God Wants to Work Through You: Living as a River, Not a Reservoir
Picture two bodies of water. The first is a river like the Columbia, fed from a source high in the mountains, flowing hundreds of miles and bringing life to everything it touches. The second is a reservoir—pleasant enough for an afternoon, but still, stagnant, and man-made. It doesn't flow anywhere. The difference between the two comes down to a single thing: a source, and whether the water is allowed to move.
In this message from our Transformational Stories series, Pastor Josh used that picture to ask a question worth sitting with: are you a river or a reservoir? God doesn't just want to work in you—He wants to work through you. The real question isn't whether He desires to; it's whether you'll let Him.
The Parable: Workers in the Vineyard
The message walked through Jesus' parable in Matthew 20:1–16. A landowner goes out repeatedly through the day—early morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, and even at the eleventh hour—to hire workers for his vineyard. When it comes time to be paid, everyone receives the same wage, regardless of how long they worked. Understandably, those who started at dawn grumble. But the landowner answers:
"I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? … Are you so envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:13–16)
From this parable, the sermon drew out three movements: God's invitation to work through us, a clarification about how grace relates to that work, and the right motivation behind it.
1. God's Invitation: Answer the Call to Go
Notice how the work begins in the parable. The workers aren't out hunting for the landowner—he comes and finds them standing in the marketplace. Likewise, God calls us first. We don't have to track Him down and hope He answers; He has already reached out. Our part is simply to say yes.
That means the qualification God looks for isn't a polished résumé or extraordinary talent. As the message put it, your greatest ability is your availability. And this working "for God" is, at its heart, about people. It echoes Jesus' final words to His disciples:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19–20)
Making disciples means helping people come to know Jesus, grow in Him, and then pour into others. You don't need a title to start—you start with your circle. The neighbor, the coworker, the family member who wandered from faith years ago—no one in your life is there by accident.
2. The Clarification: Grace Is Not Dependent on Works
Why did every worker receive the same pay? Because their wages were never really about their labor. It was all a gift. And that's the heart of grace—receiving what we don't deserve. The message named three ways grace changes everything:
It frees you from the pressure of self-salvation. Trying to earn your way to God is a mountain you can't climb. Grace moves you from "I have to earn it" to "I simply receive it."
It means you can be saved now rather than never. Whether you come to Christ as a child, in middle age, or at the very end, He saves. Think of the thief on the cross, who at his final hour heard Jesus say, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). It is never too late.
It leads to more good works, not fewer. Works aren't the foundation of salvation, but they are the fountain that flows from it.
As Paul writes: "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" (Titus 2:11–12). The key to godliness isn't grit—it's understanding grace. When you realize you were spiritually dead and God brought you back to life, the natural response is to want to live like the One who saved you.
3. The Motivation: A Humble Heart
The workers who grumbled had a problem deeper than fairness—they had pride. "I worked harder; I deserve more." But the sobering truth is that if we got what was fair, none of us would have anything to boast about. Everything is a gift.
Jesus described the right posture in another parable: "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty'" (Luke 17:10). The temptation is to use God—to treat our obedience as leverage for the life we want. The invitation is to let God use us, serving out of gratitude rather than negotiation. As the message put it: don't be the number-one draft pick who complains about playing time; be the last pick who's simply glad to be on the team.
Only One Life
The sermon closed with the words of missionary C.T. Studd, who gave up fame and fortune to reach people who had never heard the gospel: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." You have one life, one chance to let God flow through you like a river rather than sitting still like a reservoir.
A Reflection Question
God wants to work through you—but is He? Where is one place this week you could stop consuming and start contributing—one person in your circle you could love, serve, or point toward Jesus?
If you're in Livermore or anywhere across the Tri-Valley and you're looking for a church family where you can know Jesus and be sent out to show His love, we'd love to meet you this Sunday.
Forgiving When You Don’t Feel Like It: A Study of Matthew 18
It's been said that bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. The truth in that line stings: no matter how much resentment you nurse toward someone who hurt you, the person you damage most is yourself. So what do you do when you know you should forgive—but you simply don't feel like it?
This message kicks off a new series, Transformational Stories, walking through five parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. We begin with the parable often called the unforgiving servant—a story Jesus told in answer to a very practical question from Peter.
Peter's Question and Jesus' Surprising Math
"Then Peter came up to him and said, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" (Matthew 18:21–22)
Peter likely thought he was being generous—seven was the number of completeness. But Jesus wasn't handing out a new limit to count toward. He was exposing how often we forgive at a fraction of how God forgives us. We say, "I'll forgive when I feel like it," or "when they deserve it," or "only a certain number of times." Jesus calls us higher. The challenge isn't just severe wounds—the betrayals and abuses that feel like being stabbed in the back—but also the everyday, repeated offenses of living in real relationships. Anyone you stay close to long enough will sin against you, and you against them.
Three Truths About Forgiveness
1. Forgiveness is needed because of a debt
In the parable, a king settles accounts with a servant who owes him ten thousand talents—a debt so staggering it could never be repaid in a lifetime.
"So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'" (Matthew 18:26)
That servant pictures us before God. Scripture says we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Sin isn't merely a slip-up, like dropping a plate by accident. It's loving something more than the God who made us for himself; it's crossing the boundaries our good King set for our flourishing. The debt this creates is real and immense—and no amount of church attendance, kindness, or generosity can pay it off.
"...no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law." (Galatians 2:16)
2. Forgiveness from God is free—but not cheap
"And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt." (Matthew 18:27)
The king didn't forgive 90% or 50% of the debt. He wiped it clean. This is what sets Christianity apart from every system of religious earning: you don't achieve forgiveness, you receive it. Yet free doesn't mean costless—it means you aren't the one who pays. Jesus is.
"He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness... he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13–14)
Notice the heart behind it. The king had pity—compassion in the middle of the servant's brokenness. God never pushes away a humble person who calls out for help; he opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And his forgiveness is full: past, present, and future sins covered. Like a home that's fully paid off, there's nothing left owing. You can rest. You receive it simply by faith—trusting Jesus, the way you cash a check someone has already funded.
"Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (Acts 10:43)
3. Forgiving others is not optional
Here the parable turns. The same servant, just released from billions, finds a fellow servant who owes him a comparatively tiny amount—and throttles him, refusing mercy, throwing him into prison. When the king hears, he is furious.
"So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:35)
You can't spell forgive without give. A heart genuinely transformed by God's mercy will, over time, become a merciful heart. That doesn't mean it's easy or instant—but a refusal to forgive at all reveals a heart that hasn't yet been gripped by grace.
One important clarification: forgiveness is not the same as automatic trust or instant reconciliation. In cases of serious harm—abuse, betrayal, repeated wounding—you can release the offense to God without immediately restoring full trust. Rebuilding may take time and wisdom. But the goal of forgiveness is still restoration wherever it's possible, not using "forgiveness" as a label while quietly cutting everyone off.
Where the Power Comes From
So how do we forgive when we don't feel like it? First, rest in God's forgiveness of you.
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)
Forgiven people become forgiving people. The gospel both comforts us (God loves me though I don't deserve it) and humbles us (I'm a sinner who couldn't save myself). That humility dismantles the lie that keeps us bitter: "I would never do what they did." We're all on the same level—all needing the same mercy.
Second, ask God for the power. Jesus taught us to pray, "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). If forgiveness feels impossible in your own strength, pray for a transformed heart—and trust that this is a prayer God delights to answer.
Remember the cross. After being beaten, mocked, and nailed there, Jesus looked at the very people who put him there and said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." If he can forgive that, he can give you the grace to forgive whoever comes to mind right now.
A Reflection to Carry With You
Two questions sit at the heart of this message: Have you been freed by God's forgiveness? And who do you need to forgive? You ultimately have one of two roads—the freedom that flows from forgiveness, or the slow isolation of bitterness.
If you'd like to explore this with people in person, we'd love to welcome you at Arroyo Church here in Livermore in the Tri-Valley—a place where we're learning together to know and show the love of Jesus.