Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000032S
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00:05 Sermon #S018 - (I'm Good - Part 1)
00:20 Pastor Snell: I would invite you to go with me in your Bibles to the Book of Matthew chapter 20, 00:23 and we're going to begin together at verse number one. Let me just ask by show of hands. 00:34 How many of us have just a perfect, perfect life, perfect existence going on right now? 00:41 I notice ain't nobody raised their hand. There's nobody that has a perfect experience or perfect circumstance. 00:48 But how many of us know that when you have Godly contentment, you can have a perfect disposition? 00:55 Do I have a witness today? So I can't control everything that's going on around me, 00:59 but guess what, I can manage with God's help what's happening inside of me. 01:04 Are you all with me today, Saints? And so, I want us to look at a very familiar Parable 01:08 and we want to share some things with you as we go into the Word today. 01:13 Matthew 20:1, when you get there just say "Pastor, I'm here." Matthew 20:1. 01:22 I give careful attention to the reading of the word today. 01:26 In fact, I want you to know this is going to be a text that I'll come back and revisit at some time in the future 01:31 because I actually have more sermon than I have time to really share with you today, 01:36 but there's just some rich truth for the people of God. Matthew 20:1, again, when you get there, just say Amen. 01:43 Jesus speaking says, "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for 01:57 his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the labourers for denarius a day, he sent them into the vineyard. 02:10 He went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them, 02:16 "You also go into the vineyard and whatever is right I will give you." So they went and again, 02:24 he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did likewise. About the eleventh hour, 02:33 he went out and found others standing idle. Standing what? Idle, they're idle, they're not doing anything. 02:40 And said unto them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?" They said unto him because no one hired us, 02:49 and he said unto them, "You also go into the vineyard and whatever is right, you will receive." 02:55 So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to the steward, 02:59 "Call the labourers and give them their wages beginning with the last to the first." 03:05 When those who came and were hired about the eleventh hour, they each receive a denarius. 03:14 When the first came, they supposed that they would receive what? 03:21 They assume they should have received more than everybody else, 03:26 and they likewise received each a denarius. When they had received it, they did complain against the landowner saying 03:38 "These last men have worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden 03:47 and the heat of the day?" But he answered one of them and said, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong. 03:55 Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give the last men the same as you. 04:07 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?" There's a very, very pertinent question. 04:16 He asked, "Or is your eye evil because I'm good?" And so, the last will be first 04:27 and the first will be last for many are called, but few are chosen." Again, for emphasis, 04:35 I want to read verse 11. When they received it, the Bible says they complained against the landowner. 04:44 Today, Saints, for just a little while, I just want to talk under the sermon title "I'm Good". 04:52 Turn to your neighbor, give him a fist bump and say, "I'm good". Now turn to them and ask a question. 04:58 Are you good? Because I'm good. Amen. Amen. Let's look to the Lord together in prayer. 05:06 Father, I pray that in this little while that you would say much. And perhaps, 05:17 Father, there are parts of the service that are familiar. We understand the liturgy. 05:23 We know when the song is going to come in, when the prayer is going to be prayed. 05:27 But Lord, I pray that we would not 05:30 become so familiar with how things go that we leave no room for a special visitation of your spirit. 05:40 And so, Father, would you make thyself so dense in this place that you smother and overwhelm all rivaling principalities? 05:49 Father, once again, I pray that faith will be multiplied in the hearing of the Word. 05:54 Lord, would you hide me in the shadow of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen, 06:01 that Christ alone would be heard, and at the end of our time together, 06:06 may Jesus alone be praised. We ask this in the name of Him who is altogether lovely. 06:12 It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. Let God's people say together. Amen. And amen. 06:18 You may be seated here in the presence of the Lord. 06:26 You know, friends, my very first time patronizing the Cheesecake Factory was in 2000 at the Michigan Avenue 06:40 location in Chicago, Illinois. After we arrived, after a lengthy wait in line, 06:50 they were able to seat us in close proximity to the kitchen. 06:55 Our server handed us a menu and made some particular recommendations. 07:01 After a little while in culinary deliberation, we eventually decided to place our order. 07:08 But the problem is that whenever you are seated next to the kitchen, 07:13 you are able to see every dish that somebody orders as it is being taken to their table. 07:21 As I saw all the dishes coming out, I developed a serious case of food order envy, 07:29 where you see so many good dishes going back and forth that you begin to second-guess the very thing that you ordered. 07:38 You all know what I'm talking about today. And so, I would see the fried mac and cheese balls and I would change my mind. 07:46 I would see the factory nachos come out and again, I would change my mind. I would see the tower of onion rings 07:54 and I would change my mind. And eventually, our server grew impatient with my ambivalence and said, 08:02 "Sir, you're making a mistake with the way you're going about it." She said something I'll never forget. 08:09 She says, "You've got to choose based on the menu not what you see. You need to choose based on the ingredients 08:17 and not the final presentation." 08:20 She reminded me that the options you're now coveting are the ones that you bypass when you were looking at the menu. 08:29 She says you've got to get to a place where you're just good with what you ordered, 08:34 because you're always going to see something that looks good passing by. 08:40 Can I suggest today, friends, that the key to greater contentment is when you get to the place where you can just say, 08:48 "God, I'm good with what I have already ordered", because life can be like a trip to the restaurant 08:56 because you automatically devalue what you've had because you pay so much attention to things that are passing by. 09:05 Can I suggest, friends, that freedom is not the ability to change your mind but freedom is the discipline to settle your mind. 09:16 Because the discipline of contentment is the ability to say "God, I'm good with what I have." 09:24 You see, how many of us know contentment doesn't come when you have everything you want? 09:30 Contentment comes when you want what you already have. 09:35 See, I need somebody to know that you got to be loose from the habit of comparing what you have with somebody else. 09:43 Do you realize that certain things will appeal not because they're better than what you have, they will appeal simply 09:53 because it's different and unfamiliar than what you already possess? Can I say today, brothers, 10:00 that you've got to be thankful for the woman you have because there will always be another pretty face passing by? 10:09 In other words, ladies, you've got to be content with what you have 10:12 because there will always be another handsome man or accomplished man passing by. 10:18 There will always be a newer version of some device. There will always be another model of a vehicle. 10:26 The institution across town will seem superior to what you have. There will always be a better-paying job, 10:34 another new store, something that says that you need something different than what you have. 10:42 But the greatest blessing in life, my friends, is when you just get to the place where you can say "God, 10:49 I'm good with what you have given me and where you are moving in my life." 10:56 Do I have about seven or eight Saints in the room that can just say, "Lord, I am thankful 11:02 and I am good with where you are operating in my personal experience"? In other words, 11:11 do I have any folks that can just say, "Lord, I'm good with the age I am." In other words, 11:18 I'm not in a hurry to get older, I'm not trying to relive my teens or my twenties. 11:24 I am thankful for the wisdom that God has given me in this season." 11:29 Is there anybody that's can say "I'm just good with the way that I look"? 11:34 Do you realize that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, you don't have to nip or a tuck or bleach or dye, 11:43 you realize you got it going on in Jesus name? Are you all with me today, Saints? 11:48 Listen, this morning I looked in the mirror and said to myself, "Bald is beautiful and dark is lovely." 11:56 Are you all with the pastor in this room? Is there anybody that can say, "I'm good with my spouse. 12:03 I'm good with my house. I'm good with my problems. I'm good with my job." 12:10 You don't need to spend a whole lot of time trying to study where everyone else is and what they already have. 12:18 The greatest blessing is when you've got Godly contentment that allows you to be good where you are. 12:25 In fact, let me testify in this way. 12:28 I need you to know this about your pastor that I'm so good in Christ that I would not change places with 12:37 anybody else on this Earth. Let me be clear, my life is not perfect. I've got problems like everybody else 12:46 but I'm good with my wife, I'm good with my kids. I don't want your problems so I'm good with mine. 12:54 Is there anybody that's so thankful where God has you, that you're not trying to trade places? 13:01 You don't need an upgrade. You just going to stand still and be good with where God is moving in. 13:10 Are you all hearing me today, friends? 13:12 [Congregation: Amen] 13:14 And so, friends, as we go deeper into this, let me just give you a sermonic roadmap of where we're going to go. 13:20 I want to first begin just communicating some missional, our Evangelistic principles. 13:26 Second, I want us to see some salvific content in the text, 13:31 and then I want to just conclude talking about the need for us to experience greater spiritual contentment. 13:39 If you're with me, let me hear you say amen. 13:41 [Congregation: Amen] 13:42 Now one of the things you need to know, friends, 13:44 about this parable is that this parable has what you would call "dual implication", 13:51 meaning that this is extremely relevant for those who are hearing Christ teach it, 13:57 but it has prophetic relevance for those who are living even in our time. 14:03 In fact, friends, that this parable prophesize what will be happening in the church at the eleventh hour just 14:13 before the close of God's work. It's amazing because Jesus here describes the parable of a man who is an owner of a vineyard, 14:24 but then he describes a scenario where he does not have enough servants in the house so that he must go out 14:34 and hire day labor in order to get the work complete. Now, you remember that day labor work only for the day's wage 14:43 but a servant was a part of the family and the economy of the home. 14:49 The hidden tragedy of the story is that there are not enough servants in the house to finish the work that he's got to 15:00 outsource the labor to those who are strangers because there's not enough committed servants in the house. 15:10 This amazing, friends of mine, that even in the text, did you notice that the owner has to go in search of the laborers? 15:19 It is a constant search of those to do or complete the work. 15:25 In other words, the labor is not labor, is not looking for the employer 15:31 but the employer is actually looking for the laborers, and what God is prophesying is that at the end of time, 15:40 there will be a shortage of labor. Are you hearing me today, Saints? I need you to know, friends, 15:46 that Jesus has hidden in plain sight the truth that his work would struggle simply 15:53 because there is a shortage of labor that is willing to go forward and complete the work. 16:01 In fact, the express lament of Jesus before he left. He said the harvest is going to be plentiful 16:10 but the problem is that the laborers are going to be few. It's amazing, 16:15 that what Jesus prophesied has become reality even in our time. Do you realize, friends, 16:23 that studies show that less than 30% of professed believers give only about 20% consistently serve in Ministry at the church, 16:35 and only about 10% are involved with a Ministry that touches the unchurched community? The labor shortage, 16:45 friends of mine, has nothing to do with the pandemic. 16:50 You see, I need us to know that the pandemic did not create the labor shortage. 16:57 All the pandemic did was give us a Ministry alibi. 17:01 [Congregation: Clapping] 17:03 All it did was just give us cover for not being active in the Lord's army. 17:08 In fact, friends of mine, I need us to know that the pandemic does not change values. 17:14 What the pandemic did is it reveal our values. You see, one of the things, tell me if I'm lying, 17:21 is that whatever are real values were, they didn't get canceled in the pandemic, they got adjusted in the pandemic. 17:30 In other words, we didn't stop having birthday parties we just started having them in drive-by fashion. 17:38 We didn't stop having family reunions we just started doing them on Zoom. You are all mighty quiet today. 17:45 We didn't stop going to work, we just started working from home. I guess what I'm saying, friends of mine, 17:53 is that if serving and impacting the community was a true value, it didn't get canceled by the pandemic, 18:01 we just found a creative way to be of use even in the midst of the pandemic. And even, friends, 18:09 as we rebuild as we emerge from the pandemic... Oh by the way, which is not over. 18:16 Are you all with me today? In other words, some of you all wild'n maskless out here in these streets. 18:22 Are you all hear me today? The truth is we still need to mask up, we still need to take certain precautions, 18:32 but the crazy thing is that we've gone back to events, we've gone back to travel, we've gone back to stadiums, 18:41 we've gone back to work. 18:43 The only thing that we are tentative or cautious about is doing the work that God has assigned us to do. 18:52 Let me just kind of say this like I feel it. 18:55 The reason that some of our churches are on the verge of dying is because we are practicing Evangelistic abstinence. 19:05 It's crazy, friends, because there is no abstinence in our work, there is no abstinence in our recreation, 19:14 there is no abstinence in our shopping. In other words, we are socially active, we are professionally active, 19:22 but the problem is we are Ministry celibate. In other words, when it comes down to serving, we have become like eunuchs. 19:31 We're saving it for the right day, saving it for the perfect time, waiting for the right occasion. 19:38 But do I have some saints who are going to be evangelistically promiscuous, who are not trying to save it, 19:46 or wait for it? In other words, you're going to give it to whoever wants it 19:51 and you're willing to share the gospel with whoever is willing to receive it. 19:56 Are you all with me today, friends? See, I need you to hear the preacher's heart today 20:01 because the burden is not just for you to be in service, the burden is for you to be in service. 20:12 The burden is not for you to be in church, the burden is for us to be active 20:19 and touching the lives of those that need the healing touch of Jesus. 20:24 Are you all with me today, friends? I need us to know that the body of Christ is not devoid of gifts 20:32 and Christ has seen to it that the body is lacking in no area. 20:37 But the one thing that Christ cannot dictate is our willingness to be active and use in service for our King. 20:47 In fact, the Bible says the landowner has to make several trips to go out 20:55 because there's not enough servants to finish the assignments. 21:00 Let me just say specifically to those who are younger and wanting to get active in the church. 21:06 I need some to understand that your greatest contribution to the church cannot be assessment. 21:14 You see, there are whole lot of folk in our time that sit around dinner tables after church 21:22 and on devices during church with a whole bunch of theories about what the church should be doing 21:29 and what the church is not doing while not participating in bettering the work of God. 21:37 What I'm saying to somebody is you've got to get to a place where your greatest contribution to the world is more than a 21:45 Facebook post. See, we have developed a generation of ecclesiastical troubleshooters 21:53 but all they do is identify the problem, but they'll never get their hands dirty and help solve the problem. 22:02 So that you got a whole lot of folk that will complain about everything that's wrong with the young people, 22:08 but they'll never get involved in a Ministry to young people. 22:12 You've got some that will complain about what's wrong with the school, 22:16 but they'll never get involved and better what's happening at the school. 22:20 You've got some that complains what we're not doing with the community, 22:24 but they'll never join a Ministry that impacts the community. The crazy thing is, 22:30 I've met complaining people and I've met serving people, but guess what, they are never ever the same people 22:38 because those who serve don't spend a whole lot of time in assessment 22:44 because they've got to make a difference in growing the work of God. 22:50 [Congregation: Clapping] 22:52 At some point, friends, we got to stop talking about it. We got to put both hands on the gospel plow 22:58 and be about our Father's business. Are you all hearing the Word today, friends? Listen, man, real talk. 23:05 I remember one of my kind of less than stellar moments as a pastor was in my first district. 23:10 I remember we had had kind of a Saturday night social of some sort. 23:14 When it was done we had to begin stacking all the chairs and the tables. 23:18 I remember me and some of the young guys at my Church, we have begun stacking up the chairs and the tables 23:24 and getting them put in place. 23:26 And so, there was another able-bodied man who did not help stack or move the chairs and tables. 23:33 But what he did was he sat in the corner and start saying you need to move it there 23:39 and you need to lift with your legs and you need to not scratch up the walls, 23:44 and it's crazy because he's telling what we ought to do while sitting on his behind over in the corner. 23:51 Now, I need you to know I feel a heat coming up the back of my neck. 23:56 In a full preaching voice- it was not a good moment- I let him know that at some point, 24:02 you got to stop telling us what to do and you got to put your hands on something. 24:07 See, what I need somebody to know is that those who are doers will never be coached by those who are sayers. 24:16 In other words, when you're actually doing the work you can't be mentored by those who are coaching the work. 24:24 It's time for us to put our hands on the plow and be about the work of God. Are you all hear me today, friends? 24:32 And even as I kind of talk today about what it means to be a content believer, hear me on this, 24:38 I need somebody to know that you will never experience Godly contentment until you get engaged in service. 24:52 Listen, what I'm about to say is somewhat unscientific. One of the things I've noticed is that some of the most happy 24:59 and joyful and pleasant people in the world are not those that function in survival mode as an island unto themselves 25:11 living about their own matters, the happiest folks on the planet are the ones who don't live as collectors of things, 25:20 but they function as conduits of divine grace because they live their life in service for their fellow man. 25:29 So I need us to understand beloved that there are innate blessings that can only be discovered when you touch the lives of 25:39 the broken, that there are mercies that can only be received when you function as a pitcher that pours out 25:48 and not a container that's always receiving in. 25:51 There is a satisfaction in life that is the result of generosity and not a life of constantly collecting. 26:00 See, what serving does, friends, is that serving keeps you grounded. Serving keeps you stable, 26:08 serving keeps you humble, and serving helps you maintain a touch with broken humanity. 26:15 Are you all with me today, friends? I need us to know that a person that is connected to God through serving, 26:21 they are not filled with a bunch of complaints. They are not anxious and upset by every little thing. 26:28 They do not give weight to every vein or idle thought. 26:33 In fact, one of the things you should know is that those who are active in service are actually less likely to sin. 26:42 In fact, I love what the book Fundamentals of Education says, it literally says that those who would be overcomers must 26:51 be drawn out of themselves. The only thing which will accomplish this great work is to 27:00 become intensely interested in the salvation of-- are you all hearing this thing today, church? 27:07 See, the problem is we spend all day in our prayer closet trying not to sin, focusing on what we do wrong or right. 27:15 But she says that if you begin and be interested in somebody else's salvation, you get the victory in the process. 27:25 [Congregation: Clapping] 27:27 What a powerful message by Pastor Debleaire Snell! 27:30 Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast! 27:35 We hope and pray that you have been blessed through today's message. 27:39 Join us next week for Part Two of “I'm Good.” You don't want to miss it! 27:45 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:43 [End] |
Revised 2022-09-01