Be a Faithful Servant

Shark Tank is one of my favorite TV shows.  On Shark Tank four rich investors give money to entrepreneurs trying to grow and expand their business.  It’s obvious that the Sharks are interested in one thing . . . an increased return on the money they are willing to invest.  If a Shark is going to invest, they want to see past success in earning money and a plan to expand and earn more money in the future.  God is the Creator of a global business called “The Kingdom”.  God is in the eternally important business of ruling and reigning in the heart of every human being in the world.  God’s Kingdom business is not yet ruling and reigning in every heart, so therefore, He is working His plan to expand.  What’s His plan?

READ:  Matthew 25:14-30

God is in the business of Kingdom building and He has a plan to expand His Kingdom . . . God entrusts RESOURCES to HIS PEOPLE in order to expand His Kingdom!  God’s plan to expand His Kingdom is you and I!  While God is “away”, He has left US to manage His effort to increase the number of those whose hearts are being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are each individually to use our unique combination of resources and abilities to expand His Kingdom.

How do we fit into God’s plan to expand His Kingdom?

God gives us a PERSONALIZED amount of resources according to our ABILITIES (Mt. 25:14-15) – In this parable, three individuals are given “talents” (“property”/resources) according to their “ability”.  In the New Testament a talent was the largest measurement of money equivalent to about 20 years wages.  The modern equivalent of one talent would be $600,000.  Therefore, each individual had abundant resources entrusted to them.  Some more than others, but no doubt sufficient to accomplish the task.  1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 says, “there are a variety of gifts . . . to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . . . All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”  We can question God’s plan to expand His Kingdom all we want, but one thing is for sure, He will give all of us exactly what we need to accomplish the task He has given to us.  There is no room for comparison with others, no wishing we had more, no wishing we had less, there is only one thing to do with what we have been given . . .

We must be FAITHFUL to INCREASE God’s Kingdom using the resources given to us (Mt. 25:19-30) – When the master of the three servants came to settle accounts he respond in two different ways.  To those who increased upon what they had been given he said, “well done, good and faithful servant.”  To the one who did nothing with what he was given he said, “you wicked and slothful servant . . . cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  God wants to see a return on what He has invested in us.  His expectation of us is pretty simple, we must use what has been given to us to increase the number of hearts being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are to use the unique mix of our time, money, personality, skills, and interests combined with our spiritual gift(s) to faithfully expand God’s Kingdom.  Expanding God’s Kingdom is not just for church leaders.  Whether we are a school teacher, a doctor, or a fast food service professional we are to be doing something to expand God’s Kingdom.  No one’s combination of resources and abilities is just like ours.  When God settles accounts with us, He will not compare us with anyone else, He will judge us based only on what He has given to us.  If we aren’t using our resources and abilities to expand God’s Kingdom, a good question to ourselves is whether we are a part of God’s Kingdom ourselves.

CONCLUSION
God is as passionate about ruling and reigning in peoples’ lives as Sharks are about money.  He is desperately wanting His rule and reign in the lives of people to expand.  His plan to accomplish this?  We, His good and faithful servants!  As a faithful servant, we are to use our resources and abilities to encourage others to repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ. Are you a good and faithful servant? 

Be Watching

A wedding is a special and exciting moment.  A wedding is a moment that many anticipate and look forward to.  A wedding is one of the most treasured of human experiences.  A wedding beautifully unites two individuals together into one.  According to God’s original design in Genesis 2:24, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Throughout the Bible, one of the most frequently used images to show God’s relationship with His people is marriage (Eph. 5:25-33; Rev. 21:1-4).  God has “proposed” to the world by giving Jesus Christ and whoever says “yes” by believing in Him is betrothed to be His wife (yes, even guys).  Our “wedding” with Christ is not something we want to miss out on.

READ:  Matthew 25:1-13

Entering the Kingdom of God requires WATCHING for the return of Christ!  A traditional Jewish marriage was initiated by parents of a groom and bride who made an agreement that their children would marry.  The groom’s father would pay a dowry (“bride-price”) to the bride’s father and the couple became betrothed.  During the betrothal period the groom would prepare a home for him and his new bride to live in.  When the home was built, at an unexpected time, the groom would lead a procession to the bride’s home and back to his home for a marriage celebration joined by family and friends.  Jesus uses a groom’s unexpected appearance at the end of a betrothal period to help us understand the importance of watching and being ready for His return.

What do we need to do as we watch for the return of Christ?

We are watching if our lives are LIT with the FLAME of JESUS CHRIST (Mt. 25:1, 7) – Imagine if the “ticket” that was required to go an athletic event or a concert was a flame?  What if the event was at an unknown date in the immanent future?  What would it require to keep our flame burning?  We would have to be 100% committed to waiting for the event from the moment we bought our ticket.  The event would have to be our life!  If we were not 100% committed, it wouldn’t take long before our flame would go out.  If our flame went out, it would mean we were never really committed to the event in the first place.  In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Jesus Christ, the light of life, is our “ticket” to eternal life.  We commit ourselves to Christ by repenting of our sin and believing in Him.  If we do, when Jesus returns at an unknown date in the immanent future, His light will be burning in our lives.  When Jesus returns for His bride (the church), we cannot borrow from someone else’s light.  At that moment, it will be too late to go purchase more oil.  The only time we have to be ready and watching with the light of Christ burning in our lives is right NOW!

We are watching if the flame of Jesus Christ is burning with the OIL of the HOLY SPIRIT (Mt. 25:3, 8-9) – A flame burning with wood or cloth or a wick can only burn so long.  On the other hand, a flame burning with replenished oil can burn indefinitely.  The five foolish virgins had “no oil” so their flame went out while the five wise virgins “took flasks of oil with their lamps” so their flame remained lit.  The oil that keeps the flame of Jesus Christ burning in our lives is the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13 says, “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (cf Romans 5:5, 14:17).”  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the divine fuel that guarantees our belief in Jesus Christ is real.  Without the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lives our flame is artificial and will eventually burn out.

CONCLUSION
Scripture is clear, Jesus Christ IS coming again for His bride the Church.  God has communicated His undying love and has proposed to the whole world through Jesus Christ and wants us all to say “YES”!  We have either said yes and are betrothed to Christ with our lamp burning brightly waiting for Him to return or we have said no to Jesus and our light is burned out and when He returns He will say, “I do not know you.” Have you said “YES” to Jesus’ proposal?  Now is the time to be ready and watching!