The Worlds Okayest Pastor

Live Ready, Love Boldly, Multiply Faithfully

• Jason Cline

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What if the clearest way to face the future is to get faithful in the present? We dive into Jesus’ parables and the sweeping arc of Matthew 24–25 to explore how readiness, mercy, and stewardship form a life that actually looks like the kingdom of God. Instead of chasing predictions, we focus on what Jesus says matters now: be prepared like the wise with oil in hand, love the least as if serving the King himself, and put every entrusted gift to work.

We start with the hard grace of forgiveness and the vineyard lessons that remind us nothing we have is truly ours to gatekeep. Then we confront the noise around end times with Jesus’ simple clarity: no one knows the hour, so live ready. That readiness gets practical in the sheep and goats, where the metric is mercy—feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the cold, showing up for the sick and imprisoned. It’s not a political slogan; it’s a kingdom standard measured in quiet, costly acts of love.

At the center, the parable of the talents reframes success. Each servant receives a fortune, not a trinket. Two risk, multiply, and hear “well done.” One buries the trust out of fear and calls that safety. We unpack how apathy can hollow out a church when inspiration never becomes participation, and why most people show up because a friend invites them and stays. Gifts often awaken with a simple yes—whether it’s music, hospitality, leadership, or faithful presence behind the scenes. Stewardship stretches beyond money to include time, skill, influence, and relationships, all leveraged for God’s purposes.

Our takeaway is clear and urgent: live ready without paranoia, love people in concrete ways, and refuse to bury what God has placed in your hands. If he gives one, make two; if he gives five, make ten. That’s the posture we’re choosing as a community—invest, build, and multiply with open hands—trusting the Master with the increase. If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a review to help others find the show. What gift will you put to work this week?

SPEAKER_00:

So we've gone through the parables. We start out with the parable of the soil, and Jesus describes four different kinds of soils. And the question that really comes out of that conversation is what kind of soil are you? You and I have a part to play in that. We talked about the unforgiven servant. That's a tough one. When Peter asks Jesus if he should forgive someone seven times, Jesus says, no, no, seven times seven. When you look at the the language there and some of the writings, that Jesus is not necessarily talking about a number, but he's talking about just how forgiveness is supposed to be. That you and I are supposed to forgive people more than we think. And so we we wrestle with that because how many of us walk around and in bitterness and anger, and and I've actually had a couple people coming up come up to me. My my test for me personally is if if I have unforgiveness for someone, is how I respond to something nice they say to me. So if someone comes up to me and wishes me well, and I think, well, don't talk to me, there's some bitterness that I've got to work on. That's always been the way I've looked at it. If I've really forgiven you, it doesn't mean I have to stay around. It doesn't mean I had to necessarily let you speak into my life, but if I've really forgiven you the way that Jesus has forgiven me, then I should see you differently. I should extend you grace because I've been given grace. We talked about the parable of the vineyard, how everything that we have doesn't belong to us. And Jesus talks about this as a kingdom parable, that the grace that he offers is abounding. It's his to freely give as he chooses. You and I don't get to gatekeep the kingdom. It's available to all. We talked about the tenant farmers. How do we fit into the kingdom? What's our purpose? What are we supposed to be doing? Talked about the parable of the bank, what Jesse did last week, and in the parable of the bank, what I love what he said. He said, Grace gets you to the table, but holiness keeps you there. That the standard that God sets is high and it doesn't shift. We don't get to tell God how to live, he gets to tell us how to live. That's where transformation happens. And it's funny because I remember when we were talking about this, and I asked Jesse if he wanted to preach, and I was looking through the series, and I was like, huh. I feel like I gave him the most difficult one. Because we like the idea of grace, but none of us want to talk about what it means to be transformed. And that's what the parable talks about. If you're going to show up to the wedding party, got to dress the part. And so this morning we're going to talk about the parable of the talents, which is in Matthew 25. There's actually three parables that Jesus tells, and we're going to be primarily focused on that one, but prior to that moment, we have to understand something, right? Context is always important. So Matthew 24, Jesus walks out of the temple. And this is significant, right? So he walks out of the temple. He he taught in the temple only a handful of times. So he walks out of the temple and he sits down at the Mount of Olives. Now, for Jewish culture, the Mount of Olives is pretty big on end time ideas. There's a lot of things that are talked about or foreshadowed to happen, right? So when we talk about the Mount of Olives and they see it as kind of like as the world is when Jesus comes back in his reign, like there's a lot of things that happen centrally in scripture around that. So for them, Jesus walks out to the Mount of Olives, he sits down, and he spends all the chapter 24 really breaking some difficult news to them. So there's 24 is it's end-time conversations, but it's a mix of things that are going to happen kind of near, and then the things that aren't going to happen a little farther off. So specifically, Jesus is talking to the nation of Israel, and he tells them, Listen, everything you know is about to be stripped from you. The temple you worship at will fall. You will lose your central location for worship. The God that you serve, who you've kind of confined to this one location, that's not where he's going to be. And he's talking about the kingdom, right? And and and so he's talking about the the idea of the kingdom is coming. He's overthrowing really their entire concept of what the covenant is for them. Because in their mind, if you are in that audience, you are thinking, here is the Messiah. He is going to come, he is going to overthrow Rome, and he's going to restore us back into our place of power. And Jesus says, that's that's actually not what's about to happen. He actually talks about it and he predicts the fall of the temple about 70 years after his death. In AD 70 or 40 years, uh AD 70, Rome destroys Jerusalem and the temple. So he he tells them, listen, it is coming. All of these things you worship, this temple you worship at, will eventually be destroyed. It hasn't happened yet, but it's coming. And then he looks further down the road and he says, There's a kingdom, my kingdom that's coming, and that kingdom's going to be restored, and eventually all the evil things will pass away, and my kingdom will reign forever. And so this is important as you get into 25 because Jesus says you have to understand my reign is eternal. Don't get caught up in worldly things. Don't get caught up in temple worship. Don't convince yourself that the kingdom I'm talking about is about a place. Those who are wicked and evil will be cast out. Again, Jesus doesn't mince words. So this audience, they hear him say this, and their question is, well, what do we do? Which seems like a weird question, but it but it's not. Because their entire life is about to be turned upside down. And so their response is, what do we what do we do? Jesus, we we believe your kingdom is coming. If you understand anything about uh New Testament, the New Testament, a lot of them thought that it was going to happen in their lifetime. I don't think any of them thought that we'd be almost 2,000 years removed and nothing's happened yet. Right? I always love. We've talked about this before, and and Allie bring this up because it it's my the world is supposed to end on my birthday like seven times now. Like I don't know what it is, but in my lifetime, like I have heard that Jesus was coming back on May 24th on multiple occasions. And I'm telling you, I'm 39 and it hasn't happened yet. But every birthday, I'm like, nope, okay. Right in and so there's a whole lot of conversations about this, and there's a whole lot of people on TikTok that will tell you they know when it's gonna happen. Okay, let me let me be very clear, and I want to make sure that that I read this. To anyone who thinks they have found the answer to when the world will come to an end, this is what Jesus says. Matthew 24, 36. But about that day or hour no one knows. So if someone tells you they know when the world is going to end, they're lying to you. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Jesus says, as it was in the days of Noah, so will be coming of the Son of Man. For the days, for in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. And they know nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken the other, uh, the other left. Two women will be grinding with a handmill, one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have left the house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. And so Jesus has this conversation. He says, Listen, at some point, my kingdom is coming. I'm coming back. That that's that's the the beauty of the Christian faith is you and I are waiting. Sometimes it takes a little more patience. There are some days that I I say to God, God, if you want to come back today, today is good. I live in the same world. It's tough. But it hasn't happened yet. So so so the disciples are faced with until that day comes, what do we do? Do we sit around and contemplate and debate when it's gonna happen? Do we do we sit around and and look for wars and rumors of wars? Do we try to anticipate? Do we live in fear? So Jesus in Matthew 25 tells three parables. Matthew 25, verse 1. Said at that time the kingdom of heaven will be taken will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps and did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil and jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy, fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out, Here's the bridegroom, come out to meet him. Then all the virgins woke up, and they trimmed their lamps. The foolish one said to the wise, give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out. No, they replied, There may not be enough for both of us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later the others also came, Lord, Lord, they said, Open the door for us. But he replied, Truly I tell you, I don't know you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Parable one Jesus says, Be ready. Be ready for the coming of the king. We don't know when. My life could end when I walk out of here this afternoon. Jesus could come back right now. Nope. One of these days that's gonna work and it's gonna be really cool. But he could come back right in this moment. And and scripture says, be ready. Be prepared. We talk about that. What does that look like? Have you given your life to Jesus? Have you committed to his purpose, his calling? And we do baptisms here. Have you accepted the gift that he's given you? Are you ready if the king comes today? Jesus says, be ready. Because he's not gonna tell you when it's time. He's gonna expect you to be ready and willing. The five virgins who weren't ready, they missed it. They missed the opportunity. They were left out. We're gonna skip ahead to verse 31. We'll come back. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another, as shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance. The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world, for I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison, you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on the left, Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I am sick and in prison, and you did not look after me. They will also answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you? And he will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. By the way, under I think it's important to say this, because I've I've heard this misrepresented. This is not a political statement. Jesus isn't talking about the right side or the left side of the aisle. So don't assume that. That's misuse of scripture, by the way. We should be concerned about that. But but what he says is the way you take care of each other, the way you take care of those who are mine, and and all of us who have been created by him, the the way that you take care of those who are in need. That's what I'm interested in. Yes, follow me, but but you also have to make sure as you follow me that that you love others well. How you treat people matters. That's such a big conversation in the world today. I see a lot of people who follow Jesus, they're some of the most hateful people I've ever met. And listen, that's not biblical. That is not what scripture calls us to be. Actually, it's the contrary. You and I are supposed to love the people we can't stand. Our enemies. Turn a cheek. They ask you to go mile, you go too. You and I are supposed to be defined by how we treat other people, not just those we like. We will be held accountable to that behavior. Imagine standing before Jesus and he pulls up your social media feed. Some of you laugh, some of you are worried. I see it. I see so much hate and anger and disgust. The church is never supposed to be like that. Jesus says, if you take care of those who are in need, every time you take care of someone who's in prison and you visit them and they're sick, and you and you and you visit them and they're hungry and you fed them, you gave them some drink, as you take care of the least of these, so you do it for me. So as the world comes to an end, as the kingdom comes, Jesus says, be ready. It's coming. He says, love well, love others well, treat my creation. They are these are my people. And then right in the middle, tells us I've always understood this is what it looks like to be part of a church. So the parable of the talents, Matthew 25, 14, Jesus says that again, it'll be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one, uh one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work, and gained five bags more. So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, You entrusted me with the five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant, you've been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. The man with two bags of gold also came. Master, he said, You entrusted me with two bags of gold. See, I have gained two more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things, and I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. And the man who received one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid, and I went out and I hid your gold on the ground. See, here's what belongs to you. His master replied, You wicked, lazy servant. So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well then, you should put my money in a deposit with the bankers, so that when I return I would have received it back with interest. So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has 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. Again, parables are fun. But they're hard. Last week, when Jesse talked about the servant or the the guest who's invited not wearing the proper clothes, he was kicked out of the banquet. And you and I, we look at that and think, man, that's that's that's harsh. It's not harsh, it's consistent. God is consistent, his standards don't shift. And and so again, this parable, Jesus is saying, the servants have all gained something. And so two of them, they go out and they make a difference. And by the way, just to give you some idea, the the bag of gold, the single bag of gold. So a talent is not a coin, it's a measurement, it's a weight measurement. The talent, the one bag of gold. In today's standards, it was about$600,000 to$1 million. So before you think that this man was given very little, understand he was actually given a whole lot. He was given a very large sum of money, and he was told to go and do something with it, and he doesn't. He buries it in the ground because he's afraid. What if nothing happens? What if I lose it? He does nothing. He doesn't even invest it in the bank. He just holds on to it. And when the master returns, he takes it from him. This is apathy. I've talked about this before, and this applies to so many things in life. But this is what apathy looks like in a church. When we sit on Sunday mornings, we hear a good sermon, we feel inspired, and then we go home and we do nothing with it. We come back next Sunday and we hear a couple good worship songs and we feel inspired and we do nothing with it. And we and we do this cycle over and over and over again. We show up, we feel inspired, we're on fire for God, and then we go to work on Monday and we don't tell a single person about Jesus. This is apathy in the church. This is why churches die. You know what? It's interesting. Believe it or not, and I've had this conversation before, the number one reason why people come to a church has nothing to do with the guy standing in the pulpit. It's not because they like me. Now, if they do, that's cool. But the number one reason people come to church is because someone they know invited them. It's not because of the music, not because of the lights or lack of lights, it's not the fog machine. We don't have one. It's not. It's because someone cared enough to share the message of the gospel with them and they invited them to church. Statistically, that's why people come. The reason people stay because they find a family here. They find a community of people who will walk through life with them. There's an expectation for you and I to do something with what has been given to us. Israel was told that they were about to lose everything because they had failed to do what they were supposed to do. Israel had made it about the temple and their Pharisees and the rules, and they made it really, really hard, but but they were ignoring the people right in front of them. Those who were in need, those, those who were hurting. And so Jesus, when he's talking to his disciples, he says, listen, my kingdom is coming. So you have to wait, be ready. He says you have to you have to love people extravagantly. You have to be faithful to love people. And then he says, you have to be fruitful. You have to do something with what I've given you. That's the important part of this conversation is everything we do is in response to what Jesus has done. I remember I was 15 years old. 15 years old. And I was at a church, and I used to go to church. By the way, I'm not going to play a cool bass riff. I just don't want to hold this thing because it's kind of heavy. But I remember that I was at a church and I was 15 years old, and I gave my life to Jesus. And the youth minister at the time, his name was Mike DeVinny, and he comes up to me a couple weeks after being at church and he says, Hey, listen, you play any instruments? I was like, Nope. He's like, You think you can play bass? I'm like, what's a bass? He's like, well, trying to put together this worship team with the youth, and I could probably teach you. Like, all right. I've been playing bass for 25 years. 15. I could, oh man, I'll be 40. That scares me. It's all right. 25 years. I played on worship teams. I've played at different events. This is something that one day someone sat down and said, hey, listen, we need someone to serve in the church. Can you do it? And I was like, I have no idea. Don't worry, I'll teach you. I was in a band for a couple years, years ago. We were great. But we used to go around and we would bring Jesus with us everywhere that we went. You know, my favorite part is I got to sit, I was sitting in our living room yesterday with Everett practicing guitar with him. So he just started guitar lessons. We have a drum set in our house now because of Miles. Fantastic. I love it. I love it. Because here's what I know. Someone asked me if I was willing to do something, and I said yes. And look how God has used it. I would consider being able to play an instrument a talent. Something that I've learned to do over time. I became a drummer in my 20s because of it, because I figured if I could keep rhythm on a bass, I could probably keep rhythm on a drum kit. As I got older, I started to realize that I was called to be a preacher. I worked at it. Didn't come easy. I think my wife has the first video of the first sermon that I ever preached and we'll never watch it again. It was bad. But what I'm getting at is there were things that I didn't know that I could do. But someone in the church came to me and said, hey, listen, we need help. And so God has used these gifts that He's given me. And that's my prayer that everything that I do is for Him. D.A. Carson says this says it's important to understand that the tale of the talents is not about investing in the stock market. The servants that had the five and two talents put them to work, perhaps in a business that made the money grow. The servant with one talent did not uh have uh did not love his master, and the show with his lack of care for the master's money. So what this what this servant overlooks is this responsibility to his master and his obligation to discharge his assigned duties. His failure betrays his lack of love for his master, which he masked by blaming his master and excusing himself. So DA Carson says that the servant has failed to live up to the expectations. And instead of owning his mistake, he instead blames the master. God has given each of us unique talents. Some of us have incredible gifts. Some of us might not even know that we have them yet. The parable of the talents is so much more than just about money. It's about what it's about using what God has given us for his glory. You know, people come to church on Sunday morning and and they put a lot of attention on the people in the pulpit. A lot of attention on the people on stage. So I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm a very small part of this thing. There's so much stuff that happens behind the scenes. So many people, way more creative than me. So many gifts and talents and shared ideas, and the church exists because of all of these people who have stepped up and they brought something to the table. And my understanding is the expectation from this scripture is that God wants us to use what He has given us for His glory, for His kingdom, His purpose. Your money, your time, your relationships, your kids? All of these things you have because God has given them to you. And the question at the end of the day is what are you doing with what God has entrusted to you? What are we doing with the church that God has given us? What are we doing with with the community outside these walls? How are we raising our kids? What are we teaching them? What what gifts do we have that could further the the work of the kingdom? Everything you have is his anyways. Jesus has given us the kingdom. That to me is probably one of the most humbling things I've come to realize. And all of my brokenness and all of my imperfection. Jesus brought me home. He died for me. So I could have access to the same spirit that he does. He died for me so I can have access to the same kingdom that he does. It's my inheritance. It's your inheritance. He has given us the keys to the kingdom. And all he's asking is, what are you doing with it? What are you doing with what I have entrusted to you? We look ahead. We have to ask ourselves that question with the church. And I know we've said invest, build, multiply, and that's important. But we want to take this further for this church. Everything we're doing is future planning, right? I don't know what God has in store for us. I don't. But I know that we are called to be faithful with what we have. That's why we've made the changes we've made and we're trying to adjust where we are. That's why we're praying and seeking the property and building and all of these things that are coming. We are trusting God with everything. It's all his, anyways. We just want to be faithful with it. Whatever God is giving, listen, if God gives us one talent, then we're going to make two. If he gives us five, we're going to make ten. If he gives us two, we're going to make four. Whatever he gives us, I trust him. Whatever whoever he brings to this place, I trust that he entrusts us with them. Their faith, their life, their walk with him. I trust him. And I'm going to do everything I can to multiply. It's his kingdom. It's not even mine. It's never been mine. This isn't your church. It's his church. He has entrusted it to us, and he wants to know what are we doing with the thing, with the body of believers, with the people? What are we doing with what he has entrusted to us? This parable was clear. At the end of your life, when you stand before the king, there are only two responses. Well done, good and faithful servant. Or depart from me. I never even knew you. Let's bring.