WEBVTT 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:16.565 This is the Sandals Church Podcast, a place for real people with real struggles learning to follow Jesus. Wherever you are right now, driving, working, or trying to make it through the day, we are really glad you're here. Let's get into today's message. 00:00:21.045 --> 00:00:38.210 So I was working out of the gym, obviously. And we have this we have this weird machine at our gym, and it's the one machine I don't like because there are four cables attached to it. So there's somebody on this side of a pole. There's somebody on this side of the pole. There's somebody on this side of the pole, and we're all way too close. 00:00:38.210 --> 00:00:48.305 Can I get an amen? Like, it's like, can you be sweaty over there? And so I was in the position where it's the seated row. So I'm pulling the cable. So I'm lower than everybody else. 00:00:48.305 --> 00:01:05.520 And as I'm seated pulling the row, the woman next to me who's pulling the equipment down like this says, are you pastor Matt? And I go, here we go. I'm vulnerable, I'm lower than she is, she can attack me from where she is. And she said, I went to your church. And she said, you said God is good. 00:01:06.080 --> 00:01:31.460 She said, I wanna know why I can't have a baby and everybody else can. I mean, was fiercely upset and rightfully so. Some of you have battled infertility and you know how frustrating that is. You know how hard it is to watch everybody else get their heart's desire. We've all had that moment when we look at something that God has put in someone else's hand and we look at what's in our hand and we say, that's not fair. 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:49.975 Today, I wanna talk to you about when life feels unfair. Because many of you, if you don't feel this way, gonna be somebody that challenges you. If God is good, why is life this way? And so here's what's amazing. The disciples have this very same question for Jesus. 00:01:50.680 --> 00:02:05.815 The rich man comes to Jesus and says, what must I do to attain eternal life? And Jesus says, sell all that you have and come and follow me. And he's like, nope, I got plans. And the disciples say, we've sold everything. We gave up everything to follow you. 00:02:05.815 --> 00:02:29.330 Listen to this question, what's in it for us? And Jesus turns and tells one of the most convicting stories for those of us who call ourselves Christians in the entire Bible. Let's open our Bibles to Matthew twenty:nine-sixteen. So let me catch you up. Jesus tells this story. 00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:41.145 Peter's got this great question. What's in it for us? And Jesus answers with these words. Listen very carefully. Many who are first will be last. 00:02:42.585 --> 00:02:59.375 Many who are first will be last. And then he jumps into this story. There was a landowner, a vineyard owner, somebody of means, somebody of wealth. And they were looking for workers to work in their field. And so they went out early in the morning, 6AM. 00:02:59.455 --> 00:03:18.170 And they found workers and they agreed to a price, a denarii, which was a day's wage in Jesus' time. Do you agree to work for me all day for denarii? Absolutely. And they signed on and they went to work. That same landowner came around later 09:00, three hours later, he found some workers and he said, do you wanna work? 00:03:18.170 --> 00:03:26.170 And they said, absolutely. He said, I'll do right by you. And then later at noon, same thing. He found workers. Do you guys wanna work? 00:03:26.170 --> 00:03:39.615 Absolutely. I'll do right by you. And then at 03:00, the same thing. And then at 05:00, eleven hours into the day, he comes back by and he sees workers who have not been hired. He says, why aren't you working? 00:03:39.615 --> 00:03:55.560 And they said, nobody hired us. He said, come on, I'll take care of you. And that's where the story picks up. Matthew chapter 20 verses 19 through 16. The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarii. 00:03:55.895 --> 00:04:28.075 The exact amount that the workers who got there at 6AM, they got the same pay as them who showed up at 5PM. So they worked eleven hours less and they got the exact same wage that was promised to the first person who showed up. So when those who came that were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them received only a denarii. And when they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 00:04:28.795 --> 00:04:57.335 These men who were hired last, they worked only one hour they said, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. But the landowner answered them, I am not being unfair to you friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarii? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 00:04:57.335 --> 00:05:21.215 Don't I have the right to do what I can with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? And then listen to how the phrase changes. So the last will be first and the first will be last. In order to practice gratitude, I gotta do a couple things. 00:05:21.535 --> 00:05:33.230 Number one, I want you to write this down. I gotta stop keeping score. Raise your head if you're a sports fan. Okay, do you know what team checks the scoreboard? The team losing. 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:44.510 The team that's winning doesn't have to look at the scoreboard. You know why? They're winning. Losers look at the scoreboard. Listen to me, if you're a Christian and you're looking at the scoreboard, you're losing. 00:05:45.215 --> 00:06:03.510 You're not winning. You're not exercising your victory in your faith. Matthew twenty twelve, they said, These who were hired last, they worked only one hour they said, and you have made them equal to us. How dare you bless someone like that? You made them equal to us. 00:06:03.910 --> 00:06:20.005 Those who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. Listen to me, their math is right, but their heart is wrong. So where are you keeping score married people? You wanna talk about how to lose your marriage, keep score. Well, I took out the trash. 00:06:20.005 --> 00:06:30.050 I did the dishes. I got up with the kid. I, I, I, right? I mean, we all do this. Some of you, you feel like marriage should be fifty fifty. 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:35.090 That's how you get divorced. Marriage is a 100 a 100. Amen? All the time. You're all in until death do you part. 00:06:35.090 --> 00:06:52.955 There's no escaping. How about ministry? You've served for years at the church and someone new showed up and got the platform. How about family? You got that idiot brother or sister? 00:06:54.570 --> 00:07:17.805 You hear the laughter in here? Obviously, the idiots aren't with us. And then all of a sudden, they decide to get sober and your parents throw a party for them and they've never given a party for you. You see the math is right, but your heart is wrong. This is what happened to the prodigal son's older brother. 00:07:17.805 --> 00:07:36.970 Dad, you never slaughtered an animal for me. And the older brother missed the whole point. The whole point of God is having all of his children home, amen? That's the whole point. Listen to me, the ledger feels righteous, but it's what Jesus wants to expose in your life. 00:07:38.405 --> 00:07:53.450 First Corinthians thirteen:four through five, love is patient and kind. Some of you are already like, man, don't love anybody then. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud. How are we doing? Just gets worse from here. 00:07:53.610 --> 00:08:03.050 Or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable. Look at this. And it keeps no record of being wronged. 00:08:07.375 --> 00:08:26.610 Man, you're married, keep a record of when the other person gets it right. If you're raising kids, catch them doing it right. And you're really gonna have to watch. Because so much of parenting is correcting. And if you over correct, your child revolts against your voice. 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:44.265 You gotta catch them doing it right. And for some of you, you gotta really, really, really, really fish to catch it. Amen? But if your heart is full of records of wrongs, it is empty of grace. Empty the ledger today and fill up on Jesus. 00:08:44.505 --> 00:09:00.360 Just let that sit in for a second. I don't know that I have been more convicted by a sermon. I actually, when I was preparing this, I thought, God, somebody else should preach this. This is good stuff. And the Lord's like, I know, why don't you live it? 00:09:03.295 --> 00:09:22.370 Why don't we all live this? In order to practice gratitude, I need to enjoy my wage without comparing it to others. You know why every young person is miserable? Because they see everybody else's vacation. When I was a kid, I don't ever remember seeing anyone else on vacation. 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:33.415 When they were on vacation, they had vacated the premises and we did not see it. I don't remember anybody at school. This is me in Hawaii. This is me in Bali. This is me in Mexico. 00:09:34.695 --> 00:09:47.550 I don't remember any of that. When you vacationed, you you just vacated the property. Nobody knew if you were ever coming back. But now when we're stuck here, we're trapped here. We see everybody else enjoying their lives. 00:09:47.550 --> 00:10:05.465 And instead of enjoying our wage, we're bitter that theirs is better. Listen, friends. This is a real problem for us in California. I don't I don't like to talk politics, but there's a wealth tax on the ballot. And it's it's literally an envy initiative. 00:10:05.545 --> 00:10:18.240 It's saying we're angry at those who've earned more than us. And and and I don't like to challenge you, but I want to challenge you. Listen to me very carefully. 2% of our church. 2% of our church gives 50% of our offerings. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:32.235 What happens if the state runs off the 2%? We're in trouble. Maybe you're not, but I am. You know what I'm saying? We gotta be careful that we don't let envy direct our policy. 00:10:34.395 --> 00:10:52.370 We gotta be careful. We got too many people worried about what everybody else is making and they're not saying, okay, God, let me worry about me. I've got to enjoy my wage without comparing it to others. Notice Jesus intentionally started with the last first. Why did he do that? 00:10:52.930 --> 00:11:15.660 So that he could get to those who were first. So that he could reveal to them what the problem was. You see what Peter and the disciples are assuming is we're gonna get something really good because we were first. And Jesus is trying to teach them as a Christian, it's not about being first. It's not about order, it's about attitude. 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:39.700 Matthew twenty ten, When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. You see, agreed to the wage in the morning, nothing had changed except what they saw. Why are young people so miserable? Because of what they see. Everybody else is getting more. 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:58.915 Everybody else is getting more. I was in San Jose this week and I got picked up by a guy who has a startup company in San Jose. And I assumed he'd be a billionaire. And I was just thinking, you know, I might be able to talk to this guy about giving to Sandals And he shows up in this beater. I mean, you guys, my safety was on the line. 00:11:59.075 --> 00:12:09.090 I almost texted somebody to come get me. This guy's an MIT graduate. K? When he got admitted to MIT, they said, you can be a major in whatever you want. That's how smart he was. 00:12:09.170 --> 00:12:21.170 MIT, when they heard about Matt Brown, they said, Who? Right? This guy's brilliant. And he's starting a company doing research to cure Alzheimer's, which I'm hoping he does. My dad battles this. 00:12:22.115 --> 00:12:34.915 But I thought I was gonna get get in a car with Elon Musk. Instead, I got in a car that smelled like Musk. I I looked at him. His name is Sam. I said, Sam, get a new car. 00:12:40.180 --> 00:12:57.705 But here's the thing, listen to me young people, Sam is working a hundred hours a week. And Sam will one day probably be a billionaire. And there will be people that are envious of everything that he's accomplished in America. Do know where Sam is from? India. 00:12:57.705 --> 00:13:08.690 Do you know why he came to America? It's still the land of opportunity. Still the land of opportunity. He's working a hundred hours a week, driving a beater that I was ashamed to be seen in. I was just like, oh my gosh. 00:13:08.690 --> 00:13:31.470 This car made noises like landing gear in an airplane. I said, Sam, we're not landing. He said, you know I have a better car. I said, drive it the next time you pick me up. But here's the thing, Sam is putting in the work. 00:13:31.550 --> 00:13:43.710 I don't deserve to be envious of the outcome. Oh my gosh. I help these church planners. I'm on this board that helps church planners. We got these guys. 00:13:44.015 --> 00:13:54.895 They've worked a year and they already need a sabbatical. I'm in year 29. I'm still waiting for one. You know? They're like, yeah. 00:13:54.895 --> 00:14:08.890 It's been a tough three months. I'm like, you haven't even had service yet, bro. So these guys assumed they would receive more. They agreed to the wage in the morning. Nothing changed except what they saw. 00:14:09.035 --> 00:14:25.640 Here's why so many of you are miserable. Write this down, expectation minus my reality equals my bitterness. Here's why you're bitter in your marriage. You had ridiculous expectations. My wife thought I knew what I was doing when we got married. 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:45.495 So we need to clear that up right away. This is my first time. Never been married before. Some of you have been married multiple times and you're still not good at it. My expectation minus my reality equals my bitterness. 00:14:46.295 --> 00:15:11.975 Galatians six:four, pay careful attention to your own work. For then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. Some of you are wasting your entire life looking at someone else. On judgment day, you're the only one who will stand there. Tammy and I went to see Ella in concert and all these comments are like you and Ella fella? 00:15:11.975 --> 00:15:25.030 I'm like, no, I'm a Tammy's fella. That's why I was at the concert. I like Tammy not Ella, I'm Tammy's fella. And those of you who like country music, I don't wanna knock what you like. K? 00:15:25.030 --> 00:15:30.550 But people that write country songs need to bit... Make better choices. Amen? I'm just... I'm like, oh my gosh. 00:15:30.550 --> 00:15:44.155 You are bad at everything. So we went to Ella's concert. Right? And so I I wanted to be a good husband. So I was listening to her song so that I could sing along with Tammy and act like I knew what I was doing. 00:15:44.475 --> 00:15:57.210 So we're in the car on the way to the concert and we're we're listening to the song Be Her. And I'm just singing, you know, and Tammy turns down the music and she says, what are you saying? I said, I'm singing the song. She said, no. No. 00:15:57.210 --> 00:16:10.525 Sing what you think the lyrics are. And I said, I just wanna be hurt. I just wanna be hurt. I just wanna be hurt so bad. And she goes, that's what you think the song is about? 00:16:11.245 --> 00:16:22.550 That makes sense to me. I don't understand women at all, but that that's... That makes makes total sense to me. She goes, doesn't wanna be hurt. She wants to be her. 00:16:24.230 --> 00:16:38.185 The whole song is about Ella, a superstar, a bazillionaire wanting to be another woman. I said, ah, that makes sense. That makes sense. Isn't that sad that a hit song is really revealing what we all feel? I just wish I was someone else. 00:16:40.105 --> 00:16:50.840 Instead of wishing you had someone else's life, why don't you live the best version of your life? Quit quit getting online. Look at everybody else's marriage. Water your own grass. Amen? 00:16:50.840 --> 00:17:04.685 The grass is always greener where you water it. Not where you're sitting there. I wish someone would water my grass. Philippians four twelve. Paul says this, I have learned the secret of living in every situation. 00:17:04.685 --> 00:17:20.590 This is one of the most famous verses in the Bible and it's also one of the most misunderstood. I have learned the secret of living. Wow. What if we just stop there? If you're new to Sandals Church or new to Christianity, why do you wanna be a Christian? 00:17:20.590 --> 00:17:39.215 So you can learn the secret of living. Stop there. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Why? Here's the famous verse, Philippians four thirteen, For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. 00:17:41.130 --> 00:17:49.050 The secret of life is Jesus. Amen. That's the secret of life. It's not more stuff. It's more of Jesus. 00:17:49.370 --> 00:18:09.505 You see, Paul didn't learn contentment because his circumstances got better. He learned it because he stopped comparing them. He stopped comparing them. Contentment isn't getting what you want, it's receiving what you've been given as enough. Let me say that again. 00:18:10.520 --> 00:18:42.290 Contentment isn't getting what you want, it's receiving what you've been given as enough. The reason you are miserable is not that you haven't been given things, it's that you have not considered how blessed you are to have what you have. Means so many of you guys, you're miserable at the job that we prayed together that you would get. I would be so frustrated if I was God. Can you imagine you give somebody a job and they're like, I hate this job. 00:18:42.290 --> 00:18:49.810 I need another one. We just answered that prayer. If I was God, I would just wake up. No. No. 00:18:49.810 --> 00:18:58.505 No. No. And, you know. Alright. You ready to be convicted? 00:18:58.665 --> 00:19:19.400 I don't think you are. I wasn't ready for this one. In order to practice gratitude, I need to cheer on other people's blessings. The landowner says, don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Here's where so many Americans are today. 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:38.320 We are so convicted about what others should do with their money. But we don't want anyone to challenge us with what we do with ours. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Here's what Jesus is saying, is God God or are you God? Look at this verse. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:58.845 Or are you envious because I am generous? I used to think I was a pretty good speaker. And then they invented this thing called the Internet. And you know what I realized? God has got a lot of good talkers out there. 00:19:59.485 --> 00:20:12.850 I thought it was just... I thought I was the only one. Turns out, He's blessed a lot of people. Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but he blesses people. And it doesn't always feel fair. 00:20:12.850 --> 00:20:25.235 Sometimes the woman who would be the greatest mom is the one who struggles with infertility the most. Man, it doesn't make sense, but here's what God is saying. Look, I'm gonna bless who I bless and I'm gonna do what I do because I'm God. Are you good with that? And here's where some of us are. 00:20:25.235 --> 00:20:41.840 We're not good with that. We think God owes us an explanation when God says, you owe me your obedience. Let me give you verse 15 in the Greek. This is scary. It's really hard to translate this sentence from Greek into English. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:21:05.000 So the way it's translated in our Bibles is, are you envious because I am generous? Are you ready for it in Greek? Is your eye evil because I am good? Now here's the here's the thing about envy, it's sneaky. Envy is actually one of the few sins you don't have to act on. 00:21:06.760 --> 00:21:34.530 You just feel it to do it. Isn't that crazy? Man, so many of you, you think you're so righteous, but you wrestle with the same sin that made Satan fall. If envy can sink an angel, what can it do to you? They agreed in the morning. 00:21:34.530 --> 00:21:49.215 Yeah, absolutely. I'll go to work for days wait, that's fair. But when they saw him be good to someone else, then they thought he wasn't fair. What some of you are labeling injustice is just envy. It's envy. 00:21:51.135 --> 00:22:09.460 And let me just settle this for all of our young people. Life is not fair. It's not fair. And we need to quit lying to our kids telling them it should be because it's making them miserable. It's not fair. 00:22:13.545 --> 00:22:22.825 We tell our kids, you can be anything you wanna be. That's a lie. My son wanted to play basketball. I said, look at your mom. Look at your dad. 00:22:23.610 --> 00:22:36.250 This is what we have to work with. Right? It's not in the genetics plan. Now you can coach. You can coach because we're talkers, but you will not get paid to play. 00:22:39.305 --> 00:23:04.120 Is your eye evil because I am good. Isn't it sad? And I don't mean to pick on that poor woman that confronted me at the gym. Honestly, my heart goes out to her and her pain. But isn't it interesting, what made the pain unbearable was not that she couldn't get pregnant, it was watching others have the baby. 00:23:05.320 --> 00:23:26.030 That's what made it unbearable. And a lot of us are there. And this is where life is. You all have friends that don't tithe, you know they don't give to the church and they got promoted and you lost your job. God, you all have friends that don't drink, don't smoke, love Jesus, go to church and they got cancer and died at 45. 00:23:26.030 --> 00:23:36.065 God, here's what God is saying. I'm running a play. I'm God here. Are you gonna trust me or not? Because that's what Peter's saying. 00:23:36.065 --> 00:23:51.230 Hey, we're sacrificing. We wanna know, do we get our blessings now or not? And what he says is, hey, many here who are first will be last and some who are last will be first. You need to wait until the final moments to see the outcome. But we don't want that. 00:23:51.230 --> 00:24:32.475 We don't want heaven, we want now. You see envy looks at God's goodness to someone else and calls it a problem. I recently watched, I was scrolling through the internet, a well known pastor, this guy's way more famous than I could ever hope to be. Blew up his marriage, got into drugs, destroyed his life. He got a book deal this week, a national platform and more celebrity than I could ever hope to attain. 00:24:34.635 --> 00:25:02.025 I got dropped by my publisher this week. Anybody wonder why God had me write this sermon this week? When I saw him doing an interview, my first thought was not, but by the grace of God, there go I. I was transformed back into a five year old. That's not fair. 00:25:02.105 --> 00:25:09.145 It's not fair. It's not fair. Anybody got multiple kids? You hear that all the time. My son used to say that. 00:25:09.145 --> 00:25:19.780 It's not fair. My sister's got more food. I'm like, they're twice your size. It's not fair. You see, I did the math. 00:25:19.780 --> 00:25:37.795 Thirty years, zero affairs. And he gets the microphone. He gets the book deal. You see that's the vineyard worker in me standing at the end of the day with my denaries staring at somebody else's. And if that can happen to me, your pastor, has it happened to you? 00:25:39.710 --> 00:26:01.635 Romans twelve fifteen, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Can I just confess? I think we're a lot better at mourning with people than we are at rejoicing with people. If that pastor had come to Sandals Church and wanted help, you know what I had done? Helped him. 00:26:01.955 --> 00:26:30.325 Loved him. I got no problem helping him through his sin. I had the problem celebrating his blessing. You see real friends, don't just sit with you and cry when you lose, but they celebrate when you win. In order to practice gratitude, I need to constantly remind myself of when I got hired. 00:26:33.285 --> 00:26:46.710 He said, we've given up everything to follow you. Peter says, Matthew nineteen twenty seven. What will we get? You see, here's my guess. You've been listening to this sermon. 00:26:46.710 --> 00:27:13.080 You've been listening to me tell this story and you're hearing it the same way I do. You see, we all put ourselves in the position of the all day worker, but you're not and neither am I. Here's the point of the story. We all showed up at 05:00. We all had nothing in our hands and we got a full day's wage. 00:27:13.080 --> 00:27:39.650 Let me just lay out what you've been given. Forgiveness, adoption, eternity. Grateful people never forget when they got hired. Miserable people talk about the sun and the work all day long. Some of you need to repent and empty yourself of bitterness and comparison today. 00:27:40.130 --> 00:28:03.310 And in to invite the teaching of Jesus into your heart. But hold on, here's the beauty of this story. Some of you need to see that the landowner was looking for workers five times. He wasn't lazy about hiring, he was relentless about reaching. Some of you have been standing on the edge of the vineyard for years. 00:28:03.310 --> 00:28:24.545 You've heard the invitation. You've been waiting for a better hour, a better you, a cleaner start, a version of yourself that's not ready yet. Listen to me, there's no ready version. The one hour worker had nothing to offer but his presence and that was enough. God just wants you. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:44.785 Second Corinthians six:two, Indeed, the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation. Two invitations today. Some of you need to ask God for His grace through Jesus. And some of you need to give God's grace to someone else. 00:28:45.025 --> 00:28:57.150 Are we a people of grace or not? Yes. That's who God wants us to be. And what He's trying to tell Peter is, You don't get it. You don't get it. 00:28:57.790 --> 00:29:12.075 Listen to me, some of you who are first will be last. And some of you who are last will be first. This is the kingdom of God, get over it. Because you're not God and neither am I. The rewards come out later. 00:29:12.475 --> 00:29:23.930 The story ends later. Right now we're called to be faithful workers who check our hearts. Amen. Let's pray. Father help us to be faithful workers. 00:29:23.930 --> 00:29:50.644 Lord, I just confess to our church. I needed this sermon more than anybody else this week. God change our hearts. Let us fill up with grace and drop the ledger. And Lord, for those who are not saved, who do not know Jesus, let us come to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the one who forgives us even in the final hour, Not because of what we've done, but because of everything he did. 00:29:50.804 --> 00:29:55.044 Bless us with this truth today in Jesus name and all God's people said, amen.