Jump Start # 1077

Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”

  Our verse today is taken from the judgment pictures of Matthew 25. Jesus gives us three illustrations that show different aspects of the judgment. It begins with the parable of the ten virgins. Five were wise because they were prepared and ready. Five were foolish because they didn’t anticipate the groom being gone as long as he was. They ran out of oil and they missed the wedding.

The second picture is of a master who went away and left his three servants with money, or talents. Upon his return he called them in to see what they had done with his money. The first two had doubled what he had given them. The last servant had done nothing. Our verse is found in this section.

The third picture that Jesus gives in this section is of a king that gathers the nations together. He separates the sheep from the goats.

The judgment of God will be righteous and fair. That is the way God is. The judgment will have nothing to do with our secular accomplishments, our good looks, our travels, our adventures. They will have EVERYTHING to do with our relationship with God. Jesus is coming. He came to the wedding feast as the groom. He returned as a master who wanted to settled accounts with this servants. He returned as a reigning king. The Lord is coming.

Our verse today is what the master said to the servant who was given five talents. He had doubled those talents. The master was pleased. The master used the words, “Well done.” He called him a “faithful slave.” He invited him into the banquet with his master.

This verse tells us a couple things. We need to be reminded of them.

First, it is possible for us to please God. Sometimes we forget. We may have a parent or a spouse that never seems pleased. The child brings home a report card with mostly A’s and the unhappy parent states to the child’s disappointment that they all should have been A’s. The child grows up feeling that he can never please his parent. Some live this way the rest of their life. It can be the same in a marriage. No matter what is done, the other always finds something wrong and something to complain about. Vacations aren’t right. The house isn’t right. The income isn’t right. The marriage is strained because one feels like a slave to a master who can never be pleased.

God is not like that. Jesus was happy with what this servant did. Jesus praised him and invited him to share in the blessing of God. God can be pleased. We can put a smile upon his face. That is important for us to realize as we serve Him and obey Him.

  Second, this shows us that we can do things right. It is easy to see only problems with people and churches in the Bible. We talk about Noah, but must mention that he got drunk. Abraham, he lied. David, committed adultery. The church at Jerusalem neglected some of the widows. The Galatians were mixed up about the law. The Roman church judged each other about eating practices. The Corinthian church was in the cellar with so many problems. There was immorality, division, abuse of the Lord’s supper, lawsuits. They were a mess. The Philippian church had two sisters that Paul called out and told to behave themselves. Then there was Ephesus who left their first love. Sardis was dead. Laodicea was lukewarm. We see these things and after a while just figure that no one can get it right. We settle for second place. We give up too easily.

Jesus reminds us that the five talent man did things right. Jesus didn’t say, “You gained five more talents, but I wish you’d gotten seven.” He didn’t say that. This man pleased Jesus. This man did things right. We need to know that.

Not every home has to have a prodigal. Not every home has to have a disaster story. Families can be raised godly and righteously. You can do things right as a parent.

We can do things right as individuals. We can have an honest and good heart. We can love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul. We can be holy as He is holy. Don’t give up too easily. Don’t believe that no one can do it. We are not talking about sinlessness. We are not talking about perfection. We are, however, talking about doing things right. We are talking about doing things “well done.”

We can do things right as a congregation. Again, much too much, we accept the idea that we cannot do things right, so we don’t. Philadelphia, in Revelation 3, had no rebukes from the Lord. There is nothing negative stated about that group. They were not told to repent. They were doing things right. A congregation can do that. We can please the Lord.

This week I have preaching for the Milwaukee Avenue congregation in Lubbock, Tx. What a delightful group of disciples this is. The leadership, the preachers, the spirit, the love, the interest has been amazing. What a wonderful, powerful, growing and impressive congregation. West Texas is flat and there aren’t very many trees and it hardly rains there, it’s so different from my Indiana, but the people in that congregation stand as giants in kingdom of Christ. Now I’m certain if I dug around like a detective, I might find some flaws. That’s not my place, my job, nor my desire. They have it together. Other places could learn from this group. This isn’t the only congregation like this. There are many, many throughout the nation like this. There are, sadly, many that are not. Too many fight. Some don’t try. They seem to be in a hurry to be somewhere else. They don’t like each other. They are engaged in beating one another up. They don’t realize that it is possible to please the Lord and do things right. A church can do things right. I’ve seen it this past week. Amazing singing. Powerful prayers. Loving concern. They are an oasis in a dry part of Texas.

Faults are much like the headlights of a car coming toward you. The other guy’s lights always seem brighter than our own. It is easy to see what is not right with others, while we remain blind to our own sins and failures. The five talent man got busy when his master left. He didn’t sit around thinking about what could be done, he did things. He wasn’t long on talk and short on doing. He got busy. He didn’t seem to follow the example of the one talent man. When the master returned, there was something to show for it. The master was pleased. He had done well. “Well done, “ are the words of the master. Well done!

Can we do the same? Certainly. Can we please Jesus? Yes. Can we do things right? Yes.

Isn’t it about time we did?

Roger