Luke chapter 19 and we're continuing on and the theme we've been on Friday nights we've been talking about eternal rewards and looking at that just various aspects of that tonight Mike Bickle is in st. Louis with some other leaders leading something there and so you get me tonight instead of him so I'm sorry but here I am deal with it I'm just kidding I love this topic it's one of the topics actually that really began to strike my heart take ahold of my heart in my young or late teen years and hearing the the power of eternal rewards and how our little decisions matter before God and how those decisions we could be motivated to walk in obedience for the before the Lord and how all of those little things are rewarded by God I mean it's just when I heard that I remember hearing that for the first time in this room and this was 13 years ago which is to someone using that long but to me it is I remember hearing in that room and I remember going man that if that's real if if the little decisions in my life they really matter God makes note of them and rewards me I go I want to walk out this door and be the most excellent person in every way and in Luke 19 Jesus gives us this parallel with this is what we're gonna look at tonight he gives us this parable and this parable really tells us a story of stewardship and it tells us how the master is really looking to us his his people his servants to walk in faithfulness even in the very smallest areas of our life and how that can transform our hearts and really motivate us to obedience you know one of the things that uh that I'm learning as being a parent I have five children from the ages of 10 to 2 months my wife is is back there with our two month old and rest of the kids are at home but one of the things that I've noticed and learned being a parent about training someone to be obedient is that just the threat of discipline isn't enough to get people to be obedient by people I mean my own children and I can tell them over and over and over again if you do this you're gonna get in trouble but the excitement of the moment whatever that is whatever you know law they're breaking you know the excitement of the moment they get you know wrapped up in it and they end up going the opposite way and early on when our kids were still young we began my wife and I began motivating them through reward not just the fear of punishment and we began to see our kids really become transformed in that and they began to get excited about the rewards that they would do so here's an example a couple months ago my wife decides well this is what I'm gonna do you know the kids like to you know watch some TV or play Nintendo in the evenings or something she goes but they've got to finish their chores in the morning and so she goes what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna tell them that if they finish all of their chores before 11:00 in the morning that they get to play for you know 45 minutes or whatever in the evening but I'm not going to really remind them and if they forget then they miss out on the reward that awaits them but if they remember and because they just enjoy that so much more times than not they're actually motivated in obedience through the through the reward that my wife put in front of them and so I just I think that is such a clear and excellent picture of thinking about our eternal rewards we often think of the fear of the punishment you know that awaits us we tell that to you know unbelievers or sometimes if we're really upset we yelled that at other people you know if you don't listen to Jesus you know you're going to suffer you're going to be torment and and I'm not saying that that's not true because ultimately you know we give an account before the Lord for our life but when it comes to the believer that's already purchased by Jesus that's in the kingdom of heaven we want to be motivated to walk in obedience by these things called eternal rewards now for some the idea of reaching for are striving for that's right I'm gonna say the Christian curse word that starts with an S striving we are to strive for eternal rewards that means to diligently work for them and diligently seek them because they really matter before God and they ought to really matter for us and if you've been tuning in the last few weeks you've learned that there are a multitude of eternal rewards that the Lord talks about in the Bible there are many many many different things facets and authority and ruling and white robes and and uh you know the book of Revelation talks about a white stone with your name on it I'm like I have no idea what that means but I think that if I get it I'll really like it so I'm going for the white stone report I mean there's just there's many of them some of them we understand some of them we don't some of them will be really surprised by when we stand before the Lord and he goes you know he brings out some thing that we've never seen before because it's heavenly and spiritual and it wasn't written about in the Bible he brings out something and hands it to us and want to be like whoa this is incredible I think that will stand before the Lord one day when he rewards us for our faithful obedience before him and I think that we will be shocked at the things that he remembers I think that he will be blown away at the small acts of service the small acts of kindness that he saw that what he just wrote off as insignificant as inconsequential did really matter no one was looking and the Lord you know brings out this treasure chest and dumps it on the table in our millennial palace where we live with Jesus and he goes here you go we're like what is this for he's like this is for picking up little pieces of trash when no one even cared or noticed and we're gonna be really surprised when we stand before him because of the things that we remember about our life and God you know we think of our life and God over the last period of our season of time or we think back over decades and decades those are who are older and we think of the really notable things that we did for God you know Lord I sold it all I sold my house and I left my business and I packed up my family and we moved across the earth to serve you at missions to serve you and worship and prayer and that's a big thing and we remember that the Lord goes I do remember that I remember that the key and notable events of your life he goes but I also remember the smallest things the hidden things and the secret things the things that you weren't even aware of when your heart was moved in kindness and compassion for someone and you prayed for them and bless them in your heart rather than despising that the Lord goes I remember those things and I think that in my life and in your life I think that the Lord actually remembers far more of the righteous acts that we do than we do because the things that we think are just insignificant before God he remembers all of them and when we stand before him he's gonna bring out the story of our life and it's not just the monumental moments where we lead someone to Christ or we you know lead this anointed Bible study where everyone is so dazzled by our knowledge of the Book of Daniel or something you know and we're like that was a powerful moment you know or we pray for someone and see them get healed the Lord will look at every aspect of our actions our heart in ministry but even more than that our emotions our thoughts our feelings the way we process information the way that we just reach for him when we feel like completely giving up and the Lord sees those things and he makes note of those things and he goes there is a day that's coming where I am going to reward my people for what they did on this earth both big and small and again we will fixate in our minds primarily on the big things and I just think we are i we would just be so shocked at the little things so I remember hearing this hearing this teaching years ago again in this room and I I just remember being like I want to do this and I think at the time Mike had been teaching on the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle and he did this session on letting your yes be s before the Lord and serving the Lord in secret when no one else was watching he was talking about how that's the real test of our hearts and that is I have found that to be true the real test of our hearts isn't who we are in front of them on the platform in front of people or who we are in front of our friends or who we are in front of our ministry that's not who we really are it's it's the secret person when no one else is there it's it's our mind and our thoughts and where we live up here that really shows us who we are and and I was so challenged and provoked to begin to serve the Lord in excellence in those ways you know tonight I have the privilege of standing you know here in front of you talking about the word and I'm so honored to do that that this is such a small portion of my life it is less than one percent of my life that I stand in front of people with a microphone talk about the Bible talk about the Lord it is such a small part I have to go home you know later tonight actually after this I have to go to camp and I have to make I have to make a million in small decisions in my heart and in my thoughts in how I relate to people how I relate to our campers how I relate to our camp staff then I have to go home and I have to make a thousand decisions how I relate to my wife I come home tired worn out from the day and I have to make those decisions and the Lord goes I want you to love me even in those small decisions you know we think of loving the Lord in front of lots of people when they're watching us but he goes I want you to love me when you go home how what is your tone like you know Isaac with those campers now they're all gonna hold me to it nobody like you were mean to me no what was your what was your tone like what did you feel in your heart towards them how did you demonstrate meekness and restraint rather than you know asserting yourself or or whatever how did you bear fruit godly fruit on the inside and we're not even thinking of those decisions you know I woke up this morning and all I'm thinking is oh man I got to speak in EGS tonight oh no what am I gonna say am I go say it right am I gonna get an email afterward going you said it wrong Junior you know whatever I have to work through all of those things because I'm thinking about the big event of that day and in my mind it's big because it's in front of of you and those joining us by webstream and the Lord when I woke up this morning he's going let's talk about your heart and your emotions before you even get to the breakfast table and I have to get up my kids are there I'm tired worn out my body is breaking down by the minute dear lord please help me pray for me and I'm stumbling to the breakfast table you know and my kids are there they want my attention and I have to make a thousand decisions even before I walk out that door now this story of our life that's written isn't just the highlight reel we all look really good in the highlight reel you look up any sports athlete you know Michael Jordan or whatever and you look up their highlights they look unbelievable here's the thing I could make a basketball highlight reel that looked like that kind of but I can't jump as high as again but you know I can take a thousand takes of a video and make a bunch of three-pointers in a row string it all together and it looks like I can't miss thank you and so when we think of our life we're imagining like the monumental moments of power and impact and when the Lord looks at our life he looks at every single second every single moment now to me at first that was terrifying because in all honesty at 19 years old my life is out of order it's out of sync and I have my emotions are up and down and I'm cranky and I'm critical and I'm you know and when when I'm alone I don't want to be with God and you know whatever I want everyone to think that I'm so holy and spiritual but in reality my life is completely different and and the Lord goes you know what he goes I want you to take those those little moments seriously before me and so this is one of the challenges that I made to myself back then 18 19 years old I go every time I see a piece of like gum wrapper or trash or something like that on the ground I go Lord I prayed this prayer I go Lord I want you to convicting I want you to bring conviction to me I mean it's so rare that we pray for conviction anyway because it's like ouch but I go I want you to convicting me about that because I just wanted to start at like the base level like start me at toddler school in the Holy Spirit yes I want to be faithful before you you know and not deny you and like die somewhere in the nation someday but um but uh but I was just challenged Lord can I be faithful to you with something as small as you know a little piece of gum wrapper and trash on the ground and here's the scary thing the Lord actually took me up on that prayer he actually took me seriously and when we even when we pray smallest prayers before God of dedication or we make a vow before the Lord he doesn't forget those things it doesn't matter if we're immature or young or or just in the moment caught up in it the Lord hears that he goes okay yeah this will be fun yeah I picture him in heaven with with the father and the Holy Spirit looking down like okay yeah yeah this is good now you've given me permission to bring conviction to your heart about little pieces of trash ha ha this will be fun and so uh you know not that he's like mean or whatever and so it started to happen and I would I would be walking somewhere chewing gum and I would take out my piece of gum and I was just like you know I'm like it's biodegradable it doesn't even matter it's biodegradable it doesn't even matter like no one is going to care I'm not gonna get a ticket it's not littering or anything and so I would like toss my gum out in a parking lot and I'd keep walking and it was like every step that I took got heavier and heavier it was like there was lead in my thighs and I'm like and my mind just starts going babe babe babe and I I'm like and I'm still trying to fight it like I've made the commitment before the Lord but I'm such a dork I don't even get that the Holy Spirit is helping me and is it that important to pick up a piece of gum I don't know but the important thing is is that the Lord uses the smallest things to train us in our youth so that we can be faithful in the large things and the days to come and it's it's those little decisions that we make when we're 15 16 17 on into our 20s and our it's the little decisions that build up a history of faithful obedience before the Lord and that way when we stand on a platform or we're in front of a video camera and someone's interviewing us and going do you believe that Jesus Christ really is the only way to heaven that everyone else will go to hell if they don't go through the Sun it puts the microphone in front of your face then in that moment you've built a history and God of faithful obedience and the small things and out of your mouth will come the truth and that you won't be deterred by the opinions of men and so that is like you know in my mind so I'm walking away from my gum and it's like I'm getting ahead it's like these heavy like chain like weights are like pulling me back to the gum and sometimes this is this is a being serious now I'm not exaggerating sometimes I would get like thirty yards away like I'd be at the back of the prayer room parking lot you know toss it out and then I'd be walking and I would start to like the Holy Spirit's like hey what about that thing you know and I get up to the doors of the parallel all right fine and I would just give in I would go all the way back pick up the piece of gum it's covered and you know dirt and some grass and I'm just like okay walk all the way back and put it in the trash can I can't tell you how many times this happened and not just you know stuff that I was making but I would see other things and I would just walk by it and be like oh that's that's no big deal god that wasn't for me like you know just let's just let it go and I'd walk past and then the Holy Spirit would be like all my heart and I couldn't I couldn't deny it I couldn't turn away and I would go back and it was this spirit of conviction and the Lord made me is you know isn't gonna do that for all of us that's not the altar cult and I come forward so you will never litter again I mean that's really not what we're going for but but two things one the small decisions of our life really make up the whole story of who we are and then secondly the the vows that we make before God in our youth in our teenage years in our young adult years the Lord hears them and remembers them not in a bad way but he reminds us of them not in a way to bring condemnation and more guilt to our life you know but to remind us because he wants us to grow in faithfulness when there's no one else around in secret so that when there are people around we can continue to be faithful before the Lord in our life our life is 99 percent secret and unknown I mean even if you're you know Mary luck and I'm married and I live with my family and my wife and kids obviously and you know but still 99 percent of my life is actually hidden before God we don't hear a lot about that we hear about you know training and this and that we got to know the Bible we got to preach we got to evangelize so we need to do those things but those things really in the eyes of others really constitute just 1 percent of who we really are and I want someone to tell me I mean I need to hear this I want someone to tell me Isaac your life 99% of Christianity and being a disciple and a follower of Jesus and a faithful friend and and growing in love and maturity 99% of it will happen when no one else is there and no one even cares 99% of it guys this is this is important this should be like we need to ramp this up on the priority list of our lives a little bit Lord if you're telling me that my life will mostly happen in secret and even if you're around people a lot you're still living up here and here mostly you're still living in your thoughts and your emotions mostly and if then if that's true and I want you to go test it don't just you know take my word for it I want you to go test it but if it's true what does that mean to be a disciple and a faithful friend to Christ for the entirety of our lives I'm I need to be faithful to God what I'm driving in my car I want to be faithful to God walking through the grocery store I want to be faithful to go you know dropping off my kids at a friend's house or picking them up I don't want to just be faithful when other people are watching and listening to what I'm doing I want to be faithful because I want to be rewarded and that's the that's the promise that's what we're looking at here tonight so look at Luke 19 and starting in verse 12 there's this certain nobleman and he goes to a far country and the reason that he's going to this country is because he's going to receive this kingdom to himself so he's in the country the country that he's in is the kingdom that he's going to receive but he doesn't have it yet he doesn't fully own it he has the right to it but he doesn't fully own it he doesn't fully possess it and this parable that Jesus is talking about he's talking about himself in his servants and he is in this story he's the nobleman and Jesus in his ministry on the earth 2,000 years ago he was coming he was there he was - he was bringing salvation to the nation of Israel and then ultimately the peoples of the earth but his kingdom wasn't fully possessed yet he had to leave just like this noble men and go receive the fullness of his kingdom and then he's going to come back and actually possess that kingdom with his servants that he left here and those servants that he's talking about here in this parable those are you and I they're his followers all throughout history it's the disciples and it's the men and women of the faith for decades and decades and decades and now it's us sitting in this room were his servants so the Lord or this moment calls together ten of his servants and he gives them each Amina and the Mina was a pretty valuable coin actually it was worth in today's money roughly about ten thousand dollars now that's just of course made up it's not exact but he gives about each one about $10,000 and he goes I want you to take this receive this I'm entrusting you with something and he goes I'm gonna go away and he goes I want you to do business I want you to exert effort I want you to increase my name my you know in this case the nobleman's riches and his business endeavors and he goes I'm gonna and trust you with this while I'm gone now in verse 14 the citizens of that kingdom they hated him they hated they they hated this nobleman and they said of this nobleman they said we do not want this man to rule over us and that's what the world has said about Jesus that's what the majority of the world has said about him and many many many throughout history I would guess that most because jesus said narrow is the way I would guess that most have actually believed this in their heart whether they've you know explicitly said it or not but we don't want this man this Christ to rule over us we don't want that what's been striking my heart just this week in preparation of this related to this is that often we imagine that the unbeliever the unrepentant they stand before the judgment seat some day you know they're they're unsaved they're not the servants here mentioned they're the citizens of Jesus's Kingdom that he's coming back to get which is you know all the nations of the world often we imagine them or at least I do standing before the Lord and being filled with all of this regret and kind of being so sad and crying out for mercy you know it's this idea that if that if they actually saw Jesus it's actually a very common idea that if that if the unbeliever the unrepentant I'm not talking about the sincere one that's seeking out the truth I'm talking about the one that is decided in their heart no against Christ we imagine that they stand before him one day and they're like I got all this regret is there any way you could just let me sneak in and I can't find in the Bible when it talks about unbelievers standing before the Lord I can't find that pain of regret but I can find the rage of the nation's against Jesus against Christ and this is the anthem of many many many souls lost souls throughout history we do not want this man to reign over us and I think when we have that this is kind of a side note but I think that when we have that perspective about the unbeliever that we actually we accidentally turned God into the unjust one we turn God into the unmerciful one it's one of the main arguments you know that's used against Christians by the world if God is so loving and and so merciful why would he you know cut off the unbeliever why would he call them an enemy you know that type of thing and so Jesus is is now telling us this parable and this story and what he's doing is is he's beginning with what is familiar to the people at that time where he's actually saying this message and then he's going to begin to move from the natural into these spiritual truths and so what was happening here is that Jesus is with his disciples and they're on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem he's just had the encounter with Zacchaeus and the previous verses our favorite wee little man and he tells Zacchaeus kind of you know summarizes the purpose of his coming the Son of man has come to seek and save what was lost that's in verse 10 and so first Jesus is saying I've come to seek and to save what was lost this is my purpose this is my intent and then he transitions into a parable to help us understand when his kingdom is actually going to come there was an expectation in the people it even says right here in verse 11 that the kingdom of God was going to appear suddenly and so there's this about 17 mile walk from Jericho all the way back to Jerusalem and once you would kind of pass through Bethany and crest the Mount of Olives you would be able to see Jerusalem there you know at the bottom and so the expectation of the people is that Jesus when he gets back to Jerusalem that the kingdom of God is going to appear and that kingdom was a very real kingdom it wasn't just a kingdom in our heart and a kingdom we advanced through you know finances and churches and prayer it was a earthly kingdom with a real king whom they thought was Jesus many of them did and so Jesus tells them in verse 10 he goes I've come to seek and save what was lost that's my mission now I'm gonna tell you about my kingdom when I'm not actually going to possess it now go back to this phrase here in verse 14 because Jesus is such a brilliant storyteller and and I didn't know this at the time and so I started you know reading and studying this a little bit but that phrase right there would have resonated with the people that we're all listening actually very clearly because what had happened was Herod the Great we remember Herod from the Bible stories right Herod the Great had died and he had divided up his kingdom amongst his sons and one of his sons was named arc Elias and arc Elias was going to be the ruler over the region of both Jerusalem and Jericho he was going to be the ruler and this was a contemporary event to those that were here and what our Callias did was as soon as he came to power and received his his kingdom the monarchy that passed from his father he went out and he wanted to strike fear and intimidation to the people's hearts so he slaughters 3,000 innocent Jewish people he just kills them just to send a message hey don't mess with me I'm the boss now and so a little bit of time passed and what happened was the rulers at that time had to be subject to Caesar and and were subject to the Roman Empire so they would rule as Kings but they had an ultimate king which was Caesar at that time and so this guy arc Elias the murderer he has to go all the way to Rome in order to secure the official title so that he can be king he has to have permission face to face from Caesar so he goes now the people that were in Jericho in that region Jerusalem they hated our Kalia so much that they sent a delegation after him the whole time to appeal all the way to Caesar and what they were saying was we don't want this man to rule over us and so that was the the same idea Jesus is saying that he's leaving as a king he's coming back - he's leaving to secure his kingdom he's going to come back and just like they were following our class going we don't want this man to rule over us in a similar way Jesus is tying these stories together to give us this imagery of his kingdom that his kingdom was to at first be established on this principle he came to save and to seek what was lost but ultimately what happened in the story with ARC Elias is that they don't convince they're not able to convince Caesar to not let this guy rule and he comes back and he rules and way and Jesus is telling those that hate him those that say I don't want you to rule over me you're not my king I don't care he's sending a message I mean I think in kindness what he's sending a message I'm going to come back to the earth I am going to rule over the nations of the earth and there's nothing that you can do to stop me in the midst of that and so Jesus is is bringing together this you know kind of current event with this story in this parable and I just thought that was so interesting to have that visual so these servants that are left there they're each given Amina and now they're all given the exact same amount there's 10 servants and each one receives one Mina and this parable is really similar there's a lot of similar to the Matthew 25 parable of the talents if you've read that before you know the story of Matthew 25 and in Matthew 25 each of the servants get a different amount it says based on their own ability their own capacity but here they're given all the same amount which means that in this parable what the Lord is emphasizing is is that everyone has an equal shot to be a faithful and obedient servant before the Lord for all of their days he's emphasizing here that we've been committed something from the Lord and just like this nobleman and trusted something to his servants the Lord has entrusted something to all of us now some have different talents and some have different abilities and and more influence and more money and things like that but that's not what he's emphasizing here in this parable and the Luke 19 parable he's emphasizing our one life our one life in God that we've all been given we all have equal opportunity to walk in faithfulness and obedience before him we'll talk about this more in a moment but the reason that he commits this to us is that he gives us you know this ability to know him to serve Him to love him and his intent is to reward his servants when he comes back for his kingdom that's the point of this parable he goes I've I've given every person every person in this room every person across the earth even the unbeliever they have an opportunity to receive from me a life in God this this one shot that we call you know our 7080 years upon the earth this one shot to be faithful to be loyal to be diligent in the big things yes we want to be faithful in the big things but also in the smallest thoughts feelings emotions and decisions that constitute our normal life I love thinking that you know the Lord he didn't write Christianity for the abnormal moments of our life it's not like we just need Christianity and the Holy Spirit when we come to church we do an internship or a summer camp we go to the foreign mission field for three months or goes you don't just need my Holy Spirit and this just isn't your shot when you do these events he goes when I wrote the story of what it would be like to walk with me he goes I was thinking about the normal and average person making the average decisions in their life he goes I was thinking about you at the gas pump what's going through your mind I was thinking about you holding your newborn infant in the middle of the night and they're screaming and all you want to do is sleep of course that's never happened to me you know but easy goes I'm thinking about you in that moment I remember when we had our first child my son 10 years ago I remember holding him in the middle the night you know were brand-new parents first time parent you know here those of you that have kids know what that's it's like it's a it's a wild time and I remember just holding him in his room and I'm so sleep-deprived I'm so angry I'm so frustrated because it's not just like it happened once or it happen for like a week it's like month after month and you just can't sleep it's someone's always crying and needing their diaper change you know interest look yeah and I remember holding my son and I'm just praying in the spirit just rocking you got a buck and I'm just crying out to God and it's all I can do to not just be so angry that I just you know toss them back in the crib and go back to bed and I remember having this thought if I didn't have the Holy Spirit right now I don't know what I would do I don't know how people parent without the Holy Spirit I don't know how people work at Taco Bell without the Holy Spirit I don't know how people drive down the road and get cut off in traffic without the Holy Spirit and the Lord goes exactly you're not meant to I made you to walk with me through the normal rigors and the mundane of life and he goes I want to meet you there I want to meet you there as much as meeting you at a service during worship as much as meeting you during an altar call as much as meeting you during a training program or a Bible School floor goes I I just like you and I just want to be with you and hang out with you and when he goes when the father and of course I'm making this up when the father and me and spirit were dreaming of what life would look like with us they go we weren't just picturing the monumental occasions we weren't just picturing you raising a dead person the one time that we might get a shot at that you know he's like I I was thinking of just the normal stuff you're mowing the lawn you're paying your bills he goes I'm there I'm right there with you and he goes I want you to display and show forth the character of my son through small decisions of meekness and gratitude and humility and he goes and I'm gonna reward you for those things in a way that's gonna blow your mind how am I gonna actually I'm gonna blow your mind when I show you the economy of heaven and you just throw out a little bit of like God help like God bless them and you think it's so insignificant in the Lord's like yes treasure and Nations I mean the economy of God is so upside down it's so flip-flopped we're so backwards in our thinking then when we stand before him I mean the Lord will straighten us out a little bit before that but even the guy that's got it all down even the leader that's faithful and you know the diligent student of the Bible everything I think that guy is still going to be wowed at God's generosity related to the small things that he will be rewarded for I love it I get excited thinking about it because so many I think live frustrated trying to look for these extraordinary moments and these extraordinary events we're just looking for like this chance to like just stand up and you know McDonald's and preach the gospel and everybody falls on their faces and they're just like who was that guy you're just like no one will know I am nameless and you know walk out to your car we're just we're waiting for that and going if I do that like I will be the servant of God and the Lord's like that that's like one guy that's gonna do I mean I hope I mean in the days ahead I hope it's much more than that but the point is is like the Lord's like I'm not looking at your life of faithfulness and obedience in that one moment he goes I'm looking at you when you're the guy in McDonald's and the dude in the corner gets hands up it starts to preach the gospel and you're embarrassed oh of course that's never been us we've never had that happen before it got so quiet in here as ever to me I've been in a place and it just is out of context and someone stands up and starts preaching the gospel what is going on in my heart then what am I thinking am I being critical am i like yeah this guy's cool am i joining him am i like rolling out trying to slip out the back door the Lord goes I'm right there with you I like that stuff too because I want you to reach for me even in those moments I guess that situation only happens to me so this is a very vulnerable moment so let's look at this the the King the nobleman comes back he's received his kingdom now this is you know Daniel chapter 7 when he ascends to the Father and he's given this Kingdom and in the book of Revelation at the seventh trumpet when he returns to his returns to the earth this song is the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God all of them he gets them all so now he's come back to establish his kingdom and actually set it up on the earth and we're gonna see that one day so look at it he calls to him his servants in verse 15 and then in verse 16 the first comes and he says master your Mina has earned you ten Mina's in other words he's multiplied with the mastered entrusted to him a thousand percent he took ten thousand dollars and made it I'm really bad at math someone tell me he made it a bunch is it a hundred thousand okay 110 he earned ten yeah on top the one there you go the point is that he takes even what the Lord has given him at the base level this is this is not the ultra superhero extraordinary Christian here this is this is the average guy this is us this is me this is me and he goes he goes lord I was faithful to you with what you've entrusted me you gave me one life to live before you and I did everything that I could by the grace of God and I reached for you in my heart and I reached for you in public and in private and in my marriage and in my friendships and when I felt cranky and when I felt happy he goes I reached for you in every moment I didn't squander a moment I reached for you and the Lord says this in verse 17 he says to him he says well done good servant he calls him good you know in today's vernacular good means nothing if it was good that actually means it was bad how was the meal good man it was bad we have to come up with these you know huge words to describe anything that's even passable in our culture you know if it wasn't awesome incredible and mind-blowing that means that it was average below average whatever but to the servant when Jesus looks at you and he says you're a good servant he doesn't exaggerate and he means what he says he says you were good you were faithful you were like me you did what I would do in your situation and then he says this and this is the the key phrase of this parable I think he says you were faithful and very little have authority over 10 cities now before we think about the 10 city part in Matthew 25 he says to the servant he says well done good and faithful servant you were faithful in little therefore you will be given much see even what the Lord has given us today even what we possess even our and trust mint is actually very little it's actually little compared to what is coming in the in Christ Kingdom on the earth it's actually very little even the guy that has the huge ministry or that's a leader or that's famous or wealthy and this world shaker and mobilizing all these people when he stands before the Lord if he's faithful the Lord will say well done good and faithful servant you were faithful with little as much as we can have even outwardly and our sphere and our influence and all these different things he goes he goes it's it's actually small before me I mean he's the God of Genesis one that's you know holding all the planets and billions of galaxies out there up with the word of his power and and we're like we got 13 people saved twelve people came to our Passover celebration that we had at our house and we're like man this is big time like this is big you know and the Lord is like he doesn't minimize that he's not looking to be critical but we have to keep things in perspective this is God that we're talking about here and he goes because you've been faithful with the little that you've been given he goes I want to give you much it's the economy of God we think that God's gonna give us a lot and then if we're faithful with that he'll match it or maybe give us a little more he goes actually I'm gonna entrust you with this thing called your life which I'm not trying to minimize our lives our lives are valuable and important but he goes I'm gonna I'm gonna just give you things like time and thoughts and relationships and that type of thing he goes I want you to reach for me in those things and he goes in my economy I'm gonna flip it all upside down multiply at times a billion and you're gonna rule with me in my kingdom on the earth and see in this parable since it's talking about every single person there's no one that's excluded from kidding this reward of the great excuse me of the good servant there's no one that's excluded you could be a believer you know out in the middle of nowhere just try to love Jesus you got no influence you got no followers on social media you got no money nobody takes you seriously you just love God Lord goes that guy that gal that just has written himself off that thinks that you have to be you know Elijah the prophet in order to get my recognition he goes actually the playing field is completely level and he goes that random person us me he goes that guy that gal they could be great in my kingdom they could be a good servant because I've given them actually relatively little and he goes and if they're faithful before me I will reward them immensely in the age to come now in this parable the reward is sharing in the authority with the nobleman or with Christ it's one of the rewards I said there's lots of rewards there's treasure and names and pillars in the house of the Lord I mean there's all sorts of stuff that will be covered over the next week's here in this course but he goes here specifically he goes you go this life he goes invest your life in me and in the age to come you're gonna rule with me and authority to this servant he goes I'll give you ten cities he goes I'll give you rulership over ten cities I think Jesus is being literal here I know this is a parable but I think because if you look at the other passages that talk about Authority in the age to come I think this is an actual promise it's an actual reward he goes I want you to help me administrate my kingdom in the age to come and it's so encouraging to me that Jesus isn't looking for the servant that's super gifted he's not looking for the incredible preacher he's not looking for the Prophet he's not looking for the unbelievable pastor and the person that can you know dig into the scriptures and mine out all this goal he's not looking for the fiery evangelism or evangelist he's just looking for us he's just looking for people like you and me and he goes the the basis of my reward those that I want to rule with me and authority he goes I want them to be the faithful not the well-known he goes I'm not looking for the famous and or whatever the famous and the well-known they're on their own journey they have to do this as much as anyone else does and it's actually probably harder while you're flying around it you know 70 countries and you know done a nod you have all these demands like it's way harder to keep your secret life at God vibrant and alive and keep that love fueled on the inside and drink deeply from that well the river of pleasure from God that's much harder when you got all these demands on your life so in some ways in some ways the the guys and gals that just live the average like they have an advantage because they have the ability to engage with Jesus with that one shot that they've been given before the Lord he gives them authority over 10 cities the next servant comes he goes Lord your your Mina has earned he five more and he didn't he doesn't get the reward he wasn't as faithfully obedient as the previous guy but it's proportionate to his faithfulness he walks before the Lord and faithfulness of the Lord goes I'm gonna reward you for that now this man comes that didn't do anything with it and verse 20 he says verse 21 he goes I I feared you I was afraid and so I hid it I hid the money I didn't do anything with what you gave me I didn't seek to love you in secret I didn't reach for you with what I had been given or my influence or my fear or my job at H&R Block because I didn't I didn't really reach for you in any of those contexts and the reason why is because I was afraid of you this is the key verse verse 21 he goes I feared you I thought that you were this shrewd man and what that means is that he had a broken idea of who God was he's still a believer he was still a Christian but he had such a broken idea of who God was that he didn't engage in the secret he didn't engage in the small things he thought everything had to be big and powerful in order for it to be significant but those opportunities didn't come to this guy's life so he lives this life that's actually wasted before the Lord and the only thing that he can hand back to the Lord is what the Lord initially gave him there's gonna be believers that stand before the Lord that gave their life to him 30 40 years before their death they're gonna stand before the Lord and they're gonna live a life that has been wasted before God and he'll say to them what did you do with what I entrusted you and they'll look back at him and say nothing because I was afraid of you and then the Lord says well take their reward and give it to the guy that already has 10 what a strange leadership move because in our heart we would take the guy that has tan and the 5 let's mix it all up let's spread it all out and make it all even between everybody else and the Lord goes no that's not the way my economy works he goes actually to him who has more will be given to him who's pressing in to to those that I think of it like this to those that have revelation of my heart you'll gain more revelation and this is available for all of us there's no one that's cheated or slighted or does it have the advantage here this is talking about every believer to the one that faithfully engages with the Lord the Lord goes I'm gonna give you reward you and then I'm gonna go above that I'm gonna give you even more because I love to bless and I have such a generous heart and the Lord's economy of reward what works so differently than ours this is kind of my final thought here we'll wrap it up and I want to invite the worship team out every believer is given an equal opportunity to be great in the kingdom of God each person in this room we do this together I love it because we walk out of this building and and just what happens between where you're sitting and and the the your card or all of those decisions and actions along the way they all matter before God even the smallest things we don't have to live in fear of God like the unfaithful servant did we don't have to live in fear we can live in confidence and with this boldness it motivates us to serve the Lord and to love him in secret knowing that we will get a reward before him one day this is a powerful reality this this truth can transform our lives in God many young immature believers they struggle in finding a reason to be obedient to God and they just kind of leave it at that like god it's so hard to obey you there's really no end in sight and I'm just suffering and you call me to live this life of humility and denial of self and it's just I'm not motivated to do it the only thing that motivates me is you know I don't want to lose my salvation and end up in hell and the Lord goes I want to change the way my people view walking and faithfulness before me he goes you don't strive to get saved you can't earn your salvation he goes but you can earn eat reward here's once you're in the family don't just stay stuck don't just stay stagnant he goes take what I've given you and use it actually apply it actually reach for me actually sing to me actually tell others about me and there's there's two kind of primary spheres that we that we walk in this faithfulness before the Lord it's both the internal and the external we grow godly character on the inside that's our thoughts our emotions and our feelings and all that and then we grow the external fruit in our relationships how we relate to the lost and being a witness how we relate to loved ones how we relate to our own family and we seek to walk in the fruit of the Spirit and display the character of Christ and the Lord goes that's it he goes when you do that even the smallest things rather than stirring up the argument like it Thanksgiving you just restrain he goes that's displaying meekness he goes I wonder I will reward you in ways that you can't even imagine I will reward you in my kingdom in the age to come it really matters I want to invite us to stand in just a minute will will have anyone come down to the front that wants to receive prayer for anything you need a fresh touch from the Holy Spirit or you would like to receive prayer for healing or you want to respond to the Lord to something that was said tonight or the Lord's been touching your heart about in just a minute I want to do that I want to pray this for us I want to ask the Lord that he would begin to stir these things within our heart and some are really you know towards the beginning of their journey walking with the Lord others are advanced in their walk with the Lord and they're feeling the pain of of having missed out on some of this but it's never too late it's never too late and we can begin to engage with this in our young years we can begin to engage with this in our older years the point is is that we engage with the Lord because it moves his heart and it's really not in the eyes of others no one's going to be impressed by these small decisions that we make it's not about impressing others it's about living a life before God it's about taking seriously when he's given to us by his Spirit so I want to pray for us and then invite you down if you'd like to receive prayer we have our ministry team here and and other leaders that want to pray with you and for you Heavenly Father we ask you Lord that you would release your spirit we asked you Lord that you would come and touch our hearts and that you would stir us and provoke us we ask you Lord for for those that are young Lord to begin to make these decisions before you just begin to cry out to the Lord say Lord I want to live a life before God I want to be a faithful servant I want to be a faithful friend to you my days with what you've given me both big and one say the food their seasons of difficulty and through seasons of blessing Lord how I remain faithful before you wanna live for you come Holy Spirit wanna stay before come and mark us Lord just keep me study for all my days I wanna live it for your art we want to be decided even for we want to be faithful before you keep me steady all my [Music] wanna save it for your game [Music] ishke be studied for all my days one I wanna stay before the door again yes Lord keep me study for all my [Music] wanna live it for your eyes I wanna stay for your [Music] just keep it steady but wanna be found faithful I wanna be found stand come Holy Spirit one of II found faithful come Holy Spirit in the a wannabe found faith I wanna be found stand I wanna be found faithful to the I wanna be found thing a wannabe fast [Music] I wanna be found day so the a wannabes bounce days I wanna be found please go to the [Music] they'll often in our young years we have this desire we want to be radical we want to be fiery for God once on the Lord just spoke so clearly to me he said Isaac being radical is it about your strength that your zeal and your volume do if that is not radical because radical is faithful that's what radical is it's this it's being faithful to the Lord for decades not just for a year or two Lord he goes I want to I want to stir your heart to pursue me for decades and decades and decades and Lord we ask that you would give us a vision for that you would give us a vision to be faithful before you for decades that our definition of radical would be faithfulness in the secret in the small things with what we've been given come in Holy Spirit and mark our hearts our hearts give us a vision mark he's a snake to go to your Oh phase four [Music]
