SERMON OUTLINE:
• Be alert (Vs 35)
• Be Waiting and watching (vs 36-40)
• Be specific (vs 41)
• Be Working (vs 42-53)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• When Winston Churchill was in his early thirties;
• He tried with all his powers to awaken the English speaking world;
• To the impending dangers of a resurgent Germany;
• At the time Germany was being influenced by one ‘Corporal Hitler’;
• But Churchill’s warnings were all to no avail.
• So it was therefore ironic
• That after he had done so much to try and avert the conflict.
• That when war broke out:
• Britain turned to Churchill in her fight against Nazism;
• This sense of irony never left him;
• Years later American President Roosevelt asked him the question:
• “What did he feel the war should be called?”
• Churchill answered without hesitation ‘The Unnecessary War’.
• Churchill knew the difficulty of getting people to listen;
• Especially listening to things they did not want to hear;
• And to be confronted with tough choices that will affect a person’s life-style.
• Sadly for many people - only calamity;
• Will make them take notice of things that they should be noticing all of the time.
In Luke chapter 12 Jesus wants his hearers to make some tough choices:
• He has been teaching some important truths:
• And like Churchill he knew his hearers did not want to embrace them;
• For they made huge demands upon a person’s life.
Question: What was this tough teaching?
Answer: Just scan chapter 12 of Luke and you will find out:
• Verses 1-12: Beware of hypocrisy - double standards – be genuine!
• Verses 13-21: Beware of covetousness (longing for money & possessions) – be content!
• Verses 22-34: Beware of worrying – trust in God - be focussed!
• And now in these two parables Jesus again gives us another warning:
• Verses 35-48 Beware of carelessness (beware of negligence).
• In these verses Jesus will shift the emphasis:
• He has been talking about being worried in the present;
• Now he switches the teaching to talk about being concerned about the future.
Note:
• This highlighting of ‘being ready’ in these two parables:
• Really complements and completes this previous teaching;
• The best way to overcome and conquer hypocrisy, covetousness and worry;
• Is to look forward to the return of the Lord!
• When you are living in the ‘future’ tense;
• It is much harder for the things of the world to ensnare you.
• Quote: C. S. Lewis:
• “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”
(1). Be alert (Vs 35): “Be dressed ready for service keep your lamps burning”
• As the old joke goes:
• “Be alert because Britain needs lerts”
Ill:
• There was a king of England called Ethelred,
• (King of England 978–1013 and 1014–1016).
• He earned the nickname ’Ethelred the Unready’.
• I think that nickname was a little unfair because he was only about 10 years old;
• When he came to the throne and was made king.
• Most of his problems were caused by his advisors, his councillors;
• Their poor advice meant that Ethelred was never really prepared to meet his enemies,
• Unable to effectively rouse and army and fight them;
• Ethelred was forced to buy off his enemies.
• This earned him the nick-name ‘Ethelred the unready’.
• Although to be fair to the boy king – it was mainly due to his poor advisors.
Jesus tells his followers in verse 35:
• Don’t be like Ethelred! Instead be prepared!
• N.I.V.: “Be dressed ready for service”
• K.J.B.: “Let your loins be girded about”
• In Jesus day; servants would need to hitch their long robes into their belts;
• This gave them a greater freedom to move around and perform their duties.
• If they did not hitch them up the robes would get in the way and may even trip them up.
Ill:
• You get dressed when you are going out or you are on duty.
• i.e. At home you may have a lazy day – stay in your pyjamas & remain unshaved.
• But when you go out or are off to work;
• You get prepared i.e. washed, dressed & ready for duty.
• Jesus tells his disciples to have the attitude of always being ready.
• They are to have the attitude of always being on duty;
• Therefore they need always to be prepared!
Ill:
• ‘Be Prepared’ are well known words to many people;
• Since 1907 they have been the motto of the Boy Scout Movement,
• And also The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
• Those two words ‘Be Prepared’ have been used by millions of Scouts around the world;
• And translated into a variety of languages,
Quote: The Scout handbook will tell you:
• “The Scout Motto BE PREPARED means;
• You are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY.
• Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order,
• And also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur,
• So that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.
• Be Prepared in Body by making yourself strong and active;
• And able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.”
Notice:
• With these words ‘Be prepared’ Jesus introduces a new concept into his teaching:
• He is wanting to encourage and stimulate his disciples to think about eternal things;
• Rather than temporal matters.
• To do this Jesus introduces a new concept, a new thought, a new idea;
• He talks about his second coming! His future return & reign to earth!
• Verse 40:
• ‘The Son of Man will return at an hour when you do not expect him’.
Ill:
• When death or serious illness comes into a person’s life:
• It cause them to reprioritise their lives;
• These sad things help a person to see what is and what not is really important in life.
• In these two parables;
• Jesus is teaching his hearers that his return should have that same effect!
• In other words just as death and serious illness cause us to reassess our values;
• So should the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again.
(2). Be Waiting and watching (vs 36-40):
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,
36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.
39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Jesus uses a familiar illustration of a wedding to remind the disciples to be waiting & watching:
Ill:
• In our society weddings are still big events,
• Despite the fact that the simplest of civil marriages costs less than £50,
• According to Wedding Guide UK.
• The average cost of getting married in the UK in 2011 was around £15,500;
• Due to the economic recession that price has dropped by 25%;
• Because in 2008 the average cost of a wedding was £20,000.
• Now that’s a lot of money!
• But I guess wedding days have always been expensive days:
• In both modern and bible times - weddings were, and are, a big deal:
In New Testament times a Jewish wedding:
• Took place on Wednesday. If it was a first wedding (i.e. if the bride were a virgin).
• The wedding took place on a Thursday, if the bride was a widow or if it was a remarriage.
• The wedding ceremony would take place late in the evening;
• After a period of feasting and partying.
• This could take many hours after which;
• The father of the bride would take his daughter on his arm,
• And with the wedding party in tow,
• They would parade through the streets of the village;
• So that everyone could come out and congratulate the bride.
• Finally the wedding party would arrive at the home of the groom.
• And the wedding actually took place in the front door of the grooms house.
So for the bridegrooms servants (who remained at home) it was a long period of waiting;
• They did not know when the groom and his bride would show up.
• It could be the second or even the third watch of the night – in other words very late!
• The servants must wait and wait and wait and then be ready to go to work
• They must make sure the lamps had their oil replenished;
• That the wicks were trimmed and burning bright.
• That everyone was ready for action as soon as the groom arrived.
Note:
• Jesus takes this very familiar situation and then turns it on its head.
• Once again Jesus takes the familiar and changes it!
• Did you notice in verse 37 that the master serves the servants?
• “I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve,
• Will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them”.
• In Jewish weddings, the bride was treated like a queen and the groom like a king;
• So you would not expect the ‘king’ to wait upon and serve his staff.
• Yet King Jesus will serve and minister to his faithful servants!
• When he greets us at his return,
• And he will reward us for our faithfulness.
The point being:
• It will be good for those faithful servants when the master returns.
• In fact Jesus uses that word ‘Good’ twice in verses 37 & 38.
• If it is repeated twice, a double emphasise;
• Then it must be worth waiting for!
• But notice this double blessing is conditional, it is not automatic!
• The condition is found in verses 40 Jesus said: “You also must be ready!”
• ‘To be alert, attentive, prepared, not to be caught off guard or surprised’:
• That is the attitude we should have concerning the second of Christ:
• ‘To be alert, to be ready, not to be caught off guard or surprised’:
• Because said Jesus in verse 39 his coming will be ‘like a thief in the night’.
• A thief or a burglar of course strikes when no-one is expecting them!
• It will start like any other day – but it will not end like any other day.
Ill:
• I don’t want to worry you but 1 in 10 houses are burgled each year.
• That happens because a burglar uses the element of surprise.
• If he did not use the element of surprise;
• Then the householder would stay in or make sure the police were there;
• To catch him/her or them.
• By using this analogy Jesus makes the point;
• That his return to earth will be when most people least expect it.
• But the believer has been warned and therefore should be ready!
Ill:
• The Presbyterian pastor Robert Murray McCheyne:
• Would sometimes ask people: “Do you believe Jesus Christ is coming today?”
• If they replied in the negative McCheyne would then say:
• “Then you had better be ready because he is coming at an hour when you think not!”
(3). Be specific (vs 41).
“Peter asked, Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
• Peter was often spokesman for the disciples;
• So we should expect Peter to be the one asking the question.
• Maybe Peter felt that the demands of what Jesus was saying;
• Was hard and demanding;
• And it would be less difficult if they were spread over a wider area than the 12 disciples.
Peter’s question is a good one:
• Because Jesus has been speaking to various groups in this chapter;
• In verses 1, 4 and 22 he has been speaking to the disciples.
• In verses 1 and 13 Jesus was speaking to the crowds.
• In verses 1 and 15-21 he may well have been speaking to the Pharisees.
• Peter knows if Jesus is speaking just to the disciples the demands are great;
• If he is speaking to the crowd the demands are more bearable.
Ill:
• If I tell you to watch the leaders of this Church this week;
• Make sure they are behaving and using their time and their talents wisely.
• I have put the leaders on the spot and the rest of you can relax.
• But if I say make sure you are ALL behaving in a fitting manner;
• And you are ALL using your time and your talents wisely.
• The leaders might not feel so under pressure because we are all now in the same boat.
• Likewise Peter wants to know is this teaching just for the twelve disciples;
• Or is what Jesus teaching for everyone?
• Notice In answering Peter’s question Jesus does not give a straight answer;
• Instead he gives to Peter, the disciples and anyone else listening another parable.
• Peter would get an answer to his question;
• But he would have to listen and learn and ponder!
(4). Be Working (vs 42-53)
42 ”The Lord answered, Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.
44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ’My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk.
46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.
48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
• Quote: We have an expression “While the cats away the mice will play”
• This is a principle of human as well as rodent behaviour.
• The point being when we are without supervision we tend to slack.
• Now although Jesus did not use this expression;
• The idea that the quotation contains is very much found in this parable.
• Just in case his hearers misunderstood his first parable about waiting & watching;
• And maybe thought they could relax and take it easy until Jesus returns;
• Jesus added this second parable to encourage us to be not only awake and ready;
• But also obedient and busy when the master comes.
• Verse 43 (N.L.T.):
• “If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward”
• In the first parable the master is away a few hours – short time;
• In this second parable the master is away a few days – longer time.
This parable shows us the responsibility of obedience:
• God has given us gifts and talents, duties and responsibilities:
• He expects us to get on and do something with these gifts and talents in his absence!
• He expects his people to be active not passive in his absence.
• Quote:
• “Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him”.
Ill:
• Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky,
• He did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir.
• When he took violin lessons, the neighbours persuaded his parents to make him stop.
• Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
• His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was whittling.
• When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker.
• His knack for whittling grew into a skill of carving and his hobby became his craft.
• He worked patiently and faithfully.
• By the time he died, he left over 1,500 violins,
• Each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.”
• They are the most sought-after violins in the world;
• The last Stradivarius sold at auction for 3.5 million.
• Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but his responsibility was to use his ability,
• And his violins are still making beautiful music today.
• Quote:
• “Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him”.
Verse 47:
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Note:
• We had better take a few minutes to talk about verse 46:
• In case anyone here misunderstands what it is saying;
• I don’t think this verse is teaching that believers can lose their salvation.
• After all every Christian is “saved by grace through faith” and not by works!
So as we look at verse 46 remember three things:
• First: this is a parable and not a theological discourse:
• In other words it is a story with a meaning and not a block of solid teaching.
• The main principle of the parable is what is important;
• And not every minor detail.
• The principle in this parable is ‘be working’ – ‘be obedient’.
• Second: the parable is not about salvation but service.
• These servants were already owned and therefore belonged to the master.
• The parable is about how we serve the master;
• So it is a person’s service that is in question and not their salvation.
• Third: The phrase: “He will cut him to pieces.” Means: “Cut him off, separate him”,
• And the expression “Unbelievers.” Can also be translated; “Unfaithful”.
• In other words when Jesus returns;
• He will separate the faithful believers from the unfaithful;
• He will reward the faithful,
• But the unfaithful servants will lose their rewards.
Ill:
• The apostle Paul used a similar this illustration;
• In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 10-15.
10 “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
• Note: Jesus is coming again and there will be a day of reckoning.
• While most of us believe this in our heads, we don’t always live it out by our actions!
• If we would think more about His return,
• We would be more focused on making an eternal return on our investments.
Quote Daniel Webster was asked:
“What is the greatest thought that can occupy a man’s mind?”
He replied: “His accountability to God”
• Remember in New Testament times When this parable was literally lived out
• It was the duty of servants to always bear in mind that the master would be returning;
• And when the master came back;
• He would settle his accounts with them.
Conclusion:
• When the master returns – will he find us watching & waiting & working?
• Or will we be caught off guard and at fault?
Our future service for God will be affected by our earthly service now:
• How did we used our time?
• How did we our money?
• How did we use our natural talents?
• How did we use our spiritual; gifts?
• How did we use the gospel message, which he has entrusted to us?
• How did we contribute to our local fellowship, which is HIS church?
• The question will be: “Where you watching and waiting and working”?
• May each one of us be able to answer “Yes!”
