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15 June: 

The Waiting Slaves           Luke 12:35-48/Mark 13:34-37

³⁵ “Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit. ³⁶ You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. ³⁸ Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

⁴² And the Lord said,  ⁴³ Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  ⁴⁵ But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving of a beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

There are a number of parables that have a similar theme. The Master goes on a journey to return at a later time. In Mark - it is the last parable in his Gospel and wraps up a number of comments concerning the end times.  In this parable there are a number of different actions taken by those left at home awaiting the return of the Master/Lord.

One of the actions of those waiting is that they are on the alert, ever ready for his surprise return. This would assume that they are going about their business according to the instructions that he had left. It is interesting that the parable states that when the master return’s he will then serve them at the table. In the same way, we too are going to receive blessings upon the return of the Lord:

Rev 2:10 “. . . Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”                        

2 Tim 4:7,8  ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Luke 6:23 “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. . . . “

Mt 24:36,37 “But of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heave, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”

Scripture definitely speaks of an eternal reward that will be given to us at the end of this world. As a matter of a fact, that is what the word “B. I. B. L. E.” stands for:          Basic  Instructions  Before  Leaving  Earth !!!

If we have fought the good fight, lived our lives for the Lord, then eternity with the Lord is promised to us. In John 14 Jesus says that He is preparing us a place in heaven and will come back to get us. We just don’t know when that will be. Until then, we need to be faithful to the Lord’s teachings and commands. And speaking of that, what is ONE command we know : John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  

An additional aspect of our blessings can be found in Jesus’ words in John 10:10

John 10:7,9,10 “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”     And similarly,

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” What are these verses telling us? Christ is not a harsh and unforgiving task master. His commands and expectations are do-able.

1 Tim 6:6 “But godliness is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”

Gal 5:22,23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control….”

We need to remember, no man can serve two masters: we either have an allegiance to God whereby we love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength  or we seek and serve ourselves. We can be like the man who tore down his barns to build bigger ones to control and sustain HIS future -  but ultimately he lost it all in death.  James tells us that serving “self” leads to sin and death.

James 1:14,15 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.   John confirms this:

1 John 2:15,16,17 “Do not let the love of the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also it's lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

We are part of THIS world    or    we are part of God’s kingdom.

James 1:16,17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above. Coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

We can receive the gifts of God or chase the rainbows of this world. As children of God we may sometimes get distracted by this world and sometimes receive the discipline needed to return our prodigal selves back to the Father – but first and foremost we need to keep our focused and on task as His faithful servants. We need to remain faithful to receive God’s blessings in this life and the next.
James 2:17,18 “Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

We nee3d to make sure that we are living our lives faithfully as we wait for the Lord’s return or until He call us us home!

 

 

8 June: Workers in the Vineyard

 

Last week we looked at the parables of the mustard seed and leaven. We see in those examples that something may be small, but it can have great potential and therefore a great effect on the lives of people. We don’t have to be super-Christians to bring the kingdom of God into the lives around us. Like the tortoise, slow and steady can win the race. Like the mustard seed and leaven, we can “ordinary” and still be victorious for the Lord. We simply must allow God to work in our lives and be the sheep or Good Samaritan that He desires us to be where and when we can. Today I want to look at another parable:  the vineyard owner.

Mt 20:1-15 (paraphrased)   For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at different times to hire workers for his vineyard. The first laborers hired agreed to work for a denarius while the remaining workers hired throughout the day were simply promised to be paid “fairly”.      At the end of the day all the workers were called forward from the last hired to the first hired. They were ALL paid a denarius for their work. Upon seeing this, the first workers hired complained about their being paid the same amount the last, one-hour workers, were paid. The master replied that he paid them the agreed upon amount and he had the right to do what he wanted with his money. He would not let their envious attitude dictate what he could or could not do.

1. In this parable we see the Master paying the workers the agreed upon price or paying them more than fairly. We, as children of God and Christ-followers are also going to be rewarded:

1. Christians are promised a blessed eternal life after this earthly life.   James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”        I Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”   
2. Christians are promised problems in this life.    Rom 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”    2 Tim 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  
3. Christians are promised blessings in this life.  Mt 6:24,25,33,34 “No one can serve two masters; … You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; … But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.    Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God .... “          Phil 4:7,19 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. …  And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”       Eph 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”       John 14:16,17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the spirit of truth . . . but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”  Gal 5:22,23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”      Consequences: Christians will have less struggles and consequences to deal with due to living the life lined out for us by God (e.g., Ten Commandments).

2. The parable shows the contrast between the attitudes of God and man:

1. God is generous and loving:

God loves us to the point of sacrificing His only Son for us, John 3:16;  I Cor 6:20 “We have been bought with a price”.  1 Peter 1:18,19 “You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.” (paraphrased)

1. The Lord rewards those who love and obey Him Heb 11:6 “… for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
2. God is patient looking for those who will come to Him:  2 Pe 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
3. God has work for His laborers: Eph 2:10 “For we are His workman-ship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  2 Cor 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ …”

2. Man tends to be selfish and ill-willed towards others.

1. Gal 5:19 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, sensuality, idolatry, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these”.
2. 1 Cor 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves’, covetous, drunkards, swindlers, or evil doers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

3. God offers blessings but man must respond obediently – 2 Tim 3:16 tells us that Scripture is inspired and has been given to us to train us in righteousness and to be equipped for the doing of good works:

1. Titus 2:11,12 “for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age”.
2. 1 John 2:15 “Do no love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

3. Col 3:2 “Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
4. Phil 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely – whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

The parable of the vineyard workers tells us that God seeks to bring us under His control and desires to reward us for our love. It tells us that no matter when we come to His kingdom we will be rewarded.

 

Gal 6:9,10 “So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Let us not lose heart doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

 

Let us all persevere and be God’s workers, producing fruit:

30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold –

Let our 5 talents become 10,

Our 2 talents become 4

And our single talent become two

And in this way - receive our Crown of Life!