship. The marketplace has mastered marketing, executing business plans and exceeding benchmarks. Why is the Church, after thousands of years in operation, so far behind the curve?
We, as Christian leaders, are still rejecting the chief cornerstone today. The time has come for ministry reorientation. Our Father is giving us another opportunity to make a correction. When Jesus Christ returns he will not be disrespected and the church does not want to be the wicked farmer.
So, the time is now to move in a different direction—new beginnings are on the horizon—don’t get left behind. Seek the Holy Spirit daily for guidance. The bridegroom (the Lord) will be returning for his bride (the Church)—let Him find her ready to attend the wedding banquet. Read—Matthew 25:1-13
Our Prayer: Heavenly Father, we repent for not obeying your laws here on earth. All of our hope is in you, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah and he will reign for ever and ever… May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen!”