A Kingdom of Reward
Matthew 25.14-30
August 24, 1997
Morning Service
Introduction
I. Big Responsibility: FFA President, Planning the annual banquet, Order of ceremony, who would do what and how things were to be done, Working for weeks to get it done - went well and was enjoyed by all
II. Special Responsibilities: family, Work and position, Jobs in the church, these are special responsibilities, true responsibility is given by God not humanity, We sometimes get wrapped up in the work and we lose sight of God,
III. God gives all believers a big responsibility: Message of the gospel, building of the Kingdom, Serving with faithfulness, Doing things that no one else wants to do, God gives us specific gifts and specific ways to serve
READ TEXT
Body
I. A Responsibility is Given
A. The Master: The man is leaving on a trip and calls his servants, Entrusts each with a specific responsibility, All receive an amount of talents, talent is not a measure of money but a measure of weight, various values were given to different substances with the same composition, Example - Gold, silver, bronze
Each servant was given a different level of responsibility, one was given five, one was given two and one was given one
B. The Servants: Large and wealthy individuals had many servants, There were many different functions of servants - general labor, cooking and cleaning, animal care, ect., one group was highest of all - managers, these were servants who acted as overseers of the masters affairs in his absence, These special servants were leaders of the house, this master had three of these servants
II. A Reaction is Given
A. The working reaction: The first servant - takes the five talents and invests wisely, he earns five more talents, The second servant - takes the two talents and also invests, he earns two more talents, This work did not happen overnight, long hard work that involved many transactions and faithful effort to double the talents
B. The non working reaction: The third servant - takes the one talent and hides it, the Hebrew banking and commercial systems were virtually non existent, burial of possessions was a common occurrence, No one wished to do transactions with the Roman Government, This was the best way to protect and keep possessions, The servant had the same expectations and responsibility even though he was given less
III. A Reckoning is faced
A. The Master calls the first: The master calls the servants to settle accounts, The first servant - Returns with the double share, Masters response - three stages: Well Done - compliments the servants attitude and excellence of service and character, Promotion - Faithfulness brings greater position and responsibility, Celebration - enter into the Masters joy a time of celebration
B. The Master calls the second: The second servant - Returns with a double share, The masters response is the same as the first, Compliment, promotion and celebration.
C. The Master calls the third: The third servant - Returns with accusations and excuses, the servant returns the single talent, Two problems - No attempt was made to benefit the master, Self serving allegiance in the attack on the masters character, the servants view of the master was corrupt, Master responds - Wicked because of the accusation and lazy because of the lack of effort,
IV. A Reward is Gained
A. The Master gives the reward: The talent is taken away and given to the one who has ten, those who have will be given more, those who use their gifts and talents for the kingdom shall be given more,
B. The master casts out the third servant: The third servant has nothing, the talent is taken away, those who fail to serve and use their gifts will find them taken away, the servant loses his position in the house and is thrown out into the outer darkness, where there is weep and gnashing of teeth - utter chaos and suffering, the totality of being separated from God
Application
I. A Responsibility is Given
A. The Master: Jesus is our master and He has given to us the opportunity to serve His kingdom, It is a sacred and holy task, it is an honor to be a servant of God, We have been given gifts and abilities that will expand and grow the kingdom, The responsibility falls on us to do the Lord’s work, the choice to serve is ours, He does not make us do anything
B. The Servants: Jesus has a large house with many servants, we all have different tasks and duties, we all have different levels of responsibility, there are tasks that only you can do because God has equipped you to do them, We all have a specific role and function to play in this Kingdom of reward,
II. A Reaction is Given
A. The working reaction: We have the responsibility to serve and use our gifts, as we serve Christ the Kingdom grows and expands, When we share the love of God there is a wondrous response by people, it only takes moments but it could have an eternal impact, people must be the priority, The fruit of our labor is the expansion of the Kingdom
B. The non working reaction: We can not be like an ostrich and stick our head in the sand, we can not be Christian without sharing the love of God with others, we have a mandate to share the gospel, We can not waste this opportunity, it could cost someone or us an eternity with Jesus
III. A Reckoning is faced
A. Jesus calls to settle: Jesus will call the role and all will answer, three stages: Well Done - compliments our attitude and excellence of service and character, Promotion - Faithfulness brings greater position and responsibility, Celebration - enter into the Masters joy a time of celebration
C. The Master calls the third: Two problems - No attempt was made to benefit the master, Self serving allegiance, We have an improper view of the Master, He expects service and use of the gifts He has given to us,
IV. A Reward is Gained
A. The Master gives the reward: We must use it or lose it, when we fail to serve God with our gifts we will lose them, When we serve Christ with our gifts they will deepen and multiply, Nothing is too small to do for the Master, He needs servants in every walk of life, No such thing as a non gifted person,
B. The master casts out the third servant: When we do not serve and live for the Lord there will be consequences, Christ will cast out all who are not His servants, We can not be self serving servants because that is not service to Christ, we will be removed from the masters presence
Closing Remarks
I. The Retired Missionary Couple: The return to USA after they retired, Traveling with Teddy Roosevelt, The president received tremendous fanfare and attention when he entered the boat, Missionaries were upset, Arrive at New York and the fanfare continues, missionaries still are upset because their lives were for God and they retired with nothing, they finally prayed about this situation, God spoke to the man and told him he wasn’t home yet
II. Heaven’s Homecoming: What kind of welcome will you receive? How will heaven react when you walk through the gates? God is in the business of cheering us on, we will enter into the cloud of witnesses, enter Christ’s Kingdom of reward
III. Make me a servant
Make me a servant, humble and meek; Lord let me lift up those who are weak, and may the prayer of my heart always be; make me a servant, make me a servant Make me a servant today
