God Invites Us to Join Him in His Work

Scripture: Matthew 21:33g-34

He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.  When the grape harvest drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit.

Insights:  Yesterday we observed that God is always at work in the world.  Today we are going to recognize another Henry Blackaby point from Experiencing God.  That aspect is God invites us to join Him in His work.  In today’s verses notice the landowner, who is God, leases out the vineyard to be farmed.  In a nut shell this rental agreement is like God inviting humanity to join Him in His mission.  We will touch more on this point later in the week, but notice the landowner’s expectations are already present in today’s verses.  God, the landowner, expects the vines to bear fruit.  How do we recognize God’s work in the world?  Well, we do it by getting to know Him.  The better we know God the better equipped we will be to recognize His activity.  We get to know God by spending time with Him and specifically in His word, the Bible, and prayer.  Other venues we utilize to know God better is worship services and small group Bible studies.  Let me use one example to drive this point home.  Imagine you are at work and a coworker starts talking about spiritual things.  Now, you know this coworker does not attend church and by all evidence his/her fruit does not bear witness to God in his/her life.  Yet, as I stated earlier, they begin talking about spiritual things.  This moment IS your invitation from God to join Him in His work.  Why do we know this to be true?  Because God is drawing on his/her heart right that moment.  The Bible tells us, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”  This verse is found in John 6:44 and it is Jesus talking about how God draws people to Him.  Notice that no one comes to Jesus unless God draws on his/her heart.  So, if your coworker is asking spiritual questions, you know that God is doing a drawing work on his/her heart.  It is now your responsibility to recognize what God is doing and join Him in His work.  One last thought, God never contradicts Scripture.  The more you read the Bible, the better equipped you are to recognize God’s activity.  Strive to know God and then obey Him by joining Him in His work.

Questions:

1. Have you observed where God is working in the proximity of your life?
2. Have you resolved to join Him in His work?

Prayer: Lord, You are Lord!  I desire to be an obedient servant of Your will.  Open my eyes and help me to be sensitive to Your work.  Amen.