Kingdom Investment Luke 19 Vs 11 27

Faith Bible Church

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Glad to see everyone. And of course a big shout out to the fathers. Happy Father's Day to all the men out there.

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It certainly is a blessing to have fathers in all of our lives. And of course, let's not forget, even for those of which that don't have fathers here on this earth, but we all share the same

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Heavenly Father in Heaven. So, making us all a big family, brothers and sisters.

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So, say amen to that. We'll go ahead and get it started on the announcements for this week.

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Next one is Missionary of the Month with Jack and Beverly McMahon. They serve in a ministry called

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Biblical Worldwide Ministries, mostly with a focus in New Zealand, in Auckland, where they're helping with pastoral care in a local church that they help serve down there, as well as a consultancy for the local leadership training in that church as well.

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So, just pray that their ministry there is remaining fruitful and biblical, and that the individuals of which that are impacted by their ministry are eternally impacted.

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And then we also have the Praying with Paul book that Pastor Ilgen actually leads.

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This is kind of like an open series of which anyone can kind of join in at any time, but it's a book that obviously with a focus and emphasis on prayer.

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So, feel free to join us if you're interested on Wednesdays, bi -weekly. Next one's going to be this

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Wednesday coming up at 5 .30. So, you can either meet here in person in the church, or there's also an online option.

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So, if you're interested, please let any of the elders, deacons know, or even Pastor Ilgen himself, and we can get you more information on that.

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And lastly, we have the Summer Greek Bible Study that also Pastor Ilgen is leading.

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This is also bi -weekly on Saturdays at 9 .30 a .m. So, you'll by no means be a

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Greek scholar by the end of it, but it certainly is a nice intro to Greek if you're interested.

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And then before we enter into worship and service, let's open in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for this day you've given us today.

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Thank you for all your many blessings, Lord, and thank you for blessing each and every one of us with biological fathers here, as well as you,

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Lord, our Heavenly Father. I pray at this time, Lord, that you prepare our hearts for the worship and sermon we're about to receive here,

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Lord, today, so that we can better understand and worship your name, Lord, through the understanding of your true biblical character,

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Lord. In your name we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. You know, when the Lord gives you the Holy Spirit, some people just have a different emphasis for the

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Holy Spirit. But everything I read in the Scripture about the Holy Spirit, he's to come to be within us, to flow through us, to do something for someone else.

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And so, if you would stand together with me, make me a blessing, and may that be the case.

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Every moment I see

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Jesus shine,

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I sing, O Savior, my true son.

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Say, will he find you and me still watching, Waiting, waiting, if that, say, will he find you and me still watching,

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Waiting, waiting, till the Lord shall come. I will be reading out of Matthew chapter 25, verses 24 through 30.

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That's Matthew 25, 24 through 30. Then he who had received the one talent came and said,

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Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

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And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look there, you have what is yours.

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But his Lord answered and said to him, you wicked and lazy servants, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seeds.

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So you want to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest.

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Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents.

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For to everyone who has more will be given, and he will have abundance.

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But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

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And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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May the Lord be with us.

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We are thankful for Eliezer to starting to use his talents for the Lord.

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And as Barb and I get up in years, we are starting to give ours away. So thank you

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Eliezer. Stand together with us if we would. Before I begin,

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I would like to wish all the fathers Happy Father's Day. And today might be hard for some of us if you have lost your father or if you have never really had a father.

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But the good news that I do want to share is that the moment you trust that Jesus died for your sin and rose again on the third day, you do gain the

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Heavenly Father. And oftentimes we have this notion that the

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Heavenly Father is the strict one of the Trinity who needed to be appeased.

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But rather, the heart of mercy and compassion of the

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Father is perfectly reflected in the heart of the

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Son, Jesus Christ. It is the Father and the

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Son together who have decided from the eternity past to redeem the world through the sacrifice of His own

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Son, Jesus. The Father wanted you to be saved just as much as the

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Son did. The Son perfectly and with glory reflects who the

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Father is. He is the same compassionate

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God who longs to heal any sinner who comes to Him.

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And we have to remember that this morning. Even if you don't have a father, even if you had a father who was abusive in any way, the

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Heavenly Father is of a much different kind than any of the human fathers.

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Let us all turn to Luke chapter 19 verses 11 through 27.

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Luke chapter 19 verses 11 through 27. Now as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem.

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And because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore he said, a certain noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

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So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minus, and said to them, do business till I come.

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But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us.

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And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

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Then came the first saying, master, your miner has earned ten minus. And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little have authority over ten cities.

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And the second came saying, master, your miner has earned five minus. Likewise, he said to him, you also be over five cities.

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Then another came saying, master, here's your miner, which I have kept away in a handkerchief.

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For I feared you because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit and you reap what you did not sow.

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And he said to him, out of your own mouth, I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man collecting what he did not deposit and reaping what

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I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank that at my coming,

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I might have collected it with interest. And he said to those who stood by, take the miner from him and give it to whom who has ten minus.

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But they said to him, master, he has ten minus. For I say to you that everyone who has will be given and from him who does not have even what he has will be taken away from him.

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But bring here those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them and slay them before me.

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This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are grateful that as we wait for your son's second coming, that we are called to be fruitful with our lives.

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Help us to obey your son even when he is not physically present with us.

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But he is spiritually present with us through the spirit. Help us to trust him.

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Help us to live for him, not for ourselves. And may you remove any obstacle in our lives that's preventing us from living for your son,

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Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen. This is the last lesson on discipleship before Jesus enters

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Jerusalem. And Jesus will enter Jerusalem as king.

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Remember, Jerusalem is the city of the great king David. Jerusalem is where all the eschatological events unfold.

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Jerusalem is that promised city. Now while his disciples think

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Jesus will be coronated soon, Jesus instructs them that coronation they're thinking of will not happen anytime soon at all.

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It will not be immediate. This is the purpose of the parable.

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It is to teach the disciples how they ought to live with the knowledge that he is coming back one day, even if it's not soon.

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And this is important because it is easier to endure suffering when you know the expiration date.

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In fact, it is shocking how differently many of us would live our lives if we knew

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Jesus would be back tomorrow. How we spend our time, how we spend our money, whom we spend our time and money with, what we worry about, what we care about, what we value.

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All of those things may be different if we knew Jesus is coming back tomorrow.

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We'd be bolder in proclaiming our faith. We'd be more generous with our money and time to further

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Christ's kingdom. And we'd be holier in our living if we know we have to stand before Jesus very, very soon.

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Now this is important for us because this parable teaches us exactly what we ought to do knowing when he is seemingly delayed.

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What do we do during the time in which the king is away? Yet there's a guarantee that he is coming back to establish his kingdom forever.

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So the main point of today's text is, how do Christ's disciples live during the interim time?

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How do Christ's disciples live during the interim time? First, the full consummation of Jesus' kingdom is not immediate nor unopposed.

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Yet the king expects his servants to remain faithful until he comes back.

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The full consummation of Jesus' kingdom is not immediate nor unopposed. Yet the king expects his servants to remain faithful until he comes back.

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Verse 11, now as they heard these things, he spoke another parable.

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This lesson, this parable follows directly after Zacchaeus' salvation.

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Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, upon Jesus' visit, he was transformed.

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He no longer desired to sin the same way he did before, yet he wanted to repent, turn away from sin, and live for God.

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And we see the purpose of this parable from the beginning. Because he was near Jerusalem, and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.

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The Jewish tradition believed that the Davidic king would bring the kingdom immediately.

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Hence, the disciples, after witnessing such wonderful events, healing the lepers, healing the blind, and the transformation of that chief tax collector, they have a false expectation of what will unfold upon their entry in Jerusalem.

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This is the big rally in their mind. They thought the kingdom of God would be established promptly.

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And even that mindset hasn't changed really until we get to Acts.

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They still hold to this hope that the kingdom will come very, very soon. And in order to correct what they must expect instead,

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Jesus shares another parable. Therefore he said, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

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Just like most parables, Jesus does not specify each character.

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It's a certain nobleman. We can't really unpack here what kind of country, what nation, what rank he held.

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Doesn't matter. It's a certain nobleman, and he is called to a faraway land to receive a kingdom.

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And this is not an outlandish trip. After all, for the first century

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Jews, this actually happened probably in their lifetime. After King Herod the

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Great died, he's the genocidal maniac who killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem after Jesus was born.

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His son Archelaus makes a journey to Caesar Augustus to receive the

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Judean land. The reason is, of course, the whole land of Israel is under Roman Empire, right?

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He is that nobleman who needs to get permission from the emperor.

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Of course, they're not the same guy as the nobleman parable and the prince here who makes the journey, but it wasn't an outlandish thought that a nobleman would travel far to receive a kingdom.

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Now the detail regarding a far country here signifies that the across.

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The nobleman will be king. The nobleman will have the kingdom, but the kingdom will not be established soon after because the land is far away.

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Yet his return is surely guaranteed no matter how delayed he may be. And in this sense, the parable portrays the interim period between the inauguration of Jesus' kingdom when he entered the world and the full consummation of his kingdom when he comes back.

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While the disciples may have thought Jesus' coronation will soon follow Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, Jesus sets the record straight that the interim period will not be short, but it may take a while.

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And verse 13 tells us what this nobleman does before he receives his kingdom.

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So he called 10 of his servants, delivered to them 10 miners and said to them, do business till I come.

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Before he leaves for the journey, he gives his 10 servants a miner each.

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A miner would have been about, um, four months wage, right?

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Four months wage. The nobleman expects his servants to be fruitful with his wealth while he is gone, right?

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The servants aren't meant to just stay passive and idle. They have tasks to do.

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They have responsibilities. The fact that there are 10 servants instead of 12,

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I think shows that Jesus is not just referring to the apostles. These are general disciples.

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These are just general followers of Christ. They're not the 12 apostles whom

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Jesus has chosen, which means he's coming back, may not, and we know did not take place during the time of the apostles.

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They're given responsibilities to be faithful to their master until he returns.

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And in this case, faithfulness to their master will result in faithfulness of their business.

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Now, on the other hand, verse 14 shows the opposition to the nobleman's kingdom. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us.

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The nobleman has enemies who do not want him to rule over them. And this is very similar to Jesus' kingdom now.

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There are people who don't want Jesus to rule over them. There are people who have nothing, who do not want anything to do with Jesus.

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There always have been. The Jewish leaders did not want anything to do with Jesus. And of course, this is not historically unprecedented.

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When Herod the Great died, the same guy, his son, Archelaus, was supposed to reign.

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The Jews actually sent 50 of his men to Caesar Augustus in protest.

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And in the long run, they succeeded. That's why we have a different Herod instead of Herod Archelaus.

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His reign was not that long. Similarly, the

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Jewish leaders will reject the Davidic king by appealing to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to get him killed because their only king, ironically, they claim is

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Caesar. There's some twist here. When the

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Jews have their king in person, they didn't want him.

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This is not to say all Jews reject Jesus. After all, the 12 apostles, they're all Jewish. But some of the

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Jews did not want their king and wanted Caesar to rule over them instead. Now, this is an important lesson for the disciples, anyone who call upon Jesus, because they needed to understand that God's kingdom of complete peace and security will not immediately be established by Jesus.

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In fact, many of them were killed for their faith. Most of the apostles were murdered for their faith.

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They were martyred. And this is because the kingdom of God has entered the world when

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Jesus came, yet it is not fully consummated until he comes back the second time.

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However, unlike Archelaus' kingdom, Jesus' kingdom will be fully established because he has accomplished the most crucial aspect of all, defeating sin and Satan.

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When Jesus took on our sin and suffered on the cross for our sake, he guaranteed the full consummation of his kingdom.

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And that's because that was the most important aspect of establishing his kingdom. He rescued his people from sin and expunged any record of sin so that Satan has nothing to accuse his people of.

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The accuser is silenced because the record of sin has been paid for.

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The record of sin has been erased. And his resurrection,

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Jesus' resurrection sealed the deal that he, his reign will be forever.

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After all, we worship a living king, not a dead king. Jesus has been sitting on his throne and ruling from above.

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And this parable is for all the disciples to remain faithful during this interim time.

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Each of us is given responsibilities from Jesus himself. Each of us is called to be faithful until he returns.

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Each of us has a role to play. His servants must invest what

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Jesus has given faithfully. And this is not just on the

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Sunday morning, but it's every day of your life. Are you living faithfully to the knowledge that Jesus, the master, the king will come back?

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And all that you have and all that you are belong to Christ.

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Is that your life? If not, you probably don't belong to him.

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If the totality of your life, if the purpose is not to live for the king and invest wisely, and I don't mean financial investment here, but investing your time, investing your relationships, investing what you do.

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If the center of it is not the king, there's a chance you're worshiping a different king.

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The complete life must be used with one person, one goal in mind, and it is to faithfully live with what

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God has entrusted you. That's why lukewarmness in Christianity is extremely dangerous.

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You're on fire for God or you, you know, on the outside, you just say you're Christian, but you live like a pagan.

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I don't, I don't see how those people have any assurance of salvation.

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I'm not saying they're not saved, but it's a dangerous game to play. And in the end, there will be a lot of people who think they're

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Christians, but will have a smoky exit interview with Christ.

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Now, what will the king do when he returns? When the king returns, everyone will have to give an account to all that they have done while he's been away.

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When the king returns, everyone will have to give an account to all that they have done while he's been away.

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Verse 15, and so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

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This is a guarantee the king will return. Whether you think he's going to return or not does not change the fact that he will return.

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The return of the king does not depend on your feelings.

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He will return and he is given the full authority to rule over his people.

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And the first agenda on his list is for his servants to give an account to what they have done while he was gone.

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And verses 16 through 25 show us that there are varying responses from three different servants.

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Of course, there are 10 servants, but three is enough to see the totality of what kind of responses there could be from the servants.

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The first two servants show the faithful response. So I will treat them together.

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The first servant multiplied his master's wealth tenfold. Master, your mina has earned ten minus.

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This is a thousand percent increase and that is if anyone is into stock trading, it's outstanding.

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A thousand percent increase is splendid. Hence, the master's response is it's actually gracious and generous.

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Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little. Have authority over ten cities.

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First, the master commends his servant for his faithful work. Then, he praises him as good servant because of his faithfulness.

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The praise is not based upon the number, but the servant's faithfulness while the master is physically absent.

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Why does it require faithfulness? Because it's easy to do hard work when the master's present.

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People often say, you know, there's this sin, addiction, right? Drug or porn or whatever.

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And they say, I can't help myself. I'm stuck or I can't. It's an addiction.

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It's a disease. There's no choice. There's a choice. If you truly believed that what you're doing is leading you to your death, you wouldn't do it.

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For non -Christians, it might be if someone is holding a gun to your head, would you do it? And the obvious answer is no.

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No, of course not. There's a choice. But for Christians, if you're struggling with certain sin and you feel stuck, the question you ought to ask is, if you believe

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Jesus is right next to you, would you do that? No, of course not.

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Well, then you can stop. Because he is watching. He is spiritually there. It's about faithfulness because his hard work is the fruit of the faith he had knowing that the king will one day return.

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It takes faith to believe, to know, to work hard while the king is not physically present.

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And the reward, the master places him over even greater responsibility to rule over 10 cities, 10 cities.

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A servant of a nobleman may be entrusted with some wealth, but a servant of a king will be entrusted with cities.

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This master is generous. He's gracious.

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The next two verses show the similar response with the second servant who multiplied his master's mina fivefold, which resulted him in ruling over five cities.

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What we can tell is that the reward is proportional to their faithfulness, their respective faithfulness.

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And for Christians, this may be an odd concept, but it is true that Jesus will evaluate his people based upon their faithfulness.

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What did they do with everything they were given while Jesus was gone?

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The more faithful disciples will receive even greater responsibilities and rewards in his eschatological kingdom.

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Now, this is not about salvation. It's something greater. It's even more, right?

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In addition to salvation, greater responsibility in the kingdom. After all,

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Jesus' kingdom will be physical and it will have no end.

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Jesus will task his people to greater responsibilities and greater roles.

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In fact, first Corinthians six, two to three tell us that the saints will judge the world in angels, right?

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And here in this case, the saints are actually Christians, any Christians, right?

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Not the Catholic version of saints, right? Just Christians, normal Christians will rule to a certain extent under Christ.

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And even angels will be judged by Christians. And it is unfathomable to think that Christians will have that kind of authority and responsibility when historically, and even now, they're mocked and persecuted.

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Yet that's, that's the biblical reality. His kingdom is coming and there will be real rewards, not just some fuzzy feelings.

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After the two faithful servants, we hear from the third case. Then another came saying, here's your mina, which

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I have kept put away in a handkerchief. Notice how Jesus does not even call him the third servant or the third one, but another one.

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Unlike the previous two servants, this man has not invested at all.

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He just kept it safe. And that's going to be a problem. Verse 21 tells us the reason for his faithfulness.

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For I feared you because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.

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And the reason for his irresponsibility and unfaithfulness is apparently his perception on his master's disposition and character.

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This servant believed the master will be too severe, so he decided to do nothing.

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In the end, ultimately, the servant blames his master for his own unfaithfulness and carelessness.

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It's, it's actually quite selfish. Instead of admitting that he had no desire nor intention to look after his master's wealth, he blames his own master for his lack of fruit.

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And this is all too common in our days. Well, I can't believe in a

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God who does that. Okay, I mean, I don't know if that excuse will work, but for God himself,

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I can't believe in a God who judges. Do you mean that God doesn't judge anybody?

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Do serial killers, murderers, they just go by? And do you think that's, that's, that's a better sense of justice to you?

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Right? It won't fly. Blaming God's character in your perverted perception of him will not be a valid excuse when you see

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God face to face. And the inconsistency of this servant's excuse is shown in how the master lavished the first two servants.

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Just because they were faithful with one minor, a four month's wage, they received cities.

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I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound stingy and severe like the third servant portrayed the master to be.

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If you're faithful over some wage and you receive cities, that's, that's, that's what you would call grace.

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So far, the master has only been gracious and generous. Anything but severe.

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Yet the master points out the foolishness of his servant's excuse in verses 22 through 23 by going along with his argument.

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Sometimes foolish argument is better destroyed by going along with it. Let's see what unfolds when we follow your path.

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Out of your own mouth, I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what

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I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank?

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That at my coming, I will have collected it with interest. The master does not have to defend his character.

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He will follow the thread of the servant's excuse and point out the inconsistency.

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The wicked servant's excuse falls apart when the master follows along his faulty presupposition, his faulty thinking.

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If he really thought the master was severe and unfairly expecting gains, well, he needed to at least loaned it to the bank to accrue interest.

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After all, the bank will not lose the principal and you'll get some back. So why didn't you do that?

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Ultimately, the servant is wicked, as the master calls him, because he is unfaithful to the master while he is gone.

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He had no faith in the master's return. Now, some commentators argue that the third servant represents

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Christians who barely make it, who barely are saved, but were just immature and irresponsible.

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However, the parable does not treat the third servant as faithful at all. What's lacking is faith.

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First, the servant does not know the master personally and he blames his master for his unfaithfulness.

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That's not really a characteristic of faith. Second, the servant shows no evidence of faith.

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If he had even an ounce of faith, he would have done something with the investment, yet he didn't.

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Third, the king calls him wicked and it is hard to imagine that the wicked servant will have any place in the king's kingdom, just as there won't be any wickedness in Christ's kingdom.

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There won't be anyone who is faithless in Christ's kingdom.

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Ultimately, the third servant represents those who think are Christians, but live faithlessly.

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They have some associations with Christ, but do not trust him at all.

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They think they know Christ, yet they have a faulty view of him. In the end, they live lives with no regard to Jesus or his kingdom.

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And it is not my place to know who's saved or who's not.

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That is, I can't see that. I'm not omniscient. But if you're continuously living in sin, if you're living in opposition of what

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God, what Jesus would have you live, personally you wouldn't have any assurance that you're saved, because you're not producing fruit.

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The fruit is the evidence of the internal faith. And if there's no fruit, the tree may as well be dead.

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And I can't comment on that. I can't look at your life. I can't see every word you speak.

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I can't see everything you do in the privacy of your own home. But if there's no fruit, you got to really personally go to God and ask, am

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I actually saved? Now, hence verses 24 through 27 show what will happen to those who are unfaithful.

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The third servant is included in this. First, the master judges the third servant.

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And he said to those who stood by, take the minor from him and give it to the one who has 10 minors. As a result, the one who was unfaithful loses everything he's been even given, even the one minor that he had.

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And it's given to the one who actually has the track record of faithfulness. And in fact, those who are watching make the comment, master, he has 10 minors.

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What? He has 10 minors now in 10 cities. Do you think he needs that either?

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Well, give it to him. Why? Why give it to him? He's already rich. And the master answers, for I say to you that to everyone who has will be given and from him who does not have even what he has will be taken away from him.

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The master cares about faithfulness over feelings.

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He will not invest his wealth with someone whom he cannot trust.

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He will not invest his wealth with someone who doesn't trust him.

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Yet, he will lavish rewards on those who trust him. Right?

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The currency of God's kingdom is faith. That's what's truly valuable.

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Is it that you trust Jesus when no one else is looking.

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Lastly, the king judges those who outright rejected him from the beginning. But bring here those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them and slay them before me.

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What this shows is the result of the unfaithful response is judgment. And many of us have hard time hearing the word judgment because we live in a culture where we have to be tolerant.

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So tolerant that we're intolerant to what God will do. It's hypocritical.

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We're just intolerant with who God is, what he desires. There are two groups shown in this parable who are judged.

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Those who outright reject the king and those who are Christian in name only. Ironically, those who want nothing to do with Christ on earth will receive what they desired.

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And that includes the two groups. The ones who are Christian in name only and those who outright reject

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Christ. Actually, in the end, they have one thing in common, which is they don't want anything to do with Christ.

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Because if you call yourself a Christian and you don't live like one, then in the end, let's face it, you're just putting glitter on a bag of garbage.

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Right? You just want the outward appearance, but you don't want that internal change.

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You're really no different from a non -saved person. And both of them will spend all eternity away from the king they explicitly or implicitly rejected.

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That's the irony with hell. A lot of people are offended by hell, whether they believe in Jesus or not.

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But that's what you want in the end.

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Yeah, I'm not saying it's a great thing. It's actually the most horrendous, torturous thing one could have ever imagined.

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But if you didn't want anything to do with Christ on earth, what makes you think you would want to be with Christ for all eternity?

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What this means is if you fall into one of these groups, the most important response for you this morning is to start trusting in Christ.

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And I'm not saying belief in terms of a mental assent. Like, yeah, I agree with the idea of Christ.

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Well, demons believe in the crucifixion and the resurrection. They know it far better than most of us.

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They've seen it. I'm talking about the true belief that you trust

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Jesus with all your life because there's nothing else you can bring to the table for your salvation.

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Nothing but the crucified Messiah who suffered the wrath of God that you deserved could save you from the up incoming wrath, the judgment.

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That is the most gracious thing that we can talk about.

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That someone, an innocent being, would die for criminals like us so that criminals like us would not have to face the judgment.

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There's no gift greater than that. And that is the starting point of your faithful life in Christ.

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That's how it has to start. It's not about how many ministers you serve.

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It's not about how many people you evangelize to. Those are all great things.

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But if you don't have that initial trust in Christ, all of that is just garbage. What this shows is that there's no neutral ground when it comes to responding to Jesus.

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Oftentimes people say, I like Jesus because I like what he taught. I like that he said to love your neighbor.

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I think we need more of that. Sure. But do you actually believe what he said he was?

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Do you believe the main accomplishment, which is to die for your sin? Is that true in your life?

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Either you faithfully respond to Jesus or you don't and you're judged with his enemies.

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You don't get to pick and choose how you selectively believe in Jesus. I like to believe in this

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Jesus who's all about love, but not the one in Revelation where the blood fills up to the horse's bride.

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I don't want that. Well, guess who's in control then? It's your are, right?

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And this parable shows us how we ought to live before King Jesus comes back.

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And a pressing question that every Christian must ask before every decision has to be how does this honor

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Jesus Christ? How does this honor Jesus Christ? Oftentimes, certain things are just outright easy, right?

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It's clear in the Bible. Don't commit adultery.

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That's over and over again in the Bible. Don't be sleeping with someone you're not covenantally committed to.

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Married. Don't be doing that. And like don't murder.

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That's one of the 10 commandments. That's pretty obvious. But I'm talking about everyday decision that may not be obvious in the

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Bible. We have to ask the question, how does this honor

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Christ? That's what it means to invest in his kingdom. How does watching this show honor

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Christ? Sure, it may not be outright inappropriate, but will my minds be renewed in Christ after viewing it?

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Would I be celebrating the same thing that Jesus does after watching it?

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And I'm not saying don't watch anything that doesn't have a Christian trademark, right? In fact,

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I would say some of the Christian trademarked ones are more dangerous. But what's the purpose behind that?

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Are you actually finding enjoyment in something that God would not approve of? Or how does my monthly spending honor

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Christ? Now, this does not mean am I tithing enough, and please don't tell me how much you're tithing.

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It's about every cent, not just a portion of your budget.

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Am I stewarding every cent to reflect Christ's glory? Is what

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I'm spending contributing to something that will eternally last?

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Am I pouring into souls of future brothers and sisters in Christ?

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Am I investing in ministries that preach the gospel faithfully?

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Can I say that about how I spend? Am I stewarding every cent to reflect

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Christ's glory? And of course, how does this relationship affect my relationship with Christ?

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Oftentimes, we don't think about relationships as something we've stewarded. But God has placed you in this country, at this time, in this city, or whatever city you're from.

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At that specific time, in that season, for a reason. Are there friends or significant others who draw you farther away from Christ?

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Are you tempted to use words that are blasphemous, as in misrepresent

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Christ, dishonor Christ, when you're around a certain group of people? Or is your boyfriend, girlfriend leading you away from Christ?

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How are you stewarding your relationship? Are there activities or hobbies that misrepresent

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Christ to others? And also importantly, how does this ministry reflect

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Christ's glory? Or is it just a busy work? Or is it just a program that just has to fill a

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Wednesday night? Does it have an eternal value in leading someone closer to Christ and helping them to clearly see who

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Christ is and delight in Him? This takes a lot of thinking, and this takes a lot of surrendering.

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Because when you truly and honestly go to God with these questions, because don't come to me with these questions.

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I'm not going to be watching these shows with you. I'm not going to be standing with you before Christ.

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You're on your own. In the end, these questions, you ought to surrender to Christ.

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And whatever He answers, you better listen. Because if you don't,

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He may be the one asking you during your exit interview. In the end, the key to faithfulness is not just one aspect of your life, but all of it.

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We're all given a certain amount of time, certain amount of wealth, and certain number of relationships.

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And Jesus wants us to be faithful with everything He has given us. There is no second, no square inch of what you own in which

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Christ doesn't call mine. Are you willing to invest all of that for Christ?

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And you may be thinking, oh man, then I got to be like Billy Graham and fill the stadium. Not so.

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What does this look like? It looks like a tired parent who reads the Bible and prays with her baby after an exhausting day at work or staying home.

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Because it's exhausting either way. But you believe that the bread from God will nourish his or her soul, whether he's listening or not.

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You believe one day it will bear fruit. That's faith.

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It looks like a worker who shares Jesus with his co -workers, even though he is reprimanded by his boss for bringing religions to work.

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What's more important to you? You're meeting with the boss or you're meeting with Christ.

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And they're meeting with Christ, because they have to meet with Christ too. A student who gracefully receives the lower grade for standing up for what the

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Bible says is true, no matter how costly it can be to their GPA. A businessman who loses profit for not working on Sunday because he wants to worship the

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Lord and let his employees to worship Jesus on Sunday. In California, it's a business who doesn't fly a

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LGBTQ flag. A sister who has been praying for years for her siblings to come to faith in Jesus, yet sees no immediate progress.

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Tears are shed. Time goes by. But she keeps on going. A family that gives to the church instead of going on a vacation, eagerly waiting for the reward from the

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Lord rather than to enjoy the comfort on earth now. I'm not saying vacations are bad.

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I'm going on a vacation myself. But all of these, what these show is that they're sacrifices.

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They're sacrifices. And if you live, if your trust is in just a purely materialistic sense of the world, that it's just life now, and enjoy it now, and then that's it.

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All of those things I've read are a net loss. It's a net loss, right?

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It's an earthly deficit. They voluntarily given up their energy, money, reputation, and time.

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And many of them will not get those restored on earth. I will tell you, just because you give to church doesn't mean

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God will multiply your wealth. I'm not going to promise that.

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It's not just, that's not my job. If he does, hallelujah, praise

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God. But you might not see that on earth yet.

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When the King comes back, these people will see the heavenly dividends presented by the

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King himself. The reward system in the parable is only a glimpse of what

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King Jesus will lavish on his faithful servants who endured until the end.

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First, they will hear the King commend, well done, my good and faithful servant.

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And I cannot comment specifically on what he will reward you, but I can assure you of this.

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You will receive something much more valuable than this whole world could ever.

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First and foremost, you will be with your savior and King Jesus Christ for all eternity.

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That is the greatest reward. Forget about cities. You get the

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King. You'll be united with the one who loves you the most and died to have you.

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I will read from a couple of verses from a psalm, not psalm, hymn, called,

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Oh, That Will Be Glory. Because oftentimes we need to have this eternal perspective as we are investing into his kingdom and we may not see the immediate result.

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When all my labors and trial are over and I am safe on that beautiful shore, just to be near the dear

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Lord I adore, will through the ages be glory for me. When by the gift of his infinite grace

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I am accorded in heaven a place, just to be there and look on his face will through the ages be glory for me.

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Is the presence of Christ worth the sacrifice now?

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Let us pray. Father, we are grateful that your son has received the kingdom and is ruling over the kingdom and we eagerly wait for the full consummation of the kingdom.

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Yes, because the judgment will punish the wicked and yes, we will be rewarded, but most importantly, we will be with the

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King himself for all eternity. Change our hearts to desire that.

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Work in our hearts to long for that on a daily basis.

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In Jesus name, amen. I ask how are we going to invest in others what the

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Lord has given to us. So go now and live for the Savior.