Living for the Well Done!

Well Done

Sunday 01/20/19

Series: Walking the Talk

Message – Living for the ‘Well Done’!

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Living for the ‘Well Done’!

Again, the take aways are…

  1. Examine yourself
  2. Be prepared for His return.
  3. Be a surrendered servant.
  4. Be a faithful servant.

Our focus verse is still in 2Peter 3:10-12,

“(10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?”

But we are adding one more to it this week and that is found in, Romans 11:19-22, (give context)

“(19) Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” (20) True enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. (21) For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. (22) Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you–if you remain in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

Ultimately, MOST of Jesus’ parables were about stewardship in one way or another and our passage in Luke 19:11-27 is no different  

Let’s read it through once:

“(11) As they were listening to this, He went on to tell a parable because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away. (12) Therefore He said: “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king and then return. (13) He called 10 of his slaves, gave them 10 minas (each), and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’  (14) “But His subjects hated him and sent a delegation after Him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’ (15) “At His return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those slaves he had given the money to so he could find out how much they had made in business. (16) The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned 10 more minas.’ (17) “‘Well done, good slave!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over 10 towns.’ (18) “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ (19) “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’  (20) “And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it hidden away in a cloth (21) because I was afraid of you, for you’re a tough man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’ (22) “He told him, ‘I will judge you by what you have said, you evil slave! If you knew I was a tough man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, (23) why didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest!’ (24) So he said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has 10 minas.’ (25) “But they said to him, ‘Master, he has 10 minas.’ (26) “‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.  (27) But bring here these enemies of mine, who did not want me to rule over them, and slaughter them in my presence.'”

So far we’ve learned:

Well Done

  • The Nobleman represented Jesus both in the flesh and at His return. [Acts 2:32-36 “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, (35) TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL.” ; Heb. 1:3-13 about the Son: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.”; 1Cor. 15:25-28 “For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy to be abolished is death.” ]
  • The Nobleman was “set apart” to become king over a kingdom, He left for a time for the express purpose of being crowned with authority to take up that position and rule.
  • The 10 slaves represent those who were His servants and therefore part of His house – THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ACCURATE INTERPRETATION !!!
  • His investment in them was sizeable. A Mina was about 1/3rd of a years income for a the average man.

Well Done

What did Jesus invest in us?

  •  Redemption
  • Forgiveness
  • Restoration
  • A ministry of reconciliation
  • Gifts
  • Hope (be ready with an answer for…)
  • Not to mention His own nature.
  • His command was toengage in business until I return > This has served as our Key and central verse!

Well Done

  • We discovered that “Business” meant to be busy and occupied producing GAIN for the kingdom from the investment He made in us.
  • This list can be reduced to…
    • Forming Christ within – fruit or character change
    • Forming Christ without – be a living witness and share the gospel…be salt and light.

We referenced Matt. 25, where Jesus spoke of the 10 virgins & the talents  BOTH parables beginning with the words “Then the kingdom of been will be likened to…”.

Then He immediately spoke of what it will be like when He returns and “…separates the sheep from the goats”.

ALL the difference between these two groups was found in what they DID and DIDN’T DO!

We referenced Jesus in His youth in Luke 2:41-50, Who was “… about His Father’s business.” by studying & sharing the Word.

We referenced the kind of life we should live towards believers – ministering to their spiritual [I Cor. 9:16-17 & 1Peter 4:10-19 – gifts & callings] & natural needs. [1Peter 3:8-22 & Col. 1:24-25 – by being commanded to be like-minded, sympathetic, compassionate, willing to suffer for one another…etc. ]

We referenced the kind of life we should live towards the world [Matt. 5:15-20 Salt & Light.

NOTE:Salt is naturally stable, but if it is not stored properly it will be exposed to elements which will erode its saltiness – especially water. Salt is VERY soluble and readily absorbs moisture which has a diluting effect on it’s flavor. Therefore the Christian children’s song written in 1956 O Be Careful, Little Eyes. It goes…“Oh, Be careful little eyes what you see, For there’s a Father up above And He’s looking down in love so be careful little eyes what you see”, The verses appropriately go on to address the ears, hands, feet & mouth – in each admonishing them to be mindful and respectful of the all Loving Father Who is watching].

 In regard to the world we are also to reveal Christ in our love for each other, in the testimony of our lifestyle, in what we say (Being ready with an answer), being gentle and respectful towards them & NEVER retaliating OR DEFENDING ourselves but only blessing.

Now we continue in our study on this parable in verse 14…but we will start in verse 12

“A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king and then return. (13) He called 10 of his slaves, gave them 10 minas (each), and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’  (14) “But His subjects hated him and sent a delegation after Him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’”

Notice these subjects knew the Nobleman was destined to be king and had gone to be crowned as such, so they sent a delegation to tell the supreme ruler that they disapproved of this man and would not have Him rule them. (crucify Him)  

Now as I said last week, this parable has meanings on MANY levels and while still applicable today (as is ALL of Christ’s teachings) some of the intended audience has changed from the original. When Jesus taught this, He was clearly pointing to the Jews who largely rejected Him as their king. It was as if they were telling God – Do not appoint Him as our Lord for we do not approve of Him. But today this has reference to both the lost IN and OUT of the church. In both cases people often claim a superficial appreciation of Jesus – but they deny His RIGHT to rule their lives, and according to scripture – ALL who deny His Lordship are Lost!

Notice therefore that these subjects were NOT the servant/slaves – which is evident since they would not submit to Him as Lord, “We do not want this man to rule over us.”

Now, believe it or not, this statement actually has more to do with the Nobleman’s command to do business until I return” than it has to do with the rebellion of the subjects.

Well Done

>You see, their delegation was a rejection both of the Nobleman AND those doing business on His behalf.

>They rejected the message they brought, the life they lived and the kingdom in which they served.

>Which on the flip-side, means they were NOT rejecting the one “servant” who did NOT do business until He returned. That servant blended in with them so well, as to be indiscernible from them. – More on that in a little while.

(15) “At His return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those slaves he had given the money to so he could find out how much they had made in business. (16) The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned 10 more minas.’ (17) “‘Well done, good slave!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over 10 towns.’ (18) “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ (19) “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.

As we read last week in Hebrews 1 – Jesus left earth to be glorified by His Father and receive the Kingdom.

Upon His return He FIRST deals with his 10 servants which are broken down into three categories by only mentioning three of them.

To the first He gave praise and honored him with authority

To the second He only honored with authority.

Notice that regardless of the amount or effectiveness of the work done by His servants – they were honored by ruling WITH HIM.

  • Rev. 3:14-22 HCSB “(14) To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation says: (15) I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. (16) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy, and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, (18) I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. (20) Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. (21) The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne. (22) “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

We will address the third and final servant next week…

Blessings! 

 

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!

If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!