How to be a Successful Servant of Christ
Matthew 25:14-30
Purpose: To show that serving Christ is rewarded and brings assurance of salvation.
Aim: I want the listener to diligently use whatever the Lord has given them for God’s glory.
INTRODUCTION: Are you a good servant of Jesus Christ? Today’s message is for everyone who cares about the answer to that question. The fear of being a failure haunts every one of us. Even one of the greatest preachers who ever lived, C.H. Spurgeon, struggled with this possibility.
“When I was exceedingly ill in the South of France and deeply depressed in spirit—so deeply depressed and so sick and ill that I scarcely knew how to live—one of those malicious persons who commonly haunt all public men and especially ministers, sent me anonymously a letter, openly directed to “That unprofitable servant, C. H. Spurgeon.”
This letter contained tracts directed to the enemies of the Lord Jesus, with passages marked and underlined—with notes applying them to myself. How many Rabshekahs have, in their day, written to me! Ordinarily I read them with the patience which comes of use and they go to light the fire. I do not look for exemption from this annoyance, nor do I usually feel it hard to bear, but in the hour when my spirits were depressed and I was in terrible pain, this reviling letter cut me to the quick. I turned upon my bed and asked—Am I, then, an unprofitable servant? I grieved exceedingly and could not lift up my head or find rest.”
Spurgeon mentioned RABSHEKAH because he was an enemy general who did everything he could to make Hezekiah who was King of the small country of Judah after Israel had split into two kingdoms, feel like he was a failure.
Isaiah 36:1-3 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria made war on all the fortress cities of Judah and took them. Then the king of Assyria sent his general, the "Rabshekah," accompanied by a huge army, from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah. The general stopped at the aqueduct where it empties into the upper pool on the road to the public laundry. . . .
4-7The Rabshekah said to them, "Tell Hezekiah that the Great King, the king of Assyria, says this: ’What kind of backing do you think you have against me? You’re bluffing and I’m calling your bluff. Your words are no match for my weapons. What kind of backup do you have now that you’ve rebelled against me? Egypt? Don’t make me laugh. Egypt is a rubber crutch. Lean on Egypt and you’ll end up flat on your face. That’s all Pharaoh king of Egypt is to anyone who leans on him. And if you try to tell me, "We’re leaning on our God," isn’t it a bit late? Hasn’t Hezekiah just gotten rid of all the places of worship, telling you, "You’ve got to worship at this altar"?
8-9"’Be reasonable. Face the facts: My master the king of Assyria will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them. You can’t do it, can you? So how do you think, depending on flimsy Egypt’s chariots and riders, you can stand up against even the lowest-ranking captain in my master’s army? 10"’And besides, do you think I came all this way to destroy this land without first getting God’s blessing? It was your God who told me, Make war on this land. Destroy it.’" (The Message)
Jesus is telling us a story so we could know what it takes to please Him. First, Jesus explained the,
➽Vs.14-15 I. The Process of Getting Responsibilities
➽Vs.14 A. God is the only source “entrusted his possessions”
The point of using talents for this story is that God gives to each of us generously. A talent was a sum of money; it had nothing to do with special abilities, although abilities are part of what the Lord gives us to us. The one with 5 talents got about 100 year’s wages! 2 talents = 40 years – 1 talent was still 20 years wages!
Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (NAU)
Everything we have belongs to God. If that is true, shouldn’t we ask God for His direction every time we use His resources? Nothing really belongs to us.
➽Vs.15 B. God decides who gets what “he gave…each according to his own ability”
1 Corinthians 12:18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. (NAU)
John Calvin, 14th century reformer, warns us:
“For so blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love, that everyone thinks he has a good reason for exalting himself and despising all others in comparison.”
Later Calvin said, "There is no other remedy than to pluck up by the roots those most noxious pests, self-love and love of victory .... This the doctrine of Scripture does. For it teaches us to remember, that the endowments which God has bestowed upon us are not our own, but His free gifts, and that those who [honor] themselves upon them betray their ingratitude"
➽Vs.16-18 II. The Present Use of Responsibilities
➽Vs.16-17 A. Some are used “gained five more…two more”
The idea here is that serving our Master is hard work. We are responsible for taking what the Lord gives us and then using it to further His work. The biggest gift the Lord has given to each of His followers is a heart that longs to please Christ. Taking that desire to please Christ and multiplying it is a difficult but worthwhile task.
➽"Heart-work is hard work, indeed. To shuffle over religious duties with a loose and heedless spirit will cost no great pains. But to set yourself before the Lord, and tie up your loose and vain thoughts to a constant and serious attendance upon Him, will cost you something." – John Flavel
“The test of their service was not how much they earned, but how hard they tried.” [MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 25:19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.]
➽Vs18 B. Some are unused “hid his master’s money”
The wicked servant didn’t waste what he was given, he didn’t spend it on himself, he just didn’t improve what he was given. It is wrong to have a love for Christ and then not take the effort to have that desire grow. Jesus explained what we have been given (light) and then what we are supposed to do with it: Matthew 5:14-16 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (NAU)
➽Vs.19-30 III. The Future Accountability
➽Vs.19-23 A. The workers are rewarded
If you are not purifying your life, then you have not fixed your eyes on the hope of Christ’s soon return. Remembering the future day of accountability will turn a pew warmer into a servant of God!
1 John 3:2-3 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (NAU)
➽1. With praise “Well done, good and faithful slave”
God wants us to have a joy that is beyond our wildest dreams. John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (NAU)
There is NO GREATER JOY than pleasing the One who gave Himself on the Cross for us!
➽2. With promotion “I will put you in charge of many things”
Notice that the servant who gained five talents and the one who gained two talents were both rewarded. So, God rewards faithfulness, not results. I think this suggests that how faithful we are to Christ will determine how we will be rewarded for all of eternity.
John 12:25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. (NAU)
➽3. With the presence of God “enter into the joy of your master”
Faithful followers of Christ confidently look forward to being with Christ. 1 John 2:28 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. (NAU)
Paul said that he had a, “desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better (Philippians 1:23NAU).
Our highest joy, our greatest thrill will be to see the face of our God. Revelation 22:3-4 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. (NAU)
This is the same passion that Moses had. Exodus 33:18, 20-23 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” (NAU)
➽Vs.24-30 B. The whiners are rebuked
➽Vs.24-26 1. What problems do they have?
➽Vs.24 a. They have a false view of God “I knew you to be a hard man”
Malachi 3:14 “You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts? (NAU)
A person who thinks that God treats His own harshly does not know Christ. Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (NAU)
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (NAU)
It is those who have no relationship with Christ who believe that God is too strict. Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (NAU)
A Christian owns eternal riches that are far more than all the physical wealth and public praise that the world can offer. Ephesians 1:3-6 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (NAU)
Spurgeon talked about those who claim to love Christ, but who have a wrong view of who He is.
“If they want pleasure they go outside the church to get it: their joys are not within the circle of which Christ is the centre. Their religion is their labor, not their delight; their God is their dread, not their joy. They do not delight themselves in the Lord, and therefore he does not give them the desire of their hearts, and so they grow more and more discontented.”
➽Vs.25-26 b. They have a fake fear of God “I was afraid”
“Wicked” or “bad” means “falsehearted,” as opposed to the others, who are emphatically styled “good servants.”[Jamieson, R., Fausset, A., & and Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (electronic ed.) (Mt 25:25). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.]
This servant should have feared failing his master. Instead he feared that his master would fail him! He was more consumed with how he was going to be treated, than he was with how he was treating what his master had given to him.
Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” (NAU)
Blame shifting is what guilty people do. The evil servant blamed his master for his own laziness.
Charles Spurgeon made this comment:
“Indeed, instead of acknowledging any fault he turned to accusing his lord. It is even SO with false professors. They have no idea that they are hypocrites; the thought does not cross their minds. They have no notion that they are unfaithful. Hint at it, and see how they will defend themselves. If they are not living as they ought to do, they claim to be pitied rather than blamed; the blame lies with Providence; it is the fault of circumstances: it is the fault of anybody but themselves. They have done nothing, and yet they feel more at ease than those who have done everything. They have taken the trouble to dig in the earth and hide their talent, and they as good as ask — what more do you want? Is God so exacting as to expect me to bring more to him than he gave me? . . . He who proudly thinks himself profitable shall be found unprofitable, and he who modestly judges himself to be unprofitable may in the end come to hear his Master say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
It was the great apostle Paul who said, For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15:9 NAU)
We should never think of our work for Christ as extraordinary. Luke 17:10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ” (NAU)
When we think that obeying Christ is not only hard, but maybe even impossible we are guilty of having a false view of God. Then we have made up our own god. But, Paul demolished all of our excuses when he said; I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NAU)
➽Vs.27-30 2. What punishments do they endure?
➽Vs.27 a. God rebukes them “you ought to have…”
Here the master uses the slave’s excuse against him. Even if the master was hard to please, the slave could have at least done a little something to please his master by growing in his passion to love and serve him.
➽Vs.28-30 b. God rejects them “Throw out the worthless slave”
“It was not his failure to invest the talent that condemned him; rather his lack of good works showed that he lacked saving faith.” [MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 25:30). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.]
CONCLUSION: Let me close by telling you a true story. It will illustrate that whatever God gives to us we can develop and use for His glory.
Rudy Meoli was an average baseball player at best. His career batting average was just over 200. Rudy was not known for his batting average or his fielding. In 1973 he made 27 fielding errors. In spite of his mediocre abilities Rudy played an important major role in baseball history.
It all happened on May 15th, 1973. Rudy, as usual, was hustling and working hard to play his best. On that particular day, Rudy and his teammates faced a team that would wind up winning the division. This was an important game.
Rudy played well that day, but what happened in the eighth inning allowed Rudy to make the most important play of his career. His team was up 3-0. It was the bottom of the eighth inning. Their new young pitcher had not allowed any hits so far. A veteran pinch hitter by the name of Gail Hopkins was called on to face the young pitcher that inning. The pitcher threw a pitch that Hopkins got just a piece of and hit a little looping ball into shallow left field. Rudy Meoli turned his back toward home plate and ran as hard as he could into shallow left field. Rudy pulled off an unbelievable over the shoulder catch. What he did was what he was supposed to do. That was what he was trained to do. But, that’s not the end of the story.
That was the closest the Kansas City Royals came that day to having a hit against the California Angels. Their young pitcher was Nolan Ryan. Rudy Meoli’s amazing catch in the 8th inning sealed Nolan Ryan’s very first Major League No-hitter. Ryan, one of the all time great pitchers, wound up with a total of 7 no-hit games -- a baseball record that has yet to be broken. He also still holds a major league record of 5,714 strikeouts.
Without Rudy Meoli, Nolan Ryan would still have had a successful career, but he would not hold the record for the most no-hit games.
God will use us too, if we are humbly pursuing a passion to glorify Him.
“To be living without aim or purpose beyond that of keeping up your position is to be a wicked and slothful servant, condemned already. While meditating upon this subject may we each one say to himself, " Lord, is it I?" C.H. Spurgeon
“The servant’s business is not to hide himself in a corner of the field and cry, but to go on plowing; not to bleat with sheep, but feed them, and so prove your love to Jesus.” --Spurgeon
