LUKE 12:41-48 STEWARDS WILL GIVE ACCOUNT2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 12:41-48 Stewards Will Give Account

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013.

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Well, this morning we are finishing up the Faithful and Wise Stewards series. And we're looking at this passage where Jesus has been giving this illustration that was on top of his message to the disciples for them to be ready for his return. Now, the overview of this illustration is that there is a master who is going away.

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And he entrusts his servants with things to do and he gives them the resources to do it, the instruction for how to do it while he is awake.

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And then the master will return. And when he returns, well, his response to the steward will be dependent upon how the stewards did with what they were given to do. And so there will be rewards for those stewards who are faithful. But there will also be penalty for the unfaithfulness that is found in the stewards.

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Now as we've been looking at this topic, the Faithful and Wise Steward series, we've been realizing that this is not just a general illustration, but the reality is Jesus is talking to us and saying, you are a steward. And what does that mean? Well, we've been defining the steward as a servant entrusted with resources and instruction to accomplish the master's will.

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The reality that you are a steward means that God has given to you resources. He's given to you and entrusted to you things in your life, and He's given you along with that instruction for you to be able to walk in the way that He has called you to. You are a servant, which means that you have a master, which means that you are accountable to Him,

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for what you do and how you use the resources that He has given to you.

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We started out this series looking at this reality that you are a steward and some of the resources that God has entrusted to you. And I'm just going to hit these real quick to give you a quick glimpse and remind you about some of the things that have been entrusted to you. So we could look at finances, that the money that you have, the resources financially that you have are given to you by God.

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Yeah, you might work hard for that, but it's God who ultimately gives you those resources. And so they are to be used...

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In the way that God instructs you to use those finances. And you really, as a steward, you don't have the freedom to just do whatever you want. Of course, he does want you to enjoy your life. And so there's part of the resources that he gives you that are portioned to that. But it all needs to be submitted to him in how he wants you to use those resources. Okay.

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We also saw that your words are a powerful tool, powerful instrument, and that we will be held accountable for our words. And so he has entrusted you with the ability to speak, with the ability to communicate, and the way that you use that is something of stewardship.

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We also saw that spiritual gifts, every believer in Jesus is gifted supernaturally to minister to the body of Christ. And that is a matter of stewardship for us, that we are to use those gifts in order to be good stewards. We also saw the ministry has been given to us, the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of one to another.

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And so that is a matter of stewardship as well and to be faithful in the ministry that God has called us to. For those of you who have children, God has made you a steward of those children and you are responsible for how you raise them, what you teach them and how you teach them to walk with him.

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For those who have authority, be it in the home or in the workplace or in the community, wherever it might be, that authority is given by God, the scripture teaches. And so we understand that that is a resource that is given by the Lord to be used in the way that he instructs. And again, we'll be held accountable for how we use that authority. We also saw that we are entrusted with our own heart.

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That we are to guard our heart because out of it flows all the issues of life. And so God has entrusted you with your heart and the most important thing for you is to make sure that you keep your heart close to the Lord. That you keep walking with the Lord. And then there's many more things that we could look at so we just summarize it with everything.

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Really everything about you that makes you who you are, everything that you have, everything that you are, it all is given to you by God. And as a result, it's a matter of stewardship. And so your time, your energy, your strength, all of your resources, everything that you have, it really belongs to God and it was given to you by God. And so as we talk about being a steward,

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We recognize that these things given to us by God, now, well, it has a meaning. It has impact for us because now we need to hear from God about His will and how He wants us to walk in all of these various aspects of our life. So we talked about the need to prepare yourself a few weeks back because if you're going to accomplish what God wants you to accomplish, you're going to need to prepare yourself and get ready for those things that He has set before you.

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We talked about the need to finish well, because it's very easy to start well, but to remain faithful to the end, well, it takes some endurance. It takes some determination and some continuing on, even in the midst of difficulty. And so you're a steward, and you need to prepare, you need to finish well. Now, as we finish up the series this morning, I would ask you the question, how important is this? This idea of being a steward,

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This idea of all of these resources that are entrusted to you. How important is this? What is at stake as we talk about all of these things? Well, the message title this morning is, Stewards Will Give Accounts.

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Stewards will give account. And the idea here, just as in the illustration Jesus is giving, the master returns and then he deals with the stewards according to how faithful they were. In the same way, we will stand before the Lord one day. We refer to it as the Bema Seat or the Bema Seat sometimes it's pronounced. Which is the judgment seat of Christ mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5.10.

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There the Apostle Paul says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Here the Apostle Paul tells us, we will stand before God. There is a judgment seat that you and I as believers, we will stand before the Lord at the judgment seat.

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Now this judgment seat is not the great white throne judgment that we saw last week where those who are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. This is a different kind of judgment seat. It's a judgment seat. The word judgment really refers to like a judge in a competition. So it's, you know, you're standing before the judge of the competition to receive the rewards. And these rewards, as we stand before the Lord...

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Paul says it's going to be according to what you have done. And so your work, your life, your stewardship will be evaluated and what you receive will be appropriate to how you measured out in your level of stewardship. But notice it's interesting, Paul says there in 2 Corinthians 5.10, he says, "...according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

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And so the judgment seat of Christ evaluates not just the good, but also the bad. And that's an interesting aspect that we don't often talk about, but we will see very clearly in the passage this morning. So you and I as God's stewards will give account. So there's three possibilities when we stand before the Lord. And we'll see those as our three points today. Three possibilities of what you might receive when you stand before the Lord.

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For the first one, we're here in Luke chapter 12, looking at verse 43 through 44. And that is that faithful stewards receive reward. When you stand before Jesus, you have the potential, the possibility to receive reward if you have been faithful. Look at verse 43 once again. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

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truly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. And here in this illustration, Jesus says when the master comes and the servant is found doing what he was called to do, that servant will be blessed. That servant will be rewarded with authority. He says, truly he will make him ruler over all that he has. Now as we talk about

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giving account and reward this morning. I want to make sure that it's clear. There's a difference between a gift and a reward. A gift is given, it's not earned. A reward is earned. A gift is not earned, a reward is earned. And when it comes to salvation, we understand the scriptures are very clear. Salvation is a gift, it is not earned.

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It's by grace that you've been saved. Not of works, Paul says, lest anyone should boast. And so as we talk about this, we're talking about not earning your salvation, but once you've been saved...

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You've received the grace of God and been forgiven of your sin. Then, as James tells us, faith without works is dead. That we also understand that there goes along with that a transformation of us that brings upon us good works. And we live to accomplish those things that God has set before us. It's kind of like, not exactly, but since we're looking at this illustration of a steward, it's kind of like you're unqualified...

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As a steward. But God hired you anyways. That's the grace. That's salvation. He hired you anyways. Even though you're not qualified. But now that you've been hired. Now you're expected to perform appropriately. And do the job that he has set before you. And so there's this difference between gift and reward. Salvation is a gift. You don't earn it. But beyond that.

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Even though you've been given the promise of eternal life, what we're looking at here is an understanding that there's more to eternity than just getting there. But there's actually reward that you can receive by being faithful here. And so Jesus says, blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. He's talking about the steward that is caught in the act of

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doing what he was called to do, doing what he was supposed to do, faithful to do what he was instructed to do. And that servant that is found faithful will be rewarded. Jesus said he'll be made ruler over all that he has. Now this is an illustration. And in this illustration, we're looking at you and I. We are the stewards. Jesus is your master. He is returning soon.

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Or you will soon go to be with him. Either way, you will stand before him very soon. And the point here is that faithfulness will be rewarded. And what will our reward be for faithfulness? In this illustration, Jesus says this servant will be made ruler over everything. Now, that's an illustration, so it's appropriate, you know, for the steward to be given greater authority.

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I would not suggest to say that this is meaning that you will rule over the universe. The Bible does say we will rule and reign with Christ, but that's together, corporately, we rule and reign with Christ. But I would say that it is a reward. And so in the same way as a steward would be blessed and excited about the reward to be promoted to rule over everything that the master has, in the same way, you and I,

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We'll be very excited about this reward. For right now, there's a lot that we do not understand about eternity. Remember the Apostle Paul experienced a glimpse of eternity and he said, it's not lawful for me to even talk about it because the words just don't even come close to doing it justice. We don't understand a whole lot about eternity. We know that it's real.

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We know that it's promised. We have some glorious promises about eternity. But there's a lot of details that we just don't know. That we're not capable of handling the details. That we're not capable of handling and comprehending the glory that it will be. In the same way, just talking about eternity, we can't fully comprehend it. We know that it's there. In the same way, we know that we will receive rewards for faithfulness.

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But we can't fully comprehend what those are and what that will mean for us in eternity. But that doesn't mean we should kind of just forget about them because what we can see throughout the scriptures, great promises of reward and encouragement to strive for those rewards.

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I want to run through a couple examples for you of some of the different things that the Bible lays ahead of us and encourages us to strive for. And so we can talk about rewards and look at the different places where rewards are mentioned in the scriptures. In Revelation chapter 22 verse 12, Jesus says, "...behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work."

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Jesus says, I'm coming quickly. I'm going to be there soon. And again, either he's coming or we're going to be with him. But he says, my reward is with me. This word reward, again, it's wages or hire. It's something that is earned. And so he says, I'm coming quickly and I'm going to be giving what you have earned. Now again, salvation is not the subject here. This is not earned.

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But what is earned is reward. And it's a personal reward because he says to give to everyone according to his work. And so to each one individually proportional to their work, proportional to their faithfulness in what they have earned. And so Jesus said there is a reward. I'm bringing it with me and it will be according to your own personal work.

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We also see reward mentioned by Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 regarding persecution. He says, when you're persecuted for my name's sake, you can take joy because you have a reward in heaven. That's Matthew 5.12. In Matthew 10.41, he talks about a reward for hospitality. That is when you host someone who's doing the work of the Lord, you receive that person's reward.

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Not that you steal it from them, but you also get reward in the same way that they do. When you host a prophet, you receive a prophet's reward. When you provide for, minister to, and meet the needs of those who are doing the work of God, you receive the reward in the same way that they do, is what Jesus says in Matthew 10, 41. In Luke chapter 6, verse 35, Jesus says, you will receive a reward for loving your enemies. If you love your enemies...

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He says there's a reward in store for you. There's a reward promised to you. Those are a couple examples of different rewards that are mentioned by the Lord in the scriptures. But we also have another type of thing mentioned, which is treasure. Now, treasure might be the same thing as rewards. It might be just the same thing talked about in a different way. Again, there's a lot of details that we don't know.

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But treasure is mentioned in Matthew chapter 19 verse 21. Jesus talks about the treasure that is laid aside or stored up when you give to the poor. Remember that guy who wanted to come to Jesus? He was a rich man. He said, what must I do to be saved? And Jesus said, hey, you're doing pretty good. You're pretty close. But here's what you need to do. Sell everything you got. Give to the poor. And you'll have treasure in heaven. And then come follow me.

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And he went away sad because he had great possessions. But Jesus said, look, give to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven. And you'll be storing up. There'll be this treasure awaiting you in eternity. So Matthew chapter 19 verse 21 or Luke 12, 33, there's this treasure that also is possible in eternity. We also know that God keeps an eternal account for us.

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Again, this might be the same as rewards. It might be a little bit different. We don't have all the exact details. But we know that there is this accounting that God keeps for eternity. In Luke chapter 14, Jesus talks about providing food for those who are not able to pay you back. He's talking about throwing a feast. And hey, it's really easy to throw a feast for your friends who can later on throw you a feast and pay you back.

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But he says, if you throw a feast for the people who aren't able to pay you back, well, it will be accounted to you. It will be added to your account in eternity. He said that you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. And so there will be an accounting. It is added to your account and you will be repaid in eternity. Also, you might remember in Philippians 4.17, the Apostle Paul is thanking the Philippians for their gift.

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And he's encouraging them to keep on giving, but he says, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. And so the fruit of Paul's ministry is abounding to their account as they're giving. And so there's this accounting that is going on, this account that is being kept track of for eternity. Another type of reward that we see in the scripture is crowns.

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We see crowns mentioned several times throughout the scriptures. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul talks about the imperishable crown. The crown that lasts, that endures, that does not perish. In 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 8, Paul talks about the crown of righteousness. And he says it's the crown of righteousness that is for all who have loved God.

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His appearing. All who are longing for and looking for Jesus' appearing, they receive the crown of righteousness. We also see the crown of life in James chapter 1 verse 12, which is given to those who endure temptation. Being faithful in the midst of temptation earns you the crown of life. And then you have the crown of glory in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 4.

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Peter says, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. And this is a crown that is given for faithful service. So when we talk about rewards of eternity, the rewards are talked about in general. Treasures are talked about. An account is talked about. And crowns are talked about. We don't know exactly the details of what this will look like, but we can see quite clearly they're promised.

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And we're encouraged to earn these rewards and to strive for them. And so as we consider this first point this morning, the question for you and I is, will you be rewarded? Will you be rewarded when you stand before the Lord? He says, I'm coming quickly. Either He's going to come back or you're going to go to be with Him. But one way or another, you're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Will you be rewarded?

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I like what John Corson says about this thought. He says, Folks, heavenly rewards are not going to be little medals to pin on our shirts or flimsy trophies to put on our shelves. No, our rewards will affect our very beings for all of eternity. The rewards that we receive will impact our eternal existence. They will have a substantial part of our existence.

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And so these rewards will be valuable. They will be meaningful and they will be eternal. Will you be rewarded when you stand before the Lord? And how do you be rewarded? Well, as we've been talking about, the way that you be rewarded is to be caught in the act. To be caught in the act of doing what it is that He has called you to do.

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And so first of all, we need to understand what God's will is. And as we saw a few weeks back, looking at the will of God, we're foolish if we do not know God's will for our lives. We're foolish if we're not certain of where we are in the midst of God's will. Are we right where He wants us to be? If you don't know that, you're foolish, the scriptures say. You need to know. Why? Well, because eternity has rewards in store for those who are faithful to

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And it will impact your eternity, how faithful you are to what God has called you to do. And so you need to know that you're in the center of God's will. So that you experience the fullness of what He has preserved and set aside for you by your faithfulness to what He's called you to do. Be faithful and keep on being faithful and overcome the obstacles.

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And the temptations and the traps and the difficulties. And be faithful until the end. That you receive the reward that is for the faithful stewards. So that's one option. When you stand before the Lord, you can receive reward for faithfulness. But that's not the only option. Not only can you receive reward for faithfulness. But point number two. We also see that disobedient stewards are punished.

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You can be rewarded for faithfulness or you can be rewarded for disobedience. What is at stake here as we talk about these things? Why is this idea of stewardship so critical, so important? Why have we spent the last seven weeks talking about this? Well, because faithful stewards are rewarded, but disobedient stewards are punished. Look with me now at verse 45 and 46. It says,

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But if that servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming and begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he's not looking for him and at an hour when he's not aware and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Here Jesus is talking about a servant that is not faithful that is in fact disobedient.

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This servant is caught in the act, but not of being faithful, but of beating the servants he was supposed to be feeding and consuming the things that he was supposed to be distributing. And that steward will be caught off guard when the master comes. He says the master will come on a day when he's not looking for him. And so he will be caught in the act of

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Because he's not expecting the master to return. And this steward will receive a reward. What is the reward? Well, he says at the end of verse 46, he will be cut in two and given the portion with the unbelievers. Now again, following this illustration, you are the steward. Jesus is your master. He is returning soon or you will soon be with him. And here's what you need to know.

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disobedience will be punished. Disobedience will be punished. What will that punishment be? Well, Matthew Henry puts it this way. He says, if a man professing to be the servant of Christ be an unbeliever, covetous, ambitious, or a lover of pleasure, he will be cut off. Those who choose the world for their portion in this life

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will have hell for their portion in the other life. Suddenly this becomes very serious. This is not just about experiencing reward, but this is about experiencing eternity. The servant who is not expecting the master's return and began to become very disobedient, rebellious against the master, is cut off and is given the portion with unbelievers. That is,

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The punishment that is given to unbelievers. This servant is not just unfaithful. They didn't just fall short on what the master had called them to do. But they turned around and did the opposite of what the master had called them to do. It's active disobedience. And there's a distinction. We'll look at it in the next point as well. On the one hand you have a servant who does not do what they are called to do.

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That's not what we're talking about here. On the other hand, you have the servant who is doing what they are called not to do. So one thing is, God says do this and then you don't fulfill it. But the other thing is, God says don't do this and you do it anyways. That active disobedience is what we're talking about here in this steward. And disobedience, well it earns the reward of punishment.

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This steward, he says, is beating instead of feeding. He beats the male and the female servants. He's supposed to be feeding them at the appropriate times as the master instructed. But instead he's beating the servants. He's indulging instead of distributing. He's eating and drinking and being drunk. He's over partaking for himself and he's not giving out as the master had instructed him to. And so what is his reward? What is his portion?

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Well, Jesus said he's cut in two and he's given the portion with unbelievers. Now, just to make sure this is clear, because I know some people will struggle with this. This is something that is consistent throughout Jesus' teaching and specifically many of his parables. We see the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth mentioned throughout many of Jesus' parables. In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is giving the parable of the steward that we're reading here in Luke chapter 12.

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It's the same illustration, same parable, but written in Matthew's words. And in Matthew chapter 24, we see this. He says, if that evil servant says in his heart, my master's delaying is coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards, then the master of the house will come on a day when he's not looking for him, at an hour he's not aware of, and will cut him in two,

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And appoints him his portion with the hypocrites or the unbelievers. But then it goes on to say, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And so if there's any kind of confusion about what this portion is that this steward is given, Matthew goes on to clarify, the portion that this steward is given includes weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's the idea of torment, punishment, the idea of hell.

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We see this not just in Matthew 24, but also in Matthew chapter 25. Remember the parable of the talents? Where similar type of situation. The master is going away. He gives his servants certain amounts of money. They're to put it to work in the way that he's instructed. And when he returns, they will give an account. And then the one guy, he was real scared. And so he just buried the money. He didn't invest it. He didn't do anything with it.

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And when the master returned and dealt with that servant, he says, cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And so that servant who did nothing with what was given to him in the parable of the talents, Matthew chapter 25, received the same portion. In Matthew chapter 20, I'm sorry, Matthew chapter 13, you have Jesus talking about the wheat and the tares.

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And as he talks about the wheat and the tares, he talks about the tares, those are weeds essentially, they are gathered up and they're cast into the furnace of fire. And he says there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And so again, he's talking about the wicked and the righteous and the wicked will be gathered up, cast into the fire, there's going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus gives the parable of the dragnet, the net that's drug and then brought up.

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And he tells us in verse 49 of Matthew 13, the angels will come forth, separate the wicked from the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. So this is consistent with Jesus' teachings that he's making a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous receive a reward. The wicked receive a different kind of reward. It's a punishment, a punishment.

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being cast into the fire with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, some of you, you might be a little bit experienced in the Scriptures, and you might be thinking, well, you know, these are parables, and so maybe we can't take them that literally. Maybe that's not exactly what Jesus is saying. So, let me take you to another portion. Would you turn with me to Galatians chapter 5? Galatians chapter 5. We see several times in the Scriptures that

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This idea of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. And this isn't a parable. This is, well, it's straight teaching from the Apostle Paul, but then also from the Lord through the Apostle John in the book of Revelation. The first one, the only one we'll look at, but Galatians chapter 5, Paul says in verse 19,

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Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Of which I tell you beforehand...

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Just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is crucial for us to grasp hold of. Those who practice these things, Paul says, will not inherit the kingdom of God. So that steward who becomes violent and beats the fellow servants and indulges on what he's supposed to distribute...

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gets the same portion as those who practice these things, as what Paul is saying, and they both do not inherit the kingdom of God. Again, the point here is that disobedience, it brings punishment. We talked about the grand idea, what we look forward to hearing, well done, good and faithful servants. And we look forward to that. Hopefully you're working towards that, that you are

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But doing the best that you can to be obedient to the Lord, to walk with Him and be faithful with what He's given to you. But listen, you should not expect to hear those words if you're living in sin, if you're practicing sin. You should not expect to inherit eternity. You should not expect to make it to heaven if you continue to practice sin. Paul says it quite clearly. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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We also have this similar teaching in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. You don't have to turn there, but verse 9 and 10, Paul lists a few things. He says, don't be deceived about this, because we can often be deceived about this. But he says, these kinds of people will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who are living in sin, those who are practicing sin, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. In Revelation chapter 21, verse 7 and 8, the apostle John records for us,

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He who overcomes shall inherit all things. I will be his God. He shall be my son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And so there's this reality that the scripture presents. There is eternity and eternal reward. Eternity

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Is a gift. It's by grace. Salvation is a gift. Those rewards are earned as we serve the Lord with what he's entrusted to us. But if we turn around and live in disobedience. And practice these sinful things. The scripture is very clear. Don't be deceived. You will not inherit the kingdom of God. Disobedient stewards are punished. It's an eternal punishment. It's a final punishment. There's no second chance.

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Once you enter into eternity. And so just as I asked you before if you would be rewarded, I must ask you this morning, when you stand before the Lord, will you be punished? What kind of reward will you receive? Remember Jesus said, to each one according to his work. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, whether good or bad. What kind of reward will you receive? Will you receive punishment as your reward? Because you've

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insisted on continuing on in a lifestyle of sin. I think it's important to consider, as we look at this point, that this is a mirror, not a magnifying glass. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 14, 12. Hang on. In Romans 14, 12, Paul says, So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. That same idea. We're going to stand before God. We're going to give account of

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He says, therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. The idea is this is a mirror. This point is for you to see yourself and evaluate yourself. Not a magnifying glass for you to say, hey, I don't think you're going to make it to heaven, dude. This is for you to evaluate your own heart, your own condition. Because you are going to give an account of yourself to God. So resolve this.

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Not to judge others, but to not hinder them, not put a stumbling block in their path. So judge yourself this morning. Will you be punished when you stand before the Lord? Here's some helpful hints to maybe bring some clarity on whether or not you will receive this punishment. You can consider, do I have a secret life? Do I have things in my life that I don't share with the people around me, with people at church specifically?

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With other Christians? Do I have things that I hide from them, that I keep from them on purpose because I know they would counsel me against those things? If you have a secret life or a secret part, you probably need to do some re-evaluating. You're likely to experience punishment when you stand before God. Another aspect to consider is, are you arranging for sin? Are you making arrangements for

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To be able to continue in sin. To be able to practice sin. That it's not just something that you get caught off guard and fall into. But you're arranging it ahead of time. You're planning. You're preparing. Do you schedule sin? Is it on your calendar? That's a strong indication. There's serious warning signs there. You need to be watching out. Because disobedient stewards are punished.

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Are you practicing sin? And the idea of practicing like you practice for a sport. You're trying to get better at it. Are you working on it? Trying to cover it up better. Trying to hide it better. Trying to make arrangements for it. Trying to keep it from others. You're choosing to live in sin in those conditions. And what's deserved for disobedience is punishment. Now, the good news is you're still here. You're breathing. You have opportunity to repent.

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It's not too late to start being faithful. And you can still receive reward when you stand before the Lord. If you stop living in sin, you turn from sin and you begin to walk in the ways that God has called you to walk. There's still that opportunity. But you must repent. You must turn from sin. You must not allow it to continue. So when you stand before the Lord, if you're faithful, you'll receive rewards.

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If you're disobedient, you'll receive punishment. But there's a third option. And for that, we're back in Luke chapter 12, verse 47 and 48. And here we learn that unfaithful stewards lose reward. Unfaithful stewards lose reward. Verse 47 says, And that servant who knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes.

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But he who did not know yet committed things deserving of stripes shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. So the third option now, when you stand before the Lord, there's this option as well. Jesus now talks about the steward who didn't live in active disobedience, but also didn't fulfill all that the master had instructed him to do.

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And so he didn't prepare himself or do according to the master's will. This steward is caught in the act and is found being unfaithful. Now again, there's a distinction. We looked at the prior point was doing what you're called not to do. Jesus says, don't do that and you do it anyways. This is the case of Jesus saying, do this, but then you don't complete it. You don't fulfill what he's called you to do.

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And the reward for this is proportional. It's appropriate to, well, the level of understanding that the servant had. If he knew the master's will but didn't do it, Jesus said he'll be beaten with many stripes. But if he didn't know the master's will and didn't do it, he's still deserving of punishment, stripes, but he'll be beaten with few. So following the illustration, again, you are the steward.

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Jesus is your master. He's returning soon or you will soon be with him. What we're learning here is that unfaithfulness will have consequences. And what will those consequences be? Well, I'm not trying to suggest to you that it's beatings. I'm not saying that Jesus is going to beat you when he comes. The beatings are appropriate for the illustration that Jesus is using between this master and steward. But it is an illustration to show us

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Well, something about eternity. So it's not saying that Jesus is going to beat you, but it also doesn't mean that nothing is happening either. It's also meaning he doesn't just shrug it off and say, yeah, oh well, you were unfaithful, no biggie. So what does it mean then? Well, for that, would you turn with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul says,

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He's talking about you and I, the church, believers, as the building of God. And he says in verse 11, he says, So in talking about us as God's building, we understand Jesus is the foundation. And we are built upon him. Our salvation is built upon him. He is the foundation of all that we are. Verse 12,

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Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. So he's going on now. Jesus is the foundation. We are building on top of this foundation. And the point is we're either building with good materials or bad materials. Gold and silver and precious stones, those would be the good materials. Wood, hay, and straw, those would be the materials that don't last very long.

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And you're probably familiar with that if you've ever heard the story of the three little pigs, right? The brick or the stone, that is what endures. That's what lasts. Those are good materials to build with. The point is every one of us is building upon this foundation or upon this life and we are either building with good materials or bad materials. Verse 13, each one's work will become clear for the day will declare it.

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Because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. So we're all building. Jesus is the foundation. We're building upon our lives. We're either using good materials or bad materials. And the type of materials that we'll be using will be revealed on that day when we stand before him to give account. And when we stand to give account before the Lord, our works will be tested by fire, Paul says.

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And the fire will reveal what sort of work it is, what materials we use. Verse 14. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. So if you're faithful, if you use good materials, you do what God has called you to do with what He has entrusted to you, then it will endure and you will receive reward. But if you are not faithful, verse 15. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss.

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But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. And here's the point, verse 15. Some will stand before the Lord to give account, their works will be tested, and all of their work, all that they built in their life, all that they did in their life, will be burned. It will not endure the fire. It will be proven that it was not good building material. And so Jesus, or sorry, Paul says, he will suffer loss.

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And here's the part that really struck me as I was considering this aspect of being a steward. This idea of suffering loss. You don't think about standing before the Lord and that there might be a possibility of suffering loss when you stand before Him. But that's what Paul is saying here. If your work is burned, you will suffer loss. Now, like rewards...

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As I shared at the beginning, we don't know exactly what the rewards are. We know that they are there. They're described. They're promised. They're given to us as encouragement to strive for. But we can't comprehend. We can't grasp the fullness of what that means for us in eternity. In the same way, I would suggest that as we talk about this idea of suffering loss, we can't fully grasp. We can't fully comprehend what that means. Again, I'm

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Not suggesting that Jesus beats you. I don't think that's what Jesus is saying. There is the potential for loss. There is the potential for your work, your life to be burned. The point here that I'm seeking to make, that I think Paul is seeking to make, is that it's going to be meaningful. Whatever that loss is, it's going to be meaningful. You will know. You will notice. You will notice.

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But sometimes Christians know they're not really being faithful in what God has called them to do. But they kind of have the mentality, well, at least I'll make it to heaven. Right? Because that's what Paul says. Yet he himself will be saved, yet so is through fire. So he's not talking about this person losing their salvation. They still make it into eternity. And Christians say, well, hey, as long as I make it to heaven, that's all that matters. That's all that counts. Well, you might feel that way now, right?

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But on that day when you stand before the Lord, Paul says, you will suffer loss if all of your work is burned. That your eternal condition is impacted by your unfaithfulness today. And yet you make it into eternity, but you just kind of barely scrape through. And that impacts your eternity. What does that mean? How does that impact? Well, we don't have all those details. Here's what we know.

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If your work endures, you will receive reward. But if your work is burned, you will suffer loss. And so this morning I would ask, when you stand before the Lord, will you lose your reward? Will you suffer loss? Your eternal condition is affected by your faithfulness as a steward. You are building something on this foundation. But if you're building things that God hasn't called you to build, it's wood, hay, straw,

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Things that will not last. If you're using your energy on things that God hasn't directed you towards. If you're using your finances on things that God hasn't instructed you to. If you are building your life in ways that God has not called you to do so. You might achieve great things in this world. You might become the president or reach the top of the corporate ladder. You might, you know, become...

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incredibly valuable from the world's eyes. But if it's not what God has called you to, you will suffer loss. And so as we wrap up this series of being a steward, being a wise and faithful steward, if you're going to be wise, you're going to be considering what God's will is and what materials you're building with. Because the degree of loss that you experience will be proportionate to

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What has been entrusted to you? There in Luke chapter 12, Jesus says, For to everyone who much is given, from him much will be required. How much have you been given? And the amount that you've been given, well, it demands that that much be required of you. The amount of understanding and the will of God, the amount of resources that God has given to you, what he has entrusted to you, I would even include the blessings of living in

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A nation where we have the freedom to worship God, to follow God. We've been given much. And so much will be required of us. And we're going to stand before the Lord. Which of these three will you be? Rewarded? Punished? Or will you suffer loss? It's not too late to start being faithful. But we need to start. We need to take this seriously and recognize we are stewards. We have a great need to hear from God. His will and His plan for your life.

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So that we can walk in that and be faithful to Him. To receive the reward. That will be worth it. Whatever it is, whatever it looks like, it will be worth it. And if we don't receive those rewards, we'll know. And we will suffer loss. And if you're the one who's disobedient, that you're arranging for sin, that you've got this practice, this continuing ongoing thing in your life, take heed. Watch out.

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Because Jesus is coming at a time when you don't expect. And there's punishment for those who continue in disobedience. Let's pray. Lord, as we consider the idea of being a steward, we understand, Lord, that there's a great, great accountability here. That we will stand before you one day. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be faithful and wise stewards.

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Lord, that we would know your will and that we would be faithful to walk in it and to overcome all obstacles and things that the enemy might use to trip us up, that the world would use to distract us. Lord, that we would be faithful until the end to walk in the way that you've called us to walk, to live and to serve in the way that you've called us to. Lord, I pray for each one of us here. Lord, whether we've been walking faithful or not, that we would start today.

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to be faithful, that we would commit ourselves to you once again to be faithful, to walk uprightly, to walk in obedience, to seek you and live for your glory. And Lord, we look forward to that day when we stand before you. I pray that you would help us to live in such a way that we would be able to hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant. Lord, that we might receive the reward that you desire to give us. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

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We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.