1
|
|
God Wants Good Grapes
|
2
|
|
Bible verse : Isaiah
5:2 (NIV)
He dug
it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit
|
3
|
|
There was a man who owned a
vineyard on a fertile hill.
This man wanted to harvest fresh and delicious grapes.
So he worked hard on the vineyard.
|
4
|
|
And
he took the best grape seeds and sown them on the ground.
The farmer also built a tall tower in the center of the vineyard.
He also built a strong fence to prevent animals from entering the vineyard
and ruining the crops.
|
5
|
|
The
farmer did the best he could. In order for the vine to grow well and bear
good fruit without any problems, the farmer took good care of the vine and
did everything good for it.
|
6
|
|
It
is finally time to harvest the long-awaited grapes.
The farmer approached the vineyard with great anticipation.
And he picked one of the grapes that looked most appetizing.
|
7
|
|
He
put the fruit in his mouth and began to enjoy it.
Did the farmer really want such delicious grapes?
|
8
|
|
The
expression of the farmer who ate the grapes soon became distorted.
The grapes, which seemed fresh and sweet on the outside, were actually wild
grapes with a bitter taste. The farmer spat out the grapes.
And he could not understand why the wild grapes had grown.
|
9
|
|
The angry farmer said: ¡°This vineyard no longer means
anything to me.
Now I will break down all the fences in this vineyard and let the beasts do
as they please.¡±
|
10
|
|
The
towers of the vineyard were demolished, and the fence that protected the vineyard
was destroyed. The vineyards that did not produce good fruit soon began to
turn into bad soil. Beasts came here and destroyed all the vines.
|
11
|
|
Today's story is recorded in the
book of Isaiah in the Bible.
This story is about the Israelites who received God's grace and were
protected from all Satan's attacks as God protected them with a fence.
|
12
|
|
God
expected very good fruits from the Israelites. Because God protected them
with love, made them victorious in wars, and kept their lives with good
things, God expected them to bear good fruits.
|
13
|
|
However, the
Israelites acted completely different from God's expectations.
Those in high positions used their power to harass the weak. Religious
leaders loved money more than God and did evil things that failed to properly
convey the word of God to the people.
|
14
|
|
They failed to bear the beautiful
fruit that God wants.
They bore fruit that God could not eat at all because of bitterness.
God said he would no longer protect Israel.
|
15
|
|
Israel,
not protected by God, was soon trampled and destroyed by neighboring
countries. They suffered this because they did not bear the good fruit that
God wants them to.
|
16
|
|
We
too are like the vines of this vineyard. God sent his one and only son to
this earth for us, and through the death of his son on the cross, we are
saved.
God watches over us like a vineyard, expecting us to bear good fruit.
|
17
|
|
But
we too can break God's heart and bear bitter vines.
We who believe in Jesus must seek the help of the Holy Spirit every day in
order not to fall into the wrong life, and when we obey the guidance of the
Holy Spirit, we will not fall into the same sins as the Israelites.
I hope that you will always be wonderful children of faith who bear good
fruits by walking with the Holy Spirit.
|
(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
|