i invite you to turn in your bibles tonight in front of you to the book of matthew the book of matthew that's found on page 1055 is matthew chapter 25 and we will be reading from verse 13 to the end of the chapter focusing on verse 30 i mean reading up to verse 30 not focusing reading the verse 30. That'll be the text. I'll get this right at some point here. That'll be the text. So the text tonight is verses 13 through 30. Okay, we got that clear. This is the word of the Lord beginning at verse 13. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents to another two to another one to each according to his ability then he went away he who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them and made five talents more so also he who had the two talents made two talents more but he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them and he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I have made five talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also, who had the two talents, came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. you have been faithful over a little i will set you over much enter into the joy of your master he also who had received the one talent came forward saying master i knew you to be a hard man reaping where you did not sow gathering where you scattered no seed so i was afraid and i went and i hid your talent in the ground here you have what is yours but his master answered him you wicked and slothful servant you knew that i reap where i have not sown and gather where i have scattered no seed then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers and at my coming i should have received what was my own with interest so take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents for to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep on his right but the goats on the left then the king will say to those on his right come you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for i was hungry and you gave me food i was thirsty and you gave me drink i was a stranger and you welcomed me i was naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me then the righteous will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink and when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you and when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you and the king will answer him then truly i say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers you did it to me then he will say to those on his left depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels for i was hungry and you gave me no food i was thirsty and you gave me no drink i was a stranger and you did not welcome me naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me then they also will answer saying lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you then he will answer them truly I say to you as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me and these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life there is the reading of God's word well as you know this uh these parables this parable that we're focusing on tonight there's two here and then of course he speaks of the final judgment you'll notice this comes in the heart of what we call the Olivet Discourse. And at this point, Jesus is doing something very specific in Matthew's Gospel in the middle of the Olivet Discourse. He is explaining for them, of course, what is shortly to come to pass, what will happen to Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the age. This is the heart of this whole this the teaching that he is giving here as he's answering specific questions from the disciples but after explaining all of that he says something by way of transition uh when in verse 46 of the previous chapter he says blessed is that servant blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes we'll find so doing i want to emphasize that i i want to have us think about that tonight we'll find us active we'll find us doing works good works we'll find us as a people who are not idle who will find a people who are so involved in the work of the lord that that is what he will come down and have to tell see the people who are actively and busy in his service that's the imagery that he's giving us here so so christ um really is answering the question of doing what what should we be doing and what does what does a watching look like and that's why this morning was helpful to study simeon who was a servant in the temple and we'll look at anna who was there day and night as a woman 80 to 100 years old will look at christmas day it's a real marvelous picture of an old saint in the temple she's praying and she's fasting she's active and she's busy jesus uh in preceding our text gave the parable of what we call the ten virgins and this parable speaks to the fact that there are many in the kingdom who are not prepared for uh the return of the lord jesus christ so he has these three parables that he's given here now to impress this this readiness and blessed are those who he finds so doing and and we have to say up front when jesus gives a blessing like that as a speaking of a blessedness of a people this is something that he has given to you in his wonderful grace to be active and to doing you are blessed people when you are active. That's his work in you. That's the evidence of his work. So Christ now tells another parable to have each here evaluate how they're spending their time, how they're spending their time watching. You'll notice that verse 13 says that at the end, and there really is a direct connection here to the parable of the talents where he says, watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour, which leads to the question, how do I watch? How do I watch? Boys and girls, how do you watch? We just stand looking up at the sky? No. And this is what the parable of the talents is all about. It's a really helpful parable. In so many ways, it's an encouraging parable. Some are spending their time in the Lord's service out of gratitude and love for their king, out of thankfulness for his love. realizing the wonderful splendid privilege it is to be a servant in the vineyard and then there are others who are sleepers and that's what the lord had described in this previous parable and he's he is showing us here our calling is not to be an idle people but our calling as we look for the second coming of christ is to be a people who are diligently serving in his kingdom active in his kingdom. So that leads us then to this beautiful and inspiring parable of the talents. For it will be like a man, verse 14, going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. A talent is important here. It was a measure of weight in the ancient world, and it was a unit of coin value. Generally known, the talent was no less than 6,000 denarii, which would have been in our time hundreds of thousands of dollars. And what is being communicated by Jesus here is this opportunity that was given here, this talent, was of great value. It was something that the Lord wanted us to understand was a great privilege. A talent was extremely valuable since it was given to the servants by their Lord. I remember years ago reading J.C. Ryle on this, and he said something that I thought was so helpful when he said, a talent is anything whereby we may glorify God. Our gifts, our influence, our money, our knowledge, our health, Our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affection, our privileges. As members of Christ's church, our advantages, as possessors of the Bible, all of those are your talents. That's a really good statement. He's absolutely spot on. Notice these talents are given to faithful and to unfaithful servants. Parables are parables. You can't press them too literally, but you have to get the big picture of the parable. You'll notice in verse 14 he says that he gave talents to each according to his own ability, so then these opportunities according to the gifts that he gave, you have all sorts of opportunities that the Lord gives you in his kingdom. All sorts of ways in which you can use your abilities to glorify him. Now the question, really, one of the things that always strikes me about the parables is the way in which Jesus captures the attitude of people. It's really remarkable. He's a master teller of stories. And he can really pull you into the attitudes of people as he's doing this. If you'll stand back and consider it, and sometimes reading it, You have to have expression in reading this so you can capture it as you go through it. You are not a worthless people. You are unworthy, but you are not worthless. Jesus died for you. So he has given you a great opportunity. He's given you great obligations. And every member in his house, he gives these great responsibilities and privileges to serve. Maybe that comes in the form of being an office bearer. It's a good time to preach this, isn't it? I always like to think about that as we enter into a new phase and we just elected elders and deacons. Maybe it's in the nursery. Maybe it's the usher. There are many ways that we encourage and help one another and use our gifts to be a blessing to one another. And they're all important. They're all important. I'll come back to that. Well, you can't miss the imagery here. Jesus is the one who has gone off to the far country, if you will. He's the master of the house. Jesus has gone away and he's coming back. You know, that's the emphasis. He's returning on the clouds of heaven. And you'll notice here right now, he's in heaven. He's not with us on the earth. He's ascended. At some point, he returns again. And he's poured out gifts from heaven. It's stated everywhere. Ephesians 4 says this. You can think of something like 1 Corinthians 12. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it's the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. So there it is. Gifts are given to be used in the capacities and the abilities that you have so that you would serve and love your neighbor. As each one has received a gift, 1 Peter 4.10, and minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. So here we are. Jesus now describes this, challenging us. How are we active in using these abilities and talents and gifts? It's the best way for you to be a ready people. have you ever seen people who sit alone in navel gaze all day they're not happy people people who are active in the lord's service are happy people that's just the reality that's how the lord made it to work so here is what jesus captures for us so he who had received five talents you'll notice there in verse 20 verse 20 says and he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more saying master you delivered to me five talents here i have made five talents more and the master comes back and he says bravo great job well done um one of the things i'm going to miss i have one that still does this as a child. My youngest still draws me pictures. And you parents know what I'm talking about. These wonderful pictures and she'll come up and all of them used to do it. Now the other ones don't. But the youngest comes up and she draws me a picture and she says, Daddy, look! I drew you a picture. And I say, Wonderful, Lucy! I love your picture. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. You thought of me. That relationship is not forced, is it? That relationship is not forced, is it? It's one of intimacy. It's one of love for dad. And dad loves his daughter. That's what this is. Look. Father. He gave me these opportunities and look, here's what I was able to do with them. Well done. Son, well done. I am so happy to bring a return on your money. I am so happy to be a servant in your kingdom. I am so thankful for a place in your vineyard to work. Remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard? Those who came in at the 11th hour got the sandwich. They were just happy to be there. You get the sense this was such a joy to work for this landowner, this master. And then the one who had been given two talents comes back and he says the same thing. The Lord didn't have to include this. This is what's amazing about this. The Lord didn't have to give us and tell us this, but notice how overwhelming it really is a truth. You know, I've been amazed by this. You would look at this person. This is somebody in the kingdom who you would never notice. This is somebody in the kingdom we'd never take notice of. You think I'm doing the big works by preaching. No, there are a lot who, according to their abilities, are doing wonderful things that never get noticed. And He notices. and they're joyful in that service isn't this beautiful they're joyful in that service they are active god had given them an opportunity to serve the king to serve the lord of glory with the little resources that they had and they used it you don't have to be a wonder worker you don't have to be somebody great the message here is that servant and the lord have just as much joy together over that service this is a beautiful imagery we're getting here this service never makes it in the news this is the ushering this is the stuff that behind the scenes. This is all that. God loves the common folk. I hope you've gotten that message so far in the scriptures. God loves the little people. If he wanted to fill this with Hollywood stars, he could. But I don't know one in this place. All of you. He has given these abilities and talents to and the beauty is is on judgment day when he comes the picture that you have here is that and that's why i read in the next section the the connection with his rewarding of these works isn't isn't it just true sure they were works prepared beforehand that we should walk in them but their works that were given and and notice how the the master said on judgment day how the lord said on judgment day it will go in the ways that you loved one another that was the ways that you showed your love for him in the ways that you served and loved one another that's how you said i love you lord beautiful isn't it it's beautiful the elder elders meeting the other night i did the devotional on um on peter and uh in that devotional it says there it has a whole list of how we are called to shepherd. And one of the wonderful things it says there is the Lord's going to reward those who serve in this way. They're going to receive the crown of glory. And one of the things that it says there is do it eagerly and do your service not with a domineering spirit. Why? This is the kind of relationship that we see here. It's not this slave-master sort of relationship. It's this freedom and joy to simply be in the house and serve. So, this is the sense we get. After a long time, verse 19, the Lord of the servants came and settled accounts. And the Son of Man comes, and you'll notice it was taking a cup of cold water. That's why I read that to the brothers. All of that is highlighted here. these are people who have made great returns on that work that's the imagery in the parable now the question then at this point is is is i think you would read this any sort of first century here would read this and ask the question how at this point am i viewing service in the kingdom how am i using my abilities how am i using my talents to glorify god and love my neighbor for that shows my love for Him. Those are the questions that are important at this point. And what capacities do we serve in Christ's kingdom and what is our attitude to it? What is our attitude to these opportunities that the Lord has given us? Service is not always easy. Service will be challenging. There will be offenses. People will get offended with one another. But it's this kind of approach to it that the Lord is after. That's the beautiful side of the parable. But now comes the ugly side of the parable. The ugly side of the parable. The bad example. Somebody not watching. Somebody not ready. Listen to verse 24. It says in verse 24, He also who had received the one talent came forward saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid when I went and hid your talent into the ground. Here, listen to this statement. Here, you have what is yours. Really? Big problem. Big heart problem. What was his complaint? Well, he's attacking the master. He's blaming the master. This was a bitter man. Judgmental against God himself. How did he view God? Harsh. Harsh, wicked tyrant. That's how he viewed him. That if God could do anything, this is how he's thinking, if he should do anything with a talent, God would take it all away anyway because that's the kind of God he is. That was the lie of Satan to Eve in the garden. God's holding you back. He's an oppressive God. He's making you miserable by commanding you to come to worship. And twice at that. See? He was complaining. God is a hard man we could never please. This is a hard man. I'm interposing here and interjecting the figures, but you get the point. The Master is a hard person we can't please. I exhort you elders, come back to that, shepherd the flock, of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. Why is He telling us that? Because God's not that way to us. He's not domineering over us. He's been compassionate. And long-suffering. And a gracious master. Attitude problem, isn't it? This is how the servant views him. I always like to compare this with one of my favorite illustrations of two coaches. Since basketball was the best sport ever invented. Of John Wooden and Bobby Knight. Everyone loved playing for John Wooden. John Wooden was undoubtedly the best basketball coach, I think, ever. And his players loved playing for him. He was not a yeller. He was calm. He knew how to speak to them. He knew how to motivate them. Bill Russell said that the worst he ever heard Wooden say was, goodness gracious sakes alive. Night? Awful. Threw chairs at players. Turned beet red and screamed at him. And those players looked like little abused puppies. Knight was known for saying, I don't tolerate any mistakes. Wouldn't heard that. Said, it's never bothered me when my players made mistakes because that's how they learned. I know it breaks down at some point. We're talking about God Himself. But you get the point. How did the ready servants working for their masters view him? Well, they knew their master was for them. They understood this. How did the wicked servant view his master like a Bobby Knight? And herein lies the great difference as we're a ready people. Who do you think you're serving? Who do you think you're serving? You see, Jesus confronts the wicked servant at this point. Because it's really about Him. You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where you have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers at my coming and I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from Him and give it to the one that has ten talents. The Master's point here is if you knew that I do that, that I expect for you to make a profit on what I gave you, then you should have gone and done that. You should have done whatever possible to make a gain, but you didn't do it. Don't blame me. Don't blame me. I'm not the tyrant. The issue is you're a wicked and you're a lazy servant. That's the issue. One pastor spoke of the lazy servant saying this, he willfully and deliberately refused to do any work in His place in the kingdom. I think James Boyce says this so well. Listen to what he says about the final judgment for the wicked servant. And keep in mind, one who is also in the house. This will be the end for many in their lifetime called out, Lord, Lord, but did not do the things Jesus said. We would not dare to say this if the Lord had not said it first. But on His authority, we must say that many who worship in apparently Christian congregations consider themselves good Christians will be confounded by Christ's judgment. Was his place of confessing truth by a godly life in his work? He did not do it. Was he called to comfort someone who was stricken with sorrow? He refused. Was he given the opportunity to serve Christ by instructing his children in the word of God? He let his talent lie useless. Did Christ call him to suffer affliction with patience and courage and contentment? He was rather rebellious and grumpy and dissatisfied. Whatever that place in the kingdom may have been, he refused to perform the assignment which had been given to him by his master. voice. And the reason that's important is notice what Jesus said. Blessed are those who when the Master comes, He will find them so doing. The blessed people understand the privilege it is to be in the kingdom and to serve the Lord, being active in His service as the best way to be ready for His coming. I think you had that great example this morning with Simeon. What a model Simeon was. And notice that was the same relationship. He took up the Savior in His arms. Day and night in that temple. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchman for the morning. More than the watchman for the morning. Psalm 130, verse 6. The best way to do that is to be active in the joy of Christian service in the name of the Lord. How do you miss that in this parable? Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. It's the end of 1 Corinthians. Be about it. It's a wonderful privilege. Who then is, says Jesus, who are the faithful and the wise servants? Well, it's the one who when the Master comes, He will find so doing. And you know what the Master is going to say to you on that day? And remember, I'm not talking about the great things. You know what the Master is going to say to you on that day? Something wonderful. Enter now into the joy of your Master. Enter now into the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world for you. What a privilege. What a king. What a kingdom we belong to. I'm already anticipating as we enter a new year that we are challenged to be a watching people, a ready people. I, as a pastor, have to constantly remind myself of the need for this because we're so distracted today. But remember what Jesus says when you take a cup of cold water to your beloved friend next to you who's hurting. You're doing it unto Him. Whether you eat or drink, everything you do, you can do for the glory of the Lord. That's the kind of service, joyfully, He wants you to have as you watch. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for this text and thank You for challenging as those who have been justified by grace through faith that these kind of good works certainly and indeed will follow in the life of Your sheep who, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, are so blessed to be doing these things. Thank you for encouraging us to this end. And thank you for challenging us to this end. May none of us ever here be that wicked and lazy servant making excuses. But to be thankful to serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords who has served us with the gospel. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.