WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.820 Amen. Please do have a seat and let me invite you just to turn back to those words that 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:13.000 Corey read for us earlier in chapter 19 of Luke's Gospel and verses 11 to 27 is where 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:18.839 we're going to be this morning. And as Alistair's already prayed for us, why don't we just get 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:23.760 straight into these verses this morning, everything that God has to teach us. The man on the screen 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:31.679 is a man called Phil Sayre. And I want to hedge my bets and say that you've never probably seen his 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:38.079 face, but I also want to hedge my bets and say that you've most likely heard his voice. So Phil 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:47.520 died this time last year, but in his life he was a voiceover artist. And amongst many of his jobs, 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:55.840 he used to work for the BBC on radio. But also he did a bit on the side for the railways. So he was 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:02.420 the voice of the railway. Certainly down south, his was the voice that you heard on every single train 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:07.180 announcement. Just think about those train announcements in your heads. We are sorry to 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:12.960 announce that this service terminates here. That was Phil. Please stand clear of the doors. That was Phil. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:19.399 But probably the most famous phrase of his is the one that you hear regularly on the London 00:01:19.399 --> 00:01:28.339 Underground. It's this one. Mind the gap. That was Phil. Mind the gap. If you wanted a phrase that 00:01:28.339 --> 00:01:33.599 gets us to the heart of what Jesus is saying this morning to his disciples, it's this one. It's mind the gap. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:41.119 Mind the gap. Now if you've got your Bibles here, let's do some work in verse 11. Because if we miss 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.060 verse 11 then we'll miss the whole point of what Jesus is doing here and what he's saying to his 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:53.240 disciples. Verse 11. Let's do a little bit of digging here. Who is Jesus speaking to? Well, he's speaking to 00:01:53.240 --> 00:02:02.920 the crowd. These people, including his 12 disciples, who are following him on his journey. And where is 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:11.199 Jesus? Well, he's near to Jerusalem. The city that will be the setting for the climax of his life's work 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:17.500 and ministry. Now here's the million dollar question. Or as we'll come to see in a minute, here's the 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:25.300 million minor question, okay? Why? Why is Jesus speaking to his disciples? He's speaking to them because 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:33.900 they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So Jesus tells this parable to 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:39.740 set expectations of what's going to happen when he gets to Jerusalem and to set expectations of what's 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:45.240 going to happen after. Now he's told his disciples before, hasn't he? We've seen this all the way through 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:50.860 this gospel, that he's going to be killed. He's going to be killed. And his disciples just don't get it. 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:55.520 He says, I'm going to be killed. And they say too, right, you're going to kill it, Jesus. 00:02:56.700 --> 00:02:59.760 You're going to smash it when you get to Jerusalem. They just don't get it. 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:07.920 And their response shows they just haven't understood what's going on. So there's an 00:03:07.920 --> 00:03:13.900 expectation in the air from what they've seen and what they've heard of Jesus, that when he gets to 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:20.040 the city, he will set up his kingdom, he will crush his enemies, and every knee will bow, and his will be 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:27.139 the crown. And all of that is going to happen now. I mean, it's imminent, it's tangible. We can feel it. 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:32.379 It's going to happen now. And Jesus wants them to know that yes, that day is going to come. 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:37.539 Yes, that day is going to come. But first, he's got business to do in Jerusalem. 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:43.859 And that business is cross-shaped. See, before the crown comes the cross. 00:03:44.959 --> 00:03:49.620 He will be killed. This is what Jesus said. He will be killed, but he will rise, and he will ascend, 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:57.860 and one day he will return. But between his going and his coming again, there's going to be a gap. 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:03.140 There's going to be a gap. The now and the not yet, there's going to be a gap. 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:10.060 In fact, in God's grand story of redemption, that's the place, the gap. That's where the disciples 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:19.259 will soon find themselves. And so what does Jesus want his followers to be? Mindful of the gap. 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:25.439 And if you think about it, that's the exact place in the story, God's grand plan of redemption, 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:32.199 that we find ourselves this morning. We too are in the gap. And that's why what Jesus says 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:36.439 to his disciples here is not only so instructive to us, but it's so challenging to the way that 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:42.220 we live our lives as followers of him. Because Jesus doesn't just tell them that there will 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:50.740 be a gap. He tells them how he wants them to live while they're in the gap. Well, what are they to do? 00:04:51.380 --> 00:04:58.360 Well, they are to invest themselves in the business of the king. This is what they've got to get busy 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:04.800 doing. They've got to invest themselves in the business of the king. Which begs the question, 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:12.040 does it not? What is the business of the king? Well, if you look back to verse 10 of chapter 19, 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:17.199 where we left off at the end of Zacchaeus last week, we see Jesus outline his business. This is 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:25.379 what he's all about. This is why he came. To seek and save sinful and lost people and bring them back 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:30.379 to God, to reconcile them to their creator. This is what Jesus is all about. This is his business. 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:38.279 And so he says to his disciples, my business has to become your business. Between my going and my 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:44.259 return, that is the business I want you to be investing yourselves in. Now, to get them to 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:51.219 understand his commission there, what he does is he tells them a parable. He tells them the parable. 00:05:51.860 --> 00:05:58.560 It's a parable about a king. But before we get to the parable, I had never seen this before this week. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:04.819 There's a historical backdrop to the parable, which makes sense of it all. He's not just plucked this 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:10.540 story from midair. What actually happened is 30 years or so earlier, Herod the Great, 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:15.879 remember the guy at Jesus' birth, he killed all the babies, that Herod. Herod the Great has split up 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:22.459 his kingdom. And he's divided it amongst his sons. And what he's done is he's given the Judea and 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:31.299 Sumeria part to his son Archelaus. And that did not go down well with the Jews. They did not want Herod, 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:38.539 and they certainly did not want his son Archelaus, especially because to flex his muscles, what he 00:06:38.539 --> 00:06:47.199 had done is he just killed 3,000 Jews for rioting. And so while Archelaus is journeying to Rome 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:55.759 to rubber stamp his appointment, the Jews send a delegation after him to Rome to appeal to Herod to 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:02.099 say, we don't want this man to be our king. And that did not go down well in Rome, and they lost their 00:07:02.099 --> 00:07:09.180 appeal. This is the historical backdrop to what's going on here in this parable. So do you see what 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:15.459 Jesus is doing? He's tapping into recent history. These people that he's speaking to, they feel 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:21.019 this parable in a way that maybe we don't today. But this is live, this is real. What Jesus is doing 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:26.500 is he's hitting and touching a truth nerve that these people know all too well. 00:07:28.340 --> 00:07:36.240 They feel this parable. Center stage in Jesus' parable is a king. So let's see firstly what the 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:41.860 departing king instructs. This king is about to set off on a journey to receive his kingdom. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:49.259 And after he's received his kingdom, he will return to rule over it. Now let me just pick out two words 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:54.300 in this first little section that I think we're supposed to see and hear. Here's the first one. 00:07:54.360 --> 00:08:00.699 It's the word gave. So the king calls 10 of his servants, you see it there, calls 10 of his servants 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:07.779 to him and he gives them each a mina. Now a mina in this day is equivalent to three months wage. Now you can do 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:13.579 the maths in your head as to what that works out for you. Three months wage. We're supposed to see it's a 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:21.079 significant amount of money, right? Significant amount of money. And the king is his and he has given it 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:28.839 to his servants. At this point in the story, I was reminded of the stage of life that I'm at. 00:08:29.539 --> 00:08:33.639 Because our little girl, she's almost three, she's going through a terrible my stage at the minute, 00:08:33.819 --> 00:08:43.579 right? It is exhausting. Everything is mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine. Takes toys off her sister, mine. 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:51.220 I just split up a few fights this morning before we came out. Mine. Put her at the wrong end of the 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:54.600 bath. That's not my end of the bath. Do you know what she did the other day? We were walking home 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:02.160 from nursery and she said, Daddy, I'll be going back to my house. And I thought to myself, is it your house? 00:09:03.660 --> 00:09:09.580 Are you picking up the rent this month? Are you doing that? Is yours the name that's on the council tax bill 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:13.940 that's coming in? Is yours the name on that rising gas and electricity bill that daddy had to negotiate 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:21.900 to get a better deal? Is your name on that? And this house that you're living in, is your name the one 00:09:21.900 --> 00:09:28.860 on the title deeds? As I was watching her do this, it so often happens, doesn't it, that we see ourselves. 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:36.500 I saw myself because I do that all the time. All the time I do that. Because what would happen if the 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:40.779 stuff in my life, you were to peel back? Do you know what the name and the title deeds would be? 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:49.500 It wouldn't be Graham. It would be God's. It would be God's. He owns everything. He's the possessor of 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:57.299 heaven and earth. Everything I have, my money, my flat, my family, my time, my gifts, my abilities, 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:04.259 they are not mine. They're his. How gracious a God do we have? How good a God do we have that he 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:12.899 graciously gives us things made in his image, no accident, given stuff to use for his glory? 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:19.159 Everything I have is his. Everything I have is his. You know what my problem is? And one of you 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:25.379 identify with this, is I'm just like that three-year-old girl. Just like Chloe. I take my 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:32.519 mina. And do you know what ice cream? Mina. It's what I do. I take my mina and I say, 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:40.139 mina. But the truth of it is, it's all God's. It's all God's. Former Dutch prime minister and 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:44.419 theologian, Abraham Kauper. Now, can you believe there was a day when you could be a prime minister 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:50.159 and a theologian? I love that. This is what he said. There is not a square inch in the whole domain 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:57.819 of our human existence over which Jesus Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry mine. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:07.579 It's all his. It's all his. First word, give. Here's the second word, work. What does the king expect 00:11:07.579 --> 00:11:15.819 his servants to do with his mina? Invest it. Put it to work until he returns. Put it to work. Do you see 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:22.080 that everything that God has given us? And I think particularly the gospel message about his son, 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:30.720 we are to invest for his glory and for his renown so that many more men and women would come to meet 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:41.020 Jesus for themselves and be saved. Give and work. Give and work. You'll see at verse 14 that this king 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:46.759 is not everybody's choice. The confession of some of his subjects, you'll see it there, 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:54.639 is this. We don't want this man to reign over us. We don't want this man. He's not our king. We don't 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:01.600 want him to be our king. Let me ask you, is that your confession towards the king who's telling this 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:08.919 story this morning? Is this your attitude towards Jesus? Are you opposed to the rule of this king? 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:14.419 Friends, if that's you this morning, then can I encourage you just to hold that thought 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:21.519 and we'll see Jesus return to consider the opposition at the end of this parable. But in the meantime, 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:28.860 this now appointed king, you see, he returns from the far country. And secondly, verses 15 to 23, 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:38.019 we find what the returning king finds. Calls the servants to him to find out what they've been doing 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:46.960 while he's been away. Verse 16, the first servant comes to him. What has he done? He's taken his 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:58.159 mina, his one mina, and he's made 10 minas more. He had one and now he has 11. Now you do the maths there. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:04.139 Maths is not my strong point, but I can work in ones. That's an incredible 1000% profit that servant 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:12.740 has made on that mina. And because he's shown himself to be what? Trustworthy, he's given 10 cities. 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:19.639 Now the second servant comes to him and he's turned his one mina into what? Into six. 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:30.199 A 500% return. And he's rewarded with five cities. You see, these two model sermons have invested what 00:13:30.199 --> 00:13:39.439 they've given in the business of the king. Why? Because they love their king. They want to worship 00:13:39.439 --> 00:13:46.319 their king. They want to please their king. What they're after is the affirming words of their king 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:54.320 that they have done well. And you see how they are entrusted with something far more valuable. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:05.680 Now there are many sweet words in life. You're hired. I love you. I do. Words that are worth living for. 00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:12.800 I wonder as you consider your own life this morning, what words are you living for? 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:20.919 I suggest for the Christian that actually there will be no more sweeter words for us to hear 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:32.199 than those from our Lord on that last day than we read and find at verse 17. Well done, good servant. 00:14:33.319 --> 00:14:39.500 Wonderful, wonderful words. And so we must ask ourselves this morning that if our king 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:45.519 was to return today was to return today and give his honest assessment on how we've used his things, 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:48.299 would those be his words to us? 00:14:50.779 --> 00:14:57.519 Maybe this morning, by God's grace and as his spirit works in our lives, today is the day when our hearts 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:02.840 become set on those words, using our money for those words. 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:10.139 It's not true that our giving is just as much part of our worship as our singing. 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:14.600 It's not so much that we have to give, we get to give. 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:19.519 And in actual fact, anything that we do give, it's God's all along. 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:22.500 We're just giving back to him the things that he gave to us. 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:26.480 You see, if you've never thought about it before, 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:29.560 can I encourage you to think about giving to the work of the church here 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:33.839 so that we can do more things, so that we can train more people, 00:15:34.479 --> 00:15:38.339 so that we can support more missionaries, both local and global. 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:42.199 And ultimately, we pray so that we can see more people come to meet 00:15:42.199 --> 00:15:44.959 and know Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior. 00:15:46.859 --> 00:15:48.000 That's where you are this morning. 00:15:48.099 --> 00:15:50.619 Can I encourage you to grab one of those giving slips on the way out 00:15:50.619 --> 00:15:52.219 and just prayerfully consider it? 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:53.799 How can I use my money? 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:56.619 How can I use the things that God has given me for his glory? 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.080 And how can I invest them in his business? 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:03.519 Let's use our money for those words. 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.139 And let's use our gifts for those words. 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.740 Let me ask you, what has God given you? 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:14.279 What has God given you? 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:16.139 How has God wired you? 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:18.980 What do you love doing? 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:23.940 Using and investing the things and the talents and the opportunities 00:16:23.940 --> 00:16:26.680 that God has given us for his glory. 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:29.240 Maybe even as you heard Tim Hazel and Simona earlier, 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:30.639 maybe the thought came into your mind. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.820 Maybe that's something that God is calling me to do, 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:36.960 to set myself aside to serve him in full-time Christian ministry. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.399 I just say as one who has left secular employment 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:43.060 to take up full-time Christian ministry, 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:45.980 that there is no greater privilege. 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:47.800 There is no greater privilege. 00:16:47.920 --> 00:16:50.960 And I could not have done that without the support, 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:53.379 the generous support of people in this church. 00:16:54.180 --> 00:16:55.720 And I look out and over the years, 00:16:55.800 --> 00:16:58.279 I've been so, our family have been so blessed, 00:16:58.340 --> 00:16:59.960 not just by your financial support, 00:17:00.060 --> 00:17:01.519 but by your prayerful support, 00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:03.460 and just by your friendship as well. 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:06.240 We can all get involved in this project. 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:08.099 But maybe that's you this morning. 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:09.740 Maybe Christian ministry is for me. 00:17:09.860 --> 00:17:10.779 What a great calling. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:12.380 You know, William Taylor, 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.279 who's the rector down at St. Helens Bishopsgate Church in London, 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:19.240 it was this parable through which God spoke to him and said, 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:21.700 William, I just want to set you aside for Christian ministry. 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:22.319 Will you do it? 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:23.440 Will you do it? 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:26.319 Invest the stuff that I've given you that way. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:29.359 Maybe that's you this morning. 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:31.680 If that is, listen, I would love to talk and pray with you. 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:33.299 Even if it was just a formal chat, 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:34.779 we'd love to talk and pray with you. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:39.579 In the early 1500s, God raised up a man called William Tyndale. 00:17:39.579 --> 00:17:43.439 William Tyndale was a learned man. 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.000 He was fluent in three languages, 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.339 probably four, English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:50.819 Learned man. 00:17:51.179 --> 00:17:54.599 And God put it on his heart to translate the Bible, 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.119 use his gifts, translate the Bible from Latin into English. 00:17:58.220 --> 00:17:59.159 It had never been done before. 00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:00.299 He had a passion for it. 00:18:01.139 --> 00:18:03.899 But there were two big obstacles in the way of William Tyndale. 00:18:04.379 --> 00:18:06.419 The first one was it was highly illegal. 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:08.899 Highly illegal, highly risky. 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:11.340 If he was going to go for it, he was putting his neck on the line. 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:14.000 And that meant that anybody who associated with him 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.560 was also putting their neck on the line. 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:16.440 That was a big problem. 00:18:17.340 --> 00:18:19.100 Second problem was financial. 00:18:20.100 --> 00:18:23.560 He couldn't afford the financial power to set himself aside, 00:18:23.800 --> 00:18:27.519 to take up the task, such a big task of translating the Bible. 00:18:28.320 --> 00:18:29.000 So what did he do? 00:18:29.040 --> 00:18:29.580 He prayed. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:34.000 And lo and behold, he bumped into a man called Henry Monmouth. 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.680 Henry Monmouth was a wealthy trader. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:39.080 He had a lot of ships. 00:18:39.080 --> 00:18:43.340 He used to trade cargo up and down the English coastline. 00:18:44.100 --> 00:18:45.039 And he met Tyndale. 00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:50.680 And Tyndale shared with him his passion for translating the Bible from Latin into English. 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:54.640 And Tyndale was gripped by the passion. 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.799 Tyndale bought, sorry, Monmouth bought into the vision. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:03.299 And what he did is that he took Tyndale and housed him. 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:05.359 He took Tyndale and fed him. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:11.779 He took Tyndale and set him apart financially so that he could do the work of translating the Bible from Latin into English. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:13.980 And it was one day finished. 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:15.700 And what did Monmouth do? 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:17.359 He used his business connections. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:21.700 He used his ships to take Tyndale's English translation of the Bible 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:24.240 and transport it up and down the length of our country. 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:26.880 Wonderful thing to do. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.120 But at a big cost for both those men. 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:32.539 Monmouth ended up in prison. 00:19:33.360 --> 00:19:36.500 And Tyndale ended up dead for what they had done. 00:19:37.580 --> 00:19:41.940 But if it wasn't for two men who lived for the words, 00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:44.420 well done, good servant, 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:48.860 then a whole generation of this country would not have the Bible in their language. 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:51.039 And who knows what might have happened. 00:19:51.139 --> 00:19:54.740 Maybe even today we would be sitting here without the Bible in English. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:59.199 Two men who lived for the words, 00:19:59.699 --> 00:20:02.539 well done, good servant. 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:06.779 Servants number one and two in our parable, 00:20:07.439 --> 00:20:08.939 because they live for those words, 00:20:09.639 --> 00:20:12.500 and because they worship their king with their work, 00:20:12.939 --> 00:20:14.679 they're declared to be trustworthy. 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:19.220 And then we meet the third servant in verse 20. 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:21.900 What has he done with his minor? 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:23.519 He's done nothing with his minor. 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:26.500 He's stored it away in a handkerchief. 00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:27.539 Now why has he done that? 00:20:27.620 --> 00:20:29.460 We'll see his excuse at verse 21. 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:33.660 First glance, it looks like the servant has underperformed, 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.440 and it's the king's fault that he's underperformed. 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:38.039 What does he say? 00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:40.440 I knew you to be a severe man, says the servant. 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:41.680 I was afraid of you. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:44.400 In other words, the fault's not with me. 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:46.039 The fault is with you. 00:20:46.580 --> 00:20:48.480 If you weren't such a cutthroat dealer, 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:51.160 if you weren't such a cruel taskmaster, 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:53.759 then maybe, just maybe, things would have worked out differently, 00:20:53.860 --> 00:20:55.420 and I would have behaved differently. 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:00.320 But the king sees straight through those words, 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:05.340 and he turns those servant's words back on themselves. 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:08.039 Because if that is what you truly believed, 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:11.019 then you could have nipped down to RBS and any other bank, 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:13.159 you could have opened a savings account, 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:14.919 you could have put the minor in there, 00:21:15.159 --> 00:21:17.240 and at least you would have made some money. 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:19.759 You wouldn't have even needed to lift a finger to make some money, 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:21.740 because I would have made money off the interest. 00:21:22.939 --> 00:21:24.659 You see, this third servant, most likely, 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:27.139 is just making an excuse for the fact that he did nothing 00:21:27.139 --> 00:21:29.019 with what the master had given him. 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:33.000 And it's interesting that the king doesn't say, 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:34.940 ah, well, you win some and you lose some. 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:37.039 You might not have gained anything, 00:21:37.139 --> 00:21:38.720 but at least you didn't lose anything. 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.559 No, whereas the servants before him were met with the words, 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.139 well done, good servant. 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:48.359 This man is met with the words, you wicked servant. 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:53.519 See, when it comes to his relationship with the king, 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:56.579 this third servant's heart is all wrong. 00:21:56.579 --> 00:22:00.039 If servants, number one and two, 00:22:00.179 --> 00:22:03.019 their hearts are marked by adoration for their king, 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:05.559 then servant number three, his heart, 00:22:05.659 --> 00:22:07.659 is filled with apathy towards his king. 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:12.159 At the end of the day, he never really knew his king. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:14.799 Never really knew his king. 00:22:16.139 --> 00:22:17.240 Let me ask you this morning, 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:19.419 and as I was praying about it this morning and last night, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.939 this is what was coming to me. 00:22:22.379 --> 00:22:25.319 When it comes to your relationship with the Lord Jesus, 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.039 what is the temperature of your heart this morning? 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:32.379 Is it warm? 00:22:34.159 --> 00:22:35.159 Is it lukewarm? 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:40.099 Or is there a flame in your heart that has long been snuffed out? 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:44.839 Please, can I encourage you to speak to somebody before you go? 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:46.799 Maybe there was a friend that dragged you along this morning. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:49.480 Why don't you just pray with them before you go? 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:55.559 Pray that this love for the king would be a reality in your life. 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:00.579 And see thirdly, verses 24 to 27, what the ruling king orders. 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:04.319 So he orders that the third servant's mina be taken from him 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.740 and be added to the first servant's ten minas. 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:09.299 Why? Ask the onlookers. 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.319 Because this first servant has proved himself trustworthy. 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:15.380 And he loves me. 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:18.160 And those are the kind of servants that I'm after. 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:21.920 And those are the kind of servants that I want looking after my affairs. 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:26.319 You see, the ruling king, he judges and declares the first and second servants 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:27.240 to be trustworthy. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.420 And he declares the third servant to be wicked. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:36.759 And he declares those people who are rebelling against him to be his enemies. 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.000 You see, this king, he will return. 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:46.800 And when he does, he judges the opposition for the rebellion against him. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:49.140 Let me ask you this morning, are you in rebellion against this king? 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.580 Are you opposed to his rule and his reign? 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:56.060 Well, here's what you need to know. 00:23:56.800 --> 00:23:59.060 That the king who's telling this story is good. 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:02.759 The king who is telling this story is compassionate. 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:06.800 The king who is telling this story, the one who says to his servants, 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:08.800 invest my mina for my mission, 00:24:09.100 --> 00:24:13.100 is on the way to the cross to give his whole life for his mission. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:17.880 He goes to the cross, Jesus, this king, to take God's judgment, 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:21.480 the one that should have rightly fallen on his enemies. 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:23.759 He takes it on himself. 00:24:25.060 --> 00:24:28.140 Jesus goes to the cross to be slaughtered in our place 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:33.040 so that enemies can be forgiven and be welcomed as sons. 00:24:33.360 --> 00:24:35.020 That's the kind of king we're dealing with here. 00:24:36.780 --> 00:24:40.740 There's a former archbishop of Canterbury called Donald Coogan. 00:24:42.180 --> 00:24:45.960 And he used to tell a story about a sculptor who sculpted a painting, 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:47.400 I'm sorry, a statue of Jesus. 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:50.480 And people flocked around to see this statue. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.500 What they used to do is they used to get to the statue of Jesus 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.559 and walk all the way around it slowly and slowly and slowly 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:57.700 until they got the best view. 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:01.140 But the statue's beauty always seemed to elude them. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:05.099 And so they inevitably, they would go to the sculptor who was sitting there 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:05.440 and they'd say, 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:10.240 where is the best place where I can get the best view of this sculpture? 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.720 And the sculptor always used to reply to them 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:15.779 that he deliberately designed the sculpture 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:18.700 so that the best place to view its beauty 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:21.240 was when you were on your knees looking up. 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:26.480 So Jesus is calling us to do this morning, 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:30.019 to bow the knee to him and to look up to him and say, 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.900 Jesus, you are king and I am not. 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:34.420 Is that you this morning? 00:25:35.700 --> 00:25:36.940 Will you bow the knee to him? 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:40.039 Will you declare him to be your king, Lord and savior? 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:43.579 This is no cruel king we're dealing with here. 00:25:44.539 --> 00:25:45.700 This is a good king. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:48.299 You know, just as we close, 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:51.000 one of my summer jobs that I had while I was at university 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:53.839 was that I used to work as a teller at a bank. 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:56.519 And before they let us loose on the public, 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:59.240 what they did is they took us aside for a two-week training course. 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.859 And as part of the two-week training course, 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:02.160 they tried to teach you two things, 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:03.380 how to work the computers, 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.700 and second of all, how to speak to customers. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.400 And when it came to speaking to customers, 00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:11.800 they always said there was two questions that you needed to ask 00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:13.900 when they were coming to take out money. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.120 The first question was, how would you like your cash? 00:26:16.580 --> 00:26:17.380 You had that one before? 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.680 Which I always thought was a strange question. 00:26:20.360 --> 00:26:21.400 How would you like your cash? 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:23.340 Kind of like it's cash, please. 00:26:24.540 --> 00:26:26.560 But the second question was, 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:29.440 would you be interested in speaking to one of our financial advisors? 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:32.960 Thought behind the question. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:35.819 We want you to be investing here. 00:26:37.340 --> 00:26:42.019 We want you to take everything that you have and invest it here. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:45.600 It's exactly what Jesus is saying to his disciples this morning. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:53.860 He wants us to be investing here in his mission to seek and to save the lost. 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:58.279 And so the question for us is, will we as a church this year, 00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:01.559 with our lives, will we invest it in his mission? 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.599 Jesus says to his disciples, mind the gap. 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:10.799 He's going, but one day he will return. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:13.459 And until then, with the stuff that he's given us, 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:17.500 we have to get working, investing it in his business. 00:27:17.879 --> 00:27:18.859 And what's his business? 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:21.119 The seeking and the saving of the lost. 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:25.979 Let me just finish with these words of Christian missionary C.T. Studd, 00:27:26.019 --> 00:27:30.179 which just captures so beautifully a heart that's been won by the words, 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:31.959 well done, good servant. 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:32.979 This is what he said. 00:27:34.379 --> 00:27:37.739 If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:43.899 then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him. 00:27:45.979 --> 00:27:49.319 And just before we close, why don't we just have a moment's silence? 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:51.879 A moment's silence. 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:55.719 And if God has been speaking to you this morning through his word, by his spirit, 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:59.079 then maybe now is the time to do business with God. 00:28:05.179 --> 00:28:06.959 Jesus, all for Jesus. 00:28:07.899 --> 00:28:11.159 All I am and have and ever hope to be. 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:17.700 All of my ambitions, hopes and plans, I surrender these unto your hands. 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:21.940 Dear Father, thank you for your goodness to us, 00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:24.960 that everything we have is from you. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:30.940 Dearest Father, would you help us this week by your spirit at work in us 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:37.860 to be those good servants who seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:40.959 And so, Father, this is our prayer. 00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:42.299 We make it in Jesus' name. 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:43.199 Amen.