WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.840 One that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. 00:02.840 --> 00:06.200 But from him that hath not shall be taken away, 00:06.200 --> 00:07.800 even that which he hath. 00:07.800 --> 00:11.320 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, 00:11.320 --> 00:14.700 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:14.700 --> 00:16.080 When the Son of Man come. 00:16.300 --> 00:20.060 When the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, 00:20.060 --> 00:24.540 then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations, 00:24.540 --> 00:29.500 and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. 00:29.500 --> 00:32.460 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 00:33.020 --> 00:37.020 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my father, 00:37.020 --> 00:40.620 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 00:40.620 --> 00:42.460 for I was unhungered and ye gave me meat. 00:43.000 --> 00:45.600 I was thirsty and you gave me drink. 00:45.600 --> 00:48.300 I was a stranger and you took me in, 00:48.300 --> 00:50.300 naked and you clothed me. 00:50.300 --> 00:52.300 I was sick and you visited me. 00:52.300 --> 00:55.300 I was in prison and you came unto me. 00:55.300 --> 00:58.100 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 00:58.100 --> 01:01.000 Lord, when saw we thee and hungred and fed thee, 01:01.000 --> 01:03.400 or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 01:03.400 --> 01:05.300 When saw we thee a stranger? 01:05.400 --> 01:12.200 Took thee in or naked and clothe thee or when saw we these sick or in prison and came unto thee? 01:12.200 --> 01:14.700 And the king shall answer and say unto them 01:15.200 --> 01:20.640 Verily I say unto you and as much as ye have done it under one of the least of these my brethren 01:20.960 --> 01:22.960 Ye have done it unto me 01:23.760 --> 01:26.480 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand 01:27.120 --> 01:32.120 Depart from me ye cursed and everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels 01:32.700 --> 01:37.500 For I was unhungred, and ye gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink. 01:37.500 --> 01:43.500 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in, naked, and ye clothed me not, sick, and in prison, 01:43.500 --> 01:49.340 and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee unhungred, 01:49.340 --> 01:55.340 or thirst, or stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 01:56.000 --> 02:01.040 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not, 02:01.040 --> 02:07.200 To one of the least of these ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, 02:07.200 --> 02:09.520 But the righteous into life eternal. 02:11.700 --> 02:17.940 I want to focus this morning on that story of the master with his three servants. 02:19.540 --> 02:25.700 Starting in verse 14, it said, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country 02:25.700 --> 02:31.700 who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents. 02:32.200 --> 02:39.240 to another two and to another one to every man according to his several ability and straightway 02:39.240 --> 02:45.960 took his journey. I want you to notice here that the man did not give every servant the same amount. 02:47.400 --> 02:53.080 The responsibility varied. One man got five talents, one man got two, one man got one, 02:53.080 --> 02:57.400 and for many people this would already cause a problem. I can already hear people saying 02:58.000 --> 03:04.560 You know, this isn't fair. Why did he get five and I only got two? Or why did he get five and I only got one? 03:05.600 --> 03:07.600 If you gave him five, I deserve five. 03:08.560 --> 03:15.680 You know, I have four kids and uh, you know when I go to give them something, you know, it's almost always they they say 03:15.680 --> 03:18.000 Well, well he got it. Why can't I give it? 03:18.480 --> 03:23.520 You know, well Boaz gets to to ride up front. Why can't I ride up front? Well, he's 11 and you're four 03:24.080 --> 03:25.700 So there's a difference, right? 03:26.000 --> 03:30.000 And so, you know, I try to be fair with the children, you know, when I can. 03:30.000 --> 03:31.440 I do try to keep things equal. 03:32.080 --> 03:34.000 But there's times where things are not equal. 03:34.640 --> 03:38.160 Responsibility is not always going to be equal. 03:38.720 --> 03:41.920 Some people can handle more responsibility and others can't. 03:45.900 --> 03:52.900 Luke 12, 48 says, but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. 03:52.900 --> 03:57.460 For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required. 03:57.460 --> 04:02.460 And to whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more. 04:02.460 --> 04:08.740 So a lot of times responsibility is given out based on who can handle it. 04:09.000 --> 04:11.320 You know, to whom much is given, much is required. 04:11.320 --> 04:17.360 I would expect a lot more out of my oldest son than I would out of my youngest daughter. 04:17.360 --> 04:20.080 That's just the way it works. 04:20.080 --> 04:22.360 He's given more because more is expected. 04:22.360 --> 04:24.600 I know he's capable of handling more. 04:24.600 --> 04:28.120 Now, my youngest kids may question me on that. 04:28.120 --> 04:29.120 They may complain. 04:29.120 --> 04:36.520 But I shouldn't have to justify my choice as a parent to my children. 04:36.900 --> 04:40.100 It's based on my judgment of their abilities because I'm the boss. 04:42.660 --> 04:47.300 Now let's apply this to adults. How many of you at work have seen folks complain 04:47.940 --> 04:53.380 about how the boss delegates responsibility? Perhaps you're one of the complainers. 04:54.500 --> 05:00.580 Can I say that this is a very wicked thing to do? Romans 9 says in verse 20, 05:00.580 --> 05:01.940 Nay, but oh man. 05:02.300 --> 05:05.300 Who art thou that repliest against God? 05:05.300 --> 05:08.500 Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, 05:08.500 --> 05:11.220 why hast thou made me thus? 05:11.220 --> 05:14.660 Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump 05:14.660 --> 05:19.540 to make one vessel under honor and another under dishonor? 05:19.540 --> 05:24.140 It's not for the servant to question the master. 05:24.140 --> 05:25.540 He's the boss. 05:25.540 --> 05:26.980 You're the employee. 05:26.980 --> 05:28.380 You need to respect the position. 05:29.000 --> 05:31.160 instead of thinking that you know better all the time. 05:32.520 --> 05:38.600 You say, well that's talking about God. We're going to get some verses that reference your 05:38.600 --> 05:44.040 boss on earth. It's not for the servant to question the master. When my kids want to argue over 05:44.040 --> 05:48.680 who's getting more, it's somewhat understandable because they are children. 05:49.320 --> 05:53.400 You know, and I'm still teaching them when these things come up, you know, what's right, 05:53.400 --> 05:55.900 what's wrong and how to respond. 05:56.100 --> 06:03.700 But when adults do this, it's not cute, it's not funny, you know, you're not a child, it's just disrespectful. 06:03.700 --> 06:10.980 And there's nothing worse than an employee that's always complaining and pushing back about the decisions that the boss has made. 06:10.980 --> 06:17.860 Always complaining, thinking that it's unfair, that they should be given more, that this is how things should be run. 06:17.860 --> 06:22.860 Matthew 25, 15 says, and under one, he gave five talents. 06:23.100 --> 06:28.380 to another two and to another one to every man according to his several ability." 06:29.820 --> 06:36.220 Notice that he says according to his several ability. The boss is using his judgment based 06:36.220 --> 06:41.660 on the servant's abilities to determine how many talents to entrust them. There's a reason 06:41.660 --> 06:46.300 that the boss is doing it this way. It's not meant to be the same. It's not meant to be fair. 06:46.300 --> 06:47.900 It's not meant to be equal. 06:48.200 --> 06:53.200 Like it or not, not everyone has the same abilities. 06:53.200 --> 06:58.200 You know, when I was a young person, I played basketball and baseball and some sports. 06:58.200 --> 07:05.200 I think Pastor Reyes has told me what a great basketball player he was as a young person. 07:05.200 --> 07:11.200 I don't know if I fully believe that, based on what I've seen of him, but maybe it's true. 07:11.200 --> 07:15.200 but uh you know I have two brothers once 07:15.300 --> 07:19.820 older brother that's six foot two and a younger brother that is also six foot two and 07:20.460 --> 07:23.860 you know, I'm obviously not six foot two up here and 07:24.660 --> 07:26.380 as a young 07:26.380 --> 07:29.060 Kid, you know, I wanted to dunk a basketball. I 07:29.820 --> 07:34.160 You know, I dreamed of you know being able to just dunk that ball 07:34.160 --> 07:40.340 and you know, my dad had told me about Muggsy Bogues and some of these shorter ballplayers that could really jump and 07:41.500 --> 07:47.900 you know, dunk a ball. And so I started looking into plyometrics and reading books and doing exercises and 07:48.300 --> 07:53.180 you know, I would stand under the rim and just jump, you know, a thousand times, 07:53.820 --> 08:00.380 you know, to try to build my leg muscles to be able to dunk. You know, after months and months of training, you know what happened? 08:02.700 --> 08:07.420 I couldn't even touch the rim. Okay. I wasn't even close. 08:08.200 --> 08:13.200 And the truth is that not everyone has the same abilities. 08:15.200 --> 08:19.200 Not everyone is going to be able to dunk a basketball. 08:19.200 --> 08:25.200 You know, the coach maybe didn't want to put me in center on the team as the center. 08:25.200 --> 08:28.100 Maybe for a reason. Maybe the coach looked at me. 08:28.200 --> 08:32.920 And before I knew I was never going to dunk, maybe the coach already knew based on my ability 08:32.920 --> 08:37.880 that I wasn't the guy to play center because I'm not the tallest. I'm never going to dunk. 08:37.880 --> 08:43.800 Maybe the coach knows more than the player. Maybe he knew what he was doing. Maybe he's using his 08:43.800 --> 08:49.480 judgment to determine who goes in what position, who gets what responsibility. 08:51.000 --> 08:55.000 And the same goes for your boss. He knows who can handle 08:56.000 --> 09:02.160 more responsibility better than you do. And even if he's wrong, he's still the boss. 09:03.280 --> 09:08.080 And you ought to respect the decisions that he's going to make based on the work that you're given. 09:09.680 --> 09:13.520 And let me say this applies to husbands and wives as well. 09:14.320 --> 09:21.680 The Bible says in Ephesians 5 verse 22, wives submit yourselves under your own husbands 09:21.680 --> 09:22.880 as unto the Lord. 09:23.500 --> 09:27.740 And if mentioning it once isn't enough, in Colossians 3 verse 18, 09:27.740 --> 09:34.860 wives submit yourselves under your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. 09:34.860 --> 09:38.780 Yeah, Mr. Well, in my marriage, my husband's not the boss. 09:38.780 --> 09:44.380 Great. Sounds like God isn't the boss in your life either. 09:44.380 --> 09:49.820 No wonder over 50% of marriages end in divorce today. 09:51.300 --> 09:56.980 You know, I heard another pastor preach a long time ago about the irony that a wife 09:57.780 --> 10:03.380 Will refuse to submit to her husband. I'm not gonna let some man tell me what to do 10:03.780 --> 10:08.140 but then we'll go to a secular job where she has a male boss and 10:08.820 --> 10:17.260 Do everything that she's told with a smile whether it is fetch coffee print papers make copies and she'll do it with a smile 10:18.700 --> 10:20.700 but she won't do it for her husband at home. 10:20.700 --> 10:22.700 But she'll do it for a man at work. 10:26.000 --> 10:28.400 God set up the hierarchy at the home. 10:28.400 --> 10:30.040 If you don't like it, take it up with God. 10:30.040 --> 10:34.240 But let me assure you, God knows what He's doing. 10:34.240 --> 10:36.800 The coach knows what player to put in. 10:36.800 --> 10:40.600 The boss knows who to give more responsibility to. 10:40.600 --> 10:42.880 And there's potential consequences 10:42.880 --> 10:45.320 when the clay turns to the potter and says, 10:45.320 --> 10:47.560 why hast thou made me thus? 10:47.560 --> 10:48.840 You want to know the secret 10:48.840 --> 10:51.600 to having a successful marriage with your wife? 10:51.600 --> 10:53.560 Learn to submit yourselves. 10:53.900 --> 11:00.540 to your husbands. What husband wants a wife that's constantly fighting and contentious? No husband 11:00.540 --> 11:06.060 wants that. Maybe that's what television has taught you with all the sitcoms that the wife always 11:06.060 --> 11:11.980 knows more than the husband, the husband's some big dummy, but it certainly isn't reality and it 11:11.980 --> 11:20.620 isn't what the Bible teaches. Hebrews 13 17 says obey them that have the rule over you and submit 11:20.620 --> 11:21.340 yourselves. 11:21.700 --> 11:29.300 for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, 11:29.300 --> 11:33.140 for that is unprofitable for you." 11:33.140 --> 11:39.140 Now I believe this particular passage in Hebrews is talking about church members and their pastor. 11:39.140 --> 11:43.700 Their pastor is their overseer. Their pastor has the rule over them. 11:43.700 --> 11:49.380 And he's going to have to one day give an account for them as church members. 11:49.900 --> 11:55.900 and says obey them that have the rule over you. But I believe this could apply to marriages, 11:55.900 --> 12:01.500 children, your boss at work. You see the person in charge is going to have to give an account of 12:01.500 --> 12:08.540 you whether it be to God or whether it be at your performance review. How foolish to rebel against 12:08.540 --> 12:14.140 someone who's in control of what that account is going to say. I mean how foolish to know that 12:14.140 --> 12:17.740 the pastor is going to someday stand before God. 12:17.900 --> 12:22.540 and give an account of you as a church member and you wanted to rebel against the pastor. 12:22.540 --> 12:26.060 Or your boss at work is going to determine your performance review, 12:26.060 --> 12:29.980 which will have an effect on your promotion, your raise, your bonus. 12:31.900 --> 12:36.540 Or children when they rebel against their parents. And the parents have a great control 12:37.260 --> 12:41.260 of what they'll be rewarded with, what they'll be punished with, what they're allowed to do. 12:43.180 --> 12:45.420 And most of this attitude stems from pride. 12:45.800 --> 12:52.100 Someone who won't submit, won't obey, won't listen. They always seem to think they know better. They should be the boss. 12:53.380 --> 12:57.320 But you know before you can be a leader, they say you've got to be a great follower. 12:59.620 --> 13:05.800 Did you know that Jesus was obedient to Mary and Joseph? The God who created the universe 13:06.640 --> 13:10.040 was willing to obey his mom and his stepdad. 13:10.700 --> 13:15.700 Don't you think there were times that Jesus looked at Mom and Joseph and probably knew they were making mistakes? 13:16.700 --> 13:22.700 I mean, he probably watched what they were doing and said, yeah, that's not the right thing to do. 13:23.700 --> 13:25.600 He's God in the flesh. 13:27.700 --> 13:34.100 But he obeyed him anyways. He didn't talk back and say, hey, I know better than you do. 13:36.180 --> 13:43.060 Luke 2 verse 51 says, and he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject under them. 13:43.060 --> 13:48.980 But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart, and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature 13:48.980 --> 13:54.580 and in favor with God a man. It says Jesus was subject under them. That means he obeyed. 13:55.200 --> 13:59.520 That means he was submissive to Mary and Joseph. 14:01.760 --> 14:06.800 Did you know that before the apostles were apostles, that they were disciples? 14:08.000 --> 14:11.280 You say, what's a disciple? A disciple is a follower. 14:12.240 --> 14:16.960 They followed Jesus for years before he sent them out as leaders. 14:19.300 --> 14:24.740 James 410 says, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. 14:26.180 --> 14:32.900 Lesson number one, the responsibility. Learn to humble yourself and accept the responsibility 14:32.900 --> 14:40.020 you're given, whether you agree with it or not. Wives obey your husbands. Children obey your 14:40.020 --> 14:44.300 parents. Employees, employees obey the boss. 14:45.700 --> 14:52.140 Lesson number two, the response. If you would look back in Matthew 25, we're going to look back at verse 16 14:52.140 --> 14:55.400 at the response of these three different servants. 14:57.000 --> 14:59.000 Matthew 25, 16 says that, 14:59.000 --> 15:05.700 then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents. 15:06.700 --> 15:10.520 And likewise, he that had received two, he also gained other two. 15:11.400 --> 15:16.600 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money. 15:16.600 --> 15:21.240 I want you to look at how each servant responds to the tasks that they were given. 15:21.240 --> 15:25.800 The first servant who had five talents goes out and makes another five talents. 15:26.440 --> 15:31.240 This is what I would like to call the star employee, the overachiever. 15:31.880 --> 15:34.840 This is the guy that when there's a really tough assignment at work, 15:34.840 --> 15:38.200 the boss goes, who are we going to give this to? And he says, let's give it to Bill. 15:38.900 --> 15:41.900 Bill's my top guy. He's gonna get it done. 15:41.900 --> 15:45.900 I'm giving him five talents because I trust him. 15:45.900 --> 15:46.900 He's my superstar. 15:49.500 --> 15:54.060 He knows that this person's going to work and do whatever it takes, no matter how difficult, 15:54.060 --> 15:54.780 to make it happen. 15:57.600 --> 16:04.480 The second servant was given two talents and he gained another two talents. This is that employee 16:04.480 --> 16:09.600 that's dependable. Yeah, they may not be the superstar, but you can count on them when you 16:09.600 --> 16:14.320 give them a job they're going to get it done. And a good boss makes sure, I don't want to overload 16:14.320 --> 16:21.280 this employee where they fail because I know they may not be as fast or as talented as employee number one. 16:21.600 --> 16:26.000 but if I give them enough responsibility that they can handle, I can count on them, 16:26.000 --> 16:27.200 they'll get the job done. 16:29.700 --> 16:34.980 And a good boss knows who can handle what. That's why they're the boss. That's why the responsibility is not the same. 16:36.340 --> 16:39.460 And last we have the servant given just one talent. 16:40.100 --> 16:43.940 The absolute least amount of responsibility possible. 16:44.660 --> 16:46.660 And what is this servant's response? 16:46.980 --> 16:51.380 They dig a hole in the ground and bury the money and do nothing. 16:52.180 --> 16:54.900 This is that employee that when you check back with them, 16:55.500 --> 16:59.340 on how the work is going and you're expecting, hey, enough times went by. 16:59.340 --> 17:04.700 The work should practically be done by now, if not done, and you find out they haven't even started 17:04.700 --> 17:11.100 the work. You know, I've experienced this firsthand over the years. You know, you send someone a 17:11.100 --> 17:15.660 request for something along with a due date and you're careful to include, hey, if you have any 17:15.660 --> 17:21.180 questions, reach out immediately. Let me know if you have a problem, but I need this back no later 17:21.180 --> 17:22.060 than this date. 17:22.600 --> 17:27.400 The due date gets here and you reach out and you go, where is it? 17:27.400 --> 17:31.520 And they respond, well, I wasn't really sure what you were looking for because you didn't 17:31.520 --> 17:35.760 clarify X, Y, and Z. 17:35.760 --> 17:39.400 You say, well, during the past month that you had to finish this, did you reach out 17:39.400 --> 17:41.200 to anyone to ask him for clarification? 17:41.200 --> 17:42.200 Well, no. 17:42.200 --> 17:43.200 No, I didn't. 17:43.200 --> 17:44.480 I didn't do that. 17:44.480 --> 17:46.500 But I mean, I didn't have what I needed to get started. 17:46.500 --> 17:47.400 So it's not done. 17:49.300 --> 17:54.100 Hey, that's a person that doesn't want to work is what that is. 17:54.100 --> 17:57.120 That's a person who doesn't want to do the job. 17:57.120 --> 18:03.100 The response of an employee who wants to get the job done will always be to find a way 18:03.100 --> 18:05.420 to get the job done. 18:05.420 --> 18:10.060 And the response of that lazy employee, that slothful servant who doesn't want to get the 18:10.060 --> 18:15.140 job done will always be to find a way to make an excuse on why they can't do it. 18:16.300 --> 18:20.700 You know, a number of years ago, I had an employee we had hired as a scheduler. 18:21.420 --> 18:27.900 And he had touted his abilities to use this special Primavera software for scheduling and 18:27.900 --> 18:31.980 that he could do all these amazing things. And so we brought him on board and, 18:33.020 --> 18:37.260 you know, things weren't going so well. You know, you give him a task to do that should 18:37.260 --> 18:42.060 be done that same day and he could never seem to get it done while he was at work. 18:42.800 --> 18:47.280 But, you know, the next day would come and, you know, he'd come in and the assignment 18:47.280 --> 18:48.280 was done. 18:48.280 --> 18:53.320 You know, and what we figured out was that he really didn't know how to do any scheduling. 18:53.320 --> 18:55.200 He didn't know how to use the software. 18:55.200 --> 18:58.600 But he would take the work home every night and he must have had a friend. 18:59.000 --> 19:03.880 that didn't know how to do the scheduling, and he would come back the next day with the work done. 19:03.880 --> 19:08.360 But he could never do anything at work. He'd always wait. And so, you know, he eventually was 19:08.360 --> 19:16.840 let go. But to his credit, he found a way to get it done. At least he tried and didn't just do nothing. 19:19.100 --> 19:27.020 Proverbs 10 26 says, as vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. 19:27.580 --> 19:33.780 You know, I'm sure many of you have had nerve pain in your teeth. I mean, it's just extremely painful. 19:34.460 --> 19:41.180 Or if you've had something in your eyes, I know Pastor Cobb and myself both have had eye problems and it's 19:41.580 --> 19:46.140 it's extremely uncomfortable. It's debilitating. I mean, it's terrible to have eye problems. 19:46.600 --> 19:52.720 It says, as vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that 19:52.720 --> 19:54.320 send them. 19:54.320 --> 19:58.800 The sluggard is compared to these two terribly painful things. 19:58.800 --> 20:03.440 Just saying that word, I mean, sluggard, doesn't it sound awful? 20:03.440 --> 20:04.440 Sluggard. 20:04.440 --> 20:07.240 I mean, who would want to be called a sluggard? 20:09.700 --> 20:13.300 But you know there's some people who really don't care. 20:13.300 --> 20:18.700 They'd rather be called a sluggard than to have to do any real work. 20:18.700 --> 20:24.060 I want you to notice that all three servants were given the same instructions. 20:24.060 --> 20:27.220 That two out of the three found a way to get the job done. 20:27.220 --> 20:28.660 Why? 20:28.660 --> 20:30.580 Because they wanted to get the job done for their boss. 20:30.580 --> 20:31.380 They wanted to obey. 20:31.800 --> 20:37.400 It's not as if the boss gave servant number one different instructions so he could figure it out. 20:37.400 --> 20:42.760 All three servants were told the exact same thing and given varying amounts of responsibility. 20:42.760 --> 20:46.360 The guy that had the most responsibility figured out a way to get it done. 20:46.360 --> 20:50.440 The guy that had the least amount of work to do figured out a way not to get it done. 20:52.700 --> 20:55.980 Matthew 25, we'll go back to verse 24, 20:55.980 --> 20:58.380 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 20:58.380 --> 21:01.660 Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, 21:02.300 --> 21:06.220 reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawled. 21:06.780 --> 21:10.380 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth. 21:10.380 --> 21:14.380 Lo, there thou hast that is thine. 21:14.380 --> 21:16.300 The response of this last servant 21:16.800 --> 21:21.120 is to make excuses for not doing the work. It was too hard. 21:21.120 --> 21:27.200 Well, did you ask for help? Well, no. I didn't have enough time, boss. Okay, how 21:27.200 --> 21:32.000 far did you get with the work? Well, I never even got started. Okay, I 21:32.000 --> 21:34.720 see. Well, I didn't start because I knew I 21:34.720 --> 21:41.600 wouldn't get it done, though. That's why. I forgot. I forgot. Did you write it down? 21:41.600 --> 21:42.800 Did you take notes? 21:43.100 --> 21:48.460 Did you ask somebody to remind you what the job was? Are you seeing the pattern? A diligent man 21:49.020 --> 21:57.260 finds a way. A sluggard finds an excuse. You know, in Proverbs, it has a lot of wisdom to share with 21:57.260 --> 22:02.300 us, and it has wisdom to share on the diligent and the slothful. I'm just going to read a few 22:02.300 --> 22:08.140 verses out of Proverbs on these two different types of traits. Proverbs 12, 24, the hand of 22:08.140 --> 22:10.460 of the diligent shall bear rule. 22:10.900 --> 22:16.260 but the slothful shall be under tribute." You want to know why the guy is in the position he's in 22:16.260 --> 22:25.140 as the ruler? He worked harder. Proverbs 13, 4, the soul of the slugger desireth and hath nothing, 22:25.140 --> 22:32.500 but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Proverbs 22, 29, seeest thou a man diligent in 22:32.500 --> 22:37.780 in his business, he shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men. 22:40.300 --> 22:45.420 The diligent is in the place they're at because they're diligent. The slothful, the sluggard, 22:46.060 --> 22:53.980 is not so. Let's look again at Matthew 25 verse 24. Then he which had received the one talent came 22:53.980 --> 23:02.540 and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering 23:02.540 --> 23:04.140 where thou hast not strawled. 23:04.400 --> 23:10.400 and I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth, lo there thou hast that is thine." 23:10.400 --> 23:17.280 What I also notice here beyond just making excuses and to me this is just the icing on the cake. 23:18.400 --> 23:21.100 The servant blames the boss. 23:24.200 --> 23:27.660 I knew thee that thou art an hard man. 23:27.660 --> 23:30.660 Boss, you're too difficult to please. 23:30.660 --> 23:32.460 You expect too much. 23:32.460 --> 23:35.800 And I was afraid. 23:35.800 --> 23:37.460 So I went and hid thy talent in the earth. 23:37.460 --> 23:43.280 It's your fault, since you made me feel afraid, that I would mess up if I tried. 23:43.280 --> 23:46.800 So I didn't want to try and fail, so I just did nothing. 23:46.800 --> 23:47.720 It's your fault, boss. 23:48.800 --> 23:53.840 You're given the task, you failed to do it, and somehow now it's somebody else's fault. 23:56.300 --> 24:01.020 To me, this is almost worse than failing to do the assignment. 24:01.020 --> 24:06.500 This response of the wicked, slothful servant to me is almost worse than the fact that he 24:06.500 --> 24:08.240 did nothing with the talent. 24:08.240 --> 24:15.980 It's the fact that he turns and blames the boss for his failure. 24:15.980 --> 24:17.980 Let's look at an example in the Bible. 24:18.200 --> 24:22.440 where someone fails at doing what they were commanded. We're going to look at two examples. 24:22.440 --> 24:27.160 One, somebody failing. We're looking at examples of somebody responding differently. And this 24:27.160 --> 24:32.920 should be a familiar passage, but 1 Samuel chapter 13, we're going to start in verse 8. 24:32.920 --> 24:36.040 And just to give a little bit of background on what's going on here, 24:36.040 --> 24:38.920 the children of Israel are fighting with the Philistines. 24:39.500 --> 24:45.820 And everyone's afraid, you know, the battle's, you know, formed and they're afraid and King Saul is 24:45.820 --> 24:52.140 currently waiting on the prophet Samuel to arrive so that they can offer a burnt offering to the Lord 24:52.140 --> 24:58.220 and ask for God's help in battle. And we'll pick it up in verse 8 of 1 Samuel 13, 24:59.020 --> 25:02.460 and it says, and he tarried seven days, talking about Samuel. 25:02.900 --> 25:07.620 according to the set time, talking about Saul, I'm sorry, according to the set time that Samuel 25:07.620 --> 25:13.540 had appointed, but Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, 25:13.540 --> 25:18.260 bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings, and he offered the burnt offering. 25:18.260 --> 25:22.580 And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, 25:22.580 --> 25:28.100 behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, 25:28.100 --> 25:30.100 What hast thou done? 25:30.800 --> 25:36.320 And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest 25:36.320 --> 25:40.880 not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at 25:40.880 --> 25:46.800 Micmash. Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not 25:46.800 --> 25:52.800 made supplication of the Lord. I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 25:53.800 --> 25:56.640 And Samuel said to Saul, thou hast done foolishly. 25:56.640 --> 26:00.640 Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. 26:00.640 --> 26:06.240 For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever." 26:06.240 --> 26:09.760 So Saul makes a mistake. 26:09.760 --> 26:14.380 And Samuel comes and calls him out for his mistake and says, you've done wrong. 26:14.380 --> 26:15.980 And what is Saul's response? 26:18.100 --> 26:22.580 He makes excuses. He says, well, the people were scattered and the Philistines were here and, 26:23.220 --> 26:30.020 you know, I forced myself. So he makes excuses. And then what else does he do? He blames Samuel. 26:30.020 --> 26:37.940 He says, I did it because you were late. It's your fault, Samuel. I wouldn't have done it if 26:37.940 --> 26:44.020 you'd showed up on time. Even though I know I'm not supposed to do this, it's your fault, boss. 26:44.500 --> 26:47.500 Because you didn't show up on time. 26:47.500 --> 26:49.500 Don't blame me, you weren't here. 26:51.500 --> 26:53.500 Sound familiar? 26:54.500 --> 26:59.500 To the wicked, slothful servant who makes excuses and blames the boss? 26:59.500 --> 27:07.500 Now this happens all the time in real life at your work, in your marriages, with your children. 27:08.500 --> 27:11.500 And let me say, you're going to make mistakes. 27:12.600 --> 27:21.000 you're going to fail sometimes to do the job. Unfortunately, all of us are at times like that 27:21.000 --> 27:26.120 last servant that doesn't get the job done. We'd like to all think we're the five talent person or 27:26.120 --> 27:32.680 maybe the two talent person. And maybe sometimes we are. But the reality is that all of us at some 27:32.680 --> 27:38.440 point in our lives behave just like that last servant that doesn't get the job done. 27:39.000 --> 27:43.700 and we end up trying to make excuses or blame somebody else for our problem. 27:43.700 --> 27:47.580 But let me tell you, if you fail at doing what you're supposed to do, 27:47.580 --> 27:50.580 how you respond matters. 27:52.440 --> 27:55.440 You know, I try to teach my kids that when they mess up, 27:55.440 --> 27:59.240 if you fail and mom and dad call you out for it, 27:59.240 --> 28:01.240 take ownership. 28:01.240 --> 28:03.240 Admit that you've made a mistake. 28:04.200 --> 28:08.200 and accept the punishment that you're given with a good attitude. 28:08.200 --> 28:11.200 And a lot of times, you know, as kids, they'll want to, 28:11.200 --> 28:14.200 well, I didn't, you know, so he was doing it. 28:14.200 --> 28:16.200 And I'll stop him, I'll say, is that, 28:16.200 --> 28:19.200 is that what you think you should tell me right now? 28:19.200 --> 28:21.200 No, I'm sorry, Dad. 28:21.200 --> 28:24.200 You know, I want them to understand as a child that 28:24.200 --> 28:28.200 when somebody points out your mistake, you need to own it. 28:28.200 --> 28:30.700 It's not somebody else's fault. 28:30.900 --> 28:33.200 excuses aren't going to work. 28:33.200 --> 28:35.700 If you were told to do something and you failed to do it, 28:35.700 --> 28:39.200 you need to own it and you need to accept the blame 28:39.200 --> 28:42.500 and not argue back or blame somebody else for your problem. 28:42.500 --> 28:45.900 And that response makes a huge difference 28:45.900 --> 28:48.400 in how the person in charge is going to look at it, 28:48.400 --> 28:51.000 whether it be a parent, a husband, a boss, 28:51.000 --> 28:53.500 the Lord, Jesus Christ, when you fail, 28:53.500 --> 28:54.800 you mess up with him. 28:56.200 --> 28:59.080 How you respond really makes a difference. 29:01.240 --> 29:05.400 Now let's compare King Saul. We just saw his response when he messed up. 29:05.400 --> 29:09.160 Let's compare King Saul's response to King David's response. 29:09.800 --> 29:14.520 Turn with me if you would to 2 Samuel chapter 12. We're going to pick it up in verse 1. 29:14.520 --> 29:15.520 Second Samuel. 29:15.900 --> 29:20.700 chapter 12 verse 1, and while you're turning there I'll give you just a little bit of that background. 29:20.700 --> 29:27.260 It should be a familiar story, but David has committed adultery with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. 29:28.620 --> 29:36.620 She's pregnant with his child and he's had Uriah killed in battle and he's taken Bathsheba 29:37.180 --> 29:41.820 as his own wife and he thinks he's gotten away with it. He's done this thing secretly. 29:42.600 --> 29:48.440 and now God has sent the prophet Nathan to confront David. 29:48.440 --> 29:50.200 2 Samuel 12 verse 1, 30:06.700 --> 30:11.420 which he had bought and nourished up and it grew up together with him and with his children. 30:12.140 --> 30:18.700 It did eat of his own meat and drank of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him as a 30:18.700 --> 30:24.540 daughter. There came a traveler unto the rich man and he spared to take of his own flock and of his 30:24.540 --> 30:30.220 own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him but took the poor man's lamb and 30:30.220 --> 30:32.600 and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 30:33.200 --> 30:37.500 David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, 30:37.500 --> 30:42.500 As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die, 30:42.500 --> 30:47.500 and he shall restore the Lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 30:47.500 --> 30:50.700 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. 30:50.700 --> 30:54.500 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, 30:54.500 --> 30:56.700 and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. 30:57.000 --> 31:03.640 and I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. 31:04.280 --> 31:08.280 And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 31:09.080 --> 31:14.040 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? 31:14.280 --> 31:21.400 Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 31:22.000 --> 31:26.620 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised 31:26.620 --> 31:30.860 me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 31:30.860 --> 31:35.620 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, 31:35.620 --> 31:40.640 and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor. 31:40.640 --> 31:44.820 And he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this son. 31:44.820 --> 31:48.900 For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before our Israel." 31:49.300 --> 31:55.940 and before the Son. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. 31:56.660 --> 32:03.140 Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Howbeit 32:03.140 --> 32:07.940 because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme 32:07.940 --> 32:11.540 the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 32:12.400 --> 32:17.900 Now I want you to notice that David is being called out for his mistakes. 32:17.900 --> 32:23.780 And not only that, he's being told that there's going to be an extreme punishment attached 32:23.780 --> 32:26.300 to this mistake. 32:26.300 --> 32:32.020 That God is about to just unleash the fury on David, that hey, you're about to get chastised 32:32.020 --> 32:32.580 big time. 32:34.900 --> 32:39.860 Now when most people find out they've been caught, that they've not obeyed, that they've 32:39.860 --> 32:45.500 messed up at work or at home or a child, whatever it might be, most people, even if they're 32:45.500 --> 32:47.700 in trouble, sometimes can accept it. 32:47.700 --> 32:53.380 But when they find out that there's going to be severe consequences, man, the excuses 32:53.380 --> 32:56.780 really start to come out then because they're afraid. 32:56.780 --> 33:00.380 They say, man, I might lose my job or I might get in big trouble. 33:00.800 --> 33:04.880 And so now they start really making the excuses. They start trying to look for a way out. 33:04.880 --> 33:09.200 They start blaming others. Well, it wasn't my fault because so-and-so did it. 33:11.440 --> 33:18.320 But I want you to notice David's response. I have sinned against the Lord. 33:19.680 --> 33:27.200 I have sinned. He didn't blame Bathsheba for being in the wrong place. He didn't blame Uriah 33:27.800 --> 33:30.760 for not having his wife bathe somewhere else. 33:30.760 --> 33:36.200 He didn't blame the captain of the guard for putting Uriah in the forefront of the battle. 33:36.200 --> 33:40.200 He didn't blame anyone. He didn't make any excuses. 33:40.200 --> 33:42.200 I have sinned. 33:46.300 --> 33:49.980 When we make mistakes, it's important that we take accountability. 33:51.740 --> 33:57.100 You know, this is something that, you know, like I've said before, I try to teach my children, 33:57.740 --> 34:03.580 you know, own your mistakes. Apologize. Say you're sorry. Accept the punishment. 34:06.100 --> 34:07.300 And as an adult. 34:10.500 --> 34:14.820 You know, when you make a mistake, your boss is not your parent. 34:14.820 --> 34:18.500 Your pastor is not your parent. Your husband is not your dad. 34:20.020 --> 34:25.700 When we make mistakes as an adult, whoever your boss is in this life, whether it be the Lord Jesus 34:25.700 --> 34:32.580 Christ, whether it be your boss at work, your husband at home, your parents, you have to learn 34:32.580 --> 34:36.580 to take account of it. They're not going to look at it like dealing with a child necessarily. 34:37.000 --> 34:40.920 When you're a grown man or a grown woman, they're expecting you to have already learned this lesson 34:40.920 --> 34:45.880 that when you mess up to take accountability, when they start hearing the excuses, when they start 34:45.880 --> 34:51.560 hearing you blame others, it just makes you look foolish. It makes you look like you haven't learned 34:52.200 --> 34:55.080 what you should have learned as a child, that you need to own your mistakes. 34:57.320 --> 35:00.680 You know what I found is that those first two servants who are diligent 35:01.300 --> 35:05.980 faithful, those are also typically the ones that take accountability when they 35:05.980 --> 35:12.380 make a mistake. It's normally the lazy slothful servant that makes excuses and 35:12.380 --> 35:19.340 blames others. Lack of accountability and laziness just seem to go hand in hand. 35:19.340 --> 35:25.340 Lesson number two, the response. We need to learn to have the right response to 35:25.340 --> 35:28.800 what we're given to do and also the right response. 35:28.900 --> 35:36.020 when we fail to do it. Lesson number three, the last lesson, the reward. Turn with me if you would 35:36.020 --> 35:43.700 back to Matthew 25. We're going to pick it up again in verse 19. I want to go through this 35:43.700 --> 35:48.500 parable that Jesus told again and we're going to look. We've seen the responsibility that He gave 35:48.500 --> 35:53.700 out. We've seen how each servant responded. Now I'd like to look at how 35:54.700 --> 35:58.860 the master is going to reward each man for his work. 36:02.400 --> 36:06.480 So let's pick it up in verse 21. 36:07.440 --> 36:12.240 His Lord said unto him, Well done, now good, and faithful servant. 36:12.240 --> 36:17.840 Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. 36:17.840 --> 36:22.560 Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He also received two talents, came and said, 36:22.560 --> 36:26.240 Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 36:26.600 --> 36:33.000 His Lord said unto him, Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things. 36:33.000 --> 36:38.680 I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. 36:38.680 --> 36:43.240 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, 36:43.240 --> 36:47.000 reaping where thy house not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawled. 36:47.000 --> 36:51.720 And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth, lo, there thou hast that is thine. 36:52.300 --> 36:56.060 His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou 36:56.060 --> 37:01.580 newest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawled. 37:01.580 --> 37:05.420 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming 37:05.420 --> 37:10.140 I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, 37:10.140 --> 37:12.620 and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 37:12.700 --> 37:18.540 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that hath not 37:18.540 --> 37:24.380 shall be taken away even that which he hath, and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer 37:24.380 --> 37:30.940 darkness that shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The first servant is told, Well done, 37:30.940 --> 37:39.980 good and faithful servant. The second servant, Well done, good and faithful servant. The third servant, 37:40.700 --> 37:45.260 thou wicked and slothful servant." 37:45.260 --> 37:51.980 He says, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawled. 37:51.980 --> 37:55.220 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I 37:55.220 --> 37:57.460 should have received mine own with usury. 37:57.460 --> 38:02.100 Doesn't sound like those excuses held up too well with the boss. 38:02.100 --> 38:05.540 like that if you knew the boss was like this. 38:06.100 --> 38:10.100 then you should have expected to know what to do. 38:10.100 --> 38:14.500 Boss quickly came up with a response on how you could have got the job done. 38:14.500 --> 38:17.620 And isn't that true in real life? I mean, many times when 38:17.620 --> 38:21.620 you know your kids you know come back and they say, well I didn't, 38:21.620 --> 38:26.260 you say you could have done this. Or somebody says, well I just forgot. 38:26.260 --> 38:32.020 Did you write it down? Your excuses will not hold up with whoever 38:32.020 --> 38:34.000 your boss is, whether it's the pastor. 38:34.100 --> 38:39.940 whether it's God, you know, and you messed up, he doesn't want to hear that, hey, it's his fault 38:39.940 --> 38:45.060 that you messed up or that there's all these reasons why you couldn't do it right. He wants 38:45.060 --> 38:50.580 to hear that you're sorry and that you'll fix it. In the same way as adults, you know, when we're 38:50.580 --> 38:56.020 at work, if we're dealing with our marriages, spouse, wives submitting to their husbands, 38:56.020 --> 38:57.300 children submitting to their parents, 38:57.800 --> 39:02.500 You know, the excuse that you give is not going to hold water. 39:02.500 --> 39:03.600 I know everybody thinks it is. 39:03.600 --> 39:06.960 They think they're smart and they think that, hey, they're going to believe me and this 39:06.960 --> 39:08.180 is going to just fly. 39:08.180 --> 39:13.040 The boss here does not buy the excuse and immediately has a response on how they could 39:13.040 --> 39:14.040 have gotten it done. 39:14.040 --> 39:17.880 And if they knew that he's a hard man and that he expects this, then they should have 39:17.880 --> 39:19.520 done so and so. 39:23.200 --> 39:30.000 When you fail to do what God asks of you, are you making excuses? Are you blaming others? 39:30.720 --> 39:36.640 What's the reason you haven't read the Bible? What's the reason you haven't taken the time to 39:36.640 --> 39:42.640 pray? What's the reason you lost your temper when you shouldn't have? Are you making excuses or are 39:42.640 --> 39:46.080 you taking accountability and working on fixing the problem? 39:47.300 --> 39:54.620 Matthew 25 30 says and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and 39:55.140 --> 39:59.780 gnashing of teeth sounds like this this last servant just got fired 40:01.160 --> 40:05.740 You know if I was to kind of put that in modern terms sounds like he just lost his job 40:07.620 --> 40:13.820 This employee who thought they knew better than the boss and maybe they thought they were just irreplaceable 40:15.000 --> 40:17.000 Just found out that's not the case. 40:20.300 --> 40:27.420 Let's look quickly at another story of some wicked servants and how they were rewarded. 40:27.420 --> 40:31.380 We see the story in Matthew 25 of what happened to this wicked, slothful servant. 40:31.380 --> 40:38.020 I want to show just one other story here on some servants that rebelled against the Master 40:38.020 --> 40:39.020 here. 40:39.020 --> 40:41.020 and this is with 40:41.900 --> 40:46.860 We're starting verse 1, we're going to skip through some verses there, but number 16 verse 1, 40:46.860 --> 40:51.340 this is Moses leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. 40:51.340 --> 40:57.420 Keep in mind that Moses was the meekest man in the whole earth at the time, 40:57.420 --> 41:03.980 and that he had given up wealth and treasures in Egypt to suffer affliction with the people of God. 41:03.980 --> 41:06.460 Then when God chose Moses to be the leader, 41:07.700 --> 41:12.180 that Moses didn't even think he was worthy to lead the children of Israel. 41:13.860 --> 41:17.540 This is who God put in charge. This is the leader that the children of Israel 41:17.540 --> 41:20.820 have, a very humble man, a man that was willing to sacrifice, 41:21.460 --> 41:26.260 a man that many times when God was ready to wipe out the children of Israel, he said, 41:26.260 --> 41:28.260 Block me out instead. 41:29.960 --> 41:31.960 A good leader, Moses. 41:33.300 --> 41:39.540 Number 16 verse 1, now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan, 41:39.540 --> 41:45.860 and Abiram, the sons of Eliab and An, the son of Pilate, sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up 41:45.860 --> 41:51.460 before Moses with certain of the children of Israel 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the 41:51.460 --> 41:57.220 congregation, men of renown, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 41:57.700 --> 42:03.380 and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, 42:03.380 --> 42:08.820 every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the 42:08.820 --> 42:16.900 congregation of the Lord? So here we have these wicked servants who are rebelling against the 42:16.900 --> 42:23.780 leadership. Hey, you think too highly of yourself, Moses. You're putting yourself up on a pedestal. 42:24.200 --> 42:29.960 We deserve to be up there too. We're all holy before the Lord. Who are you to tell us how things should be? 42:31.640 --> 42:34.360 I'm going to skip down to verse 12 for sake of time. 42:35.000 --> 42:39.320 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, which said, 42:40.040 --> 42:45.160 we will not come up. So they refused to obey what Moses has asked them to do here. 42:45.800 --> 42:49.960 He says, if you got a problem, come on up. We're not going to come. We're not going to listen. 42:51.900 --> 42:57.900 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, 42:57.900 --> 42:59.900 to kill us in the wilderness? 42:59.900 --> 43:01.900 This is what they're saying to Moses. 43:01.900 --> 43:04.900 Except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 43:04.900 --> 43:08.900 Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, 43:08.900 --> 43:11.900 or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. 43:11.900 --> 43:13.900 Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? 43:13.900 --> 43:15.900 We will not come up. 43:15.900 --> 43:18.900 Now they're blaming Moses for all their problems. 43:19.300 --> 43:23.460 Hey, we're not in the land of milk and honey. It's your fault. You brought us up to kill us. 43:25.620 --> 43:31.220 So we have these men led by Dathan and Abiram that are complaining about the boss, which is Moses, 43:31.220 --> 43:36.100 and won't obey what he has to say. They're blaming him for all their problems. 43:37.460 --> 43:44.340 Sounds familiar to that slothful servant. Verse 15 says, and Moses was very wroth and said unto 43:44.340 --> 43:47.300 the Lord. Respect not thou. 43:47.600 --> 43:51.680 their offering. I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them." 43:51.680 --> 43:55.120 Remember when I said the boss is going to have to give an account of you someday? 43:55.120 --> 43:58.400 The pastor is going to have to give an account of the church members to the Lord? 43:58.400 --> 44:02.720 The boss at work is going to give a performance review of you? Your husband at home is going to 44:02.720 --> 44:09.760 give an account of you? These things, Moses right here is giving an account of these men to the Lord. 44:14.800 --> 44:20.560 And verse 28 says, in Moses' head, hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works, 44:20.560 --> 44:27.040 for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, 44:27.040 --> 44:31.760 or if they be visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me. 44:31.900 --> 44:35.740 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up 44:35.740 --> 44:39.820 with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then ye shall 44:39.820 --> 44:43.100 understand that these men have provoked the Lord. 44:43.100 --> 44:46.460 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground 44:46.460 --> 44:50.460 clavis under that was under them and the earth opened her mouth. 44:50.600 --> 44:54.280 and swallowed them up and their houses and all the men that appertained on the 44:54.280 --> 44:55.720 Quora and all their goods 44:55.720 --> 44:59.200 they and all that appertained to them went down alive 44:59.200 --> 45:03.000 into the pit and the earth closed upon them and they perished 45:03.000 --> 45:08.600 from among the congregations. Now these wicked servants just received 45:08.600 --> 45:09.600 their reward. 45:12.100 --> 45:18.420 Lesson one, they wouldn't accept responsibility. They thought they deserved more responsibility than they were given. 45:18.420 --> 45:22.580 It's not fair, Moses, that you have all this. We should be up there with you. 45:22.580 --> 45:30.820 They wanted more. Lesson two, they respond by not obeying and then blaming the boss for their mistakes. 45:30.820 --> 45:36.340 And lesson three, they're rewarded according to how they responded. 45:36.800 --> 45:38.260 And we see a new thing happen. 45:38.260 --> 45:41.680 The earth actually opens up and swallows them alive. 45:41.680 --> 45:47.360 And all that appertains under them go alive down in the pit. 45:47.360 --> 45:48.920 Can't imagine seeing something like that. 45:48.920 --> 45:50.560 All the people scattered were afraid. 45:50.560 --> 45:53.280 I mean, imagine seeing the ground just open up and just 45:53.280 --> 45:54.560 swallow these people up. 45:59.000 --> 46:05.800 In contrast, we have the two servants who are rewarded based on how they responded, 46:05.800 --> 46:10.760 based on the hard work that they put in. The man that was given five talents and the servant that 46:10.760 --> 46:17.080 was given two, they accepted the responsibility. They went out and responded by working hard. 46:17.080 --> 46:21.160 They got the job done and they were rewarded accordingly being told, 46:21.160 --> 46:23.320 well done, thou good and faithful servant. 46:23.800 --> 46:28.520 You know, the Bible commands us to work hard. Colossians 3.23 says, 46:28.520 --> 46:33.960 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. 46:35.080 --> 46:38.520 Ecclesiastes 9.10, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, 46:39.160 --> 46:43.560 do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 46:43.560 --> 46:48.280 in the grave whither thou goest. If God gives you a job to do, 46:48.280 --> 46:51.080 then He expects you to do it to the best of your ability. 46:51.900 --> 46:59.340 And God knows how much to give us, whether it be five talents or two talents or maybe even just one talent. 46:59.340 --> 47:03.140 God's a good boss. He knows what you're capable of. 47:03.140 --> 47:08.460 So when you fail and you say, God, you shouldn't have given me so much, it's not going to hold up. 47:08.460 --> 47:10.460 God knows what you can handle. 47:12.180 --> 47:14.100 And He expects you to do your best. 47:16.400 --> 47:18.400 Colossians 322 says, 47:41.100 --> 47:46.940 but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons." 47:48.940 --> 47:50.620 1st Corinthians 3 verse 12, 47:50.620 --> 47:55.180 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, 47:55.580 --> 47:57.580 every man's work shall be made manifest, 47:57.740 --> 48:04.220 for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 48:04.700 --> 48:08.480 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 48:09.000 --> 48:16.120 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. 48:16.120 --> 48:20.360 It is our duty to serve God. 48:20.360 --> 48:24.920 But God is not asking us to work for free. 48:24.920 --> 48:26.200 You know, he could. 48:26.200 --> 48:31.160 You know, he says when you've done all these things, you say that we're still unprofitable servants. 48:31.160 --> 48:32.920 That's what Jesus said. 48:32.920 --> 48:34.280 He could ask us. 48:34.800 --> 48:38.960 to do everything that we're told to do and to do it with no reward. 48:38.960 --> 48:40.960 And it would be perfectly just and right. 48:43.600 --> 48:50.800 But God graciously rewards us for our efforts. Just like that Master gave His servants, 48:50.800 --> 48:56.960 He said, you've been faithful over a few things, I will make the ruler over many things. We serve a 48:56.960 --> 49:05.040 very gracious, kind, loving God in heaven that is willing to reward us for the efforts we put in 49:05.040 --> 49:10.960 for Him. And just as those three servants each received a reward, we too someday will stand before God. 49:11.200 --> 49:15.200 to be rewarded for the work that we've done. 49:15.200 --> 49:19.440 And I could say the same goes for your boss, your parents, 49:19.440 --> 49:23.680 your husband. Those that obey and are willing to work hard 49:23.680 --> 49:25.200 will be rewarded. 49:27.500 --> 49:29.340 You know, 1 Corinthians 2, 9 says, 49:29.340 --> 49:33.980 But as it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, 49:33.980 --> 49:38.220 neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared 49:38.780 --> 49:39.820 for them that love him. 49:40.540 --> 49:46.780 What a wonderful God we serve that, you know, rewards us even though we certainly don't deserve it. 49:47.980 --> 49:51.340 I'm thankful that God and His love is going to reward us for our efforts. 49:52.700 --> 49:59.340 As both servants to God and man, can we remember that we have a responsibility and to accept what 49:59.340 --> 50:05.340 it is, whether it be great or small, to be careful with how we respond to our responsibility, 50:06.300 --> 50:10.700 that we respond by obeying and doing the right things, working hard to get the job done, 50:11.820 --> 50:17.020 not blaming and making excuses for our failures, and that we keep in mind that there's going to 50:17.020 --> 50:20.060 to be a reward, whether good or bad, for our efforts. 50:21.700 --> 50:26.500 like to close out in prayer. Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you again this morning for 50:26.500 --> 50:33.860 the opportunity to preach your word and to be in your house. Pray Lord that as we each go our 50:33.860 --> 50:41.780 separate ways Lord we keep in mind our responsibility Lord, our responses and also our reward. 50:42.800 --> 50:48.560 and that we would take these lessons to heart Lord that someday we would hear as we enter into heaven 50:48.560 --> 50:55.360 well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thank you, we love you, and ask all this in your name. Amen. 51:16.800 --> 51:21.480 please turn in your red hymnal to page 419. 51:21.480 --> 51:26.080 Page 419, sound the battle cry. 51:26.080 --> 51:30.680 That's 419, sound the battle cry. 51:30.680 --> 51:31.520 Page 419. 51:44.100 --> 51:55.700 First sound the battle cry see the bow is nigh Raise the standard high for the lord 51:55.700 --> 52:00.580 Burn your armor on, stand firm everyone, 52:00.580 --> 52:05.460 Rest your cause upon his holy word. 52:05.460 --> 52:10.260 Then soldiers rally round the banner, 52:10.260 --> 52:10.760 Red! 52:11.500 --> 52:18.420 steady, pass the word along. Onward, forward, shout aloud, 52:18.420 --> 52:24.260 Hosanna, Christ is captain of the mighty throng. 52:25.000 --> 52:34.760 Strong to meet the foe, marching on we go, While our cause we know must prevail. 52:34.760 --> 52:44.280 Shield the batter bright, we hang in the night, Battling for the right we ne'er can fail. 52:44.280 --> 52:48.440 Rouse then, soldiers, rally round the back! 52:49.000 --> 52:53.800 Ready steady, pass the word along. 52:53.800 --> 52:58.440 Onward, forward, shout aloud, Hosanna, 52:58.440 --> 53:03.720 Christ is captain of the mighty throng. 53:03.720 --> 53:08.840 O thou God of all, hear us when we call, 53:08.840 --> 53:11.480 Help us one and all. 53:13.800 --> 53:23.400 When the battle's done, when the victory's won, may we wear the crown before thy face. 53:23.400 --> 53:32.200 Rouse then, soldiers, rally round the banner, ready, steady, pass the word along. 53:32.600 --> 53:42.200 Onward, forward, saddle out, Hosanna, Christ is captain of the mighty throng. 53:42.200 --> 53:45.200 Alright, great singing everyone, you are dismissed.