Be Rich…Toward Jesus

As we bring this series to a close I want to remind you what we have covered. In the first week I reminded you that it isn’t what you know that will be a testimony of your faith, but it will be what you do and why you do it. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians in order to encourage their continued efforts he reminded them to be like God who was rich in mercy toward them when He sent Jesus. You too are to Be Rich In Mercy toward the undeserving by refraining from giving them what they deserve.

The next two weeks you were encouraged to be Rich in Generosity, understanding that in order to do that you have to think differently about what you have: money, time, resources. The reality is that what God has given you in Jesus is of greatest value and everything else is of minimal value in comparison. In order to Be Rich in Generosity you have to Feel Rich and feeling rich is something the Holy Spirit can help with, but you have to be willing to surrender everything to Him.

Last week we looked at Paul’s letter to Timothy where he instructs Timothy to tell the Wealthy to Be Rich in Good Works. God wants you to be Be Rich in Good Works by always being ready to be generous and ready to share not because He wants your money but because He doesn’t want your money to have you you. And that is going to require a willingness to discipline how you spend time, money, and resources in order to leave margin in your life to Be Rich in good works toward others.

That brings us to this week where I want to bring some more clarity and sobriety to this call to Be Rich. Some of you may be ready to do something, but you just don’t know where to start. I think we find the answer in a series of parables that Jesus shares in Matthew’s Gospel just a few days before He is killed. Throughout Jesus ministry He would reference that He would eventually suffer, die, and be resurrected and for some reason no one who heard him in real time seemed to understand that this was really going to happen…soon. This would have been hard to comprehend because everyone who believed a Messiah was coming also believed that Messiah was going to rule and reign as a Ruler of Israel who would establish a government, and army, etc. So, Jesus also tried to prepare his disciples for what would happen post resurrection in Matthew 24 and 25. In these stories we see some applications.

The first story in Matthew 25 is probably titled “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” but a better title would be “The Parable of the Prepared and Unprepared” because being a virgin has little to do with what is going on. We are to understand that Jesus is the groom in the story and there was some kind of tradition that involved the groom going to the bride’s house and a party, but no one wore a watch. Nobody had a clock. So, the invitations didn’t state when the party was going to happen. Five of the virgins were prepared and five weren’t prepared to wait. The emphasis is on preparation, and being prepared to wait. It communicates that there is some time that passes between your engagement with Jesus and your wedding to Jesus. What you do with that time is an indication as to whether you are taking your engagement seriously. Some of you will be prepared and some of you aren’t going to take this in-between time seriously. You convince yourself that your readiness can wait or that Jesus will just ignore your lack of fidelity. The point is that a commitment to readiness indicates a genuine commitment. Someone who has given their life to Jesus will spend their life preparing to meet Jesus.

The second story in Matthew 25 is the Parable of the Talents where the Master leaves three servants with five, two and one talent based on their abilities. So, right off the bat it communicates that each servant has different abilities and there is nothing wrong with being a one trick pony. Just as the Master had assumed each servant multiplied their talents accordingly with the exception of the one trick pony guy who in spite of being given a talent to begin with fails to recognize the generosity of the Master and the trust that the Master has in the servant. God’s not going to give you an ability, a gift, a resource, wealth, etc. and expect you to hide it. He has given it to you because He wants to see you double it. But the one trick poney guy didn’t trust the Master and instead of investing it he hid it. If you are hiding what you have been given it indicates a lack of trust. A lack of faith. God has trusted you to do something for Him. Some of you have a lot of talents and some of you have one. It’s not about the number, but about what you do with what you have and why you do with what you have. Is the Master going to praise you?

The last story is the one we are going to dig into together. So, if you aren’t there already please turn with me to Matthew 25:31. This one is different for a lot of reasons. First, it’s not a parable. Jesus uses some metaphors, and there are some parabolic components, but it’s pretty straight forward.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Jesus is going to rule and reign every nation. From those nations Jesus will divide them like a shepherd divides sheep and goats. This would happen around the time when sheep would be sheared…or when the master would benefit from his investment. The sheep inherit the kingdom. Is everybody tracking? Sounds awesome! I want to be a sheep. I think you should want to be a sheep too. So, how are we identified as sheep? Buckle up…

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

While there has been debate on who the brothers are most scholarship agree that Jesus is talking about the disciples here. For me it makes the most sense because when Jesus uses brothers he references the disciples. Caring for your spiritual relatives should be an outcome of Jesus being your King. It is also consistent with what Jesus taught elsewhere.

John doesn’t give us any parables in his Gospel, but Jesus still has plenty to say. A few days before Jesus dies John records Jesus saying,

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Jn 13:33–35). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Sacrificing on behalf of another disciple identifies you as being with Jesus. Refusing to do so…well…let’s keep reading.

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 25:31–46). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Part of my day job involves analyzing things that break or fail to perform as prescribed. Sort of like a detective I begin to evaluate the properties of a part to determine why the part failed. The data I accumulate are like symptoms to a physician. They help them determine what is wrong and what the resolution should be. Failing to see and meet the needs of other Christians is not the problem, but a symptom that indicates that you were never in it for Jesus. It was always about you.

When you are in it for Jesus, then you see yourself as part of the family and you are able to see their needs and will be compelled to meet the needs of your brothers and sisters.

You don’t do these things to be saved, but doing these things indicates that you are saved.

I don’t do things for my wife to earn her love. I do them because I love her.

I don’t do things for my kids to earn their love. I do them because I love them.

This implies a couple of important things.

Intentionally isolating yourself from the Church leads to the goat life. And I’m not talking about the Greatest of All Time. Jesus gave His life so that you can be in the Church and to be in the Church you have to be in a Church. How can you love brothers and sisters if you choose to never be around them? Jesus wants you to be with other disciples. Are you going to Hell? One way to tell is whether or not you are meeting the needs within the Church by using your time, talent, money, resources. Lastly, by being rich toward the Church you are being rich toward Jesus. ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ When you feel rich and are good at being rich then you are able to Be Rich Toward Jesus

For those of you maybe tuning in online who are not connected. I’m not talking to those of you who for health related issues are unable to be here on Sundays. I’m talking about those of you who have a choice. What does your choice indicate about your relationship with Jesus in light of Matthew 25? I get it, that this may not be the best way to encourage you to show up, but might you be ignoring a symptom that suggests that you’re only in this for you? Be very careful. That is a very dangerous position to be in.

No Church is perfect. Every Church is going to have someone you aren’t fond of, or disagree with, or makes you feel a little uncomfortable, but it isn’t about you…right?

For those of you who are an integral part of a Church I just want to challenge you. Are you there/here for Jesus and is it obvious by how you love the other disciples? Are you volunteering, are you giving, are you praying for me and missionaries, are you looking for opportunities to partner with Amen House, Transform Scott County, Elizabeth’s Village, The Gathering Place, Promise Kids a Future, etc.?

Once again this sermon is directed mostly at people who believe themselves to be Christians. If you know you aren’t I want to give you something this morning as well. God loves you and He invites you to trust Him, to surrender to King Jesus, to recognize that you are hopeless without Him, and to join this beautiful mess of a family that we call the Church. If that is where you are this morning and you want to talk some more about that please come up to me after the service so we can chat or schedule a chat. Pray, Sing, Benediction