Servants of the Master
Notes
Transcript
Today - in lectionary another parable
Jesus again teaching disciples on Mt Olives week of His death
Answering their questions on when He will return as King,
Establish God’s Kingdom, & God fulfils His promise to renew / restore earth
This parable might be familiar to you
Many sermons been preached calling Christians use their talents / special skills for God
& not waste them or hide them away
The use of word talent to refer to human ability actually originated from this parable
However the word wasn’t used in common speech in this way until 15th Century
The fact is human ability is not what Jesus is referring to specifically
He’s talking literally about huge amount if money
1 talent = monetary weight equivalent to approx. wages of 6000 days (or 20 yrs work)
So Jesus wanted disciples understand true value of God’s Kingdom/message
So they would grasp the importance of what we do after receiving faith (slide)
Parable challenges us with 3 aspects of God’s expectations of our treatment of gospel message
Responsibility, Faithfulness, Obedience
The Call to Responsibility
The Call to Responsibility
If call ourselves Christians - claiming have placed faith in what Jesus accomplished on cross
Jesus lived life we could never live & paid penalty for our rebellious life we live against God
Jesus lived a perfect flawless life & died in our place so we could be reconciled to God
We now trust in Jesus perfect life death & resurrection through which God accepts us
& We are now loved by God unconditionally through Jesus & part of new humanity
& we look forward to time when God will reconcile & renew all creation
& we will live with God in new creation with new humanity where...
Evil, sickness, injustice & death will no longer exist
That is summary of Gospel - good news of Jesus & we’ve placed our faith in truth
Its fantastic news… full of hope - because we’re not reconciled to God by anything we do
Its purely based on Jesus only… we receive benefit of Jesus finished work as gift from God
That leads us to parable (slide)
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
In parable 3 servants are given huge amounts of money then master (represents Jesus) leaves
There’s an expectation servants will invest money someway so master receives return
I.e. he makes more money by investing money - receives interest + extra percentage on top
responsibility increasing value / quantity of money was on servants - make sense?
So Jesus uses idea of these huge amounts of money to represent - good news of God’s Kingdom
We are given this gift of saving faith & grace / good news message we heard & believed
Now we have responsibility for gift /good news we’ve received to make something if it
God expects us to invest ourselves in work of His Kingdom
From parable its clear God hold’s us responsible for what we do with gift / message
So what does that mean? What are we responsible for?
Firstly how we act, how we behave, the actions we take - we’re answerable to God for all those
God wants us to invest our time, energy, resources into His Kingdom
As learn about God & what he desires of us; we’re responsible to put it into action
By sharing what we have learnt & know with others - through actions & words
Illus - Its like when we first become parents
I remember when our first daughter was born - I had no idea about being a parent
The birth was traumatic enough - now you want me to take care of this fragile little thing?
I remember holding Melissa in my arms when she was first born
& She was staring back up at me - not crying just staring
& felt overwhelmed at responsibility now had to care for this little person
To protect, nurture, teach, feed this tiny person…
So I had to change way I thought about things, changed way I lived
Way I spoke, way I acted, my choices, my priorities everything changed
That same radical shift due to responsibility of child = same radical shift God expects of us
Being responsible for message of God’s Kingdom = radical change in way think & behave
But this responsibility isn’t just for a few years… its a life time call to commitment… (slide)
The Call to Faithfulness
The Call to Faithfulness
In parable we had 3 servants who were given responsibility for huge amounts of money
And to take those & invest them to ensure there was a return on investment for master
They had no idea how long master would be away for - no idea how much time had
So had responsibility & expectations - remained in place until master returned (slide)
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Notice Jesus emphasises - long time before master returned
When finally arrives Master rewards those who took their responsibility seriously
they remained faithful to job assigned & met expectations of master to invest money ...
And produce a return on money by multiplying amount
Being faithfulness means remaining loyal to cause - be unwavering regardless of circumstances
Servants continued take responsibility seriously & did what knew was right until end
Bible talks about number of people who lived faithfully for God & His Kingdom (slide)
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
In Hebrews Abraham held us as example of someone who remained faithful to God until end
Remaining faithful doesn't = not making mistakes, doubting or loosing way at times
But like Abraham it does mean regardless of what you face /go through in life...
You don’t waver in your trust in God - believing he’s real, he has truth / answers
He loves you unconditionally & will keep His promises for future kingdom (slide)
Remaining faithful to God by following & trusting in Jesus is a crucial part of being Christian
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Now you may be thinking “How can I remain faithful to God for my whole life?”
Fact is we still suffer effects of being in these flawed broken bodies (slide)
But GOd’s given us Spirit who gives all need to make good choices & remain Faithful
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Through God’s Spirit we have all we need to make being faithful until end realistic & achievable (slide)
Illus - I read a lovely story of an example of what faithfulness looks like
In Japan in 1923 on farm Hachiko, a golden brown Akita dog was born (slide)
He was given as pet to professor Hidesaburō Ueno of Tokyo Imperial University
Ueno would commute to work every day on train & Hachiko would walk him to station
And greet professor at end of day as he got of train - daily routine for 3 years
1925 Ueno died cerebral haemorrhage while teaching class never returned home
Hachiko waited at train station for Ueno but he never returned
For almost 10 yrs Hachikō awaited for Ueno's return...
appearing precisely when train due at station
Articles written in paper about Hachikō - people brought treats/food
When Hachikō died buried beside master Ueno in Tokyo Cemetery
2 statues erected in memory of dogs faithfulness to his master
In Jesus parable he shows us God hold us responsible for message of His Kingdom (slide)
Being responsible for message of God’s Kingdom = have obligation fulfil what’s expected of us
So to fulfil our responsibility we need to be obedient to what has been asked of us...
The Call to Obedience
The Call to Obedience
I don’t know about you but I think word obedience received bad reputation!
Many think talking about obedience = giving up our independence & individual rights
About someone else controlling you & being forced to do things don’t want do
But todays society - throwing off any moral responsibility & ignoring consequences
Now we individually choose what standards want to live by… & yet...
Now wonder why western world slowly falling apart as people make more choices
Negatively impact other people’s wellbeing & lives...
By removing moral responsibility society has cheapened life
Our actions slowly loosing their meaning - now can choose when to die
Can choose take life unborn child, even choose our gender… (slide)
“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
In parable Jesus shows consequences for choosing own way & ignoring our responsibilities
3rd Servant = reprimanded for his failure to fulfil his responsibilities - for his disobedience
Not investing money meant abandoning his duties, being faithless, irresponsible (slide)
For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus uses pretty heavy language to shock disciples to realise how serious consequences are
Ignoring our responsibility to gospel, being faithless to God, & disobedient to Jesus teaching
Darkness speaks of separation from everything that’s good including God & His Kingdom
Weeping / gnashing speaks of intense sorrow & loss at knowing God & kingdom are lost
That’s not situation any of us want to be in....
As Christians Jesus calls us to follow & obey his teachings focus on right-living today (slide)
BUT - we’re not motivated to obey out of obligation, force, or fear…
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.
Gospel - God love us so much - sent Jesus to live perfect life & pay penalty for our sin by dying
So we can receive benefits - experiencing God’s forgiveness, acceptance, & love as free gift
& receive eternal life & promise experiencing God’s future Kingdom & renewed creation
That’s our motivation to obey - God’s given us everything for love so we respond in love
Understanding how God feels about us & what He’s done for you & me...
Is first important step to being set free from any fear of judgement / punishment
And being released into a freedom to love God & express your love through
Being responsible, faithful, & obedient (slide)
So question I want you to consider today is this;
If you believe yourself to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus...
And believe the gospel message of God’s now & future kingdom
Then will you be a responsible, faithful, obedient servant of the gospel
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father - through your Spirit give us a better understanding of your kingdom message
And help us to live responsibly, faithfully, and obediently
as servants entrusted with the wonderful riches of gospel
In Jesus name we pray, Amen