Are You Prepared (Part 2)

In this second half of our Biblestudy, we look at the following parable from St Matthew 25:14 and the example Christ was trying to give his followers regarding the time and Kingdom of Heaven. We look at the concept of time being the anchoring message behind this parable. Its significance, in the choices that were made, the judgement that was handed out and the rewards that were received. It explores the concepts of choice and consequence, expectation and preparation, and asks us to look within ourselves and do an accounting of the heart to see if our conviction matches our action. As the Bible says “It’s with the mouth we confess, but it’s in the heart we believe.”

Transcript

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Hello everybody and welcome to Rima Reloaded with me, Sean Williams. It's an honor and a privilege and a pleasure to be with you all. This is going to be a quicker session today. Um, we're doing quite a bit of filming and I'm late. So, because I'm late, it does not mean that I'm going to force you to stay in here with me longer because my dad's coming in and I'm super excited about that. You are going to love what he has prepared for you all. It's it's yeah, just amazing. Um, we had an amazing Bible study um last week, and the the overwhelming comments and just interactions and how you've all been with just how yeah, just how the Bible study resonated with you. We were in the book of St. Matthew, chapter 25, and we were looking at the parable of the ten virgins. Um, I actually want to do part two today, okay? Um, I want to look at part two because there was so much, even in terms of Bible study notes, and guys, that's another thing. Please go into the description, extract the Bible study notes. That's just a copy and paste job. Take them because I want you to use them for your own personal study. I just want to give you little landmarks for you to just almost checkpoints as you're going through, like, ah, that's what that crazy fool was talking about. Ah, that's what he was going on about, and then as you are studying yourself and you're having your own discourse with the Holy Spirit, it it just allows for you to develop pure relationship with him because he doesn't want to speak to you through me, he can, but he wants a type of relationship where he's just speaking to you face to face and ear to ear, right? So, what we're gonna do is we are going to carry on um with our Bible study, Are You Prepared? Um, and we're going to go to verse 14. Now, I'm gonna give you a little bit of backstory about what we were talking about in um our first Bible study in part one, and I'm going to give you a couple of what I call um footnote headings, right? That should be what I call just just points that you should be able to write some of your notes down, um, and it will enable you to follow what I call a cohesive thinking process within what this Bible study is about. The reason why this Bible study, I think, is so important, is because for a lot of Christians, okay, and they are people that have decided to follow Christ, there are certain books in the Bible that we avoid because A, we don't understand them, and B, some of their concepts are quite scary. Um, and this parable definitely feeds into the book of Revelation and some of the things that the book of Revelation talks about. Um, many of you that are familiar with the Bible study, you will know that I break the Bible down into kind of sections that it's easy for us to understand conceptually what's happening because obviously the Bible covers a massive span of history, um, but it allows our reading and our study to be more intentional. Um, and the book of Revelation, I call it the conclusion of the whole matter, it is the finale, right? And so in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus is basically he's in Holy Week and he realizes that he's about to give his life and he's gonna die. The problem that he has is that the people that he's left in charge, he realizes they're not ready. They are not ready and they're not prepared, they haven't even been able to fully grasp and understand the clues that he's tried to give them in hidden meanings and sometimes words and speeches that would seem quite riddly. Um he gets to a phase where he's like, right, I'm running out of time. And for those of you that were in the first Bible study on this subject last week, you'll realize that the real underpinning foundation of what Matthew chapter 25 is about is time. Okay, so we know that we have 10 virgins, five wise, five foolish. Everybody is asleep, they're waiting for a wedding that is running super late. We all know about a wedding that runs super late. Um, and they hear that the bridegroom's coming, so everybody's getting up, trying to get themselves together. You know, when you're trying to act like you haven't been asleep and you've blatantly been asleep, and then you're like, Oh no, I am awake. That's what's going on here. And the foolish was said to the wives, guys, we've got no more oil for our lamps. Okay, so they're talking about the ancient oil lamps where you had a vessel, and at one end of the vessel you'd have um the candle wick, right? And at the other end, you'd have a little hole where you'd put the oil in, which would become the fuel that the wick would soak in, and that's what it would draw from to create the flame. Okay, so they're basically saying to the wise virgins, guys, we've got no more fuel left, like help. The wise, like, no, if we give you a vase, we ain't gonna have enough. I'll tell you what, you man, do go into the town, go buy some fuel for yourselves, and then come back. Sounds like a good idea, right? The only problem was the bridegroom came and was just like, let's go into the marriage fee. So the wise are like, yeah, let's go. No one was like, Oh yeah, you know, the other ones, they had to go and get some fuel. There was none of that conversation. So the wise ones go in, party, party, party. The foolish ones come, hear the shoobs going on. It's like, yeah, yeah, we're gonna party. Knock on the door, let us in. The brother was like, nah. They're like, huh? He's like, nah. They're like, what do you mean? He's like, I don't know you. Now they're sitting there thinking, you invited us to your wedding. Imagine going to someone's wedding, turning up a little late, and then going, Oh yeah, can I come in? They're like, no. And you're like, but why? Never seen you before. And you show them the invitation, they're like, Great, never seen you in my life. That's what's happening to these foolish virgins. And Jesus was trying to make the point, right? He was saying to them, listen, it's not about you thinking that you know what it is, you have to be in the place at the right time, already prepared, right? And that's where we got our first footnote heading, where we said that preparation is the predication of expectation, right? So when you expect something to happen, you align yourself and you put yourself in a place where your preparation matches that, right? The next thing we looked at was, and we can look at that even within the ten virgins, we'll look at it in our next parable as well. The wise virgins had an expectation, which meant their preparation caused them to do what? Get an excess of fuel, right? So they had this excess of fuel, which meant that they could last longer than those that didn't, even though everybody was sleeping. The next thing that we're looking at choice and consequence. The foolish virgins had a choice. They could have sat there and said, Do you know what? Even though we don't have enough oil, I tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna wait here till the bridegroom comes and I'm gonna explain to him what happened. And he may still say to me, You're not coming in. Or he could turn around and say to me, Do you know what? I've got a little oil for you. So their choice was to listen to the wise virgins, which is smart because if a wise person tells you to do something, why wouldn't you do it? But they had not perceived the environment or the time that they were in, right? So their choice led to a consequence. They were absent at the point they should have been present. That's deep. That just punched me in the face. They were absent at the point that they should have been present, which meant that the consequence of their absence was rejection. There are certain things where you don't want to be there, but your presence is the thing that's gonna validate what you get out of that ding. Right? So they make this choice, they're living in the consequence of their choice, and now we're in the final part, which is reward and rejection. The reward was the wise virgins, they got to go into the marriage feast, the foolish virgins had to stay outside. Now, I think it's very important to understand and also to realize that Jesus wasn't happy with his disciples' reaction. And you're thinking to yourself, What do you mean? The reason he wasn't happy, you've been in a situation where your parents have tried to make a point to you and they've told you something, and they realize you are not listening, and so they go into making another point straight away, and you're like, Why are you making another point? I already heard the first point, and they're like, Yeah, but you don't really listen, so I'm gonna make another point. This is what Jesus does to make the moment clearer to them, and this is what I'm about to read. Okay, so I'm reading out the New International Version, Matthew chapter 25, verse 14. Okay, this is the parable of the bags of gold. Okay, remember part one of our Bible study of are you prepared? This is part two. Time is the basis of all things. Okay. Two part two, time is the basis of all things. Okay, let me go into this. Verse 14. Again, it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. Imagine that, you've got some servants and you trust your wealth. We're not talking about riches here, people. Riches is what you get in a moment, wealth is that generational stuff, that's long money. Okay, to one, he gave five bags of gold, to the second, he gave two bags, and to the third one, he gave one bag, each according to his ability. That's very important. God is not going to give you what you want, he's gonna give you what you can handle. Same way in this parable. Jesus used parables to explain spiritual, complex mysteries in very natural forms, right? And the Bible's telling us that the the the man going on a journey, he gave each according to his ability, right? Then he went on his journey. Verse 16 the man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five more bags. So also the one with two bags of gold gained two, but the man who had received one bag went off. Dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Very important, right? He went off, dug a hole, and hid the money. Now, this is the person that was only given one bag, and in my head, I'm sitting there thinking, that's a smart, that's a smart business guy. Because imagine if you'd given the guy with five bags, and he had that mentality to be like, I'm gonna go bury it. And we're gonna open up why the master was so unhappy with the man with the one bag. So verse 19, after a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. You see that? After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts again. We're looking at time. Remember, the bridegroom dipped off, wasn't about, they kind of had time to figure out what they were or weren't gonna do. Again, after a long time, verse 19, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20. The man who'd received five bags of gold bought the other five. He was like, Lord, you gave me five bags of gold. You know what your boy done dun done. Let me tell you what I've done done. I went and got five more bags of gold. And the master was like, he was like, my guy. His master replied, Well done. Good and faithful servant with an extra five bags. I would have said that too, maybe for another party. You have been faithful with a few things. Now look at the promotion. I will put you in charge of many things. His faithfulness with less is what qualified him for more. Clip it, take it, post it. That was a moment. His faithfulness with less is what qualified him for more. Okay? Then hear what his master says after he says, I'm gonna put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. He was just like, Yeah, come, come, go, come, go, come. We're gonna have ourselves a party, okay? Then verse 22, the man with the two bags of gold, he came up, probably shimmying, shimmy, shimmy, yah, shimmy, shimmy, yay. He said, Master, you entrusted me with two bags of gold. Your boy done got two more. Okay, verse 23. His master's like, oh my day, it's my birthday. The master's like, Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you as well with your little two extra bags. Man only got two extra, right? And notice the man with five, it didn't say that he was over there getting a little bit annoyed getting actually. Well, I got five extra bags. Why? He was happy because his master was happy, and what else? They were given according to their ability to manage. You can't afford to be hating on somebody else that looks like they're in the sunshine because God is blessing them according to their ability to manage. Patience. You can't hate on somebody else because God gave them more capacity. That's like the sea being angry at the river because the river is jealous at the puddle. Capacities, guys. Capacities, okay. Then we get to verse 24, and this is where we're really going to turn this in, right? Then the man who would receive one bag of gold came, master, he said. At this point, the DJ's going, music has stopped because we can feel the vibes changed. I knew that you were a hard man. That you harvest where you haven't sown, and you gather where you haven't worked and planted seed. 25. And this is the basis of most of the stupid things we do. Honestly, I'm gonna say this to you one more time. The basis of most of the dumb stuff that you do is because of what the Bible's about to say here. 25. So I was afraid. Most people that lie to you do not lie out of malicious intent, they lie out of fear. Telling you, most of the stuff that you are sitting there heartbroken about, thinking that they had some kind of Machiavellian Cruella de Ville meet scar type plan to kill and end your life and stop your progress. Well, because of none of the stuff you went to sleep thinking about or worrying about. Fear. Fear can stop you from maximizing your potential. I tell you what, I need to give myself more time with less time in my Bible studies because I seem to get the good stuff out really easily, really quickly. Fear will stop you maximizing your potential. Because fear tells you that what could be is scarier than what couldn't. So let's just do less. Even though you've been given more. Okay? So he said, I was afraid. So I went out and I hid your gold. I hid it in the ground. See? Man comes out with the one bag. The one bag, you know, this is what he's he's brandishing in the master's face. Here's what belongs to you. And I might have you ever been in that place when the vibes is good and then something happens and you can just feel the whole, it's almost like Scooby-Doo. And just like, where do I look? I bet the other two servants were like, oh my gosh, I thought we were about to have ourselves a little party. And guess not. This is turned left very quickly. His master replied, You wicked and lazy servant. And this is what I really love. He goes, You knew. You knew that I harvest where I have not sown. He's like, and I gather where I've not scattered seed. And he goes, You see, you, why didn't you take my money and deposit it? Why didn't you invest it? Even if you didn't want to do anything with it, why did you not go and give it to someone or put it somewhere where someone that does have the mind to do something with it could do? Right? And he said, Why didn't you deposit with the banker? So that when I returned, I would have at least received a little bit of interest. Just a touch. So he says, Okay, since you are making these big decisions, I'll tell you what, this is what we're gonna do. He said, Take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. Weird, right? Because you sit there and go, Well, God, he's already got ten. Why would you not give it to the guy that's got like four? We're gonna get to that in a minute. And he says, 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. So your inability to use what God has given you will be that's me with a fake or an invisible fishing rod. Pulling it back in, by the way, it will go back, right? And then he says, and throw that worthless servant outside. He's like, Don't even throw him in jail, get him out of my house, like now, right? Then he says, throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Okay, I think it's really important to understand that when you're looking at what the servants had been given, the reason why the master was so angry with the servant who'd been given one bag was because his one bag required all of his attention and focus. He wasn't like the man with five who had to split his time, or the man with two who had to split his time, he had one soul focus. And the worst thing is, his his revelation of you're a hard man and you like to harvest where you haven't sewn and gather where you haven't put the work in. None of this chat was forthcoming when he was handing out the money. It's not even like he sat there with his one bag and went, No, I'm not gonna do this because you're a hard guy. You ain't gonna try and do this, you ain't gonna be fair. No, no, no, no. He happily took the money. How many times have we happily jumped into situations that weren't for us because it looked good at the time? And then what happens? Time proves to us that this wasn't what we needed, it wasn't what we wanted. These two parables are about time. Time is the most important commodity that you have been given management of. You cannot control time, you can only manage it. We experience time as it happens. God sees time as it is beginning, middle, and end. Right eternity past, future beyond. Time are merely footnotes that God uses to control the matrix that is time. Or time is merely footnotes that God uses to control the matrix that is eternity. It's unlimited. So the reason why the master was so angry was because how can those that I'd given more to have been more efficient with their time? And the people that I've given less to are so wasteful with their time. You can lose money and make money back. You can lose friends and find new friends. Time is the only thing that you can lose and never retrieve. Once it's gone, it's gone. For good. What happened five seconds ago, I cannot get back. What happened five minutes ago, I cannot get back. Are you losing and wasting time based on what you think is important rather than knowing what's important? What are you investing in? What are you giving your most important commodity to? The master wasn't present. The visuality of responsibility wasn't there for them to see. And in that process, you saw what was really in their heart, which is why the Bible says that God is a revealer of the intents of your heart. Because it's easy for us to look like the Pharisees and the Sadducees. If you look in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is talking to those in the religious spaces, he's saying, Woe unto you, Pharisees, woe unto you, scribes. You've set yourselves up as little princes and kings. You look to be doing the right things, but your heart, oh my god, if your heart was to be judged, it would be found wanting. Why? Because what you think is the quickest predication for me to understand what you're likely to do. This is what the parable of the servants is about. You can say the right thing in the moment it's happening, but if it does not align and if it's not parallel running, if it's not correlating with your heart, you're not just lying to yourself. Sorry. In this second part of our Bible study, I'm asking you to look at where is your heart concerning the things of the kingdom? If Jesus was to come back, would you be prepared to meet him? If he was to wait, would you be Patient enough within the process to trust that he's exactly who he says he is. I can't answer these questions. Only you can. Only you know if you're a part of the wise or the foolish. Only you know if you're the servant with the five bags or the two bags, or if you're the foolish servant with the one. I can't answer these questions for you, only you can. But it will come down to expectation and preparation, choice, consequence, reward and rejection. Guys, let's pray. Father, thank you this morning for this time that we've been able to share. Thank you for the clarity of your word. Thank you for moments where we can speak to one another and speak into one another and interact that will hopefully bring us to a closer and more defined relationship with you. God, the basis of relationship is trust. And trust doesn't mean that I know it or it just means that when I don't, I still trust the process of who's in control. And I believe that you're in control. I thank you for everybody under the sound of my voice. I pray that you'll bless their days. I pray that you'll also make this word alive to them now, in real time, today. And for those that are contemplating and they're hearing your voice, God, I pray let them give you a heart. Let them have your heart, but let them give you theirs. God, we believe that you sent your son into the world to die for us, and through his death, we might be saved and have spiritual reconciliation with you. And we thank you because we believe you're coming. God, allow us to be patient, but even in our patience, give us peace. And in our peace, allow us to always reflect love. In Jesus' name we ask it and we pray. Amen. Have a great day. Wishing you all the best. Bye, guys.