SERMON: GET AN ATTITUDE

9 April 2017

I.  INTRODUCTION

            -- turn in Bibles to Philippians 2:1-8

            1.  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

            5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

            -- whenever an adult is around a kid for any length of time, they will invariably ask the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” -- that’s a good question -- something that all of us have had to answer at some point

            -- what is it that you want to be? -- who is it that you want to become? -- a few years ago, students at a British university had raised that very question -- different answers were given -- some said they wanted to be a champion athlete -- others, influential politicians -- still others wanted to be noted scholars and professionals -- one student said something that caused thoughtful silence -- “I want to be a saint”

            -- as Christians, this should be the highest priority in life -- this should be the vocation to which we all seek to obtain -- to be a saint is to be like Jesus -- and, as Paul said in Romans 8:29, the overarching purpose of God the Father is to make us like His Son

            -- of course, we know that we will become conformed to Christ and as like Him as we can be in the world to come -- but the call to be a saint -- the call to live for Christ -- is not to just wait passively for the transformation at the end of our lives but to actively live out our faith in Christ-like obedience now -- to take on the very mind and attitude of Christ and to live our lives out of that position -- seeking to become “Christlike in every area of our lives”⁴

            -- today is Palm Sunday -- start of Holy Week -- today was the day Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to the roar of the crowd shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord -- Hosanna in the Highest”

            -- the events of Holy Week are the ultimate expression of the incarnation as we see the fulfillment of Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth displayed to us in such a dramatic way

            -- from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday -- the washing of the disciples’ feet in the upper room -- the inauguration of Holy Communion as Christ proclaimed a new covenant built on the foundation of His body and blood -- the Garden of Gethsemane and His prayerful spiritual struggle that left Him sweating drops of blood -- His arrest and trial before the Jews and the Gentiles -- His crucifixion on Good Friday -- and finally, the event all creation had longed for, the resurrection of Jesus on Easter followed by His ascension fifty days later

            -- it is in these events that we see captured for us the meaning and the purpose of Christ -- the reasons for which He came -- and the implication for our very own lives -- a pattern for us to follow as we seek to truly become saints -- not in word alone -- but in deed and in action

II.  Scripture Lesson (Philippians 2:1-8)

            -- this evening we are going to turn to a passage that addresses the implications of the incarnation and its meaning for us -- we find it here in the second chapter of the Book of Philippians

            -- just to give you a little background and context for this passage, the church at Philippi was in the midst of a season of suffering and persecution -- it was a time of struggle for this church -- and we read here how spiritual pride in the face of this suffering was causing division and disunity

            -- these verses are thought to be from an early hymn or confession or creed of the church -- and Paul, writing from a Roman prison, uses them to remind the Philippians of the proper way to respond to such difficulties -- not through pride -- not through self-exaltation or self-preservation -- but by adopting the very mind and attitude of Christ -- who showed us through His life the way we were to live

            -- one thing to note here is that this passage does not imply that the path to heaven is always paved with suffering and persecution -- but it does remind us that our obedience and faithfulness to God stands in strict opposition to the way of this world -- as we put aside our rights and freedoms for the sake of the gospel, the world tends to respond negatively, as it did with Jesus -- it is then we experience sufferings and persecutions because of our faith

            -- Paul’s point here is that suffering for doing right is not meaningless, but brings glory to God by demonstrating to the world the heart and mission of God through our lives and response to suffering -- if we suffer, then our suffering must be endured with the same mind and attitude of Jesus as He suffered for us through the cross

            -- let’s look now at this passage in more detail

            -- verse 1

            1.  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

            -- I opened this message with the question, “Who do you want to be? -- Who is that you want to become?” -- as this chapter opens, Paul speaks into the persecution and suffering, the pride and division and disunity within this body of believers and he answers that question for them -- “This, then, is who you should be”

            -- if you are identifying with Christ -- if you call yourself a Christian -- if you have any encouragement from being united with Him -- any comfort from His love -- any fellowship with His Spirit -- any tenderness or compassion -- then you should live your life like-minded -- having the same love as Christ and expressing that love one to another -- being united through His presence -- being one in spirit and purpose -- and doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but humbling yourself in the spirit of Christ in order to look to the interests of others above your own

            -- verse 5 sums up Paul’s thoughts on who we should be -- our attitude -- our mind -- should be the same as Christ Jesus -- when the world looks at us, they should see Him -- when the world looks at us, they should see us responding to them with His love, being His hands and feet -- do this, Paul urges -- be like Christ

            -- and then he goes on to tell us just what Christ did so that we might become like Him

            -- verse 6

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

            -- these verses are generally recognized as the first proclamation of Christology in the Bible -- it is here, in these verses, that Paul gives us our first glimpse into the incarnation of Christ and the meaning of the cross and the resurrection

            -- he begins by telling us that Jesus was -- in very nature or form -- God

            -- before the incarnation -- before the creation and the foundation of the world -- Jesus was -- He was God -- co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit -- of one substance and one being

            -- when Paul uses the word “nature” or “form” here, he is referring to the attributes that make God specifically God -- His divine characteristics -- His glory revealed -- Paul makes it clear here that Jesus was not a lesser god nor a created being, but was God Himself from the very beginning

            -- even so, Jesus, being God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped -- here Paul is referring to the status and privileges that follow from being God -- His divine authority -- His eternal rights

            -- there are two ways we can understand that concept of something to be grasped -- first, it can mean that Jesus did not have to strive for equality with God, because it was something He already possessed -- He was God, and so enjoyed the status and privileges and authority as such -- second, it can mean that Jesus did not feel He had to forcibly retain it -- to hold onto it at all costs -- instead, rather than holding tightly to that which He rightfully possessed, Jesus chose to lay it aside for the sake of men

            -- He made Himself nothing -- or, as other translations put it -- He emptied Himself -- not of His divinity, because He remained fully God -- but He emptied Himself of the authority and status and privileges of God -- He willingly humbled Himself and became less, taking on the very nature of a servant or slave, to become one of us

            -- to reconcile us to the Father, Jesus chose to empty Himself by taking human form -- the Creator becoming the creation -- He chose to become one of us so that He might share in our weaknesses and fulfill the law where we could not

            -- verse 8

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

            -- I read an account of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the United States back in 2007, her last visit to America, that talked about what accompanies a royal visit -- just for a visit of less than one week, she carried with her a wardrobe loaded with dresses and other clothes for any occasion -- more hats than you could shake a stick at -- and boxes filled with jewelry

            -- she even carried her own food -- and traveled with her personal bodyguard, assistants, doctors, and other attendants -- it costs millions for her to make a visit in keeping with her royal status -- such is the way of kings and queens -- but not our King

            -- “When Jesus comes to this earth, He comes with nothing -- He doesn't bring all the paraphernalia of deity with Him -- He doesn't bring the glory -- He doesn't bring the shekinah”

            -- “When Paul says that Christ was “found in appearance as a man,” he means that if you had looked at Jesus, you would not have thought, “There is a superman -- there stands God,” but rather, “There is a normal-looking man.”² -- as Isaiah said in Isaiah 53:2, there was nothing remarkable about Him -- nothing in His appearance that would attract us -- nothing that would make us desire Him -- “He was born into a family as a baby, grew to maturity as we all do, and in every other observable way was completely human.”²

            -- no, Jesus did not come to this earth as royalty -- He came as the lowest of the low -- born in a stable and laid in a manger -- raised by poor parents in a poor neighborhood -- even after He begins His ministry, He doesn’t take up the robes and the symbols of power as the chief priests do -- no, instead you see Jesus ministering in the streets and in the places where good people don’t go -- you see the Lord of Lords taking off His cloak, and wrapping Himself with a towel, and washing the feet of His disciples -- even the disciple who He knew was going to betray Him

            -- He did this, because He didn’t think deity was something to be grasped at because it was already His -- the King has descended -- literally and figuratively -- and with each step -- each rung on the ladder -- Jesus goes a little lower -- all the way to death -- all the way to Hades

            -- and Paul points at Him -- the one who hung on the cross -- the one who died the most despicable death of all -- and says, “Be like Him -- your attitude -- your mind -- your actions -- your behavior -- should be like Him” -- this is Christian maturity -- this is who you should long to be³

            -- what is it that Paul is pointing us toward when he tells us that? -- what are the two attributes of Christ that we see portrayed so clearly in His life that we should strive for in our own? -- humility and obedience

            -- Jesus’ life was characterized by humility -- He humbled Himself even to the point of taking on the place of the slave, the lowest possible human status, even accepting the death prescribed for slaves and criminals

            -- what does humility look like in the life of a Christian? -- how do we imitate the incarnation in our lives? -- simple -- you have to get low

            -- C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If you want to get the hang of the incarnation, just imagine how you’d feel if you woke up one morning to discover you had turned into a garden slug.”⁵

            -- humility is a lessening of ourselves so that Christ and others might be exalted -- as John the Baptist said, “I must decrease so He can increase” -- that is how Jesus lived His life here on earth -- “He did not desire to dominate men but only to serve them; he did not desire his own way but only God's way; he did not desire to exalt himself but only to renounce all his glory for the sake of men.” ¹ -- in all things and in all ways, Christ put the Father first

            -- humility is hard for us -- it was hard for the Philippians -- they had a pride issue which was causing strife and contention in the church -- pride is the opposite of humility -- pride insists on having our own way -- on enjoying all the things we believe are our rights -- pride is self-exaltation, but that is not the way of the cross

            -- as Andrew Murray put it: “Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is, from the very nature of things, the first duty and the highest virtue of man. It is the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil.” Humility, p. 10.

            -- the Bible tells us that God opposes the proud -- pride leads to even more and even greater sins -- and, so Paul insists in these verses that we follow the very nature and mind of Christ and humble ourselves as He did -- to willingly let go of our rights and our wants and our desires just as Christ emptied Himself of His divine rights -- renouncing yourself for the sake of others so that we might love and serve others as Jesus did

            -- humility is not thinking less of yourself -- humility is simply not thinking of yourself at all

            -- “the follower of Christ must think always, not of himself but of others, not of his own glory but of the glory of God.”¹

            -- the second attribute of Jesus we see lauded in this passage is that of obedience -- of faithfulness to the commands and doctrines of God

            -- Jesus always did what the Father commanded -- He said that He only did what the Father told Him to do -- He was obedient in every way, even to death -- even death on a cross

            -- this same obedience is demanded of us -- in John 14:15, Jesus said, “if you love Me, obey My commands” -- obedience is the child of faithfulness -- obedience speaks to what we truly believe

            -- it is one thing to say we are Christians -- to claim the name of Christ -- to even come to church on Sundays and study our Bibles during the week -- but the truth of what we believe is dependent on what we do, not what we say

            -- “Jesus was faithful to the point of being rejected by the powers of the world. It was his obedience to God that got him in trouble. His steadfastness in the face of temptation—temptation made real because of his full humanity—was the reason for his torture. -- He learned what the consequences of that faithfulness are when subjected to the powers of unfaithful human beings [and remained obedient none-the-less]”⁶

            -- the obedience we are called to is obedience like that of Jesus -- resolute and uncompromising -- obedience and faithfulness even in the face of confrontation and human power -- it was the obedience of Jesus that led to the cross of Calvary

            -- we have two choices before us -- to follow the way of Christ or the way of the world -- we can be obedient to God or to this world we live in -- but we cannot do both

            -- to be obedient to God means to stand for Him with our very lives -- to love as He loves -- to do as He does -- to follow where He leads -- regardless of the cost -- even if that cost includes suffering and persecution or even death

            -- to follow the world and to be obedient to the flesh and its desires is a rejection of Christ and of His word

            -- “humility, obedience, and self-renunciation were the supreme characteristics of the life of Jesus, [and] they must also be the hall-marks of the Christian. Selfishness, self-seeking and self-display destroy our likeness to Christ and our fellowship with each other.”¹

            -- in this passage, “Paul is pleading with the Philippians to live in harmony, to lay aside their discords, to shed their personal ambitions and their pride and their desire for prominence and prestige, and to have in their hearts that humble, selfless desire to serve, which was the essence of the life of Christ.” ¹

            -- but how do we do this? -- Paul’s “final and unanswerable appeal is to point to the example of Jesus Christ.”¹         

            -- we cannot do this on our own -- as A.B. Simpson points out, Christ is more than a patter for us -- more than a bright and glorious example -- He becomes the power to reproduce that patter and to transfer to our lives that example

            -- we are not to just imitate Christ or have a mind like Him -- we are to have the same mind in us as that of Christ Jesus -- in other words, it is Christ Himself living within us who gives us the power to live out this life to which we are called

            -- “This is the mystery of the gospel. This is the secret of the Lord. This is the power that sanctifies, that fills, that keeps the consecrated heart. This is the only way that we can be like Christ. . . .”

III.  CLOSING

            -- A former missionary told the story of two rugged, powerful mountain goats who met on a narrow pathway joining two mountain ridges -- on one side was a chasm 1,000 feet deep; on the other, a steep cliff rising straight up -- the trail was so narrow there was no room to turn around, and the goats could not back up without falling -- What would they do?

            -- Finally, instead of fighting for the right to pass, one of the goats knelt down and made himself as flat as possible. The other goat then walked over him, and they both proceeded safely.

            -- In a sense, this is what Jesus Christ did for us when He left heaven's glory and came to this earth to die for our sins -- He saw us trapped between our sin and God's righteousness with no way to help ourselves -- He humbled Himself by giving up His right to use His divine power. He came in the likeness of men and took the form of a servant (Phil. 2:5-8). Then, by dying for sinful mankind, He let us "walk over Him" so that we could experience forgiveness and receive eternal life. —D C Egner

            -- the cross of Calvary is the way to faith, humility, and obedience -- it is the reason for which Christ came -- because we could not be reconciled to the Father through our own efforts, Christ came for us -- He emptied Himself and made Himself nothing -- He become one of us, taking on the very nature of a servant -- being found in appearance as a man -- obedient to death on a cross -- so that we could receive salvation and eternal life through Him

            -- the cross ushers us into the life of Christ -- and through His power within, we are able to live out the life and the example He gave us

            -- Paul urges us here to let our attitude and our mind be the same as that of Christ Jesus -- to be like Him through His power within

            -- so, let us leave here with that goal and that desire as we start this Holy Week together

            -- let us pray

---------------------------------------

1 William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible [http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/philippians-2.html#1]

2 Steven J. Cole

3 Derek Thomas, “Growing Down to Grow Up,” Series: 12 Keys to Spiritual Maturity

4 Vernon C Grounds, Our Daily Bread devotional

5 http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/palm-sunday-c/?type=lectionary_epistle#sthash.CChrK4XH.dpuf

6 [Evan D. Garner, “Why we need the Philippians Hymn on Sunday,” www.christiancentury.com]

SERMON: TOMORROW MATTERS

MAKING CHANGE SERMON SERIES #4

2 April 2017

I.  Introduction

            -- in his book, “The Stewardship of Life,” Kirk Nowery tells the story of a tragic occurrence that happened in Alaska several years ago -- just after lunch one day, a mayday call came through the speakers at the Flight Service Station on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula -- The desperate pilot of a Piper A22, a small single-engine plane, was reporting that he had run out of fuel and was preparing to ditch the aircraft in the waters of Cook Inlet

            -- there were four people on board the plane that day -- two adults and two young girls -- they had departed two hours earlier from Port Alsworth, a small community about 150 miles away -- under normal conditions, it would have been a routine flight -- but the pilot had been complacent -- he had not topped off the fuel tank for the short flight and he hadn’t bothered to check the weather -- it was just another routine journey that he had made many times before -- and under normal conditions, that would have been the case -- but the weather had turned, and fierce headwinds buffeted the little plane and it had difficulty making much headway on its journey
            -- the air traffic controller did everything he could to assist the pilot; but suddenly the transmission was cut off -- the plane had crashed into the icy waters -- four helicopters operating nearby began searching the area within minutes of the emergency call, but they found no evidence of the plane and no survivors -- the aircraft had been traveling without water survival gear, leaving its four passengers with even less of a chance to make it through the ordeal -- Cook Inlet is considered among the most dangerous waters in the world -- it is extremely cold with strong glacial currents -- it can claim a life in minutes, and that day it claimed four.
            -- Nowery adds these thoughts to the story: For reasons we will never know, the pilot of that doomed aircraft chose not to use the resources that were at his disposal -- he did not have enough fuel -- he did not have the proper survival equipment -- perhaps he had not taken the time to get the day’s weather report -- whatever the case, he did not use the resources that were available; and in this instance the consequences were fatal.
            -- this story should give us pause -- how many other people have died needlessly like these four people did because someone did not manage and or use the resources they had at their disposal? -- how many have died without Jesus because someone was a poor steward of the resources God has placed them in charge of?
            -- Nowery states, "The stewardship of resources is a serious business; and God’s will is that we give it serious attention. This demands that we have the right perspective on our resources, and that is possible only if we have the right focus on our source."¹

            -- tonight we are finishing up our sermon series on biblical finances called “Making Change”

            -- just to remind you, in this series we have focused on four things to remember when we’re looking at being good stewards of God’s resources: Less is More, Stress is Bad, Giving is Good, and Tomorrow Matters.

            -- in week 1 we talked about the concept of Less is More -- about living with less -- living below our means so we could enjoy our lives more -- about not getting caught up in the world’s concept of needing the newest and the fastest and the biggest and the most but being content with having our needs met and taking charge of our financial lives rather than letting our stuff control us -- to stop chasing after the wind, as Solomon put it, by accumulating possessions that have no eternal value

            -- then we talked about “Stress is Bad” -- looking at the problem of debt in the life of the Christian and in the life of the church -- how debt causes stress in our lives and in our relationships and how debt hampers our ability to minister in God’s name because debt makes you a slave to the lender -- rather than being able to serve God freely with your time and your resources, your first obligation becomes to the lender and not to God, as it should be -- and we talked about coming up with a plan to get out of debt so we could improve our relationship with God and with others and we would start to experience the freedom that comes from debt-free living

            -- last week we talked about generosity -- about how Giving is Good -- and how God wants us to give and to share with others from the resources He has given -- not only our money, but our time and our possessions and our very lives -- God gave it all to us in the first place so that we might share it with others

            -- which brings us to tonight’s message that sums it all up -- “Tomorrow Matters” -- how do we maximize the resources God has given us so that we might live our lives as blessings to other people?

II.  Thinking Ahead

            -- if you were to look at the previous messages and ask what they all had in common -- what is it that makes us spend beyond our means and go into debt and not give freely -- you could make a case it is because we’re only living for today -- as Craig Groeschel puts it, it is because we have a “today-centered mindset”

            -- we have been taught by this world that it is better to get our rewards now rather than to wait for them -- we want instant gratification and happiness -- we want instant results -- and we’re not willing to wait and think long-term

            -- you can really see this right now -- when the new year started, the gym at work was packed -- all those people who had made a new year’s resolution to get in shape and lose weight showed up at the gym in full force -- they were all ready to get it done -- but now we’re in April and the gym’s empty -- why? -- because the majority of those people were not satisfied with the result they gotten so far -- rather than accepting it would take months, if not years, to get back into shape, they wanted to get in shape immediately -- they had a today-centered mindset -- they wanted to have beach-ready bodies before spring break -- and when that didn’t happen, they quit -- they just gave up

            -- a today-centered mindset runs counter to what we are taught in the Bible -- especially when it comes to the resources God has given us and that He expects us to use to bring glory to His name on earth

            -- this series has focused on financial issues because this is an area that a lot of people struggle with -- this is an area where we see that “today-centered mindsets” lead us into problems with our resources -- thinking short-term gets us in trouble and causes us to get into significant debt or into financial problems or to the point where we’re living paycheck to paycheck like most of the country

            -- so what’s the answer? -- exchanging a today-centered mindset for the realization that tomorrow matters -- look at Proverbs 21:20  

           "The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down." [NIV]

 

            -- those who are wise stored up choice food and oil -- they looked ahead -- they realized that tomorrow matters so they set back food and oil for the future -- and they had food when they needed it -- but the foolish man had a today-centered mindset -- he devoured it all immediately and he had nothing left for tomorrow

            -- when you realize that tomorrow matters, it changes the way you live -- it changes the way you interact with other people -- it changes the way you handle money -- it changes the way you look at life

            -- tomorrow matters -- and God expects us to prepare for tomorrow so that we might be an even greater blessing to others

III.  Scripture Lesson -- Matthew 25:14-30

      -- I want us to look now at a familiar parable from Jesus -- the parable of the talents -- turn with me over to Matthew 25:14-30

      -- while you are doing that, let me clear up something that a lot of people miss in this parable -- when Jesus talks here about talents, He’s not talking about talents in the same way we normally think of them -- when we talk about somebody’s talent, we’re talking about their skill or their ability to do something -- Jesus is not talking about our skills -- He’s talking money

      -- a talent was a measure of money in Jesus’ day -- about $1,000 -- which some commentators say would correspond to about six month’s salary in our day -- so we’re talking about a lot of money that is being given to the servants in this story

      -- so, keep that in mind -- first and foremost, this is instruction on being a wise steward of God’s money -- of the resources He has given -- of how He wants us to handle His money

      -- now, we can take the principles that we learn from this parable and apply that to other areas, including our spiritual gifts and our innate skills -- but don’t make that jump in your mind immediately -- when you read “talent” here, think about your own wallet -- about money -- about cold, hard cash

      -- look with me at verse 14

  

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. [Matthew 25:14-18, NIV]

  -- here we see the Master getting ready to go on a journey -- the passage said that he called his servants in and entrusted his property to them -- he entrusted it to them -- he trusted them to be faithful with what he gave them -- to be good stewards of the resources that He was giving them

      -- to each of the servants he gave a different amount of money -- to one he gave five talents -- which was about $5 thousand dollars -- to another two talents -- about $2 thousand dollars -- and to the third one talent -- about $1 thousand dollars

      -- the amount he gave them was based on their individual abilities -- but while the proportion of the amounts was different -- the same commitment was required of all of them

      -- God has given each of us a different amount of money -- a different amount of resources -- to begin with -- we’re not supposed to compare what we have to somebody else -- we’re only to be concerned with what He gave us

      -- I love the story of Louis C.K. getting breakfast ready for his two daughters -- one of them looked in the other’s bowl and complained, “she has more than I do” -- and he told her, “The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.”

      -- it doesn’t matter how much God has given you -- the call is the same -- they were called to be fruitful with the resources He has given -- Luke’s account of a similar parable says they were to “put this money to work” -- God blessed them with this money so that they might multiply it for kingdom work

            -- immediately, the servants who had been given the five talents and the two talents went out and put their money to work and gained a good return on their investment -- but the servant who received only one talent did nothing with his money, but buried it to keep it safe

      -- verse 19  

19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [Matthew 25:19-30 NIV]

 

      -- these verses point out the difference in mindset between the servants -- between a today-centered mindset and someone who knows that tomorrow matters

      -- the first two servants were called "good and faithful" -- in the Bible, when you see two adjectives separated like this, the first adjective applies to the second adjective -- in other words, the first two servants were good because they were faithful -- being faithful was the criteria on which their goodness was measured

      -- similarly, the third servant was called wicked and lazy -- he was not faithful with the talents that had been entrusted to him -- he had not done what the master asked him to do -- he had not put the money to work for the good of the kingdom -- so he was called wicked by the master

      -- now there's several things in this passage that I want to point out to you that contrasts the good and faithful servants to the wicked and lazy servant

      A.  Good and Faithful Servants

            1) good and faithful servants were committed to doing what their Master called them to do -- they knew what was expected and did it even during His absence

            2)  good and faithful servants worked as part of the Master's kingdom -- they didn't take the money and go out and earn a reward for themselves -- they worked to get results for the overall good of the kingdom

            3)  good and faithful servants recognized that their resources and skills came from their master and used those resources and skills to multiply the talents that were given to them

            4)  the good and faithful servants looked to the future -- they invested the money so that they would have more available in the future to bless even more people

      B.  Wicked and Lazy Servant

            1) wicked and lazy servant didn't do a thing while the master was gone -- buried his money and went on his way

            2) wicked and lazy servant didn't work with the others or work to further his master's kingdom

            3) wicked and lazy servant wasn't prepared to work -- he hadn’t gotten himself trained and ready for kingdom work

            4)  the wicked and lazy servant was just thinking short-term -- he was today-focused and didn’t think about the future

      -- why didn’t he do anything with the resources entrusted to him? -- he didn't know the master like the first two servants -- the good and faithful servants obviously knew the master and knew what he required and what he was really like -- they strived to serve him to the best of their ability -- but this servant didn't seem to know what the master was truly like -- he was scared of the master and didn't do anything with the money that was entrusted to him -- his only concern was himself and staying out of trouble -- he never once thought of others or of the future

IV.  Application and Closing

      -- there’s two important concepts in this parable that we need to consider as we recognize that tomorrow matters for God’s kingdom

      -- the first is the concept of stewardship -- it’s recognizing that we don’t own anything -- everything we have -- everything we are -- is given to us by God to be used for His kingdom

      -- that means our money -- the things we have -- our relationships -- our abilities -- our spiritual gifts -- all of it is given to us by God

      -- stewardship is the wise use of these resources -- and the key words there are “wise” and “use” -- we are to invest the resources God has given us so that we might use them for His kingdom and to bring glory to His name

      -- that’s what the first two servants did -- they invested their resources and produced a return on that investment -- the kingdom was increased and multiplied through their stewardship

      -- the second concept here is that we are not to hoard what we have been given -- we’re not supposed to keep resources to ourselves -- we’re supposed to share with others and use what God gave us

      -- a few years ago, a church in our area had a problem with their air conditioning -- it just wouldn’t keep the sanctuary cold -- in the summertime, they would sit in there and swelter -- it was just unbearable -- and nobody would do anything about it -- they didn’t want to use the money they had to fix the AC

      -- a friend of mine got appointed to the financial committee and made it is his first order of business to find out what they needed to do to fix the problem -- he found out the church had been gifted shares of stock in Coca-Cola back in the 50’s and that it was worth millions of dollars now -- but rather than taking that money and putting it to use, they just sat on it and kept it for a rainy day -- they would rather swelter in the heat than use God’s resources for good

      -- the issue wasn’t so much the AC, but the condition of their hearts -- and I believe God allowed the AC to break like it did to reveal their today-centered mindset and to show them they needed to use and invest the resources He had given them to magnify His kingdom

            -- investing in the future and planning for tomorrow doesn’t mean hoarding wealth like the lazy and wicked servant -- what good is it to hoard wealth that never makes a difference? 

            -- we need to realize that being a good steward of God’s resources means we don’t spend all our money right now, just as soon as we get it, and likewise, it means that we don’t just put our money under our mattresses and hide it for a rainy day

            -- being a good steward of God’s resources means we put His resources to work -- we look long-term and use His resources so that they will provide a return on investment

            -- thinking about our personal finances, this means that we reorder our finances with an eye to the future

            -- the first thing we should do is prepare a budget -- not a spend plan -- but a budget -- there is a difference -- a spend plan is what most people have -- it just looks at the amount of money coming in each week, and then is a plan on how to spend every penny with no thought for the future

            -- a budget looks ahead to the future and prepares you for lean times -- for instance, we all know the electric bill is going to go up in the summer time, right? -- so, to prepare for the future, we should set back a little bit of money from our paychecks now to cover the increase in the electric bill during the summer months -- that’s what I did

            -- I added up how much electricity we spend over the course of a year, and I divided that by 12 to come up with a monthly budget -- during the winter time, when the electric bill isn’t as high, I take the extra money and set it back until summer rolls around -- and when summer gets here and the bill is higher than what I have available in this week’s paycheck, I just add the money I set back to it so I can pay it

            -- that’s what a budget does -- a budget looks ahead and considers future needs -- things you know that you are going to have to pay for in the future -- clothes, appliances breaking or wearing out, car repairs, tires, etc. -- a budget is future-oriented while a spend-plan is just for today

            -- the next thing we should do is consider how we can invest in people -- you know the old adage, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime”

            -- consider how to best use and invest the resources God has given you for the good of the other person -- even though you have the resources to completely take care of someone’s needs, perhaps it would be better to just take care of part of it now so that they will learn how to work on their own to meet their needs and so that you will have available resources in the future in case others need help -- teach someone to fish rather than just giving them a fish

            -- that’s part of the knock on the Government entitlement programs -- there’s no incentive for people to get off of assistance -- the goal should not be to just meet their needs, but to empower people to meet their own needs through God’s help

            -- the final thing we should do is to diversify our investments -- spread your resources around -- and that not only goes for your money, but for your time and your prayers and your other gifts and abilities -- do the most good you can for the most people

            -- I’ve spent time discipling multiple people at the same time -- some did well and grew in grace and in their knowledge of the Lord -- others did not -- but because I diversified my investments -- I spread God’s resources around -- God’s kingdom grew

           

            -- here’s the take-home message -- “We’re not all equal in terms of talents, gifts and opportunity. But we all have the same chance to do something with what we’ve been given. The question is not, “What have I been given?” but rather, “What will I do with what I’ve been given?”” [Ray Pritchard]

            -- the purpose of this series was to encourage you to be a good steward of God’s money and resources -- to not be selfish -- to not live above your means -- to live on less so you can bless more -- to not get burdened down by debt so it affects what you can do in God’s kingdom -- to live an others-centered life by giving freely as you have been given -- and to plan for the future so you can multiply God’s blessings

            -- My prayer for you as we end this series is that you become an incredible investor in the Kingdom of God -- that you get rich in every way -- I pray that you invest in your marriage and your relationships and that you are richly blessed through those relationships

            -- I pray that you invest in your children or your grandchildren or your neighbor’s children and you are blessed by seeing them grow up and walk with God and serve Him with their lives

            -- I pray that you invest in the lives of others through discipleship -- that through you they would learn how a Christian is to live in this world -- so that they might disciple others and their disciples spread the message and so on and so forth -- and that you would be blessed by seeing the kingdom of God magnified because of your efforts

            -- I pray you invest in your church and suddenly you realize you don't just go to church but you are the church, and as you pour your gifts and your resources into the church you recognize the church is making a difference all over the world

            -- I pray that you will be a faithful steward of all that God has given you -- that is my prayer for you as we end this series

            -- let’s close together in prayer that this might be so

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Illustration modified from a sermon by Michael McCartney, “12 Dollars a Changed Life, 6/20/2012) [Story from Kirk Nowery: “The Stewardship of Life,” Page 118] [https://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-sermon-central-staff-stories-grace-82213?ref=AllSermonPrep]