Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

This is the edited version of Jim Wattles' study outline from last Thursday. Enjoy and be blessed!

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

Are you prepared for Christ's return?
Are you serving God?
Are you doing all you can with the opportunities placed in front of you?
Are you prepared to be a bondservant?
Will you hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” when you go meet the Lord?

My lesson tonight is to see how prepared we are for Christ's return and if we are truly serving God in Christ's absence..

The Boy Scout motto I learned as a young boy was “Be Prepared” and also the Boy Scout Code of:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

1 Peter 4:10-11 tells us that each of us should use whatever gifts we have received from God for two purposes: to serve others and bring praise to God. What gifts has God given us? He has given us each different gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 tells us about the gifts God gives us. We are all different people, but we have the same God. He may give us gifts of wisdom; knowledge; faith; healing; prophesy; tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Each gift he distributes individually in accordance with his perfect plan for our lives.

What has God called me to do?
Romans 12:1 tells us “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Romans 12:3-8 says, “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” 4 “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” 6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith”; 7 “or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching”; 8 “he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

As a young police officer, I was taught to be always alert -- to always expect the unexpected. Hours of boredom would lead to inattentiveness and that's when something would happen. The old saying in law enforcement was the job was 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. You would find yourself driving around for hours, in the early morning hours, waiting for a hot call to come out over the radio or looking for something suspicious. There would barely be another car on the road, so you would do business checks and “shake a few doors” for something to do. You would meet up with other officers from the next precinct and exchange a few words or maybe meet for coffee and a donut to pass some more time...but then it happened. The radio alert tone would sound, and your heart immediately started beating faster in anticipation. The dispatcher would come out with, “Stickup in Progress”, or “Officer Needs Assistance” and you would automatically speed up your patrol car while not yet knowing in which direction you may or may not be heading. If the call was an officer calling for help -- even on the other side of town -- everybody went until told to stop. When your heart is racing you are prepared. Police officers, firefighters and servicemen learn to work under those conditions and they learn to react to the extra adrenaline flowing in their veins. They are prepared for those occasions through training and cops live for that feeling.

The Bible also provides warnings for us.......

Matthew 24 tells us of Christ's return and warns us of several things:
· 4 “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
· 6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
· 11 “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”
· 13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
· 34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
· 42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
· 44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

We don't know when Jesus will return. We don't know when “the church” will be raptured and we don't want those long hours, days, months and years to make us complacent. We need to be prepared at every moment for that heart-pumping call to service that awaits us -- the return of Jesus Christ.

Most Christians believe that this period we are in now is where God is “building his church”. This comes before the “rapture” of God's church. We all want to be part of the “rapture” and not get “left behind” to face the 7 years of tribulation....but we must be ready! God gives us all the opportunity to be ready, but we must first get ready and then stay ready.

Matthew 25:14-33 is the Parable of the Talents and is preceded by Matthew 25:13 which says, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

The important lesson in this verse is we need to be prepared for the return of our Savior. As this parable demonstrates, God will give all his servants opportunities to serve him, according to His will and plan. We need to stay alert and recognize these opportunities that He places in front of us. Just like a police officer who recognizes when something doesn't seem right, and goes to check it out, we need to learn to recognize when God has put something on our heart, or in our lives, that He feels needs our attention.

In this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a man traveling to a far country and has called his servants to serve and earn for him while he is away on his long trip. This is referring to the time Jesus is in Heaven and we await His return, and He wants us to serve and earn for Him before He returns. It is what we each do with ourselves during the time of this absence, that this parable teaches us.

Each servant was given talents according to the abilities their master had of them. A talent was approximately what a man would earn in 20 years. It is also the origin of the English word meaning “gift or skill”. The first man received 5 talents; the second 2 talents and the third received 1 talent. The New International Version describes talents as “bags of gold”.

When the master returned from his long trip, (Jesus' return) the first servant who had received five talents arrived and showed his master (his lord..little “l”) he now had ten talents and received the congratulations of, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” The second servant came forward and showed he now had four talents and received the same congratulations of, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

The third servant came before his master and gave excuses and criticized his master, admitting to him that he had taken the one talent given him and buried it in the ground, thinking it was insignificant and that he could do nothing with it. 24 “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. The master responded, 26 “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” 30 “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

None of these three men were told what to do when given their respective talents, but two of the men knew they were to serve their master and earn for him during his absence. They earned the respect of their master and were rewarded. The third was chastised and had the little he was given, and had buried, taken from him. It is not how much the men earned in the master's absence, but their willingness to serve and earn for their master.

The Parable of the Minas in Luke 19:11-17 is very similar, but they are not the same lesson. Warren Wiersbe gave a quick explanation of the difference. In the Parable of the Pounds, ten servants received the same amount to earn with, but all received different rewards. In the Parable of the Talents, each servant received different amounts to earn with, but the same reward, the approval and joy of the Lord. If the servant who was a good earner was only given one talent, he may feel disgraced and a servant with minimal ability to earn, that was given many talents may become overburdened with the responsibility given to him. God gives us only the amount He knows we can each handle.

God has given us all something to work with (usually more than we deserve) and He wants to see how we use it for His glory. Are we using what he has given to each of us to help others further His kingdom? We need to seek His direction and use His power at every turn...and He will willingly give us what we need to accomplish His will. If we ask for something (pray) from God and we don't seem to receive it, then we don't need it.

God assigns work and opportunities according to our abilities and it should be everyone's privilege to serve God and multiply his rewards. We all can earn rewards for God by serving Him in ways that please Him -- and Him only. We should not do one thing to please ourselves that does not also please God.

The late Pastor Charles Spurgeon had some thoughts on service to God.
“If God comes forth in wondrous grace, to call any of us to work in His vineyard, it is not because He needs us, but because we need Him; He does not set up to work because He needs workers, but because we need work...” and “We are not saved by service, but we are saved to service.”


Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” We are not saved by our “works”, but John 14:6 tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

James 2:14 says, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Rock and roller Ricky Nelson performed in a 1971 comeback concert in Madison Square Garden. Those attending had come to hear him sing his well known hit songs from years before, like his only #1 pop song, “Poor Little Fool” and other top ten hits like “Hello Mary Lou” and “Be-Bop Baby.” However, Ricky, who now wanted to be called “Rick”, wanted to move on and he sang some songs he had recently written. Ricky was booed by the crowd and he later wrote a song based on that experience called “Garden Party” where the chorus line was, “You see, ya can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.” Ricky did something that wasn't popular, but he did what he wanted to do. There are times when doing something for God is not going to make you popular or famous, but you have to do it anyway. It may be done in solitude and you may not receive any apparent appreciation for what you do, but your rewards will come in Heaven. I'm pretty sure Ricky Nelson didn't do what he did for God (his father Ozzie was an atheist).

We all need to recognize the importance of serving God. When given the opportunity, we all need to do what is necessary to accomplish our task and glorify Him. We have been told in this parable that He will not give us something to do that is beyond our abilities, so we shouldn't shun the opportunity to reward our God. Even though we might not be a success in the eyes of other men, we need to take those opportunities to please and glorify God.

We should alao strive to be bondservants. The term "bondservant" appears several times in the Bible. In James 1:1, James was called a “bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The word bondservant comes from the Greek word “dulos” and referred to slaves or as one who gives himself up to another's will; those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men; someone devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests.

God doesn't have slaves. God forces no man to follow and obey Him and each of us is free to ignore God and look away from Him. He has rather given us the choice. Being a bondservant to God is our choice.

Being a bondservant of Christ would mean utter devotion to God, His word and His will. Being a bondservant means not letting sin get you down; if you fall, you get up and seek forgiveness. We should all strive to be that bondservant, but we all have to realize we will all fall short. God has put a wall in front of us and he has given us all the opportunity to get over that wall. He has given us the tools we need to climb that wall to be with Him. He has given some of us ropes; to others ladders; and maybe to others a springboard, but we never seem to be able to get to the top. Why? Because God wants us to keep asking Him for help (praying) and seeking His word (Bible) for assistance. God doesn't want us to stop trying to get to the top of the wall and be with Him, but to strive to reach the top everyday. Our final reward will come when Jesus returns and we kneel before Him on the top of that wall in Heaven.

We also need to remember that being a Christian may not be popular. Being obedient and faithful is not always the thing that makes you popular or a person with lots of friends, but we know it is our first priority to serve God and not our fellow man. By serving God obediently and faithfully, we will serve our fellow man in ways that are unimagined.

God selected numerous persons to carry out what needed to be done. Not all were willing servants. Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” and was hesitant to accept what God had called him for. He was doubtful in his own abilities and told the Lord in Jeremiah 1:6, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” but in Jeremiah 1:4-5 we are told that God knew Jeremiah “before you were born I sanctified you and ordained you as a prophet.” God gave Jeremiah three instructions in Jeremiah 1:7-8 telling him, “For you shall go to all whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, “ says the Lord.” In your heart, the Holy Spirit will tell us where to go, what to say and will take away the fear to say it."

A famous quote learned by many officers on the Denver Police Department came from retired Division Chief Jerry Kennedy. Back in the late 60's and early 70's, every young officer heard these quotes in the police academy and many more times over his career. DC Kennedy's unique voice made these quotes much imitated by officers. It was, “Do something, something happens. Do nothing, nothing happens”, and “Yeah...that was a great case yesterday, but what are you gonna do for me today?” DC Kennedy used those quotes to tell young cops to go out and do something...anything was better than doing nothing. By going out and doing something, you were being a good cop; by going out and doing nothing, you were a bad cop – a ROD. (Retired On Duty). DC Kennedy never let you stand in the glow of a big arrest. Once he congratulated you on the arrest, it was immediately, “Now what are you going to do tomorrow?” He wanted us to go out and do something everyday!

Turning back to the Boy Scouts, their slogan is, “Do a Good Turn Daily.” I believe God wants the same thing. He wants us doing something for Him everyday. It could be hard work, or it could be fun, or even dangerous, but we need to do those things for Him -- in His glory.

You can serve in many ways: evangelize; minister; teach; donate; pray; help those in need…you will know if you are serving the way God has called on you. This lesson together was placed on my heart by the Holy Spirit and I recognized this opportunity to serve. I asked Him to help me as I prepared it and I have asked Him to help me present it to you. It was done with what God has given to me. He has given me this task and he wants me to complete it to the best of my abilities....and He reaps the benefits from it (and so do I). The Holy Spirit was present in me with ideas, showing me resources and preparing and giving this message. I did as was suggested to Jeremiah: Go, speak and don't be afraid!

Four years ago, I would never have even imagined being in front of a group of people and giving a Bible lesson. Is it my calling? I can be assured it must be, or I wouldn't have ever volunteered to do this. I know the Holy Spirit told me to stand up and serve!

When Jesus Christ returns, it will be a time of “separation” (Matthew 25:32). The wise will be separated from the foolish; the faithful will be separated from the unfaithful and the sheep (blessed) will be separated from the goats (cursed). Are you ready? Are you doing all you can to serve the Lord? By Jesus not returning at this very moment, it gives us all more opportunities to know Him and to serve Him, but if Jesus returned at this very moment, will you be standing on top of that wall in front of Him and hearing your rewards, or will you be slipping back down to earth waiting for those seven agonizing years of tribulation?

Remember, Christians don't need to fear punishment for our sins in Heaven, as Christ died for our sins on the cross, but we can look forward to our rewards in Heaven. In Hebrews 8:12, the Lord tells us, “For I will be merciful to their righteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He will forget all our sins, but remember all our good deeds and service to those of us faithful to Him and we will receive our crowns: the “Imperishable Crown”, the “Crown of Rejoicing”, the “Crown of Righteousness”, the “Crown of Glory” and “the Crown of Life.”

Is the Holy Spirit calling on you to serve?

Who among you is being called to serve?

Are you serving God?

Step up...look for, listen for and sense the Holy Spirit as it urges you to serve the Lord and you will be able to look forward to standing before the Lord and hearing these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of YOUR LORD.” (Capital L)