0:01

Well , hey , good morning . Good morning , you can go ahead and

0:03

find your seats today . What

0:05

a great day to be in church . Who's glad to be

0:07

here this morning ? I

0:09

love it . I love it . Y'all are a little more awake at 1030

0:12

than the nine o'clock is , and we try to say that to them

0:14

. They're still working their coffee into their system . So

0:16

you know they say that there's two things , a lot of

0:18

things . There's

0:27

two things at least you're not supposed to talk about it Thanksgiving . One's politics , the other's money . We talked about politics

0:29

last week . We figured we'll just go ahead and talk about money today and just cover all the stuff right . So welcome to church . We're going to talk about money . Glad that

0:31

you're here . Proverbs 16 , verse

0:34

16 says this how much better

0:36

to get wisdom than gold . To

0:39

get understanding is to be chosen

0:42

rather than silver . Now

0:44

if we just tossed this out

0:46

to you today and said , hey , in

0:48

this box is a bunch of gold and

0:50

a bunch of silver , and this box

0:52

is a bunch of wisdom and understanding

0:54

, and we ask you , hey , take your pick

0:57

. Do you want box

0:59

A silver and gold or

1:01

do you want box B wisdom and understanding

1:04

? If we're honest , there's at least something

1:06

I think in probably all of us that

1:09

says box A sounds

1:11

really good , right ? I mean

1:13

, can we just be honest this morning , like silver and gold , like

1:15

somebody in the first service , like how much gold ? I'm like

1:18

that's a great question , you know . But here's the thing . Solomon

1:20

wrote Proverbs 16 . But here's the thing . Solomon

1:22

wrote Proverbs 16 . Wisest man

1:24

who's ever lived . He said

1:26

that it is more valuable for

1:29

us to have wisdom and understanding

1:32

than it is to have gold and silver

1:35

. And so today we're going to try to marry wisdom

1:37

and gold . We're

1:39

going to talk about both and what we're going to do is hopefully gain some biblical

1:42

wisdom around the idea of

1:44

finances , around the idea of money , especially

1:47

as we consider our

1:49

relationship to the way that

1:52

we use our money . And

1:54

I love what Chris said a moment

1:56

ago at the host moment , that

1:59

when it comes to Jesus and

2:01

his relationship to us

2:03

, jesus sees us

2:06

. Isn't that a beautiful thing to

2:08

remember . Like , regardless

2:10

of what you feel and what you

2:12

think and the circumstances in

2:14

your life , jesus

2:17

sees you

2:19

. I think sometimes

2:21

we can fall into this

2:23

trap of thinking that , well , you

2:25

know , jesus probably has a lot

2:27

on his plate , you know

2:30

, like running the universe and being the King

2:32

of Kings and the Lord of Lords like that probably

2:34

requires a lot of energy and effort . It's

2:36

probably pretty time consuming and , you

2:38

know , pretty thought provoking to do all

2:40

that Jesus has to do , and there's probably

2:42

somebody that falls through the cracks in his

2:44

thinking , in his mind , and it's probably

2:47

me , because if anybody's gonna fall

2:49

through the cracks in Jesus's mind , it's gonna be me and

2:51

it's gonna be you , right , like , isn't that how we think

2:53

? But I love the reminder from Chris . No , jesus

2:56

sees you At

3:00

every moment of every day

3:02

, in every circumstance . He sees

3:05

you , and not only does he see you , but

3:07

he loves you and he's got compassion

3:10

for you . He's thinking

3:12

about you . Can you just think about that

3:14

for a moment today ? The creator of the

3:16

universe has you on his mind

3:19

at all times . It's beautiful

3:21

. He sees you . And so then

3:24

, that begs a question for

3:26

us . What is our response

3:28

to the God who loves

3:31

us so much that he sent his son

3:33

to give himself for us , to resurrect

3:36

us from death to life in his

3:38

name ? What is our response

3:40

to the goodness of God when

3:43

we realize that the mercy and the grace of

3:45

God really is chasing us

3:47

down all the days of our lives

3:50

, when we realize that God is the sovereign

3:52

creator and our response to him

3:54

is to sing his praises all

3:57

the days of our lives because we're thanking

3:59

him for the blood that has been applied to

4:01

our lives . What is our response to

4:04

God ? Well , it's this word

4:06

stewardship . We

4:08

want to steward well the

4:11

life that God has given us

4:13

, and a major part of

4:15

the stewardship conversation has

4:17

to be money . In

4:20

fact , as we're going to see here in just a moment

4:23

, money was one of the things that Jesus talked

4:25

about the most , which , if you're new

4:27

to reading the gospels , may surprise you

4:29

, or maybe you're like well , I knew churches were just about money

4:31

and so , of course , jesus is going to talk about money all

4:33

the time , but it's one of Jesus's favorite

4:35

subjects , I think in large part because

4:38

he knows the pull that

4:40

money has on the human heart and

4:42

the complexities of the way

4:44

that you and I oftentimes relate to

4:46

money . And here's the thing the complexities

4:49

of the way we relate to money . It doesn't wait

4:51

until we are adults and have bills . Those complexities

4:54

start at a young age . So

4:56

in my house , we

4:59

believe in Jesus and we believe in Amazon

5:01

Prime and Walmart grocery delivery . Okay

5:03

, because we have a seven-year-old and a four-year-old

5:05

and taking them places is

5:08

an adventure , not always of the best

5:10

sort . And so one day we I

5:12

don't know , I guess Prime was , you know their delivery

5:15

was delayed or something , and Walmart grocery didn't

5:17

have a pickup slot or a delivery slot , and so

5:19

we ended up having to go to the store

5:21

with the boys . It's adventure time

5:23

in the Lawson house . We load them up , get to the store

5:25

, we're in the store , and if you've ever taken kids

5:28

to a store , you know how this goes right . It's

5:30

like you're walking the aisles and like , hey , can we get that ? Can

5:32

we have that ? Can we have that ? We've never bought that before

5:34

, but I think we need it today . Why can't we have that

5:36

Now ? We're going through this store ? And then there was a GPS error

5:38

, on

5:47

my end of things probably and we

5:49

ended up walking past the

5:51

Lego aisle . And

5:53

see , you know , you're like that's parenting

5:55

101 , dude , like , don't take your kids

5:57

past the Lego aisle . We did , and

5:59

we walked . We didn't go down the Lego aisle , we just went

6:01

past it and as we're walking past

6:04

it , walked . We didn't go down the Lego aisle , we just went past it . And as we're walking

6:06

past it , noah says hey , can I have that Lego set ? I don't

6:08

even know what it was , it was one of the big ones . I'm sure

6:10

he's like can I buy that Lego set now

6:12

? Actually , he didn't say can I buy it . It was can

6:20

you buy me that Lego set now ? And Tara , being the rational , you know responsible parent , she's

6:22

like Noah , your birthday is coming up soon . Christmas is after that . Save

6:24

your money and maybe then you can get it at

6:26

that point in time . And Noah's response was Mom

6:28

, just take that plastic thing

6:30

out of your wallet and swipe that card . Which

6:35

is funny because for him , the idea

6:37

of money and credit cards are completely disconnected

6:39

. You don't have to pay money for it , just swipe the credit card

6:42

. And then I realized , wait

6:44

, that's what some of us still do , you know . It's like

6:46

, hey , we just swipe the credit card , right . And then , oh

6:48

, there's a bill that comes at the end of the month . Who knew that

6:50

was coming ? You know , tara does our

6:52

finances . I just have to say that from here . But

6:54

money's complex , right

6:56

, and our relationship to money is

6:59

oftentimes complex and we think

7:01

about the status of

7:03

the world when it comes to economics

7:06

, let's be honest . Cost of living

7:08

is going up , the global economy

7:10

is in question . There's even more

7:12

unrest in the Middle East today than

7:14

there was on Friday . We've got a lot of

7:16

circumstances in our world leading

7:19

us to economic unrest

7:21

and economic instability , and it's so

7:23

easy for our souls to

7:26

get caught up in that cycle . Is it not Not

7:28

only that ? But statistics say

7:30

that when a marriage ends in divorce

7:33

, more than 40% of the time money

7:35

has a great influence

7:38

in that marriage ending

7:40

in divorce . In fact , finances

7:42

is one of the top three or four things in a marriage

7:44

likely to cause conflict . Not asking

7:47

, but has that ever happened in your marriage ? Have

7:49

you ever had a conflict because of money

7:51

in your marriage ? All the single people you're like don't leave

7:53

me out . I got money issues too . It's hard

7:56

to be single today in this

7:58

economy . You got to find a place to

8:00

live on your own . It's hard when it comes

8:02

to finances and the way we relate to finances

8:04

. Is it not Not only that

8:06

? There was a survey done

8:09

recently about mental health

8:11

in young people and the

8:13

survey found that 86%

8:16

of like millennial generation

8:18

and whatever the

8:20

generation after millennials is

8:23

Gen Y or Gen Z , I guess 86%

8:27

of that generation that struggles with mental

8:29

health also is

8:31

facing significant financial challenge

8:34

. And so what this survey said

8:36

is there's a link between the anxieties

8:38

that we feel about the world

8:40

and the future and this

8:43

financial instability , this

8:45

financial unrest that seems to be

8:47

overtaking so much of

8:49

the globe . And so , for

8:51

some of us , you're here today and you're like I'm

8:53

pretty financially stable . You've been

8:55

blessed to be a blessing . That's amazing

8:57

. Maybe you're here and finances

9:00

is one of those things . It's like you want to get my blood pressure

9:02

stirred up and my heart pounding a little bit . Let's

9:04

talk about finances and the future

9:06

Like we're just trying to get by

9:09

, and I just want to say from the top I

9:11

acknowledge that for so many people in our

9:13

world , that is a reality that we

9:15

are living in , and so

9:17

I understand . I want to have compassion there

9:20

. I get that completely , and

9:22

I also think I have a responsibility to

9:24

say that when you compare all

9:27

of us collectively to what

9:30

has existed financially for most people

9:32

throughout human history , we are blessed

9:34

, are we not ? You

9:37

look at the poverty line in the United States

9:40

today compared to the vast

9:42

percentage of people throughout human history

9:44

. Even people living at

9:46

the poverty line in today's society

9:48

have far more abundance than most

9:50

people throughout human history , and I think that's

9:52

important to acknowledge that . My

9:55

point in all of that is to say

9:57

this if we allow it , money

10:00

will wreak havoc on our lives

10:03

and our souls . Whether we have a lot

10:05

of it or a little of it , it

10:08

has the potential to wreak havoc

10:10

on us on the inside . And

10:12

, on the same note

10:15

, money can also be

10:17

an incredible tool for good . In

10:19

fact , it can even be a means

10:22

by which we worship Almighty

10:24

God , and

10:27

that's the good news for us today . Now , some of you are like well , I already

10:29

know where this is going . You're going to ask us

10:31

to give because this is a church , and that's what

10:34

churches do . They ask for money . And

10:36

if that's what you're thinking , the first service

10:38

laughed at that . That you didn't laugh , which tells me you might

10:40

be thinking that right now . So I got my work cut out for

10:42

me this morning and here's the deal . I get

10:45

that . The idea of a church and money . That's

10:47

a complicated conversation , because

10:49

so many churches have

10:51

been called to the carpet for financial

10:54

impropriety , so many pastors have been

10:56

found to be misusing funds

10:58

, and here's the deal I want you

11:01

to be able to feel confident when you give

11:03

to Somerville Baptist Church . And so let me

11:05

say a few things really quickly this morning . One

11:07

we have a financial stewardship

11:09

team that does a phenomenal

11:11

job of overseeing what

11:13

we do . In fact , some of them are in the room here this morning

11:16

. We've got a financial secretary

11:18

in our office who keeps incredible records

11:20

that are available to anybody that wants to come

11:22

in and see . You

11:31

can look at anything financial that we've got on the record . We have audits on a regular

11:33

basis . We are doing everything in our power to be financially above board

11:35

with checks and balances when it comes

11:37

to spending money in the office

11:39

and things like that . We take

11:42

it seriously because we

11:44

want you to trust things like that . We take

11:46

it seriously because we want you to trust . We want you

11:48

to trust us . We

11:51

want you to trust that your money is being used for the glory of God , for the

11:53

intents and purposes to which you give . And can I just say this Our

11:56

church is doing incredibly well financially

11:58

. I love that . I love that this is not

12:00

going to end with a plea to give so that we can

12:02

pay the bills next week . Keep the

12:04

lights on next Sunday at the downtown

12:06

campus and pay our rent to be in this facility

12:09

. We're not going there because this

12:11

is an incredibly generous place

12:13

. My heart today

12:15

is to say God has given us the

12:18

opportunity to steward well

12:21

our time , our talent

12:23

and our treasure for his glory . Steward

12:27

well our time , our talent and our treasure for his glory . And when we steward well what God has entrusted

12:29

us , it's an opportunity for worship . And so I just want

12:31

to take some of the pressure off there . I want to just

12:34

diffuse the stress in the room , maybe

12:36

, and say this is not going to end with a plea to give more

12:38

than you're given so we can keep doing what we're doing . I

12:40

just want us to steward our lives well

12:42

in an act of worship to God . Does that make sense ? You

12:51

with me there ? So , with that said , two big chunks of scripture that we're going

12:53

to cover today . We're going to be in Luke 12 and Matthew 25

12:55

. I don't know if you do public speaking , but if you ever

12:57

do public speaking , there's going to be a moment at some

12:59

point in time where you realize you have too much content

13:01

for the day . That happened last service about

13:03

halfway through the content . That was a problem

13:05

, and that's where I get a little bit nervous . I'm gonna give it a

13:07

shot anyway this morning . I

13:10

think you can handle it . What do you think , taylor Lethko

13:12

? I think we can handle it this morning . A lot of Bible's

13:14

not a bad thing , right ? That's

13:18

why you come to church . A lot of Bible's not a bad thing . Two

13:20

big chunks of scripture it's because this is Jesus

13:22

and money . We want to see what Jesus

13:24

has to say about

13:26

money . He talked about it a lot

13:29

. Why is Jesus spending so much time talking

13:31

about money ? Well , let's see what Jesus

13:33

has to say . We're going to begin in Luke , chapter

13:35

12 . The context

13:37

of this passage Jesus is

13:39

teaching , preaching , ministering

13:42

, and all of a sudden , somebody comes

13:44

up to Jesus with . It's

13:47

not even a question , it's more of a command

13:49

, which is funny . This guy comes

13:51

up and gives a command to Jesus , but I want

13:53

you to see what he says . He comes up to Jesus

13:55

. Someone in the crowd said to him "'Teacher

13:57

, tell my brother to

13:59

divide the inheritance with

14:02

me'" . Tell

14:04

my brother to divide , to give

14:06

me financially what I'm owed

14:08

to rule in my favor . Essentially

14:10

is what this man asked Jesus

14:12

. Jesus' response he said to him man

14:15

who made me a judge

14:17

or arbitrator over you

14:19

. And he said to them take care . So

14:21

now he moves from talking just to this man

14:23

. He's like I'm not the judge of your financial

14:26

predicament that you have found yourselves

14:28

in . Jesus has a bigger thing

14:30

that he's dealing with here . And so he then

14:32

begins to speak to the crowd that's

14:35

gathered around him and he says take care

14:37

, be on your guard against

14:39

all covetousness , for

14:42

one's life does not consist in the abundance

14:44

of his possessions . And then he told

14:46

them a parable . Now , a parable

14:48

, it's a story with a point , and

14:51

so , intentionally , today we don't have the

14:53

words of all of this scripture on the screen

14:55

, because I want you to see the parable

14:57

in your mind's eye . Some

14:59

of you , you think in words , some of you , you

15:02

don't think in pictures . Challenge your brain to

15:04

think in pictures for a moment . Today I

15:06

want you to see this parable in

15:08

your mind . He told him

15:10

a parable saying the land of a rich

15:13

man produced plentifully . You

15:15

see the harvest , right . You see the fields . Look at the crops

15:18

. Maybe it's , I don't know . In our culture it's corn

15:20

and it's tomatoes , it's okra , there's squash

15:22

everywhere . There's a giant watermelon

15:24

in the middle of this field . It's been a great

15:27

year . And so the man says

15:29

to himself what shall I do ? For

15:32

I have nowhere to store my crops . He's produced so

15:34

much . Well

15:37

, let me rewind that . He thinks that

15:39

he has produced so much . He

15:41

thinks that he has produced so

15:43

much , he thought to himself what shall I

15:45

do ? I have nowhere to store my crops . And he said

15:48

I will do this , I will tear

15:50

down my barns and I'll build larger ones

15:52

and there I will store all

15:55

my grain and my goods

15:57

. And I will say to my soul

15:59

soul , you have ample

16:01

goods laid up for many years . Everybody

16:04

say many years this morning . Many

16:06

years , relax , eat , drink and be

16:08

merry . But God said to him fool , this

16:11

night , your soul is required of you and

16:13

the things you have prepared , whose will they be ? So

16:16

is the one here's the point . So

16:19

is the one who lays up treasure

16:21

for himself and is not rich towards

16:24

God . And then Jesus

16:26

said to his disciples therefore , I tell you , do

16:28

not be anxious about your life , what

16:31

you will eat , nor about your body . What you will put

16:33

on for Life is more than food and

16:35

the body more than clothing . Consider the ravens

16:37

. You see a raven in

16:39

your mind this morning . Consider the

16:42

ravens . They don't sow or reap

16:44

, they have neither storehouse nor barn , yet

16:46

God feeds them . Of

16:48

how much more value are you

16:50

than the birds ? And

16:53

which of you , by being anxious , can add a single

16:55

hour to a span of life ? If , then

16:57

, you are not able to do as small a

16:59

thing as that , why are you anxious

17:02

about the rest ? Consider

17:05

the lilies how they grow . They

17:07

neither toil nor spin . Yet I tell you

17:09

, even Solomon in all

17:12

of his glory was not arrayed

17:14

or dressed like one of these . But

17:16

if God so clothes the grass which is

17:18

alive in the field today and tomorrow's thrown

17:20

in the oven , how much more will he clothe

17:23

you , oh you of little faith

17:25

? And don't seek what you're to eat or what

17:27

you're to drink . Don't be worried , for all the

17:29

nations of the world . Seek after

17:31

these things , and your Father knows

17:33

that you need them . Instead and

17:36

here is the sermon and a sentence for

17:38

today Seek his

17:40

kingdom Instead

17:42

. Seek the kingdom of God

17:44

, and these things will be added to

17:46

you . Fear not , little flock , for

17:49

it is your father's good pleasure to give

17:51

you the kingdom . We

17:54

just pause there for a second and say today

17:56

you have a heavenly father who invites

17:59

you to share in his glory

18:01

. You have a heavenly

18:04

father who invites you to be

18:06

part of his kingdom . You have a heavenly

18:08

father who wants you on

18:10

his team . It is his good pleasure

18:13

, jesus says , to bring you

18:16

in and provide for

18:18

what you need . So

18:20

Jesus says sell your

18:22

possessions and give to

18:24

the needy , because you have

18:26

a heavenly father who's caring for

18:29

you . You now translate that

18:31

into caring for others . Provide

18:33

yourselves with money bags that don't grow

18:35

old , with a treasure

18:37

in the heavens that does not fail , where

18:40

no thief approaches and no moth

18:42

destroys . And then Jesus says this for

18:44

where your treasure is there

18:46

, your heart will be also

18:49

. The point

18:51

of what Jesus is saying in this parable

18:54

of the rich fool and his admonition

18:56

, his encouragement to his disciples to not

18:59

be anxious . He's saying simply this there

19:01

is a very clear

19:03

link between our

19:05

view of money and our

19:07

ability to live free from

19:10

the anxieties of this present time

19:12

. How

19:14

we see our finances

19:16

has a major impact

19:18

on how we trust God

19:20

. The way we view and use money it

19:22

actually has a real

19:24

impact on our soul . In

19:28

fact , jesus says it like this in verse

19:30

34 . He says where your treasure

19:32

is there , your heart will be . Also . If you're

19:34

writing things down . I'd encourage you to write this down

19:36

when your money goes , your heart

19:38

will follow . Where

19:41

your money goes , where you invest

19:43

your money , your heart will

19:45

follow . Now we can even expand

19:47

the definition of treasure and say let's

19:49

define treasure as your time . Where

19:52

your time goes , your heart will follow

19:54

. Where your gifting

19:56

, your talent goes , your heart will follow

19:58

. When you invest in something , whatever

20:01

that something is , there will be

20:03

love that grows in your heart

20:05

for that thing . So

20:07

here's a little practical application

20:09

, really quickly this morning If you want to see

20:11

your love for the things of God

20:14

grow , invest your treasure in the things

20:16

of God and by doing so , direct

20:19

your heart towards God

20:21

. It's amazing

20:23

. One of my favorite things that I get

20:25

the privilege of doing as part of what I do

20:27

is watching people who aren't

20:29

sure about serving . Plug in and

20:31

serve , because it always goes something

20:33

like this Like I don't really know that I can do that . You

20:36

know , I don't really know that I can handle

20:38

that responsibility . I can't . You know , keep the

20:40

kids or teach the kids . I don't know I'm not trained

20:42

to . You know , set up lighting or whatever

20:44

. Like , whatever it is , like , I don't know that I can do

20:46

that and then , as they do it , they

20:49

begin to one , realize that

20:51

God will equip them to do what he's called them to

20:53

do . But two , there's

21:01

a love for the people of God and the house of

21:04

God that grows as we serve in God's house , and it's beautiful to watch

21:06

that happen . One of my favorite things is to hear people stop

21:09

calling church a they

21:11

and begin to call church a we when

21:14

it goes from being the church to being

21:16

my church . That ownership

21:19

idea and that's the invitation here

21:21

on the table in Luke , chapter 12

21:23

. Steward well your life

21:26

and share in

21:28

the kingdom of God . Share

21:31

in the kingdom of God . It's a kingdom perspective

21:34

on money . That's really

21:37

what we need . Right , we need a kingdom perspective

21:39

on stewardship , on treasure , on using

21:41

well what God has entrusted to

21:43

us , because where our money

21:46

goes , our heart will follow . Where our treasure

21:48

goes , our heart will follow . Where our treasure goes , our heart will follow

21:50

. If you want to love people , you

21:53

want love for people to grow in your heart . Find

21:55

ways to be generous and compassionate

21:58

, to share your treasure with

22:00

others . You want your

22:02

love for a cause

22:04

to grow . You invest time , talent , treasure

22:06

in the cause . Your love will

22:09

follow . That's what Jesus says . That's the kingdom perspective

22:11

. So , with that said , let's

22:13

flip to Matthew , chapter 25 . This

22:16

is a moment in the Olivet

22:18

Discourse . It's towards the end

22:21

of Passion Week , shortly

22:23

before the cross . I say middle

22:26

of Passion Week . It's towards the end of Jesus's

22:28

time before the cross and

22:31

he's sharing with his disciples

22:33

. It's a massive sermon

22:36

about the kingdom of God

22:38

and the end times and the second

22:40

coming of Christ . And so I just need

22:43

to say , before we jump into this , there are a lot

22:45

of different ways that people interpret

22:47

Matthew 25 and

22:49

the portions that we're going to read today , but

22:51

I want us to read this in light

22:54

of this conversation on stewardship

22:56

and using well what

22:58

God has given us . So let's

23:00

see what Jesus says about a kingdom

23:02

perspective on our

23:04

resources . Verse 14,

23:07

. Jesus says this it will

23:09

be . What is it ? It the kingdom

23:11

of God . The second coming of Christ

23:14

will be like a man

23:16

going on a journey who

23:18

called his servants and entrusted

23:21

to them his property . To

23:23

one , he gave five talents . Everybody

23:25

say five talents . He gave five

23:27

talents . Everybody say five talents . To one , he gave five

23:29

talents To another , two To

23:37

another one . So one guy's got five , one guy's got two . One guy's got one . Everybody say

23:39

poor guy with one Right . It's like what did that guy do ? Well , it says in the scriptures

23:41

, jesus says it was according to their

23:43

abilities . So this

23:45

one guy , man , he must be crushing it y'all . He got

23:47

five talents . This

23:50

other guy , he's kind of , I guess , middle of the

23:52

road , he got two . And then this poor fellow

23:54

on the end , he got one talent . But here's the thing A

23:56

talent is a weight , it's a weight

23:59

of coinage and so , depending on

24:01

whether or not these coins were silver or

24:03

gold in this story that Jesus is telling

24:05

, this is 15 to 20

24:07

years of wages . So

24:10

one talent , it's 15 to 20 years wages

24:12

. The boy's doing fine , y'all right , like one

24:15

talent boy is hanging out

24:17

well with one talent

24:19

. Does that make sense ? Like the master has entrusted

24:22

his servants with a lot

24:24

, y'all see that . Now , five talent

24:26

guy , that's , like you know

24:29

, five times 15 , that's 75

24:31

years to 100 years of wages . He's doing really

24:33

well . Two-talent guy , he's doing well as well

24:35

. 30 to whatever 40 years of

24:37

wages . And one-talent guy , he's

24:39

hanging in there as well . So then

24:42

the master goes away Verse

24:44

16 , he who had received

24:47

the five talents when at once traded

24:49

with them , he made five talents more . He

24:51

who had received the two talents went

24:53

and made two talents more . But he

24:55

who had received the one talent , he

24:57

went and dug in the ground and hid

25:00

his master's money

25:02

. Now , after a long time

25:04

, the master of those servants came and

25:06

settled accounts with

25:08

them . And he who had received

25:10

the five talents came forward bringing the five talents

25:13

more and saying master , you delivered

25:15

to me five talents here , I made

25:17

five talents more . His master said

25:19

to him well done , good

25:22

and faithful servant , or good and faithful

25:24

steward , you've been faithful over a little

25:26

. I'll set you over much . Enter

25:29

into the joy of

25:31

your master . And he also

25:33

had the two talents came forward saying master

25:35

, you delivered to me two talents here , I've made two

25:37

talents more . His master said to him well

25:39

done , good and faithful servant , you've been faithful over

25:41

a little . I'll set you over much . Enter into

25:44

the joy of your master . And

25:46

then he who had received the one talent

25:48

came forward saying master , I

25:50

knew you to be a hard

25:53

man and

25:55

I've always read that phrase

25:57

and just assumed that this servant

26:00

was right in his interpretation

26:02

of the master . But

26:05

I don't want us to miss the broader context

26:07

of this passage . This is a generous

26:09

master who loves

26:11

his servants and is entrusting his servants

26:14

with his property . Now

26:16

, yes , there's stewardship expected

26:19

on behalf of his servants , but don't

26:21

lose sight of the graciousness

26:23

and the goodness of the master and

26:26

what happened to those servants who stewarded

26:28

well what they'd been entrusted . Well

26:32

done , good and faithful servant

26:34

. Enter into the joy . This is the

26:37

heart of God for us that we would share

26:39

in his joy . Don't miss that , because

26:41

this servant says

26:44

I need you to be a hard man , reaping where you did not sow

26:46

, gathering where you scattered no seed this is

26:48

a business phrase in this

26:50

day and time . And what the servant is saying is

26:52

hey , you know how to make the most of

26:54

what you have . And so

26:56

the servant says I was afraid and

26:59

I went and hid your talent in the ground

27:01

. Here have what is yours . So

27:04

he returns to the master the

27:07

one talent that he had been given , having

27:12

done nothing with what he had been entrusted . The master

27:14

answered him you , wicked and slothful servant

27:16

, you knew that I reap where I have not

27:19

sown and gather where I scattered no seed . Then

27:21

you ought to have invested my money with the bankers and

27:23

at my coming , I should have received what was my own with

27:25

interest . So take the talent

27:27

from him and give it to him who has the 10 talents

27:29

, for to

27:31

everyone who has will be more given

27:34

and he will have an abundance . But from the

27:36

one who has , not , even what he

27:38

has will be taken away and

27:40

cast the worthless servant into the outer

27:42

darkness . In that place there'll be weeping

27:44

and gnashing of teeth , and

27:47

so the story , this parable , ends

27:49

on a little bit of a dark note for

27:51

the one servant right who wastes

27:54

what he has been entrusted with

27:56

. And so I want to keep reading just for a second

27:58

to get some context

28:00

for what we just read , because Jesus

28:02

then immediately begins to talk about

28:05

when the Son of man , the Messiah

28:08

, when Jesus himself returns

28:10

to the earth , so watch what

28:12

happens next . Jesus says this when

28:14

the son of man comes

28:16

in his glory , and all the

28:18

angels with him , then he will

28:20

sit on his glorious throne

28:22

. Before him will be gathered all

28:24

the nations , and he will separate people

28:27

one from another , as a

28:29

shepherd separates the sheep

28:31

from the goats , and he will place the sheep

28:33

on his right but the goats on the

28:35

left . Then the king will say to

28:37

those on the right come , you who are blessed

28:39

by my father , inherit the kingdom

28:42

prepared for you from the foundation

28:44

of the world . I want to pause just

28:46

for a second . Jesus shifts the scene and he begins to tell the story of what's going to

28:48

happen when the son of the world . I want to pause just for a second . Jesus shifts the scene and he begins to tell the story of

28:51

what's going to happen when the Son

28:53

of man comes again

28:55

. And his claim here y'all

28:57

is phenomenal . He says that

28:59

when the Son of man returns , he

29:01

will sit on the throne and he will judge

29:04

the world . And we

29:06

hear that and we're like , of course , he course he will . He's Jesus

29:08

, he's the king of kings , he's the lord of lords . To

29:10

a first century Jewish audience they

29:12

hear that and they go wait a minute . Only

29:15

God has the right to judge

29:17

the world . And Jesus

29:20

is like that's

29:22

the point and

29:25

I think his disciples , maybe in this moment , are starting

29:27

to understand that the son of man , he's

29:30

going to come in his glory . The angels will surround

29:32

him , he'll sit on the throne and he'll judge . He'll

29:35

separate the sheep from the goats

29:37

like a shepherd . Now , which category

29:40

do we want to be in on that

29:42

day of judgment ? We want to be a sheep or do we want to

29:44

be a goat ? In our

29:46

world it's like goat sounds pretty good . Greatest of all time

29:48

. Sheep

29:54

aren't that smart . Let me take the goats . Not on this day , y'all , we don't want to be

29:56

with the goats , we'll take the sheep . Jesus says the sheep . They get to

29:58

inherit the kingdom of

30:00

eternal life in the presence of almighty

30:03

God . How do they get there ? Notice

30:06

that the separation of sheep and goats

30:08

happens at the beginning of the story . Because

30:10

it's by grace , through faith in Christ

30:12

, that we enter eternal life

30:15

. Because what Jesus is going to

30:17

say next ? He's going to tell us what

30:19

it looks like as a sheep who

30:21

belongs to God , to steward well

30:23

our life . And I don't want us to get it twisted

30:25

this morning . What Jesus says next

30:28

is not the reason that the sheep

30:30

have eternal life and the goats do not

30:32

. We gain

30:34

eternal life not because of our

30:36

good deeds , but because of the one good

30:39

deed that Jesus did on our

30:41

behalf . It is by grace

30:43

, through faith and the finished work of Christ

30:45

that we enter into

30:47

the kingdom of God . This is what Jesus

30:50

says . The

30:52

kingdom was prepared for you from before the foundation of

30:54

the world . Isn't that beautiful

30:57

Like well , how do I know if I'm

30:59

part of the sheep group , because I don't

31:01

want to be a goat . If the goats end

31:03

up separated from God and the sheep

31:05

end up in the presence of God , how do I know

31:07

that I'm part of the sheep ? Have you received

31:10

the gift of salvation ? How do I know that I'm part of the sheep ? Have you received the gift of salvation

31:12

by grace , through faith in Christ ? If

31:14

you have , then you can be confident

31:17

that in this moment , on

31:19

this day , when the son of man is sitting

31:21

on his glorious throne and the nations are gathered

31:24

before him and he begins to judge

31:26

, you will be in the presence of God

31:28

forever . Begins

31:33

to judge , you will be in the presence of God forever . And isn't that

31:35

good news ? Think

31:38

back to what Jesus said in Luke 12 . Don't be anxious about what tomorrow holds , because the son

31:40

of man will sit on his glorious throne , and

31:42

if you belong to the son of man in that

31:45

moment , you know where

31:47

you end up . So

31:50

Jesus goes on and

31:52

he begins to explain what it looks like

31:54

for the sheep to steward well their

31:56

lives . And he says this for I was hungry verse

31:58

35 , and you gave me food . I

32:01

was thirsty and you gave me drink

32:03

. I was a stranger . You welcomed

32:05

me . I was naked . You clothed me . I was sick

32:07

. You visited me . I was in prison . You came

32:09

to me . Then the righteous , the sheep

32:11

, will answer him saying

32:13

Lord , when did we see you hungry and

32:16

feed you and thirsty and give you a drink ? When

32:18

did we see you a stranger and welcome you naked and clothe

32:20

you ? When did we see you sick and in prison and visit

32:22

you ? I love this . They're surprised

32:25

at what Jesus is saying

32:28

, why

32:30

? And the king

32:32

will answer them . Truly , I say to you , as

32:35

you did it to one of the least of these

32:37

, my brothers , you did it to

32:40

me . See , here's what Jesus

32:42

is saying To belong to

32:44

the kingdom of God is

32:46

to live in such a way that we

32:48

simply live generous lives

32:51

. We're not trying to

32:53

earn our way to God by doing good

32:55

to others . We're not trying to do compassionate

32:57

things so that one day God will look at us and

32:59

give us a hand clap and a

33:01

pat on the back . It's the overflow

33:04

of what it means to follow Jesus

33:06

. God has given

33:08

us so much . We can't help but be generous

33:10

with those around us To

33:13

be part of the kingdom of God is simply

33:15

to live a life of generosity

33:17

, to care for those who are hurting

33:19

and broken and in need . If we have the

33:22

ability to meet a need as followers

33:24

of Christ , it's what we do , not because we're

33:26

trying to earn a reward , but because God

33:29

has already given us so much . Then

33:32

Jesus goes on . He says to those on the left

33:35

the goats depart from me . You cursed

33:37

into the eternal fire , prepared

33:40

for the devil and his angels

33:42

. It's not God's goal

33:44

for any to enter that eternal

33:46

fire . It's prepared for the devil and his angels

33:49

. God's goal for you is to dwell in his presence forever

33:51

. But then Jesus says I was hungry and

33:54

you gave me no food . I was thirsty

33:56

, you gave me no drink . I was a stranger . You did not

33:58

welcome me . I was naked , you did not clothe me , I was sick

34:00

and in prison . You did not visit me . Then

34:10

they will also answer saying prison and did not minister to you . Then he will answer

34:12

them saying truly , I say to you , as you did not do it

34:14

to one of the least of these , you did not do it to me

34:17

and these will go away

34:19

into eternal punishment , but the righteous into

34:21

eternal life . Generosity

34:25

is the overflow of the grace

34:27

of God in our hearts . When

34:30

we give generously , we are

34:32

imitating the character

34:35

of our God , who loved us and

34:37

gave his son for us

34:39

. And so let's talk just

34:41

for a moment about the principles

34:44

of kingdom stewardship . That's the big

34:46

idea of this passage is what it looks

34:48

like to live as a steward

34:50

of God's kingdom . A couple of thoughts really

34:52

quickly this morning . Number one God

34:55

owns it all . God

34:58

owns it all . Psalm 50

35:00

, verse 10 , god speaking . He says this

35:02

every beast of the forest is mine

35:04

, the cattle on

35:06

a thousand hills . Now

35:08

just picture a bunch

35:10

of rolling hills as far

35:13

as the eye can see , a

35:16

thousand hills . You got a thousand

35:18

hills in your mind this morning . Now

35:21

picture cattle covering all of those

35:23

hills . God says

35:25

I own all the beasts in the forest and

35:27

all the cows on all the hills as

35:29

far as you can see . In Deuteronomy

35:32

10 , 14 , god says this to the

35:34

Lord , your God , belong the heavens

35:36

, even the highest

35:38

heavens , and the earth and

35:40

everything in it . God

35:44

owns it all . James

35:48

, chapter one , says it like this every

35:50

good and perfect gift comes from

35:52

our Father , above the Father

35:54

of lights . God

35:57

owns it all . Which brings us to the

35:59

second idea , number two God has entrusted

36:01

us with his stuff . You

36:04

know sometimes we call

36:06

it our stuff , do we not ? My

36:09

house , my car , my money , my

36:11

clothes , whatever , my food , my whatever

36:14

, no , no , no , like , at the end of the day

36:16

, god owns

36:18

it and he's entrusted it to me

36:21

to steward . God owns it . He's entrusted

36:23

it to you to steward . Whatever

36:25

it is . God's entrusted

36:27

to you your giftings . God's

36:30

entrusted to you your words

36:32

. God's entrusted to you the breath

36:34

in your lungs , the days that you have

36:36

on this planet . Whatever material

36:38

blessing has come your way , god has entrusted

36:41

it to us and

36:45

his heart has always been

36:47

what he said to Abraham in

36:49

Genesis that God blesses so

36:51

that people can be a blessing . If

36:55

God has blessed you , you're blessed , not

36:57

to hoard it for yourself , not to be like

36:59

the guy in Luke 12 and build a bigger barn

37:01

, but to be a conduit for God's

37:03

blessing to the people around you

37:05

. God owns it . God's

37:08

entrusted us with his stuff . Noah

37:11

, my seven-year-old guy

37:13

who wants the credit card just to swipe whenever he wants to

37:15

swipe it . His baseball team has

37:17

a few team rules . One of those team rules

37:19

is no one cleans up behind

37:22

the A's , and if anybody

37:24

has to clean up behind the A's , then the A's don't

37:26

get treasure box at the end of the baseball game , which

37:29

means they leave without double bubble for the day , and that's

37:31

a travesty for the A's . I

37:33

think that might matter more than whether or not the A's

37:35

actually pulled out the victory . It's the

37:37

double bubble at the end of the day , but nobody

37:39

cleans up behind the A's . Why

37:41

? Because it's about stewardship

37:43

. Right , the A's don't own the dugout , they're just in

37:45

the dugout . They want to leave it better

37:48

than they found it . We say the same

37:50

thing here , especially in our kids' wing down

37:52

the hall . Right , we want the teachers

37:55

that we borrow their rooms on

37:57

Sundays . We want them to love us

37:59

being in their rooms because we leave it better

38:01

than we found it . We want to be good stewards

38:04

of the opportunity that we've been given . We don't

38:06

own it , it's not ours , it doesn't belong to

38:08

us , but we are entrusted

38:10

with it for a moment , and

38:13

y'all in the same way . Our job as followers

38:15

of Jesus , god has entrusted us

38:17

with this moment , this

38:19

day in time . This generation is our

38:22

generation and our job

38:24

as followers of Jesus is to steward

38:26

well our time on this

38:28

planet and then one day hand

38:30

it off to the next generation in

38:33

better shape than we received it . You

38:36

know well , james , that sounds really optimistic if you looked

38:38

around the world today . And

38:41

maybe it is , but

38:44

I believe in a resurrected king who

38:47

gave his life so

38:49

that we could find life , who overcame

38:52

death , hell and the grave and rose in resurrection

38:54

power , and who promises that the same spirit

38:57

who raised him from the dead can now

38:59

dwell in us . Is there a such thing

39:01

as overly optimistic in the kingdom of God

39:03

? What if we

39:05

, as people , just begin to say we're gonna live

39:08

as kingdom stewards of the

39:10

life and the talent and the time and the treasure

39:12

that God has given us , so that we

39:14

can hand off the world to the next

39:17

generation and say this is

39:19

what life with God looks like

39:21

, this is what

39:23

is possible for you and your children

39:25

and your children's children as we seek

39:27

first the kingdom of

39:30

Almighty God ? Number

39:34

three is this Money

39:36

can become an idol that we worship

39:38

or a means by which we worship

39:40

God . If you want to boil this

39:42

whole conversation down today

39:44

and go back to this idea of money that we began

39:47

with , money can either be an idol that

39:49

we worship , and maybe it will either be an idol

39:51

that we worship or a means by which

39:53

we worship God . Leon

39:56

Morris , talking about Luke , chapter 12 , he said

39:58

this a man whose life hangs

40:00

by a thread and who may be called

40:02

upon at any time to give account of himself

40:05

as a fool if he relies on

40:07

material things . If he relies on

40:09

material things , can we search our hearts

40:11

today and say , god

40:17

, am I trusting more in me and my stuff and my treasure than I am in the king

40:19

of heaven ? Am

40:22

I trusting more in my ability

40:24

to create a stable future than I am

40:26

in your ability , god , to lead

40:28

me into the future that you have for me

40:30

? And if we are

40:33

, and I'm willing to bet there's something

40:35

in all of us where we're

40:37

not trusting God with the future , we're trusting too

40:39

much in our own selves . Let's

40:41

have a moment today of saying God , I just

40:43

want to open my hands and my heart and

40:45

have a moment of repentance where I turn

40:48

and I change my mind and I agree with

40:50

you and I

40:52

seek first your kingdom

40:54

. My hypothesis y'all today is

40:57

this that money , in and

40:59

of itself it's a moral , neutral right . It can be

41:01

used for bad and it can be used for good . But my

41:03

hypothesis is this is that in our hearts

41:06

, money will not remain a moral neutral

41:08

for long . I

41:10

don't know if you're fans of Lord of the Rings

41:12

, if you've seen the Hobbit , read the Hobbit

41:15

. But some of you you will love this

41:17

and others of you are like you are so weird , golly

41:19

, why do you do this ? I brought my friend to church today

41:21

and you're talking about the Hobbit Like

41:28

stop it . But there's a moment . Thorin Oakenshield is the rightful

41:30

heir to the throne of the dwarves . He's the leader of the company of dwarves

41:33

and Bilbo Baggins going to find the

41:35

Lonely Mountain and

41:37

restore the dwarves' kingdom

41:39

that Smaug the dragon has taken

41:42

over . And he gets to the Lonely

41:44

Mountain , thorin and the company , they get there and

41:46

they finally they find the

41:48

horde of dragon's treasure that

41:51

Smaug has accumulated , and it's gold

41:53

beyond belief . They find

41:55

the treasure , they kill the dragon

41:57

and then something happens

41:59

to Thorin . His heart

42:02

is changed . And

42:04

the other dwarves ? They're like what's going on with Thorin ? And

42:06

one of them says he has dragon

42:08

sickness . He's

42:10

been captured and captivated

42:13

. His heart has been drawn astray by

42:15

the lure of gold , so

42:19

much so that he breaks fellowship

42:21

with his friends . He loses his ability to trust

42:23

people , he loses his love for his own

42:25

family . He's only

42:27

captured by the

42:30

draw , the pull for more

42:32

gold . Seek

42:37

first the kingdom of

42:39

God , because the dragon sickness is

42:41

real in all of us the

42:44

pull for more , the desire for more . It's

42:46

within all of us

42:48

. Eugene Peterson , in A

42:50

Long Obedience in the Same Direction , he said

42:52

it like this , talking about worship

42:54

and feelings and our ability

42:56

to choose to direct

42:59

our heart and our tendency to get drawn off course

43:01

. He said this we live in

43:03

what one writer has called the age

43:05

of sensation . We

43:07

think that if we don't feel something , there can be no

43:09

authenticity in doing it . Have

43:15

you ever heard somebody say I just need to live my truth , I just need to find

43:17

my authentic self and be the best

43:19

version of my authentic self

43:21

? Peterson says that's the age of

43:23

sensation . We got to feel it for it

43:26

to be real . We think that if we don't

43:28

feel something , there can be no authenticity in doing

43:30

it . But the wisdom of God says

43:32

something different that we can act

43:35

ourselves into a new way of feeling

43:37

much quicker than we can feel ourselves

43:39

, into a new way of

43:41

acting . Worship is an act

43:43

that develops feelings for God

43:46

, not a feeling for God that is expressed

43:48

in an act of worship . When we obey

43:51

the command to praise God in worship

43:53

, our deep , essential need

43:55

to be in relationship with God is

43:58

nurtured . Maybe

44:00

you're here today and I don't feel like being

44:03

generous . I think Peterson would say to us

44:05

exactly what Jesus said to

44:07

us be generous anyway

44:09

, and your feelings will follow your

44:11

act of obedience . I

44:14

don't feel like seeking first

44:16

the kingdom of God . Seek first

44:19

the kingdom of God anyway , and your feelings

44:21

will follow your step of faith

44:24

as you orient your life

44:26

after the heart of

44:28

Almighty God . To

44:31

quote Jesus . Jesus said it like this give

44:33

to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

44:35

and to God what

44:37

belongs to God . Money's

44:40

temporary . It bears the image

44:43

of the rulers of this world , the

44:51

image of the rulers of this world , but your life bears the image of Almighty God . Give

44:53

your life to God and trust your future to him . Trust

44:55

the King of Kings to provide for

44:58

you what you need . And let's break

45:00

the tie that binds

45:02

so many of us to

45:04

the anxieties of this present world

45:07

, binds

45:10

so many of us to the anxieties of this present world . God , I trust you more

45:12

than I trust me , more than I trust my stuff more than I trust my abilities

45:15

. God , my life , my heart , my hands , everything

45:17

I have is open to

45:19

you , father . That is our prayer

45:21

this morning , god , that we

45:23

would truly , deeply

45:26

, intentionally , seek first your

45:28

kingdom , believing God

45:30

that our feelings will follow

45:32

, that that we can direct our

45:34

hearts towards you , by your grace

45:37

, because you've

45:39

been generous to us . And

45:42

so , father , today , have

45:44

your way in our hearts . As we respond

45:46

to you this morning in worship In Jesus'

45:48

name , amen , as

45:50

we get ready to sing again today

45:53

, maybe you're here and you're like . This idea

45:55

of generosity to God sounds so

45:57

foreign to me . I

46:00

want you to know that long before you

46:02

ever get the opportunity to be

46:04

generous to God , god has been generous

46:06

to you . Ever get the

46:08

opportunity to be generous to God . God has been generous

46:10

to you , for God

46:12

so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him would

46:14

not perish , would have eternal life . And so we have to start this conversation

46:17

of generosity there and simply say

46:19

do I have a personal relationship

46:21

with Jesus ? Have I been

46:23

the recipient of God's generosity

46:26

? And if you're here today and you've never

46:28

trusted Jesus as your Savior , when we stand

46:30

and we sing . I would love to meet you at

46:33

the back . I would love to have that conversation

46:35

with you about what it looks like to follow Jesus

46:37

, to open your hands , your heart

46:39

, your life to God and say God , I turn

46:41

from my sin and I place my faith in the resurrected

46:44

King . But as we stand

46:46

and sing , if you need to pray , you

46:48

can pray down here at the front , you can pray at the back

46:51

. If there's

46:53

an area of your life that maybe your stewardship hasn't been

46:55

in line with what God is inviting you into

46:57

and you wanna pray about that this morning , take

46:59

a moment and pray . If you wanna join the

47:01

church , this is a moment for you to respond . As

47:03

the Spirit leads , let's stand and worship

47:06

Jesus together .