LutheranLectionary.org

1 Year Lectionary – Septuagesima – Sunday, February 13, 2022 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:28	the holy gospel according to saint
0:30	matthew the 20th chapter
0:33	[Music]
0:41	Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like
0:44	a master of a house who went out early
0:46	in the morning to hire laborers for his
0:47	vineyard after agreeing with the
0:49	laborers for a denarius a day he sent
0:51	them into his vineyard and going out
0:53	about the third hour he saw others
0:54	standing idle in the marketplace and he
0:57	said to them you go into the vineyard
0:59	too whatever’s right i will give you so
1:01	they went going out about the sixth hour
1:04	and then the ninth hour he did the same
1:06	and about the 11th hour he went out and
1:08	found others standing and he said to
1:10	them
1:11	why do you stand here idle all day and
1:14	they said to him because no one’s hired
1:17	us and he said to them you go into the
1:19	vineyard too and when evening came the
1:20	owner of the vineyard said to his
1:22	foreman call the laborers and pay them
1:24	their wages beginning with the last up
1:26	to the first and when those hired about
1:29	the 11th hour came each of them received
1:32	a denarius now when those hired first
1:34	came they thought they would receive
1:36	more but each of them also received a
1:37	denarius and on receiving it they
1:40	grumbled at the master of the house
1:42	saying
1:43	these last worked only one hour and you
1:45	have made them equal to us who have
1:47	borne the burden of the day and the
1:49	scorching heat but he replied to them
1:51	friend i’m doing you no wrong did you
1:54	not agree with me for a denarius take
1:56	what belongs to you and go i choose to
1:58	give to this last worker as i give to
2:00	you i am not am i not allowed to do what
2:03	i choose with what belongs to me or do
2:05	you begrudge my generosity so the last
2:08	will be first
2:09	and the first last this is the gospel of
2:12	the lord
2:13	in the name of Jesus
2:16	what are we to do with this gospel text
2:19	it’s a little complicated it was
2:21	actually kind of fun doing the uh sermon
2:23	prep for this taking a look at how the
2:25	church fathers have handled it how
2:27	luther handled how johan gerhart and
2:29	other lutheran pastors have handled it
2:31	and let’s just say there’s a lot of
2:33	discussion about the denarius but martin
2:36	luther in his sermon on this text
2:38	actually says don’t focus too much on
2:40	that that’s kind of to miss the point
2:43	the real the real action is in the
2:46	attitude of those grumblers those people
2:49	who are upset at the generosity of god
2:52	and so that being the case i’m going to
2:55	see if i can work this properly i need
2:57	to set it up this way
2:59	when i was a kid when i was three years
3:02	old i was given a tricycle
3:05	all right and you remember those old
3:07	ugly metal tricycles you know what i’m
3:09	talking about all right this is the days
3:10	before they had like that form plastic
3:12	kind of stuff but you know that can only
3:15	get me so far i outgrew my tricycle
3:18	pretty quick and then i upgraded now you
3:20	got to understand the year is
3:23	1971 72
3:26	i got a big wheel
3:27	all right if you know what that is all
3:30	right you know what a big wheel is
3:31	that’s a big deal all right now my
3:34	brother he got a green machine now the
3:37	difference between a big wheel and a
3:39	green machine the green machine rather
3:40	than having handlebars it had these
3:43	little things that you know you would do
3:45	and you can really skid out with that
3:46	thing but my brother and i this is the
3:48	days before they made kids wear helmets
3:50	for everything okay
3:52	we would be in my driveway and we would
3:55	circle around and we would do crash em
3:57	up derbies okay and it was glorious we
4:00	would come in bruised and bleeding and
4:02	it was like yeah you know there’s
4:04	nothing like nothing better than
4:05	smashing your big wheel into your
4:07	brother’s green machine while he’s on it
4:09	it’s like yeah you know
4:11	but then
4:12	my dad came up with this idea as i was
4:15	starting to get a little bit older got
4:17	to be five years old the year is 1973
4:21	and my dad decides it’s time for your
4:24	first bicycle
4:27	bicycle it was a big deal so what did he
4:28	buy me an avocado green schwinn with a
4:32	banana seed all right you know what i’m
4:34	talking about if you’re old enough okay
4:37	and why i have to ask why the people why
4:40	did the boomers pick avocado green as a
4:43	color i just don’t get it okay
4:46	anyway but uh i didn’t care and they had
4:49	those like really weird kind of stupid
4:51	girly tassels coming off the handlebars
4:53	you know what i’m talking about here
4:55	okay but i didn’t know how to ride a
4:57	bike
4:58	and so my dad thought all right well
5:00	let’s get to your first bike and it had
5:02	training wheels
5:03	and you know what i preferred
5:05	my big wheel
5:07	i did not like my bicycle at first and
5:09	being on you know a bike on training
5:11	wheels you’re always kind of going like
5:13	this and like this and so my dad decided
5:16	it’s time
5:17	for chris to learn how to ride a bike
5:20	and i don’t know if you’ve noticed this
5:21	about men sometimes we can give like
5:23	really unhelpful pep talks
5:26	okay
5:28	let me explain so i’m having like total
5:31	panic about riding my bike my dad is
5:34	saying you’re going to learn how to ride
5:36	a bike today and i’m terrified at it and
5:38	so my dad says something like this chris
5:40	you just need to be a man you know stop
5:44	being afraid and go do the man thing i
5:45	have no idea what he’s talking about
5:47	okay dad all right and so his solution
5:50	and remember i’m not wearing a helmet
5:53	okay his solution was
5:55	take the training wheels off pop me onto
5:58	the banana seat and then with a big old
6:00	heave and a hoe he threw me down the
6:02	street
6:04	and here’s the thing as soon as the
6:06	gyroscopic effect of the wheels started
6:09	to do its thing at that speed all of a
6:11	sudden it clicked i knew how to ride a
6:13	bicycle but here’s the thing my dad
6:15	didn’t tell me how to stop it
6:18	so there i am flying down the street and
6:21	i don’t know how to stop this he’s all
6:23	hit the brakes hit the brakes i didn’t
6:26	know where the brakes were so what did i
6:28	do i crashed into my neighbor’s trash
6:29	can all right and boy was that a mess
6:32	all right but there was this big aha
6:35	moment
6:36	and i went from having a big wheel and a
6:38	tricycle to now having the freedom of
6:41	being on a bike i could actually travel
6:43	places i could visit friends down at the
6:45	end of the block i can visit friends who
6:47	live two blocks over i can well
6:50	take some glass bottles to the local
6:54	mini mart trade them in for nickels and
6:56	get myself a snickers bar there was
6:59	freedom here in fact from the time i was
7:02	five until the time i got my driver’s
7:04	license my bike became my primary form
7:07	of transportation if i wanted to do
7:10	something and i had freedom i remember
7:12	one time when i was right between
7:14	seventh and eighth grade my friend sam
7:16	and i we went on a fishing trip now we
7:18	lived in southern california he i live
7:20	in monrovia he lived in dwardi so i rode
7:22	my bike at five in the morning to his
7:24	house with my fishing tackle
7:26	picked him up he rode his bike and we
7:29	biked all the way out to the santa fe
7:31	dam and we did some fishing but here’s
7:33	the thing when you kind of smell the
7:34	water and stuff like that you don’t want
7:36	to eat that fish it was but we caught
7:38	fish and we we released them and it was
7:40	big freedom but here’s the thing
7:43	we can all relate to this we can all
7:45	relate to that freedom we are learning
7:47	how to ride a bike having that
7:49	experience at aha moment and then
7:51	progressing to the point where we have
7:53	more and more and more what
7:56	independence
7:57	but Christianity is not
8:00	like this
8:02	all right it’s not like you can hit a
8:04	part in Christianity and go you know
8:07	i kind of feel like i’ve got the sin
8:09	thing worked out thanks Jesus it’s just
8:12	like riding a bike and Jesus is off in
8:14	the background somewhere while you’re
8:16	out there doing it all on your own your
8:19	own steam your own power and
8:20	independence and here’s the thing it’s
8:23	really easy to deceive ourselves along
8:24	these lines and worse
8:26	when you start engaging in that way of
8:29	thinking
8:30	in has rushed into your faith
8:33	self-righteousness
8:35	and over and again you can always tell
8:38	when you’re dealing with some kind of
8:40	latent form or insipid form of
8:42	self-righteousness because the thing you
8:45	care about
8:46	is the reward
8:48	you don’t care about the one
8:51	who gives it
8:53	you don’t care anything about Christ in
8:55	fact one false teacher it was really
8:57	interesting yesterday i was having a
8:59	conversation with somebody who used to
9:01	attend a very very well known mega
9:03	church down in australia phil pringle
9:06	you know one of these false teachers
9:07	heretics he legitimately did a sermon
9:10	telling people that they need to start
9:13	right now
9:15	figuring out the blueprints for their
9:17	mansion in heaven
9:18	and he said that you know he wanted to
9:20	have a seven-bedroom mansion that was on
9:24	you know
9:25	near a dock and that he would also have
9:27	a yacht associated with and he was
9:28	encouraging people you got to start
9:30	thinking about what you want to do with
9:32	your mansion when you get to heaven
9:37	hearing something like that i can’t help
9:39	but do this and pray that lightning
9:41	doesn’t strike that fellow right
9:43	because this gospel text flies right
9:47	in the face of that insipid
9:51	really kind of under the surface
9:52	self-righteousness which is really a
9:54	form of idolatry and this
9:56	false belief that we are independent
9:59	from Christ and it shows up in strange
10:02	ways
10:03	think of it this way this is like a
10:05	litmus test and let me ask you have you
10:07	ever had a conversation with somebody
10:10	about
10:12	a person that you had heard
10:14	had on their deathbed or maybe a few
10:17	weeks before they died came to faith in
10:19	Jesus
10:21	have you ever heard those stories and
10:23	somebody’s when you tell the story to
10:25	somebody they go
10:26	you know
10:28	let’s not be too excited about this
10:31	all right because
10:32	you know i know you they said that they
10:35	believed in Jesus i know that you think
10:37	that they repented but we can’t really
10:39	be sure and then they’ll say something
10:41	like this i mean it’s kind of odd to
10:43	think that somebody can just live
10:46	and enjoy a life of sin and then on
10:48	their deathbed believe in Jesus and then
10:50	enjoy eternal life
10:52	and when you somebody talks like this
10:55	they don’t even recognize what they’re
10:57	doing but they’re revealing a lot about
10:59	themselves
11:01	enjoying a life of sin
11:05	do you know anybody having come to faith
11:08	in Christ looks at their life prior to
11:10	Christ and go it was the best thing ever
11:13	i was a formal kabuto later i was on
11:15	drugs it i was just completely strung
11:18	out all the time you know it was my life
11:21	was awesome does anyone talk this way
11:24	i don’t know anybody who does and the
11:26	reason is this sin isn’t freedom
11:30	sin is slavery
11:32	and when somebody comes to true penitent
11:34	faith in Christ even on their deathbed
11:38	they recognize that they have sinned
11:40	against god and they are receiving from
11:43	Christ salvation by grace through faith
11:47	apart from works and here’s the best
11:49	part somebody who’s done that who has a
11:51	death bed conversion
11:53	there’s no way for them to rack up a
11:55	bunch of brownie points it’s kind of
11:57	scandalous if you think about it in fact
11:59	isn’t that exactly what happened to that
12:01	thief on the cross
12:03	i mean this guy
12:04	he’s a thief he’s being punished for his
12:07	thievery
12:08	and he
12:09	on his deathbed which is a cross
12:12	mere hours before he dies
12:15	and he had the luxury of having his legs
12:17	broken in order that he could die a
12:18	little bit quicker
12:20	right he says to Jesus remember me when
12:22	you come in your kingdom and Jesus sits
12:24	there and goes well you know you can’t
12:25	expect to get into heaven now i mean
12:27	you’ve lived an entire life enjoying sin
12:29	i i can’t expect you can’t expect me to
12:31	do anything for you here
12:33	what does Jesus say today he’ll be with
12:34	me in paradise
12:36	and that’s kind of the issue here so in
12:39	our gospel text if you think about
12:41	what’s going on here the vineyard is the
12:44	church
12:45	and there are people who come to faith
12:48	in Christ at different times of their
12:51	life some as children
12:53	some
12:54	as adults some is in mid-life and some
12:57	people as the sun is getting ready to
13:00	set
13:01	and you’re going to note here
13:03	that in Christ we are all equal
13:05	there is no such thing as super
13:07	salvation you do you know what i’m
13:08	saying there’s salvation and we are all
13:12	receivers of salvation by the
13:14	graciousness the kindness the generosity
13:16	of Christ so here’s here’s the parable
13:19	the kingdom of heaven
13:20	is like a master Jesus says and note the
13:22	emphasis it’s like a master who’s this
13:24	about this is about Jesus because Jesus
13:27	is the master it’s like a master of a
13:29	house who went out early in the morning
13:31	to hire laborers for his vineyard after
13:33	agreeing with the laborers for daenerys
13:35	a day he sent them into his vineyard and
13:38	going out about the third hour he saw
13:40	others standing idle in the marketplace
13:43	and to them he said and listen to the
13:45	words
13:46	you go in the vineyard too and
13:47	whatever’s right i’ll give you
13:49	give give
13:51	salvation is a gift so they went and
13:53	going out again about the sixth hour and
13:55	the ninth hour he did the same and about
13:58	the 11th hour he went out and found
14:00	others standing and he said to them
14:02	why do you stand here idle all day
14:05	this is the idleness of sin right and so
14:08	he said to them
14:10	well because no one’s hired us and he
14:12	said to them you go into the vineyard
14:14	too now those guys showing up at the
14:16	11th hour now we have to note that if
14:18	this parable were told today they didn’t
14:20	actually work a full hour because union
14:22	rules make it clear they get a five
14:23	minute smoke break before they get
14:25	started you know i just just want to
14:27	make that clear so they only work for 55
14:29	minutes so all of that being said all of
14:32	that being said
14:34	those guys who came in at the 11th hour
14:38	are they expecting a full day’s wage
14:41	no
14:42	they’re not and so what they receive
14:45	from the master it truly shows up then
14:48	as what a gift and so when evening came
14:52	the owner of the vineyard said to the
14:53	foreman you call the laborers and pay
14:55	them their wages because uh beginning
14:57	with the last and up to the first so the
14:59	guys who come in at the 11th hour we’ve
15:01	only worked 55 minutes when those hired
15:04	about the 11th hour came each of them
15:05	received a denarius a full
15:09	day’s wage
15:11	no way and you can hear the guys all
15:13	over the back of the line the guys who
15:14	came in first they’re going dude
15:17	the master’s paying a denarius an hour
15:20	no he’s not
15:22	there’s no such thing as super salvation
15:23	there’s salvation and we’re all equal in
15:26	Christ all right so
15:29	they received a denarius that the guys
15:31	worked for 55 minutes and on receiving
15:33	it they grumbled at the master of the
15:34	house
15:35	right hang on those who were hired at
15:38	the 11th hour came got it now when those
15:40	hired first came they thought that they
15:41	would receive more but each of them
15:43	received a denarius and on receiving it
15:45	they grumbled at the master of the house
15:47	saying these last worked only one hour
15:50	you’ve made them equal to us and we’ve
15:52	borne the burden of the day in the
15:53	scorching heat
16:01	let me ask you a question all right
16:04	coming back to that statement that
16:06	person has lived a life of sin
16:09	how many of you have not lived a life of
16:11	sin
16:13	this week yesterday this month last
16:16	month last year
16:17	you’ll note that you know i have it on
16:20	authority good record here in fact we
16:22	can even check the video
16:24	every week here you guys say these words
16:26	i confess that i am by nature sinful and
16:28	unclean
16:30	sin against you and thought word indeed
16:32	right
16:33	are we not all equal
16:35	in Christ
16:38	we are
16:39	and when we recognize that
16:43	then we have the ability to do what the
16:45	angels do when any sinner repents
16:48	and that’s to rejoice
16:50	rejoice when any sinner is brought to
16:53	repentance in Christ but rather than
16:55	being
16:56	well joyful slack-jawed exuberant
16:59	glorifying the master saying wow
17:02	you are so generous you are so kind
17:05	they’re upset because they feel like
17:07	they’ve been cheated
17:09	we’re better than them
17:12	what’s your point
17:13	and you can see here that this is not
17:15	talking about the rewards that Christ
17:18	gives to people this is talking about
17:21	salvation
17:22	all right and if salvation were by works
17:26	for real then you would expect a
17:28	different amount of pay for each of the
17:30	different workers but in salvation it’s
17:33	all the same for everybody
17:35	so he replied to them hey buddies
17:37	i’m doing you no wrong did you not agree
17:39	with me for a denarius take what belongs
17:41	to you and go i choose to give this last
17:43	workers i gave to you am i not allowed
17:46	to
17:47	to do what i choose with what belongs to
17:50	me or do you begrudge my generosity and
17:53	then we hear these words the last will
17:55	be first and the first will be last this
17:58	is this is always pointing out to that
18:00	insipid
18:02	arrogance and conceit that runs within
18:04	our sinful natures right this is a
18:07	warning against that way of thinking of
18:09	thinking independently of somehow
18:11	thinking you know what i’ve got myself
18:13	together here i’ve figured it out i
18:16	don’t really need you Jesus anymore and
18:18	thanks holy spirit for explaining to me
18:20	how it’s done but i don’t need your help
18:22	anymore i’m i’m good
18:24	this is a person who then takes the
18:26	fruit of the spirit and the obedience
18:28	that Christ works in us through the
18:30	spirit by giving us the ability to
18:33	mortify our sinful flesh bear fruit in
18:35	keeping with repentance and then us
18:37	glorifying ourselves and taking credit
18:39	for it and then even worse ex we start
18:42	working on our mansion in heaven and
18:43	then the the floor plan and and the
18:46	interior and all that kind of stuff this
18:48	is
18:49	as soon as you do this
18:51	you know Christ is warning you the first
18:53	will be last the last will be first in
18:56	fact a good way to think about it
18:58	okay yeah it’s true crisis i go to
19:00	prepare a place for you
19:02	i have no idea what my place would look
19:05	like but i can tell you one thing for
19:06	certain
19:07	absolutely certain i don’t deserve a
19:10	newspaper and a park bench in jerusalem
19:13	in the new city at all
19:15	what i deserve as an eternity in hell
19:18	same with you and same with me
19:20	so for me to somehow start working out
19:22	my reward and just kind of thinking all
19:23	about that
19:25	shows that what am i what have i done
19:26	i’m trusting in myself
19:29	to save myself it’s i’m falling back
19:32	into works righteousness it’s here then
19:34	that the words of our epistle text would
19:37	do well to give us warning and pause in
19:40	first corinthians 10
19:42	paul writes i don’t want you to be
19:43	unaware brothers that our fathers were
19:45	all under the cloud and they all passed
19:47	the sea and they were all baptized into
19:49	moses in the cloud and in the sea and
19:51	they ate the same spiritual food they
19:53	all drank from the same spiritual rock
19:55	and
19:57	the same spiritual drink they drank from
19:59	the spiritual rock that followed them
20:00	and the rock was Christ nevertheless
20:02	with most of them god was not pleased
20:03	they were overthrown in the wilderness
20:05	now these things took place as examples
20:08	for us
20:09	so that we might not desire evil as they
20:12	did and we need to pay close attention
20:14	to this because when we think about evil
20:17	we think about okay sex drugs and rock
20:19	and roll right as long as i just avoid
20:20	that i’m good oh
20:23	yeah um those are on the list for sure
20:25	you know that’s in galatians 5.
20:28	but
20:29	evil desiring evil if you if you really
20:32	want to talk about the heart of evil
20:34	satan is the ultimate egotist he’s a
20:37	narcissist he’s all about me myself and
20:40	i me me me me i i right
20:43	we are most like the devil when we
20:46	desire that same self-focused conceit
20:50	and self-glorification beware then
20:54	so he says do
20:56	not
20:56	be
20:57	idolaters
20:59	and it’s really scary because our sinful
21:03	nature
21:04	wants
21:05	to be
21:06	the focus
21:07	wants to be in charge wants to dethrone
21:10	Christ and self-idolatry is a real thing
21:14	and everybody who is self righteous
21:17	is a self idolater to the core it’s it
21:20	well they’re little satanists if you
21:22	would and i know it’s hard to think that
21:24	way but it’s true
21:25	so don’t be idolaters as some of them
21:27	were as it is written people sat down to
21:30	eat and drink and rose up to play we
21:31	must not indulge in sexual immorality as
21:34	some of them did and 23 000 fell in a
21:37	single day we must not put Christ to the
21:40	test as some of them did they were
21:41	destroyed by serpents nor grumble as
21:44	some of them did and were destroyed by
21:46	the destroyer now these things happen to
21:48	them as an example but they were written
21:51	down for our instruction on whom the end
21:54	of the ages has come therefore let
21:56	anyone who thinks that he stands take
21:59	heed lest he fall
22:04	you never get to say i got it figured
22:06	out i worked it out in fact i’m no
22:08	longer down here with you mere
22:11	Christians i’m now a glow-in-the-dark
22:13	Christian
22:15	right as soon as you start thinking this
22:16	way you have fallen hard
22:20	let anyone who thinks he stands take
22:22	heed
22:23	lest he fall
22:25	so brothers and sisters as we begin our
22:28	journey towards easter you’ll note that
22:30	we have that fancy latin name for
22:33	today’s sunday septuagina right but
22:36	basically roughly translated we’re 70
22:38	days out from easter but you can see
22:40	that we’ve already begun to make the
22:42	turn
22:43	to begin to think about our own need for
22:46	repentance
22:47	so search your heart
22:49	and ask yourself
22:50	am i self-reliant
22:52	am i in love with the reward
22:55	rather than loving the one who bled and
22:58	died for me
23:00	so that he can give me the reward am i
23:03	high on my own
23:06	self-righteousness have i become
23:08	independent
23:10	this is always the problem this is
23:12	idolatry so let us again humbly confess
23:16	our sins to god let us come to him and
23:19	say
23:20	with the apostle paul this is a
23:22	trustworthy saying Christ died for
23:23	sinners of whom i am the chief
23:26	chief of sinner zo i be Jesus shed his
23:28	blood for me
23:30	shed his blood for you so let’s repent
23:33	of that really sneaky satanic subtle
23:37	self-righteousness
23:39	because that will send us to hell every
23:41	bit as much as drunkenness sexual
23:43	immorality and just fornicabutilating
23:46	like you wouldn’t believe it’s all the
23:48	same thing and yeah we are all equal we
23:51	are all equal to Christ even if we come
23:53	to Christ while we are getting ready to
23:55	breathe our last breath but sin is not
23:58	something that we get to enjoy sin is
24:01	something that is horrible
24:03	something that we are ashamed of
24:04	something that Christ has bled and died
24:06	for
24:07	i think you get the point
24:08	the last will be first and the first
24:11	will be last in the name of Jesus
24:14	amen

If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax-free donation to: Kongsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th Ave NW, Oslo, MN 56744 We thank you for your support. All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message, and, again, thank you for listening.