I'm On A Mission For The King

Luke 19:11-27 M: While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.

C: ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

M: “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

C: “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

M: “ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

C: “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

M: “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

C: “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

M: “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

C: “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

M: “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Let’s pray this prayer together: Lord God Almighty, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit that we may always look forward to the end of this present evil age and to the day of your righteous judgment. Keep us steadfast in true and living faith and present us at last holy and blameless before you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

My dear friends in the name of the King of kings,

What would it be like to see God? When you and I imagine seeing God one day, we all may have different ideas of what he looks like. We also might have different ideas of our reaction to seeing God. What do you think you will say when you see God face to face?

When we see God face to face, we may be expecting that God will come right up to us and wipe every tear from our eyes. When we see God, we may be expecting the closest, most meaningful bond with another being that we could ever imagine. When we see God, we may be looking for perfect righteousness, peace and happiness, something beyond what we could ever experience here on earth. God in his Word promises us that being able to see him face to face will bring all of this and much more.

Seeing God face to face is so much more because we will also see his majesty. This same God who can’t wait to wrap us in his arms and say, “Now you are mine forever!”, this same God is also the great King over all the earth. If you and I were allowed to see into heaven for a moment right now, we would see the great King, Jesus, seated on his throne in all his heavenly glory. We would see angels beyond number singing a glorious song, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.” We would hear people singing, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” We would be in awe of this great King who loves us so much.

Imagine this King, Jesus Christ giving you an errand to run for him. Having seen Jesus Christ on his glorious throne, knowing how much he loves us, taking to heart the sacrifices he made so that we could experience his love forever, what would we say? If Jesus were to appear to you in all his glory, and this great King asked you, “Would you do something for me?”, what would you do? Would we turn and walk away, and ignore his request? Or would we eagerly run and do everything that our great King has asked us to do? Would we say,