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One more Sunday before Advent!
Turn to Matthew 25.
As I reminded us last week, spiritual disciplines, for the most part are not suggestions.
Disciplines, many of which are commands, are the essential methods of growing in Christlikeness.
Spiritual disciplines are more than just methods.
They are expressions of our faith and love and reverence for Christ.
Engaging in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible meditation, worship, evangelism and so on are all expressions of our love for God.
Now, one of the most visible and tangible means of expressing our love and appreciation for God is through service.
Serving God and serving others is a staple of the Christian way of life.
I want to be careful here because this is not an absolute statement, but in large part, we can estimate how much a person loves Jesus by the degree in which they serve God’s Kingdom.
Service to others is a staple of the Christian way of life.
Serving others is who we are – not just something we do.
What do I mean by all that?
I think we’ll answer that as we look at Matthew 25 and the parable of the talents.
This parable is often misunderstood.
First, a talent in Scripture refers to a large sum of money.
Secondly, this parable is not about the talents, not about the money - it’s about the servants and what they did with the money.
Let me set the scene – At the beginning of chapter 24, Jesus and the disciples go off alone and start talking about the end times.
Jesus starts talking about all this crazy stuff, doom and gloom, nation against nation, massive destruction, moon turns to blood, the sun turns dark … Putin has one ring to rule them all.
As Jesus talks about the End Times, He repeats two key phrases – Keep watch and Be Ready.
And being ready means doing what you’re supposed to do until He arrives.
This parable is in the context of Christ’s return.
Let me give you the one golden nugget I want you to walk away with this morning: Do What You Can With What You’ve Been Given.
I believe that is God’s expectation of every person – to do what you can with what you’ve been given.
Let’s unpack that for a moment.
Here are 4 truths that we find in this parable.
1) Christian Service is a: Choice
In this story, the master leaves.
No one knows where he’s going or when he’ll return.
Before he leaves, all he says is, “I’m entrusting you with what I’m giving you – see you later.”
That’s it!
There are no instructions.
No commands.
Yet we find two of the servants take their money and double it, while one stays home, buries the money in a closet, and does nothing but sit on the couch and watch Dr. Phil.
So what does that tell us?
It tells us that what we do with what God has given us is a choice.
You and I can choose to do something for His Kingdom or we can choose to do nothing.
The content of what we’ve been given or how much is irrelevant.
The truth is, each person has been given something, and with that comes a choice.
So here’s the question – what are we doing with what we’ve been given?
Now here's the beauty of our God - He's given each of us something.
No one gets left out.
The question is not what did God give me, but what am I doing with what God gave me.
So not only is service a choice, but ...
2) Christian Service is an: Expectation of the Master
How do we know there’s an expectation?
In this parable there were no instructions.
Yet, it is evident that the master expected the servants to do something.
After the master returned he celebrated with the two who did something.
But the one who did nothing – look at verse 27 -
The expectation is there.
On whom?
Every person who received something and guess what – everyone receives something.
Every person can contribute!
Now the expectation has less to do with the results are more to do with the fact that we’re doing something with what we’ve been given.
When it comes to serving, there is a big difference between busyness and business.
The issue is not how busy we are doing our business.
Everyone is busy so that’s not the issue.
The real issue, however, is how busy we are doing Kingdom business.
Some people only serve when it’s convenient or only when asked or when it’s something they like or approve of.
But Donald Whitney says this, “… serving God is not a job for the casually interested.
It’s costly service.
God asks for your life.
He requires that service to Him become a priority, not a pastime.
He doesn’t want servants who offer Him the leftovers after their other commitments.”
In other words, true Christian service is Christ-centered, not preference-centered.
And true Christian service costs us, whether it be money, time or energy.
True Christian service will dig into our egos, and into our TV shows and our schedules and activities.
We need to be clear here - true Christian service comes from Christ and the expectations of Christ will change throughout your life.
3) Christian Service is a: Response to the Master
What motivated the two servants to invest the money?
The parable doesn’t tell us, but if you if notice two things: they were excited for the master’s return – “Look what we did!” and notice the master’s response of joy and elation.
What motivated them?
I think they loved their master and so what we see is a genuine response of love, and respect and honor.
Whitney wrote this: “No fuel for service burns longer and provides more energy than love.
I do some things in the service of God that I would not do for money, but I am willing to do them out of love for God and others.”
Perhaps the greatest indicator of love for Jesus Christ is one’s willingness to serve in any capacity in which Christ calls.
And listen, “Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it.”
Too many serve only when asked,or when it fits their schedule, or when it’s something they want to do and that is shallow Christian service.
Oswald Chambers says … “Always guard against self-chosen service for God.
Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service.”
We Christians like to say “God is in control” … until He asks us to do something we don’t want to do.
True Christian service is a continual response to the grace and call of God to love God by serving others.
And that means we organize our lives around Christ.
If we’re too busy doing our business, then we’re going to be too busy to do His business.
"When we are focused on loving Christ, it doesn't mean we do less.
I used to do many of the same things I do now, but I was motivated by guilt or fear or consequences.
When we work for Christ out of obligation, it feels like work.
But when we truly love Christ, our work is a manifestation of that love, and it feels like love."
Francis Chan
True Christian service is about ...? God and neighbor.
So we need to evaluate our service.
Evaluate objectively and through the Holy Spirit - we want to make sure we're responding to the Spirit - that we're saying yes to the things He wants us to say yes to and vice versa.
Lastly,
4) Everyone is: Rewarded by the Master
Here's the point - it's either "Well done, good job, here's a blessing" or "Poorly done, bad job, here's the consequence."
We have to understand that God's grace, love, mercy and forgiveness never condones irresponsible behavior.
There are rewards, if you will for obedience and "rewards" for disobedience.
FYI - punishing the children is a common Semitic idiom to express continuance.
God makes it very clear how sin in one generation affects those who follow after.
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