[0:00] Turn your Bibles, if you would please, to Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19, if you're using the Pew Bible, it's on page 878.
[0:13] We're making our way back through the Gospel of Luke, and we're in the final leg of the journey, as it were, this final week of Jesus' ministry.
[0:23] It kind of picks up for us at the tail end of Luke chapter 18, where Jesus will recount his words in this third time where he says that he's going to go to Jerusalem, he's going to be crucified, he's going to be killed, and then he's going to rise again.
[0:43] This morning we pick up the story in Luke chapter 19, verse 11, and we find the situation of the crowds and this growing enthusiasm of what might happen, what's going to go down there in Jerusalem.
[1:02] If you remember from last week, Jesus asks this penetrating question, this question to the blind man, what would you have for me to do for you? And of course, the blind man answers what may have seemed like an obvious question, perhaps even absurd, of course!
[1:22] This blind man wants to be healed from his blindness. But Jesus asks the question to draw him out, to make him an example of faith, and to draw attention, really, to the ultimate purpose of why Jesus is going to go to Jerusalem in the first place.
[1:41] And as Jesus will say to Zacchaeus, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost. That was the ultimate purpose. Salvation from sin, forgiveness of sin, and fellowship with God.
[1:57] That's the ultimate purpose. That's what everybody in this room needs as the deepest concern, the deepest question, the deepest need of your life.
[2:11] You need Jesus. And Jesus came to offer that for us freely. As he gave himself on the cross for our sins, he died, he was buried, he rose again, so that he could extend and offer an invitation of forgiveness to those who believe in him, who ask for cleansing from their sins, and who make Jesus Lord of their life.
[2:37] And we have the joy, then, of participating in that forgiveness, enjoying that forgiveness, and that fellowship with God. And then, in our passage today, understanding, then, what that fellowship with God is meant to lead to, as we find that Jesus is the King.
[2:59] But before we really dig into the text today, it's going to be important for us to kind of develop a bit of the historical context, so we can make a connection with the parable that Jesus is going to share.
[3:11] Many of you probably know that Israel was under Roman occupation. Most of the known world, as a matter of fact, was under Roman occupation.
[3:21] And so, the Romans would rule these various territories, these various lands, underneath subordinate leaders, subordinate rulers. And those rulers, in order to receive the authority underneath the Roman establishment, to rule those lands or territories, would first need to go back to Rome and get permission, and then they could exercise that authority over those particular territories.
[3:50] Herod the Great would be one of these individuals. And he would negotiate with Mark Anthony in order to obtain the right to rule the land of Israel. And then, when Herod would die, somewhere around 4 BC, the sons that were left, and you remember that Herod was a pretty ferocious kind of guy, the three sons that were left were then allowed to rule over the various territories that were then originally underneath Herod's authority and leadership.
[4:22] One of these sons was named Archelaus. And Archelaus would go to Rome, and he would seek to have this authority given to him over particularly the land of Judah.
[4:36] But before he did this, he would massacre 3,000 Jews on a day of Passover to kind of establish that he's the big dog in the territory.
[4:49] And so, when he went to Rome to try to get permission, a delegation was sent behind him from the people living in Judea, this group of representatives that would say, wait a second, this guy, we do not want him to reign over us.
[5:06] We do not want him to be king. Well, whatever protests they would give would not amount to anything. And Archelaus was still permitted to rule over Judah.
[5:19] But because of the chaos of his leadership, that was a short-lived kind of reign. So that now, at the time of Jesus making his way into Jerusalem, now there would be five different governors, not leaders or kings, there would be five different governors.
[5:39] Pilate would be that fifth governor who would now be exercising that authority specifically over this territory of Judea and Jerusalem. That kind of provides a bit of historical context to help us understand and grasp what this parable is that Jesus is about to share with the people who are making pilgrimage and walking with him from Jericho now up to Jerusalem.
[6:08] It was about a 17-mile trek, about six to seven hours worth of traveling, 3,300 feet in elevation, this difference between Jericho and Jerusalem.
[6:21] So any of you who have done any hiking in the mountains will know how grueling and exhausting that trip would be. We find Jesus here now in this massive crowd in Luke chapter 19, beginning in verse 11.
[6:35] Let me read this for us and we'll dive into our study. It says, As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem.
[6:48] And because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. This heightened expectation of the imminence of this kingdom.
[6:59] And Jesus will tell this parable to help set the course and help his audience, this crowd, understand that he in fact is the king. That what they anticipated about who he was, his identity, was in fact true and Jesus is king.
[7:18] And that's our first point for this morning that Jesus is king. Beginning there in verse 11. And there are a number of reasons why the crowd could draw this conclusion.
[7:30] And a number of reasons why now on their ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem, why there is this sense in which that the kingdom would appear immediately. Because of the way that Jesus taught.
[7:43] Because of the titles that he engendered to himself. And so I want to just briefly walk through those so we can see that the crowd wasn't totally out of touch. First, we find that Jesus uses the title son of man.
[7:57] He uses this title of himself that helps to distinguish him as this messianic figure. And when we find the beginning of verse 11, as they heard these things, our immediate question as Bible students should be, what things?
[8:14] What things did they hear? And so we must assume, based upon Luke's statement here, that the things that are being referred to are the things in the immediate context, perhaps the things in Jericho, but precisely the things in verse 10 of chapter 19, where Jesus makes this statement, and I think it's directed at Zacchaeus, but the rest of the crowd apparently is able to hear this statement, the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost.
[8:52] Son of man has come. Zacchaeus has been transformed. Jesus will go to his house. And Jesus will be able to observe in Zacchaeus' life, this change of heart, this repentance that's taken place, where he turned from a thief to one who becomes generous.
[9:13] He turns from one who is serving self to serving God, to serving others. And Jesus will say in verse 9, salvation has come to this house.
[9:24] And the change has been represented in some way by the fact that Zacchaeus is now interested in distributing the things that he has.
[9:37] In not just fulfilling the expectations of the law, but in exceeding the expectation of the law. I'm going to give four times what I have defrauded my brother.
[9:48] And Jesus will use this title, son of man, that has great significance in the minds of the first century Jew.
[10:01] Let's draw attention to this prophet, Daniel. And those of us who were part of the series this summer in Daniel will recognize that Daniel had much to say about this coming kingdom.
[10:13] And in Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, drawing from a vision that Daniel receives and speaking about this ancient of days and these thrones in heaven, Daniel says, I saw in the night vision and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like the son of man.
[10:32] And that's our title. He came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
[10:46] His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. His kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. And so when Jesus uses this title of himself, by the way, 19 times throughout the gospel of Luke, Jesus is simply saying, I'm the son of man.
[11:06] I'm the guy. I'm the Messiah. And all that you came to expect about the son of man will come true through my life and my ministry.
[11:19] The son of man. Next, we come to see that Jesus tells them what to expect in Jerusalem. And again, we're referring to these things, the things that they've heard now in Jericho just the day before.
[11:33] And so Jesus tells them what to expect there in chapter 18, verse 31. He says, taking the 12, he said to them, see, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished.
[11:54] And so now you attach this title, son of man, and what was spoken by the prophets will be accomplished up in Jerusalem. And in the minds of all of the crowd, especially the disciples who are hearing this statement, the alarm bells are going off.
[12:11] Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. The things that were spoken about the son of man will be accomplished in Jerusalem. This is it. The time has come. We're ready to go. We're going to Jerusalem because that's where kings are crowned.
[12:26] And this enthusiasm of the crowd and this mounting excitement, this anticipation of the fact that because of what Jesus has said and because of what they've observed Jesus doing, nothing is going to get in the way of Jesus being able to fulfill the word of the prophets.
[12:49] Next, we have the fact that Jesus accepts this title, son of David. Also, back in Luke chapter 18, verses 36 and 39.
[13:01] As Jesus is making his way through Jericho on this Friday, we encountered this blind man who yells out. He understands that Jesus of Nazareth is walking through and he says here, he cries out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
[13:20] And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. As we saw last week, this was not just a statement that referred to ancestry as Jesus being a descendant of David, but this was a statement that referred to his sovereignty.
[13:43] It referred to his position, his title, son of David, was emblematic of the one who would come and sit on David's throne as a fulfillment to the Davidic covenant. This is the guy.
[13:55] And somehow, this blind man had the spiritual perception to see that Jesus was in fact the son of David. Maybe even in his heart remembering this blind man understanding the prophet Isaiah, speaking about what the Messiah would do, the son of David would do in terms of opening blind eyes and hearing the work of Christ in his public ministry and knowing that Jesus could do this, he must be the Messiah, the son of David.
[14:30] And Jesus, in hearing and receiving this word, this title, son of David, does not correct the blind man, but in fact causes the crowd to pause and affirms the statement of the blind man by directing attention to his faith.
[14:49] Your faith has made you whole, has made you well, which made you well is another word, sozo, which is your faith has saved you.
[15:01] He draws attention, Jesus does, to the faith of this blind man, the truthfulness of the title and he receives, he accepts this title, son of David for himself.
[15:15] So, you can imagine that this crowd in observing all of these things recognizing Jesus, speaking of himself as son of man, hearing the blind man refer to him as the son of David, both titles which are full of messianic significance, seeing the power of Jesus in healing the blind man, now hearing about Jesus in saving, seeking, and saving the lost and they're thinking, we need salvation, it's here, it's come.
[15:47] then you add to that the ministry of Jesus himself, that he consistently teaches about the kingdom, time and time again, Jesus' ministry is punctuated by kingdom language.
[16:05] Jesus made a big deal about the kingdom during his public ministry. There are 46 times throughout the gospel of Luke alone where we see Jesus referring to the kingdom.
[16:17] And I've put many of those references for you in your outlines and I'm not going to go through every single one of them, but I do want to give you a sampling. In Luke chapter 4 verse 43, this is at the outset of Jesus' public ministry in Nazareth, he says this, he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well for I was sent for this purpose.
[16:45] Then in Luke chapter 8 verse 1, it says, soon afterward, he went on through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.
[16:57] And then Jesus will commission his disciples and he'll send them out two by two to do ministry and these are the instructions he gives to them in Luke chapter 9 verse 2.
[17:07] He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. Now, Jesus has turned the corner in his ministry in Luke chapter 17.
[17:19] We find in Luke chapter 17 verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee and now this is kind of the last couple of weeks of Jesus' life.
[17:32] He's picking up pilgrims and now they're making their final trek to Jericho and then to Jerusalem out past the Jordan in the region of Perea and Jesus will continue to emphasize the significance of the kingdom.
[17:49] Seven more times in Luke chapter 17 in Luke chapter 18 he will speak about the kingdom of God. And so, you can imagine that this heightened awareness, this sensitivity of the crowd, the multitudes of those who were traveling with Jesus and we have to give them credit.
[18:09] They were listening, they were watching, they were aware, they were observing the things that were going on in front of them and they drew this conclusion, Jesus must be the king and the kingdom must be coming soon.
[18:26] So then Jesus capitalizes on this teaching moment. And so we turn from Jesus being king to Jesus receiving his kingdom.
[18:38] he will receive his kingdom. And so Jesus in speaking in this parable, speaking about the noblemen, now puts himself in this story and wants to help those who are listening to recognize the right way to respond to the king.
[18:56] If in fact a kingdom is coming, here is the way loyal subjects, loyal servants, loyal citizens will respond to the king and when they don't, here are the, or when they do or don't, here are the rewards and here are the judgments.
[19:16] Jesus wants to set this expectation. So we turn now to verse 12. Notice with me. He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself kingdom and then return.
[19:30] Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas and said to them, engage in business until I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.
[19:49] Jesus is spelling this out and he's going to walk them through this scenario, this story, to help draw attention to his kingship and help them understand the proper way in which citizens and servants should respond to their king.
[20:06] He begins with his departure and his promised return. His departure and his promised return. Jesus, of course, sensing the excitement of this crowd and this kingdom expectation, I think it's important for us to note that Jesus does not correct their expectation.
[20:26] Jesus does not say, you know what guys, you thought a kingdom was coming but it's actually not. No, Jesus capitalizes on this kingdom or this kingdom expectation and he turns this into a teaching opportunity.
[20:42] And as what he normally does in using parables, he uses the things that in culture are familiar to help symbolize and help represent spiritual concepts.
[20:57] So he's using this parable and the familiar things of culture to help them make a connection with the spiritual truths that he wants to lay out in this parable.
[21:09] Christ, he's drawing, of course, from the event of Archelaus and he's drawing from the event of those Judeans early on in the first century who rejected or refused to have this man rule over them.
[21:26] They sent a delegation after him trying to prevent that from taking place but of course the nobleman, Archelaus, did in fact receive his kingdom.
[21:39] all the protests, all of the delegations, all of the representatives were not going to keep this nobleman from receiving that which was entitled to him.
[21:52] So he goes to receive this kingdom and there's an expectation that while he is away there will be an inevitable return. And of course as we consider this story and we recognize that Jesus in fact is this nobleman that Jesus we are anticipating that he will also return to lay claim on his kingdom and exercise authority over his people.
[22:19] We are waiting in that day that already not yet period of time and so the servants who are in this story are going to be representative of the servants of God in the church.
[22:34] Verse 13 speaks about the instructions that are given to these servants. It said verse 13 he calls ten of his servants he gave them ten minutes and said to them engage in business until I come.
[22:50] The instructions are clear the instructions are simple and he calls these ten servants before him and this this number ten is a number of completion.
[23:05] I think it's important that this the ten servants are not twelve so you're not making a correlation with disciples per se but you're making a correlation just with servants in general.
[23:19] These servants are called and each of these servants is given the same thing. Each one is given a mina. A mina is about three months salary and for a nobleman of course three months salary times ten is really not that significant a number.
[23:37] For a person who will inherit a kingdom for a person of this authority and stature to give such a small amount to his servants is meant to communicate something about the character of the nobleman himself.
[23:56] And right at the outset we should come to recognize that this wasn't about the nobleman receiving or getting profit from his servants but to demonstrate a pattern of stewardship a pattern of responsibility a pattern of obedience.
[24:16] He wasn't after the prophet but trying to establish a pattern. Notice how impartial he is. He gives each of his servants the same.
[24:28] notice he's not consumed about economic gain. He's consumed or interested in this test. And so he provides these clear instructions do this business until I have come.
[24:41] There is an expectation carry it through it's very simple do what I'm asking you to do carry out this business and then when I come I will see how it goes.
[24:53] At this point we can only assume that the servants that are underneath this master are loyal. That's all we can assume. So then the story transitions from the servants now to the kingdom and the nobleman that the nobleman was to receive.
[25:11] And we see here in verse 14 the defiance of the citizens. The defiance of these citizens. It says but his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying we do not want this man to reign over us.
[25:29] Now up to this point this week I was really confused about what was going on. Like I thought he was going to this other kingdom to inherit that kingdom so that then he was going to come back and I was just because I didn't understand the historical context my mind was all scrambled but now I think this makes sense.
[25:48] that as it fits in the context of the history of the first century that this nobleman is going to receive this kingdom the authority of the kingdom he's already over and the citizens that know him and have been experiencing some level of his leadership are the ones who hate him and are sending a delegation after him.
[26:14] Their defiance is striking. Their defiance seems quite risky if you ask me. And whatever defiance and whatever obstruction whatever they are doing to try to prevent this from happening is not going to keep this nobleman from actually receiving the kingdom.
[26:35] In Jesus' parable the decision was out of the hands of these citizens and the nobleman would receive the kingdom anyway regardless of the defiance of the citizens.
[26:47] regardless of their refusal or rejection of this king. And the protests all the protests in the world were not going to stand in the way of the final decision of him receiving the kingdom that was due to him.
[27:03] In verses 15 to 19 we turn to the reward that Jesus rewards the faithful servants. Jesus rewards the faithful servants.
[27:14] notice. When he returned having received the kingdom he ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
[27:28] The first came before him saying Lord your mina has made ten more. And he said to him well done good servant because you have been faithful in a very little you shall have authority over ten cities.
[27:41] And the second came saying Lord your mina has made five mina. And he said to him and you are to be over five cities. It's a reward that Jesus will give to faithful servants and really the point of this section is to draw out the true versus the counterfeit servants.
[28:03] That while they all may carry that name the servant of this master what we're going to find is there are only a couple of servants in Jesus story his parable here who will actually carry out and faithfully follow the instructions that have been given to them by the master.
[28:22] They demonstrate the true nature of their heart through their obedience to the master. This master comes home and he wants to give an account.
[28:36] But rather than giving specific details of all ten we have a sampling as it were. A few representatives that were kind of setting this precedent in this parable of what will happen for every servant that faithfully obeys whether they receive ten or five or one or even just a pittance.
[28:57] If they've been faithful to obey if they've carried out the instructions they demonstrate the true nature of their service to the master and they will be rewarded.
[29:08] this first servant is brought in and we find that the servant is able to gain ten more minas. This is a thousand percent gain as it were.
[29:21] Ancient businessmen would be able to experience very high kinds of returns and so this wasn't terribly unusual but notice how the servant demonstrates his work.
[29:35] He says your mina has made ten. I love that. He doesn't take any credit for the for the fulfilling of the responsibility.
[29:49] As he was given the stewardship of this mina and he obeyed what the master told him to do just the sense of the parable is that he just deposited this mina and then all of a sudden what sprung out maybe even to his surprise was ten other minas that he had very little to do with it except for the fact that he partnered with the master in the business that he had been set to do.
[30:20] He followed the instruction and simply by following the instructions he was able to yield the ten minas. By the way just as a side note as we work through this parable we come to appreciate the perspective of these faithful servants.
[30:41] We come to understand that the servants didn't see the instruction as a yoke the servants saw the command or the instructions as an opportunity to be coupled with their master in the business of the kingdom.
[31:00] It was not a duty it was a privilege and because of the privilege they got to enjoy the benefits of that investment and the master's mina your mina has produced ten more.
[31:14] I really had almost nothing to do with it except I trusted myself to obey what you told me to do. This happens not only with one servant but with the second servant and they stand as representatives of what every servant who would be faithful to obey the command and apply that mina to some level of business in representing the king were going to enjoy.
[31:43] They were going to enjoy some level of yield and result because it was the master's mina. Now we come to the final section of this parable in verses 20 to 27.
[31:57] So Jesus will not only reward the faithful but finally we discover that Jesus will punish the wicked. He will punish the wicked.
[32:07] There is a day of accountability. There's a day of rendering. There's a day in which those balance sheets will be looked at and compared. In verse 20 it says then another came saying Lord here is your mina which I kept laid away in a handkerchief for I was afraid of you because you were a severe man.
[32:30] You take what you did not deposit and you reap what you did not sow. He said to him I will condemn you with your own words you wicked servant.
[32:41] You knew that I was a severe man taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank?
[32:53] And at my coming I might have collected it with interest. This final servant and he's emblematic of any servant who would have done the same thing.
[33:05] Any servant who would have just allowed that money to languish hid it away in this handkerchief or even buried it away as we find in the parable in Matthew chapter 26 any of those servants who would respond this way in defying the instructions of the master are going to be met with this kind of response.
[33:31] And again I am shocked and stunned by the way that this servant deflects responsibility. Notice I was afraid of you. Well why was he afraid?
[33:42] He shouldn't have been afraid. He should have known the character of this master. That character by the way which was so clear just in the distribution of the miners themselves that character that was also clear in the way he rewarded the other servants who were before him.
[34:03] This was just an excuse. He wasn't motivated by love or loyalty or even a sense of fulfilling his duty his obligation he was driven by fear and because of his fear he decided to do nothing and now he deflects by pushing this back with a pretty pointed criticism you are a severe man you take what you did not deposit you you reap what you do not sow and so that could be taken one of two ways I suppose neither one of them is good he's either saying you're a thief you rob from people you take what doesn't belong to you or what he's saying is you always have other people do your bidding you're never the one to get your hands dirty so you're a ruthless cutthroat kind of guy and in either instance there's no understanding of benevolence there's no understanding of his true character he he disparages the master and so because of his words because of his accusations now the master flips those words on top of him and said well if that's what you really believe if you really believe that
[35:17] I'm! severe than it should have mobilized you to activity but that didn't happen which means that you don't really believe that I'm severe because you didn't really work what you really believe in your heart is that I am wicked and you want to have nothing to do with me and because of your laziness and irresponsibility you're unwilling to follow my instructions so now there's a rendering now there's a reckoning a day of reckoning as it were we find in verses 24 to 27 he said to those who stood by take the mina from him give it to the one who has ten minas and they said to him Lord he has ten minas I tell you that to everyone who has more will be given but from the one who has not even not only did this servant lose his position of service to the master he lost the entrustment that had been given to him he demonstrated he didn't actually belong as a servant to the master to begin with because he could not follow instructions he proved the counterfeit nature of his service he was not a true servant of the king and then we find in verse 27 the sobering conclusion for the citizens says but as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them bring them here and slaughter them before me now that is that's a graphic picture by the way a picture that everybody in the first century would not have only have understood but would have expected it's only in the civilized culture of the 21st century for whatever reason we think well that just seems so harsh so severe so wrong but to everyone who has more will be given and from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away and the very thing that will happen in the presence of
[37:41] Christ by those rebel citizens who reject him and who hate him who demonstrate the true nature of their heart in wanting to oppose his rule and reign over their life they will receive the consequence that is due to them and that is punishment from God forever in hell the punishment by the way that was exercised on Christ on the cross and so you will either receive the blessing or the gift of Christ's slaughter on the cross where God the father crushes his son and makes a public example of him on the cross bearing shame bearing the consequence of sin and we receive that by asking forgiveness and recognizing that Jesus alone is the way of salvation we make him master and ruler of our life or we accept the consequences of sin for ourselves and we on the other hand then must pay the price for our own sin forever in hell away from the presence of
[38:56] God let me spend the last couple of moments applying this parable to us the prevailing question this morning for us is are you a citizen or are you a true servant are you a citizen or are you a servant do you really belong to the kingdom as a servant of the master and Jesus is king and Jesus is coming and we can we can expect and and understand that his coming is imminent his coming is soon and he will reign over the earth do you belong to Jesus through faith and if you belong to Jesus through faith then you become you move from being a citizen of this kingdom to being a servant of the king and the kingdom and so do we know the commands of God do we know the expectations the instructions that he's given to us as his servants and are we faithful to carry those instructions!
[40:04] out I'm reminded of 1st John chapter 2 and I don't have this verse on the projector for you but just listen 1st John chapter 2 verses 3 to 5 says this by this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments let me repeat that by this you know that you know him if you keep his commandments he goes on whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him but whoever keeps his word in him truly the love of God is perfected by this we know that we are in him you see the true character of faithful servants plays out in carrying out the instructions of the king not because we see it as a duty not because we see it as the only way for us to get to heaven because by the way our works do not get us to heaven but we see it and we embrace it as an opportunity to participate in the kingdom mission that we have been granted we represent the king and it is a privilege for us and so we carry out the instructions because we delight in not just pleasing the king but we delight in participating in the work that
[41:29] Jesus is doing and then I'm also reminded not just of obedience but I'm also reminded of the significance of using the gifts that God has given to us through his Holy Spirit in 1st Peter chapter 4 verses 10 and 11 it says this he says as each has received a gift use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace whoever speaks as one who speaks the oracles of God whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever amen God has given an entrustment a stewardship a mina as it were to everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ!
[42:54] has received this gift the responsibility the accountability the measure of whether or not you are a true disciple a true servant is that you're putting those stewardships those gifts to work in some way among his body among this church you know several years ago I we needed some work done in our kitchen I needed some tile to be laid in our kitchen I didn't have the foggiest idea how to do it so I reached out to some friends at seminary to see does someone know how to lay tile and so there was one guy who said I can do this so I said I I pay you a thousand bucks you come for the week I let you stay in my house I if you can just do the tile work
[43:55] I would be happy to pay you a thousand bucks for the week of work I thought man this should be a great arrangement right but wouldn't you know so I go to work I come home after the first day nothing was done like maybe we didn't understand what the instructions were what the expectation was you're here to lay some tile right so of course I'm here to lay some tile but there were excuses as to why the tile wasn't laid that day so I cooked dinner we ate together and then until midnight I was up helping him work on tile I got up early in the morning I went to work came home the next day nothing was done on the tile I'm like do we not understand each other do we not get what the expectations are and he said of course we do I got up late I'm sorry it won't happen again so
[44:56] I get home I make dinner we eat together we're working till midnight and I get up the next morning early go to work come home yes you guessed it nothing is done on the tile the entire week goes by day after day I'm beginning to wonder do I pay this guy at all does he really understand the expectation after I think all of us can begin to appreciate the frustration that we would feel about something by the way that's so petty so petty in comparison with the entrustment that's been given the stewardship that's been given to every single one of us may we not be like my friend may we be faithful to steward well the gifts that
[45:58] God has given to us to the glory of God let me pray Lord thank you for graciously and kindly entrusting us with such a great stewardship the very gifts from God the greatest gift of forgiveness and then the gift of your Holy Spirit that lives within us and empowers us for the work Lord may we steward these gifts well for the glory of God I pray in Jesus name amen God bless you have a great week miracle