A Watchful Steward
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Luke 12:35–48
Most people don’t mind the idea that Jesus is coming again.
We say we believe it.
We sing about it.
We even say “Amen” when we hear it preached.
But the real question is not whether we agree with the doctrine.
The real question is whether that doctrine is shaping our Monday morning.
We are excellent planners for what we can see.
We plan for bills, schedules, vacations, birthdays, and projects.
But we are not always as intentional about preparing for what we cannot predict.
Jesus is not teaching His disciples to set a date.
Jesus is teaching His disciples to live in a state of spiritual readiness.
This passage is not meant to create panic.
It is meant to create steadiness.
It is meant to cultivate a heart that can say, “If the Lord came today, I would not need to scramble to get right.”
It is meant to cultivate a life that can say, “If the Lord gave me another assignment today, I am ready to obey.”
There are two ditches believers fall into with passages like this.
Some live careless and assume the Lord is far away.
Others live nervous and act like the Lord is only coming to catch them doing something wrong.
Jesus calls us away from both ditches.
He calls us to readiness that is joyful.
He calls us to service that is faithful.
He calls us to accountability that is sober and wise.
Jesus starts with a simple picture from everyday life.
A master is away.
The night is long.
The servants reveal what they truly believe about their master by how they live while he is gone.
Let’s see tonight that God wants us to have a…
I. Watchful Readiness
I. Watchful Readiness
If we’re going to be watchful, it has to show up in practical ways
So Jesus begins with the first picture of readiness, a servant dressed and ready to move.
We are to have a…
A. Prepared Posture
A. Prepared Posture
In verse 35, Jesus says, “Let your loins be girded about.”
In their world, that meant you pulled up the loose robe and tucked it in so you could move.
It was what a man did when he was ready to work, ready to travel, or ready to fight.
It was the opposite of lounging.
It was the opposite of laziness.
It was the opposite of delay.
Spiritually, it speaks of intentional readiness.
It speaks of a life that is not tangled up in unnecessary distractions.
It speaks of a heart that does not keep saying, “I’ll get serious later.”
It says, “I am available to God now.”
1 Peter 1:13 says,
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
That means readiness begins in the mind before it ever shows up in the life.
If the mind is undisciplined, the life will be undisciplined.
If the mind is careless, the life will drift.
That means you do cannot let bitterness setup camp in your thoughts.
That means you do not let fear run your imagination.
That means you do not replay temptation like it is entertainment.
You bring those thoughts back under Christ’s authority.
Some of us need to “gird up” by removing what keeps tripping us.
It might be a habit that consistently drags you into temptation.
It might be entertainment that dulls your conscience.
It might be constant doom scrolling that feeds anxiety and robs your joy.
It might be a relationship pattern where you keep returning to the same conflict because pride will not yield.
Readiness is not just spiritual talk.
Readiness is making choices that keep you usable.
Secondly we are to have a…
B. Burning Light
B. Burning Light
Jesus says, Gird up your loins, “And your lights burning.”
A lamp in that day had to be tended.
Oil had to be present.
The wick had to be trimmed.
The flame had to be protected.
A lamp did not stay bright because someone meant well.
A lamp stayed bright because someone took responsibility.
A heart is like that.
A heart does not stay tender automatically.
A heart does not stay on fire for God by accident.
A heart stays burning when Scripture, prayer, obedience, and fellowship are treated as necessary, not optional.
Psalm 119:105 says,
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
That means the Word is not just information.
The Word is illumination.
The Word shows you the next step.
The Word exposes the danger you did not see.
The Word gives stability when you feel confused.
The Word warms the heart and strengthens the will.
When your lamp is getting dim, don’t wait until it goes out.
Do not wait until you have a moral fall.
Do not wait until your marriage is cold.
Do not wait until your attitude becomes harsh.
Trim the wick.
Refill the oil.
Get back to the basics.
Open the Bible even when you do not feel like it.
Pray honestly even when you feel dry.
Obey quickly even when it costs you something.
A dim lamp is often a neglected lamp.
thirdly he wants us to have an…
C. Expectant Waiting
C. Expectant Waiting
Jesus says in verse 36 that they were “like unto men that wait for their lord.”
They are waiting for him to return from the wedding.
They are not sitting in a chair staring at the door doing nothing.
They are doing their duties in a state of expectation.
They are doing what they were told while staying alert.
Jesus says they would open unto him “immediately” when he knocks.
That is a key word.
Many believers are willing to obey eventually.
But immediate obedience is a mark of a servant who truly trusts his master.
When the Lord convicts, the faithful servant does not argue for a week.
When the Lord directs, the faithful servant does not stall for a month.
He opens immediately.
Titus 2:12–13 teaches us
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
That means hope is not an excuse to coast.
Hope is fuel to live clean.
Hope keeps you from settling into sin.
Hope keeps you from clinging to this world like it is home.
A firefighter does not wait for the alarm to start getting ready.
He keeps his gear ready because emergencies do not send a calendar invite.
Readiness is built before the moment arrives.
Then Jesus says something that should humble and encourage every believer.
The Master does not only inspect.
The Master delights to reward.
So we see …
II. Joyful Reward
II. Joyful Reward
Jesus has just shown us that watchfulness is blessed.
Now He starts this second section by describing what that blessing looks like when the Master returns.
A. Blessed Approval
A. Blessed Approval
IN verse 37, Jesus says, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching.”
There is a settled peace when you are living clean and living ready.
You cannot buy that peace.
You cannot fake that peace.
That peace comes from a conscience that is not hiding.
That peace comes from a heart that is walking with God.
1 John 2:28 warns
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
That means abiding with Christ today protects my confidence tomorrow.
That means closeness with Christ is not a bonus feature of Christianity.
Closeness with Christ is how you keep your soul steady.
If you are carrying secret sin, you are not watching.
If you are living in unresolved bitterness, you are not watching.
If you are constantly postponing obedience, you are not watching.
But the Lord is merciful.
Confess it.
Forsake it.
Get right.
Live free.
Secondly we see a…
B. Stunning Kindness
B. Stunning Kindness
In verse 37, Jesus says the lord will “gird himself” and “will come forth and serve them.”
That picture is meant to astonish us.
We expect the master to come home and demand a meal.
Jesus says the faithful servants are welcomed and honored.
It is a reminder that our Lord is not harsh.
Our Lord is good.
Mark 10:45 says the Son of man came “to minister.”
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
That means my service is fueled by remembering how Christ first served me.
Grace motivates faithfulness better than guilt ever could.
Charles Spurgeon said, “The same Christ that will come to judge the world will come to receive his people.”
His coming is terror for the careless, but comfort for the committed.
So that ought to give us a…
C. Steady Endurance
C. Steady Endurance
In verse 38 Jesus speaks of the second watch and the third watch.
38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
That is late.
That is inconvenient.
That is when most people quit.
That is when tiredness whispers, “It won’t matter if I slack off.”
Jesus says blessed are the servants who keep watching anyway.
Galatians 6:9 challenges us …
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
That means the hardest part of faithfulness is staying steady when nobody is clapping.
That means faithfulness is proven in the ordinary.
That means the Lord sees the unseen.
Some of your best service happens when you are tired.
Some of your purest obedience happens when you do it with no applause.
Some of your strongest growth happens when you simply keep going.
We don’t know when Jesus will come again to get us.
So we need always to be prepared.
39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Now Jesus shifts the tone.
Jesus talks about a
Watchful Readiness
Joyful Reward
Now He speaks of a…
III. Serious Accountability
III. Serious Accountability
In verse 41 Peter tries to clarify who Jesus is speaking to.
41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
Jesus answers him by not really answering him…He just continues His teaching.
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
Then the servant makes…
A. The Deadly Assumption
A. The Deadly Assumption
45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
The unfaithful servant says in his heart, “My lord delayeth his coming.”
That sentence is the seedbed of compromise.
When a person believes there is plenty of time, he starts loosening standards.
He starts tolerating small sins.
He starts excusing attitudes.
He starts living like the master is not watching.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 says
11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
That means delay in consequences can harden my conscience if I am not careful.
That means I cannot judge God’s approval by God’s patience.
If you keep telling yourself, “I’ll fix it later,” you are standing on dangerous ground.
Later turns into never.
A soft conscience becomes a numb conscience.
The Lord is calling you back now.
B. The Disgraceful Abuse
B. The Disgraceful Abuse
Jesus describes the servant who begins to “beat” others and live for appetite.
Sin rarely stays private.
Sin spills onto people.
A man who stops watching his heart will eventually start hurting his home.
A leader who stops fearing God will eventually start using people.
Proverbs 4:23 says,
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
That means heart drift will become life damage if I do not guard it early.
The first battle is not out there.
The first battle is in here, in our heart!
Ask yourself, “Am I becoming harsher.”
Ask yourself, “Am I becoming more selfish.”
Ask yourself, “Am I getting comfortable with things that used to bother me.”
Those are warning lights, not personality quirks.
C. The Decisive Arrival
C. The Decisive Arrival
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
The lord comes “in a day when he looketh not for him.”
The point is not that we should live in constant dread.
The point is that we should not live in casual neglect.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 says,
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
He is not saying we should never sleep at night…
It’s speaking of spiritual drowsiness and says it is dangerous, because it makes sin feel normal.
That means spiritual alertness is our protection, because it keeps Christ in view.
The Titanic did not sink because people planned to hit an iceberg.
It sank because confidence outran caution, and warnings were discounted.
That is what “my lord delayeth” looks like in real life.
A person is not usually destroyed by one sudden decision.
A person is destroyed by a long season of ignoring warning signs.
Jesus ends with a principle that lands on every believer.
It is one of the most sobering lines in the chapter.
IV. Stewardship Proportionate to Light
IV. Stewardship Proportionate to Light
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
A. Knowledge Brings Weight
A. Knowledge Brings Weight
Jesus says the servant who “knew his lord’s will” and did not prepare will receive “many stripes.”
The issue is not information.
The issue is refusal.
The greater the light, the greater the responsibility.
Luke 12:48 says,
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
That means every blessing in my life is also a stewardship before God.
That means your Bible knowledge is not for winning arguments.
That means your opportunities are not for personal comfort.
That means your gifts are not for self-promotion.
God gave those things so you could serve.
Some of us have been in church for decades.
Some of us know the truth well.
Some of us can spot error quickly.
That is a gift.
But it is also a weight.
The question is not only, “Do you know?”
The question is, “What are you doing with it?”
B. Ignorance Does Not Erase Consequence
B. Ignorance Does Not Erase Consequence
Jesus says the one who did not know receives fewer stripes, but still faces discipline.
God’s judgment is perfectly measured.
God is never unfair.
God is never careless.
God is never mistaken.
Romans 2:6 says God
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
That means I cannot hide behind excuses, because God judges with perfect fairness.
That means the Lord sees what people miss.
That means the Lord knows what you had, what you heard, and what you could have done.
That’s why we should not envy someone else’s gifts.
We should not envy someone else’s platform.
With more comes more.
Instead, thank God for what you have and be faithful with it.
C. Faithfulness Is the Mark of a True Servant
C. Faithfulness Is the Mark of a True Servant
This passage does not teach we earn salvation by working.
This passage teaches that real servants take their Master seriously.
Real servants live like the Master could return.
Real servants fear God more than they fear people.
Ephesians 2:10 says we are created in Christ Jesus “unto good works.”
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
That means works are not the root of salvation, but they are the fruit of salvation.
That means saved people serve.
That means saved people care.
That means saved people watch their hearts because they love their Lord.
D L Moody said, “A holy life will make the deepest impression.”
That means the most powerful testimony is consistent obedience, not loud talk.
Conclusion
Conclusion
My friend, Jesus is coming again.
And Jesus calls His people to watchful readiness.
Jesus promises joyful reward for faithful service.
But, Jesus also warns of serious accountability for careless living.
So what do we do today.
We tighten up what has gotten loose.
We relight what has grown dim.
We return to simple faithfulness in the assignment God gave us.
We stop saying, “I’ll get right later,” and we start living ready now.
In olden days of yore, in each town a watchman stayed awake while families slept.
If he slept, everyone was exposed, not just him.
Your faithfulness protects more than you realize.
Your compromise hurts more than you admit.
When you stay ready, you bless your home, your church, and your future.
If you are not saved, readiness begins with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
If you are saved but drifting, come back to faithful service with a clean conscience.
If you are serving well but tired, take heart.
The Master sees, and the Master rewards.
