"Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
"Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
"But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad you're here. If you have recently received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please write and let us know, we'd love to hear from you and pray for you.Christian persecution is increasing in much of the world, t herefore, I ask that
you would please join us in praying for our beloved brothers and sisters.
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad you're here. If you have recently received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please write and let us know, we'd love to hear from you and pray for you.
Over the years, I’ve watched many people lose their jobs, their cars and their home, some even their entire families and I began to wonder, is it because they have never given anything back to God, the source of where it all came from. How ungrateful it is to become possessive over what God has given us to manage on His behalf for the benefit of others and His glory! Allow me to remind us all that everything you and I have right now is a gift from God to be used for His glory, even our next breath belongs to Him. Believe me, you and I have no control over it. Giving back to God starts with giving Him yourself. Not just a little here and a little there, but all of you, allowing Jesus not only to be your Savior, but the Lord of your life.
I'd like you to keep that in your mind as we approach God’s Word to learn what He to say about allowing what He's given us pass freely through our fingers, and clinching our hands closed to hold onto it for ourselves.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we again thank You for this much needed reminder that You are the source of everything. Lord, we confess, it's very convicting and difficult to hear. I pray You would examine every heart and let there be genuineness there. If not, do whatever must be done to ensure we don't greedily hold onto what we've been given, ignoring the privilege of our spiritual opportunities. Help us to see whether we are true followers of Christ by a life faithful service or only outwardly appear to be genuine and are self-deceived, inwardly corrupt pretenders. Father, I pray that there might not be anyone leave today whose heart is not made right. Let our lives of faithful service demonstrate how much we love and trust You. We pray for those who deny You, may they believe, confess their sin and come to Christ as Savior and Lord. All for Your glory and Christ's sake.
In precious His name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Tragedy Of Buried Treasure
Let's face it, there are some Christians who are the only Christian in name only, who ignore the privilege of opportunity to make a God-given difference in the lives of others. This profound teaching from our Lord, will help us to look, to see if there be any fruit that marks our lives, to see if we are ready to face Christ when He returns. The Lord calls us to true faithfulness, a heart that responds to the privilege of service, the fruit of inward salvation. That’s the emphasis here, to recognize the source of every opportunity.
Open your Bibles to the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 25:14-30. As we return to the parables of the talents in verses 14 through 30, we'll look at verse 19-30. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read the entire passage to you to refresh our minds.
Let's open our hearts and our minds to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 25:14-30.
"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To
one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each
according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. "Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five
talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you
entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
"Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
"But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."Let's pick up where we left off at verse 19, "Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them."
Notice Jesus begins with "Now after a long time," by pointing the master was gone a long time, in a veiled manner, He's letting the disciples know without actually saying that after He goes away, His Second Coming will be delayed, His kingdom isn't coming as soon as they think. Remember, in the parable of the ten virgins, He said "Now while the bridegroom was delaying."
While He's away, He gives us all, the evangelistic opportunities, spouses, children, family members, neighbors and co-workers, service opportunities, He gives us opportunities on social medial platforms and in the church to take a stand for biblical Truth. Make no mistake, when He returns He will hold us accountable and He will settle accounts with us.
Verse 20, "The one who had received the five
talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you
entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’"
I believe the English version looses something in the translation, in the Greek it says "Lord, five talents you delivered to me. Behold, five talents more I have gained." The servant was excited to stand before his master, knowing he had done well with what he had been given. The message here in clear, if you want to be unashamed to stand before Christ, make Him the focus of your life, and not yourself. I believe that's the way it ought to be with every believer.
In 1 John 2:28-29, John tells "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him."
I believe that in that moment, many Christians will find themselves overwhelmed when they realize that they have lived worldly, unfruitful lives, devastated to learn they did not abide in Him as they should have. Claiming to be ready for His return, can you imagine their disappointed! The best way to be ready is to make Him the Lord of your life. It's interesting, there are more than 2,100 verses on giving, that's three times more Bible verses on giving than love, seven times more than prayer, eight times more than belief. And, 714 verses talk about love and loving, which hear about a lot today, in regards to tolerance of sin, which is not the biblical definition of love by the way. Do you think God wants us to understand that we are to be givers? In both in the Old and New Testaments, the message is clear, God desires us to trust Him to take care of your needs and my needs, while we take care of the needs of others. God knows everything about us, even the number of hairs on our heads. We have what we have because of Him, there ought to be in our hearts to give it back to Him with a healthy return on His investment in us, without boasting about what we've done and for whom.
Look at verse 21, listen as the master gives his assessment. "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’"
In the Greek, well done is the verb "eu," it means excellent, to do well. A good manager of what he was given, He's not speaking on his service, but of his character. It's like saying you've been trustworthy with what I've given you. That is the greatest commendation of character one can receive. Especially coming from the Lord, if that's not fantastic enough, the Lord doesn't stop there, He goes on to say, "You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’" Which one of you doesn't want to hear that from our Lord? You want to know something? The kingdom will be a time of service, rewards for the believer are greater opportunities for service, determined by your faithful service here.
Verse 22, "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’"
Fruitfulness is the mark of those who are ready at Christ's return, and in contrast, fruitlessness is the mark of those who will be damned. Luke 12:43-44 says "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions." I believe just as there are different ranks, if you will, of angels, it will be the same way with all of us, we'll have differing assignments determined by our service here. In this life, we all render different service to God, based upon our God-given capacities, right? I have no doubt that eternity will be the same.
In verse 23, He says the same thing to the second servant, "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and
faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in
charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’"
In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul writes "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
"You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in
charge of many things." Our Lord has entrusted much to each of us, we must do everything that we can to bring glory to God, then He will reward us for our faithfulness. Notice, at the end of the verse, He says "Enter into the joy of your master." Imagine the satisfaction of the heart of these two servants forever glorified. The same joy the Lord enter into, we will also enter. The sin in our lives finally defeated! What an inconceivable truth!
When the Lord sets up the millennial kingdom, those who were saved and remained on the earth will still be alive and those of us who have gone to be with the Lord will come down with Him in our glorified bodies, we’ll all fit perfectly into His plan at whatever capacity that He has designated. If you and I are going to receive what He has for us, we must be faithful in our service and generous in our giving. However, we must do it biblically. When God gives
us something, then He wants us to willingly give it back to Him.And
when we do, He'll bless us with even more privilege and responsibility.
Now, let's look at the third servant in verses 24-25, "And the one also who had received the one
talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping
where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’"
This is a servant who allowed his misunderstanding of what his master expected from him, to cause him to be an unfaithful, unwise, and unproductive, so he produced nothing. There was no fruit, he lived a life betrayed his profession. And to makes matters even worse, he attacks his master's character, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man." Can you believe that someone who says he belongs to God blaming Him for his own unfaithfulness? He uses the "sklērós," a word used to describe people who won't budge." In other words, hardened, lacking compassion, unmerciful and unforgiving. From which we get the medical term sclerosis, disease characterized by this thickening or hardening. He's saying it because I know the way you are, I acted out fear. That's why I did I did. It's your fault. The church is full of people who give that excuse. "Don't blame me, You left me with no choice. It's Your fault God!" Do you have a misunderstanding of God, driven by selfish motives or by the things of this world? Now is the time to change it.
This servant doesn’t know his master, at all saying "Reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed." When you reap what you didn’t sow, you're stealing from someone else! He's saying "I know you, you're not only ungracious, but you steal from other people." What an serious accusation against God! He should have known better, the character of his master was revealed to him. The problem is, he buried his talent. Serving God is not a chore it's a privilege. It's a natural impulse for a true believer. But the servants reaction, was inaction.
I'd had a number of people say, "Well, I'm not a pastor. Serving God is your job. It's not mine!" Wrong! Glorifying and serving God is not a privilege only for the pastor. Even the food you buy will have an impact the body that God has loaned to you. I Corinthians 10:31, Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Think of it this way, if you gave me your checkbook to take of your bills while you were away, and you returned to find out that I started spending your money on my self, would you have something to say about that? Since God owns it all. When your child gets old enough to borrow the car, they have the responsibility of replacing the gas, but does your child have the right to paint the car? I imagine you'd probably have something to say about that too! Would it change the way that you treated your child? Most all of you understand that, but can't seem to understand why God has the right to say how you should spend it. If I had to guess, I imagine many of you spend more on gym memberships, cosmetics, dinner and entertainment than you give to God.
By the way, the knowledge and wisdom that you will gain today is another one of those
resources that you will be held accountable for one day.
Let's look at how the master deals with this servant, "But
his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew
that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed."
"You wicked, lazy slave," have you ever noticed are often used together in Scripture? The Lord never expects more of a man than he is capable of doing, but He does expect him to do all he can do. But a wicked servant is not really a servant at all. A wicked servant is one who is not interested in the progress of his master. Anyone who is not compelled to spread the Gospel that everyone might be saved is likely not saved themselves! When you first came to Christ, it's probably because somebody somewhere either shared the Gospel with you or invited you to come to church, perhaps a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker. Are you sharing the Good News of God’s kingdom with those who are outside the kingdom?
Verse 27, "Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest."
In saying to the servant with one talent that if he had given the money to the bankers, he would at least earned interest, He's saying that you're lying, you didn’t care what I was like, if what you're saying is true knowing that "I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed," you would known that I expected a return, but you did nothing! You didn't hid your talent in the ground because you were afraid of me, you would have done anything but hide it. You didn't care, that's the problem.
Believe it or not, it's not uncommon in the church today, for people to be outwardly busy serving the Lord, who are just going through the motions. They "doing ministry" instead of living it. They're teaching in seminary, they're preaching in the pulpit, Sunday school class. Satan is very clever in planting tares among the wheat, the sheep with the goats. Sadly, they think they're serving God. But you can't effectively serve God if you have absolutely no interest in knowing Him. You and I can't point them, we can only see what's visible, the Lord knows the heart of every professing Christian. One thing is certain, He take away from the religious phonies.
Look at verse 28, "Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’"
Since the third man was unfaithful and foolish, saying his master was ungracious, unmerciful, now he will experience that side of his master. If only he had been faithful, he would have been greatly rewarded like the first two men. Look what he does with the third man's reward. "Give it to the one who has the ten talents.’" God invests more in those who will produce the best results, and from those who produce nothing, He takes away what they were given.
Verse 29, "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away."
Notice He uses the same principal in He used in Matthew 13, "For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him." I'd had some people say, "That's not fair. He should have split the reward between the first two men." All I can say is that God is God, and we are not; He can and will do whatever He wants with what is His without our permission. When God examines us, He will reward us generously for our faithfulness.
Likewise, if we reject Him and His ways, if we are unfaithful, there is
a harsh judgment that awaits us! God expects His people to act in love, not fear, and to use what they've been given, each according to his ability, for His glory, not self-gratification. There's nothing more tragic than a wasted life. Choose wisely, choose wisely.
In John 15, He said "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." Scripture is replete with warnings to abide in Him. There are people who look like they belong to Christ, but in reality, they are actually fruitless, and one day they will be thrown into the fire and burned on the Day of Judgment. Fruitfulness is the mark of one who is truly connected to Christ. It will be evidenced in the way you live your life, how faithful you are with your time, your talent, your resources. All of these reveal the true condition of your heart.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." We're saved by grace, not a result of works, but we are saved for works. Works are made manifest in the life of a true believer as a result of joyful obedience to God's Word and the new birth. False service will not be accepted but severely dealt with.
That brings us to verse 30, "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
I often hear people talk about their church doing this and that, but when you stand before God, He will not ask you, what your church did, He will ask you what you did. You can't hide behind the deeds of your church anymore, God will settle each account individually. If there was ever any question in your mind about this man's true spiritual condition, this verse should remove any doubt, "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness." Outer darkness is the definition of hell, a place of torment, away from the presence of God. 1 John1:5 says "God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."
In Closing..
Many of us know the right thing to do, but we choose not to do it. We want to do what we want, rather than what God commands. God is not some comic killjoy, trying to keep you from enjoying your life. He wants to save you from eternal hell. If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the moment that you die, you will face God and this will become a reality! Do you understand that? If you think you're just going to cease to exist, and everything is going to be okay, let me assure you it isn’t.
"In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," is used to illustrate there will and eternity of unrelieved pain and torment, determined by your response to the gospel. It’ll be a fearful thing to realize hell is not going to be one big party with all your friends. It will so dark, you won't even know they're there. Death may be much nearer than you think, you could die before this day is over, that's the thing, you don't know when, where or how you will die. But if you don't belong to Christ, you know where you're going. You don't have to though, while you still have time, confess your sin, repent "and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved