The fifth chapter of the book of Isaiah tells the story of a man who planted a vineyard on a very fertile hillside. He took care to fence it in to protect it from pests, cleared away any stones, and planted the best seedlings. In other words, he did everything within his power to ensure that the vineyard would produce a healthy harvest. In the end, however, rather than produce the best grapes, the vineyard produced “wild” (common) grapes. In other words, they were ordinary; there was nothing special about them. In short, they were not an adequate return on his investment. He gave them the best he had and they returned mediocrity to him.
The end of the story is that the dresser of the vineyard decided to abandon his work. He determined to take away the protective hedge and wall and allow the ground to go untended. He even went so far as to prophesy a drought!
How much are we returning on the investment God has made in us? What fruit are we producing, worthy of the sacrifice He made to save our souls?
Text: John 1:19-21, 35-41
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Three questions were asked in our text:
A. Who are you? (In verse 19; their other questions ins verse 21 were variations of this same question)
B. What are you seeking? (In verse 38)
C. Where do you live? (In verse 38)
As we cut the grass and trimmed the bushes at our new location in Mauldin, SC last weekend, I was reminded that planting a new church isn’t easy. Anyone who’s ever tried it can attest to this fact. When you examine the history of many great churches today, you find that “overnight” success often took months and in many cases years to be realized. The struggles with discouragement and, in some cases, opposition are more than many pastors can bear, and after the initial euphoria and excitement wear off many decide that it’s just too much work to carry on.
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