I’ve Got Wild Grapes
Isaiah 5:2
And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
The frustration of the Lord with Israel and all that He did for them is seen in this verse. Jesus compares Israel to a vineyard. He says that He planted them in a very fruitful hill, and He used the choicest of seed to get a choice vine. He built a tower to protect that vineyard so that no one from the outside could destroy it. He had a winepress built so that He could enjoy the fruit of His vineyard, and yet, God said that His vineyard brought forth wild grapes.
If you have been in the ministry for any length of time, you can identify with God in this verse. You can identify with the fact that you invested your life in trying to help people turn out right and do something for God, only to watch them walk down a path you know is going to destroy their lives. It can almost become discouraging for any believer who has invested all their energy, efforts, and prayers in those they are trying to turn out right, only for them to become wild grapes.
Let me illustrate this point. In our church, we reach many from the inner city. I don't reach them to have pity on them; I reach them because they need to be saved, and the hope of them doing anything with their lives is found in the pages of God's Word. Many of our bus routes serve these places to reach these dear people, and I see bus captains investing their efforts and love in them, trying to get them into church. Sadly, some of these young people have never seen what love is all about. Sadly, their response to someone loving them is to act like fools in church, which prevents us from picking them up because they disturb others around them. This can become discouraging to the bus captain who picks them up, because he can't pick them up anymore, and to lose a bus kid that they invested in. When you see that your vineyard has brought forth wild grapes, there are a couple of things you need to do.
First, get rid of the wild grapes. You will never be able to help people who do not want help, so don't waste your time on them. Many people have kept the wild grapes, hoping that one day they will turn around, only to ruin the good grapes. My friend, you don't lose the good people who want you and what you are teaching them for the sake of trying to save one bad person who has no desire to be helped.
Second, go plant more seeds. The answer to getting good grapes is not to bemoan that you have wild grapes, but to keep going after the lost until you find some good grapes for your vineyard. You can shut down the vineyard and stop trying to reach people, but you will miss a lot of good people who could be helped if you just kept going. So, you lost a few people; keep going and trying to reach new ones. There are people who truly want to be helped that you will find if you just keep going.
Third, spend much time in prayer asking God to send you to the good grapes. God knows who wants your help, and He can send you to them, but you must ask Him in prayer to find those people. If we pray and work seeking the good grapes, God can't send us to those who want our help and who we can direct down the right path of life so that they can do something great for God with their own lives. So, don't give up; rather; keep going and trying to find the good grapes.
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