[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. Here we have a story. Jesus explaining what the kingdom of heaven is like.
[0:25] Jesus explaining what his return would be like. They want to know what's it going to be like when you come back. What are the signs? Kind of get us prepared. It's kind of like, you know, have you ever been in school and the kids always say, the teacher says there will be a test this Friday.
[0:40] And what's the first question? What's going to be on the test? We would like to know what's going to be on the test. Kind of give us a warning. So he said, all right, here it comes. And he gives us. So take your Bible.
[0:50] I want you to mark several things in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 14. Now what we do in our church is we take the Bible, a book that God wrote and gave to us just about 2,000 years ago.
[1:03] And we study to find out exactly what God says. Not about my opinion. Not about what Baptists think. It's just about what the Bible says. And you're an intelligent person and you can understand what the Word of God says.
[1:15] So read it with me. It says in verse 14, the kingdom of heaven is as. Okay, I want you to underline the kingdom of heaven. So he said, I'm going to tell you about the kingdom of heaven.
[1:26] And he said, now the way I'm going to do it is telling you a story. So put a circle around the word as in that verse 14. The kingdom of heaven is as. Or put that in Tennessee.
[1:37] The kingdom of heaven is like this. I'm going to tell you a story that kind of illustrates what it's like. And so the kingdom of heaven is as. And then he says, so I'm telling you about the kingdom of heaven. I'm going to use terms you fully understand.
[1:50] They would understand in those days and times that there would be a very rich man who would own slaves. And these would be his slaves. He would own all the slaves, all these people.
[2:01] And he would own all these goods. And he might say to the guy he put in charge of his house. Some man that worked inside his house might be in charge of everybody else that worked in his house who would still be a slave.
[2:12] And he says, I'm going to leave and I'm coming back. But I'm going to expect you to do the job I'm leaving you to do. Now if you know anything about the Old Testament, Joseph was the slave.
[2:22] He was a slave. And he was in charge of all the affairs in Potiphar's house. And so this is nothing you don't already understand because you've been studying the Bible. So there's a man. He was in charge of everything that was going on in Potiphar's house.
[2:36] The fact is, Potiphar, the only thing he worried about in his own house according to the Bible was what he ate. He said, I want coffee ice cream after supper tonight. And by the way, I want a big ribeye for supper tonight and a huge baked potato.
[2:48] And Joseph, just take care of everything else. I don't want any headaches. You take care of it or you're going to be in trouble. So that's basically what's going on in the story. Well, this rich man got ready to leave. And when he got ready to leave, he left some things with his people.
[3:02] So I want you to take your Bible. I want you to mark it. So I want you to mark in verse 14 his own servants. You need to put a circle around the own. He owned them. They were his. He owned them.
[3:13] They were his. And the word servant there is a nice word for slave. These were slaves. These were slaves. These aren't the waiters down at the restaurant that don't belong to you.
[3:24] These are personal property. And so he called his own servants. And then look at the same verse and underline, and he delivered his goods. Put a circle around the word his. He was the lord of the house.
[3:36] He was the lord and master. This is all the way back 2,000 years ago. He had servants, and he owned them, and he had stuff, and he gave it to them. And then he calls them in, and he said, now, guys, I'm going on a trip.
[3:48] And so before I go on a trip, I'm going to give you five talents. This is an enormously large amount of money. He said, I'm going to give you this large amount of money, and I want you to work for me. Now, you work for me.
[3:59] Do something with this money. It's kind of like some of you rich people calling up your stockbroker and saying, here's $5 million, and I want to see what you can do. I'll be back after a while to check out what you've done with my money at the stock market.
[4:09] Except this was a little bit different. There wasn't a stock market, and he could go out and do whatever business he wanted, but the lord, the owner of the people, said, I want you to do some producing before I get back.
[4:21] And so he gave one guy five, and he gave another guy two talents, and he gave the last guy one talent. And he said, I'm giving it to you according to what you're able to do. Look in your Bible, if you would, in verse 15, and underline this.
[4:34] It says, according to his several ability. In other words, God said, some of you are smarter than others. Some of you are able to accomplish more than others, and so I'll give it to you according to what I know you could produce.
[4:45] You could do something with what I'm giving you. I'm not giving you more than you can do. I know your ability, and I'm giving you something to accomplish while I'm gone. I want you to accomplish some stuff with my stuff.
[4:57] He said, now listen. He said, and I'm coming back. He said, just because I'm leaving to go on vacation doesn't mean you don't make your bed. It doesn't mean you don't do your job.
[5:07] It doesn't mean you don't accomplish stuff. I'll be back, and when I get back, we're going to sit down. We're going to add up the figures and see what you did with what I gave you. So the story goes that the king, the owner, the ruler, the owner of this large plantation, he left.
[5:21] And he's gone for a long time, and he comes back. And when he gets back, he says, all right, y'all, come in here. Let's settle up the books. I said, all right, bookkeeper, open up the computer. Open the Excel file. All right, we gave you five.
[5:33] What did you do with it? The guy said, well, you left. I took the five you gave me, and I went out, and I did a bunch of business. I came back with five more. So what you gave me was five. I turned it into ten. And the guy said, wow, good job.
[5:44] Super good job. You did great. Welcome and enter into the joy of your Lord. I got great blessings for you. That's wonderful. Call the second guy forward. The second guy comes forward.
[5:54] He said, well, you left me two talents. And I just went out and did the best I could with what you gave me, and I got two more talents. And so he said, okay, that's great. He said, man, you did a good job. You did according to what you were able.
[6:06] Enter into the joy of the Lord. And then the last guy comes forward, and he said, you gave me one talent. I'll be honest with you. I know you're a mean dude. I know you are bad and mistreat people.
[6:19] I just know that. Everybody knows that. You're demanding. You're arbitrary. You're ugly. I just don't like the way you act. And so here's what I did.
[6:29] I went out, and I dug a hole in the backyard, and I buried your money. I wrapped it up in a napkin so it wouldn't even get dirty. And you're back. I dug it up this morning, and I brought it. And so here's your money.
[6:41] And the Lord says, you jerk. You knew I was a mean bad guy. I left you with about a million bucks here, you dingbat. And you wouldn't have buried it.
[6:52] He said, if you'd have just had a half a brain, you'd have put it in the bank, and I'd have got some interest. I'd have gained 12% probably every year I've been gone. You didn't do that. You're out of here.
[7:03] And he cast him into outer darkness. And he takes that one guy's talent and gives it to the guy that's got 10 now. You know he's going to be able to invest more and accomplish more. But the story's really not about money, and the story's really not about slaves.
[7:16] The story's about this. He's coming back. And he owns everything. And I'm going to show you that in the Bible. Do you understand that when we talk about God, we're not talking about some figment of your imagination?
[7:28] We're not talking about some opinion you have. We're not talking about some cultural concept you developed. We're talking about an almighty, all-knowing, all-present God, who from the very beginning created everything and is in charge of everything.
[7:46] And he's not somebody you made up. He's not somebody some prophet came along and made up. He is God Almighty. The Bible says in Genesis 1-1, In the beginning, God created.
[7:59] He made us. He made us, and so he has every right. So go with me through your Bible now. You're going to need an ink pen. You can write verses in the margin of your Bible.
[8:10] But I want to challenge you. Now, here's the really big lesson for today. You better get it done now while you've got a chance because you don't know when he's coming back. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 11-6, In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand.
[8:28] Thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, whether they both shall be alike. In other words, can I just get you to write this down somewhere? Seize the opportunity. This is all the life you're going to get.
[8:41] This is all the option you're going to get. This is all the opportunity you're going to get. If there really is a God, and he really didn't make us, and he really is coming back someday, this is not a game.
[8:52] This is not a do your own thing. This is, there is a God, and I have been entrusted, and I will one day give an answer to him. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6-2, For he said, I have heard thee in an accepted time, and that today of salvation have I secured thee, or helped thee.
[9:13] Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now listen to what I'm going to say to you. You don't know when you're going to die. One of us could wake up dead tomorrow.
[9:24] Well, you won't wake up. Anybody else will. Amen? And you say, Well, that's not going to happen. People have car wrecks all the time. People have heart attacks all the time. You don't know what you have.
[9:34] And here's what he was basically saying. You don't know when I'm coming back. You don't know when I'm coming back. You best be ready. And you need to understand that you don't die like a dog and get thrown in a ditch somewhere or buried somewhere in a pet cemetery that costs you a million dollars because you live in Alpharetta.
[9:53] That's not what happens. You're going to face God again. And that's what he's saying to you this morning. Learn not to waste your opportunity. Be saved. Trust Jesus Christ.
[10:03] Learn to do something lasting with your life. Jesus tells a story to get us thinking about what we are to be doing until he comes. The story tells us something about heaven and about Jesus coming again.
[10:15] So number one, write this one down. All we have comes from God. All from God. All from God. Just write that down beside verse 14. All comes from God. Everything we have comes from God.
[10:27] In the story, he said, I'm going to tell you a story about the kingdom of heaven, but I'm going to make it like a story that you would understand. And this is what he says in verse 14. The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who calls his own servants and delivers his goods.
[10:45] And he gave five talents to one, two to another, one to another, according to his several ability. I need you to understand a Bible truth. Okay? It's going to get really deep here.
[10:57] This is going to blow your mind. You're not even going to like it. But it is very true. You are not the owner of your stuff. You kind of tend to think this land is my land.
[11:11] And that's what you think. I'm going to put my name on it. This is Gardner's Green Acres. Amen. And this is my car. And I'm going to even put on the back of my car Gardner Mobile One.
[11:25] And it's mine. Belongs to me. But God makes a clear statement in the Bible. Nope. I'm the owner. Okay? That goes against everything because, man, in America, we don't like that.
[11:36] We like to own our own stuff. Amen? So look at what the Bible says, if you would. Psalm 24-1. David, King David writes this in Psalm 24-1. You need to write this down.
[11:46] Look it up. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and they that dwell in it. Now, that's a crazy verse. See, he thinks he's God.
[11:59] And David, are you looking at the verse right here behind my head? He said, the earth, that's the whole globe, is, belongs to the Lord. It's his. And the fullness, that means everything in it.
[12:11] That means all the birds, all the trees, all the cows, all the butterflies, everything on the planet, belongs to him. And they, that's you, that dwell in it. Every human being. Those that are saved, those that aren't saved, those that are born again believers, those that are Jews, those that are atheists, it doesn't matter.
[12:28] everybody belongs to God because he's God. Okay, you mad yet? I didn't say that. That's in the Bible. The story started off and said, I'm going to tell you a story about the kingdom of heaven and it's like this.
[12:42] A man who owned a lot of people, a lot of stuff left and said, I'm going to let y'all do some stuff. Look, if you would, at Exodus chapter 19 and verse 15. You can just mark it down, but it'll show up on the screen and you can see, here's what he ends up saying.
[12:54] The earth is mine. Moses. He said that God said, the earth is mine. Exodus chapter 19 and verse 5. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.
[13:12] For all the earth is mine. Now let me explain something to you. I own 4760 Ainsley Lane. Betty and I do. Well, but it really belongs to God.
[13:23] And I don't know who owned it 100 years ago. We could probably find that out. We get Sam to run a title on that. We'll know. But I don't think Sam figured out what happened 1,000 years ago or 100 years or 10,000 years ago.
[13:36] I don't think Sam would figure that out. But here's what God would say. Y'all can have all the title deeds you want, but I own it. You'll be gone soon. I own it. The earth is mine. All the earth is mine.
[13:47] In Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 23, he said the land is mine. Look this one up if you would. Psalm chapter 50 and verse 10. I really want you to mark this one down.
[13:58] See, some of you think that the whole deal about church is trying to get you to give money to God. And here's what God said. In Psalm chapter 50 and verse 10, God said, For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills.
[14:15] I know all the fowls of the mountains and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I wouldn't even tell you. For the world is mine and everything in it, the fullness thereof.
[14:28] Let me explain to you what God said. He said, Some of you got this idea that God up in heaven needs you. And he's like, Y'all got that backwards. I don't belong to you.
[14:39] You belong to me. If I were hungry, I wouldn't be calling you up and asking if you could take me to Burger King. Because I own all the cows. I own all the hills. I own everything in here.
[14:49] I own you while we're at it. See, he's God. That is so much bigger than what we understand. That is so much bigger than what we want to accept. But when we come in here to service this morning, we come in here as just people that belong to God.
[15:03] You say, Well, I don't even believe in your God. Don't matter. You still belong to him. You say, Well, my money don't belong to him because I don't even believe in him. He said, I don't care what you think. Who do you think controls the air you breathe?
[15:14] Who do you think controls all this? I'm God. That's what he said. Then he owns all the gold and silver. And Haggai, you don't even have to look that one up. That's a small prophet in the last part of the Bible.
[15:25] Haggai chapter 2 and verse 8, he said, The silver is mine. The gold is mine. I mean, God's like, Hey, silver is mine. Gold is mine. In Ezekiel 18.4, he said, All souls are mine.
[15:39] In Romans chapter 14 and verse 8, Paul acknowledged that and said, We are the Lord's. We belong to the Lord. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19, the Bible said, You are not your own.
[15:52] You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's, which belong to God. So you need to understand the very first concept.
[16:03] He starts off in this chapter and he says this, The kingdom of heaven is like a rich guy who owns a lot of servants and a lot of stuff. And he leaves and says, My servant, I'm going to give you my stuff and I'm going to come back to see what you did with my stuff.
[16:16] How does that work? You really think that money belongs to you. You really think those children belong to you. You really think that house belongs to you. You really think that everything you have belongs to you.
[16:27] And you're really doing God a favor when you bring him anything. Well, just to tell you the honest truth, that is backwards. That is like completely ding-baddy backwards.
[16:38] It would be like one of my children coming into me and saying, Daddy, my bedroom belongs to me. And I would be like, I don't think you've made a mortgage payment yet. And I don't think you bought any of the furniture in that room.
[16:53] I paid for that furniture. And I'd look at the child and I'd say, That's cute. Keep believing that fairy tale. And so here's the, let me, can I give it to you bigger? The God who created the earth said, You can think it's yours.
[17:06] Keep believing that fairy tale. I'm God. See, that's where the story starts. So I think sometimes we come to church and we're kind of like, I want to do God a favor and I'm going to come to church.
[17:17] I'm going to read his Bible. I'm going to learn a little bit about him. But you really don't want to get down to the real essence. And that is this. Ready? I'm going to give you the deepest thing you're ever going to hear.
[17:29] He's God. What's that mean? Everything. That means he made the world. You know, he just said it. He just said, Bam!
[17:39] Let there be it. It was bam! There it was. He took six days to create the whole world. You say, Well, how come it took him six days? He was being patient with us to let us see what he could do because he could have done it in six seconds. He's God.
[17:50] The miracle is not that he did it in six days. The miracle is that he took that long. He could have done anything he wanted to do. He's God. Because that's what you want to get a hold of. So before we ever start anything to understand the Bible, you need to back up and say, Wait a minute.
[18:03] I'm not as smart as I think I am. I'm not as in charge as I think I am. I am just another guy's servant using his stuff for him. Now, if you would, go with me to Matthew 25 and verse 14.
[18:18] There's a passage where we're studying. He said, The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and delivered to his own goods and unto one he gave five talents and to another two and to another one.
[18:29] Every man according to his several ability and strength we took his journey. This is really funny to me. God said, Okay, I'll give you five, I'll give you two and I'll give you one according to the abilities you have.
[18:40] Of course, I gave you the abilities you have. The reason I'm so good looking is God just chose to make me that way. That's a joke. You can laugh. The reason, the whole point being that it's God who's in charge.
[18:56] Isn't that hard to accept? You're like, Now, wait a minute. I'm a deacon in this church. I'm a preacher around here. I'm a student of the Bible and I'll tell you what God, No, no, no. God says, Back up, boys.
[19:08] I give you stuff according to your ability. I gave you the ability. I gave you the stuff. It's all my stuff. It's all my stuff. Your life is my stuff. The air you breathe is my stuff.
[19:19] The house you live in is my stuff. And I'm going to come back and find out what you did with my stuff. That's what the whole story is about. Go with me if you would. Go with me if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 8.
[19:30] By the way, God gives us not only what we have but even the ability to make money. We've got really smart guys in this room. Some of you guys, I mean, honestly, honestly, I'm nervous to be around you because you're so smart.
[19:45] Your whole life can collapse and you can walk into a room, write a whole new business project, come back out of the room and everything be back under control. You're just a genius. I mean, you're engineers and you're lawyers and you're big shot businessmen and you can sell stuff and make stuff.
[20:00] I mean, you're everything. And somewhere along the way, it's easy to begin to think, well, I am. Thank you, Austin, for recognizing that. I'm glad you caught on to who I am. Yes, I am. Thank you.
[20:10] Thank you. Thank you. And here's what God said in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 18. Here's what God said. He said, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God for it is he that gives thee the power, the ability to get wealth.
[20:25] Did you know that some of you just seem to have a neck? There's another guy in this room. He'll work his rear off and he won't do anything and you'll just put five minutes worth of work in it and bam, it works for you.
[20:36] You'll think, man, I am sharper than everybody else. Man, I'm pretty smart. Just check me out. See how smart I am? Here's what God said. Let me remind you. I own the world.
[20:47] I created it. I own it. I own you. I own your stuff. And if you're smart, I made you smart. And if you know how to make money, you've never made you know how to make money.
[20:59] I mean, let's just get it straight. I'm God. That's a really deep, hard truth. He says, I'm God. So when you come to church and when you study your Bible, you need to realize you're not here to study what a bunch of men said about God.
[21:11] God wrote a book. God wrote the book. God preserved the book and kept it perfect and so you'd know what God's saying and what God's doing. He's the one that gives us the power. King David recognized that in the Old Testament.
[21:23] In 1 Chronicles, chapter 29 and verse 11. In 1 Chronicles, chapter 29 and verse 11. Thine, O God, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that's in heaven and in the earth is thine.
[21:39] Thine is the kingdom, O Lord. Thou art exalted as the head above all. Look at that verse. Everything in heaven belongs to you, God. Everything on earth belongs to you because it's all your kingdom.
[21:52] Guess who was doing the talking? A king who had a kingdom but he was a smart enough king to know that he didn't really have the kingdom. God had the kingdom and God was letting him use it for a while.
[22:02] Now look if you would at verse 12. Both the riches and honor come of thee because you reign over all and in your hand is power and might and in your hand is to make great and to give strength to all.
[22:17] He said, God, I understand some basic stuff here. You own everything in heaven. You own everything in earth and it's you that actually gives me the authority and the power. It's you that makes great.
[22:29] It's you that gives strength. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee and praise thy glorious name. See, the second you realize you're the cookie and he's the cookie maker, it'll change your whole attitude.
[22:40] The second you figure out he made me, it'll change your whole attitude. So in verse 14, he said, but who am I and what is my people that they should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?
[22:55] God, we're going to give a big offering today to help build the temple. But God, I'll just be honest, I'm a king, but who am I? And my people, who are they? They're just people, who are they? And this is why he said that.
[23:06] Look at verse 14. For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee. So, I happen to have a little bit of my money here in my pocket.
[23:19] That's a $100 bill. Woo! Good deal. Betty gave me an allowance. There's $103 here. There's $103 here. And I'm like, God, I think I'll give you some of this.
[23:31] But it ain't a big deal because it was yours anyway and you gave it to me. And if I give it to you, I'm just giving you back. What you gave me. You see, there's a massive rethinking that's got to go on in your head.
[23:45] There's a massive turning of your head. The Bible said in Romans chapter 12, verse 2, Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. What it meant was, quit thinking like everybody else. Everybody else is like, I own my stuff.
[23:56] And a Christian's like, no, I know who owns it. And it's God. He says in verse 15, We are strangers before thee and sojourners as were our fathers.
[24:07] We are travelers and strangers and foreigners. We're just a shadow. You know, you're just here like, you're like a shadow. Your life is like, there it is, there it went. Verse 16, Oh Lord our God, all this store, everything we prepared, all we got in this offering that we prepared thee for a house comes of your hand and is your own.
[24:29] So I want you to understand, the first lesson that Jesus gave was this, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who owns everything given some of what he has to all of his students, all of his servants according to their ability.
[24:44] So lesson number one, God owns everything. That might be hard for you to swallow, but you'll never understand God and you'll never believe the cross and you'll never believe in salvation and you'll never be a good manager of his stuff until you figure out something.
[25:00] Here it is. Write this down. This is so deep. You can tweet this out. He is God. So what's that mean?
[25:11] He's not little G God that you made up. He's big G God that made little P people. He's a big God up in heaven said I make you. The breath you breathe, I'll choose how long you'll breathe it and how long you won't.
[25:25] I own everything. And so when we come to God, we come knowing this, I am just one of his creations. I mean, sometimes it's really, when you get around people, they're so stupid.
[25:36] Excuse me. Shouldn't say that. They're like a bunch of chocolate chip cookies talking about, I got the most chips. I got more chocolate than everybody else. See how smart I am? And the cookie maker's up there at the top saying, you little goober, I made you.
[25:50] You didn't make yourself. I'm the one making these cookies here. But we're like those chocolate chip cookies arguing over who got the most round cookie, who got the most chocolate chips in the cookie, and I bet I'm the sweetest cookie of all the cookies that are on this cookie plate.
[26:05] And God's up in heaven going, let's get something straight. I own you, you don't own me. Everything, all the sugar in you, I put it there. All the chocolate chips, I put it there.
[26:16] I'm God. Second thing you need to see this morning. Well, it's a long first point. I don't know what we're going to do about the rest of them. You ready? Number two. Go with me if you would to chapter 25, verse 16.
[26:27] Then he that had received the five talents. I want you to circle the word received. You don't want to accept this, but everything you have, you received. Hmm?
[26:40] How many people try to have a baby and can't have a baby? How many people, how many people try to make money and can't make money? See, here's the deal. It's really what God's doing in your life.
[26:52] He received. They received. Verse 17, they received. Verse 18, they received. Circle received, received, received. You see, it's God that gives us what we have.
[27:04] It's God that gives us what we have. Now, two of them went with good attitudes and used what God had given them for his honor and his glory. But one of them dug a hole and buried his Lord's money.
[27:16] He had a bad attitude towards the Lord, he was not concerned about the Lord, but about not getting in trouble. And all he knew was that the money wasn't his, but it was the Lord's.
[27:27] He knew he had received it. He knew it was the Lord's money. And he knows he's just a slave and he's got a really bad attitude. So in the story, there's only three mentioned.
[27:37] Of course, there's tons of servants, but he's trying to teach us a lesson. It's just a story to help us understand. The one guy is just like, hey, I know it's your money and I'm going to do the best I can with it and we'll give you back some return when you get back and the other guy is just like that.
[27:50] They don't have the same amount, but they're going to try just as hard each one. And the other guy, he's kind of like the lost church member. He's kind of like the guy who comes to church and he's a cultural Christian. He says he believes, he knows there's a God, he accepts that God makes everything.
[28:04] But in his heart of hearts, he's got a really bad attitude about God. I don't really like it that he thinks he owns everything. I don't really like it that he thinks he's God. I don't really like it that someday I'm going to have to stand in front of him and give an account.
[28:16] I just don't really like this whole idea. I've got to accept it's true, but I don't like it. Not really saved. Not in love with Jesus. He doesn't have that. So you need to understand that it's God that gave you what you have.
[28:28] Now some of you probably got a lousy attitude towards God. Some of you are kind of like, I'm smiling, but in my heart, I ain't smiling.
[28:39] You heard the story about the little girl riding in the backseat of the car? And her daddy said, she was standing up and his daddy said, sit down. And she wouldn't sit down. He said, sit down right now. And the kid sat down and she seemed happy.
[28:50] Turned around and said, now aren't you happy sitting down? And she said, I'm still standing up in my heart. And so that's how some of us approach God. We come with God with this attitude of, I've heard all of it.
[29:05] All of a sudden, just say all you want to say, but I still own my money and I'm going to drive home in my car to my house with my kids and do my stuff because I am my God. You wouldn't say that quite like that, but nearly.
[29:18] Go with me to verse 19. Chapter 25, verse 19. The day of reckoning comes. The day of settling accounts comes in verse 19.
[29:28] After a long time, okay, he's been going a long time. Right at 2,000 years now. The Lord of these servants comes and he reckons with them.
[29:39] He comes and he says, all right, let's get out the books. He opens the books and he says, all right, I wrote it down right here. Let's see. Austin, I gave you one talent. Ty, I gave you two talents.
[29:50] And Jeff, I gave you five talents. Let's see what you boys did with it. And he starts going over their accounts. He did come back.
[30:01] He is coming back. He did expect to see what they had done with his goods. And each servant gave an account. And in verse 20, the guy got five. He brought five extra.
[30:11] Verse 21, he says, well done, thou good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. I'll make you rule over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord. There's a lot of other lessons here. I'm just skipping so you get the big points.
[30:24] The second servant comes in verse 22. He got two. And the Lord said to him in verse 23, that well done, thou good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. Same thing he said to the other guy.
[30:35] The last guy came in verse 26. See, it's a sampling of the church. Some of us are more talented. Some of us have more stuff that he's trusted us with. Some of us have less stuff.
[30:46] Some of us don't care. We have an attitude. Look at verse 26. Notice this guy's attitude. His Lord answered and said unto him, thou wicked and slothful servant.
[30:58] You knew that I reap where I didn't sow and gather where I've not strawed. So let me put that in Tennessee Hillbilly for you. He says, you claim I'm a bad guy and you claim I collect money where I didn't invest money.
[31:14] And you claim I come and I demand from you what I shouldn't demand from you. Well, I gave you a talent and if you had one half of a brain, you'd at least put it in the bank where they got a little bit of interest.
[31:26] He said, you said that. In verse 27, he said, you would have put my money with the exchangers and I got some money. And he takes it away from him. He came with an attitude. Just let me tell you, I've been by the bed of the person dying who had an attitude who quickly gets an attitude adjustment.
[31:51] It's amazing. All of a sudden, the guy who never wanted to talk to the pastor wants the pastor to come by. The guy who never wanted to pray wants the pastor to pray. He starts thinking, stink, man.
[32:02] I thought I was going to live forever. I was tough. Weight 250 pounds and strong and powerful and nothing could stop me and now I'm laying in his bed and I'm fixing to die. Somebody call the preacher.
[32:14] Somebody call me the man of God. Somebody call me somebody can help me because he caught on to something. This servant here, he knew in his head, not his heart, he knew that he received.
[32:25] Look if you would in verse 24. He received the one talent. He received it and then he said to him, Lord, I knew, I knew before you ever gave it to me that you're a hard man.
[32:36] Underline that in your Bible and you reap where you haven't sown and you gather where you haven't strawed. I knew you'd just come take advantage of me. Isn't God a bad guy? Come on, be honest. Some of us think I don't like the way somebody died in my family.
[32:49] I don't like the way some money things didn't work out. I don't like the way some business deals worked out and you want to blame God with everything and your whole attitude is God's a bad God. God's a bad, I don't like God. I don't like him. I just don't like him.
[33:00] I got an attitude. You may still come to church but you're covering up a big old heart of bitterness and you're kind of angry with God. You see, if you knew him you wouldn't be angry with him.
[33:12] You'd be in love with him. And if you knew him you'd realize he's a good God and he's in charge. He can do with you anything he wants to do but this guy comes and he's got a lousy attitude. He's a hard man.
[33:24] He takes money where he never invested. He's in fear. He goes and hides it. He accomplishes nothing with his life and he shows no respect for the Lord. This guy's like a lost church member.
[33:35] You come, you give all the appearances of knowing you're a servant but you feel like you know he's the Lord but you don't care. You have no responsibility and you actually have a bad attitude.
[33:46] It's in your heart. Maybe nobody else knows but the Lord knows. Well that guy's going to be cast into the outer darkness into hell. Verse 30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness.
[33:58] There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The others are joyfully received into heaven. Both of them with the same reward. There's nobody going to get to heaven and one of them is like a lot richer than the other. God's going to bless us but this guy's in hell.
[34:12] While some are enjoying God's presence and being rewarded this other guy is cast out where he's weeping and gnashing his teeth. He's gritting his teeth. Oh, take the pain.
[34:27] Because he refused to acknowledge that Jesus is God. He refused to acknowledge that God owned him. So here's some lessons you can take home real quickly.
[34:39] Everything I have came from God. Everybody in this room better get a hold of that. I am simply managing God's possessions including the life that I have.
[34:50] You can't act like it's yours. If you're smart you're going to catch on to something. There's a real God in heaven. He created the entire earth.
[35:03] He's the judge of the entire earth and he does what he wants to do. He's God. He's the big guy and I'm the little guy. He's the owner and I'm the owned. And everything I own belongs to him.
[35:17] We shouldn't waste our life and what he has given us because it seems like a long time before the accounting comes. I'm sure nobody else has ever done this. I went to college. I was kind of a dumb Tennessee hillbilly.
[35:29] I showed up in Rome, Georgia at a college and on the first class they gave us a sheet of paper that said all assignments will be due on these days. I took that piece of paper and I thought man that's a lot of work. And I put that piece of paper away.
[35:41] I remember walking into class one day and everybody was laying this seven or eight page type paper they all laying on the desk and I said man what y'all doing? They said well we had our homework due today. I said they didn't tell me that.
[35:54] They said oh yeah they told you that on the first day of class. I said I think I threw that piece of paper away. And even when I did after I figured out they was going to make me turn it in and they gave me four weeks to get the project done I usually waited until 24 hours before.
[36:09] I'm not like you guys. All of y'all are so diligent and disciplined and the day they give you the homework you go to work on it not me last minute Austin that's me. And it usually showed that I did it at the last minute.
[36:24] Some of you are living like that. Some of you are like I am going to know he's God and I am going to acknowledge he's God and I am going to put him first. But I don't know when the test is coming so on the last minute I'm going to real quick run in there and get everything right with God.
[36:38] Last minute sinner just like me but you're going to get caught unawares you better catch on he's coming back.
[36:51] You could be a lost church member you look like a Christian you have the opportunity you hear the gospel preached all the time you show outward service just enough to make everybody believe you but in your heart you're still against God and you want to do your own thing and you think badly of him.
[37:11] If that's you today today's your day to repent and turn to God. Jesus will be back and he'll reward all of us who have faithfully served him but those who do not know him will be sent away to hell.
[37:27] Even though we have different abilities here we'll all be welcomed into the joy of the Lord if we're saved but if not I worry about you.
[37:39] I teach you the Bible every week I try to show you from what the word of God says and on the outside you act like you believe but in your heart you've never really trusted God and you don't know for sure you're going to go to heaven when you die and you honestly just can't wrap your head around this.
[37:57] He's God and he owns everything and he made me and he made everything I have and he gave me everything. Every good and perfect gift comes down from God above.
[38:09] Everything I have and guess what? He's coming back. So here comes the question. Are you sure that you would go to heaven if you died? Are you sure that in your heart of hearts don't play with anybody you have trusted Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross of Calvary?
[38:26] If you aren't sure of that today's the day for you to acknowledge I know he's God I know he's in charge and I'm going to trust what God said he would do to take care of my sin which is send Jesus to the cross to die in your place.
[38:39] If you're not saved trust Jesus. The only way you can be saved is God allowed Jesus to carry our sin debt and reconcile us and bring us back to him.
[38:51] And the last thing for you Christians it's kind of hard to get a hold of this. My money's not my money and my talents aren't my talents and my wife's not my wife and my house is not my house and my car is not my car it's all God's and I just get to have it for a while.
[39:08] And that's pretty hard to reckon with. To say God's really God. Most of us think of God as well you know God.
[39:22] I mean yeah little G God not that important everybody ought to know about him everybody ought to but he's not involved in every day of our life but biblically he should be. So as a Christian you ought to get up here and say Lord from today forward I acknowledge it's all yours and you're coming back I'm going to use it for you.
[39:39] If you're not saved today's the day you ought to say I know I'm a sinner I know I deserve to go to hell and I'm going to trust Jesus. this message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[39:55] For more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings.
[40:07] Thanks.