Sunday Message – Today Jesus 121

20/05/07
<Matthew 21:28-32>
WHICH OF THE TWO DID WHAT HIS FATHER WANTED?
• We must have victory today, not tomorrow. Why should we be afraid when God is with us?
• God had blessed men after creating them <Genesis 1:27-28>
• However, a lot of believers do not relate their lives to this verse. This is the greatest problem
• The greatest problem is not about having physical illness or facing some struggles in work
• The greatest problem is our lives is not being connected to the Word of our God, the Creator
• God called us to make all His people, disciples. He also told us that no power is able to
overpower us and no prison is able to harm us
• We will share God’s Gospel in season and out of season when the Holy Spirit comes upon us
• Although God had given a lot of covenant to us, a lot of believers live their lives without any
connection with God’s covenant. This is sin
• There are very few people in this era who live and behave like Paul. Most people will feel
miserable or struggles with very small issues or problems
• God called us to restore <Genesis 1:27-28> and to go influence others
• Therefore, we should not worry anymore. Worrying is a form of discipline, just like experiencing
poverty
• As such, a person who worry will only get more and more worried
• God is love. He is slow to anger. He is always waiting for us. Although God is always waiting for
us to turn back to Him, He always hopes that we will “go home”. To “go home” means to restore
God’s purpose, method and all things
• And because God is a god of love, He is always whispering to us

Read <Matthew 21:28-32>

• Today’s verse talks about the parable of the two sons. We must be sure which of the two sons we
are
• v28 the vineyard refers to things that belong to God’s kingdom, which includes glorifying God,
blessing others and building God’s kingdom. God tells us to go into the vineyard to work daily and
not to waste our time
• v29 Most importantly, is to “change his mind” / repent
• v32 “the way of righteousness” = a way that goes according to God

• We must confirm whether our lives coincide with the purpose for which God had called us for

1. The father told the son to, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard” <v28>
1) What blessings will the two sons receive if both of them had “listened to the father”?
• One of the sons did everything that is totally not related to working in the vineyard
• The other son, after reaching a dead end, realized that he couldn’t walk any further.
Therefore, he changed his mind and returned to his father
• How much blessings will the two sons receive if they’d listened to their father right from
the beginning?
• In fact, it is for their benefit that their father had asked them to work in the vineyard. They
will receive their rewards when they work in the vineyard
• How happy were our parents when we started work after graduation?
 • The servants of the two sons would also be pleased with them If they were to work in the
vineyard
• How much joy will they receive when they harvest the fruits in the summer?
• Therefore, there are much benefits for them to discover when their father asked them to
work in the vineyard

2) Our heavenly father had already spoken to us. Those who believe after hearing His words are
blessed
• God is always talking to us. We will receive a lot of benefits or gifts if we submit and live
according to God’s purpose
• Is there anyone who loves God, but meets with unlucky things daily?
• God had already revealed all His methods, directions and purpose to us. Did we hear it?
• Of course, there are also many times when we are bound by a lot of things
• A person could be bedridden all his life when some small problems that happen to his
body. However, when a person is very healthy, he might chose to walk his own ways and
has no desire to seek or follow God
• Regardless of how we live our lives, we can only live once. Therefore, why don’t we live
our lives in accordance to God’s word?

3) God’s word has the ability to create and will fulfill <John 1:3; Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 24:35;
Revelations 1:3>
• God’s word is already fulfilled. Those who hear it will immediately acquire strength and
answer
• <Gen 1:3> God said, “let there be light,” and there was light. “God said… and it was so”
• A person who has restored God’s word will get answers and strength from the word
• <Heb 4:12> A person who listen to God’s word will live because God’s word is living and
active
• <Matt 24:35> God’s word will never pass away
• <Rev 1:3> “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are
those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near”
• We often says that God doesn’t understand our misery and God doesn’t listen to our
prayers
• In reality, everything we see daily comes from God’s word. Therefore, we shouldn’t say
that God does not understand, etc
• We aren’t able to listen to God because our hearts have not tune to God’s frequency yet

4) As long as we are willing, we could also enjoy the same blessed life of those “heroes in the
Bible” (How a person believe will determine how a person will live)
• We can live the life of Abraham. We are the Abrahams of today. It means that as long as
we believe in the covenant that God had given Abraham, we will also receive all the
blessings that Abraham had received
• As soon as we believe in the covenant that God had given to Abraham, we will have
eternal lives as well as the fruits of the covenant
• We will also have Paul’s life if we are able to hear the word of God in which Paul had
heard
• Therefore, how we believe today will determine what sort of life we will receive
• Some people will face problems, one after the other
• However, there could also be people who are like Paul. Paul met people with greater
problems and was able to help and comfort them, after he’d victory over his own problem
 • Some people believe in God in a very mystical way. However, as a result of the way they
believe, they will indeed experience very mysterious things. But as time goes by, such
people tend to become mentally ill
• Some people believe in a very practical God. They often believe in a God that can be
explained scientifically. Such believers love the world and their family will also have
desires over the worldly things
• Those who love the world and strive heard to earn money will see success eventually.
However, those who earn a lot by following and loving the world will have to pay back
some how (e.g. illness, death)
• God’s word is dangerous. The true God is a god of Immanuel. Therefore, a person who
add on to or subtract from God’s word will be cursed
• If we do not view God’s word correctly or believe God’s word wrongly, we will not be able
to meet the good things or people that God has prepared for us. Moreover, not only will
we meet with bad things, even the people or things associated with us will also face bad
things or problems
• We will definitely see the results if we believe in God’s word correctly
• Paul tells us that God will definitely give us everything we need abundantly in Jesus
Christ
• If we hold on to this word correctly, we might not become too wealthy, but every time
when we need money, money will come to us in abundance
• In fact, we need not strive to acquire anything because God will supply the things we
need timely. We will not get the things we do not need, no matter how hard we try to
acquire them
• If we look at a person’s destiny, we can notice that a person’s destiny is very amazing.
Some people are really worried over their health that they spend lots of time and effort on
medical checkups, controlling their diet, etc. However, illness will still fall upon them. On
the other hand, a person who only follow God’s will in all things will not meet any major
illnesses
• How can our lives be connected to the things that we “really believe” in?
• A true believer needs not prepare to meet unlucky things
• We often see people meet with unlucky things because we do not believe in God’s word.
Some people are able to see God’s word being fulfilled daily. However, there are others
who couldn’t see and are depressed every day as a result.
• It is true when some people say that when a person is unlucky, he will face unlucky things
all his life
• It is important for us to know the foundation of our lives
• It is still important for us to enter the vineyard because it is the source of all blessings
• God called us to enter the vineyard so that we can have the glory of David and Solomon

2. Which of the two did what the father wanted? <29-32>

• Two reactions bring forth different results
• There are two types of people in this world

1) He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. = Chief priest, teachers of the law, elders
• These people say that they serve God. However, they never believed at all
• E.g.: this is like the Israelites who, after leaving Egypt and entered the wilderness, kept
thinking about having no food or drinks daily. Although they’d physical left Egypt, their
minds were still living in Egypt
• E.g. Initially, King Saul did what a king would normally do. However, as time passed, he
did everything that opposed God’s people
 • A lot of believers are walking the path of Jeroboam. They do not love God. They are only
concerned of their own things. Their method is always to rely on themselves and they
never seek God’s way
• Their prayers and worship are totally not related to God’s established heavenly throne
• If God’s throne is established in our job, we will excel everyday
• The important question is why do these people behave as such? It is because they’d
never repented before
• The repentance that God wants is: does the repentance bring forth changes in our lives,
purpose, roots, and identities?
• In other words, do we have a repentance that results in “death and resurrection”? “Death
and resurrection” means whether do we really need Jesus Christ?
• How would a person who really needs Jesus Christ skip Church every now and then?
• A person who really needs Jesus Christ would be sure of everything
• These people are very sure of their identities. Our identities are not just an ideology
• If our identities are correct, then it is not poverty that we are facing. We will still be
contented if whatever little money we have
• When we are very sure of our identities, our judgement, reactions and results will be
changed and different. Therefore, our identities will determine everything
• A person whose identity is correct behaves smartly in everything he does
• A person whose identity is correct will use his identity and purpose to test God’s perfect
will. A person will only communicate with God after he’d understood God’s perfect will
• God is perfect will. A person who does not know God’s perfect will is only praying (talking)
to himself. He is speaking to his own desires and motives

2) “’I will not’, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went” = the tax collectors
and prostitutes (the eight blessed people, 八福人)
• We will not go when we were first born. We were stubborn and will not want to follow the
Lord, when we were born. However, we repented after having kept facing problems. We
repent when we cannot receive God’s peace and are not able to see God’s doing
• Men must start from their fundamental problem. When we know the fundamental problem
correctly, we will realize that only through Jesus Christ are we able to resolve the problem
• A person who is willing to accept Jesus Christ and deny himself will receive a new life.
Therefore, even when he fails, his failure is different because there’s a reason for God’s
children to fail. There’s a success after each failure
• These people will see God’s perfect will in all things. There’s a reason for success and
there’s also a perfect will for failure
• We need not be sad if we do not get the respect from others. We do not rely on other’s
praises or respect to live. We only need to have God’s praises
• When our relationship with God is correct, those who love us will naturally love us. Only
then will we be able to know God’s perfect will and communicate with God joyfully
• Some people force out their prayers, while others continue to confirm with God when they
pray
• We must reflect to see what sort of people we are. Perhaps we said we don’t want to go
initially but repent afterwards when we realize that we cannot live without God. Such
people are blessed
• Some people are just like the Pharisees. Though they said they will go, they know very
well in their hearts that they wouldn’t go
• It is easy for anyone to praise God after gaining some money. However, when a person
remembers that everything needs money, he will begin to worry. And when he realized
 that more money is required if a person falls sick, he would have forgotten all about God.
This is an example of “saying he would go, but didn’t go”
• There is a reason for everything that happens to a believer. Therefore, we shouldn’t say
we have bad luck. Luck is not the term for us

3. A person who knows “how to repent” is blessed

• We must have the right repentance. There are three types of repentances:
1) Repentance that allows one to be “born again” <John 3:3; Eph 2:1-10; Romans 6:1-11;
Acts 9:1-22> = only once per lifetime
• A person will have this type of repentance only once in his lifetime. It will change our
perspective and destiny. A person will repent when he cannot enjoy God’s faithfulness
and abundance
• This is the circumcision of the spirit and heart. He knows that he has a master and wants
to live according to God’s purpose
• Each person must do it once, just like Paul when he met God on the road to Damascus
• It is important for each person to have the circumcision of spirit and life
• When a person is reborn, he would know that he no longer lives for himself

2) The repentance that will make a person “turns back” <Luke 24:13-35; Acts 11:25-26, 13:1-3,
16:6-10> = do this a number of times per lifetime
• This should be done a few times in a person’s lifetime. Each time a person has this type
of repentance, it marks a turning point in his life
• E.g.: when a person realizes that he is very into humanism
• E.g.: when a person serves with no joy. That is because he has yet to meet God. It is
necessary for a person to have such a turning point. Otherwise, we will slowly become
Pharisees
• We don’t have it now doesn’t mean we will not have it in the future
• We might not have something a second ago, but we might have it one second later. What
it really means is we must anticipate God each and every second
• The most royal person will know that even if he has only one more second to live, he will
still anticipate God within that short time frame
• It is time for us to turn back if we’d been living in misery for a period of time. The moment
we turn around, we will be able to see God’s love again and we will receive God’s
compassion

3) Repentance that allows a person to “be Holy Spirit filled, drive out demons, restore God’s
kingdom” <Matt 12:28; Ro 14:17; Eph 5:15-21; Phil 3:7-14; Gal 5:16-24; Ex 29:38-46> =
Denying oneself and restoring Jesus’ resurrection power everyday, every moment and for
everything
• <Matthew 12:28> we must drive out demons by the Holy Spirit. This is something that we
must enjoy everyday
• No normal person will want to live continuously without joy everyday
• A normal person will know that he will lose hold of God easily. Therefore, we can’t fail to
seek God’s perfect will in our lives. In fact, we must seek God’s perfect will every moment
• We must have this repentance every moment because we know that we can drift away
from God easily. We need to repent everyday because we will offend God everyday
• It is possible for us to correct ourselves and repent up to tens or twenty times per day.
Only after that, our life and personality will get changed gradually
Sharing and Prayer Topics
1. Have I ever heard my Heavenly Father telling me, “son, go and work today in the
vineyard”? Do I live my daily life in accordance to the Father’s instruction? Am I able to list
down some of the things that the Lord has instructed me to do? Am I able to see the
evidences that God is pleased?
2. Three types of “repentances” were mentioned in this week’s message. Do I know their
essence? Have I experienced those three types of repentances? Am I able to share the real
experiences with the SSG members? What must I increase in order to receive even more
blessings?
3. Anyone who believes in what Abraham, David, Paul had believed in would also enjoy “the
heavenly and earthly blessings” that they’d enjoyed before. Moreover, he can receive the
future that they would have received. Am I able to say “Amen” to this sentence? Am I
enjoying their blessings today? Am I able to see my future and to acquire “the hope that
makes me joyful”?