Signs Of The Second Coming Of Jesus
9-28-2011 Vol. 5 Part 10
Psalms 46:1-11 NKJV To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song For Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Father we praise your name, we give you all the glory. Jesus we ask that you bless us and keep us all healthy, protect us when we are traveling in our vehicles, and protect us at our places of employment. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Matthew 25:14 – 30
Matthew 25:14-30 NKJV "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Last week’s parable was all about being prepared and having the right attitude at all times. It pertained to a lot of mental readiness. This parable has multiple messages for us to harvest:
1. It is about action, us doing something.
2. It is about someone going on a trip to return at a later time.
3. It is about wisdom, knowledge, obedience, trust, faithfulness, and what we do with them.
4. It is about ability, skills, and gifts we have.
5. It is about wickedness, selfishness, laziness, and fear.
6. It is about love, joy, and rewards.
To get the impact of what the master entrusted to his servants let’s define what a talent is worth. In modern times a talent could be worth well over one million dollars depending on whether it was gold or silver. A talent was a weight measurement. Some bibles say bags of gold, some say bags of silver, and others just say talents. The only thing we know for sure is that it was a substantial amount of money to be entrusted with in those days.
The master in this parable is Jesus and it is referring to when he ascended to Heaven. Acts 1:9 NKJV Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. The return will be after the Tribulation when he returns on a white horse. Revelation 19:11 NKJV Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
The rest of the parable is about us and what we are to do while we wait for Jesus to return. Jesus is giving us a strong message about what we are to be doing to occupy our time. We are to be working for the Kingdom of God so when he returns we will have something to show him. We are to be carrying out his commands. After all did he not commission the apostles to carry on with his work to go out and make disciples in all nations? As believers we are also to carry out this commission. Mark 16:15-20 NKJV And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The master gave each of the servants money to manage during his absence. What he gave each servant was what that servant was capable of handling. Scripture doesn’t state what each servant is to do with the master’s goods, it just states he gave it to them and then left. I’m sure the master expected the servants to care for his estate and invest the money. The master didn’t tell the servants that the money was theirs, he was making the three servants stewards of his estate. He was leaving it up to the servants to figure out what they were to do. Look out for the best interest of their master, or for their best interest.
So it is the same with Jesus leaving. He not only commissioned us to spread the gospel, but also gave each of us gifts (talents; bags of gold) to carry out his will. These gifts that we are given are different for each believer. 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. Romans 12:6-8 NKJV Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. We are to take everything God has given us as a stewardship and invest it for His glory. We can use our gifts that God has given us or not use them and bury them like the third servant, but at some point in time each of us will have to stand before Jesus and give and account for what we did with the gifts we were given. Romans 14:12 NKJV So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Each of us have been granted a gift, some of us more than one gift. We are only given what we can handle. Does that mean that the one talent servant was less than the five talent servant, not at all. In real life some of us are good at multitasking while others are good a handling only one or two things at a time. Some are great coaches and can coach multiple youth team at the same time while others are good at only coaching one team. Some people are good at thinking on their feet and others aren’t. This is the case with Charlotte my wife. She has the gift of asking all the right questions at appointments when it comes to matters like health, insurance, loans, etc. I might think of some of the same questions, but it will probably be a day or two later. This is what scripture means we are all one body and are to work as one for the glory of God. Romans 12:3-5 NKJV For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. God has determined the distribution of wealth, and the believer has to recognize that his body and all he has belongs to the Lord. That is stewardship. Life is a stewardship, not an ownership. Life is a trust, not a gift. With a gift, you may do as you please. With a trust, you must openly give an account of your management. Whether it is your time, your talent, your treasure, or your body as a temple, you are going to have to give an accounting before the Lord.
What did the master say to the two talent servant? It was the same thing he said to the five talent servant. “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” The master was equally pleased with both servants. This will be the same when we stand before Jesus, it doesn’t matter how many gifts we have, the question is did we use them? If we used them, He will say well done, come into my kingdom and receive your reward. God owns everything we have including ourselves. To become a true servant of His, we must recognize that fact. We were bought with a price. He owns us and all we have, but He lets us use these things for His glory and expects us to use them. If the one talent servant would have done something like letting the money earn interest, he probably would have gotten the same praise as the others.
Why did the one talent servant go bury what he was entrusted with? Was out of fear of failure? Is this what keeps too many people from serving the Lord wholeheartedly? His irresponsibility and lack of faith revealed that he had little regard for his master, and as a result, he was severely reprimanded. His reward was Hell. When we have no regard for God, the result is believing the Ten Commandments and the Bible is a thing of the past, and not for today. People put their faith in themselves by comparing themselves to others and living for the things of the world, meaning Satan. Fear sets in when the topic comes up to give to a church, take a leadership position, getting involved with some sort of ministry. Why does this fear grip people, because they are thinking of serving themselves and not God. They might be afraid of failure, or what people might say, or what people might think of them. They think if I give to the church I can’t buy that new dress, golf clubs, 12 pack of beer, or bottle of wine. If I give my time I won’t have time to go to the ball game or mall. Getting involved with some type of ministry might mean learning something new, and change is a big issue with a lot of people. One principle that is evident in this story is that stewardship involves some risk. The servants who succeeded were vulnerable to failure. God given talents require hard work and risk if they are to produce gain.
God takes it seriously when Christians don't multiply the gifts He has given them. Opportunities given to us by God are lost if we neglect them, and then we have no further opportunity. The lazy servant ended the story with no talent whatsoever. On the other hand, if we are faithful in the use of our abilities, God will multiply our opportunities for service. Isn’t that what verse 29 is saying? (29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;….) The way to grow in influence and service is to use what we already have then the Lord will reward us with more opportunity. We can’t out give God.
Remember, as Born Again Christians, we will have to give an accounting at the judgment seat of Christ. We won't be judged for our sins, as believers, they have already been forgiven. But we will be judged for the stewardship of those things God has given us. And our judgment will be for faithfulness, not fame. We'll be judged on quality, not quantity. We have been given incredible potential for serving God. When a person has that Spiritual Birth and becomes a true believer in Jesus Christ, their talents are brought into clear focus like an eagle’s sight from a mile high. What we do with the talents given to us, is our free will. I pray that you don’t bury yours!
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,
Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill
Last Week’s Trivia: What does this verse mean? Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.
Answer: This verse is in the parable about the blind man in chapter 9 of the book of John, where Jesus restored his sight, and the Pharisees were questioning how this happened. If the above verse were re-worded this way would it make more sense? John 9:41 NLT "If you were blind, (Meaning not knowing the Gospel.) you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see. (Meaning self righteousness and not being open to the truth.) What it boils down to is this; the Pharisees thought they had all the answers and were spiritual, but in reality in their blindness (stubbornness and stupidity) they were complacent, self-satisfied, and blind to the real truth and wouldn’t accept Jesus for who he was. Can this apply to our life? You bet it can, if we are blinded to what the Bible teaches and believe only what a religion teaches, then we are just like the Pharisees and are living as a non-believer.
This week’s Trivia: What happened to the brass serpent on the pole that the Israelites looked at to be cured and saved from death after the serpent bites?
