Luke's Gospel

So Luke chapter 19, and we're gonna start at verse 1, but we'll be focusing on verse 11 to 27. Jesus entered Gerico and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zakius, He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him since Jesus Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zakius, come down immediately I must stay at your house today, so he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, he has gone to be the guest of a sinner. But Zekiya stood up and said to the Lord, look lord, Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back 4 times the amount. Jesus said to him, today, salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of Abraham.

For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said, a man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called 10 of his servants and gave them 10 minors. Put this money to work, he said, until I come back.

But his servants hated him, subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we don't want this man to be our king. He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given them money in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first 1 came and said, sir, your minor has earned 10 more. Well done, my good servant, his master replied, Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of 10 cities.

The second came and said, Sir, your miner has earned 5 more. His master answered, you take charge of 5 cities. Then another servant came and said, sir, here is your minor. I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man.

You take out what you did not put in, and reap what you did not sow. His master replied, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant. You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow. Why then? Didn't you put my money on deposit so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest.

Then he said to those standing by, take his minor away from him, and give it to the 1 who has 10 minors. Sir, they said, he already has 10? He replied, I tell you that to everyone who has more will be given, But as for the 1 who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me. Rory, thanks so much for reading God's word to and for giving us a bit of information about the youth weekend away, and it's great great to hear, isn't it?

And we ought to be very thankful as a church that we've got teams willing to go away for the weekend to teach our young people about the lord Jesus Christ. And as Rory said, do continue to pray for the fruits of that weekend. And I'm sure him and Dave and any of the other leaders would be happy to talk to you further about what they did over the weekend. It's also worth praying for compete. He was preaching out at Beck Tree Church in Dagenham this afternoon, and he'll be long finished now, but he was He was covering for Rob so that Rob was able to go and speak on the speak on the weekend away.

So that's 1 of the great things about our missionaries. And the network of churches that we belong to, we can support each other to enable more gospel ministry to go on. So let's bow our heads and should we pray together. Father, we want to give you thanks again for the youth weekend away. And we thank you for those leaders who went and served and spoke words of eternal life to our young people.

And we pray that that seed which has been sown and watered would be enabled to grow into life giving, saving, fruit by the power of your spirit. We prayed it as each of those young people heads off into the week that they would before bed. Think about the things that they have learnt and pray to you and perhaps read those passages again. And ask for the help of your spirit that they might be able to stand for the lord Jesus and to proclaim him in this hostile world. We thank you for Pete and for the opportunity he had to preach the word of God over at Beckentry Church, and we pray that might have been a greatly blessed meeting.

That your word would have again borne fruit among our brothers and sisters there. And father, we ask you for our time. This evening that as we look at this parable, which is both startling and encouraging that you would speak to us, that you would help us not to be hard to your word that we would not be tricked by the deceitfulness of our own hearts, that we would not be distracted by the enemy but that we would be able to focus on these, the words of eternal life. And we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Well, if something is described as bittersweet, most of us know what that expression is getting at. It's an experience or a celebration or a time of year perhaps, which is a celebration. It's something to celebrate. Good.

There's a lot of joy there. But it's the kind of joy which is mingled with or tainted by sadness. So people might look back at their school years for instance and say, that was a bittersweet experience. You know, sweet because there was lots of good about school, lots of fun that we had, and we were able to learn things but bitter because I was bullied or I was a bully. And I look back on it now, and I would say it's a bitter sweet experience.

Or particular times of year, you know, whether it be a birthday or christmases or anniversaries, those can be very bitter sweet times of year for people. Sweet because they know that there are things to celebrate still. It's Christmas. There are good things about that time of year, but bitter perhaps because those you once loved can't share it with you anymore. It's a bitter sweet.

Kind of experience. There's lots of things in life that are like that. And I think Passover was probably that sort of experience for faithful Jews and Israelites. The Passover would have been a bitter sweet experience for them. Sweet because As they look back, they could remember the mighty acts of the Lord who had redeemed them from slavery and had taken them up out of bondage into the promised land and who would even come to dwell with them so that he could be their God and they could be his people.

It was a sweet time of year, but also bitter because there was a sense in which that slavery hadn't ended fully. You know, they were now under the yoke of Rome again. They were under gentile rule. They weren't able to fully flourish as you like, if if you like, as a nation. So they would have looked back and thought, thank you God for slavery rescue, but lord, please, when will our Messiah come to liberate us again.

It's a bitter sweet experience. And the reason it's worth thinking a little bit about Passover is because in Luke 19, we are approaching that particular time of year, and this passover was going to be more exciting than usual because of Jesus. Jesus was on the scene He had been doing some incredible things, and many people were wondering, could this now be the end of bitterness? Could Jesus bring about the freedom and the liberation that we've been longing for? Many, many people were thinking along those lines.

Even the disciples who were who were the closest to him, really, they they couldn't get this kind of thing out of their mind. Even in acts chapter 1, before the Lord Jesus returns to heaven. So this is after his crucifixion and resurrection, that they're still thinking along the lines of political liberation. So they gather around him, which is 1 verse 6, they gather round him, and they ask, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Maybe you couldn't do it before the cross, but what about now lord?

Is now the time to break the yoke of Rome and to lead us into freedom again. The crowds seem to be thinking that constantly You can see that in our passage this evening. It's very helpful when the bible actually tells us the reason a parable has been told, isn't it? Have a look at verse 11. While they were listening to this, this is the the news about Azakaeus and Jesus the Savior, while they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

They couldn't shake this idea that that is what Jesus had come for. So we've got to understand as we come to this parable that we're coming into a charged atmosphere. The atmosphere is electric now. They are 17 miles from Jerusalem, passover is at hand. There are droves of people who are heading up from Jericho to Jerusalem, and the air is thick with expectation.

Could this be the second exodus? Could this be the fullness of our redemption? Could this be the coming of the kingdom of God in all its fullness? If Jesus can't do it, then who can? This parable answers Those kind of questions, and then it changes the focus for us.

And so the first point this evening is this. The king leaves for a coronation. The king leaves for a coronation, and you can see that in verse 11. Jesus said a man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.

Now, this would have been a really good illustration at the time. Because apparently, according to history, when herod the Great died, and he was the ruler who was alive when when Jesus was born, He wanted to hand over his territory to his 3 sons, and 1 of his sons was a man called archelaus. But before archelaus was allowed to kind of take his rightful place as a ruler. He had to go to Rome to have an audience with Caesar to be appointed king by Caesar, and then he could return. And apparently, that was a reasonably common practice.

You couldn't just assume the throne yourself. You had to go to Rome to be officially instated, and then you could come back. So when Jesus is telling this story, he would be connecting with his culture in in more ways than 1. They would have been familiar with with stories like this. But, of course, he's not really wanting us to see him as a type of king archelaus, herod's son, This story is actually all about him.

It is a very brief description of his ministry. 1 really old and bible commentator says this, this parable is intended to set before us the mysteries of Christ from the first to the last. Jesus is putting himself at the head of the story. He is the nobleman who has come from the most noble place in the universe. He has come from the courts of heaven where he was enjoying the honor and glory of his father, and he has now come to earth, and he has taken the form of a man He has taken the form of a servant.

He has shown up in humility. He would then go on to die in weakness. He would be raised again from the dead in power. And at his resurrection from the dead, the Bible tells us that Christ was anointed and declared to be king. So Paul says, he was appointed the son of God in power through his resurrection from the dead.

When Peter is preaching at Pentecost, he says, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. And then, after that, the king returned to his home country. He ascended back on the clouds of heaven, didn't he? And that wasn't just a kind of weird method of transport clouds coming to ferry you home.

There was something deeply significant about that. The old testament tells us in Daniel Daniel 7, that the son of man would be led on the clouds before the ancient of days, and he would be declared to be the king of the heavens by God himself. And so when Jesus goes back into heaven on the clouds, that's his coronation party. The whole of heaven is waiting to greet the crowned king. Who has died and risen again for his people.

So Jesus is just throwing himself to the top of this parable. He is the nobleman who has come, to die, and to rise, to be appointed king, to go back to heaven, and then to return. So the crowds are right in some way, the kingdom of God is going to appear but not in the way that they think. It won't be political. It won't come in its fullness right now.

And there is going to be a delay. And it's that delay which really shapes the rest of the story. What do we do in the time between the king's coronation and his return. What are we to do in the time between the king's coronation and his return. Let's stay with the king and look at verse 13.

So he called 10 of his servants and he gave them 10 minors. Put this money to work, he said, until I come back. Now, in many ways, this parable is very similar to another 1 that Jesus told, which is called the parable of the talents. But there are some quite important differences. So in the parable of the talents, the amount that each servant receives is different.

They are not all given the same amount, And Jesus is wanting to show us there that the Lord has given each of his people different kinds of gifts, different personalities, different abilities, all of which we can use for his glory. But you notice here that the servants all get the same amount. They are all given just 1 minor. Now, you may have already had a look but at the bottom of your bible page, you can probably see that a minor was about 3 months wages. So you can do the calculations in your own head.

If you think about what you earn per month, times it by 3, that's that's the sort of amount that they were given here. So a minor was a reasonably significant amount of money. And the point of both of those parables is to say, look, there is a sense in which we've all been given different gifts, but there's also a sense in which we've all been given the same gift. Now what is that gift? What is the minor that Jesus has entrusted to all of his servants?

Well, have a look back with me to Matthew chapter 16. If you want to flick back there, it's a passage which gives us a a good indication of what that minor might be. If you look at Matthew 16 and then down to verse 15 where Jesus is wanting to find out what the disciples really believe about him. He says, and what about you? Who do you say I am?

Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon's son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church. And the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Now, those are quite controversial verses in church history, but but really, I think they're pretty straightforward. You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.

That is the rock that was placed under the feet of the apostles. That was the key that was put into their hands. It's not a it's not a line of popes. It's a declaration about Jesus. You are the son of the living God.

Jesus is going to build his church on that gospel. The authority that the church has is in that gospel. This is the minor that the apostles were given, and it's the minor that we as Christians have been given. It is a confession a declaration about Jesus. You are the Christ, the son of the living God.

And the nobleman or the master says to each 1 of us here, put that to work. Until I return. Put that to work until I return. So the master left for his coronation. But secondly, He then returned for an evaluation.

He left for a coronation, but secondly, he returned for an evaluation. Let's look at verse 14 together. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say we don't want this man to be our king. He was made king, however, and he returned home. And then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money in order to find out what they had gained with it.

Now, we're told in verse 12 that he had gone to a distant country. So perhaps it had been a very long time We're not sure what period of time had elapsed between then and now, but he's gone a long way, and so it may well have been a long time. And so Jesus is wanting to show us here that, yes, we ought to be ready like, you know, for the thief in the night. He could come at any point. But also to expect that there might be a delay.

He's gone to a distant country, and yet when he returns, you can see he's only got 1 thing on his mind. He doesn't wanna tell them about his travels. He doesn't wanna show them his travel pictures. He's back, and he hasn't forgotten. And it hasn't slipped his mind, and he hasn't changed his mind.

There's 1 question on his lips. What have you gained with what you were given? What have you gained with what you were given? Well, verse 16, the first 1 came and said, sir, your miner has earned 10 more. Well done, my good servant, his master replied, because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of 10 cities.

The second came and said, sir, your miner has earned 5 more. His master answered you take charge of 5 cities. And the reason I wanted us to read the Zacius story again is because I wonder whether Jesus had Zacius in mind here. Remember we met him last week? He was a notorious sinner, wasn't he?

He was a famous tax collector who would have been known around the town for fiddling the books and for doing people out of taxes. Okay? And yet Jesus comes to seek and to save. Jesus pursues him, finds him, rescues him, and transforms him. And the transformation in his life is amazing, isn't it?

Once he received the minor of salvation, if you like, it's like Jesus Christ deposited a minor of salvation in him. He began to put it to work straight away. He paid back what he owed. He wanted to have Jesus round. He wanted to go out we presume and proclaim the news about Jesus.

The miner was deposited into the Bank of Zakius and he began to put it to work. And that is what's going on here in the story. It's while they were listening to this we're told in verse 11. You can see what he says in verse 17. I gave you a minor with some instructions and you listened.

You put the money to work, and now there is a return, you were worthy of my trust. And for that, they're rewarded. The 1 who earned 10 more, 10 cities. The 1 who owned 5 more, 5 cities. And the point of that is to say, my goodness, what a generous king he is.

I mean, this is way over the top, isn't it? I mean, okay, he's made 10 minors more. That's a lot of extra minors. But how much is 10 cities worth? That must be 10000000000 minors.

Mustn't it? I don't know how many minors it takes to build a city. Let alone 10 of them. And this boss is saying, well, you go in charge of 10 cities. You 5 more.

It's over the top. It would be like turning up to work, putting in a few extra hours more than you were required, turning up the next day to discover the boss has brought you and your family a lifetime passed to Disneyland, Florida. He's given you your own office. He's promoted you. He's planted 10 companies, and you're in charge of them all.

Just for a few extra hours on the end of the day. It would be way over the top, and that is what this boss is like. He is generous. He is generous. And the point of it is when Jesus Christ returns, faithfulness is going to be rewarded.

When Jesus returns faithfulness in an over the top way, is going to be rewarded. Now there might be some of us who when we think about heavenly rewards begin to feel a little bit uncomfortable. And it is worth saying upfront that we are not saved by what we achieve in this life. Every Christian is saved by the blood of Jesus Christ alone, and not by what they do. And by the way, that grace is the backdrop to this parable, isn't it?

The master takes on the servants by grace, He gives them a minor by grace, and he rewards them generously by grace. Olustin, a great sort of hero of church history put it this way. When God rewards, He rewards not our merits, but his own grace. When God rewards, he rewards not our merits, but his own grace. Is that a wonderful way of thinking about the rewards in heaven?

That what God is crowning is his own grace. When he rewards us, he's polishing his own jewels. Yeah? That which he has done in our lives, he is recognizing and saying, look what I did. And do you know what?

The servants clearly recognize that, because what do they say? Notice the humility in their speech. Sir, look what we earned with your minor. Sir, look what we achieved with your puny bit of cash. No.

They say, sir, your minor earned more. Your minor was the thing that did the hiss. The power for fruitfulness was in the message, That which was achieved was achieved because it was your minor. It was your minor. What God rewards is not our merits, but his own grace.

But nonetheless, faithfulness matters to Jesus. And when he returns, we are all gonna have a face to face meeting with our loving savior, and he is going to want to know what we did with what we were given. What did we do with what we were given? And the exciting thing about this parable, I think, is that there are so many ways to invest that minor. You notice the master is actually fairly general with his instructions.

He doesn't say you must put it to work in this they could have done all kinds of things. They could have bought and sold products off, you know, eBay started their own company. They could have bought shares. I mean, apparently, right now is a terrific time to buy shares. They're all plummeted through the roof.

Except in toilet rolls, I reckon. That would probably be a good share to have because they're selling pretty well at the moment, aren't they? But they could have done that. That would 1 thing they could have done bought shares and sold them on. Could have done all kinds of things, and it's the same with us.

You are the Christ. The son of the living God can be put to work in a thousand different ways. It can be put to work in art and media, in song and in music, in preaching, and in teaching, in writing, and in blogging, in evangelizing your street. There are thousands of ways to put the miner to work. And it might be that some of us are sat here and we're thinking, would you know I haven't done any of that?

And I can't really think of anything at all. But do you remember the type of things that Jesus says, Even a cup of water given in my name will be remembered. A kind email, a word of encouragement, When Jesus returns, however small, nothing will be forgotten, nothing will be overlooked, And I think we will be super surprised by the size of the reward that goes with even giving a cup of water in the name of Jesus. That's the point. It is over the top generous rewards from a loving savior.

So there's lots of ways to be faithful, but the task is the same. Application application is dead easy in this parable. Put it to work until I come. Put it to work until I come. I'm sure There isn't a Christian in this room who doesn't love the thought of being with Jesus and hearing him say Well done, my good servant.

Well done, you were worthy of the trust. Put it to work until I come. So the king returns to evaluate but the king also returns to judge. The king also returns to judge. That's the third that's the third and final point.

Imagine a situation where a woman walks out of a house and she says to her husband, I'm going out for 1 hour. Can you please take the washing out of the dryer And can you put the food in the oven? And the man says, yes, of course, I can do that. I'll see you soon. But he's got an hour.

And so he decides He's got time to make a cup of tea. He can catch up with something on Netflix. He can sit down and watch TV and drink his cup of tea. He's got an hour. To do those very simple jobs.

The hour passes, and the wife comes in the front door, and she walks into the kitchen, and she says, why is the oven off and why is the washing still in the dryer? And in this hypothetical situation, There is lots that he could say in his defense, couldn't he? He could say, well, look, the good news is the washing is still in the dryer, and we've still got something to eat tonight. I mean, we haven't lost anything, have we? You know?

The food's still here? Still got our washing? You know, I I haven't done what you asked, but we haven't lost it. You don't still hear. It's as you left it, my darling.

Just as you left it. Isn't that great news? Well, I don't know in this hypothetical situation. Whether that defense would go down very well. He didn't do what he was asked And in verse 20, we meet a servant who was a bit like that.

Then another servant came and said, sir, here is your minor. I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in, and you reap what you did not sow. So this man is actually unlike the husband because he wasn't just lazy or forgetful.

He made a choice based on his opinion of the master. He made a choice based on his opinion of the master. In his mind, the master was not a generous loving king. He was a hard man who made unrealistic demands upon people. He was a greedy man who wanted more than he invested.

He was a harsh character. It's almost impossible to believe given what we've already seen about this master, isn't it? Is this the same guy we're talking about? The 1 who rewards a handful of minors with 10 cities. Is that the same man you're talking about?

You are a hard man. And according to Jesus, that's no excuse. This is an amazing response. First 22, his master replied, well, I will judge you by your own words then. You wicked servant.

You knew, did you? That I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow. Why then didn't you put my money on deposit? So that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest. The master says, either way we spin this, you don't come out on top.

Why haven't you got anything to show? If you think I'm a hard man who bullies my servants for more than I've put in, then you jolly well should've done something, shouldn't you? You're wrong, but in your world view, you should have done something. Why haven't you got anything to show? 1 writer called him, AW Tozer, says that nothing twists and deforms the soul.

More than a low or unworthy conception of God. Nothing twists and deforms the soul more. Than a low or unworthy conception of God. This servant soul had been twisted and deformed because he had a low view of his master. And although we don't know exactly what happens to him here in Luke, Matthew gives us more than a clue.

So Matthew writing in verse 28 of chapter 25. Says this, this is the end of the story there. Take the bag of gold from him, who did a similar thing, and give it to the 1 who has 10 bags. For whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I don't think there is any reason to believe that this man was a Christian. If the gospel has truly taken root in our lives, How could we wrap it up in a cloth and put it to 1 side? If if if the glory and the generosity of the master has ravished our hearts, How could we talk this way about him? If we had come to know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God, is the power of God for salvation.

If we've known and tasted the sweetness of that message, How could we set it aside? Bury it in the ground like a corpse as if it was a dead thing. I don't think there's any reason to believe this man truly knew the master. And then look at verse 27. But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me.

And who are these? Well, these are the subjects of verse 14. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we don't want this man to be our king. And here, Jesus is clearly warning his own his own people. John in heels his gospel tells us that the lord Jesus Christ came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

The very people that he became flesh for hated him and would not have him as their king. You see something like this in the very next story. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, and he is being showered with kingly praise, The pharisees are there again muttering, teacher rebuke your disciples. It is not right for you to have these titles bestowed upon you. You are not a king, you are not a blessed 1, you are not a son of David, you should reject those titles for you are not our king.

And then, later on, at the end of his life, Pilate would say to the crowds, shall I crucify your king? And what do they say? We have no king, but Caesar. This man is not our king. When he was going to be nailed on the cross, a sign was going to be put there, wasn't it?

King of the Jews, Now, don't write King of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be the King of the Jews. He is not our king. We hate him, and we don't want him ruling over us. But the master says those enemies of mine, who did not want me to be king over them. Bring them here and kill them in front of me.

So this is a seriously sober warning for 2 different kinds of people. There is a servant in trusted with a minor. This is the person who has heard the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been deposited into their account, so to speak. But they have not loved it, and they have not loved the master.

And they will face a terrible judgment. And then there are those people who out and out are opposed to the lordship of Christ. They don't even pretend to be interested in the minor. They don't want it in their account. They openly reject him.

And both of them will face him in judgment 1 day. And so as is always the case when we consider the return of Jesus, We need we need to hear this warning tonight. There is a dramatic, terrible punishment for those who reject Jesus in any way. Verse 27 is shocking, isn't it? Bring them into my presence and slaughter them before me.

That is seriously an uncomfortable Jesus. Let us be very careful before we reject him as our king. The good news is that doesn't have to be a punishment for anyone in this room because we live now in the middle of verse 12. This is where we are today. We're in the middle of a verse.

Jesus has been appointed king, but he hasn't yet returned. He has been crowned, but he hasn't come back. And therefore, there is still time to put the minor to work. Jesus Christ is the son of the living God, who died and rose to take away our sins. He is the son of the living God who was put to death on the cross so that we could be made alive.

And ours is to put that to work to trust him as our savior, and then to proclaim his kingdom, as we look forward to that glorious day when he will return to each 1 of his servants and say, well done. Well done, my good servant. Your faithfulness in the little things will be rewarded with the great things of heaven. We live in the middle of a verse, Jesus is the king, but he's the king who's coming back. Let's put to work this minor while we can.

Let's bow our heads and pray together and just give you an opportunity, first of all, to respond to the lord in your own heart and then I'll lead us in a prayer. Father God, we thank you that this Jesus, who was crucified for our sins, has risen from the dead. And you have made him to be both lord and Christ, that he has returned to heaven on great glorious clouds and he has been crowned as lord of all. We thank you that Jesus, you are on your throne even this evening, and you rule and you reign in your generous, gracious way. And we thank you lord Jesus that 1 day you will come back again, that these are not myths or fables or silly predictions or finger crossing hopes.

These are these are truer than true. You will return, and we will come before you 1 day. And you will want to know what we did with what we were given. And lord, we pray that you would help each 1 of us to be like these faithful stewards who put the miner to work. In all kinds of little ways, we used our lives to invest in his kingdom.

And we thank you lord Jesus that 1 day we will be with you forever and who we are with will be more important than what we get. We will be with you, the generous God of all, and how wonderful that you would even consider to reward your own grace in our lives. How good that we might have opportunities to serve you to have responsibilities of some kind in the new creation. Lord, what a pleasure. Father, we pray that you would help us to hear the warnings of this passage.

That we would not be like this wicked lazy servant who hated your message and hated you. And although he feigned an interest in it, In reality, he thought it was a dead thing, and he said it to 1 side. And we pray that we would not be like those who are just in open rebellion against you, and do not want you to be king. Lord the judgment here in this passage is terrible to read off, but the reality will be much, much worse. And so we pray that you would help us to repent now while we can.

To believe in your message about Jesus and to start putting it to work until he comes. And we ask it for his sake and glory amen.