Transcription

Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Jeff:
Today’s the day, Chris. It is. It’s everybody’s favorite day.

Chris:
Oh, I see where you’re going with this.

Jeff:
Yes. It’s what made Chris mad today, or this week. This week. It doesn’t have to be today. It was today. It can be today. It usually is today. It doesn’t take you long. What made Chris mad 15 minutes ago?

Chris:
It was on the way in. It was on the way in. So here it is. And by the way, this is really simple. It’s going to be quick. I think that I think I’d like to think that every person in Michigan who has been a part of Michigan for a long time agrees with what I’m about to say. Because I don’t just get mad for me, Jeff.

Jeff:
It’s, it’s, you are vicariously angry for the rest of us. For the rest of us. Yes. Thank you for all the little people.

Chris:
Okay. Here’s the deal. Okay. So today was really the first snow covering of the year.

Jeff:
Oh yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Here’s all of our listeners know what day this is. We’re recording. That’s right.

Chris:
The ones from Michigan. Yeah. Yeah. So the question is why? Do people all of a sudden drive like they have never seen snow before in their lives?

Jeff:
Yeah, they forgot what it’s like to drive on snow. Come on, people!

Chris:
It’s like, think about it. By the way, the roads weren’t even snowy. No. No, it was like we had to brush off our cars, right? But the snow on the ground melted.

Jeff:
What did you have? You had about maybe two inches?

Chris:
Yeah, maybe on my car. Maybe an inch, inch and a half on my car, right? Or my truck.

Jeff:
Yeah, so for all of our Southern listeners, they’re like, oh my goodness, you had to shut down the whole town. We’re like, no, that’s nothing.

Chris:
But I was literally on the way here, and first of all, there was a fender bender. And I was like, and there was like, backed up, you know, backed up cars on my street. I had a hard time even getting out of the sub. And I was like, what’s going on? And by the way, the reason why is because our sub dangerously goes down into the main throwaway. So it’s like, so it’s like you’re driving and all of a sudden there’s like a hill. And it goes into that, which I don’t know why that is. That’s a horrible system. But anyway, this guy must have just slid or something, whatever. But I’m just thinking to myself like, guys, come on, man. It’s every year. Like we all know how to do this. And yet people just, I remember I was behind this guy in the right lane and he was turning right into this gas station at the speed of a glacier. It was unbelievable. Yes. And there’s no snow on the ground, Jeff. It’s just wet. I know, I know. And he’s moving like it’s ice. And I’m just like, I’m thinking to myself, guys, come on, man. This is so irritating. I’m so angry.

Jeff:
I was driving a couple of weeks ago and a guy was doing that, just barely moving. Barely moving. And I’m behind him. And so I’m yelling. And when I pulled up next to him, I yelled, it’s the one on the right. pedal on the right mix and go. He looks at me, of course his window is up, and he just waved and smiled and I’m like, I am such a bad Christian. I don’t know what happens. I lose my sanctification when I’m in the wheel of my car.

Chris:
It’s amazing how if you see a person and they just give you like a wave like, my bad, everything is okay then. At that point, everything’s okay. You’re like, you stinkin’, and then he gives you, oh my bad, and you’re like, oh, it’s okay.

Jeff:
Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But it really is. It’s the pedal on the right that makes it go. If you just push the pedal on the right, it’ll go. It’ll go forward. Why are we doing 15 in a 50?

Chris:
Or going three off of a road that’s 45 miles an hour?

Jeff:
Because there’s white stuff out there.

Chris:
I’m telling you what, when that guy took a right into the gas station, there were literally like seven cars had to stop. That’s how long it took this guy to go right.

Jeff:
Well, okay. Well, thank you. Thank you for being irate on behalf of all of us. And if you could fix that problem. So what I’ve decided is I think it’s, we appreciate that you’re angry for us. If you could start fixing some of these things, that would be even better.

Chris:
Everybody listen to the podcast, share the podcast so that everybody could understand.

Jeff:
This would be like a subtle thing. Yes. So all of our passive aggressive listeners can just send this segment to their friends. I’m going to squeeze in. Hey, I thought this would be a good one for you to listen to today. Right. I’m sick to death of people driving so slow in the snow.

Chris:
Not because of the Bible, but because of the snow.

Jeff:
They just send this segment, the first three and a half minutes, four minutes.

Chris:
So listen, I got to squeeze this in. Um, I lived in Atlanta for 10 years and I grew up in Ohio, which was, you know, terrible winters. Yeah. I moved to Missouri for four years in college that had terrible winters. Then I moved to Atlanta and Atlanta. There was hardly any winners. I think I had to like scrape my car off twice. My, my, my windshield. I did with a credit card. because nobody owns any scrapers, right? So that’s, so that’s, there’s the picture there. But I remember being in Atlanta for like, uh, just like three or four months and the winter came and all of a sudden, uh, it was cold out and they canceled everything. They canceled school. But listen to me, Jeff, when I say this, There was not a drop of precipitation anywhere. No snow, no rain. It was just cold. It looked like yesterday.

Jeff:
Yeah. It was chilly.

Chris:
That’s what it looked like. Okay. It was dry as can be. And they canceled everything. And that’s okay.

Jeff:
Slightly above freezing.

Chris:
They, yeah, they have to have snow days or whatever in the South, but here’s what was the kicker. The kicker was they canceled, at the time it was like Southern Bell, it was like AT&T, you know, like DTE, right? Like downtown Atlanta, right? Like we’re talking about like, they canceled work. Now think about how many people are in this sky rise. We’re talking probably millions of dollars in pay, right? And they canceled it.

Jeff:
Because it was chilly.

Chris:
And then I turn on the news and I, back then when people used to watch the news and I, and I said to my wife, I can’t wait to see what they’re going to say about why they canceled. Uh, I want to say Southern bell, Atlanta bell. What was it called back then? I think it was Southern bell. And I said, I can’t believe they canceled that. And so we tuned in and this is what they said. It’s cold out there.

Jeff:
Well, that’s it. That’s it. Yeah. And it was like, was it, was it below freezing?

Chris:
No, it was like 31 degrees.

Jeff:
So yes, it was great, great, great at freezing.

Chris:
But, but it was right at freezing. Wow.

Jeff:
It was hilarious. Well, for us, we’re supposed to go way below freezing in the next several days. Yes.

Chris:
So, and nothing will be canceled.

Jeff:
Yes. Nothing will get canceled. Everybody’s going to go to work. Yup. Because we’re tough. We’ll survive. This is where the men are men. That’s right. And women are too.

Chris:
The women act like men.

Jeff:
That’s right. So here we go. Jesus tells the parable of the king’s 10 servants. This is an interesting parable. Only recorded in Luke. Only in Luke. And so this is Luke chapter 19, verse 11 through 27. The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said, and because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, a nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together 10 of his servants and divided among them 10 pounds of silver, saying, invest this for me while I’m gone. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we do not want him to be our king. After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, Master, I invested your money, made 10 times the original amount. Well done, the king exclaimed. You are a good servant. You’ve been faithful with the little I entrusted you, so you will be governor of 10 cities as your award. The next servant reported, Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount. Well done, the king said. You’ll be governor over five cities. But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, Master, I hid your money, kept it safe. I was afraid because you’re a hard man to deal with. taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant. You wicked servant, the king roared, your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes that what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it. Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, take the money from this servant and give it to the one who has 10 pounds. But Master, they said, he already has 10 pounds. Yes, the king replied, and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king, bring them in and execute them right here in front of me. That’s a tough one. Yeah. That’s, that’s like a, that’s like Jesus only R-rated story right there. Right. They execute it as a PG-13 at least.

Chris:
Yeah. At least. Yeah. Well, it depends if they show it, show the execution or just reference it.

Jeff:
Yeah. Well, if it’s a movie. It was a movie.

Chris:
Yeah. So Holy Cow on some of the really good lessons and some of the harsh warnings. So the good lessons are, you know, we all want to hear the exclamation when we get to heaven, well done, my good and faithful servant. And this is where this comes from, right? Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Jeff:
And, um, it’s one of the places. Yeah. One of the places, Matthew 25 to a cup of cold water, my name, all that kind of stuff.

Chris:
Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, and how many, how many songs have you heard by the way? Uh, well done my good and faithful servant. And, uh, we sing that one worship song. That’s really, uh, current. I think that we sing on Sundays still has that in there. And I think that all of us long to hear that. And then he says, you were given a lot. So therefore I’m going to give you even more. And that’s a, there’s a, there’s a principle there, right?

Jeff:
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of Christians think, well, I’m saved. So that’s all I needed. When I get to heaven, it’s going to be great.” And Jesus is like, yeah, but what did you do with your salvation? What did you do with what I gave you? The expectation is that when he returns, we will have been profitable for his kingdom, not just for ours. He doesn’t forbid his servants from profiting. He doesn’t forbid his servants from doing well for themselves. He just expects them to produce for him too, right? That it’s his king and he’s the king and it’s his kingdom. And he’s expecting not just a moderate return, a significant return, the best return that they can give for him. And he wasn’t frustrated with anybody who brought back an attempt. His frustration wasn’t with the fact that the guy only brought one back. His frustration was he didn’t try at all. You knew I was a hard man and you didn’t do anything. Right? And so I think that this isn’t for salvation. This is because of salvation. This story talking about his kingdom, when he talks about his kingdom, his kingdom is always after salvation. Right? So this story is post salvation because of what Jesus did for you. What have you done with what he gave you?

Chris:
And by the way, have you ever wondered about the other seven servants?

Jeff:
Yeah, yeah. Because it doesn’t mention it. It doesn’t mention it.

Chris:
Yeah. It was just, he was going down the line. The first one had 10, 10 times the amount. Second one had five times the amount. Yeah. Third one was the bad one. Yeah. And then it doesn’t take it from him and give it to the first one. Right. Next. Next. Right. But I guess he doesn’t have to do 10. Right. Because, uh, you know, so I guess there’s an implication there too. Right. Which is like, it sort of leaves you wondering, gee, I wonder, uh, you know, I guess, All of us could be lumped in in the other seven, couldn’t we? Right. Right. So what are you going to do?

Jeff:
Or maybe he put him in teams. And those were the team leaders.

Chris:
Yeah.

Jeff:
Yeah. I don’t know.

Chris:
I’m just. Could be. Yeah. You’re trying to suppose some things. Yeah. Yeah. Could be. Hey, who’s to say there wasn’t teams, the blue team. So, so what other, what other insights can we gain from this? How about the fact that he says these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their King, that’s sort of a thread through the whole thing because he goes off and it says that there were people who hated him. and sent a delegation after him to say, we do not want him to be our king.

Jeff:
Right. Right.

Chris:
And so obviously Jesus is setting up the fact that there are people are going to reject him because he says at the very beginning, the crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to, in other words, for the purpose of, to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would begin right away.

Jeff:
Yeah. I’m going away. Yes. And then he doesn’t say that this guy was not likable. He was saying that his people didn’t want him. Right. Some people. Which is hinting at the fact that he was going to go into Jerusalem and there were going to be a whole bunch of people who rejected him. Right? Because he’s claiming that he’s this king. He’s this nobleman. Yes. Right? He’s a nobleman that will be king. And so he’s sending this message, you know, because they’re thinking still many of his followers are thinking political and he’s trying to let them know this isn’t a political thing. I’m going to go away. right? And when I return, I’ll be the King. He’ll be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords at that point, right? And we already did the book of Revelation. So if you missed that one, go back and find our episodes on Revelation, talking about the King of King and the Lord of Lords and describing the power and majesty that Jesus returns in. But he’s saying he’s going to go away for a while and his followers would need to be faithful and productive during his absence. And then upon his return, Jesus would inaugurate a kingdom more powerful and just than anything that they could expect or imagine, right? So the justice at the end is really sending a message that when I return, there will be all the justice you’re hoping for, right? Because they wanted a political guy that brings justice in the world, all the bad things, and the enemies of the kingdom of God and all this stuff, the enemies of Israel. And so that harshness at the end is just acknowledging the fact that God will bring justice. Right. Right.

Chris:
And, and so, you know, it’s also, there’s another sermon hidden in there somewhere that says that there are always going to be those around you that reject Jesus as King, even today. So there’s, you know, even though that you’re going to be the one that is the servant of God, of the King, there’s gonna be those around who reject him. And what he’s doing is he’s saying, Hey, you’re going to, I’m going to ask you to be faithful and loyal to me, even though that there are those around you that aren’t going to want me as their king. Right. Which is really, you know, by the way, think about that. Think about this. That’s actually a good lesson for all the disciples that were about to suffer persecution. Yeah. Remember? And he says, Peter says, I’ll die for you. And he says, before the rooster crows, you’re going to, you’re going to deny me, which we’re about to read. Right. So, so that, so you could almost apply it there too. Right. Because there’s going to be those around you that don’t want it.

Jeff:
I would also say there’s some secondary lessons in this one. There’s a couple of illustrations where Jesus, or parables, where Jesus tells a story similar to this, where a rich man brings in his servants and he gives one, five talents, one, three talents, one in one talent. There’s a couple of those kinds of stories besides this one. And Jesus continues to reaffirm that God Jesus himself is a good investor, right? That if you take this story and attach it to the other story, he gives one five, one three, and one one. Here he gives them all equal, but the other—and so what he’s doing is he’s looking, who can I trust to invest in? Right. Now I expect all of my servants to provide a return, but what did he do? The one who did bring a great return, He invested more in. He took from the one who didn’t bring any return and gave of that to the one who brought in the best returns. And I think that there is something to be said about the fact that God is an investor. He doesn’t always do what is fair. He does what produces. right? And he invests in those that produce. And I think that there is something to be said about why do some people seem to get all of their prayers answered, and some of us don’t get many of our prayers answered. Or, you know, there’s a lot of reasons for that, but I think one reason is he knows that we can be trusted. And so that’s a big part of that. is, he says, those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. There’s a huge principle there. There’s a lot of people, I was just reading an article about people struggling right now, just coming out of college, being frustrated that they’re not making enough money. And so they have all these work stoppages and all these things of how to get back at your boss for not paying you what you feel like you’re worth or whatever. And I was having a conversation with a young man about this just recently. And I said, listen, it doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing at your level right now. if you demonstrate overtly that you are gonna be faithful and do the thing that your boss knows you hate, and you’re willing to put in the time and you’re willing to put in the effort, you will be rewarded, right? And if not by your boss, by God. And you will grow, you will be rewarded, and it’s the same thing with God. So a lot of people aspire to the top levels of leadership. I had a conversation with somebody about this, aspiring to, I want your job someday, Jeff. I said, well, then you’ve got to go and be willing to clean the toilets like I was. Right. Back when I was your age. That’s what I did. I was the everything else pastor. Were you the everything else pastor?

Chris:
My word. I thought that job would never end.

Jeff:
So I was, you know, I was hired to be the music guy. I was a small church, hired to be a music guy, hired to be the youth pastor. But I was really the guy who mowed the lawn. who cleaned the bathrooms. I remember changing out the urinal cakes, right? Every week, that’s what I did. I was the one who vacuumed and made sure everything was put in place. It got to the point where I did almost everything except balance the books and preach the messages on Sunday, right? And I was, you know, they’re barely getting paid. And I feel like God blesses that kind of willingness to just lean in and be faithful to the little thing. And then the time changes. Things just change. Time changes. God gives you new opportunities. Now, he didn’t raise me up at that church to the next level, but he used that opportunity and he blessed me by moving me to the next thing that he was going to do. And I think if we can just be faithful with the things he’s giving us, and I’m saying that they’re a test, of, man, if I want more, I better be maximizing what he gave me if I want more. Instead, we’re tempted to say, God, give me more, then I’ll be faithful. God, give me more, and then I’ll tithe. God, give me more, and then I’ll do the right thing. And he’s like, no, tithe and do the right thing, and maximize what you have, and then I’ll give you more.

Chris:
And there’s a lesson on the flip side of that, which is if you abuse what you have, or if you take for granted, or you, you know, deal with, I’m trying to think of how to say like in, you know, sin or, you know, or corruption or, you know what I mean? All the blessings that you do have will be taken away from you. Yeah. because you’ve not been faithful. Right. Right. So, so yeah, it’s, it’s definitely a great.

Jeff:
You’ve said many times, I think even on this podcast that one of your great desires of all things is that your family and friends would recognize when it’s all done for you, that you’ve been faithful. Yeah.

Chris:
Yeah. Yeah. I remember being one time at the Georgia Dome and it was promise keepers back in the day. And there was 60,000 people there. And I remember, you know, the coach, you remember coach? He got up there leading the promise keepers movement. And he said, if you could have somebody around, you tell you one thing about you at the end of your life, what would it be? And we went around, you know, he said, break up into groups and talk. So my pastor goes, I think, I think, I think I want to be known as a great evangelist. And I was like, yeah, that’s really good. And then our worship leader said, I want to be known as a great worship leader. And I thought to myself, even at the time, I remember thinking to myself, those are great things, but it doesn’t seem big enough. It doesn’t seem encapsulating enough. And I thought and thought and thought, and then finally it got to me. And I said, I just want to be found faithful at the end of my life. I want people to look back and say he was faithful in every role that God gave him. And then, uh, and then they, you know, they broke, we got back together and coach said, well, I don’t know what, you know, answer you gave, but we sat down with Billy Graham and we asked him and then he played a video and then Billy Graham’s up there. And he says, I, at the end of my life, I want to be found faithful. And I was like, yes. It’s you and Billy Graham. I was like, I nailed it.

Jeff:
And humble. You wanted to be humble too, right? You want to be faithful and humble.

Chris:
That’s right. That’s right. But I was so, I was so, I just remember thinking to myself, yes, I nailed it. Because, because what other compliment is better than that? Yeah. because it encapsulates every part of your life. You were faithful as a husband, you were faithful as a father, you were faithful as a pastor, you were faithful as a servant, as a Christian, as a, right? I mean, faithfulness is, uh, you know, and, and I’ll tell you what, there’s a lot of people around me who went into ministry with me and I’m sure just like you, right? that have not made it. Because ministry’s tough. It’s a tough gig, man. It is really tough.

Jeff:
So it takes grit. If you’re going to be faithful, you’ve got to have some grit. If you’re going to be faithful in this context, it takes diligence, it takes focus, it takes a willingness to to invest, an investment requires a certain amount of risk, right? There’s so many elements to this version of faithfulness. It’s not faithfulness just sitting around and behaving yourself, right? It’s faithfulness with action, right? And there’s something to it. There’s a character component to this that I think that he’s also expecting from us. So certainly God wants a return on his investment in us and he deserves it. I can tell you this, in 75 or a hundred years from now, I’m going to be more satisfied with the investments I made for his kingdom than I am with my investments for my retirement fund. Now, both are necessary, but I can tell you which one’s going to matter a hundred years from now. Right. Right. And that’s kind of the thing is I just want to be that faithful servant that God goes, all right, there’s a guy I want to invest even more in.

Chris:
Yeah. That’s awesome. Well, that’s a great place to end. And hopefully we will see you on Monday next time on The Bible Guys.