Living Waters Christian Fellowship - Lake Nacimiento - California

11  Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
14 “But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 “Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
18 “And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’
19 “Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 ‘For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 ‘Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (“But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)
26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 ‘But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”

Introduction  Faithfulness to King and Kingdom in2012

I. People want to know about the Kingdom of God  v11

11  Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.

A. The world is in desperate need of change, new government, attitude adjustment - so much anger, disrespect, violence

B. We wonder if/when it will happen

C. We hope it happens soon, get excited when there are signs

D. We have responsibilities, no matter how long it takes

11  Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’

E. The Kingdom of God cannot accomplish what it should without our active participation in this world, in this age

II.  Jesus is not just Savior, He is King  v12

12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

A. He has some authority now  v13

13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’

B. He will have total authority some day  v12,15

12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

III. People have different responses to the reign of Christ

A. Some reject Him  v14

14 “But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

B. Some respect and follow Him  v16-19

16 “Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
18 “And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’
19 “Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’

C. Some disrespect, blaspheme and refuse to obey Him  v20-21

20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 ‘For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

IV. Those who do not receive His reign, respect and follow Him will be judged  v22-27

22 “And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 ‘Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (“But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)
26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 ‘But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”

V. Why would anyone refuse the reign of Christ?

His citizens  v14

14 “But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

His servants  v20-21

20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 ‘For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

A. People naturally reject authority

1. A debate, even today - is Jesus Savior, Lord, or both?

2. People want to accept Jesus as Savior, but resist Him as Lord.  They don’t realize we cannot truly be saved from our mistakes and self destructive foolishness, and be of benefit to His Kingdom unless and until we bow the knee and make Him Lord.

3. The big issue from now until the end, the issue of authority - who will be in charge of my life, our society, the world?

People naturally reject authority

B. People sometimes believe lies, especially about those in authority

1.2 criticisms of Jesus

a. Jesus is a bad leader  v14

14 “But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

b. Jesus is austere (exacting) v21

21 ‘For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

2. What is the truth about Jesus?

a. Jesus is a good king, a servant king, seeks ultimate blessing for His people.  No reason whatsoever that a reasonable person would not want Him to reign over us.

b. Is v21 true?  

21 ‘For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

Is He is austere, exacting, requiring an accounting?  Yes, that part is true.

But did He not deposit? Did he not sow?  This part is a total lie.  v21

13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’

22 “And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

  v22 “So you knew” = it appeared to you (not gnosko)

The citizens and one of the servants wrongly thought evil of their King, and therefore resisted His reign, and hindered His Kingdom, hurting themselves and others.

VI. We all need to force ourselves to think straight about Jesus:

A. Jesus shall reign - Jesus is receiving a kingdom, whether people want Him to reign over them or not.

B. We must understand Him, not blaspheme His character

1. He is a good and benevolent King

2. He will require an accounting for what we have done, not done in His Kingdom


3. He has deposited in us, sown in us what we need to be successful and produce a profit, a harvest of blessing for His Kingdom

C. We must do His business until He comes.  Jesus, age12, “I must be about my Father’s business.”

VII. What is the King’s business? To love Him, love others, encourage them to love Him and love others as well, to seek to be a blessing to Him and one another.

Yet even today, some people, even some of His “servants” have no respect for Him, His Kingdom, His plans and purposes, his heart, His church.  

The evil servant disregarded what the King told him, and just did things his own misguided way anyway, not caring about the consequences of damage to the Kingdom.  A deadly combination - ignorance and arrogance.

Jesus told us to love Him, love each other, work together, respect each other, to be a blessing, to put our petty differences aside for the sake of peace and unity.

Many people today are like this bad servant, and don’t do anything with the resources God has provided for us to be a blessing in this life in this world.  Some Christians just flat disregard His instructions. They just sit on their hands and wait for Jesus to come.

And others take their disregard and disrespect one step further.  Not only are they not doing anything, they try to hinder those who are trying to do something.

They choose to create conflict, cause trouble, criticize, judge, undermine, and even the worst - to separate, alienate, gossip, slander.


This shows they have little or no respect for the King or His Kingdom.  What must go through someone’s mind when they deliberately do things to damage the Kingdom of God? To bring conflict instead of peace, to destroy the unity of the brethren, to invite the contempt of the world when they see the infighting, anger and bitterness, assuring that unsaved people continue in disrespect for our King and His Kingdom, and that they will continue to resist His authority as illegitimate, and remain unsaved.

VIII. Do business until I come  Jesus “I must be about my Father’s business.”

If we are going to call ourselves Christians, we need to get with the program:

To show up faithfully to demonstrate our love and worship Him

To give careful dedication to the teaching of His Word

To be determined to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

To be afraid to do anything to damage the relationship of love and respect with a brother or sister in Christ, or to hinder the ministry of a local church

To have a profound concern that nothing be done to stumble unbelievers and keep them from coming to faith in Christ in His Kingdom

To seek to be a blessing to God and to other people in everything we do.

Conclusions 

I would be terrified to say the words, “We will not have this one reign over us.”
or “It appears to me that you are an unreasonable ruler, so I decided to disregard your instructions and just do things my own way.”

Jesus is the best King possible.  His Kingdom is the most important and essential institution on the planet, responsible for the salvation of the human race.

We throw off His reign and trifle with the integrity of His Kingdom at our own peril, and to the eternal detriment of others.

2000 Winters

Two thousand winters ago
My father huddled in his smokey hut
hungry, shaking with cold
The wailing of his miserable children
filling the close, stinking air
and remembering the captives
taken south to Rome,
fearing that same fate for himself --
fearing also the night, the animals, 
the demons.

Fifteen hundred winters ago
Rome — that tyrant Rome
had collapsed under the weight
of her sins and the judgment
of One who had been reigning 
in spite of her, 
for five hundred years.
My father came to understand
that, though a king himself,
there was a greater King
to whom he owed allegiance.
He was far from perfect
but he believed.
And Arthur
— as a king under the Law of the King
— decided that the power
under his stewardship
had been given him
for the purpose
of protecting the weak.

A thousand winters ago
my father stood
a sword in his hand
a fire in his heart
and a cross on his armor
and denied the hordes of Allah
passage into Christian Europe.
He was far from perfect
but God used him
to protect a people
who sought to live under his Law.

Five hundred winters ago
my father nailed truth
to the door of falsehood
and every blow of the hammer
shook the foundation of religious tyranny.
Luther was far from perfect
but God used him to begin
to set the people free
and they built a civilization
on the truth of God
which saw dictator
after king
after potentate
bow the knee to his Law.

That civilization conquered disease
vanquished tyrants
fed the world
produced prosperity
and launched into space.
And even more important,
that civilization sent missionaries
to the ends of the earth.

That civilization has stood firm
in every storm of every kind
as long as we have obeyed
the Law of the King.
And it all began
two thousand winters ago.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
let earth receive her King --

or else --

Or else
five hundred winters from now
    — or five winters, perhaps --
my son will huddle in his smokey hut
hungry, shaking with cold
and fearing the night
fearing the animals
and the demons. 
Copyright2000 James E. Boggan