Reading: Luke chapter 19 verses 11-27.
• Most people find Mondays depressing.
• We talk about those “Monday morning blues”.
In fact, here’s a useless or scary piece of information:
• There is a higher chance of having a heart attack on Monday;
• Than on any other day of the week.
This will cheer you up tomorrow:
• Did you know every other kind of stress-related illness,
• And condition is increased on Mondays to?
• Your blood pressure is elevated on Mondays,
• Meaning that you have a higher risk of a stroke.
• Your stomach acidity will be higher,
• Which means that you face a higher risk of having an ulcer.
• You will be glad to know, also,
• That you are twice as likely to commit suicide on a Monday as on any other day.
• That Monday-morning feeling is no myth,
• But a medical fact.
It is true to say:
• That a great many of us find the very idea of work depressing.
• We probably fall into one of four categories.
(a). There are the high-flyers.
• They will spend tomorrow under pressure,
• The are expected to perform, they are in a workaholic culture.
Ill:
The man who said:
• That he had only ever met three people who were absolutely obsessed with work.
• Unfortunately they happened to be the other three men in his office!
(b). Low flyers.
• Their Monday-morning syndrome is caused by mundane, boring, undemanding jobs
• They too can display symptoms of depression and stress.
Ill:
• The British government,
• When it ruled Ireland during the potato blight.
• In order to sustain the morale of the people by providing employment,
• The British ordered the construction of unnecessary roads, roads that went nowhere.
• Some people are in jobs like that;
• They are pointless and seem to be going no-where.
(c). Middle flyers.
• Those that enjoy their work and love their jobs;
• But they too have a problem.
• Their problem at work is their workmates or;
• Maybe it’s those physical working conditions that generate anxiety.
• There’s no denying that social and environmental factors;
• Make a big difference to job satisfaction.
(d). Non-flyers.
• It is also true that no matter how good the job,
• How considerate your employer,
• How nice the people you work with,
• For a great many of us it is the very idea of work that is unpalatable.
• We do not want to do it.
• The thought of having to do it, gives us those Monday morning blues.
Quote:
• Jerome K. Jerome who writes in his book Three Men in a Boat:
• ‘I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.’
Verse 13 is the key verse:
• It is Jesus’ answer to the dreaded Monday-morning feeling.
• ‘Put this money to work until I come back.’
• This, if you like, is the Bible’s work ethic.
• Notice, it is grounded not in mere moral duty, but in future hope.
• We are to put his “mina” to work until he comes back.
• The final phrase is desperately important.
The world is not out of control, it is going somewhere, and the king is returning:
• You and I have to make the most of the opportunities and the resources you have;
• We need to invest in his kingdom by working hard for him. That is Jesus’ message.
Ill:
• There is a story of three workmen on a building site.
• A TV interviewer walks around the sight asking them what they are doing.
• First he sees a carpenter and asks him what is he doing;
• The man replies, ‘Oh, I’m sawing some wood.’
• Second he sees a stonemason and asks him what is he doing;
• The man replies ‘Oh, I’m shaping some stone.’
• Then he sees a labourer mixing the cement and asks him what is he doing;
• He replied, ‘Sir, I’m building a cathedral.’
It makes all the difference to have a goal:
• To see your life in the bigger picture, to have an eternal perspective.
• To have hope, to realise that we do is our calling.
• According to this parable, if we are unhappy with our current situation,
• We have the freedom to change it.
• God lets us invest out “Mina” any way we want;
• As long as we realise we are we are doing it for God. We are on the kings business.
(1). Context of the story:
• Jesus had just met a tax collector who was a hard worker,
• But who was investing in the wrong things.
• He was a successful thief until he experienced one meeting with Jesus,
• Then his heart was changed and his priorities transformed.
• Immediately he sold his stock in greed and invested heavily in generosity,
• His check-book quickly reflected his new set of priorities.
• While the crowd was still grappling with this stunning change,
• Jesus took the occasion to tell them a parable about money.
(1). When It Comes to Money, Always Remember Three Things:
• Three important principles can reinforce a resilient attitude toward money,
• Especially during difficult and shaky times.
(1). What You Need Most Cannot Be Purchased with Money
Consider what money can and cannot buy.
“Money can buy a bed but not sleep.
Books but not brains.
Food but not an appetite.
Finery but not beauty.
A house but not a home.
It can buy pleasure but not peace.
Medicine but not health.
Amusements but not joy.
Companionship but not friendship.
A crucifix but not a Saviour.”
• By focusing on money and things,
• We can easily lose sight of what’s most important
• Topping the list is our salvation,
• Which Peter says was bought not with money…….blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
(2). What You Have Has Been Provided by God
• God provides us minds to think and backs to work;
• Our very ability to earn money..
Without Him, we’d have nothing:
• Our houses, our stereos, our cars, even our lives are His property,
• All on loan to us from His heavenly warehouse.
• Only fool says “mine, mine, mine”.
• Wise people acknowledge God’s goodness to them.
(3). What You Spend Is an Expression of Your Priorities
• We spend money on what we consider important.
• Food and clothing and shelter, medical care, hobbies & leisure pursuits and giving,
• The way we use our money reveals our priorities.
• Because we are different we will have different priorities!
• Now if you don’t judge me, and I won’t judge you!
• These things are okay -as long as our hearts are in the right place.
(2). Background:
ill:
Christopher Columbus made his voyage west in 1492:
• He kept two log books, one which contained falsified information.
• Because he wanted his men to believe they were closer to land than they really were.
• Columbus felt that the morale of the crew,
• Was more important than the integrity of the captain.
In contrast to Columbus:
• Jesus had very clearly told the disciples on several occasions;
• That he was going up to Jerusalem to die! Then rise again!
• He wanted them to know exactly what was ahead,
• And so he told them he was going up to Jerusalem to die! Then rise again!
• And although he spoke in simple terms;
• The disciples did not seem to be able to grasp his words.
Verse 11:
• “He was near Jerusalem,”
• And everyone “supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately”.
Passover season was always an emotionally charged time for the Jews:
• Because it reminded them of how they had escaped from slavery.
• And how they had a great victory over their oppressors the Egyptians.
• Even though the disciples had been warned by Jesus,
• They too were caught up with the kingdom fever that was epidemic in Palestine,
• The disciples like the other Jews expected Christ to enter Jerusalem as a conquering hero,
• To vanquish Rome, and to immediately set up God’s rule on earth.
The disciples never seemed to grasp the truth:
• That before he would reign he must die and go away.
• That was not on their agendas and so the truth never penetrated their minds.
To help them understand Jesus tells them this parable about the future:
• Which deals with the importance of using their money and resources wisely,
• While they wait for His kingdom.
(3). a Story - 5 elements:
This tale belongs to a family of parables which Jesus told:
• Not with the purpose of challenging the Pharisees and the scribes,
• But rather with the purpose of instructing his own followers;
• About the nature of the kingdom of God.
• Jesus makes it clear that God’s plan is going to be different from popular expectation.
The story includes five key elements.
(First element).
• The first element is the nobleman,
• Who goes away verse 12:
“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.”
• The nobleman represents Jesus,
• Who will soon leave for the distant country of heaven.
• He has a long journey to travel before he can enjoy his coronation.
• For Jesus he must leave this world altogether.
• But he will return again;
• And establish His kingdom on earth.
• In the meantime, during the period of his absence,
• He is leaving those who count themselves as his servants a task.
(Second element).
• There are two groups of people mentioned in verses 13-14,
• One positive and one negative, we will look at the negative group first:
(a). Rebels (verse 14):
13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.
‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
• In verse 14 the group of citizens mentioned,
• Represent unbelievers, those who are resisting the rule of Jesus over their lives.
• They are rebels and Jesus uses strong language to describe them;
• His subjects hated him and said, “We don’t want this man to be our king”.
Note:
• Jesus’ hearers would relate very easily to this scenario,
• This has been called a unique parable,
• Because it is very similar to an actual historical event that took place.
• So it’s the only time Jesus drew on a well known factual incident.
Ill:
• Because just a few years before the death of Herod the Great,
• His son Archelaus went to Rome to ask Augustus Caesar to make him king over Judea.
• But Herod the Great’s dynasty was very unpopular among many of the Jews.
• And the Jews immediately sent a delegation of 50 senior men to oppose the appointment.
• It may very well be that this act of rebellion in the parable,
• Struck a familiar cord with the hearers of the parable.
In this parable:
• Jesus is saying that people would reject God’s Messiah too,
• Resenting his interference in their affairs.
• Some of them might cloak their rebellion in the guise of doubt or ignorance.
• But Jesus is adamant that the root of this resistance to his rule;
• Is not intellectual but moral.
• It lies not in the mind, but in the will. ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
(b). The Good Servants (verse 15-19).
• A second category of people, at the other extreme of the scale,
• Are those whom Jesus called in his parable ‘the good servants’.
• They are the ones who obey the master,
• They take the money and invest it,
• These servants represent Christians.
• Those who claim to follow Jesus and obey his teaching.
(Third element ).
The third element is the money the nobleman leaves with his slaves.
• He gives each slave one “mina,”
• A mina equalled a 100 drachma.
• And a drachma was the weekly wage of a working man.
• So he gave them about 3 months wages.
Note:
• I believe that the mina represents not only money,
• But also the resources or talents God places in our hands.
• We all have a calling or a skill or a talent, and each Christian has a spiritual gift
• And we all have the same twenty-four hours a day to do something with it.
• So think beyond money,
• Let that be a symbol of all the other things God has given us.
(Fourth element ).
• The fourth element is the nobleman’s command:
• “Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.” (v. 13).
Now that makes complete sense:
• Money is only good if it is used or invested.
• E.g. No point starving to death, if you have money in the bank!
Again if money is symbolic the analogy continues:
• What is the point of having a natural talent if it is wasted;
• E.g. A beautiful singing voice, if nobody ever hears you sing?
• What is the point of heaving a spiritual gift if you do not use it,
• E.g. Encouraging or helps or preaching or…..big list in your Bible.
• What is the point of having a Christian testimony (story of salvation)
• If no one ever hears it?
• The command of Jesus is clear:
• “Put IT to work, until he comes back.”
Notice:
• The slaves have complete freedom to invest his money any way they wish,
• As long as they make a gain for their master.
• Jesus allows us to break out of the mould,
• To do the unexpected.
• He has given us creative minds and a spirit of adventure.
• Don’t let other Christians hold you back from using that mind & spirit of adventure.
(Fifth element).
• The fifth element is ultimate accountability.
• The nobleman returns as a king and verse 15:
“Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
We are not told how long the nobleman was gone:
• Perhaps years.
• But when he returns, business is on his mind, and he’s in charge.
• Notice he doesn’t ask ,
• He orders the servants to come forward to give an account of their investments.
Note:
• Did you know that every Christian will one day;
• Stand before the judgement seat of Christ, and give an account of themselves
Quote 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
• This will not affect the Christians salvation,
• That was settled 2,000 years ago at the cross.
• But will definitely affect his reward!
• And will affect our future service for Christ in his coming kingdom.
Each one of us (every Christian) will give an account:
• Of how we used our time,
• Our money,
• Of how we our natural talents,
• Of how we our spiritual; gifts,
• How we used the gospel message, which he has entrusted to us.
• How we have contributed to our local fellowship, which is HIS church!
• Question will be: did you invest these things wisely?
• May our answer be yes!
Question: How well did these servants in the parable do?
Answer:
Servant 1 and 2 (verse 16-19):
16“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
Notice:
• The two slaves refer to the money as “your mina.”
• They rightly recognize that the money and profits were his, not theirs.
• For the Christian everything they have is from God,
• We are stewards with the things he gives to us.
There is variation, a difference in what the servants earnt:
• The first servant had made a 1,000% return on his cash.
• The second servant made 500%.
• And the nobleman rewarded the servants accordingly;
• One was put in charge of 10 cities the other 5 cities.
The third servant (verses 20-23):
• Then a third slave steps forward to give his report.
• Notice his reward matches his return too. Nothing!
20“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I 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.’
22“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? 23Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
• Folding the mina in a handkerchief was not the master’s idea of doing business.
• The slave claimed he hid it because he was afraid,
• But if he really feared the master, he would have obeyed him.
• And even a safe, low-interest savings account would have been better than nothing.
Notice:
• To excuse his laziness and bad judgement,
• He tries to lay the blame on the master.
In verse 21 he is trying to make out that the master is some kind of hard task master:
• But it’s quite clear that he’s nothing of the kind.
• Remember he has entrusted ten servants with the equivalent of £50,000 or more.
• Remember, these were servants or slaves —
• They didn’t even have the status of an employee in the ancient world (living tools).
• Yet he values them and commits to them this considerable wealth,
• Putting it at their disposal to use while he’s away.
What’s more:
• He even gives the first two servants a generous reward.
• Far from being exploitative and ruthless, this man is a generous benefactor.
The third servant:
• By slandering his master’s character,
• Is revealing his own mean-minded and lazy disposition.
• His behaviour is sulky; he wraps the money up in a handkerchief;
• ‘I was afraid’ is the poor excuse he offers.
Ill:
• A traveller in the southern states of the USA, who once stopped in a small township.
• He paused to talk to one of the farmers sitting at the entrance of his home.
• ‘How’s your cotton coming along?’ said the traveller.
• ‘Ain’t got none,’ was the reply.
• ‘Didn’t you plant any?’
• ‘No,’ he said. ‘Afraid of the boll-weevil.’
• ‘How’s your corn, then?’
• ‘Didn’t plant none. ‘Fraid there weren’t going to be no rain.
• ‘How about your potatoes”
• ‘Ain’t got none. ‘Fraid of the potato blight.’
• ‘Well, what did you plant, then?’
• ‘Nothin’. This year I figured I’d just play safe.’
Sadly this was the policy of the third servant:
• He figured that he would do nothing,
• That he would just play safe.
• Yet the irony was that he was playing very dangerously indeed.
• In trying to avoid the wrath of his master,
• Which he said he feared so much, he was actually incurring it.
• And incurring it to a far greater degree.
The third servants problem:
• Was not that he feared the master too much,
• But that he did not fear him half enough.
• If he had, he would have done something with that mina he had given him,
• Even if it was only putting it in the bank.
• The truth was that he was a wicked servant,
• Looking for an excuse for his sloth, negligence and irresponsibility.
Ill: There is a story of the two boys:
• Who were going on and on about their deep friendship to each other.
• The first little boy said to the other one,
• ‘Hey, Bobby, if you ‘ad a million pounds, would you give me ‘halfe?’
• “Course I would,’ he said, “you’re my bestist friend”
• ‘What about if you ‘ad a fousand pounds?’
• ‘I’d give you ‘alf just the same.’
• ‘What about if you ‘ad a fousand marbles?’
• ‘I’d give you ‘alf of ‘em,’ he replied.
• ‘What about if you ‘ad two marbles?’ he said.
• (Pause.) ‘That’s jolly well not fair. You know I’ve got two marbles.’ He replied.
The application is obvious:
• God wants our two marbles.
• He is not interested in the hypothetical devotion,
Ill:
• We can sing words like:
• “I love you Lord” or “I will offer up my life” etc.
• The Lord says to us one of us; “Okay, let’s start with the two marbles”.
• That is the sign we mean business, that’s the sign that he is truly Lord
Displeased with the slave, the master tells those standing near,
• “Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas” (v. 24).
• But they object, “Master, he has ten minas already” (v. 25).
• Then the king answers them with;
• A principle and a prediction that points to the heart of Jesus’ message.
(4). The sting in the tale:
(a). The principle is this:
• You cannot stand still and continue to grow.
• Jesus says in verse 26:
“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.
• There is a well known phrase: “Use it or lose it.”
• And that phrase is true, especially for the Christian.
Ill:
• An athlete’s muscles and skills will diminish & weaken without training;
• An artist’s creativity will shrivel if the imagination isn’t stretched.
The opposite is also true:
• As an athlete exercises and trains;
• So he becomes fitter and is able to perform more effectively.
• When we go through one door of learning and growth,
• We’re led to more doors and even greater opportunities for growth.
So whatever resources, talents, or interests God has given you:
• Remember - don’t sit on your mina.
• And don’t worry about how many minas you have, either.
• The Master is more pleased with less talented believers who use what they have;
• Than highly talented believers who do nothing.
(2). The prediction is in verse 14 and 27:
• It concerns the citizens who resisted the nobleman’s claim to power,
• When he returns as king, they will receive judgment that is both swift and grim.
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.’”
Although they had had no minas to invest:
• They had possessed the greatest gift any person could have time.
• The master had given them plenty of time to submit to his rule.
• But they blew their opportunity and now it was too late.
• Just as it will be for unbelievers when Christ comes again as King of Kings.
Verse 27:
• For as the story recounts, ‘He was made king, however, and returned home.’
• The point Jesus makes is that nothing can stop his final triumph.
• Indeed, at the very end of the parable,
• He tells us what fate befell these rebels as a result of their refusal to accept the king:
27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
• Like me, I expect you find that a very harsh ending,
• An ending in some ways we would rather Jesus had left out.
• The fact is, however, that there can be no room in the kingdom of heaven for rebels.
• It was rebellion against God that ruined this world in the first place.
God is determined that his new world is not going to suffer the same fate.
• It is going to be populated only by those who;
• Acknowledge, desire and appreciate his sovereign rule.
• The very foundation of that new age to come will be the prayer,
• ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done’ (Matthew 6:10).
• Those who are not willing to pray such a prayer exclude themselves from it.
• They make it clear that they would not be happy in his kingdom.
• Sure, it is a harsh verdict:
• ‘Bring them here and kill them in front of me.’
• But by it Jesus conveys the hard truth that if we do not want this king,
• Then we cannot have a role in his kingdom!
If nothing else this evening:
• This is a stark reminder that God has entrusted us with the gospel message,
• Christian do not leave this building and bury it!
• In the weeks and months ahead,
• Invest it wisely in the lives of those people you come into contact with!
