Ready? Part II

Introduction

Last week we looked at the parable of the ten virgins and how every one of us can be ready to meet God. It is vitally important that we are prepared to meet God, be it at the return of Jesus Christ or at the end of our life when we pass from this world to meet Him.

We asked the question are you ready to meet God? Today we are going to move to the next parable that Jesus shares in this same portion of scripture.

We are going to again ask the question “Are you ready?” but this time the question is posed to those who have trusted Christ and are certain that they have eternal life.

The fact that we have trusted Christ means that we will ultimately enter into heaven but we must remember that how we live our life on this earth is still extremely important.

Today we are going to look at this particular parable and see how it relates to the believers’ preparation for the judgment seat of Christ.

Romans 14:10-12- every one shall give account of himself to God/ II Corinthians 5:9-10- we must all appear

Every believer will one day stand before Jesus Christ to be judged. This judgment is not in regard of our eternal destiny but rather our gaining or losing reward.

I Corinthians 3:11-15- gain and loss but ultimately saved

As we look into the parable our Lord delivered to His disciples we again see:

Equality of Opportunity (Vs. 14-15)

The master of the servants who it traveling into a far country is representative of Jesus Christ and His ascension back to the father who “after a long time” would return to reckon with his servants.

In this parable we can clearly see that each of the servants had the opportunity to faithfully execute their duty in managing the resources they had been supplied.

Each and every one of us have been given a portion of the master’s resources to manage. This includes our time, our finances, our health and strength, our possessions, all of which have been given to us by God.

We may each have differing portions but we all have the same opportunity to faithfully manage what God has given us.

God will give to each of us a portion of His resources according to His knowledge of our abilities. He will not give us more than we can manage but neither will He give us less than we can handle.

The expectation was that each of the servants would wisely invest the resources that they had been given and each had to opportunity to produce gain for the master.

Some believer’s may have many years to serve while other’s time may be cut short but each has the opportunity to use the time that he has been given.

Some may have great wealth while others may struggle along in near poverty, but each has the opportunity to use the finances he has been given.

Some may have great talents and abilities while others may feel that they lack in ability, but each has the opportunity to use the talents and abilities that he has been given.

Every believer has the opportunity to faithfully steward the resources that God has committed to your trust and in doing so you can be ready to stand before Christ at the judgement seat.

Disparity in Preparation (Vs. 16-18)

The servant who received five talents went out and wisely invested the master’s resources and was able to make a great gain for the master.

The servant who received two talents did the same and also realized a great return.

The servant who received one, instead of wisely investing, hid the master’s resources and thus produced no return on the investment and failed in his responsibility to manage the resources that had been entrusted to his care.

Each servant made a choice as to what he would do with what he had been given. Two servants wisely invested and realized a strong return on their investment while the other chose to do nothing with that which he had received at the master’s hand.

The question that we must each ask ourselves this morning is “What have I done with what the master has entrusted to me?”

If Jesus Christ were to return today, are we prepared to answer for how we have invested the resources that we have been given?

Could we say that we have wisely invested our time? Have we made the fullest use of the time that we have been given to see the greatest return?

Are we prepared to give an account of the financial decisions we have made? Have we faithfully and responsibly managed what God has given us so that He would be pleased with the choices we have made?

Are we prepared to give an account of how we have used the skills and abilities that God has blessed us with? Have we used the gifts God has given us to their fullest potential or have we squandered our opportunity to use them in service to the Lord?

Some believers will have taken full advantage of every resource that God has given them and will have brought much gain for the kingdom, while others will have wasted their resources and will have nothing to show for all that they have been given.

Let us make certain that whatever God entrusts us with, we wisely invest it with an eye towards eternal rewards!

Future Reckoning (Vs. 19-30)

There is coming a day in the future when every one of us will give an account. We will be judged according to what we have done with the resources that God has placed in our trust.

The master may tarry in coming but ultimately every one of us will one day stand before Jesus Christ to give an account.

The servants who wisely invested the master’s resources were commended for their faithful service.

Both the servant who earned five talents and the servant who earned two were alike commended. We will not be judged based on the results we see but on our faithfulness to wisely invest what we have been given for the sake of eternal rewards.

We will be rewarded based upon what we have done with the opportunities and rewards that we have been given.

Would we be prepared if Jesus Christ returned today? Would we be satisfied with how we have spent our lives and our resources?

More importantly, would the Lord be pleased with our choices and how we have invested our lives?

It is likely that each of us may say “I’ll wish I had given Him more”. Will there be more that we could have done? Will there be regrets as to the time, the finances, the talents and abilities that we wasted?

It should be that our greatest ambition is to hear the master say “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

The question today is “Are you ready to see Jesus Christ?” Are you ready to give an account of your life?

The final servant, like the foolish virgins was caught totally unprepared. This time it is because he has failed in his duty to manage the master’s resources.

This servant in his attempt to be neutral has actually failed the master and is ultimately proven and insincere servant.

The servant is judged and is cast out and bears sever remorse and regret at his failure.

Romans 12:3- God has given to every man a measure of faith. This servant apparently failed to even use this most basic resource.

What a terrible moment to stand before the savior as an unprofitable servant who did nothing with the resources he was given.

We understand very clearly that our works do not determine our eternal destiny but the question must be asked as it is in James 2:14- can a faith without works save?

Our works are the evidence of our faith and an utter lack of works suggests an utter lack of faith.