The Good and Faithful Servant

God has blessed us!

Doxology

It is that time of year again that we remember and give thanks for the many blessings God has given us over the course of the last year. This week as we gather around turkey, stuffing, pies and football, lets take time to give thanks for what God has blessed us with. Also lets take time to reflect have we been faithful with what God has blessed us with?

Jesus kicked off Matthew 25 with a parable to encourage us to live life as if his return and coming kingdom, are imminent. Always be ready. The next Kingdom parable is about being good and faithful servants. This about God’s kingdom work in the here and now. It’s about being faithful with the blessings God has entrusted to us. Being faithful takes risk.

As we wrestle with the parable of the three servants today, lets take stock of what God has entrusted or blessed us with and ask are we being faithful? To always be ready requires faithfulness.

The Three Servants

Matthew 24:45–51 NLT

45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus wraps up Matthew 24 with another parable of a faithful servant. After painting an apocalyptic scene of the world his followers will have to navigate. He concludes with a call to being a faithful servant through it all.

Despite the wars, the rumors of wars, despite persecution, despite the rising hate and tension of the world around you, be a faithful servant with the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ.

A faithful servant is a light in the darkness that surrounds us.

The Two Faithful Servants

they were all entrusted with money, talent according to their abilities.

One received 5 bags of money and the other 2 bags of money.

Both took risk and invested what the master entrusted them with.

Both servants doubled what the master entrusted them with.

Well done good and faithful servants.

The unfaithful servant

Was entrusted with 1 bag of silver according to his ability.

They were fearful of the master. Fearful of the risk of losing what the master entrusted them with, so they buried their talent in the ground.

Did not take a risk with what the master blessed him with.

Upon the masters return, he does not receive praise. He is thrown out of the masters house and into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

On the heels of the calamity of the world in Matthew 24 Jesus encourages his disciples and us to be faithful with what God has entrusted to us. The men and women that followed Christ took great risk upon themselves to proclaim the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ. They didn’t let the fear of persecution, the fear of the dark world that surrounded them prevent them from being faithful with what Christ entrusted to them.

We are here today because of the faithful servants of God.

Being Faithful Servants

For us to be a faithful servant demands risk. Being ready, waiting and watching with eager anticipation means being faithful with what God has entrusted us with, especially the gospel.

As we gather around our thanksgiving tables lets give thanks for what God has blessed us with, and ask have we been faithful?

The world Jesus painted for his disciples was exceedingly dark. Our world is exceedingly dark. We are coming to a season that we remember the light of Christ in our world. Let’s be faithful servants and continue to shine the light of the gospel in the darkness that surrounds us.