Revival and the Lease on Your Life

So, the gospel lesson is the place of our focus this morning.

If you follow along with the daily text, you may be thinking, “Preacher, that’s not Sunday’s reading.” You’re right; it’s not Sunday’s reading. It was Wednesday’s reading. That’s when the Lord got hold of me and said, “Here it is. Here’s where I want you to be.”

I did not fully understand what the Lord was doing until about 9:45 this morning, when He allowed me to see the puzzle pieces He has been putting together.

He had me remember that two Sundays ago, the word He brought to us was basically, “Where do you stand with God? Are you saved or are you not?” If you are saved, are you in good relationship with Him, or have you distanced yourself from the One who saved you? Where are you?

Last Sunday, we were reminded that God calls us to something. He calls us, equips us, gifts us, and provides places for us. He calls our hearts to do something in His work. He calls each of us to witness and to work for Him. The question was asked, “What are you doing with God’s call in your life?” We gave another invitation.

Today it is evident to me that this is the third message in a series that Jesus is giving to His church as a call to revival. Consider what He has given you on this day, and consider what you will do with it. Because I believe that, after today is done—should the Lord take me out, or make me unable to speak again, or whatever may come—you will have heard in these three messages what you need to hear and respond to.

Our scripture today is the parable of the tenants.

Verse 45 says, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them.” Was Jesus speaking only to them, or is He casting a broader net? As always, when Jesus speaks to others in the Scriptures, it is not just for that person or group. His word casts a broader net to us all. His word is for all of us.

This is what I notice in this parable: it is set up almost like a legal case. In worldly terms, it would be a legal case.

Verse 33 says: “There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants.” That word “leased” is a legal term. If you’ve ever leased a car, you know you’re giving something in return for the use of that car. For a specified period and for a specified amount, you enter into a legally binding agreement.

This man bought land, built the farm, built the winery, got it up and running, and leased it to others. Now there is an agreement in place. But a lease is always a temporary arrangement. A lease is never permanent.

Verse 34 brings us further into this legal picture: “When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.” Whenever there is a lease, there is an obligation. You have a right to use the property, but you also have an obligation. The obligation of these tenants was to produce a portion of the fruit raised on that leased land for the landlord.

If the tenant does not fulfill the obligation, then the lease is broken.

We live in a temporary state in this world. We should realize that. God has taken our soul and put it into a body of clay that will not, in this form, be a permanent thing. We are tenants—tenants in this world. It could be said that we live in terms of a lease.

As Christians, the “term” of our lease has been paid at great cost—in the blood of Jesus Christ. It has been paid. But just because it has been paid does not remove our responsibility to fulfill the terms of this lease of life that we live. Are we fulfilling the terms of the lease?

Now, if you do not fulfill the terms of a lease, what will happen? If you don’t fulfill the terms but you continue to hold on to what you have leased, and still refuse to meet the obligations, someone is going to be sent to your door to either collect or to take back the property. You will not retain what rightly belongs to the owner if you refuse to fulfill the lease.

Listen to what these tenants did. Verse 34 again: “When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’”

Do you know what those tenants were really saying? They were saying, “It’s not yours anymore. It’s ours. You have no claim to it now. I don’t care what you do or who you send.”

I think many people in this world—even in the church—take that same attitude: “It’s my life. I’ll do with it as I want, regardless of what you say. I’m going to live my life the way I want to live it.”

Verse 38 says, “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” They did away with him. “We don’t want any part of him. If we can do away with the heir, if we can put the son away, then it will be mine, all mine.”

I think a lot of folks treat Jesus in that manner. “If I can just get Him a little bit outside my life, I don’t have to worry about how I’m living. If I can move Him just a little further out, I don’t have to worry about serving Him as He has called me to serve. If I can just get Him away—by not reading my Bible as I ought, by not praying as I ought, by not going to church as I ought—if I can create that distance between the Son and me, then I can have my life just the way I want it to be.”

That attitude affects both the saved and the unsaved.

You want evidence? If everyone who is on the church roll and says they love Jesus were here, this church would almost be full. If everyone on the roll who says they love Jesus were actively reaching out for Him, bringing people to hear the Word of God, bearing witness to Him out in the streets, this church would probably not be half-empty.

So what are we doing with the lease we have entered into with God through the blood of Jesus Christ? What are we doing with it? Are we simply moving to create a comfortable life for ourselves? Or are we saying, “Yes, Lord—more of You, less of me. Send me, Lord. Show me, Lord. Move me, Lord. Work in me, Lord”? Are we meeting the terms?

He has bought us and placed us in this lease by the blood of Jesus Christ—without any payment from us. But He then calls us to live for His Son and to walk with His Son. That means action and work in our lives—not work for salvation, but work that flows from salvation.

So what are we doing?

Verses 35–39 show us the broken terms of the lease. The terms were broken, crimes were committed, and laws were violated. I want to say to us as Christians—and I say this to myself as much as to you—that when we are not living according to God’s terms, it becomes very easy to do the things that are outside His will. It becomes very easy to be disobedient, to break His law, to commit spiritual “crimes.” There is great danger in that.

We first saw this scenario in the Garden of Eden. God set up a kind of lease in that great garden. He said, “Here. This is for you. I’ve provided everything for you. Just don’t eat from that one tree. Here are the terms: I want you to tend and care for this garden, to be fruitful and multiply. These are my terms. And don’t eat of that tree, and all of this is for your enjoyment.”

That lease was broken. That brought sin into human life and death—separation from God.

The greater church is in that same place of lease with God. Even in this local church, for a hundred-plus years, God has been faithful to have this place for His people—not just to be served and to grow, but to serve, to grow, and to serve. In the greater church, what are we doing with the lease? In the local church, what are we doing with the lease? And as individuals, what are you doing with the lease?

In Luke 12:48, we often quote the saying, “To whom much is given, much is required.” I’m not saying that to you today about money or possessions. I’m saying it about what God has given you in the blood of Jesus Christ—in your salvation, in the forgiveness of your sins, in the promise of life with Him. That is more than anything you can be given in this world. It’s more than anything I can ever be given. So what are we doing in response to that? Are we fulfilling the terms of the agreement?

In verse 40 of our gospel message, we see that when a lease is broken, someone will be sent. Eventually, if nothing is restored, it goes to a court of law, and the matter is handled. A judge will render the final decision.

What about our situation? What about this lease of life that God has given us through Jesus Christ? What about what He has called us to do? Where are we in that matter—in this lease of life?

It’s a lot like leasing a car or a piece of property. At the end of the lease, there comes a time of settlement. Any of you ever leased a car? At the end, there is a settlement. Two things can happen: you can turn the car back in and walk away, or they can say, “For this price, it becomes yours.” Some people love the car and say, “Let’s settle this—I’m keeping it.” Others say, “Get rid of it; I’m tired of that thing.”

But there is always a time of settlement. You will either keep it or lose it. What’s it going to be?

What’s it going to be for the people of this world? What’s it going to be for all of us? Everyone living under this lease will come to that final place where the lease is settled.

In the parable, they killed the son, the heir, and they felt like they had won. In God’s case, the world killed His Son—but only for three days. The Son rose again, walked among us, ascended into heaven, and now waits for the final time when God says, “It’s time to settle all of this. Son, go settle it.”

When God calls for that final settlement, we’re not talking about one person at a time. We’re talking about everybody—the ones who are above ground, the ones who are buried below ground, the ones lost at sea, the ones reduced to ashes. All who have ever lived will stand before the Lord, and now it will be time to settle the lease.

Revelation 20, beginning at verse 11, describes this:

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

God knows the hearts, minds, intentions, and actions of every one of us in this building, and of everyone who will stumble across this broadcast. God alone knows our hearts, our minds, our intentions. He does not need a preacher to ask you to move or do something. It is obvious that, in this day and time, most people don’t respond publicly even when they feel something pulling them to respond.

But I want to tell you: God looks for your response to Him and Him alone. He has given us three messages, and this is the third—a call to revival among us. What are we going to do now with this third message? Can we continue on just as we are, or will we change?

His words, His message—our responsibility is to do something with it.

Father, I’ve been obedient to deliver Your word. I’ve been obedient to deliver the thoughts You’ve given me over these last three weeks. I didn’t know what You were doing until early this morning, when You finally revealed what You’ve been doing in our midst.

Father, You are calling us. You are calling us to be in a place and to be a people better than what You have found us to be right now. I know that none of us has gone far enough in our response to You. So I pray that Your Holy Spirit will take hold of Your word, which You say will not return to You void, and work in our hearts, minds, and lives. Make us changed people—closer to You, more like You, more responsive to You, as You have called us to be.

And Father, I say it again: if there is one in this auditorium—or two, or twelve, or however many—whose spirit is saying, “I don’t know that I’ve ever really embraced Jesus as my Lord and Savior,” don’t let them get away from You today. If there are those among us who say, “I’m not fulfilling what the Lord has called me to do. I have taken the lease, but I’m not doing the work. I’m not doing anything that glorifies God,” or, “I was doing really well, but I’ve fallen behind,” then Father, restore us today. Don’t let us get past today without restoration.

Father, in this fallen world, I’m thankful that You are patient and desire that all who would, might come. We cry, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus.” But until that day, move Your Holy Spirit mightily across the hearts and minds of all people, that we may be made right in Your sight.

For this I ask in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.