Working While You Wait

Good morning family I'm Andrew one of the pastors here and today we'll be continuing our sermon series on important things Jesus said as we explore the second half of Luke chapter 12.

Today will be focusing on verses 35 through 48 and versus 49 through 53 you guys will just have to check out the podcast for that portion. (shameless plug)

So our scripture reader will read 35 through 44, and we will read together 45 through 48.

Former pentecostal pastor Carlton Pearson told this story about a church mother whom kept up with his commitment to following Jesus, until she died and went on to be with the lord.

He said she use to always ask him “ARE YOU YET HOLDIN ON.” (Meaning do you trust Jesus for your salvation and are you living for him).

And each time he would say “yes ma’am”. And her response to him would be “well you just keep on keeping on baby.” ( Meaning don't quit)

But lets be real how many of us like waiting? How many of us get tired of waiting?

I mean I hear about this Christian promise of eternity with God, but that seems far off from my right now.

I got real problems that I’m dealing with job, money house,

Nothing seems to be going right. Diseases, Poverty, Wars

Jesus if you were coming back no better time than right now.

Some might even say im foolish for thinking there is a God OR there is something beyond this.

So WHY NOT see for myself down here, WHY NOT live for myself down here for this world i can see VERSUS the one I cant.

In Luke chapter 12 Jesus illustrates the tension between two worlds as he is training his disciples AND many followers for their future mission as image bearers of the kingdom of heaven.

As we recap he said, they must have nothing to do with spreading evil AND being unjust like the Pharisees

BUT must make sure they are living AND proclaiming the things of Christ (vv. 1–3).

He told them DO NOT worry OR to fear (that is, stand in awe of) powers that can kill the physical body.

Instead, stand in awe of God, who has the power to give life OR Take it (vv. 4–7).

NOW that instruction might sound scary to us if not for what Jesus’ said next.

Jesus said, “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

This is encouraging because we see God’s power is used for us, not against us.

THEREFORE, We stand in awe of God NOT because He will destroy us, BUT because He who has all power cares for us! We are important to Him!

How important you might ask? So important Jesus says that any person who acknowledges Christ, he will acknowledge them in the presence of angels.

That's good news. He IS NOT ashamed of you. (not the embarrassing little brother) BUT he values you. (vv. 8-9)

How wonderful is that? To know that the two worlds that seem so separated are actually linked and controlled by God.

But NOT ONLY THAT, he gives us his Holy Spirit to help us navigate each situation and every difficult situation, that might seem tough and hard as we try to follow him (vv. 10–12).

AND now this section of Important things Jesus Says culminates with being good stewards of his heavenly kingdom.

So lets jump into this.

Jesus is teaching his disciples as well as thousands of people who are trying to listen in (12:1) about staying ready so you don't got to get ready.

AND in true Peter fashion he interrupts Jesus to find out something that might not that important.

He wanted to know (verse 41) is this just for us, the disciples are to know (because we your boys) OR is this for everybody else too.

OR maybe he was trying to clarify if he was going to be required to do more work than everyone be held to a greater responsibility

And I love how Jesus just continues talking as if Peter never asked the question as.

If you don't believe me go back and read verses 40 to 42 AND take out verse 41 that's absolutely hilarious

Side note I also think it's kind of funny but also proves God's sovereignty over everything.

AND that’s because Jesus adds in there that the person he puts in charge of his possession will give rations to his people at the proper time.

The Bible geek in me likes this BECAUSE it's a nod to what will happen later on in the book of John where Jesus tells Peter if he loves him to feed a sheep.

Now getting back to the text after Jesus admonishes his people to stay ready; to stay on alert for the ops AND the master who would be returning soon

He begins to elaborate on if this person was to do that

This faithful and sensible steward would get all that the master had.

That was not common in those days to hear such a thing

So to make such a claim would have been like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Steve ballmer giving away their inheritance to their workers.

Now we keep saying this word steward and I think it's important that we define what we're talking about here.

A Steward is someone who is responsible for OR entrusted with managing and delegating another person's property

And this is where I think Peter's question does come into play with verse 48

Where Jesus says to whom much has been given, much will be required

AND to whom much has been entrusted much more will be required.

So now Peter’s question has more implications.

Now I will say this there is a message for Jesus disciples who will become apostles after he leaves

They will be the ones in charge of leading and guiding God's possession (the people of Israel and those who have made Christ their savior.)

(throughout the book of acts but specifically 20:28)

This matches what I was talking to some of our deacons about in Titus 1: 5 and 7 that the overseers are God's stewards.

There is a tremendous accountability to God NOT man on the overseers and elders of the church

This is why scripture says that anyone who desires the office of overseer should NOT take the position lightly.

Sadly, many people who have held the position of pastoral overseer, have ABUSED that power AND caused God’s people to scatter.

If we value scripture in any shape or form, may God have mercy on them

Now before y'all breathe sigh of relief and think well I just won't become a pastor or an elder and I don't have to worry about this passage

take another look BECAUSE I believe that there's also a call to all followers of Christ in this hence why he said it to the wider audience.

So yes as a follower of Christ you might not be entrusted with God's possession at that level,

As that was given to his leaders to equip for the work of ministry.

BUT God has given us things that we are responsible for stewarding.

Namely the free gift of life that we get through our salvation in Jesus.

We steward our salvation by obeying Jesus teachings and rejecting everything that we know to be sin.

But this may be hard to do which is why we are also given the free gift of the Holy Spirit to help guide us and lead us in God's way and right choices.

But not only has all believers been giving something, God has also entrusted all believers with things.

Our faith. (Jude 3) We are to contend for it. Meaning we are to fight for our beliefs that are deposited in us through the God’s word. Which means we need to read our bible everyday.

How you gone contend for something you dont even know what it says. You relying on what your favorite youtube pastor says or what someone on tik tok says. As the old folks you got to know that you know that you know.

If you not reading everyday start somewhere read once a week or start the 5 for challenge.

The message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).If Christ is the uniting force in the universe, reconciling us to Himself and each other.

THEN the church should be a reconciling force in governments, law enforcement, families, relationships, and pain

The gospel (Matthew 28:18 and 1 Thessalonians 2:4). Isnt that amazing that God would entrust something so important as the good news of the gospel to not just his leaders but his people.

To be God’s witnesses hear on the earth proclaiming the goodness and freedom you have experienced to others around you.

Whether its by inviting someone to your baptism or sharing with all your friends the change they see is because of your new found freedom in Christ. The message that spread is important.

Thats what it looks like to faithfully obey God’s command AND steward what has been given to us with the unique skills and abilities we each have.

Now what happens if we dont obey God’s commands. What happens when we are not faithful.

What happens if we start off good but as time goes on we grow tired of waiting and a start to do our own thing.

There's a famous kid experiment called the marshmallow experiment.

And in it the child is given one marshmallow and told to wait. If they wait when the parent comes back they can get two but if they don't they will only get the one.

A lot of times we are tempted to settle for earthly pleasures in the here and now versus waiting for the promise of greater Joy and treasures in heaven.

We are tempted by our own selfish desires looking out for our Glory AND lording over everyone else in the process

AND Jesus said this type of behavior shall not be with you.

This IS NOT God's standard, BUT when we think that Jesus return won't be happening for a while we start to allow that standard to slip more and more

And our relationship with others is affected, because when we stop looking for Christ we stop loving his people. BECAUSE God's love is the standard.

AND when we DO NOT uphold God's standard our sin not only affects us or the people around us BUT also the land animals and environment (Hosea 4)

But that just talks about our actions.

When we start to take into account that we have not taken care of what we've been entrusted THEN that begins to bring into picture the punishment that is talked about in verses 46-48.

Many of us have seen and TV shows and movies or maybe real life for some of us where the parents go out for dinner or out of town and leave the kids home to take care of everything.

Well they inevitably think the parents won't be back for a while so they throw a party and destroy the parents home

And when the parents come home earlier than expected they try to hurry up and put everything away and clean up everything and hide everyone

BUT that never goes well and as a result there's a punishment because they did not follow the rules and they did not take care of their parents property.

Similarly there's a punishment for us according to what's been and given and entrusted to us.

So clearly God's leaders are going to be held to a higher standard because they have been entrusted God's possession

Lord help! It makes reflect greatly on my on call daily.

But each of us who love Him will be held accountable for what we've been given according to His will. Because those who love him will obey Him.

We can know more of God’s will by getting to know him through his son Jesus who lived and died for us so that we can have relationship with God.

The only thing we need to do to have that right relationship with God is accept Jesus as our savior and follow his ways. (Make sure we are doing what he says)

This requires us to read our bibles, pray, and grow with his people.

The knowledge of God's will is a trust or stewardship. The more you know of God's will the more we are accountable for.

Ask yourself this week. What has the Lord called you to do specifically? Are you doing it? Are you doing it for man OR knowing that Christ is coming again and he is bringing his reward with him?

Well pastor thanks for putting all this pressure on me. I came in here to get some encouragement but now i feel like I got a burden.

Maybe your the kid who would eat the marshmallow in front of me, I struggle to wait.

Maybe you got a bad case of FOMO with everything and i dont want to miss out if it's right in front of me.

If thats you ask yourself where are you seeking happiness?

Jesus just told us life DOES NOT consist in the abundance of possessions, life is worth more than our possessions, AND worrying about them DOES NOT add to our life.

Instead, God intends us to use our life to seek his kingdom and do his will in the waiting.

It’s there, in the heavenly kingdom, that God has stored up pleasures this world can’t offer.

And thats why wait expectantly for Christ’s coming.

Because when he comes nothing will be sweeter to hear than well done my good and faithful servant (because we were working while we wait)

But even hearing that, You might have felt like you have failed in life and you just cant get right, what makes following God any different.

WELL the passage in Matthew 25 where we hear the phrase good and faithful servant,

Its talking about the talents that are giving to different people.

And the recognition was given to the people who obeyed their master and used the talents they were given.

They didnt have to sacrifice themselves to become something different to receive a reward

They didnt have to pray like that person. They didnt have to sing like that person.

They just used the talents they had in obedience AND that was worthy of the reward.

Scripture tells us this as well, when it say obedience is better than sacrifice.

And I realize that preaching a message like this can sound like oh you need to strive harder

you need to do more, because I fall victim to this temptation all the time.

But I want to share something I recently read, and its changed my life and thinking.

In this book I read it said dont strive for excellence for God, strive for obedience.

If you strive for excellence you will end up falling short of God’s standard because we will end up comparing ourselves to others like at least i'm better than they are

OR I got to strive to be better than this person

But that will still fall short of God's standard.

BUT when we strive for obedience we hit God’s standard.

So each every morning now instead of trying to figure out how to be a better christian or mimick the christians i see in my social media.

I say God how can I be obedient today? How can I make you smile today?

And if we seek to obey God and his will everyday no matter when he shows up we will be ready

Because we will be doing the things he told us.

And we will receive a reward greater than well done, because the master will sit us at the table of honor and serve us.

An honor that many of us feel that we don't deserve I can't even comprehend it

AND truthfully we don't deserve it

BUT this is God's faithfulness on full display

Jesus says "why would I tell you that I'm going to prepare a place for you if it were not true"

AND In a world where we're constantly being gaslighted by everybody around us

It could be hard to believe something like this is waiting for me if I do what he says.

BUT God has been faithful Tess, EVEN when we haven’t been faithful to him,

God has show up time and time again.

May not be the way I wanted it, or the time i expected BUT he was there with me IN IT

And he invites us to be with him in our distress.

Family before you do anything for God, Dont miss the opportunity to be with God.

FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT.

Scripture tells us "dont grow tired of doing good for in proper time we will reap a harvest." (Galatians 6:9)

BUT if your already tired remember

Isaiah 40:31 those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

There is a blessing in store for those who are found doing what God says.

You might not do it perfectly, BUT you CAN COMMIT to choosing to obey God's teachings a fresh each day.

And as God’s people we should encourage each other to finish the race.

If we say we love God (if we say we are seeking God) we should encourage and love his people

Don't wait for a pastor or leader to reach out you check on them

YOU see how's there heart

You pray for them and believe for God to move and believe God For MORE.

You see if that commitment has wained AND IF SO encourage them to stay ready because there won't be anytime to get ready.

So lets encourage each other RIGHT NOW

Turn to your neighbor And Ask them "NEIGHBOR are YOU YET HOLDIN ON?

Well then “LETS KEEP ON KEEPING ON” until he comes.

If you want to accept Jesus as your lord and Savior