Welcome to the Plenteous Redemption podcast, where the cross and the culture are on a collision course for discussion. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign Now, here's your host, Thomas Ervin. All right, we'll be in Matthew chapter 20. And with that, we've got about eight weeks left, give or take a week or two for the Lord's Supper in the book of Matthew. And then we move into the book of Mark. So we are nearing the end of this book. It's incredible to think about that we've made it that far and able to see all these wonderful truths and learn about Jesus as the King of the Jews in the book of Matthew. And then in the book of Mark, we'll move directly into the servant. Jesus Christ, and that'll sure be a blessing. So let's read verses 1 through 16, and then we'll see what the Lord has for us. Verse 1, for the kingdom of heaven, does that sound familiar? Heard that phrase a few times the past few weeks? For the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard, and he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way." So why don't you get a job? If you'll come work, I'll pay you. And they're like, well, why don't you just pay us? That's the modern mentality. I don't want to work. I just want you to give me money. And our government facilitates that, and they don't recognize yet the trouble that they are causing. Verse 5. And again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? That verse alone is so descriptive of our country today. You drive through Memphis, you drive through Mobile, you drive through Chicago, you drive through Los Angeles. These high crime cities are having all this trouble and what you're going to find are a bunch of people standing around idle. And because they're standing around idle, they're going to get in trouble. That's just how it is. If you don't set your hand to something productive, you're going to do something destructive. And that's the way it's going to go. And they would complain, and they would say, well, there are no jobs. Oh, there are jobs. They are. They are available. You just don't want to do some of those jobs. And to be honest, I don't either. I'd like to find a job that I would like to have and enjoy participating in. But if the one I would like to have is not available, I'm just going to go stand on a street corner and cause trouble all day? No. I got a family to take care of. I got things to do. So I'll have to go find a job that is sufficient, that is available, if I can't get the one that I would like or that I would want. You can't just stand around idle. People stand around idle, then complain that they don't have anything. And then when they recognize they don't have anything, they see that other people who don't stand around idle, who are working, have things. They go take those things. They either get the government to do it legally, shove a gun in your face and call it welfare, or they go and just break in your house and take it from you physically. So that's where we are today. And those people are justified in doing those things today. Rather than having a government who says, you're not doing that garbage around here. If you do, we're going to deal with you. We're going to deal harshly with you. Instead, what they do is say, well, he had a mean daddy growing up. And his self-esteem is low. So we're just going to pat him on the head and encourage him to be nice next time. You mean the next time he breaks in my house and shoves a gun in my family's face, he's going to be a little bit more polite? I don't understand how this works exactly. And that's where we are today. Verse 7, they say unto him, because no man hath hired us. There's a man standing there. Telling you, asking you, why are you standing around idle? There is work to do. Some of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life is a homeless man sitting under a McDonald's sign that says, now hiring. Go get a job. Well, I don't want to do that. So you'd rather sit on the side of the street and do nothing, be a bum? Sure. Yeah, that's going to be addressed in this passage as well, so we're getting there. They say unto him, because no man hath hired us, he saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, And see, that's where people get off track. They think, what whatsoever I desire, you will give me. And the man said, no, whatever is right. And the going rate at that time was a penny a day. And they didn't even work a full day. Remember, he went out in the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and later and later in the day. And he said, man, stop standing around here idle. Go get to work. I'll pay you if you just go work. And people say, well, yeah, I'll work. Give me a job. And then they sit around and look at Facebook. Well, that's not working. That's counterproductive to what the company needs. In order for you to have a job, the company has to be productive. It has to be profitable. If they're not productive and profitable, you don't get to keep your job. And so if you don't do your part to make sure it's productive and profitable, then you're setting yourself up to go look for another job. to be standing around idle, whining that nobody hath hired you. And so, you know, you got to be careful what you ask for. So when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the laborers and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. Oh, no. Here we go. Well, why did they get a penny? They only worked a few hours. How come they get a whole penny for a whole day's labor? Well, that's what he promised them. And because that's what he promised them, that's what he gave them. Does that make sense? So when people say, can I borrow $50? Sure, I'll give it back to you. And then you see them a month later, a week later, a year later, were you ever going to give that back? Well, I didn't think you needed it. Really? Yeah, it just people they can convince themselves of some insane things and think that they're okay. They're justified and so verse verse 10, but when the first came they they they supposed Well, why would you suppose that? How did you get that idea in your head? Who owns the vineyard? This man does. Who owns the penny? This man does. So who gets to determine how it is distributed? And you enter into this agreement ahead of time. So I have a job. They agreed to pay me a certain amount in order to work there. If I show up the next day and say, you know, I feel like I do more than everybody else around here. You need to give me more money. Well, I'm glad you feel that way. And it might even be true. But we agreed that you were going to work here and do your job. And in exchange for that, this was the amount of money we were going to pay you. They haven't done anything wrong by not paying you what you suppose you're worth. Now, you might be worth more. And you should keep working hard and keep demonstrating to whoever you work for that you are worth it. And eventually, they'll say, a company that values competence will pay you. They will do whatever it takes to keep you. My mom, you know, my mom, I love my mom. She is a hardworking woman. She can be a bit brash. She can be hardheaded and difficult to deal with and all those things. But that woman works like nobody I've seen before. And she was working for a company, and another company came calling and said, hey, we'd like to hire you over here. And she went and told her boss. They gave her like a $15,000, $20,000 raise for her to stay, which means they could have done that a long time ago. And it never would have come up for discussion. All right, so I'm not telling you that people who own businesses are saints and, you know, they're just the angels on our shoulders that we should all love and care for. I am telling you if you agreed to work and to do a certain job for a certain amount of money, Jesus Christ would have you do that. in accordance with the agreement and do it for the honor and glory of God. Now, what I just said is so foreign to the modern American. They believe they are owed something. They think you should hire them because they've been told their entire lives. You can accomplish all your dreams. You're wonderful. You're perfect. You're just the greatest gift to this earth and that some company would just They should be so thankful that they get to have your presence. You shouldn't even have to work. Just show up. Don't even show up. Just tell people you belong to this wonderful company and we get to have the wonderful benefit of a connection to you. That's how people think of themselves today. Social media has so ruined the minds of people today, they think they should be able to put 100 selfies of themselves doing nothing all day, and you're going to like it and share it and just comment about how wonderful they are. And when you don't do that, their little self-esteem is just destroyed. Nobody owes you anything. Nobody. And so it's up to you if you want something to go work for it and get it, not to take it, not to steal it, not to go cry to the government so that they go take it and steal it and call it taxes or call it something legal. It's up to us. I have a family. It's up to me to take care of that family. Now, That can be hard. It can be difficult. It's still expected of you. It's still required. And the Lord would have you maintain those responsibilities. And so back to verse 10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more. And they likewise received every man a penny. Well, we thought we would get more. I told you I was going to pay you a penny for your day's labor. Yeah, but you hired these people later in the day, and you gave them a penny. So because of that, we thought since we worked longer, you would give us more. Well, that wasn't the agreement. But don't we deserve more? We bore the labor, the heat of the day, and all of that. And he said, we agreed that you would work today for a penny. Did I give you that penny? Yeah, but, no, no, see this is the problem. You suppose, you think you deserve more. And so what they do is they go and they get a bunch of activists and get a mob together and tear your business apart and burn it down or destroy it or break the windows out or whatever because you don't give them what they suppose you should give them. And it's dirty, it's ungodly, and it's contrary to biblical truth. Verse 11, and when they had received it, they murmured against the good men of the house. The Bible doesn't have anything good to say about murmuring and complaining. The best thing that you could do for yourself is learn not to murmur and complain. It's going to give you a bad attitude. It comes from a bad attitude. It comes from bitterness in your heart. It comes from frustration in your mind that may be valid or may not be valid. Whether it's valid or not, God doesn't want you to murmur and complain. Will God supply all your needs? He said, if you'll seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, He will take care of you. Now, that doesn't mean there's no labor on your part, there's no expectation on your part. There absolutely is. But He promised to meet your needs if you would seek after the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Now, if you're not going to do that, then have at it. Go on your own. You don't want God's help? You don't want God's blessing, God's assistance? Then don't seek after righteousness. But seeking after righteousness is going to put you in a place where you are working and doing what you're supposed to be doing. And there's a whole structure to that. Men should take care of their families. It is up to that man to take care of his family. It should not be up to that woman to have to work all day in a lost, dirty world and take care of the family. It's the man's responsibility. Now, if you have a wife and she can work and do some things that are a help, great. But it's up to you to protect that woman. She should not be out in a place where she's being subject to filth and a bunch of dirty, cussing, angry people. You protect your wife from that stuff. You don't allow her to go out and be subject to that. You don't wear your wife out by pushing her out into the work world. That's your job. And take care of her. Now, verse 12, they murmured, saying, these last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. Now, is that true? It's absolutely true. That's exactly what happened. But did we have an agreement? Yes. Did I tell you if you'd come work today, I'd give you a penny for the entire day? Yes. All right, so if you don't like that, then go stand idle tomorrow, and then the 11th hour, I'll come out and call you in, and you can only work a couple, an hour. and get a penny, but that's not how it went today. And you're responsible to do what you promised to do. The Bible has a lot to say. One time I was in, my wife and I were in Okinawa, Japan, in a church in Okinawa. There's a military church there. And they had me, they wanted me to preach a Valentine's banquet. I am not the person you call to preach a Valentine's banquet. But I was trying to be nice. They didn't know that. You know, I'm just, you know, it's not up to me to inform them of the pagan background of Valentine's and all that. So, you know, it's just, you know, people are people just they go along with everything that this world throws at them in the name of Jesus. And so what I ended up preaching, we're at this big banquet hall and you know, you got all these dignified people there. It was a really nice church and I ended up preaching what God says about keeping your vows. And that goes not only with marriage, but it also goes with The promises you make to people and the agreements you enter into on a daily basis. If you promise to do something, God expects you to do it. And he takes it very serious when you don't. And it makes God very angry when you refuse to keep your vows. And, you know, you had this whole Valentine's crowd looking at me like I was, like that is not what we thought. We thought we were going to get fluffy, you know, Cupid floating around. If I saw Cupid, I'd shoot him. And so we're not doing that. We're going to talk about what God said about marriage, and praise the Lord it worked out. Nobody got offended that I know of. And so they're complaining because they bore the burden and heat of the day. They worked longer. and therefore thought, supposed, they should get more than just a penny. Or at least it would make them feel better if the people who only worked for an hour got less than a penny. But that's not what the man agreed. That was not the proposal that everyone agreed to. And so he honored his side of the agreement, and they're upset because they supposed he should break the agreement that he made and give them more than what they thought they should have. And they were wrong. And the Lord tells you they're wrong. Verse 13, but he answered one of them and said, friend, I do thee no wrong. Now, who's talking right now? Who's telling this parable? Jesus Christ. And he said, I do thee no wrong, didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Was that the agreement? Yes. Did I give you, did you do what you promised and did I do what I promised based on the agreement? Yes. Then what's the problem? You're looking at your neighbor. That's the problem. Adrian Rogers used to say, the reason that people get themselves in trouble and get stacked up in a bunch of debt is they keep looking at their neighbor's houses. What are they buying? What do they got? I got to go get one now. And so you're not supposed to. The question was not, what did that person get and how long did they work? The question was, what did you and I agree that you would do and that I would do? Now, did we both keep that agreement? If we did, then what is the problem? And so people, they go, and here's my application. I'd like to be hired. OK, well, let's have an interview. And it's assuming you don't show up in your pajamas, which people often do. Or I know one kid, he wasn't a kid, he was an adult, showed up with his mother. Like, that didn't go over well. Like, I'm sorry, is your mom going to show up to work every day with you? I mean, we can't have her here on the property just, you know, what is she going to do? Is she going to be making you, you know, snacks throughout the day? Make sure you take your nap? What exactly is she here for? And so assuming you show up and you go through the interview process halfway decent, companies are often starving for people today because nobody wants to work. The government wants to pay people to stay home. And so you go through the interview process, and they tell you, we need people who are going to be here who are going to work and be competent. Can you do that? Oh, yeah. That's me. I'll do that. OK. Here's what it pays. Is that OK? And at that point in time, that's the time to speak up and say, well, I think it should be more. And then they can determine, do we believe you are worth that value? And if you are, they will give you more. If you're not, they're not going to give you more. And then you've got to decide, well, they're not willing to give me more. Do I want to take this job or go stand all day idle or sit in my mom's basement playing video games? And then they take the job. They say, OK, I feel like you're forcing me into slavery here, which you're not. You don't have a clue what it means to be a slave if you think having to work a job on a daily basis that you get paid for and could walk away from at any time is slavery. That's not the case. Then they get hired and they show up to work and, well, I didn't know I was going to have to do that. Well, it was in the job description. Well, I didn't know you were going to expect me to be here on time every day. There's an entire group of people now who, it's a new identity. I don't remember what it's called. It's not even worth knowing what it's called. But they identify as people who are late and believe that companies should facilitate that. So rather than getting their behinds out of bed, getting up on time, taking a shower, get dressed, go to work on time, they believe that you should facilitate their laziness, their slothfulness, and allow them to show up whenever they want. It doesn't work like that, but you have a society now who thinks they can play those games and still continue to be productive. The reason America is so strong, the reason America is so great, the reason we have so many conveniences is because a lot of people worked really hard to get us here. But the boat is tipping in the wrong direction now. It's leaning in the direction of laziness and slothfulness, and so they want to be lazy and don't want to work, but still expect to receive the same level of convenience. It's not going to happen. This passage directly deals with that. I've done nothing wrong. Did you agree to work here for this amount? Yes. Did I pay you what you agreed? Well, yeah, but. No, no. You need to set the buts aside. You've got to look at these things objectively and set your feelings aside. Do I like being paid a low amount of money? Of course not. But a low amount of money is better than no money. So you can sit around and get nothing, or you can go and work for something and keep progressing and moving ahead. And people, they come out of high school and college and think, you should pay me $150,000 a year from day one. Oh, good. What skills do you have? Well, I can chew gum. Yeah, I need you to be able to do a few more things than that, just a few. It's a mess and it's going to be the destruction of our country. One thing that used to be fundamentally characteristic of the American was a strong work ethic. And it's gone. It doesn't exist anymore. Everybody thinks the government's going to pay me, my neighbor's going to pay me, the charity's going to pay me, YouTube's going to pay me. Somebody's going to give me money so that I don't have to work. And it's not going to happen. I mean, it might happen for a while. But what are you going to do when there's not enough people to pay in for the slobs that are being paid out? That boat's going to tip. And it's going to sink. And the boat is your country. And so that's the direction we're headed. That's your economy lesson for your lesson in economics for the day. Friend, I do thee no wrong. Dost not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. It's mine. I can do what I want with it. And we have an agreement. So I am going to do what we agreed. Verse 15, is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? That's called property rights. Right now, and Brother Hoyt mentioned it, there's a massive pandemic right now in states like New York and California, all liberal states. You move there if you want to. I have a friend who was lured to California with $300,000 a year. It's not worth it. I wouldn't do it, but all that money, uh-uh, nope. I'll stay right here in Losedale where I haven't seen one person with green hair or holes in their face. I haven't seen a single gender confused person. I haven't seen, I mean, it's just, I'm okay with that. But you won't make as much money. Yeah, but I get to keep my sanity. And that's OK. And so you have these people coming into the country, and they know which states to go to and manipulate. And so they go, and they move into your house. You might have it up for sale. You might have it up for rent. They break in. They move in. And now they practically own it. And if you try to go there and remove them, you will be arrested, not the people who broke into your house and moved in and set the furniture out. That's insane. You move somewhere like that, you're going to get what you're asking for. Now, that's the direction the country is going. That'll be in Lucedale in 2050. It's not here right now. But if you and I don't get out on the streets and tell people about Jesus Christ, if we don't, from this pulpit, preach the Word of God and impress upon people the need to live in accord with the Word of God, that's what's coming. That's what's going to happen. And all this is in the Kingdom of Heaven. This doesn't happen in the Kingdom of God. Now, the Kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the principle is very similar. The Lord Jesus Christ said, if you will trust in me, I will give you eternal life. Whether you do it when you're four years old, or if you do it the day before you die, in the last hour, the reward is eternal life. I don't care who it is. Yeah, but I got saved way before they did. How come they get the same thing? It doesn't work that way. You trust in Jesus Christ, 30 seconds before you die, if you trust in Jesus Christ, you receive eternal life, and you spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the reward. That's the promise. That's the agreement. So if you show up to heaven, you say, well, I don't understand why he gets to be here. He just trusted in you an hour before he died, and I trusted in you 30 years ago. The Lord will tell you, shut up and sit down. I could send you where you belong. You know where you belong? Eternity in hell. That's what you deserve. Alright, so if you want that, you just let me know and maybe we can work it out and give you a taste of it. Otherwise, rejoice, be thankful you're here, and that the reward... The Lord doesn't owe you eternal salvation. He made it available to you because He loved you. You deserve eternity in hell, and we will never see it, praise the Lord, because the Lord's just good to us. So take the thine is and go thy way. I will give unto the last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is that I evil because I am what? So the Lord said, the man murmuring and complaining because he thought he should get more, God said, that's evil. That's covetousness. The man that honored the agreement and did what he said he would do, God said, that is good. Now, the world we live in says, that corporation, they're evil. They're just, all they do is make money. Yeah, that's the purpose of a corporation. But somebody had to take money and labor and time, and they had to, to some extent, put all that at risk in the hopes that it would turn out a profitable business. And because of that, now they can provide jobs to 10, 20, hundreds, sometimes thousands of other people. I work at a bank. You show me one person that has a favorable view of a bank. But I have a job because people manage it well, and it moves along like it's supposed to, and enough people show up and do what is necessary to keep it profitable and productive. If that stops, guess who doesn't have a job anymore? All right? And guess who doesn't get to make money anymore? Nobody. Well, the man at the top's making all the money. Did you get paid last pay period? Well, yeah, but. Yeah, but. Here we go. You suppose you should get something other than what they promised to give you or for the value of your labor. If all you do is show up and flip burgers, How in the world did you come to the conclusion that you should be paid $15, $20 an hour? That is not a skill. Look, there is a chef. You find somebody who can really cook. At restaurants, we'll pay them big money to show up and to cook. Standing at a table and just, OK, what you do at McDonald's is not chef work. It's just flipping burgers. And it's honorable work. I'm not mocking people who do that. It's a job. You do your job. But when you go there and you suppose that somebody should pay me way more money than is needful for me to stand and flip burgers, you've got a problem. You're supposing you should get more than you're actually worth. And if you don't go and develop the skills or put in the labor, man, you meet people who can cook, and companies will go after them. They'll pay them. But flipping burgers at McDonald's is not the same thing. All right, we spent a lot of time on that, and only got about five minutes left to go through the rest of the chapter. So let's read down to the end of the chapter verse 17 down to the chapter and then we'll make a few notes afterwards. Let's reverse 16 down in this chapter verse 16. So the last shall be first and the first last for many be called but few are chosen and Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples apart. All right now. He's got a lot of people following him, sometimes more than others. They are all called disciples, but there are 12 that are unique, that are separated for a certain purpose, and eventually they will be called apostles. And so these 12, and then even within the 12, there are three that often get called apart for even more intimate time with the Lord Jesus Christ. But here we have the 12 called apart in the way, and said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and come unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death. and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him. And the third day he shall rise again. Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these, my two sons, may sit the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? They said unto him, We are able. Of course you are. You know, just sometimes you just want to, some questions you probably shouldn't answer. I'll think about that and get back to you. Verse 23, And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give. But it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David." Now, that's significant. We're talking about Jesus Christ the king of the Jews in the kingdom of heaven. And so these men cry out not for the Savior not for the son of God, but for the son of David and that that's a recognition that he is a descendant of David and he has full rights to the throne verse 31 and the multitude rebuke them. because they should hold their peace but they cried the more saying have mercy on us oh lord thou son of david and jesus stood still and called them and said what will ye that i shall do unto you they say unto him lord that our eyes may be open so jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight From verses 17 through 19 the Lord tells of his death and he tells him we're going up to Jerusalem and that automatically meant he's heading to his death. And they understood that. Now, this is the third time he's told them that he's going to go and die. And he's going to tell them two more times. I believe it's two more afterwards. I wrote it down somewhere. Yeah, he's going to tell them two more times after this particular incident. And they don't get it. Every time, they're like, what is he talking about? Why is he going to go to Jerusalem? And they struggle with it. His betrayal will be the tool used to bring about his death. So it's going to kind of kick off the process. The Lord, you know, he had a sort of a routine of things that he did, and the men who were looking for him at least acted like they didn't know what that was. And in fact, Judas has to tell them, and we'll get into all this when we have a chance, but Judas has to tell them, the one that I kiss, that's the one you're looking for. they didn't know who he was. They didn't know who they were looking for. Like, he's got this crowd of guys that's always around him. Which one is he? And Judah said, I'll walk up and I'll kiss him on the face and then you'll know that that's the one, which is very interesting. So, he will die in his own timing when he is ready to go to the cross. Now, verses 20 through 28, this mother, you know, the mother of Zebedee's children, which is interesting. So, the Yeah, that doesn't call her his wife, which I would assume she probably is in those days and It may not be but but that'd be the assumption and and didn't call her name Just said that's that but he's what that's that's the mother of Zebedee's children meaning. He's the father She's the mother That's the way the Lord described her now her request It's it's both good and bad. All right, I It is problematic the way she went about it, and it's descriptive of our times. Women will interject themselves into spiritual matters and into church situations or whatever in ways that are improper, and they have no They could care less about it. They just they'll put themselves right in the middle of things. They have no business putting themselves into they'll blurt things out, you know in church and meetings and and whatever they the Bible says that women are not to usurp authority over men and yet women today have no problem doing that. They have no qualms with it. They will just just stomp right over what the Lord said about that and then get mad at me or the pastor or the men involved if they say something about it. Well, you're just a bigot. Well, you just called Jesus Christ a bigot because that's his word. Those are his words, right? Not mine. That's the way he established things, the way he did things. But what's a blessing is her desire. Her desire is for her sons to sit to the left and right hand of Jesus Christ. That's a good desire for a mother. That's a good thing for a mother to want. Now, sometimes mothers go about that imperfectly and in a problematic way. But that is a good desire for her to want for her sons to sit on the left hand and the right hand of Jesus Christ. And that is a blessing. And then the blind men are healed. The Lord did not heal them until they told him directly what they desired. They're following him, crying out, O son of David, O son of David. And the crowd's like, shut up. Leave them alone. Go away. We don't want you here." And despite the murmuring and complaining of the multitude, they kept crying after Jesus Christ. They didn't let that stop them. They didn't let that prevent them. They did not let that hinder them. And then the Lord finally turns to them. The Lord heard them this whole time. But there are times in the Bible where it seems the Lord's saying, I want to see how far they'll go. Will they keep trying, or are you just going to give up? And by the way, that's true in your life as well. People say, well, I prayed, and I asked God for something. He didn't give it to me. You prayed one time, and He didn't give it to you? If it's something you really think you need and really desire and really want, you better cry out to God and do it endlessly until He finally says, what? What do you want? And then there's a good chance he might do it. He turned to those men and he said, what do you desire? What do you want? Would you heal us? It's done. But it wasn't until they pressed through the opposition, and even though the crowd was against them and didn't want them to come to Jesus, they kept coming. The Lord finally turned to them and said, OK, here I am. What is it you want? And they said, we'd like you to heal us. OK, you're healed. And so it's a blessing. You just got to stay after it. Some things we think we want, we think we need, and the Lord says, OK, yeah, I can see that. I can see that need. But how bad do you want it? How bad do you need it? Are you willing to come to me, and come to me, and come to me? And I suppose it's a heart matter. The Lord just wants to see, do you really trust me? Do you really think I can do this? Do you really want that? Some people are like, oh, I want this so bad. And then a week later, they're like, ah, never mind. And so you just got to be serious when you come to God. All right. We hope you enjoyed this podcast. You can learn more about our ministry by visiting www.plenteusredemption.com. You can hear more Plenteous Redemption podcast audio at www.plenteusredemption.media. Please comment below if this podcast has been a help to you. Also, inform us of future topics that would interest you. Thank you again for listening to the Plenteous Redemption podcast.