21. The Faithful and Unfaithful Servants - Pastor Stephen Bohr - Matthew 24

[Music] let's pray father in heaven we are nearing the end of this series and now we're going to study some practical applications of the message of matthew 24 so we ask for the presence of your holy spirit as we see what we should be doing while we wait for the lord's coming thank you for the promise of your presence and we claim that promise in the precious and most holy name of jesus amen in matthew chapter 24 jesus presented the signs that his coming is near and then he gave two analogies that would help us know when it was even at the doors those two analogies are in matthew chapter 24 the parable of the fig tree and the second is the story of the flood in noah's day then after this at the very end of matthew 24 we find the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant and then in matthew chapter 25 we find three additional parables the parable of the ten virgins the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and the goats so we are now going to study the parable that we find at the end of matthew 24 and in future presentations we are going to take a look at the parables that we find in chapter 25. so at the end of chapter 24 we have the parable of faithful and unfaithful servants matthew 25 we have the 10 virgins the talents and the sheep and the goats now in all of these parables we find two groups those who are ready for the coming of jesus and those who will not be ready for his coming so let's read the passage where we find the description of faithful and unfaithful servants it's found in matthew 24 verse 45 through verse 51 and i read pay close attention to the details who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing assuredly i say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods but if that evil servant says in his heart my master is delaying his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards so the master of that servant will come on the day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him into and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in this parable jesus is addressing the leaders of the church now in order to understand the meaning of this parable we need to take a look at the symbols of the parable so we are now going to consider the details of the parable the master in the parable represents jesus christ the household represents the church the members of the household are the church members the rulership that is given to the stewards represents the task of leadership the faithful and wise servant represents the faithful leaders in the church the food that the leader is supposed to give to the members of the church represents the word of god due season giving food in due season represents preaching present truth the evil servant represents the unfaithful leaders of the church the fellow servants that the unfaithful servant beats up and mistreats represent his colleagues in ministry the beating of his fellow servants represents the fact that this leader this unfaithful leader considers himself better than his fellow servants the drunkards represent worldlings who make no profession of religion and the wailing and gnashing of teeth is what happens when the unfaithful leaders realize that they are lost and they will not be saved in christ's kingdom now both the faithful and the wicked servant claimed to work for the master we know this because the evil servant served the master and the master is a symbol of jesus christ we also know that uh those individuals who were both the the faithful servant and the unfaithful servant were actually servants of jesus because the unfaithful servant is called a hypocrite and in the gospel of matthew every time that the word hypocrite is used it refers to individuals who claim to serve the lord the word hypocrite is never used of an unbeliever in the gospel of matthew it's always used to speak of those who claim to serve jesus christ or claim to serve god the word hypocrite in greek means an actor working under an assumed character that is to say the wicked servant was pretending he was putting up a facade he was a phony in other words he claimed to serve the master but he really did not just like the leaders in the church claim to serve jesus but many do not in matthew 15 and verse 7 jesus referred to the jewish leaders as hypocrites because they honored him with their lips but their hearts were far away from him in fact in matthew chapter 23 the word hypocrite is used seven times to describe the scribes and the pharisees who claimed to be servants of god they were the ministers and the theologians of that time leaders of israel the whole point of this parable is that the close of probation and the second coming will catch these unfaithful leaders by surprise most people think that they can prepare for the coming of jesus until they see him coming on the clouds but that's not the case we must prepare for the close of probation because if we're not ready for the close of probation we will not be ready for the second coming of christ so this parable applies to insiders leaders of the church that claim to be servants of jesus ellen white gave a profound interpretation of this particular parable and i want to read that statement it's rather long but it's very very important and it has very many important details we find in the book five testimonies pages 101 and 102 the following interpretation of this parable that evil servant who said in his heart my lord delays his coming professed to be waiting for christ he was a servant outwardly devoted to the service of god while at heart he had yielded to satan he does like the scoffer openly deny the truth or rather he does not like the scoffer openly deny the truth but reveals in his life the sentiment of the heart that the lord's coming is delayed presumption renders him careless of internal eternal interests he accepts the world's maxims and conforms to its customs and practices selfishness worldly pride and ambitions predominate fearing that his brethren may stand higher than himself he begins to disparage their efforts and impugn their motives thus he smites his fellow servants as he alienates himself from the people of god he unites more and more with the ungodly he is found eating and drinking with a drunken joining with the worldings and partaking of their spirit thus he is lulled into a carnal security and overcome by forgetfulness indifference and sloth the statement continues the very beginning of the evil was a neglect of watchfulness and secret prayer then came a neglect of other religious duties and thus the way was opened for all the sins that followed every christian will be assailed by the allurements of the world and the clamors of the carnal nature and the direct temptation of satan no one is safe no matter what our experience has been no matter how high our station we need to watch and pray continually we must be daily controlled by the spirit of god or we are controlled by satan and then ellen white referred to our very own seventh adventist church with these words in the review and herald march 14 1878 look into our churches there are only a few real workers in them the majority are irresponsible men and women they feel no burden for souls they manifest no hungering and thirsting for righteousness they never lift when the work goes hard these are the ones who have but one talent and hide that one in a napkin and bury it in the world that is they use all the influence they have in their temporal matters in seeking the things of this life they lose the future eternal life the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory what can be said and done to arouse this class of church members to feel their accountability to god must the mass of professed christian commandment keepers hear the fearful words and now she's going to refer to the parable that we're looking at at the end of matthew chapter 24 once again must the mass of professed christian commandment keepers hear the fearful words cast ye the unprofitable servants into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth the apostle peter gave us the qualifications for a good leader we find in first peter chapter 5 and verses 1 through 4 speaking about the elders who are the leaders of the local churches the elders who are among you i exhort i who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed shepherd the flock of god which is among you serving as overseers not by compulsion but willingly not for dishonest gain but eagerly not as being lords over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away so this is a very important parable that is speaking about the leaders of the church once again i want to underline the meaning of the symbols the master is jesus the household is the church the household members are the members of the church the act of rulership means the task of leadership in the church the faithful and wise servant represents faithful leaders in the church the food that the faithful leaders are supposed to give to the householder to the members is the word of god the due season to give that food represents preaching present truth the evil servant represents unfaithful servants or leaders in the church the fellow servants that the evil servant beats up represents his colleagues in leadership the beating of his fellow servants means that he considers himself better than his fellow servants and he mistreats them the drunkards that the unfaithful servant eventually goes to hang out with represents worldlings who make no profession of religion and the wailing and gnashing of teeth is the reaction of the unfaithful leaders when they realize that probation is closed and they are lost now let's go to the next parable that we find in matthew chapter 25. actually it's not the very next one the next one is the parable of the ten virgins that will be our last study together but we're going to go now to the parable of the talents it's found in matthew 25 verse 14 through 30. so we're not going to go in the order of matthew 25 we're not going to deal with the 10 virgins then the talents and then the sheep and goats we're going to deal first of all with the talents then with the sheep and goats and the last study will be on the ten virgins let's read the parable in matthew 25 and verses 14 through 30. it's a long parable but please pay attention to the details for the kingdom of heaven of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants notice his own servants and delivered his goods to them and to the one he gave five talents to another two and to another one to each according to his own ability and immediately he went on a journey then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents and likewise he who had received two gained two more also but he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his lord's money after a long time the lord of those servants came and settled account settled accounts with them so he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents saying lord you delivered to me five talents look i have gained five more talents besides them his lord said to him well done good and faithful servant you were faithful over a few things i will make you ruler over many things enter into the joy of your lord he also who had received two talents came and said lord you delivered to me two talents look i have gained two more talents besides them his lord said to him well done good and faithful servant you have been faithful over a few things i will make you ruler over many things enter into the joy of your lord then he who had received one talent came and said lord i knew you to be a hard man reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed and i was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground look there you have what is yours but his lord answered and said to him you wicked and lazy servant you knew that i reap where i have not sown and gather where i have not scattered seed so you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers and at my coming i would have received back my own with interest so take the talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents for to everyone who has that is the original amount plus the interest more will be given and he will have abundance but from him who does not have that is the original amount plus the interest even what he has that is the one talent will be taken away and cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth that's the parable so let's see what the symbols of the parable represent in the parable we have the lord the lord is none other than jesus christ his servants are those who profess to be followers of jesus christ his goods are the blessings that he has given to those who have embraced jesus he has given talents time money influence mental abilities speech health etc to minister to other people the far country is heaven the number of talents that is given to each is according to their ability to use the talents that they are receiving the accounting has to do with the judgment in other words all will have to stand before the judgment seat of christ to give an account for how we have used the blessings that we have received the ruler over a few things he who is faithful over a few things represents the use of the talents and gifts that we receive in this life faithful in greater things or ruler in greater things represent greater responsibilities that jesus will give us in the kingdom because we have been faithful in the small things the unfaithful steward represents those who talk the talk but they don't walk the walk the joy of the lord means sharing the joy of jesus as we see the salvation of souls and the casting into outer darkness represents the final reward of the unfaithful now let's take a look at the details of this magnificent parable that jesus told the parable of the talents applies to those who claim to be followers of jesus christ we know this for three reasons first because jesus spoke this parable to his own disciples secondly the parable tells us several times that the servants were the master's own servants in the third place as we noticed in the previous parable that we studied the expression weeping and gnashing of teeth is used only in the gospel of matthew to refer to those who claim to be followers of god so for these three reasons we know that this parable applies to those who claim to be followers of jesus christ the servants of the parable all entered the service of christ the word own own servants is emphatic in the greek language in other words jesus could have said simply he called his servants but the parable says he called his own servants ellen white wrote in christ's object lessons page 326 it is those who profess to have accepted christ's service who in the parable are represented as his own servants you notice that after these blessings are given to the servants after the talents are given to the servants by the master the master leaves to a far country the master departs that means the ascension of jesus christ to heaven when jesus went to heaven he gave his followers talents and gifts to carry on his work and reach out to others so that they could be saved the goods that the lord gave his servants belong to the lord they do not belong to the servants they are lent to the servants they do not belong to them they are not the property of the servants now what do the talents represent i want to read from christ object lessons page 327 where we find an explanation of what the talents that the master gave his servants before he left are the talents that christ entrusts to his church represent especially the gifts and blessings imparted by the holy spirit so notice the talents that christ entrusts to his church represent especially the gifts and blessings imparted by the holy spirit the apostle paul explained what these gifts are in ephesians chapter 4 and verse 8 paul speaks about the ascension of christ and what he gave his followers when he ascended to heaven it says in ephesians chapter 4 and verse 8 when he that is jesus ascended on high he led captivity captive that is talking about those who resurrected with christ he took them to heaven as the firstfruits so it says he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men what are those gifts well paul in first corinthians 12 verses 8 through 11 and verses 27 and 28 ephesians 4 11-13 romans 12 verses 6 through 8 gives a list of the gifts or talents that jesus gave his followers when he went to heaven those are apostles prophets evangelists pastors teachers word of wisdom word of knowledge faith gifts of healings working of miracles discerning the spirits different kinds of tongues interpretation of tongues healings helps administrations ministry exhortation liberality leadership and mercy jesus did not give these talents or gifts for self-improvement the gifts that he gave are functional they have a purpose the purpose is that these gifts these blessings these talents are to be used for reaching souls to bring them to the feet of jesus christ all gifts have the function of reaching others for jesus in christ object lessons page 328 we find that the talents have even a broader meaning ellen white wrote the special gifts of the spirit are not the only talents represented in the parable it includes all gifts and endowments whether original or acquired natural or spiritual all are to be employed in christ's service in becoming his disciples we surrender ourselves to him with all that we are and have now notice this these gifts he returns to us purified and ennobled to be used for his glory in blessing our fellow men our talents time strength money influence speech and all other endowments are of no avail unless they are sanctified by the baptism of the holy spirit a worldly person may have abilities and gifts and use them for their own self-interest and for their own glory however when the receiver of these gifts surrenders them to jesus they now become a blessing to others a singer may have a beautiful voice that impresses people and brings about great applause but a singer might use this gift of song for his own self-glorification or for financial gain however when that person surrenders this gift to jesus then the holy spirit sanctifies the gift and it's used for the salvation of souls this is what ellen white meant meant when she said in becoming his disciples we surrender ourselves to him with all that we are and have and then she continues these gifts he returns to us purified so we give them to him he returns them to us purified and ennobled to be used for his glory in blessing our fellow men now you notice in the parable that the lord gives the talents according to the person's ability to use those gifts and talents if god gave a person's a gift that that person is not qualified to use it would go to waste it would be unfair for god to expect more where he gave less not everyone has the same degree of ability some people have less talents than others due partially to inherited and cultivated tendencies it would not be wise to put a porsche engine in a volkswagen beetle however you would expect a volkswagen to function as a volkswagen and a porsche to function as a porsche it's interesting in an unusual twist in this parable the person who received the least talent was the one who was unfaithful not the one who received the greatest number of talents you know sometimes we think that the rich are in the greatest danger of not using the gifts that god gave them for blessing others but many times people say well you know i don't have much talent i don't know how to talk you know i don't i don't know how to minister to others and they give excuses and they don't use the gift that god has given them the one gift that they can multiply for his glory in this parable jesus sought to teach that faithfulness in small things in this life prepares us for greater responsibilities and a greater service in the life to come in luke chapter 16 verse 10 jesus expressed it this way he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much in christ object lessons page 329 ellen white wrote the question that most concerns us is not how much have i received but rather what am i doing with that which i have the development of all our powers is the first duty we owe to god and to our fellow men so we either use it or we lose it god expects more from those who have received more he expects less from those who have received less god will expect more from seventh-day adventists than he expects from those who have not received all of the light because the amount of blessings and talents and gifts that god gives us will determine whether and the use of those will determine whether we were faithful or not now you notice that the servant who received the one talent actually looked at god as a task master or a dictator who was taking advantage of his subjects the servant's assessment might have been true if uh you know the resources were his in the first place but the resources were not his the resources were his masters the master sold by giving his servant the one talent and therefore he expected to reap what he sowed he had every right to demand a return on what was his you know the faithful and servant unfaithful servant was pre barricading when he complained that the lord wanted to reap where he had not sown the fact is that the owner had actually was the one who sowed because he gave his resources to the man who had one talent and he had a right to expect a return on the master's money so the master said to him you should have returned my money with interest now you'll notice that there was a long delay between the lord's departure and reckoning day that represents the period between the ascension of christ and the investigative judgment what are we supposed to be doing in that interim between when jesus left and when he comes again in christ object lessons page 325 we find these words the time is to be spent not in idle waiting but what but in diligent working that is developing the gifts and talents that we have received in the parable of the pounds which is very similar to this parable in luke chapter 19 verse 13 jesus told his servants occupy until i come that word occupy appears only once in the new testament it's the word pragmatic oh my and basically it means according to the lexicons concerned with actual practice not with with theory or speculation the settling of accounts in the parable is the pre-advent investigative judgment when our names appear in the judgment we must render account for how we have used the talents the gifts and the blessings that we have received the apostle paul wrote in second corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to what he has done whether it be good or bad in luke chapter 12 and verse 48 jesus also said the following words for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall much be required and to whom men have committed much of him they will ask the more in the judgment for example jesus will not expect as much from martin luther as he does from a seventh-day adventist luther never kept the sabbath he did not practice health reform he believed that the dead aren't dead but he used and multiplied all of the resources that god gave him to the utmost god does not hold us accountable for what we don't know he holds us accountable for what we know and whether we use what we know for his glory luther wrote preached taught debated with all knowledge and zeal and energy that god gave him in other words he used his talents to the max why did the lord give the talent of the one individ the one talent of the individual who buried it to the one who had ten talents why did he do that well because we invest our money where it pays the greatest dividends let me ask you this if you owned a corporation where a worker worker multiplied your assets twice as much as another would you invest your money with the one that makes twice as much with what he has been given of course the one who have five multiplied it to ten the one who had two multiplied it till four but you know the difference between ten and four is a big difference and so we find that the lord gave the talent to the one who made the most with what he had been given the expression to everyone who has more will be given means that whoever has the original amount of money plus the interest will receive more simply having what the owner gave originally does not guarantee receiving more the man who had one talent returned the same amount to the owner therefore he did not receive more the one who did not have is the one who did not multiply what the lord gave him now what is the meaning of the expression enter into the joy of your lord isaiah 53 describes the suffering servant who bore the sins of the world that is jesus christ after his grueling experience the text tells us that the suffering servant would see the travail of his of his soul and he would be satisfied let's read those verses isaiah 53 and verses 10 and 11. yet it pleased the lord to bruise him that is the father bruised christ because he was bearing the sins of the world yet it pleased the lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities so notice he shall see his seed and then verse 11 says he shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied what does that mean ellen white explained in reviewing herald may 29 1900 in a beautiful way those who walk even as christ walked who are patient gentle kind meek and lowly in heart those who yoke up with christ and lift his burdens who you are yearn for souls as he yearned for them these will enter into the joy of their lord they will see with christ the travail of his soul and be satisfied heaven will triumph for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the lord i like the way in which this expression enter into the joy of your lord is given in the niv and the new century version in the niv it says come and share your master's happiness and in the new century version it says come and share my joy with me and what is the joy the joy is seeing all of the saved in the kingdom because talents have been used to reach them for jesus christ after describing the heroes of faith in hebrews 11 the apostle paul described the joy that the father set before jesus when jesus came to suffer and die for our sins hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 through 3 reads therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith and now notice who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of god the father set before jesus something that would bring joy to his heart the joy that was set before him he endured the cross because of that joy what was that joy that was set before jesus we find this comment in the devotional book that i may know him page 368 the joy that was set before jesus was that of seeing souls redeemed by the sacrifice of his glory his honor his riches and his own life the salvation of man was his joy when all the redeemed shall be gathered into the kingdom of god he will see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied so entering into the joy of the lord is to share his joy as we see how the kingdom is filled with those who have been saved by jesus do you know that even the father is going to sing on that day not a zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 17. it says there the lord your god is in your midst the mighty one will save he will rejoice over you with gladness he will quiet you with his love he will rejoice over you with singing imagine hearing the voice of god singing because of all of the redeemed that are in the kingdom that is going to be someday ellen white commented in desire of ages page 5 23 when christ's followers give back to the lord his own they are accumulating treasure that will be given to them when they shall hear the words well done good and faithful servant enter thou into the joy of thy lord who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god the joy of seeing souls redeemed souls eternally saved is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of him who said follow me so folks when we use our gifts and our talents and the blessings that god has given us to bless others to reach them for jesus we are entering into the joy of jesus and when we get to the kingdom we will express that fullness of joy as jesus looks at the travail of his soul and is satisfied we will share that ecstatic experience with jesus we cannot expect to reign with jesus however in the coming kingdom unless we have been faithful in the use of his blessings and gifts and talents on this earth if we have been unfaithful here we would be unfaithful there you know daniel and his three friends are an illustration of the principle that jesus wanted to teach in this parable the hebrew worthies were faithful in the matter of diet they decided that they would only eat and drink what was allowed by scripture therefore nebuchadnezzar placed them over much greater responsibilities in the kingdom you see when we're faithful in the small things god knows that he can trust us to be faithful in the heavier responsibilities now let's talk about the wailing and gnashing of teeth the judgment against the unfaithful servant who buried his talent was very very drastic according to matthew 25 and verse 30 his master threw him into outer darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth the text does not say eternal wailing and gnashing of teeth because some people take this to mean that those who are represented by the man who buried his talent are going to their whale and weep throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity no there will be weeping when the unfaithful servants realize that they have not been faithful in reaching souls with the gifts that that god has given them but it will not be eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth jesus always used this expression weeping and gnashing of teeth to refer to the unfaithful jewish nation that received multiple blessings and gifts from god but use them for them themselves instead of using them to bless others let me give you an example of another place where the expression weeping and gnashing of teeth is used it's used in matthew chapter 8 in the story of the roman centurion of course the centurion was not a jew he was a roman after jesus healed the centurion's servant jesus gave an ironic twist to this story you see the jews thought that those pagan romans were going to end up where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth whereas those who were faithful jews they would end up in the kingdom in the bosom of abraham but lo and behold when this story concludes jesus says no no no no the unfaithful who did not use their gifts to bless humanity they end up where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth and the centurion ends up in the kingdom you say how is that well jesus if you read there the story in matthew chapter 8 after he healed the centurion servant jesus said many will come from the north and the east and they will sit at the table with abraham isaac and jacob but the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth so who is it that is cast out to where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth it is not the centurion the centurion will sit with abraham isaac and jacob in the kingdom whereas the sons of the kingdom those who profess to serve jesus but use their gifts and their talents and their blessings only for their own self-glorification and not for their fellow human beings will end up where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness now i don't know whether you've noticed this or not it is true that we are saved by grace through faith there's no doubt whatsoever that we are not saved by our good works and yet these parables tell us that our behavior has something to do with our eternal destiny if we are unfaithful servants even though we might claim to serve jesus we will end up on the wrong side if we are five foolish virgins that claim to be followers of jesus they're still enlightening the way to the wedding chamber they claim to be disciples and yet they're not they're not letting their lamp shine because this the light of the lamps goes out because they don't have an abundance of the oil which represents the holy spirit they end up outside the wedding chamber and they knock and jesus says from inside i don't know you in the parable of the talents you have the same idea as well as in the parable of the sheep and the goats those who are called goats in matthew 25 they did not use their gifts and talents to bless those who had received less blessings and so you'll notice that we are saved by grace through faith but it is a faith that works because a faith that does not work is not real faith it's a facade a faith that works is a genuine face these parables are not teaching that we will be saved because we are multiplying our talents because we are giving our food to the needy because we are letting our lamp shine and because we are faithful servants we are not saved by all those things but when we are saved when we have accepted jesus christ as our savior and lord these things will flow naturally and if they don't it's because we don't have a relationship with christ we have not been justified unless jesus is able to sanctify us as well you know you have the same lesson being taught in james chapter 2 where james tells us that faith without works is dead and a dead faith will never save us a workless faith is a counterfeit faith a dead faith cannot bear fruit so does the way that we use our talents determine our eternal destiny in a certain sense yes does neglecting to bless those who are in need determine our eternal destiny yes does our tendency to not have the holy spirit in our life so we can light the way to the wedding chamber determine our eternal destiny does our faithfulness as servants of jesus determine our eternal destiny yes but as a result of salvation not as a cause of salvation we need to make sure we don't put the cart before the horse the horse is salvation by grace through faith but when the horse moves the cart follows so when you have faith works follow so the parables are teaching us that our behavior does determine our eternal destiny because it reveals if we are truly linked with jesus christ as our savior and as our lord i want to bring this to an end by reading a statement that we find in reviewing herald march 14 1878 and i think i read a portion of this previously uh in this very lecture ellen white is writing about uh seventh-day adventist churches in her day sometimes i wonder if she was alive today what she would write about our seventh-day adventist church today because we have fallen into lethargy we have fallen into complacency very few actually dedicate their talents and their gifts to reach out to a hurting humanity to bless them to bring them to the feet of jesus so that they can be saved in the kingdom ellen white wrote look into our churches there are only a few real workers in them the majority are irresponsible men and women they feel no burden for souls you know it's been said that 20 of the people in church do 80 of the work and i believe that that's true except the 20 must be less not 20 but some churches 10 or even less than that she continues they manifest no hungering and thirsting for righteousness they never lift when the work goes hard these are the ones who have but one talent and hide that one in a napkin and bury it in the world that is they use all the influence they have in their temporal matters in seeking the things of this life they lose the future eternal life the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory what can be said and done to arouse this class of church members to feel their accountability to god must the mass of professed christian commandment keepers hear the fearful words cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth this is a solemn statement folks so basically in these parables that we find after jesus presents the signs of the second coming and the story of the flood and the story of the fig tree showing when his coming was going to be near jesus tells these parables and he tells us that our eternal destiny does have something to do with our behavior with the use of the blessings that god has given us so folks what do we need to do in this time of human history particularly in this time when the world is in turmoil people are looking for explanations to what is happening in the world society is in an upheaval natural disaster so-called natural disasters are occurring everywhere the beginning of sorrows is right before us i think i've said that it's the beginning of the beginning of sorrows that is right before us people's hearts are failing them for fear as they see the things that are occurring in the world and the seventh-day adventist church has the message that can bring peace and tranquility to their lives because we know exactly what is happening it's been predicted we know where things are leading and we know what we need to do in order to reach people so that they can experience peace in this time of turmoil real lasting peace not temporary peace and so as seventh-day adventists we have to do what jesus told us that we're supposed to do we're supposed to watch such as never before be awake be alert we're supposed to pray without ceasing and without giving up we are supposed to occupy in using our gifts and talents to reach those who are in dire need so that we can experience the joy of our lord we need to be ready for the coming of jesus we need to be doing what jesus told us to do at the end of matthew 24 and the three parables that we find in chapter 25 i trust that all of us who are watching this presentation will come to the lord in prayer and ask him what our duty is in this time of turmoil in society in the united states as well as in the world that the lord through his spirit will impress our hearts to wake up to become active to go out to share the love of jesus to share his message for this time so that multiple souls can come into the kingdom and be saved and when we arrive in heaven as we're there with jesus we'll be able to hear the words well done thou good and faithful servant and that we might be able to share in the joy of our lord in seeing multitudes of people saved in the kingdom of heaven what a joy that will be it is my prayer that this will be our experience as we wait for jesus to come [Music] you

Channel: secretsunsealed

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Keywords: SUMTV, SUMTVLatino, Secrets Unsealed, Secretos Revelados, Pastor Bohr, Pastor Stephen Bohr, Pastor Esteban Bohr, Matthew 24, End times, The Faithful and Unfaithful Servants, Faithful, Unfaithful, Servants

Id: Y2zL6Qm9ftc

Length: 58min 30sec (3510 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 07 2021