FBCWest 602 | A Lot and A Little
Recorded On: 04/14/2024
Bulletin
Hymn # 154 “Power in the Blood”
SCRIPTURE READING – Romans 5:6 - 11
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Great I Am”
“Behold the Lamb of God”
“Home Coming”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“A Lot and A Little”
“At the Cross”
Benediction “Praise You Anywhere”
Sermon Notes
Luke l9:11 - 27 The stewardship and accounting of three different people
Luke 21:1 – 4 Very little adds up to great
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
He's going to go and he's going to give three different individuals different talents he's going to give to the first five talents, he's going to give to the second two talents, and you're going to give to the third eight talent.
And as we look at this, each of the men who he receives talents from recognize that they're not given to the stewards as their possessions, they're given to them as the masters, and that they are to render an accounting for what the master has given to them.
The master is going to leave and then he's going to come back and he's going to determine when the best time is for that accounting and they're not going to be sure when that is. And so, you ready to go?
Okay. For it was just like a man about to go on a journey who calls his slaves and retrusted his possessions to them. So notice again, it's his possessions, he does not give them to the slaves.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and he went on his journey.
And immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gave five more talents.
And so we see that the first steward, the first one, didn't wait to start trying to increase the talents, to increase those values. Now in today's world's money, it's somewhere between a thousand and thirty thousand dollars. So it's a, we're not sure, but it's a large amount of money, especially for those periods of time. But the steward immediately starts investing those proceeds for the master.
In the same manner, the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
And so again, we see the same, the one who had got two talents made an immediate effort to start investing and increasing and multiplied. So the one with five increased by a hundred percent, the one by two increased a hundred percent. But he who received the one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.
He didn't do anything.
He just, I mean I guess it was better than stealing it, but he just put in a hole.
I guess he's thinking, well he'll live long enough to know where the hole, so that he can give the money back. But there is no sense of responsibility. He should have just said, "Master, don't give me the money.
I'm good, you're good.
I'm fine just being a slave. Don't give me your money." But instead, he dug it and put it in a hole.
And after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. So that there is going to be this settling of accounts, there is going to be an accounting.
The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, "Master, you entrusted me five talents to me. See I have gained five more talents." So again, he doesn't claim that it's his. He says the first five talents was the master's, and the second five talents was the master's. Here's yours, this is what I've done with what you've entrusted me.
As Master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You are faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master."
So in essence, what this slave didn't understand was the master was testing him.
Are you worthy to be trusted with more than I've initially given you? And the master says, "You've done a great job." So much so that I'm not as much concerned about the increase is that enter into not my wealth, but enter into my joy.
Celebrate with me.
Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, "Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See I've gained two more talents."
His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You are faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master." Now I want you to notice something.
The accounting was the same, five and five, two and two, but the master's reward was the same.
So oftentimes we spend our time saying, "Well, I don't have as much as him or she has more than me."
That's not what the master is looking at. Who has the most and what are you doing with it? What are you doing with what he has placed in your hand?
It's not about how much you were given. What have you done with it? And by doing what these slaves did, they immediately took effort to make sure that their master's possessions increased because it was their master's.
And the one also had received the one talent came up and said, "Master, and you need to be a hard man, weaving where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed." That's again, then he should have said, "I don't want it.
I can't comply with what your demands are. Don't give me any because I will fail miserably." No, he took it. He buried it in the ground and so many people take what the master gives us and just bury it in the ground.
And I was afraid and I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See you have what is yours.
The master could have taken it with him.
But his master answered and said to him, "You wicked, lazy slave. You knew that I reaped where I did not sow and gathered where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money into the bank and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. You should have done something with what I gave you. You just simply put it in the ground.
Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents."
So he takes it from this one and now the one who has ten has now eleven.
"For to everyone who has more shall be given and he who will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have even what he does have shall be taken away."
Now here's a tragedy. Throw out the worst slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There's no reward for this servant because he did not do what the master asked him to do. Quite frankly I don't even think he understood who the master was. The two others were eager to try to please the master. This one was afraid of the master.
I wish he would have added one more person to this story.
So I'm going to add him.
Doesn't make me God.
I may be really wrong.
But based on the real life person, I think this additional person may be okay.
So this imaginary person I imagine, the master gave him a talent and he went and invested in crops.
And when it was supposed to rain it did it.
He lost his crops.
So he took the rest of the money and invested it and worked hard to make sure that there was a profit.
And when it was supposed to rain it rained too much and wiped all the crops away.
So that the servant ended up bankrupt.
So when the master came and said, "I want you to render an accounting to me," it would have said, "I have nothing to give to you, but I took everything that you gave me to invest for your kingdom and I saw no results.
But I love you and it was yours and I made every effort to increase what you gave me."
But the results don't seem to be there.
I think the master's response to that servant is going to be what he says to the real person.
Later Jesus is going to go to Jerusalem, to the temple.
He's going to see people giving money to the treasury.
He's going to observe too many people giving money into the treasury. He's going to see this widow who no one else probably is paying any attention to.
And she only has two copper coins, which is probably worth less than our two cents today.
And she placed those two cents into the offering plate where nobody else noticed and nobody else cared.
But Jesus saw her and said to his disciples, "See that poor widow?
She gave more than everyone else totally combined.
It didn't matter if you were the richest person in the world. It didn't matter whether you were one of the four top 500 companies." He says all of them together didn't equal what she gave in the offering of two coin coins.
Because he said everybody else gave out of their abundance.
She gave out of her need.
Because she loved God that much that she trusted him, not the money. She trusted him and he was worthy to receive her offering regardless of the amount.
All too often when we come and say, "Well, we can't give a lot." So we give nothing.
God doesn't ask us to give.
He used certain things in me. He asked us to give what he's asked us to give.
So he says that widow gave more. So I am convinced if he would have added this fourth person, he would have said, "Well done,
good and faithful slave.
You loved me and you desired for the increase of my kingdom even though you had no results.
Because I'm not looking for results. I'm looking for your heart and what you do with what you have.
And simply because you may not be the most successful person in this world doesn't mean that I don't love you any less.
And that I want you to enter into the joy of your master. Because you loved me and you gave yourself for me. That my kingdom might increase. And yes, you failed.
I'll let you know the secret.
There are more of us who failed and succeed.
There are more of us who returned less than what we were given and what it gave to us.
And so you can take a look at this talent and look at your talents, your abilities. Or you can look at your money. Or you can look at whatever. I want you to take a look at your life.
When the master comes, whether it's at the end of this age or the end of your life, is there going to be joy in seeing you?
And may we hear that wonderful blessing.
Well done, my good and faithful slave.
Enter into the joy of your master.
This is the first Sunday in about 53 years.
She's not here.
I am convinced she heard. Well done, good and faithful slave.
And I pray for each, for me and for each one of us that we might hear this very same thing.
Now, I'm 71.
Maybe I haven't immediately started what I should do or whatever, or maybe you're 14,
37, 53, but you can't immediately start working on His kingdom and taking that which He has given to you so that you too might hear, "Well done, good and faithful slave."
Because each of us will hear that.
Not because of what we have done.
And not because of the successes or failures of us.
But because He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son on a cross to die for us.
So that we might have the opportunity to receive those talents, to work for Him, and to understand that on that cross, we saw a love that we have never seen before.
And I encourage you, if you've never received that love, to do so.
If you have, to re-celebrate it each and every day.
Because our world today loves all the clickbaits and all the likes and all the social media and all those things.
And there's going to be, and you may be successful, and there may be millions of people who think you're wonderful. And then there'll be millions of people who think you're terrible.
But the Lord our God is the one who opinion counts.
And all God's people say.