SPEAKER_00: God, thank you for the rain this week.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, thank you for this church that you've planted in the ground and grown, protected and nourished.
SPEAKER_00: Father, I pray that your name would be held high this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Pray that you would get the worship, the exaltation, the adoration that you've always deserved from us.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, we invite you in to speak.
SPEAKER_00: God, as we open your eternal perfect word, show us what you would have for us.
SPEAKER_00: We expect you to speak.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to listen.
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray for your blessing in this time.
SPEAKER_00: We love you.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Well, welcome to Skyline Church.
SPEAKER_00: My name's Adam.
SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the pastors here today.
SPEAKER_00: Would love to meet you if I haven't met you before.
SPEAKER_00: So I had a very significant childhood event happen to me in my teens.
SPEAKER_00: This only happened to me once in my whole life.
SPEAKER_00: Basically, at the time, I uh my family was living in Australia.
SPEAKER_00: My dad had gotten a job that moved us all out there for about three years.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, when you live in Australia, you're close to different things.
SPEAKER_00: Like here in the US, you're close to Canada and Mexico.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you do trips there, but there you're close to New Zealand.
SPEAKER_00: So we do this, um, we did this like 45-minute plane ride to New Zealand, traveled around the whole thing in a camper van, it was amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Sweet vacation.
SPEAKER_00: Come home, get out of the car.
SPEAKER_00: I'm the first one up to my front door, unlock it, open the door, happy to be home.
SPEAKER_00: I look inside, and the printer, like our printer in our house, is like in the middle of the hallway, just like on its side.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, what?
SPEAKER_00: And I walked in and I looked to the right and I looked to the left, and the whole place was ransacked.
SPEAKER_00: Just robbed blind.
SPEAKER_00: Took everything of value while we were gone for those two weeks.
SPEAKER_00: Every room was trashed.
SPEAKER_00: I ran outside, I was like, Dad, I think we've been robbed.
SPEAKER_00: My dad comes inside, makes everyone stay outside, clears the house.
SPEAKER_00: No one in there.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we the bottom line is I mean, the the cops later came in, they they dusted for fingerprints, that people had worn gloves, though.
SPEAKER_00: Never caught them, probably never will.
SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the day, it was something that we just weren't ready for.
SPEAKER_00: We didn't have an alarm, we didn't have people watching the house.
SPEAKER_00: Two weeks, to be gone, two weeks is a long time.
SPEAKER_00: We didn't have anyone watching the house.
SPEAKER_00: We simply weren't ready.
SPEAKER_00: We lived in a nicer suburb, we simply didn't expect it.
SPEAKER_00: But that's part of the thing with things you don't expect is they happen just at different points in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Things happen that you don't expect.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes bad things like getting robbed blind, but sometimes good things too.
SPEAKER_00: Like imagine you're on like a sports team and somebody goes down with an injury and you're used to riding the bench.
SPEAKER_00: But now the coach looks at you and says, We need you.
SPEAKER_00: Or like a job.
SPEAKER_00: You've been working hard in a job, being faithful to do what you've been uh asked to do, and treating people with respect, treating customers with respect, boss and peers, and all of a sudden an opening comes and they ask you to apply.
SPEAKER_00: Something you didn't expect.
SPEAKER_00: Things in life happen to us all the time that we don't foresee, we don't plan for, we don't expect, and we're either ready for them or we're not.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes very consequential things come to our doorstep, bad and good, we're either ready for them or we're not.
SPEAKER_00: You know, the military has this idea of readiness.
SPEAKER_00: They even have like a rating scale for different units, like level of readiness for a mission or for an attack or for whatever unexpected thing might happen.
SPEAKER_00: Part of the whole purpose of a military is to be ready for the unexpected.
SPEAKER_00: Because things can change quickly.
SPEAKER_00: So all this points to the importance of being ready, being prepared, being awake for anything.
SPEAKER_00: And so, in the Gospel of Luke today, the Lord Jesus, we saw him kind of start a teaching a talk last week, and we're actually gonna be continuing in this same sort of teaching.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus wants to talk about something in more detail that he hasn't really talked about yet.
SPEAKER_00: But we've actually seen him mention once already that he's gonna return, that he's gonna come back.
SPEAKER_00: The second coming it's called.
SPEAKER_00: The first coming was the incarnation, Jesus born as a baby into the world.
SPEAKER_00: But he's already mentioned that he's gonna come again in chapter 9.
SPEAKER_00: He said, When I come back with the glory of God the Father and the angels, like the one who denies me, I will also deny.
SPEAKER_00: He only gives it a few sentences, but today he wants to talk more.
SPEAKER_00: Today he's gonna want to talk more about his return.
SPEAKER_00: And if I were to summarize what he says in Luke 12, 35 through 48, if I were to summarize what he says, I think he's just saying this readiness and responsibility lead to reward.
SPEAKER_00: Readiness and responsibility lead to reward.
SPEAKER_00: So, I'm gonna have it up here on the screen.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take it in two pieces, this teaching of Jesus, talking about his second coming.
SPEAKER_00: So this is Luke chapter 12, verses 35 through 40.
SPEAKER_00: It says this stay dressed for action, and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.
SPEAKER_00: Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
SPEAKER_00: If he comes in the second watch or the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants.
SPEAKER_00: But know this that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
SPEAKER_00: You also must be ready.
SPEAKER_00: For the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.
SPEAKER_00: So last week in Jesus' teaching, he's teaching in parables, you know, little short fictional stories to illustrate a point.
SPEAKER_00: He's going to keep using parables today.
SPEAKER_00: Last week he talked about riches and anxiety, but today he pivots topics.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_00: We see it right here at the beginning, verse 35.
SPEAKER_00: Stay dressed for action, keep your lamps burning, be like men waiting.
SPEAKER_00: So he's basically like, hey, you know how like a master of a big household sometimes goes to a wedding feast late at night, and then the servants aren't sure when he's going to come back.
SPEAKER_00: But like a good servant who's doing his job is ready at the door for him to come at any time.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is like, you should be like them and ready for the master, that's Jesus, to return at any point.
SPEAKER_00: What's he talking about?
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about the second coming.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 9, we saw it.
SPEAKER_00: He came once, he's going to come again.
SPEAKER_00: This is an extremely significant event that he hasn't talked about a whole lot yet.
SPEAKER_00: And his main point in this first section is he wants you to be ready for it.
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to be prepared.
SPEAKER_00: When it says second or third watch of the night, like in ancient times, this basically just meant like the morning hours, like really just obscure times in the morning, like not just coming at a time you don't expect, but maybe a really inconvenient time if he decides to come at the second or third watch, like 12 p.m.
SPEAKER_00: a.m.
SPEAKER_00: to 5 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00: I have this recurring nightmare.
SPEAKER_00: That like one day I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night and we're gonna be home invaded, and I'm gonna have to do like mortal combat with some guy in my living room in my briefs.
SPEAKER_00: It's like this recurring nightmare that I have.
SPEAKER_00: And then I watch UFC and I'm like, maybe that's how it's supposed to be, you know?
SPEAKER_00: It's this recurring nightmare.
SPEAKER_00: And and so what he's saying is you need to be ready for his return.
SPEAKER_00: But then how crazy is this?
SPEAKER_00: Then he goes, basically, what he says is, when I come back, the servants who I find doing what I've asked them to do, ready, I'm gonna serve them.
SPEAKER_00: Think about how nuts this is.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord Jesus says, the King of kings, the God of all creation, when he returns, verse 37 says that the master will dress for service himself and come and serve these servants at a table.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus is being like, I'm gonna be your waiter.
SPEAKER_00: Like imagine going to Postino in town, and Jesus walks up and he's like, What are you having?
SPEAKER_00: It's on me for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: This is the picture that Jesus gives us for faithful, ready servants.
SPEAKER_00: That the king of all creation, the one who spoke the universe into creation, into existence, will come and serve us.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I don't know of any culture that doesn't that doesn't consider the idea of an Almighty Creator God serving a table for you to be completely insane.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, in our culture, being served, not serving, is is the apex of existence.
SPEAKER_00: Accumulating enough wealth and power to be served the rest of your life rather than serving.
SPEAKER_00: But what we're gonna see even later in Luke is Jesus say, I came not to be served, but to serve.
SPEAKER_00: And to give his life as a ransom for many.
SPEAKER_00: He will later say these exact words.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord Jesus, how incredible, the King of kings, who dwells in unapproachable light, wants to serve you at the end of all things, when you've lived your life and you're ready for the next life to begin.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to serve you.
SPEAKER_00: You know, this imagery of a feast at the end of all things is a common one that the Bible really likes to use.
SPEAKER_00: In one text, uh Isaiah, an Old Testament text, says it this way.
SPEAKER_00: On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food.
SPEAKER_00: A feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
SPEAKER_00: And then at the end of the Bible, Revelation 19, 9 says it this way.
SPEAKER_00: And the angel said to me, Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
SPEAKER_00: And he said to me, These are the true words of God.
SPEAKER_00: This feast image is one that Jesus and even the Old Testament loves to use to describe what it will be like for those who are ready for them at the end of all things.
SPEAKER_00: And if you think about it, like, I don't know about you, but some of my favorite memories of my life is at table with food and drink, with people that I love, warm lighting.
SPEAKER_00: This is some of the best moments of life.
SPEAKER_00: Let alone every tear wiped away, let alone every tribe, nation, and tongue gathered at the table with you, let alone all sin and pain and agony removed, let alone that, which is also, by the way, what happens at the feast at the end of all things.
SPEAKER_00: This is the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: This is the good news of what Jesus comes to bring to those who love him, to those who have loved his appearing.
SPEAKER_00: And such good news it is.
SPEAKER_00: Such an inheritance it is.
SPEAKER_00: Come quick, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And yet that's not the main emphasis of what he wants to talk about here.
SPEAKER_00: It's a sweet little sidebar.
SPEAKER_00: The main thing that he wants to talk about here is to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: This is point number one for verses 35 through 40.
SPEAKER_00: Be ready for the master's return at any moment.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he wants to talk about.
SPEAKER_00: He kind of goes into this like second parable, verse 39.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a little bit confusing for you.
SPEAKER_00: He first talks about like being the servants, ready for the master of the house to return from a wedding feast late at night.
SPEAKER_00: But then he's like, look, any master of a house, if he knows when the thief is going to show up, he's going to be there for it.
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't know.
SPEAKER_00: And so he's like, so too with you, the Son of Man is coming at a time you don't expect.
SPEAKER_00: You will not expect it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus loves this, I mean, this idea of like Jesus coming for the second time like a thief in the night.
SPEAKER_00: It gets used like all the time in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why Jesus and his apostles use this imagery all the time.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I personally can relate to it.
SPEAKER_00: You know, when the when the thief thieves, it seemed like a group of them came and just like in the middle of the vacation and took a bunch of our stuff.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it came at a time we didn't expect.
SPEAKER_00: I walked in the front door and I was just like, what in the walking just in complete and utter shock.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying, that's what it's gonna be like, bro.
SPEAKER_00: You will not expect it.
SPEAKER_00: Might it come in the second or third watch?
SPEAKER_00: Not just at a time you don't expect, but at a time that's inconvenient?
SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying that he wants us to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: This is a in literature, this is called an inclusio, where like a segment, a passage, begins with an idea and ends with it.
SPEAKER_00: Think of it as like literary bookends.
SPEAKER_00: Basically indicates this is what this whole thing is about.
SPEAKER_00: What we see Jesus is be dressed, have your lamps lit, be ready.
SPEAKER_00: The end of the text.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Son of man, it's coming at a time that you do not expect.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he wants to talk about.
SPEAKER_00: So what does it mean to be ready?
SPEAKER_00: Or as the Boy Scout motto likes to say, be prepared.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to be prepared?
SPEAKER_00: To be ready.
SPEAKER_00: Well, it means a couple different things, I think.
SPEAKER_00: Thing number one is you're awake, you're aware, you're mentally primed.
SPEAKER_00: This is what dressed, ready for action, lamp lit, ready to go through any kind of environment, context.
SPEAKER_00: It's dark, you can see, you're prepared.
SPEAKER_00: This is what this means to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, he's talking about spiritual readiness.
SPEAKER_00: He's not talking about, yo, if you're a Baptist, get ready with your khakis on at all times.
SPEAKER_00: Or at Pentecostal, I got my prayer streamer thing in its holster, ready to praise the name, whenever Jesus comes.
SPEAKER_00: Or a Christian nationalist, I got my ammo belt, like whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00: Like, and he's not talking about physically ready, he's talking about spiritually prepared.
SPEAKER_00: Spiritually prepared.
SPEAKER_00: What that means is you you hear God's voice.
SPEAKER_00: When he knocks at the door and he speaks, you're listening and you can respond.
SPEAKER_00: And not just at the end when he comes, but at any time when he wants to speak.
SPEAKER_00: At any time when he knocks, and at any time when he wants to talk and direct you.
SPEAKER_00: This is what ready means.
SPEAKER_00: This is what awake means.
SPEAKER_00: Thing number two spiritually ready for Jesus' return means seeking to serve the master.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the picture is.
SPEAKER_00: It's servants.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, he's not just the master, he's the creator of all things.
SPEAKER_00: The distance between creation, us, and creator, him, is infinite.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that a ready servant is willing to do is ready to serve, which is to do his will, to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, love people, our neighbor as ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: It's a person who's ready to serve and do what God has asked.
SPEAKER_00: Thing number three, it means watching for the signs.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus will actually go more into this next week and in later chapters.
SPEAKER_00: But one of the things he says later is there's actually gonna be things that happen that are gonna signal to you it's close.
SPEAKER_00: And you need to watch for those things.
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean obsess over them, spend every waking hour on wild YouTube videos and charts and crazy, but you are supposed to be aware.
SPEAKER_00: He does want you to watch, he does want you to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: What does the balance of that look like?
SPEAKER_00: That's thing number three.
SPEAKER_00: Watch for the signs.
SPEAKER_00: And thing number four, ultimately being ready.
SPEAKER_00: Like if you died tomorrow, a life lived that was ready means a life that was always at God's disposal.
SPEAKER_00: Always ready to do what God has is asking them to do.
SPEAKER_00: They're focused on it, they're thinking about it throughout the week.
SPEAKER_00: It's not they're not a Sunday Christian, they're not just a life group Christian.
SPEAKER_00: Their whole life is devoted to the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: They're aware, they're listening, they're ready to respond.
SPEAKER_00: This is what readiness is.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're here today and you're not sure what you believe about Jesus yet, the to be clear, the only way to even begin to be ready for Jesus to come again is to first respond to him in faith.
SPEAKER_00: The only way to be in a good position when the King of kings comes again in the sky in glory and the dead are raised and all sit before him in judgment is to believe in him with faith.
SPEAKER_00: That's such that you're such that you're brought into his family, that you become one of his servants rather than someone on the outside of the house, to use his metaphor.
SPEAKER_00: So verses 35 through 40, be ready for the master's return at any moment.
SPEAKER_00: And uh but he's not done yet.
SPEAKER_00: He's not done yet.
SPEAKER_00: Let's see how he finishes this.
SPEAKER_00: Verses 41 to 48.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_00: Peter said, Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time?
SPEAKER_00: Blessed is that servant, whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
SPEAKER_00: Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
SPEAKER_00: But if that servant says to himself, My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.
SPEAKER_00: And that servant who knew his master's will, but did not get ready, or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.
SPEAKER_00: But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating.
SPEAKER_00: For every one to whom much was given, of him much will be required.
SPEAKER_00: And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand all the more.
SPEAKER_00: Point number one was be ready for the master's return at any moment.
SPEAKER_00: Point number two is your reward corresponds with your faith with your responsibility and faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Your reward corresponds with your responsibility and faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: When I say responsibility there, I'm not talking about how much you've been entrusted with, how much influence, how much gifts, how much resource.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about that.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about what you do with them.
SPEAKER_00: How responsible are you with your responsibility?
SPEAKER_00: Obedience, faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: This is what the second point is about.
SPEAKER_00: So it begins with basically Peter, he's like confused.
SPEAKER_00: He hears the parable of the servants at the door waiting for the master.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, wait, Lord, are you saying this like, because like if you go earlier in chapter 12, it says Jesus is talking to his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: And so Peter's like, wait, is that just like for us?
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, in theory, the 12 apostles or the broader group of close disciples that Jesus has?
SPEAKER_00: Is that is that parable for us or for all?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus doesn't answer directly at first, but I think does give the answer ultimately.
SPEAKER_00: Because I think what Jesus actually begins to point to is to answer, quote unquote, for us.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, leaders, like people who love Jesus that are leaders.
SPEAKER_00: The parable actually begins, seems to begin to answer that question, because in 42 through 44, Jesus starts talking about what the faithful, quote unquote, manager looks like.
SPEAKER_00: A person who has been entrusted with the master's household, family members, people that God loves.
SPEAKER_00: How is the manager treating the household?
SPEAKER_00: So it seems to begin to be focused on leaders.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus says is blessed is the servant who is faithful with what God entrusted.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed is the manager, rather, who is faithful with what God entrusts him.
SPEAKER_00: Blessing people, caring for people.
SPEAKER_00: The master's family.
SPEAKER_00: And it's important to remember that when you believe in Jesus with faith, you're saved into a family.
SPEAKER_00: You're saved into a household.
SPEAKER_00: You're not saved into isolation.
SPEAKER_00: This is why in the Bible there's no such thing as a believer who starts to follow Jesus and then just walks away from all other Christian family and faith and community.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a thing.
SPEAKER_00: So basically, you need to the point here, guys, is you need to not just be ready, but you also need to be responsible with what Jesus gives you.
SPEAKER_00: Not just ready, but also responsible.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus will later tell Peter, feed my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: He gives him a very specific work, a very specific mission as one of his apostles.
SPEAKER_00: Don't just be ready, but be responsible with what the Lord entrusts to you.
SPEAKER_00: A faithful manager gets set over even more when the master returns.
SPEAKER_00: We saw this last week, this idea of differing degrees of reward, differing degrees of honor, differing degrees of glory in the next life.
SPEAKER_00: Putting, investing for treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and thief does not come in and steal.
SPEAKER_00: We saw Jesus begin to talk about this last week, this idea of degrees of honor in heaven based on obedience and faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Based on obedience and faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Your reward corresponds to that.
SPEAKER_00: But then Jesus talks about the opposite.
SPEAKER_00: He talks about the unfaithful.
SPEAKER_00: So a servant who knows the master, has been given orders by the master, yet takes advantage, abuses, becomes self serving.
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus switches this parable in the second section to talking about that.
SPEAKER_00: This is someone who's not only not ready, but irresponsible and self indulgent.
SPEAKER_00: I love this image that Jesus gives of drunkenness.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is a servant who gets drunk.
SPEAKER_00: Because being drunk.
SPEAKER_00: Is like the antithetical opposite of being ready.
SPEAKER_00: Like, talk about someone who can't do anything when the moment comes.
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you're not only being irresponsible, you can't help anyone in any situation.
SPEAKER_00: Being drunk is definitively being irresponsible.
SPEAKER_00: You can't care for anyone, but you can hurt them.
SPEAKER_00: And now look, look, just for the sake of biblical balance, Psalm 104.
SPEAKER_00: Why did God create wine to gladden the heart of man?
SPEAKER_00: We just saw the Isaiah picture of a feast of well-aged wine on his mountain at the end of all things.
SPEAKER_00: Think about Jesus' first miracle, the wedding at Cana.
SPEAKER_00: He turns like half a jacuzzi of water into wine.
SPEAKER_00: It's that much.
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of quiet.
SPEAKER_00: The reason?
SPEAKER_00: It's time to celebrate.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: If some person who's legalistically driven says, whispers into your ear, hey, the Bible says alcohol's okay, but really, the best Christians don't drink any alcohol.
SPEAKER_00: This is the part where you whisper back.
SPEAKER_00: Have you heard of communion?
SPEAKER_00: The Bible teaches abounds with these things.
SPEAKER_00: He created wine, alcohol to gladden the heart of men, yet very clearly, dozen plus times, he commands us to not get drunk, to be sober of mind.
SPEAKER_00: The reasons for which are obvious.
SPEAKER_00: Do not use your freedom to self-indulge, but to love one another, Galatians will say.
SPEAKER_00: Drunkenness, these images from Jesus are so helpful.
SPEAKER_00: Like I for I love weddings, and as a pastor, I'm at a lot of weddings all the time.
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's like for most people, there's this era in their 20s, maybe early 30s, where you go to a thousand weddings.
SPEAKER_00: For me as a pastor, I go to a thousand weddings every year.
SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing.
SPEAKER_00: All these people that I love, the food is awesome, the drink is awesome.
SPEAKER_00: I love talking with people.
SPEAKER_00: It's a celebration.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's literally amazing.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, my general rule with alcohol is I'll never do more than two in a day.
SPEAKER_00: Just trying to follow the Bible's, you know, uh pattern for what it means to enjoy alcohol unto God in a healthy and holy way.
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, the thing about being a pastor at weddings is the Lord just like sets appointments for you.
SPEAKER_00: I like in the last 10 years, even before I became a pastor, the Lord just starts dialing up these conversations for me.
SPEAKER_00: Evangelistic conversations, other important conversations where people are sharing stuff with me they'd never shared with anyone, some life crisis.
SPEAKER_00: It's just like it feels like in half the weddings I'm in, I'm I have this really critical, life-altering conversation with someone.
SPEAKER_00: And as that kept happening, I was like, man, as much as I want to have one, two drinks and enjoy the time with the homies, I need to be a little more ready than I am.
SPEAKER_00: I need the edge.
SPEAKER_00: I need to be prepared for these appointments that God keeps dialing up for me.
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of realized, like, I felt the Spirit convicting me, like, your readiness level needs to go up at weddings.
SPEAKER_00: There's a time for you to have up to two, and it ain't now.
SPEAKER_00: The time for you, Adam, at weddings is zero to one.
SPEAKER_00: And it was something that the Lord just impressed upon me as a way to be ready.
SPEAKER_00: The exact imagery that he's talking about here, not just ready, but responsible.
SPEAKER_00: When God entrusts an image bearer to me going through something, we have to have an important conversation that's gonna impact their life.
SPEAKER_00: Man, like if Tom Brady is not gonna drink alcohol during the season, I feel like what I'm doing is at least as important.
SPEAKER_00: You must not only be ready but responsible.
SPEAKER_00: And now Jesus begins to widen the aperture a little bit, widen the applicability.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just a manager.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, Lord, are we talking about for us or for all?
SPEAKER_00: First it seems for us, first it seems for leaders, but now he's back to talking about servants, the unfaithful servants, some who have heard commands from the master, some who don't.
SPEAKER_00: The application seems to be getting a lot wider here towards the end of this parable.
SPEAKER_00: And so then these last three verses about when someone is not responsible.
SPEAKER_00: Some of y'all are like, oh, I've been waiting for these last three verses.
SPEAKER_00: A light beating?
SPEAKER_00: A severe beating?
SPEAKER_00: What is he talking about?
SPEAKER_00: So this is a really important doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: So what happens with this first unfaithful servant is he gets cut to pieces.
SPEAKER_00: Don't degrade the metaphor.
SPEAKER_00: He gets destroyed, he gets judged and put with the unfaithful.
SPEAKER_00: And the one who knows the master and the master's commands, yet is still unfaithful, receives a quote-unquote severe beating.
SPEAKER_00: The one who doesn't know, but still is unfaithful and does what deserves a beating receives a lighter beating.
SPEAKER_00: What's he talking about?
SPEAKER_00: When?
SPEAKER_00: Who?
SPEAKER_00: When is this happening?
SPEAKER_00: Well, what this is, is it's a very significant doctrine that shows that there are degrees of consequence in hell.
SPEAKER_00: There are degrees of punishment in hell based on what you've done in your life, just like there are in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Now, to be very, very clear, what the Bible is not saying here is that whether or not you get into heaven or hell is based on how obedient you've been, not good news.
SPEAKER_00: That is not the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel comes to you freely as a gift through faith.
SPEAKER_00: And yet, there's degrees of consequence in hell.
SPEAKER_00: There's degrees of reward in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's talking about by a severe being, maybe someone who's heard more about Jesus, or a lighter being, someone who's heard less.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he's talking about.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about it's based on obedience.
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, this role of judge, determining who gets what, how, and when, this is a role that God sits in, not us.
SPEAKER_00: Thank God for that, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: The one who actually sees every heart, who actually sees how much people have been entrusted with, who actually knows how a person's thinking, what they've come from, what they've been given, the resources that they have.
SPEAKER_00: There is no one who judges more justly than God.
SPEAKER_00: That is never a seat that you want to sit in, even though we act like we do all the time.
SPEAKER_00: Never.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you talk about fairness, uh I I just thought of this.
SPEAKER_00: My brother was on a jury the last couple weeks.
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, the stakes are high, bro.
SPEAKER_00: Like this person's getting accused of something that's gonna change their life for decades.
SPEAKER_00: I sure hope you're listening well.
SPEAKER_00: I sure hope you're focused on the evidence, and even in a situation where you're not sure what to do, man, the consequences are so high.
SPEAKER_00: Which is why the judge is a job that God gets.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when we're talking about degrees of punishment in hell, degrees of reward in heaven, what what we're talking about, maybe you're out there right now, you're like, oh, is this a thing, Adam?
SPEAKER_00: I never heard this.
SPEAKER_00: This is a thing.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: Orthodox Christians have believed this throughout all the centuries.
SPEAKER_00: There's like five, six other passages that talk about this just for hell, let alone rewards in heaven, at which there's probably 30 plus that talk about this.
SPEAKER_00: It's a really significant doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: You know what the doctrine points to?
SPEAKER_00: Fairness.
SPEAKER_00: There is no one more fair.
SPEAKER_00: There is no one more just than God.
SPEAKER_00: There is no one more righteous.
SPEAKER_00: And hence the main idea: readiness and responsibility lead to reward.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible talks about this multiple times.
SPEAKER_00: It's agreed upon by the vast majority of Orthodox Christians through 2,000 years of church history.
SPEAKER_00: And you might say, but why?
SPEAKER_00: Again, the answer is because he's perfectly fair.
SPEAKER_00: Everything is rewarded proportionately and perfectly.
SPEAKER_00: And I had a teacher in college, he was a hard teacher, a great teacher.
SPEAKER_00: And before every test, he would pray together with us, and he would pray like this Lord, please bless everyone's test score in accordance to how much they prepared.
SPEAKER_00: And everyone's like, ugh.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we're talking about.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we're talking about.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing that I want you to see.
SPEAKER_00: That you can rest assured that at the end of all things, all things that are hidden will be revealed.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of all things, all injustice that you've witnessed that's happened to you, terrible, evil things that people have committed to you, that the spiritual enemy has committed against you, all of it will be taken care of.
SPEAKER_00: And it'll either fall under the love and grace of a kind God who wants all to come to repentance, and he'll pay for it himself, which is what the Lord Jesus did on the cross for us who believe in him with faith, or it will be paid for in hell.
SPEAKER_00: Where those who do not want God will not get him in all of his good things, and they will get eternal conscious torment to varying degrees based on what they did.
SPEAKER_00: All wrongs will be made right, which is a breath of fresh air to so many.
SPEAKER_00: So, what this text does is for some of us who have things that maybe we're hiding.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we believe in Jesus, but there's things that maybe we're hiding that we haven't wanted to bring to light, areas of unfaithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: What this text should do is encourage you to bring it to the light.
SPEAKER_00: For those of us who are weary and exhausted from seeking God's kingdom, putting sin to death in a painful and costly way, what this text should be to you is a cold breeze on a hot day.
SPEAKER_00: Because God will make all things right.
SPEAKER_00: And he sees anything and everything that his servants do.
SPEAKER_00: And what I want you to understand is that Jesus is saying this because he loves you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying this because he doesn't want you to be surprised.
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to understand that that feeling that you have inside of justice, it will be completely consummated.
SPEAKER_00: It will be completely satisfied because that's what a good and just God does.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's like.
SPEAKER_00: And he will have things his way again.
SPEAKER_00: And all who have loved his appearing will be satisfied.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying this because he loves us.
SPEAKER_00: And what is his vision of responsible?
SPEAKER_00: What is his vision of ready?
SPEAKER_00: Well, he shows us verse 42, it's caring for people, caring for the household of God.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 45, it's self-control rather than self-indulgence.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 42, it's stewardship of God's resources.
SPEAKER_00: It's being faithful with what the master has entrusted, and he will reward perfectly.
SPEAKER_00: And again, like we said last week, the ultimate motivator that the Bible uses to cause you, to draw you into obedience, to draw you into righteousness is not reward in heaven and hell.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible does use that, you know, a bunch of different times.
SPEAKER_00: Here's one of them.
SPEAKER_00: But the main thing that God uses is his love.
SPEAKER_00: How much more should you love people based on the way that Christ has loved you?
SPEAKER_00: How much more should you forgive people based on how much Christ has forgiven you?
SPEAKER_00: That's the main motivator.
SPEAKER_00: But make no mistake, what he wants to talk about here, what he wants to talk about today, is that he will come at a moment what we do not expect.
SPEAKER_00: And he will reward as is reasonable.
SPEAKER_00: And he will make all things right.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Or not wanting to do the right thing at all and seeking pleasure.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, put both of these errors to death in our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: God, let us rest assured that the gospel comes to us freely and that all readiness and responsibility will be rewarded by you.
SPEAKER_00: This is meant to motivate us.
SPEAKER_00: This is meant to encourage us.
SPEAKER_00: This is meant to break us out of stagnation.
SPEAKER_00: This is meant to shake us from sleepiness to awakenness.
SPEAKER_00: God, don't let us waste our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Let us live like tomorrow is not a promise because it's not, even if eternity is.
SPEAKER_00: Comfort our hearts today, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Convict our hearts today.
SPEAKER_00: We welcome you in all your words.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, amen.