NEW TESTAMENT : 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be not escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
PSALM : Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
OLD TESTAMENT: Judges 4:1-7
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Haroshethha-goiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years.
At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, 'Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.'"
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 25:14-30
"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he game five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. The same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying ,'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your.' But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
"WASTE NOT"
This parable sounds awfully harsh. "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is the New Testament, Jesus is talking, he should be focusing on a loving God. Why is this not so?
God has given us talents-not the monetary kind-but the ability kind. We all have abilities to help us achieve a feeling of self worth, to contribute to society, and to help others. We have the abilities to give to one another, to be kind, to forgive, to seek to understand other people. These are gifts from God. God has given us the gift of life. Are we going to refuse it? To most people he has given the gifts of sight, hearing, and speech. I don't believe that most people would refuse those either. Therefore, why would any of us refuse these other gifts?
Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "That person is incredible. He/she can do anything: sew, paint, golf, gourmet dinners, and besides that, this person is nice, considerate, and caring. This person has these talents because they are gifts from God; and since some have been used, they have grown. And as this person uses these talents, they may lead in other directions. God loves to see us using the gifts that he has given us, but if we don't develop them, we will lose them.
John Wesley was given the gift of spirituality. By using this gift he, through God's help, developed the gift of service. Wesley founded a group at Oxford that met regularly for study, prayer, and religious conversation. However, they soon saw a need for social ministries. Instead of waiting for one of the other holy clubs at Oxford to minister to the London poor, Wesley and his group went to the streets and the prison to feed, educate, and minister to the poor. God gave Wesley an obsession for living according to his beliefs, and he was not afraid to use it. In his determination to reform the slovenly practices of the Anglican Church of that time, through his methodical practices, he eventually began the Methodist church.
In looking at today's parable, we see that these three servants did not respond to the challenge in the same way. The first two immediately went to work, using what ability they had to double their money in no time and proving to be a blessing to their master. But where did the third servant go wrong?
A. He was full of excuses.
B. He had a bad attitude toward the master-he thought him to be a hard man.
C. He was self-sufficient-he avoided positive or helpful interaction.
D. He was fearful of losing-he didn't play to win.
The concept of this parable can be enhanced by a piece of Middle East geography. The Sea of Galilee is one of the liveliest bodies of water in the region. It is full of life and activity. If you recall when some of the disciples fished in the Sea of Galilee, their nets were so full of fish they were on the verge of bursting. The Jordan River flows into the North and out of the South shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Jordan River continues south until it flows into another sea; however this sea has no outlet. It only receives from the Jordan and that's where it ends. This is the Dead Sea. It is the most lifeless body of water on the planet. No plant or animal can live in the Dead Sea. The reason: It has no outlet. It receives but never gives. That is a good illustration of what happened to the third servant. He did nothing with what he was given, and it cost him.
Jesus is talking to his disciples, but this lesson is for all of his followers, including you and me. He has been telling them about what it will be like when he returns at the end of the age, so the story indicates that Jesus will be going on a long journey, a journey to his Father's house after his death and resurrection. He tells them that the work of the kingdom is like the story he is telling. Jesus came to bring the good news of salvation, to make his Father known, to heal the sick, and to call in the lost. What are we called to do?
In John, chapter 21, verse 15, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "You know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." If we love Jesus the way that Peter did, then we must, also, take care of God's Kingdom.
But how do we do this?
1. We must know the rules of investing
A. What results are we seeking-Personal Growth
-Growth of God's Kingdom
-Honoring God
-Repentance
-Ministering to others
-Plan for retirement-in our Heavenly home
-Train our children in the ways of the Lord
2. Implement the right investment strategies
B. Buy low, sell high-Jesus met people at their low points and helped them to achieve new heights in their lives.
C. Invest for the long term
-Seek to let God change your life
-Seek to let God use you to change the lives of othersD. Preservation of capital
-Be a disciple
-Study the scriptures
-Prayer
-WorshipE. Make consistent additions to your portfolio
-Continually seek to learn, serve, minister
-A person who goes forward and does nothing else is stagnant
When we have properly invested, we learn that life is filled with amazing qualities.
A. Life is an adventure in responsibility. Whatever it is that we have has
been entrusted to us by God.
B. Life is a treasure of diversity. Each one of us is different. Each of us
was given blessings based on our God-given ability. And we may not be able to do everything well, but we can each do something. We can all make a difference.
C. Life is a giver of opportunity. The third servant didn't think that he
could make a difference with one talent. However, President Theodore Roosevelt said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." That covers just about everyone.
God desires for us to dream dreams and to have visions and goals in our lives for the kingdom. It takes a vision in our soul to be productive. It takes a dream before us day and night to produce fruit. And it takes a goal set before us to give us the drive and determination that we need to carry out labors.
It also takes a great passion for God to become a productive servant in his kingdom. This can be illustrated by the man who went in search for God. He went to a wise old sage and asked if he could help him find God. The old man told the young man to follow him. The old man led him down to a river and out until they were neck deep. The old man turned, grabbed the young man, and held his head under the water. The young man twisted, turned and thrashed about. Finally the old man let go of the young man and said, "When you have the passion to find God as you did to find air then you will find Him."
What is it that excites each one of us; that causes our hearts to pound; our blood to race; our spirit to soar? Nothing will move us from potential to productivity until we are moved from passive to passionate.
If the Master were to return today and asked you to give an account of your life, would you be ready?
CONCERNS AND PRAYERS:
Most Holy Lord, we lift up our prayers for all who are in need, whether due to illness, distress, war, poverty, or persecution. We ask for strength to reach out to these people and to give of ourselves in and beyond the church. Your grace is always open for our acceptance, and your greatest pleasure is seeing us accept it-help us to remember that you are always there for us. Keep us mindful, Lord, that other people have feelings, too-that they have difficult days, family problems, job pressures-and that we must always keep this issue present in order that we can avoid hurting others. Let us remember to forgive-both ourselves and others. We are so fallible, often subject to error, emotion, or unpleasant behavior-we are filled with regrets and self-judgment. Help us, Lord, to turn all things over to you, in Christ's Holy Name, Amen.