You are blessed when you use what God has given you.
• Whether it is a talent, a skill or a possession, whatever God has given you, use them for His purpose and you will see His blessings.
• But unfortunately, not many use what they are blessed with.
The wise man in Proverbs made this observation about the vineyard he saw.
• He says, “I was going past a vineyard, and it was a mess. There were thorns all over the place, the grounds were covered with weeds, and the walls were falling down.”
• He was in anguish; you could sense his sadness over what he saw.
• To understand the writer’s feeling, we have to understand the context. In the ancient Middle East, a piece of land capable of growing crops was one of the most valuable possessions in the world.
• It was to be their livelihood. They live on it. It was the best thing you could have.
To be able to own a vineyard is to be blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime.
• You can work on it and produce crops for the whole family. Not just for a meal, but for many years to come.
• You can expect to reap bountiful harvest and eat the fruits of your labors.
But sadly, the writer saw a field that was in ruin.
• The owner did nothing to his vineyard. He did not treasure what he has.
• What a waste! He lacks judgment, the writer says. He lacks wisdom. It was a big mistake. Don’t be like him.
(1) DON’T NEGLECT What God Has Given You
Do you treasure what you have today? Do you really treasure God’s gifts to you?
• In a similar sense, God has given each of us a vineyard – our lot in life.
• You have a life. You have many things that others do not have today. You have the chance to do some good work.
• Everybody gets a vineyard called “life” from God, and that vineyard is your one and only shot on this planet.
• It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. You can either waste it, or use it to the full.
The writer says, “I applied my heart to what I observed, and learned a lesson from what I saw.” (v.32)
• Something is not right about this. The vineyard could have been a thing of beauty. I could be seeing fruits, lots of them in this field.
• It could have been a source of pride, joy, and income to the owner. It could have been a blessing to everybody around it.
• But the writer saw none of these. It was a far cry from what it could have been.
Was there some catastrophe? Was there a drought, flood, or some other disaster? No.
• Was it because the ground was bad? No. It was fertile ground, for it produced thorns and weeds in abundance.
• The writer concluded - it was sheer negligence on the part of the owner of the vineyard.
• He was sleeping. He was in slumber. He was folding his hands to rest. (v.33)
The owner did not treasure his vineyard. He had no idea what he had. He was throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime.
• The field did not produce what it was capable of producing, because this man neglected it.
• What caused the ruin? Not the infertile soil, not the lack of rain or sunshine, not because of any natural disasters. It was his choice.
• He chose to ignore it. His neglect led to the ruin. He did not bother. He did not treasure what was precious.
The vineyard did not turn into a ruin overnight. It was over a long time.
• Even the stone wall surrounding it was in ruins (v.31). It has been a long time.
• He has the chance to think about his attitude and change his ways, but he did not.
• The waste land was the result of a prolonged neglect.
God has given us this vineyard of life. It is a good life, it is an abundant life, Jesus says.
• But to see fruits, you need to take good care of this life. You need to work at it.
• Everything when left on its own—when not given attention and energy—has a tendency to deteriorate. It’s like any electrical appliances left unused for years.
• To have an abundant life, you need to have Jesus. Without Him, all you have is a barren life. To grow, we need to seek God and know His ways. We need to obey God and do what He says. We need to worship God and rely upon His strength.
A harvest does not just spring up by accident. Someone is behind them. It will come, but you have to work at it.
• You cannot sit there and expect a perfect marriage. You cannot sit there and expect a successful career. You cannot sit there, and expect the lost ones to find their way home. We cannot do nothing, and expect a bumper harvest.
• God will bring the sunshine and the rain, but we must till the ground and sow the seeds. Do what you need to do.
The owner is not at the place that is most important – in the vineyard!
• He is at all other places but not at the place where it counts, where it matters.
• Imagine the dad whose career is going great. He’s climbing the corporate ladder high and fast. He’s got an address book full of names, but the kids are drifting away. That vineyard is a mess.
• Or it’s the couple that has what looks like a great house, a great car, a great lot of other stuffs. But they haven’t had a meaningful conversation with each other in months. Everyday they’re drifting a little further apart. Everyday they see more weeds in the vineyard of their marriage.
• Imagine a young man who looks promising and full of energy on the outside but is addicted to gambling and his debt is growing by the days. He cannot sleep at night, because His vineyard is full of thorns.
Make your life counts. Don’t neglect the vineyard of life that God has given you.
• Recently there was a TV commercial that says: “Not everything that can be counted in life, counts.”
• Life is more than just the number of houses you own, the number of cars you’ve driven, the number of degrees you’ve gotten.
• Many important things in life cannot be counted, like your relationships… with God and with people.
The owner was not found at the vineyard. He was too busy somewhere else.
• What are you busy with today?
• Are you neglecting what is most important in life?
• Do you treasure what God has given you?
(2) DON’T PROCRASTINATE – Do What You Need to Do
For some, the problem is not total neglect. It may be just procrastination.
• Yes, I’m going to work at the vineyard, but not today. The weather is too hot. I’ll do it another day. The next day comes, and he is not feeling well. I’ll do it next week.
• The writer expresses this in verse 33: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest…”
• Just wait a little while more. Let me sleep just a bit more. Sound familiar?
COME BACK NEXT WEEK
There is this story in L.A. Times a long time ago. A man went back to his old house where he grew up. It has been almost 10 years ago, and he wanted to take a look again at the place he spent his childhood. He walked around and found in the attic an old jacket of his. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. It’s a receipt from a shoe repair shop. He realized he had taken a pair of shoes there 10 years before, and in the midst of the move, he had not picked them up.
Out of curiosity, he decided to go find this shop and see if it was still there. Just to be funny, he took the receipt out and handed it to the guy behind the desk: "Are my shoes ready?"
The guy goes back to the storeroom for a minute, comes back to the counter, and says, “Next week! Come back next week."
We tell ourselves, next week. We’ll do it next week. We’ll start next week.
• After 10 years, we are still saying the same.
• Just like Pharaoh when the whole of Egypt was filled with frogs (Exo 8), he called Moses to pray to God to take away the frogs. Moses asked, “When do you want God to get rid of the frogs.” He said, “Tomorrow.” (Exo 8:10)
• Why tomorrow? Why one more night with the frogs?
We don’t understand, but that is what people are doing.
• I need to get my spiritual life in shape and get involved in a church, but wait till our children are older.
• I know prayer is important but now I am busy with so many things; wait till I change my job.
• Don’t let the urgent things crowd out the important.
The writer of Proverbs sounds a wake-up call.
• Sometimes, the danger is not saying, “I’m not going to do it” but in saying, “Next week, I’ll start.”
• We know saying “I’m not going to do it” is disobedience, so we don’t say that. We say, “I’ll do it later…” because this gives us the permission to avoid doing what God is calling you to do today. It makes us feel better.
Is there something that God is calling you to do today? Is there an area of your life you need to change today?
• Don’t say, “Next week.” Tell God you want to start today. Ask God for the strength to make the change today.
Beware of little things in life. That seems to be what the writer is highlighting here.
• Look at verse 33. Notice the repeated phrase: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest…”
• It is a little laziness, a little procrastination, or a little complacency that eventually makes you the person you are today.
• A little... a little... over time and they will lead to great harm.
On the other hand, when we are intentional about the ’little things’ in our lives – a little praying every day, a little reading of His Word each morning, we will find ourselves growing stronger over time.
• These little things will lead to a big thing in your life.
• You experience the joy, peace and hope that comes from an intimate relationship with God, because of the time spent with God.
Imagine a year from now, based on the little things we do or neglect to do today, what would we wake up to and be surprised to find?
• I hope we would be surprised at our growth, at the fruitfulness of our life because we have chosen to be intentional in “the little things” that help cultivate our lives.
Let me close with Prov 6:6-11. Same warnings, but he gives an advice before that.
Learn from the ant. There are 2 particular lessons we can learn from the ant.
First, the ant does not require external motivation—no commander, overseer, or ruler applying the whip.
• It knows that if you’re waiting around for somebody else to get your life into shape—if you expect your boss, parents, teachers, spouse, or friends to make you do the right thing—you’re in serious trouble.
• Ants take care of the vineyard. Of course, I can have others to help me and teach me, but at the end of the day, I’m responsible for my life, my vineyard.
Second, the ant understands the law of opportunity.
• Even in the summer, the ant stores its provisions. They seize the opportunity they have to do the right thing.
• The writer of Proverbs says the ants understand time better than we do. Learn from them.
We have this one life, and it goes very fast.
• Whatever God has called you to do, do it now. Whatever is God’s will, heed it now. Whatever is important, seize the opportunity and do it now.
The good news is you’re not alone in this.
• No amount of hard work can bring about a harvest.
• God is in it with you. God will partner with you. Jesus is helping you today.
• Just do your part and He does His, and you’ll see the harvest.
• The interesting thing is, God never forces anybody to take action and care for their vineyard. You still have the freedom to choose how you want to live your life.
• But we want to live it God’s way, the most fruitful way; the blessed way.
Is there an area of your life you need to work on?
• You have neglected it for a long time. God is telling you to pay attention to it. You need to work on it.
• God is willing to help but you need to take a step of faith towards Him.
Do something today.
• If you’ve never invited Jesus into your life, do it now. Jesus saves you from your sin; He alone can give us a truly meaningful and purposeful life.
• If you take that one step, God will respond. He will forgive you and make you a child of His, and bless you with the hope of an eternal life with Him.
