Title: The Joy of the Lord (Eschatology Part 7)
Meta: This sermon deals with the parable of the talents. He who owns all will one day come and each of us will give an account for what we did with all that Christ gave to us.  This parable challenges us to be faithful to Christ and live life now as we will desire to have lived it when He appears.
Tags: Eschatology,tribulation,end times,rapture,Jews,Israel

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This is part 7.

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Part 7

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The series on the end times.

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A series dealing with eschatology.

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Let me just say this at the beginning.

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Just to put things in proper perspective as we look at this.

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It is common place

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among pre-millennial folks

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to speak about different judgments.

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They want to talk about judgments before the thousand year kingdom,

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judgments after the thousand year kingdom.

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On a website called Bible.org I found this.

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It says this,

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"not all men will be judged at the same time and place. There are five future judgments." So they say.

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"The first one, the judgment seat of Christ, also known as the Bema seat, it's the Bema judgment."

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That is a judgement, they claim, of Christians only.

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Christians are judged, Christians stand before the judgment seat of Christ,

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Christians are rewarded.

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Then, there is another judgment, the judgment of regathered Israel, they say.

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This comes from Daniel 12:1, the time of Jacob's trouble.

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They say that it happens during the 7 year tribulation prior to the thousand year kingdom.

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Then they have the judgment of the living nations.

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These are the nations that are being judged.

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They say that this comes from Joel 3, the Valley of Jehoshaphat. This is right at the end of that 7 year tribulation.

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Right before the thousand year kingdom.

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Then you have the judgment of the fallen angels. This is the judgment of Jude 6, the judgement of the great day,

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where it shows angels being judged.

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And then fifth, the judgment of the unbelieving dead.

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This is the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:11.

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But, is this really what our Bibles suggest?

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Do we see all manner or different judgments?

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Are there five separate judgments.

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You see, all along what I've wanted to do

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is take us to simple passages in Scripture.

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Does Scripture talk about a bunch of different judgments or does it simply talk of one judgment?

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The parable that we just read seems to suggest a very straight forward answer.

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Think about the parable.

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Obviously the master is our Lord.

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What does he do?

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He entrusts things to his servants and he goes away.

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And after a long time, he comes back.

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A lot of different judgments?

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Nope just one.

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Does He judge Christians at one time

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and then the unbelievers at another time?

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Nope, it all happens right at one place.

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And if you're not convinced right here,

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the next time that we look at this when we pick up at verse 31

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you're going to see it all over again.

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All the nations are gathered before and they're divided -

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the good and the bad.

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The believers and the unbelievers,

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the Christians and the non-Christians.

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All the nations are divided at once,

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these over here are commended

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because of the life of faith that they lived and the works produced.

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And over here they were the opposite.

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"I was hungry and you didn't feed me."

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Is this not the picture?

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One judgment, that great Day, that coming great Day, the end.

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When Jesus Christ descends with a shout and it is over and it is judgment.

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I would say that that is what this parable shows us.

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He gathers the faithful and the unfaithful together.

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The faithful are commended, they are ushered into the joy of the Lord.

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The unfaithful are cast into the outer darkness.

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There's weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Notice what is not in this parable.

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What is not here is the judgment of the faithful separated to a different time

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than the judgment of the unfaithful.

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There's nothing about judgment of the faithful,

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a thousand years, and then the judgment of the unfaithful.

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Nothing like that.

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Accounts are all settled at one and the same time.

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The Lord comes,

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and all men must give an account.

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One's faithfulness or unfaithfulness

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is already established

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and He comes to take account.

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Now brethren,

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I know men tend to be curious.

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We're always curious about the future.

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Men are curious and inquisitive all of the time.

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What's coming?

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Prophecy.

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What lies ahead?

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They want to create their charts.

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Have any of you ever come to that kind of church where they want to talk all about

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what is going to happen in the future? And they have all of the charts

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and all of the tribulation mapped out

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and the thousand years mapped out.

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And what's going to happen...

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And Satan is bound and then he is released and

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the antichrist and the rapture. You've got all of that.

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Some of us were familiar with The Scroll.

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People like to make these things.

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Inquisitive.

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Insatiable curiosity about the end times and what will happen

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and the order in which they will all happen.

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Brethren, I'll tell you. We see the same curiosity in the disciples.

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Now, what we have to remember is this.

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Right here in Matthew 25:14, this parable of the talents as it is commonly referred to.

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This is not the beginning of this conversation with Jesus Christ.

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I want you to look back at Matthew 24:1.

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This is where the whole discussion about Christ's coming and the end of the world

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and also the destruction of the temple.

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This is where all of this began.

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Jesus left the temple and was going away.

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By the way,

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this is the last time He would leave the temple.

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Do you know what He said in the chapter right before this?

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"Your house is left to you desolate."

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He's done.

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That temple is done

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as far as any purposes of God.

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Christ leaves it.

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And this last time as He leaves the temple and was going away,

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His disciples came to point out to Him the buildings of the temple.

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But He answered them,

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"do you see all of these things?"

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What things?

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Well, the things that they just wanted to draw His attention to.

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The temple. The buildings there. Do you see these?

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"Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

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As He sat on the Mount of Olives,"

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(That is outside of the city where they could look back at the temple.)

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"the disciples came to Him privately saying, 'tell us, when will these things be?'"

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Inquisitive!

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We're curious about this . Lord, we want to know!

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We want our chart.

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Tell us, when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?

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And there's lots of discussion about what they are really asking and how much they really knew.

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We know they were in the dark about all sorts of things.

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They had lots of things not figured out at this point in time.

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But, do you know what?

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What they intended by their questions and what they actually thought isn't the issue.

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Because Jesus Christ knew what the answers to these questions were.

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He knew what the proper answers to these questions were

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whether they knew which questions to ask or not.

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They are asking, Lord when?

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When?

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What are the signs?

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Men are curious.

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But, our Lord never let men stay in the arena of the trivial.

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Do you notice that?

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He never allows us to just satisfy our curiosity about stuff.

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He makes everything into a searching heart issue.

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That's what happens.

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A lot of times what we want

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is to just pack some theological facts away in our head.

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We're curious!

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We want a little bit of knowledge.

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Give us the chart, Lord,

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we want to be able to figure all of that out.

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And the Lord always gives us more than what we bargain for.

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The disciples just asked,

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Lord when?

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When Lord?

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What will be the sign?

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What do they get?

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Did Jesus bring out His chart?

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Do you know what they get?

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They get a lesson in chapter 25, if we just jump forward.

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It is still part of the same discussion.

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But in the first part of chapter 25,

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what we looked at last week,

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the parable of the 10 virgins,

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they get a searching message about whether you are foolish or wise.

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He makes us all have to look at ourselves.

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Well, that's not what we wanted, Lord. We wanted the chart!

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We didn't want to go and have to search our hearts!

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We didn't mean this to be a time of self examination.

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But, do you ever notice that that's always what the Lord made everything?

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Everything.

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You know how it got to be with the disciples.

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It got to be when they didn't ask Him about a lot of things that they were curious about.

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Because they knew that every time they would ask Him,

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they just wanted a little bit of knowledge, they got a lesson.

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And it was typically one that hurt.

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I mean, it was one that crushed pride.

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It was one that crushed unbelief.

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It was one that searched them out.

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You get to where you know if you ask Him a question about that

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He is just going to crush something in you.

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It is going to be about life, it's going to be about your heart.

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And it was.

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And you can imagine.

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Have you ever thought about Jesus looking at you?

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Can you imaging asking Him a question?

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And those eyes...

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they are just piercing!

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They know.

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Hey gentlemen, what were you talking about on the way?

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They were talking about who was going to be the greatest.

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He knows! You know He knows!

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Those eyes!

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He just looks directly at us and He says,

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boys, do you want to know about my second coming?

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Do you want to know about the end times?

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Okay, let me tell you.

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You're curious to know some things.

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And He doesn't clearly come out and tell us the thing we want to know.

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But, as always, He comes out and He tells us

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what we need to know.

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Let's look at the parable.

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We have four individuals in this parable who fit into three categories.

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You saw the four.

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We have the master,

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we have two faithful servants,

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and one unfaithful servant.

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That's it. Just four characters in this parable.

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They fit into three categories.

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Now you may remember the parable of the 10 virgins.

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Even though we had 11 characters in that parable,

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same 3 categories.

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What did we have?

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We had the bridegroom,

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we had the wise virgins,

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we had the foolish virgins.

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Here, we have the same thing,

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we have the master,

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in a category all by Himself.

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We have the faithful, who in the parable of the virgins would be the wise.

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And then we have the unfaithful servant, the foolish.

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Same 3 categories.

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This is commonly referred to as the parable of the talents.

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Now,

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we typically think of a talent meaning a skill or an ability.

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But that is not what it means here.

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In fact, I know that a lot of your Bibles have a footnote that say

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a talent was a monetary unit worth about 20 years wages for a laborer.

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A talent is a measure of weight.

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Typically associated with precious metals.

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Because it had to do with a weight of precious metal

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it also became a monetary unit, a unit of money.

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Much like the British pound.

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You think of a British pound, that is a monetary unit like the dollar.

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But, a pound is also a weight.

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Where did it come from?

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Well, it had to do with a pound of sterling silver.

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That is basically what we are talking about here.

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The value of a talent, perhaps of gold,

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twenty years salary.

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That is what the footnote says.

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Let's assume that is right.

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I looked at the average laborers salary in the United States of America.

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Roughly $30,000.

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Multiply that times 20, you have $600,000.

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It is a big sum of money for most of us.

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A talent is that which is valuable.

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That is the idea.

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What does the talent represent?

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00:14:40,807 --> 00:14:46,587
Well, let's look at the parable. Notice verses 14 and 15.

253
00:14:46,733 --> 00:14:55,310
"For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them

254
00:14:55,485 --> 00:14:58,007
[notice these 2 words]

255
00:14:58,195 --> 00:15:02,839
his property."

256
00:15:02,989 --> 00:15:06,073
What is a talent?

257
00:15:06,221 --> 00:15:10,383
It is His property.

258
00:15:10,556 --> 00:15:11,845
Keep reading.

259
00:15:12,017 --> 00:15:14,665
"To one He gave."

260
00:15:14,856 --> 00:15:18,554
Notice who is in control of this property.

261
00:15:18,715 --> 00:15:23,034
Notice who has rights to distribute. "He gave."

262
00:15:23,148 --> 00:15:27,599
He's owner.

263
00:15:27,764 --> 00:15:30,097
He has the right to give what is His.

264
00:15:30,229 --> 00:15:35,342
"To one he gave 5 talents. To another he gave 2 talents.

265
00:15:35,492 --> 00:15:38,849
To another he gives 1 talent. To each according to his ability.

266
00:15:39,007 --> 00:15:39,583
Then he went away."

267
00:15:39,831 --> 00:15:42,872
The talents are Christ's property.

268
00:15:42,876 --> 00:15:47,097
Property that He is free to administrate over.

269
00:15:47,269 --> 00:15:49,070
Free to give as He determines best.

270
00:15:49,224 --> 00:15:52,050
Do you know what?

271
00:15:52,219 --> 00:16:00,829
There is an unmistakable emphasis on ownership in this parable.

272
00:16:01,039 --> 00:16:02,976
Look at verse 26.

273
00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,426
"But his master answered him.

274
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:10,009
You wicked and slothful servant!

275
00:16:10,204 --> 00:16:13,019
You knew that I reaped where I have not sown

276
00:16:13,197 --> 00:16:16,242
and gathered where I scattered no seed.

277
00:16:16,263 --> 00:16:23,917
Then you ought to have invested [notice these two words] my money."

278
00:16:24,105 --> 00:16:25,732
It's mine.

279
00:16:25,788 --> 00:16:27,562
Mine!

280
00:16:27,713 --> 00:16:30,072
Do you notice that Psalm that we read today?

281
00:16:30,256 --> 00:16:34,452
Gilead is mine!

282
00:16:34,557 --> 00:16:39,634
Manasseh is mine!

283
00:16:39,634 --> 00:16:44,374
Ephraim. MY helmet!

284
00:16:44,554 --> 00:16:48,479
Judah. MY sceptor!

285
00:16:48,624 --> 00:16:54,369
It's mine!

286
00:16:54,506 --> 00:17:03,391
"Invested my money with the bankers and at my coming I should have received what was MY OWN with interest."

287
00:17:03,538 --> 00:17:07,795
Notice the absolute sovereignty of Christ over what He has given you.

288
00:17:07,958 --> 00:17:13,724
He takes and He gives as He will.

289
00:17:13,856 --> 00:17:15,366
Now notice what it says next.

290
00:17:15,475 --> 00:17:23,361
"So take the talent from him and give it..."

291
00:17:23,539 --> 00:17:27,842
He ordains

292
00:17:28,003 --> 00:17:31,099
what is taken and what is given.

293
00:17:31,252 --> 00:17:33,542
"Give it to him who has the 10 talents,

294
00:17:33,722 --> 00:17:36,547
for to everyone who has will more be given

295
00:17:36,739 --> 00:17:38,772
and he will have an abundance.

296
00:17:38,911 --> 00:17:42,963
But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

297
00:17:43,152 --> 00:17:46,174
Do you feel the force of ownership?

298
00:17:46,347 --> 00:17:52,622
That's an emphasis here.

299
00:17:52,792 --> 00:17:55,417
What is a talent?

300
00:17:55,612 --> 00:17:59,046
How might we describe a talent?

301
00:17:59,242 --> 00:18:01,984
Do you know what a talent is?

302
00:18:02,147 --> 00:18:10,233
One way we might define it is anything that the Lord can take away from you.

303
00:18:10,416 --> 00:18:16,433
Anything that He can take.

304
00:18:16,630 --> 00:18:21,087
We so naturally like to say,

305
00:18:21,258 --> 00:18:24,470
"that's mine!"

306
00:18:24,571 --> 00:18:27,474
"I own that!"

307
00:18:27,669 --> 00:18:29,214
"That's my house!"

308
00:18:29,413 --> 00:18:31,878
"That's my car!"

309
00:18:32,035 --> 00:18:33,518
"That's my coffee!"

310
00:18:33,675 --> 00:18:35,451
"That's my seat!"

311
00:18:35,649 --> 00:18:37,125
"That's my Bible!"

312
00:18:37,312 --> 00:18:38,786
"That's my son!"

313
00:18:38,952 --> 00:18:40,875
"That's my wife!"

314
00:18:41,008 --> 00:18:42,290
We speak that way.

315
00:18:42,371 --> 00:18:46,623
"That was my idea!"

316
00:18:46,702 --> 00:18:51,210
We use ownership terminology all of the time.

317
00:18:51,397 --> 00:18:53,368
And do you know what's worse?

318
00:18:53,567 --> 00:18:56,545
It's that we really think we own it.

319
00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,369
That's what's worse!

320
00:18:59,481 --> 00:19:01,534
It's the heart attitude.

321
00:19:01,684 --> 00:19:04,003
It's how we think.

322
00:19:04,154 --> 00:19:08,618
When we speak this way we need to be really, really clear that

323
00:19:08,716 --> 00:19:15,307
those things are only ours in the sense that we are the steward that has been entrusted with them.

324
00:19:15,422 --> 00:19:17,667
In the absolute sense, they are not ours.

325
00:19:17,858 --> 00:19:19,994
Do you know what this parable does?

326
00:19:20,173 --> 00:19:21,833
It challenges us right at this point,

327
00:19:21,984 --> 00:19:24,438
about who actually owns what we have.

328
00:19:24,599 --> 00:19:30,136
It is one thing if I'm using terminology, "well, that's my car,"

329
00:19:30,345 --> 00:19:36,877
but always when I say that, what I mean is that I'm the steward and Christ has entrusted me with that vehicle

330
00:19:37,073 --> 00:19:41,365
and He is going to come and I am going to have to give an account to Him for how I used it.

331
00:19:41,525 --> 00:19:45,853
And it is mine only in that sense that I am the steward entrusted with it.

332
00:19:46,004 --> 00:19:47,947
But do you know what? We tend to forget that.

333
00:19:48,159 --> 00:19:53,871
We tend to forget that we are simply using what belongs to another.

334
00:19:54,039 --> 00:19:58,999
We tend to think that-that really is mine.

335
00:19:59,182 --> 00:20:05,415
"Stay off that lawn, that is my grass!"

336
00:20:05,576 --> 00:20:07,514
We tend to think that way

337
00:20:07,708 --> 00:20:11,012
and this checks us.

338
00:20:11,194 --> 00:20:13,629
This puts things in proper perspective.

339
00:20:13,813 --> 00:20:15,047
We need to be really clear.

340
00:20:15,215 --> 00:20:18,685
The Lord doesn't mince words in Scripture.

341
00:20:18,865 --> 00:20:20,019
Don't turn there but listen to this.

342
00:20:20,189 --> 00:20:24,247
Psalm 50:12, "If I were hungry I would not tell you,

343
00:20:24,413 --> 00:20:29,736
for the world and its fullness is mine."

344
00:20:29,848 --> 00:20:33,938
I own the cattle on a thousand hills!

345
00:20:34,031 --> 00:20:36,808
The silver and the gold is mine!

346
00:20:36,808 --> 00:20:39,017
Gilead is mine!

347
00:20:39,171 --> 00:20:42,810
Manasseh is mine!

348
00:20:42,970 --> 00:20:45,114
It's all mine!

349
00:20:45,379 --> 00:20:48,150
He has ownership.

350
00:20:48,396 --> 00:20:52,086
I was just reading in Jeremiah's prophecy this week, these words,

351
00:20:52,279 --> 00:20:54,563
Jeremiah 27:4.

352
00:20:54,563 --> 00:20:56,619
"Thus said the Lord of hosts,

353
00:20:56,795 --> 00:20:58,559
the God of Israel,

354
00:20:58,725 --> 00:21:04,802
it is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the Earth

355
00:21:05,022 --> 00:21:12,273
with the men and animals that are on the Earth and I give it to whomever it seems right to me."

356
00:21:12,443 --> 00:21:14,571
In all this Earth.

357
00:21:14,656 --> 00:21:17,133
He's going to say,

358
00:21:17,279 --> 00:21:23,548
we're at a time when I'm giving everything in this known part of the world to Nebuchadnezzar.

359
00:21:23,697 --> 00:21:24,968
I'm giving it to him.

360
00:21:25,129 --> 00:21:29,412
You bow before him or you will be destroyed.

361
00:21:29,578 --> 00:21:33,526
Not because Nebuchadnezzar's omnipotent.

362
00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:36,048
But because I am, and I am giving it.

363
00:21:36,183 --> 00:21:38,709
And it is mine to give to whom I want.

364
00:21:38,924 --> 00:21:42,220
This is what God says to Israel.

365
00:21:42,437 --> 00:21:49,203
The talents are Christ's property.

366
00:21:49,242 --> 00:21:51,413
That is what is represented.

367
00:21:51,557 --> 00:21:52,596
John the Baptist,

368
00:21:52,679 --> 00:21:53,825
he was gripped by this reality.

369
00:21:53,947 --> 00:21:55,622
Do you remember what he said in John 3?

370
00:21:55,759 --> 00:22:00,338
"A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from Heaven."

371
00:22:00,482 --> 00:22:03,742
My brothers and sisters,

372
00:22:03,926 --> 00:22:10,177
you that don't know Christ,

373
00:22:10,265 --> 00:22:15,003
there's only one thing that you can really lay claim to in this world.

374
00:22:15,168 --> 00:22:17,036
That is yours.

375
00:22:17,267 --> 00:22:19,850
That is your sin.

376
00:22:20,057 --> 00:22:22,144
Nothing else.

377
00:22:22,342 --> 00:22:28,140
Because every other thing He can take away from you.

378
00:22:28,321 --> 00:22:32,653
Bob Jones,

379
00:22:32,741 --> 00:22:39,277
at one point in time was into making some of these low grade Christian movies

380
00:22:39,425 --> 00:22:43,069
and they made one called, "The Printing."

381
00:22:43,247 --> 00:22:47,067
And there is a pastor who is being controlled by the KGB

382
00:22:47,257 --> 00:22:53,389
and one of the KGB guys played by Bob Jones Jr.,

383
00:22:53,561 --> 00:22:57,215
a KGB general.

384
00:22:57,424 --> 00:22:58,953
The pastor says to him,

385
00:22:59,085 --> 00:23:03,518
"how can you do that in my church?"

386
00:23:03,607 --> 00:23:05,751
And that KGB general said,

387
00:23:05,915 --> 00:23:12,956
"how can you call this your church? I can take it away from you anytime that I want to."

388
00:23:13,058 --> 00:23:18,789
In a similar fashion, we need to be careful what we call ours.

389
00:23:18,998 --> 00:23:22,977
Because as you see, with the unfaithful servant here,

390
00:23:23,132 --> 00:23:25,846
everything can be taken away.

391
00:23:25,873 --> 00:23:28,175
What you call yours...

392
00:23:28,340 --> 00:23:30,493
"that's my son."

393
00:23:30,608 --> 00:23:34,537
How many parents have had their sons taken away?

394
00:23:34,641 --> 00:23:37,236
You can't keep him.

395
00:23:37,477 --> 00:23:38,820
"That's my car."

396
00:23:38,985 --> 00:23:41,100
Yeah, watch how fast you lose it.

397
00:23:41,288 --> 00:23:44,924
"That's my idea."

398
00:23:45,054 --> 00:23:48,417
Have you ever had an idea and suddenly it is gone?

399
00:23:48,536 --> 00:23:52,160
Suddenly you can't remember?

400
00:23:52,332 --> 00:23:56,144
We've been made well aware in these last days,

401
00:23:56,269 --> 00:24:01,481
you can have your sanity taken away in a moment.

402
00:24:01,665 --> 00:24:05,251
What do you have that is yours but your sin?

403
00:24:05,426 --> 00:24:14,072
Come on, Lord! We want to know about the end times.

404
00:24:14,287 --> 00:24:19,466
You're taking us to this? To ownership?

405
00:24:19,592 --> 00:24:27,008
You better believe it. Because it has everything to do with what happens when Jesus Christ comes.

406
00:24:27,216 --> 00:24:31,469
We need to be clear. We need to be clear.

407
00:24:31,662 --> 00:24:33,150
Our wisdom.

408
00:24:33,414 --> 00:24:34,898
Our wisdom,

409
00:24:35,036 --> 00:24:36,347
our knowledge,

410
00:24:36,530 --> 00:24:38,106
our mind, our sanity,

411
00:24:38,106 --> 00:24:42,405
it can be taken away.

412
00:24:42,405 --> 00:24:48,422
That thought that is in your head...it can disappear.

413
00:24:48,573 --> 00:24:50,174
It was given by the Lord.

414
00:24:50,370 --> 00:24:51,868
Money.

415
00:24:52,025 --> 00:24:54,050
Money...

416
00:24:54,194 --> 00:24:59,402
"well, I worked hard for that."

417
00:24:59,584 --> 00:25:02,252
Your money is not your own. Your wealth is not your own.

418
00:25:02,408 --> 00:25:04,428
There is not one thing that you possess that is your own.

419
00:25:04,570 --> 00:25:12,417
I remember, I had a very ungodly aunt, my Aunt Peggy.

420
00:25:12,583 --> 00:25:23,794
Shortly after I was saved and before I moved down here to Texas,

421
00:25:23,940 --> 00:25:26,310
my dad was giving me a hard time.

422
00:25:26,508 --> 00:25:29,718
We got into a conversation and he asked me something.

423
00:25:29,844 --> 00:25:31,977
He said, "do you ever give your money to that church?"

424
00:25:32,159 --> 00:25:36,690
At that time I was going to a little church in Calamazoo, Michigan.

425
00:25:36,836 --> 00:25:39,542
I said, "yes, dad, I give."

426
00:25:39,721 --> 00:25:46,111
He said, "that pastor is just laughing all the way over to the bank."

427
00:25:46,245 --> 00:25:53,630
Craig's laughing because he could picture the pastor that it was, laughing all the way to the bank.

428
00:25:53,841 --> 00:25:57,701
I said to my aunt,

429
00:25:57,893 --> 00:25:59,199
I said to my dad,

430
00:25:59,388 --> 00:26:07,046
"all the money that we have is the Lord's,

431
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:13,270
and he would have us use some of it for ourselves but he would have us give

432
00:26:13,464 --> 00:26:17,001
a lot of it to those who are in need."

433
00:26:17,176 --> 00:26:24,628
My aunt said, "my money is not the Lord's, my money is mine!"

434
00:26:24,813 --> 00:26:31,627
My Aunt Peggy is dead, and I guarantee you that she did not take her money with her.

435
00:26:31,846 --> 00:26:36,300
God can take everything away.

436
00:26:36,464 --> 00:26:47,375
I think she found out that more than just her money belonged to the Lord.

437
00:26:47,508 --> 00:26:49,492
Do you understand the Gospel?

438
00:26:49,567 --> 00:26:53,055
Can you go to this Word and say,

439
00:26:53,212 --> 00:26:57,856
"wow! I can understand this!"?

440
00:26:58,025 --> 00:27:01,325
That learning, that understanding, that comprehension, that Gospel

441
00:27:01,546 --> 00:27:03,093
has been given to you.

442
00:27:03,290 --> 00:27:06,058
You say, "thank the Lord! I found a good church."

443
00:27:06,222 --> 00:27:08,407
That church is His.

444
00:27:08,530 --> 00:27:11,731
The pastors in this church are His.

445
00:27:11,915 --> 00:27:14,291
It is all His.

446
00:27:14,434 --> 00:27:16,242
He has ownership.

447
00:27:16,398 --> 00:27:19,154
If you understand the Gospel, that is the Lord's trust to you.

448
00:27:19,154 --> 00:27:20,811
It's His.

449
00:27:20,917 --> 00:27:22,970
His ownership.

450
00:27:23,108 --> 00:27:25,011
The Master's goods.

451
00:27:25,186 --> 00:27:26,433
Do you have time?

452
00:27:26,586 --> 00:27:28,018
Oh! We have time!

453
00:27:28,147 --> 00:27:29,283
Time!

454
00:27:29,438 --> 00:27:31,787
Though it may be fleeting, thought it may be going by like a vapor,

455
00:27:31,918 --> 00:27:35,069
you have time.

456
00:27:35,229 --> 00:27:38,734
It is the Lord's trust to you. Time.

457
00:27:38,970 --> 00:27:41,361
Do you have health?

458
00:27:41,564 --> 00:27:44,498
Do you have strength?

459
00:27:44,631 --> 00:27:46,416
He can take it away.

460
00:27:46,575 --> 00:27:53,353
People are healthy one moment and it is amazing how fast they can deteriorate and be gone.

461
00:27:53,455 --> 00:27:55,589
I was listening to Martyn Lloyd Jones last night,

462
00:27:55,711 --> 00:28:00,320
he was talking about 244 cases where people had terminal cancer

463
00:28:00,497 --> 00:28:03,679
and the medical community gave up hope

464
00:28:03,921 --> 00:28:05,650
and they fully recovered.

465
00:28:05,733 --> 00:28:06,828
No cancer at all.

466
00:28:06,928 --> 00:28:12,570
You see, Christ can give, he can take away, he can give back.

467
00:28:12,759 --> 00:28:14,862
It is all in His control.

468
00:28:15,044 --> 00:28:16,140
Opportunity.

469
00:28:16,261 --> 00:28:19,158
Our Brother John was talking about opportunities.

470
00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:20,770
Do you recognize?

471
00:28:20,934 --> 00:28:25,646
The woman that he was talking about with the alabaster box.

472
00:28:25,809 --> 00:28:31,325
She used that at an opportune time.

473
00:28:31,474 --> 00:28:34,930
Christ gives opportunity.

474
00:28:35,133 --> 00:28:38,369
Sometimes when we have opportunity we can take it for granted

475
00:28:38,525 --> 00:28:42,759
until the opportunity is gone.

476
00:28:42,860 --> 00:28:44,493
Opportunity.

477
00:28:44,690 --> 00:28:48,557
It is entrusted by the Lord.

478
00:28:48,700 --> 00:28:50,384
All of this is from the Lord.

479
00:28:50,581 --> 00:28:52,432
If you have any kind of natural ability,

480
00:28:52,666 --> 00:28:54,443
natural skills,

481
00:28:54,716 --> 00:28:56,503
natural enablements,

482
00:28:56,676 --> 00:28:59,607
if you have any kind of spiritual giftedness,

483
00:28:59,790 --> 00:29:03,320
it has been allotted to you by His sovereign choice

484
00:29:03,484 --> 00:29:05,321
and by His sovereign wisdom.

485
00:29:05,479 --> 00:29:10,448
He distributes to each of us as He will.

486
00:29:10,594 --> 00:29:12,369
Do you have children?

487
00:29:12,502 --> 00:29:13,510
Do you have a family?

488
00:29:13,678 --> 00:29:15,164
Do you have a wife? Do you have a husband?

489
00:29:15,228 --> 00:29:18,097
Are you in any position of authority?

490
00:29:18,269 --> 00:29:22,091
Do you have those that are under you in any way and in any capacity

491
00:29:22,189 --> 00:29:23,418
who serve you?

492
00:29:23,590 --> 00:29:26,982
Authority has been given to you by the Lord.

493
00:29:27,132 --> 00:29:29,179
If you have family it has been given to you by the Lord.

494
00:29:29,307 --> 00:29:31,755
If you have singleness, it has been given to you by the Lord.

495
00:29:31,899 --> 00:29:34,745
A lot of single people think about, "what I don't have."

496
00:29:34,879 --> 00:29:36,677
No, you have to recognize,

497
00:29:36,809 --> 00:29:39,362
your singleness has been given to you by the Lord.

498
00:29:39,581 --> 00:29:42,911
It is one of the things you have been entrusted with.

499
00:29:43,114 --> 00:29:46,393
Use it well.

500
00:29:46,587 --> 00:29:50,627
Whatever you can look at in your life,

501
00:29:50,808 --> 00:29:53,452
it is the Lord's.

502
00:29:53,660 --> 00:29:58,421
And I think we just need to stop right here and think for a moment.

503
00:29:58,585 --> 00:30:03,639
Lord,

504
00:30:03,836 --> 00:30:07,288
you just said that of these stones over here,

505
00:30:07,442 --> 00:30:08,788
not one will be left on another.

506
00:30:08,921 --> 00:30:10,282
You can imagine them.

507
00:30:10,433 --> 00:30:12,249
Can you imagine them?

508
00:30:12,444 --> 00:30:13,763
He came out...

509
00:30:13,937 --> 00:30:16,541
maybe it's dusk.

510
00:30:16,749 --> 00:30:19,626
They are up there

511
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,876
outside of the city.

512
00:30:23,018 --> 00:30:26,046
My understanding is that they would have a vantage point

513
00:30:26,172 --> 00:30:29,136
that would oversee the Temple over the wall.

514
00:30:29,303 --> 00:30:32,486
Because the Temple was on a mount,

515
00:30:32,649 --> 00:30:34,531
the Temple Mount.

516
00:30:34,707 --> 00:30:38,205
They were on a high and raised place.

517
00:30:38,380 --> 00:30:39,299
Can you imagine?

518
00:30:39,461 --> 00:30:41,542
Just after sunset,

519
00:30:41,719 --> 00:30:44,398
you're sitting there with the Lord and the Lord has told you,

520
00:30:44,587 --> 00:30:49,064
boys, do you see all those stones?

521
00:30:49,248 --> 00:30:53,053
Not one will be left on another.

522
00:30:53,196 --> 00:30:56,463
They were curious about this.

523
00:30:56,617 --> 00:30:58,963
Lord, when are you going to set up your Kingdom?

524
00:30:59,125 --> 00:31:00,694
What is coming?

525
00:31:00,881 --> 00:31:02,336
When is that going to happen?

526
00:31:02,486 --> 00:31:04,030
The destruction of the Temple?

527
00:31:04,212 --> 00:31:06,491
Wow! That sounds catastrophic!

528
00:31:06,609 --> 00:31:07,568
That must be the end of the world.

529
00:31:07,733 --> 00:31:11,963
Even when they are asking about when He is coming,

530
00:31:12,123 --> 00:31:14,119
they may not even know that He is even going away yet.

531
00:31:14,286 --> 00:31:15,621
They may be wondering about

532
00:31:15,775 --> 00:31:17,122
when He is going to come in His Kingdom?

533
00:31:17,313 --> 00:31:18,445
When is He going to set that up?

534
00:31:18,542 --> 00:31:20,921
When are you going to take the throne of David?

535
00:31:20,995 --> 00:31:24,754
That may be what they had in mind.

536
00:31:24,868 --> 00:31:31,332
Lord, give us some idea about the signs.

537
00:31:31,524 --> 00:31:35,619
Ask the Lord about when the end is going to come

538
00:31:35,828 --> 00:31:38,116
and He says,

539
00:31:38,299 --> 00:31:42,546
guys,

540
00:31:42,732 --> 00:31:48,409
let me give you a lesson about who owns everything.

541
00:31:48,585 --> 00:31:50,749
Everything!

542
00:31:50,277 --> 00:31:55,210
Let me remind you - you are stewards.

543
00:31:55,210 --> 00:32:01,676
When He is asked questions,

544
00:32:01,859 --> 00:32:06,108
He clears away the fluff.

545
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:07,732
He says, do you know what?

546
00:32:07,919 --> 00:32:12,243
There's a deeper issue here that we need to deal with.

547
00:32:12,415 --> 00:32:15,430
Boys, you ask me when this is going to happen.

548
00:32:15,534 --> 00:32:18,672
But that is not as important as what is going to happen

549
00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:20,490
when it happens!

550
00:32:20,641 --> 00:32:21,934
You're concerned with the when.

551
00:32:22,097 --> 00:32:23,622
You're concerned with the signs

552
00:32:23,844 --> 00:32:25,214
of the times.

553
00:32:25,392 --> 00:32:29,239
What you ought to be concerned with is what is going to happen when I return!

554
00:32:29,410 --> 00:32:30,862
Not when!

555
00:32:31,016 --> 00:32:33,366
Not what the timeline is!

556
00:32:33,542 --> 00:32:34,670
Not the chart!

557
00:32:34,803 --> 00:32:39,731
Not that we need to carry around our scroll and be able to throw it out there and say,

558
00:32:39,926 --> 00:32:42,056
"see we've got it all mapped out and charted out."

559
00:32:42,167 --> 00:32:44,564
He says, look, guys,

560
00:32:44,748 --> 00:32:50,348
you need to be concerned when I come with what is going to happen.

561
00:32:50,376 --> 00:32:52,751
That is what is important.

562
00:32:52,934 --> 00:32:59,251
Because when I come

563
00:32:59,407 --> 00:33:03,516
that scroll that you imagined going to be laid out there

564
00:33:03,616 --> 00:33:06,351
that is going to tell you all how everything is charted.

565
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:08,817
He says, you think about this,

566
00:33:08,927 --> 00:33:10,824
when I come,

567
00:33:10,989 --> 00:33:14,048
it is going to be that scroll of your life.

568
00:33:14,262 --> 00:33:16,316
All of it.

569
00:33:16,529 --> 00:33:18,858
Every careless word,

570
00:33:19,019 --> 00:33:20,780
every thought.

571
00:33:20,924 --> 00:33:26,186
How did you use everything?

572
00:33:26,316 --> 00:33:30,876
It says that He is going to come and settle accounts.

573
00:33:31,026 --> 00:33:34,297
When He settles accounts it is about what you did.

574
00:33:34,479 --> 00:33:37,176
You see, none of us can come in here and say,

575
00:33:37,322 --> 00:33:40,111
"a series on eschatology! Good! we are going to get some good, fun, facts

576
00:33:40,260 --> 00:33:43,032
about how it is all going to be at the end."

577
00:33:43,233 --> 00:33:45,616
And Jesus looks at us and says,

578
00:33:45,732 --> 00:33:50,559
I'll tell you how it is going to be at the end.

579
00:33:50,678 --> 00:33:53,510
Your life -

580
00:33:53,712 --> 00:33:58,332
we all must stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

581
00:33:58,474 --> 00:34:03,046
Your whole life is going to be looked at

582
00:34:03,276 --> 00:34:08,271
meticulously down to every single careless word

583
00:34:08,425 --> 00:34:10,387
that you and I have spoke.

584
00:34:10,619 --> 00:34:15,421
That tongue in your mouth and that voice box.

585
00:34:15,731 --> 00:34:20,260
That is Christ's.

586
00:34:20,481 --> 00:34:23,911
How did you use it?

587
00:34:24,075 --> 00:34:25,883
All of it.

588
00:34:25,883 --> 00:34:29,038
All of it is put on the block.

589
00:34:29,236 --> 00:34:32,235
What the Lord is saying is that if you really understand His second coming

590
00:34:32,411 --> 00:34:37,180
you will understand that what happens to you on that Day

591
00:34:37,356 --> 00:34:41,021
is going to be a direct result of how you are using today.

592
00:34:41,181 --> 00:34:45,820
And the opportunities that you have and the things that have been given to you,

593
00:34:45,988 --> 00:34:47,855
the time that has been allotted to you.

594
00:34:48,060 --> 00:34:50,056
The Lord has given you these things.

595
00:34:50,242 --> 00:34:53,093
The Lord has bestowed.

596
00:34:53,245 --> 00:34:55,130
When you think about Christ's second coming,

597
00:34:55,328 --> 00:34:59,518
don't get obsessed with the headlines and the newspaper.

598
00:34:59,749 --> 00:35:04,009
Oh! What's happening over in Israel?

599
00:35:04,191 --> 00:35:09,241
Is the antichrist on the scene already?

600
00:35:09,473 --> 00:35:14,084
What Jesus says is, no,don't get obsessed with those things.

601
00:35:14,310 --> 00:35:17,050
Look at your life.

602
00:35:17,264 --> 00:35:18,755
Do inventory.

603
00:35:18,963 --> 00:35:23,162
Ask whether you are living the kind of life right now

604
00:35:23,334 --> 00:35:29,131
that you are going to wish you had lived when He comes to settle accounts.

605
00:35:29,361 --> 00:35:32,865
Brethren, when He appears in flaming fire.

606
00:35:33,098 --> 00:35:41,210
Now, I have 10 realities that I want to draw out of this parable.

607
00:35:41,313 --> 00:35:45,718
The first one is this:

608
00:35:45,797 --> 00:35:49,051
(We've already mentioned it but I want to mention it here at the beginning.)

609
00:35:49,283 --> 00:35:55,681
Christ is the absolute owner.

610
00:35:55,822 --> 00:36:02,022
Go out to your car this afternoon and you just stop in your tracks and look at it.

611
00:36:02,022 --> 00:36:05,389
And you recognize,

612
00:36:05,577 --> 00:36:09,761
that is His.

613
00:36:09,873 --> 00:36:11,771
Look at yourself in the mirror.

614
00:36:11,972 --> 00:36:14,474
Those eyeballs in your head.

615
00:36:14,674 --> 00:36:17,543
Those are His.

616
00:36:17,778 --> 00:36:20,229
Your hand.

617
00:36:20,359 --> 00:36:22,268
It's His.

618
00:36:22,448 --> 00:36:25,570
He can take it away from you.

619
00:36:25,917 --> 00:36:30,923
Many of you are familiar with Abraham Kuyper's quote.

620
00:36:31,113 --> 00:36:35,923
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence

621
00:36:36,099 --> 00:36:44,803
over which Christ who is sovereign over all does not cry, 'Mine'."

622
00:36:44,978 --> 00:36:48,541
It is His.

623
00:36:48,746 --> 00:36:52,088
Have you ever had a thought...

624
00:36:52,721 --> 00:36:56,460
Here comes the guy with Legion.

625
00:36:56,613 --> 00:36:59,051
The demons say,

626
00:36:59,231 --> 00:37:04,267
"Lord, let us go into those pigs!"

627
00:37:04,356 --> 00:37:06,718
They are pleading with Him.

628
00:37:06,718 --> 00:37:08,398
Okay, go.

629
00:37:08,538 --> 00:37:10,070
They went into the pigs.

630
00:37:10,070 --> 00:37:13,973
The pigs all freak out and they run down the hill and they all die.

631
00:37:14,086 --> 00:37:16,387
You may say, wow!

632
00:37:16,634 --> 00:37:18,993
Was that a gracious thing for the Lord to do

633
00:37:19,070 --> 00:37:24,827
to these swine herders?

634
00:37:24,991 --> 00:37:30,207
He kind of destroyed their produce.

635
00:37:30,416 --> 00:37:32,461
But you see, it wasn't theirs.

636
00:37:32,528 --> 00:37:35,274
Those pigs are His.

637
00:37:35,391 --> 00:37:38,366
They are His to do with as He pleases.

638
00:37:38,522 --> 00:37:41,767
And those demons are His

639
00:37:41,893 --> 00:37:44,231
and He can do with them as He pleases.

640
00:37:44,398 --> 00:37:48,775
He is absolute owner of everything!

641
00:37:48,868 --> 00:37:50,602
You can look at some of these pictures

642
00:37:50,774 --> 00:37:51,913
come back from the Middle East.

643
00:37:51,980 --> 00:37:54,679
You look at those pictures of a mosque

644
00:37:54,873 --> 00:37:59,446
and all of the Muslims bow down to Allah.

645
00:37:59,556 --> 00:38:02,355
You just remember when you see pictures like that,

646
00:38:02,548 --> 00:38:04,150
they are Christ's.

647
00:38:04,332 --> 00:38:09,122
He is absolute sovereign owner!

648
00:38:09,122 --> 00:38:17,930
John Dees has been talking with me in recent times about this island,

649
00:38:18,126 --> 00:38:19,809
North Sentinel island

650
00:38:20,031 --> 00:38:23,543
off of the coast of India.

651
00:38:23,735 --> 00:38:25,305
One of the darkest places.

652
00:38:25,571 --> 00:38:26,764
Savages.

653
00:38:26,900 --> 00:38:29,378
Most unreached places on the face of the Earth.

654
00:38:29,538 --> 00:38:32,676
Probably the least reached place.

655
00:38:32,829 --> 00:38:36,522
Jesus says, Mine!

656
00:38:36,602 --> 00:38:38,374
They are Mine!

657
00:38:38,512 --> 00:38:40,290
He owns it all.

658
00:38:40,453 --> 00:38:42,902
In this parable all is His.

659
00:38:43,081 --> 00:38:46,430
All are His servants.

660
00:38:46,658 --> 00:38:53,633
Do you notice how the gist of this runs?

661
00:38:53,836 --> 00:38:56,869
Matthew 25

662
00:38:57,016 --> 00:38:59,906
verse 14,

663
00:39:00,052 --> 00:39:02,451
"His servants."

664
00:39:02,606 --> 00:39:03,986
Then in verse 14,

665
00:39:04,209 --> 00:39:07,087
"His property."

666
00:39:07,179 --> 00:39:09,373
That is the flavor that you get here.

667
00:39:09,517 --> 00:39:10,651
In verse 27,

668
00:39:10,734 --> 00:39:13,625
"My money."

669
00:39:13,809 --> 00:39:16,967
He says, "I should have received what was My own

670
00:39:17,145 --> 00:39:18,091
with interest."

671
00:39:18,288 --> 00:39:20,043
All is His, all shall answer to Him.

672
00:39:20,291 --> 00:39:21,831
You see, brethren,

673
00:39:21,982 --> 00:39:26,311
we live the Christian life and sometimes we encourage one another,

674
00:39:26,502 --> 00:39:30,119
lay everything on the altar.

675
00:39:30,334 --> 00:39:42,155
We think about, unless you forsake all that you have you cannot be His disciple.

676
00:39:42,327 --> 00:39:45,255
Do you see what Jesus is saying?

677
00:39:45,384 --> 00:39:51,440
Unless you recognize the reality of who owns everything,

678
00:39:51,589 --> 00:39:54,160
you can't be my disciple.

679
00:39:54,330 --> 00:39:59,870
That is what He is saying there at the end of Luke 14.

680
00:39:59,870 --> 00:40:01,748
This is the reality.

681
00:39:59,606 --> 00:40:01,748
That's the first thing.

682
00:40:01,748 --> 00:40:04,995
That's the first point.

683
00:40:05,111 --> 00:40:08,665
Christ is the absolute owner.

684
00:40:08,665 --> 00:40:12,926
The second thing that I want you to notice.

685
00:40:12,978 --> 00:40:18,053
Christ is the absolute standard

686
00:40:18,137 --> 00:40:22,909
of our faithfulness.

687
00:40:23,082 --> 00:40:26,459
What do you mean by that?

688
00:40:26,548 --> 00:40:28,761
Look, whatever we have,

689
00:40:28,761 --> 00:40:31,213
whatever Christ has given to you.

690
00:40:31,338 --> 00:40:34,212
Do you know what the issue is going to be

691
00:40:34,212 --> 00:40:36,502
when He comes to settle accounts?

692
00:40:36,633 --> 00:40:39,049
How did you use what I gave you for Me?

693
00:40:39,171 --> 00:40:44,109
He is the standard of faithfulness.

694
00:40:44,261 --> 00:40:48,609
We have a lot of people running around doing a lot of things.

695
00:40:48,761 --> 00:40:50,518
But they don't do it for Christ.

696
00:40:50,650 --> 00:40:52,672
You see, He is going to be the standard.

697
00:40:52,848 --> 00:40:57,123
He is going to be the standard by which everyone is going to be judged.

698
00:40:57,303 --> 00:41:01,365
Everything that is given to you is given to you for one purpose

699
00:41:01,365 --> 00:41:04,325
and it is to bring a return to Christ.

700
00:41:04,463 --> 00:41:05,513
You notice

701
00:41:05,651 --> 00:41:06,703
verse 20,

702
00:41:06,866 --> 00:41:09,277
"Master, you delivered to me 5 talents.

703
00:41:09,362 --> 00:41:13,053
Here, I've made 5 talents more."

704
00:41:13,238 --> 00:41:15,407
Here, Lord, here!

705
00:41:15,566 --> 00:41:18,338
It's for you!

706
00:41:18,556 --> 00:41:20,979
That's the issue.

707
00:41:21,137 --> 00:41:24,208
The 5 talents more are for Christ.

708
00:41:24,371 --> 00:41:33,828
The unfaithful servant is unfaithful precisely because He does not have anything more to give back to Christ

709
00:41:33,986 --> 00:41:35,651
than what He first received.

710
00:41:35,821 --> 00:41:38,033
Notice verse 27,

711
00:41:38,207 --> 00:41:41,304
"then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers

712
00:41:41,445 --> 00:41:46,975
and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest."

713
00:41:47,122 --> 00:41:48,576
Who gets the interest?

714
00:41:48,807 --> 00:41:49,956
Who gets the increase?

715
00:41:50,143 --> 00:41:50,874
Christ does.

716
00:41:51,010 --> 00:41:55,224
Christ has given you what you have been given

717
00:41:55,326 --> 00:42:02,837
in order to bring a return for the sake of Jesus Christ.

718
00:42:02,942 --> 00:42:07,400
The only test will be this -

719
00:42:07,558 --> 00:42:12,429
how have I used what has been given to me

720
00:42:12,589 --> 00:42:15,969
to benefit Christ?

721
00:42:16,201 --> 00:42:18,671
How have I benefited His Kingdom?

722
00:42:18,851 --> 00:42:21,646
How have I benefited His people?

723
00:42:21,874 --> 00:42:25,977
How have I benefited His honor?

724
00:42:26,172 --> 00:42:28,681
His glory?

725
00:42:28,830 --> 00:42:31,650
That is the only test.

726
00:42:31,839 --> 00:42:34,938
You want to ask about end times?

727
00:42:35,031 --> 00:42:38,472
This is the answer that Christ will give you.

728
00:42:38,596 --> 00:42:40,338
All for Me.

729
00:42:40,526 --> 00:42:42,160
That is the test in the end.

730
00:42:42,346 --> 00:42:44,593
Worry about what is going to happen when I come.

731
00:42:44,778 --> 00:42:49,844
What is going to happen when I come is that I am going to hold all men accountable

732
00:42:50,027 --> 00:42:55,315
as to how they lived their life in relationship to Me.

733
00:42:55,499 --> 00:42:56,875
That's it.

734
00:42:57,071 --> 00:43:02,256
Did I use my heart and my mind to trust Him?

735
00:43:02,450 --> 00:43:03,447
See brethren,

736
00:43:03,615 --> 00:43:10,871
sometimes you wonder why would I lead the church

737
00:43:11,031 --> 00:43:13,923
at times to do things that we don't have money

738
00:43:14,026 --> 00:43:18,475
in the bank for?

739
00:43:18,631 --> 00:43:20,047
To step out in faith

740
00:43:20,147 --> 00:43:22,232
and then watch the Lord supply.

741
00:43:22,309 --> 00:43:25,573
You see, I realize this,

742
00:43:25,671 --> 00:43:26,939
I've been given a position in this church,

743
00:43:27,144 --> 00:43:30,515
as have the other elders,

744
00:43:30,669 --> 00:43:36,814
where our responsibility will be to lead this church in such a way that Christ gets the honor and glory.

745
00:43:37,082 --> 00:43:39,632
You see, we don't want to be trusting the arm of the flesh,

746
00:43:39,785 --> 00:43:41,884
we want to be trusting the arm of Christ.

747
00:43:42,055 --> 00:43:46,036
This is what everything that has been given to us has been given to us for.

748
00:43:46,122 --> 00:43:48,961
So that we can draw the attention to Him!

749
00:43:49,134 --> 00:43:51,175
I mean, you need to be thinking,

750
00:43:51,362 --> 00:43:52,903
if you are a father,

751
00:43:53,037 --> 00:43:54,633
what are you doing in your family?

752
00:43:54,814 --> 00:43:57,202
You need to be thinking about that hand

753
00:43:57,275 --> 00:43:58,719
that is at the end of your arm.

754
00:43:58,882 --> 00:44:02,128
How are you using these hands?

755
00:44:02,268 --> 00:44:03,403
What are you using them for?

756
00:44:03,609 --> 00:44:07,112
Have you ever read in Scripture about how we are to be offering up

757
00:44:07,296 --> 00:44:12,935
our members as members of righteousness?

758
00:44:13,132 --> 00:44:18,102
Showing the kindness of Christ with these hands.

759
00:44:18,324 --> 00:44:19,881
Or your feet,

760
00:44:19,881 --> 00:44:21,747
taking the Gospel of Christ places.

761
00:44:21,914 --> 00:44:24,538
How are you using what you have?

762
00:44:24,686 --> 00:44:26,865
Your eyes.

763
00:44:27,099 --> 00:44:29,702
Are you using your money to further His Kingdom?

764
00:44:29,968 --> 00:44:32,227
Are you using what you have?

765
00:44:32,382 --> 00:44:33,446
Do you have an inheritance?

766
00:44:33,738 --> 00:44:34,708
Do you have anything?

767
00:44:34,867 --> 00:44:38,200
Do you have skills?

768
00:44:38,336 --> 00:44:42,365
Brethren,

769
00:44:42,500 --> 00:44:46,485
hear me on this.

770
00:44:46,595 --> 00:44:54,487
You say, God has given me athletic ability.

771
00:44:54,626 --> 00:44:56,305
I use it out on the football field,

772
00:44:56,526 --> 00:44:57,843
I use it on the baseball field,

773
00:44:57,941 --> 00:45:00,543
I use it here, I use it there,

774
00:45:00,666 --> 00:45:05,807
I use it on the soccer field.

775
00:45:05,877 --> 00:45:07,923
He has given me money.

776
00:45:08,022 --> 00:45:09,519
Someone can say,

777
00:45:09,519 --> 00:45:11,338
"hey! I'm investing all of the time,

778
00:45:11,497 --> 00:45:13,214
I'm a hard worker, I'm not lazy!

779
00:45:13,389 --> 00:45:15,313
This guy was called lazy!

780
00:45:15,489 --> 00:45:17,773
I'm not lazy."

781
00:45:17,937 --> 00:45:20,542
Listen,

782
00:45:20,664 --> 00:45:26,099
what defines faithfulness

783
00:45:26,293 --> 00:45:30,428
is not how aggressively you use what you've been given

784
00:45:30,576 --> 00:45:34,425
for your own glory, for your own self.

785
00:45:34,594 --> 00:45:39,271
You can be extremely active

786
00:45:39,505 --> 00:45:40,757
and be unfaithful

787
00:45:40,881 --> 00:45:47,705
because you were actively using what Christ gave you

788
00:45:47,796 --> 00:45:51,316
for other purposes than His glory

789
00:45:51,498 --> 00:45:55,041
and His Kingdom.

790
00:45:55,148 --> 00:45:56,835
Look,

791
00:45:56,925 --> 00:46:01,796
to bury your talent in the ground is nothing more

792
00:46:02,060 --> 00:46:06,332
than not using your talent for Christ.

793
00:46:06,417 --> 00:46:08,200
That is what it is to bury it in the ground.

794
00:46:08,362 --> 00:46:09,131
You know what,

795
00:46:09,276 --> 00:46:12,870
you show me the most aggressive Muslim.

796
00:46:13,052 --> 00:46:14,483
He prays five times a day,

797
00:46:14,639 --> 00:46:15,827
He is doing all of these things,

798
00:46:15,908 --> 00:46:17,247
but do you know what?

799
00:46:17,378 --> 00:46:19,911
In the end,

800
00:46:20,056 --> 00:46:25,225
zero to give Christ.

801
00:46:25,385 --> 00:46:26,964
You see, he buried it.

802
00:46:27,076 --> 00:46:29,860
Because it wasn't used for Christ, it was used for a false god.

803
00:46:29,996 --> 00:46:32,576
You can be zealous as anything,

804
00:46:32,790 --> 00:46:35,078
aggressive as anything.

805
00:46:35,262 --> 00:46:37,430
If you aggressively use it for a false religion,

806
00:46:37,597 --> 00:46:38,604
for a false god.

807
00:46:38,770 --> 00:46:40,740
If you use it for you.

808
00:46:40,899 --> 00:46:42,701
That's another false god.

809
00:46:42,868 --> 00:46:44,313
You use it for other purposes.

810
00:46:44,570 --> 00:46:50,188
You may do it with vigor and zeal you may be active in using your skills and abilities and riches

811
00:46:50,347 --> 00:46:52,510
that God has given you but if it is not for Christ

812
00:46:52,667 --> 00:46:55,624
your talent is hid in the ground.

813
00:46:55,810 --> 00:46:59,853
That is the gist of this parable.

814
00:46:59,940 --> 00:47:01,726
Third thing,

815
00:47:01,987 --> 00:47:05,257
slothful servants are wicked servants!

816
00:47:05,366 --> 00:47:07,858
Notice verse 26,

817
00:47:08,059 --> 00:47:09,846
"But his master answered him,

818
00:47:10,048 --> 00:47:14,183
'you wicked and slothful servant!

819
00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:19,419
You knew that I reaped where I have not sown and gather where I have scattered no seed.'"

820
00:47:19,469 --> 00:47:23,751
Slothful servants are wicked servants.

821
00:47:23,925 --> 00:47:27,063
True sloth,

822
00:47:27,195 --> 00:47:28,197
like I was saying,

823
00:47:28,336 --> 00:47:30,355
is not simply when I'm idle,

824
00:47:30,518 --> 00:47:35,171
but when I'm idle in regards to Christ.

825
00:47:35,256 --> 00:47:40,621
Idleness towards Christ is the sum of wickedness.

826
00:47:40,739 --> 00:47:42,295
Listen!

827
00:47:42,380 --> 00:47:46,492
We go door-to-door evangelistically.

828
00:47:46,645 --> 00:47:51,210
And you can go to somebody's door and they basically believe that they are a good person

829
00:47:51,368 --> 00:47:53,320
and they basically believe that they do good.

830
00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:54,615
You say, "why?

831
00:47:54,866 --> 00:47:56,376
Tell me about your life."

832
00:47:56,509 --> 00:48:01,379
"Well, I go to church sometimes and I say my prayers and I give to the United Way

833
00:48:01,574 --> 00:48:03,230
at Christmas time.

834
00:48:03,406 --> 00:48:06,953
I visit my grandmother in the nursing home.

835
00:48:07,129 --> 00:48:09,088
I do these things.

836
00:48:09,261 --> 00:48:12,295
I buy donuts for the guys at work."

837
00:48:12,456 --> 00:48:16,795
But, do you know what?

838
00:48:16,954 --> 00:48:19,985
They do none of it for Christ.

839
00:48:20,141 --> 00:48:22,712
And can you see from this parable?

840
00:48:22,848 --> 00:48:27,121
If you don't bring any return for Christ in all your activity...

841
00:48:27,225 --> 00:48:29,429
You may be a very personable person and very moral.

842
00:48:29,609 --> 00:48:35,217
You may be the nice guy at work.

843
00:48:35,307 --> 00:48:38,538
You may have a great personality.

844
00:48:38,632 --> 00:48:43,139
You may be charitable.

845
00:48:43,336 --> 00:48:46,127
But you're not doing it

846
00:48:46,358 --> 00:48:49,261
because you love Christ.

847
00:48:49,411 --> 00:48:54,939
You're not doing it because you want to see Christ honored.

848
00:48:55,116 --> 00:48:58,746
You're doing it for other reasons.

849
00:48:58,922 --> 00:49:04,879
That is the sum of wickedness here.

850
00:49:05,015 --> 00:49:06,345
Wicked!

851
00:49:06,512 --> 00:49:09,233
Don't live your life for Christ.

852
00:49:09,359 --> 00:49:12,320
He has given you life and He has given you everything.

853
00:49:12,504 --> 00:49:15,298
And to turn and use it all for something else.

854
00:49:15,462 --> 00:49:18,487
Every privilege, every power, every penny

855
00:49:18,623 --> 00:49:22,931
are intended to be put to work for Christ.

856
00:49:23,095 --> 00:49:26,142
We need to be doing spiritual inventory here.

857
00:49:26,368 --> 00:49:30,713
Am I using everything for His glory?

858
00:49:30,909 --> 00:49:32,503
Fourth thing,

859
00:49:32,667 --> 00:49:34,731
not all servants receive the same.

860
00:49:34,914 --> 00:49:36,195
I think you can see that,

861
00:49:36,335 --> 00:49:37,740
that is pretty clear from the parable.

862
00:49:37,916 --> 00:49:40,226
Christ gives to some more and to others less.

863
00:49:40,367 --> 00:49:42,525
To one, five talents, and to the other, two talents,

864
00:49:42,681 --> 00:49:43,920
and to the other one.

865
00:49:44,135 --> 00:49:46,758
But we need a right perspective.

866
00:49:46,902 --> 00:49:49,795
Do you see what the

867
00:49:49,989 --> 00:49:51,464
goal of this parable is?

868
00:49:51,607 --> 00:49:54,764
It isn't to get as much from Him as possible.

869
00:49:54,952 --> 00:49:56,767
Sometimes we think that.

870
00:49:56,975 --> 00:49:58,765
Sometimes we can get envious and jealous

871
00:49:58,875 --> 00:50:02,600
and we pine over the fact that we don't have what somebody else has.

872
00:50:02,746 --> 00:50:04,281
But that is not the goal here.

873
00:50:04,361 --> 00:50:06,779
The goal is not to get as much as possible.

874
00:50:06,970 --> 00:50:11,106
The goal is to be faithful with what you get.

875
00:50:11,307 --> 00:50:14,742
And you may know that the one with two talents

876
00:50:14,887 --> 00:50:18,383
didn't run around all of the time complaining and moaning

877
00:50:18,550 --> 00:50:22,976
over the fact that he didn't have five like the other.

878
00:50:23,192 --> 00:50:26,378
What he did was he sought to be faitful with what he had.

879
00:50:26,507 --> 00:50:29,231
And when Jesus came, he got the same commendation

880
00:50:29,430 --> 00:50:34,247
and the same glory, the same reward,

881
00:50:34,670 --> 00:50:44,342
the same joy of the Lord.

882
00:50:44,414 --> 00:50:47,625
Fifth thing,

883
00:50:47,729 --> 00:50:53,226
those with least

884
00:50:53,391 --> 00:50:57,658
can have a tendency to make an excuse of it.

885
00:50:57,835 --> 00:51:04,273
What we see here is the one with the least is the one who made the excuse.

886
00:51:04,431 --> 00:51:08,834
I don't doubt that in judgment day, some with the most are going to make excuses as well.

887
00:51:09,051 --> 00:51:11,152
But in the parable,

888
00:51:11,323 --> 00:51:20,521
it might at least be a good launching point to make this point.

889
00:51:20,609 --> 00:51:24,740
It is interesting that the one in this parable who has the least

890
00:51:24,951 --> 00:51:27,977
is the one who does the least.

891
00:51:28,186 --> 00:51:29,097
Do you know what?

892
00:51:29,267 --> 00:51:31,657
Some are lazy.

893
00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:33,114
And do you know what their excuse is?

894
00:51:33,328 --> 00:51:34,837
"I don't have as much as them.

895
00:51:34,994 --> 00:51:37,160
If I had the money that they have..."

896
00:51:37,398 --> 00:51:41,992
Do you know what?

897
00:51:42,164 --> 00:51:53,378
It is true that I see some people in this church that God has given much money, resource, possession.

898
00:51:53,575 --> 00:51:56,238
I see them give a lot.

899
00:51:56,380 --> 00:52:01,783
And I see a fair number of people.

900
00:52:01,904 --> 00:52:05,757
(Now, I know there are a lot of faithful, a lot of giving people in the church.)

901
00:52:05,903 --> 00:52:12,452
But, I see a fair number of people who have a little who hardly give anything.

902
00:52:12,663 --> 00:52:14,405
And do you know what?

903
00:52:14,577 --> 00:52:16,647
You can make an excuse for it.

904
00:52:16,834 --> 00:52:19,103
"I don't have as much as they have."

905
00:52:19,237 --> 00:52:23,274
But, let me tell you, that does not fly when Christ comes.

906
00:52:23,475 --> 00:52:26,662
You can see from this parable,

907
00:52:26,792 --> 00:52:33,508
when He takes inventory...

908
00:52:33,718 --> 00:52:34,438
Brethren,

909
00:52:34,641 --> 00:52:43,093
there is a blessing, pastorally,

910
00:52:43,258 --> 00:52:48,923
if you watch that little old widow walk over to that offering box

911
00:52:49,075 --> 00:52:54,714
and throw in her 2 mites or her 2 pennies.

912
00:52:54,873 --> 00:52:58,822
The Lord took inventory then,

913
00:52:58,992 --> 00:53:02,381
and He is taking inventory all of the time.

914
00:53:02,526 --> 00:53:04,764
And as I have said before,

915
00:53:04,838 --> 00:53:07,275
this is not an appeal to fill that box back there.

916
00:53:07,318 --> 00:53:11,564
This is an appeal for you to live your life

917
00:53:11,624 --> 00:53:18,186
recognizing who owns you and everything that you have.

918
00:53:18,186 --> 00:53:20,642
Brethren,

919
00:53:20,799 --> 00:53:22,957
there they are,

920
00:53:23,090 --> 00:53:24,435
only one talent

921
00:53:24,703 --> 00:53:27,177
to worry about.

922
00:53:27,367 --> 00:53:32,097
They haven't been given Spurgeon's twenty talents.

923
00:53:32,275 --> 00:53:35,380
There they are, they just have one.

924
00:53:35,469 --> 00:53:38,083
Just one to worry about.

925
00:53:38,299 --> 00:53:39,303
Not twenty to worry about.

926
00:53:39,499 --> 00:53:42,654
Just one.

927
00:53:42,898 --> 00:53:47,525
And they neglect that one.

928
00:53:47,712 --> 00:53:49,614
The woman with the alabaster box,

929
00:53:49,778 --> 00:53:51,401
think of her again,

930
00:53:51,551 --> 00:53:54,033
she did what she could.

931
00:53:54,265 --> 00:53:59,079
That is the measure, brethren.

932
00:53:59,261 --> 00:54:03,050
There is going to be somebody in Heaven

933
00:54:03,216 --> 00:54:08,555
who is going to have been given the least

934
00:54:08,654 --> 00:54:12,066
who will be most rewarded.

935
00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:14,719
In comparison to the least they received.

936
00:54:14,957 --> 00:54:22,762
And I can tell you that when one woman came along and did this one thing,

937
00:54:22,863 --> 00:54:25,970
and she did what she could do.

938
00:54:26,179 --> 00:54:30,439
And this little old lady who did what she could do.

939
00:54:30,625 --> 00:54:37,213
Christ recorded both of those accounts as long as this world stands.

940
00:54:37,381 --> 00:54:39,460
Do you want to see what impresses Him?

941
00:54:39,611 --> 00:54:41,550
This is not about what you get up front.

942
00:54:41,733 --> 00:54:44,460
This is about what you do with what you have

943
00:54:44,658 --> 00:54:48,635
and the opportunities that you use.

944
00:54:48,747 --> 00:54:49,531
O brethren,

945
00:54:49,697 --> 00:54:53,796
there are going to be some really poor people.

946
00:54:53,999 --> 00:54:55,216
And I'm not talking about you,

947
00:54:55,427 --> 00:54:59,397
I'm talking about far away in a lot more impoverished places

948
00:54:59,604 --> 00:55:02,040
that you have ever seen or imagined,

949
00:55:02,210 --> 00:55:03,745
most of you.

950
00:55:03,745 --> 00:55:05,983
And they are going to be,

951
00:55:06,203 --> 00:55:08,266
as it said,

952
00:55:08,375 --> 00:55:12,178
"the last will be first."

953
00:55:12,178 --> 00:55:13,907
Brethren,

954
00:55:14,029 --> 00:55:15,413
let it be some of us!

955
00:55:15,543 --> 00:55:17,486
Let it be many of us

956
00:55:17,618 --> 00:55:19,520
that end up being first.

957
00:55:19,723 --> 00:55:22,675
As we were faithful, faithful.

958
00:55:22,842 --> 00:55:25,145
Those with the least can make excuses.

959
00:55:25,274 --> 00:55:29,081
Number 6.

960
00:55:29,281 --> 00:55:31,782
In this parable, we have 2 that are active.

961
00:55:31,923 --> 00:55:34,275
You see it.

962
00:55:34,457 --> 00:55:37,510
Verse 16, "those who had received the five talents went at once"

963
00:55:37,648 --> 00:55:38,783
Don't you love that! He went at once!

964
00:55:38,783 --> 00:55:42,973
He took what he had and he didn't waste time.

965
00:55:43,107 --> 00:55:47,009
You don't have time to waste.

966
00:55:47,086 --> 00:55:50,781
You may not have tomorrow.

967
00:55:50,868 --> 00:55:54,627
And then whose will these things be?

968
00:55:54,757 --> 00:55:59,516
"and he traded with them and he made 5 talents more.

969
00:55:59,692 --> 00:56:02,398
So also, he who had the 2 talents made 2 talents more."

970
00:56:02,554 --> 00:56:03,995
My sixth point is this,

971
00:56:04,171 --> 00:56:07,603
two are active while one sits still.

972
00:56:07,798 --> 00:56:10,336
Can you see this in your mind?

973
00:56:10,400 --> 00:56:11,743
Two are zealous!

974
00:56:11,918 --> 00:56:13,013
They are working and running about.

975
00:56:13,185 --> 00:56:17,727
This guy over here, he is laying on the sofa.

976
00:56:17,822 --> 00:56:19,711
Two are busy, they are active,

977
00:56:20,011 --> 00:56:21,919
they are living for Christ,

978
00:56:22,080 --> 00:56:23,432
they are seeking to get Him honor,

979
00:56:23,533 --> 00:56:24,769
they are seeking to get Him blessing and glory,

980
00:56:24,852 --> 00:56:26,139
they are seeking to serve His people,

981
00:56:26,281 --> 00:56:27,989
they want to love His people like He loves His people,

982
00:56:28,150 --> 00:56:31,634
they want to give themselves to the things that pertain to Him.

983
00:56:31,790 --> 00:56:33,452
Aw! They want to live their lives for Him,

984
00:56:33,584 --> 00:56:34,840
they want to lay down their lives for Him.

985
00:56:35,008 --> 00:56:35,900
There they go,

986
00:56:35,971 --> 00:56:37,086
they are moving all around,

987
00:56:37,296 --> 00:56:38,596
they are about their Master's business.

988
00:56:38,596 --> 00:56:40,244
They are successful in their tradings,

989
00:56:40,331 --> 00:56:42,739
zealous to be about their Master's business.

990
00:56:42,934 --> 00:56:48,683
I just ask you this,

991
00:56:48,841 --> 00:56:52,342
are others active and you sit their idle?

992
00:56:52,443 --> 00:56:58,063
I'll talk to some of you that are older.

993
00:56:58,269 --> 00:57:08,404
Do you know what has happened to me

994
00:57:08,490 --> 00:57:11,662
as this church has grown?

995
00:57:11,847 --> 00:57:13,879
Time and again,

996
00:57:14,065 --> 00:57:17,305
some 20-something year old

997
00:57:17,535 --> 00:57:21,126
suddenly makes me feel ashamed,

998
00:57:21,313 --> 00:57:23,706
or makes me re-evaluate.

999
00:57:23,903 --> 00:57:25,844
Why? Because I look at them and I recognize,

1000
00:57:25,994 --> 00:57:29,049
they are running faster than I am.

1001
00:57:29,268 --> 00:57:34,495
There was a day when I ran like that and I want to not quit running like that.

1002
00:57:34,560 --> 00:57:38,071
Do you find that?

1003
00:57:38,193 --> 00:57:41,511
Brethren, we ought to be motivated by the zeal of one another.

1004
00:57:41,662 --> 00:57:43,260
I would hope that nobody in this church

1005
00:57:43,462 --> 00:57:46,431
could sit and watch others who are excelling,

1006
00:57:46,602 --> 00:57:48,201
they are investing, they are trading,

1007
00:57:48,334 --> 00:57:53,580
they are turning their talents into 100% return!

1008
00:57:53,673 --> 00:57:55,839
Some 30, some 60, some 100 fold.

1009
00:57:55,998 --> 00:58:00,627
I mean, there are some 100-fold folks there.

1010
00:58:00,754 --> 00:58:03,918
And you got it hid in the dirt.

1011
00:58:04,113 --> 00:58:07,135
Listen!

1012
00:58:07,334 --> 00:58:11,560
Those who hide their talents in the dirt always have excuses.

1013
00:58:11,723 --> 00:58:14,341
This guy did, too.

1014
00:58:14,490 --> 00:58:17,396
There's always excuses.

1015
00:58:17,544 --> 00:58:19,440
Well, I need a break.

1016
00:58:19,599 --> 00:58:20,800
See, you can get like that, too.

1017
00:58:20,953 --> 00:58:22,785
Oh! You're running, you're running, you're running

1018
00:58:23,007 --> 00:58:25,851
and suddenly, "Lord, I'm going to faint here."

1019
00:58:26,051 --> 00:58:28,377
Need a little rest and relaxation.

1020
00:58:28,514 --> 00:58:29,727
Do you know what?

1021
00:58:29,883 --> 00:58:31,676
That rest and relaxation sucks you in

1022
00:58:31,811 --> 00:58:34,628
and you never get back on the track again.

1023
00:58:34,778 --> 00:58:36,708
Or at least never as well.

1024
00:58:36,881 --> 00:58:39,882
You beware of the rest you take,

1025
00:58:40,017 --> 00:58:44,180
if they don't end up leading you somewhere you never meant to go.

1026
00:58:44,345 --> 00:58:47,890
Brethren, our time is short.

1027
00:58:47,990 --> 00:58:49,998
We've got some active folks here.

1028
00:58:50,095 --> 00:58:52,964
We've got some people that are running well.

1029
00:58:53,129 --> 00:58:55,966
Don't sit there idle and make excuses

1030
00:58:56,120 --> 00:58:57,898
while they run well.

1031
00:58:58,021 --> 00:58:59,920
The seventh thing,

1032
00:59:00,067 --> 00:59:05,323
faithfulness always has something to show for it.

1033
00:59:05,509 --> 00:59:06,570
Always.

1034
00:59:06,684 --> 00:59:07,547
What happened?

1035
00:59:07,729 --> 00:59:09,121
The Lord comes.

1036
00:59:09,299 --> 00:59:10,314
Notice verse 19,

1037
00:59:10,475 --> 00:59:12,052
"after a long time"

1038
00:59:12,285 --> 00:59:15,254
That gives us an idea that the Lord may be gone a long time.

1039
00:59:15,424 --> 00:59:17,158
Two thousand years, yes, that's a long time!

1040
00:59:17,347 --> 00:59:18,949
It may be longer yet. We don't know.

1041
00:59:19,172 --> 00:59:21,729
"After a long time the master of those servants came and

1042
00:59:21,823 --> 00:59:23,168
settled accounts with them.

1043
00:59:23,294 --> 00:59:27,713
And he who had received the 5 talents came forward bringing 5 talents more.

1044
00:59:27,893 --> 00:59:32,144
'Master, you delivered to me 5 talents. Here I have made 5 talents more.'

1045
00:59:32,335 --> 00:59:35,555
His master said to him, 'well done good and faithful servant.

1046
00:59:35,693 --> 00:59:37,675
You've been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.

1047
00:59:37,849 --> 00:59:39,759
Enter into the joy of your master.'

1048
00:59:39,759 --> 00:59:44,957
'He who also had the 2 talents came forward saying, 'master you delivered to me 2 talents here,

1049
00:59:45,080 --> 00:59:47,017
I have made 2 talents more.'"

1050
00:59:47,108 --> 00:59:49,022
My seventh point is this,

1051
00:59:49,152 --> 00:59:53,454
faithfulness always has something to show for it.

1052
00:59:53,632 --> 00:59:56,311
The two guys that are faithful can say,

1053
00:59:56,459 --> 01:00:01,614
"Lord, look."

1054
01:00:01,743 --> 01:00:04,135
Now this is a parable.

1055
01:00:04,238 --> 01:00:08,138
If we take the next account that starts in verse 31,

1056
01:00:08,336 --> 01:00:11,646
that we are going to look at at another time,

1057
01:00:11,821 --> 01:00:20,818
it is almost like the servants have forgotten what they did - those that were faithful.

1058
01:00:20,940 --> 01:00:23,654
"Lord, when did we do that?"

1059
01:00:23,853 --> 01:00:27,157
When, Lord?

1060
01:00:27,371 --> 01:00:28,632
But, you know what,

1061
01:00:28,823 --> 01:00:30,877
both accounts are the same.

1062
01:00:30,902 --> 01:00:33,999
Those who are faithful have something to show for it.

1063
01:00:34,122 --> 01:00:35,233
What?

1064
01:00:35,367 --> 01:00:36,344
Here, Lord,

1065
01:00:36,492 --> 01:00:37,477
5 talents more.

1066
01:00:37,638 --> 01:00:38,971
Here, Lord,

1067
01:00:39,169 --> 01:00:40,108
2 talents more.

1068
01:00:40,263 --> 01:00:42,305
Here, Lord, you were hungry and I fed you.

1069
01:00:42,510 --> 01:00:45,953
By the way,

1070
01:00:46,077 --> 01:00:53,507
you might just get a feel for what profitable investing of the Lord's talents looks like

1071
01:00:53,715 --> 01:00:57,227
when you consider, I was a stranger and you took me in.

1072
01:00:57,309 --> 01:00:59,430
Boy, that is a good use of a house.

1073
01:00:59,624 --> 01:01:01,793
I was hungry and you fed me,

1074
01:01:01,954 --> 01:01:03,230
that's a good use of money.

1075
01:01:03,463 --> 01:01:05,865
As much as you do it to one of the least of these,

1076
01:01:05,930 --> 01:01:07,148
you've done it to Him.

1077
01:01:07,322 --> 01:01:08,502
Those are the kind of things.

1078
01:01:08,767 --> 01:01:09,716
It's loving others.

1079
01:01:09,892 --> 01:01:11,172
It's loving His people.

1080
01:01:11,382 --> 01:01:13,137
Seeking to expand His Kingdom.

1081
01:01:13,320 --> 01:01:19,193
Faithfulness always has something to show for it.

1082
01:01:19,343 --> 01:01:24,524
Christ's good stewards.

1083
01:01:24,658 --> 01:01:26,683
Brethren,

1084
01:01:26,839 --> 01:01:31,611
those of us who are good and faithful,

1085
01:01:31,743 --> 01:01:34,093
let us show it.

1086
01:01:34,292 --> 01:01:35,586
Number 8,

1087
01:01:35,759 --> 01:01:39,660
Jesus Christ pronounces servants good and faithful

1088
01:01:39,745 --> 01:01:45,022
only if they are.

1089
01:01:45,184 --> 01:01:46,117
I want you to see that.

1090
01:01:46,306 --> 01:01:53,046
With the doctrines of grace,

1091
01:01:53,235 --> 01:02:00,330
we can get some people that really want to focus on the doctrine of justification

1092
01:02:00,484 --> 01:02:03,754
by faith alone.

1093
01:02:03,930 --> 01:02:07,006
That is a tremendous doctrine

1094
01:02:07,238 --> 01:02:09,296
and we do want to focus on it.

1095
01:02:09,522 --> 01:02:14,299
But they can so focus on it

1096
01:02:14,459 --> 01:02:19,328
to the place where they justify a life that is not faithful or fruitful.

1097
01:02:19,487 --> 01:02:21,074
Just feeling like,

1098
01:02:21,253 --> 01:02:24,890
"hey! it doesn't really matter how I live in the end. All my sins are forgiven!"

1099
01:02:25,092 --> 01:02:31,552
Well, you haven't read your Bible right if that is the conclusion you come to.

1100
01:02:31,671 --> 01:02:35,205
You want to talk about faith.

1101
01:02:35,385 --> 01:02:40,551
Show me your faith by your works.

1102
01:02:40,710 --> 01:02:43,127
You show me your works, I'll tell you whether there is faith there.

1103
01:02:43,352 --> 01:02:46,362
That's what Scripture says.

1104
01:02:46,397 --> 01:02:49,673
Faithfulness always has something to show for it.

1105
01:02:49,846 --> 01:02:50,818
Excuse me,

1106
01:02:50,954 --> 01:02:57,325
Jesus Christ pronounces servants to be good and faithful

1107
01:02:57,492 --> 01:03:04,945
who really are good and faithful.

1108
01:03:05,148 --> 01:03:06,913
He'll call us good only if we've done well.

1109
01:03:07,151 --> 01:03:09,753
"Well done!"

1110
01:03:09,969 --> 01:03:14,287
Oh, don't you desire to hear that?

1111
01:03:14,403 --> 01:03:18,136
We are going to be like that,

1112
01:03:18,271 --> 01:03:19,847
"Lord, when did we do it?"

1113
01:03:19,997 --> 01:03:21,332
We feel the failures.

1114
01:03:21,537 --> 01:03:22,917
We feel the failures.

1115
01:03:23,072 --> 01:03:24,536
We feel that we don't do...

1116
01:03:24,684 --> 01:03:29,746
Oh, to have the Lord just greet you with a smile.

1117
01:03:29,834 --> 01:03:32,962
"Well done."

1118
01:03:32,962 --> 01:03:36,932
Live your life to hear those words.

1119
01:03:36,932 --> 01:03:39,184
He who knows our labors now,

1120
01:03:39,325 --> 01:03:44,332
He is going to witness to them in that Great Day when He comes,

1121
01:03:44,523 --> 01:03:49,704
and only those who are found faithful will be called,

1122
01:03:49,902 --> 01:03:52,237
good and faithful.

1123
01:03:52,433 --> 01:03:53,351
You know what,

1124
01:03:53,468 --> 01:03:55,376
you may be counted a fool now,

1125
01:03:55,552 --> 01:03:59,707
like my dad and my aunt counted me a fool for doing the things with my money that I did.

1126
01:03:59,836 --> 01:04:03,120
I guarantee you, they are both dead now.

1127
01:04:03,202 --> 01:04:07,307
They are not mocking me.

1128
01:04:07,444 --> 01:04:15,561
They would have died the death of the righteous.

1129
01:04:15,561 --> 01:04:21,160
They may mock and criticize now,

1130
01:04:21,384 --> 01:04:24,979
but I'll tell you, Jesus Christ,

1131
01:04:25,142 --> 01:04:27,565
He is going to honor you then.

1132
01:04:27,757 --> 01:04:29,199
That is what we live for!

1133
01:04:29,341 --> 01:04:31,146
That is what He is saying!

1134
01:04:31,279 --> 01:04:36,873
Put away your charts and live for that Day of reckoning!

1135
01:04:37,067 --> 01:04:39,752
Live for the well done!

1136
01:04:39,886 --> 01:04:44,059
Live to be approved by Christ.

1137
01:04:44,220 --> 01:04:48,993
Live so as to receive His smile and His commendation.

1138
01:04:49,172 --> 01:04:51,610
That is worth living for!

1139
01:04:51,757 --> 01:04:53,061
That is worth living for.

1140
01:04:53,198 --> 01:04:54,776
Number 9,

1141
01:04:54,925 --> 01:05:00,793
the proverty of the worthless servant.

1142
01:05:00,985 --> 01:05:02,700
Ah, look at verse 28.

1143
01:05:02,883 --> 01:05:05,584
"Take the talent from him

1144
01:05:05,725 --> 01:05:07,951
and give it to him who has the ten talents.

1145
01:05:08,134 --> 01:05:15,209
For to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance.

1146
01:05:15,284 --> 01:05:18,020
But from the one who has not.."

1147
01:05:18,140 --> 01:05:20,644
Isn't it interesting in this parable?

1148
01:05:20,735 --> 01:05:24,770
The one who has not.

1149
01:05:24,939 --> 01:05:26,926
In the parable before this,

1150
01:05:27,095 --> 01:05:31,067
it was those who had no oil.

1151
01:05:31,173 --> 01:05:32,431
The parable of the soils,

1152
01:05:32,630 --> 01:05:35,629
it was the one who has no root.

1153
01:05:35,798 --> 01:05:39,351
The one who has not.

1154
01:05:39,444 --> 01:05:44,472
"Even what he has will be taken away.

1155
01:05:44,644 --> 01:05:47,587
Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.

1156
01:05:47,711 --> 01:05:51,829
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

1157
01:05:52,025 --> 01:05:53,118
Worthless! Did you see that?

1158
01:05:53,296 --> 01:05:55,803
Worthless! Cast that worthless servant!

1159
01:05:56,019 --> 01:06:00,424
Jesus is saying, he has no worth to Me.

1160
01:06:00,516 --> 01:06:02,593
He may have served other things,

1161
01:06:02,698 --> 01:06:03,842
but no worth to Me.

1162
01:06:04,010 --> 01:06:05,430
Nothing valuable to Me.

1163
01:06:05,623 --> 01:06:12,341
Those who refuse to bow to His mercy...

1164
01:06:12,505 --> 01:06:19,692
Our Lord said, "My yoke is easy."

1165
01:06:19,883 --> 01:06:21,235
"My yoke is easy."

1166
01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:23,069
And what's at the end?

1167
01:06:23,200 --> 01:06:27,348
"Enter the joy of the Lord."

1168
01:06:27,531 --> 01:06:31,304
Abundance!

1169
01:06:31,499 --> 01:06:37,835
This guy, he had hard thoughts.

1170
01:06:38,036 --> 01:06:43,305
"Lord, I think you're a hard man."

1171
01:06:43,451 --> 01:06:48,334
He is not a hard Master.

1172
01:06:48,418 --> 01:06:53,600
Your burden will be light and I will never leave you or forsake you.

1173
01:06:53,726 --> 01:06:59,526
He said, though they may kill you, not a hair of your head will perish.

1174
01:06:59,616 --> 01:07:01,905
Not a hair!

1175
01:07:02,062 --> 01:07:04,801
I will protect you, I will help you,

1176
01:07:04,855 --> 01:07:07,933
I will not leave you orphans.

1177
01:07:08,038 --> 01:07:09,650
I'll be with you.

1178
01:07:09,818 --> 01:07:11,274
I'll come to you.

1179
01:07:11,432 --> 01:07:13,401
I'll manifest myself.

1180
01:07:13,631 --> 01:07:15,105
You won't be alone.

1181
01:07:15,266 --> 01:07:17,938
I'll help you all the way through the end.

1182
01:07:18,092 --> 01:07:20,349
You must abide in Me.

1183
01:07:20,606 --> 01:07:25,184
Those who refuse that.

1184
01:07:25,184 --> 01:07:28,879
Even what they have are going to be taken away.

1185
01:07:29,027 --> 01:07:31,615
Oh! What eternal poverty!

1186
01:07:31,789 --> 01:07:34,151
Take his talent! Take everything!

1187
01:07:34,299 --> 01:07:37,987
Take it all away!

1188
01:07:38,195 --> 01:07:40,924
Do you want the chart of the end times?

1189
01:07:41,085 --> 01:07:43,070
Do you want the chart?

1190
01:07:43,272 --> 01:07:45,997
Let's chart it out.

1191
01:07:45,997 --> 01:07:51,852
Live to yourself now and you can chart it out.

1192
01:07:52,013 --> 01:07:53,637
He is going to come,

1193
01:07:53,762 --> 01:07:55,428
and you're going to be found worthless,

1194
01:07:55,607 --> 01:07:58,274
and everything you have is going to be taken away

1195
01:07:58,416 --> 01:08:00,599
and then there is going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

1196
01:08:00,711 --> 01:08:02,734
You say, we don't want charts like that.

1197
01:08:02,847 --> 01:08:08,686
But, that's the kind of chart He gives.

1198
01:08:09,247 --> 01:08:11,427
Or bow to Him now.

1199
01:08:11,592 --> 01:08:14,642
Serve Him.

1200
01:08:14,659 --> 01:08:17,295
He is not the one who will just call you servant,

1201
01:08:17,462 --> 01:08:20,872
He calls you friend.

1202
01:08:20,953 --> 01:08:26,236
He has even more glorious names for those who bow to Him.

1203
01:08:26,438 --> 01:08:28,817
Live for Him now.

1204
01:08:29,009 --> 01:08:30,470
Then you can chart that out.

1205
01:08:30,591 --> 01:08:31,840
He comes,

1206
01:08:32,042 --> 01:08:33,722
He commends you,

1207
01:08:33,881 --> 01:08:36,772
you enter His joy.

1208
01:08:36,886 --> 01:08:38,164
Chart that!

1209
01:08:38,208 --> 01:08:40,023
That's worth charting.

1210
01:08:40,147 --> 01:08:41,451
Last thing,

1211
01:08:41,597 --> 01:08:44,432
enter the joy of your Lord

1212
01:08:44,585 --> 01:08:45,723
or enter the joy of your Master.

1213
01:08:45,926 --> 01:08:47,158
What a thought.

1214
01:08:47,327 --> 01:08:48,158
What a thought!

1215
01:08:48,337 --> 01:08:49,274
Think about that.

1216
01:08:49,355 --> 01:08:50,464
I mean, that is what I've called this message.

1217
01:08:50,592 --> 01:08:52,655
"The Joy of Your Master"

1218
01:08:52,796 --> 01:08:54,000
Think about this.

1219
01:08:54,177 --> 01:08:58,987
It is not to enter glory where there will be joy.

1220
01:08:58,987 --> 01:09:04,242
But, glory is so much characterized by joy ...

1221
01:09:04,400 --> 01:09:08,646
I mean, we talk about enter a house,

1222
01:09:08,789 --> 01:09:09,859
enter the building,

1223
01:09:10,014 --> 01:09:11,046
get into the car.

1224
01:09:11,253 --> 01:09:15,856
He says enter the joy.

1225
01:09:16,007 --> 01:09:17,778
It is like,

1226
01:09:17,954 --> 01:09:21,460
plunging you into a realm and a sphere

1227
01:09:21,659 --> 01:09:25,837
that is just characterized.

1228
01:09:25,943 --> 01:09:30,479
The entire realm and state of the blessed

1229
01:09:30,644 --> 01:09:32,106
can be summed up this way -

1230
01:09:32,262 --> 01:09:35,395
the Joy of your Master.

1231
01:09:35,572 --> 01:09:40,063
Ah! What words!

1232
01:09:40,229 --> 01:09:44,956
First, well done,

1233
01:09:44,956 --> 01:09:46,739
good and faithful...

1234
01:09:46,851 --> 01:09:52,701
He doesn't say well done evil and sinister.

1235
01:09:52,701 --> 01:09:56,662
He makes His people, His workmanship

1236
01:09:56,839 --> 01:09:58,531
unto good works,

1237
01:09:58,531 --> 01:10:00,880
truly good, truly faithful.

1238
01:10:00,880 --> 01:10:02,672
Well done.

1239
01:10:02,824 --> 01:10:05,624
And then enter.

1240
01:10:05,760 --> 01:10:08,935
Enter this future, everlasting state.

1241
01:10:09,060 --> 01:10:13,802
For the faithful, it is just a state of joy.

1242
01:10:13,877 --> 01:10:18,429
And it is not just joy because our tears are going to be wiped away.

1243
01:10:18,588 --> 01:10:21,096
We are going to be where the fountain of all joy is,

1244
01:10:21,265 --> 01:10:24,343
where Christ is, the fountain of all blessing.

1245
01:10:24,547 --> 01:10:27,330
It is called the Joy of our Master,

1246
01:10:27,558 --> 01:10:28,956
the Joy of the Lord.

1247
01:10:28,956 --> 01:10:32,074
It's a joy that He purchased for us,

1248
01:10:32,236 --> 01:10:40,139
it's a joy that has to do with all the treasure that we are going to have in Him.

1249
01:10:40,303 --> 01:10:41,316
The joy of the Lord.

1250
01:10:41,455 --> 01:10:43,420
He is the fountain of it, He's the center of it.

1251
01:10:43,574 --> 01:10:47,677
What an eschatology this is!

1252
01:10:47,895 --> 01:10:49,109
Live for Christ,

1253
01:10:49,113 --> 01:10:50,128
Jesus comes,

1254
01:10:50,297 --> 01:10:51,387
commendation,

1255
01:10:51,558 --> 01:10:53,601
well done good and faithful servant,

1256
01:10:53,778 --> 01:10:55,625
entrance!

1257
01:10:55,795 --> 01:10:57,874
Enter into the joy of your Master.

1258
01:10:58,034 --> 01:11:00,073
Into!

1259
01:11:00,279 --> 01:11:04,666
Just swallows you up.

1260
01:11:04,828 --> 01:11:10,436
And then, forever.

1261
01:11:10,634 --> 01:11:12,793
With an abundance, He says.

1262
01:11:12,922 --> 01:11:14,170
Take that from there!

1263
01:11:14,343 --> 01:11:15,761
Give it to the guy with 10

1264
01:11:15,955 --> 01:11:19,755
because everybody who has is going to have an abundance!

1265
01:11:19,755 --> 01:11:20,809
An abundance!

1266
01:11:20,980 --> 01:11:22,080
No paupers there.

1267
01:11:22,232 --> 01:11:23,414
None of us are going to be poor.

1268
01:11:23,633 --> 01:11:24,501
Just swallows you!

1269
01:11:24,656 --> 01:11:27,549
Enter into it!

1270
01:11:27,747 --> 01:11:31,504
And then it is forever.

1271
01:11:31,684 --> 01:11:38,979
That's an eschatology worth talking about.

1272
01:11:39,119 --> 01:11:43,260
Lord,

1273
01:11:43,346 --> 01:11:47,239
I pray that we all might be convinced and motivated and helped

1274
01:11:47,433 --> 01:11:49,206
with our eyes upon Jesus Christ

1275
01:11:49,206 --> 01:11:54,378
by faith to run this race and to be faithful.

1276
01:11:54,452 --> 01:11:58,068
We know that He is worthy, He who spilled His blood on our behalf.

1277
01:11:58,249 --> 01:12:01,143
He who went to the cruel Cross.

1278
01:12:01,287 --> 01:12:03,800
He who suffered.

1279
01:12:03,959 --> 01:12:06,885
The crushing of God Almighty,

1280
01:12:07,039 --> 01:12:11,067
that we might have the joy of the Lord.

1281
01:12:11,171 --> 01:12:13,300
That we the guilty, the defiled,

1282
01:12:13,458 --> 01:12:17,259
the unclean, the spiritual lepers, the guilty,

1283
01:12:17,645 --> 01:12:20,677
the condemned

1284
01:12:20,817 --> 01:12:25,776
might have the joy of the Lord.

1285
01:12:25,996 --> 01:12:29,213
We thank you in Christ's name.

1286
01:12:29,343 --> 01:12:30,959
Amen.