Roll Up Your Sleeves

I Thessalonians 5: 1 – 11
Matthew 25: 14 – 30

In our first text this morning, Paul is tackling an issue which most theologians have debated for years – eschatology – the study of the end times – the second coming of Jesus Christ.

There have been people who would point to this date on the calendar, or that date and claim that this was the day of Christ’s return… only to be disappointed when it didn’t happen. Even as recently as New Year’s Day 2000… Y2K came and went without the trumpet sounding… without the Eastern Sky splitting… and without the return of Jesus at that moment. This only serves to emphasize that we really do not know the day or the hour of HIS return, but we are told to be ready, because the day of the Lord will come suddenly.

The word picture that Paul employs here is very vivid, and very violent – he writes that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.

The whole point of Paul’s writing here is that he encourages us to be vigilant… be watchful… be sober… He tells the church at Thessaloniki, and the church at New Bedford, that God has not destined us for wrath, but for salvation through Jesus Christ.

The enemy of our souls would like nothing better than to see God’s children paralyzed with fear with the idea that God is a big, mean old tough guy who only exists to punish his children… not so, says the Lord… God is love… and perfect love casts out all fear…

Romans 8: 1 and 2 echo this point… there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit…

What people do not realize is that God is not angry with you! God loves you so much that he sent his son, Jesus, so that if you believe in him you will not perish, but have everlasting life… God did not send his son into the world to condemn us, but that we might be saved through him! Share the good news! Don’t keep quiet about it! Spread it around! Get ready!

Jesus shared a parable with his disciples one day, telling them not only to get ready, but to use the talents and gifts that God gave them. A businessman was going on a trip. Before he left for his trip, he called three of his household servants together, and gave them each a special assignment. He gave one servant 10 talents… he gave another servant 5 talents… and he gave yet another servant 1 talent. His instructions were to let the talents work… invest the talents, and when he came back from his trip he would see what were the results of those investments. The first servant invested the 10 talents and brought back 20. The second servant also invested his 5 talents and brought back 10. The third servant did something entirely different. He took his talent and buried it in the basement of the house.

When the master came back and called his servants into the boardroom, he was very pleased with the two servants who invested their talents wisely. The third servant was another story. The master looked at his talent, which had been buried, and read him the Riot Act… “You could have at least put the money in the bank and allowed it to accrue interest… you didn’t even do that! Instead, you buried your talent, and didn’t even use it.” He then took the talent from that servant, and gave it to the servant who had been given 10 talents and returned 20.

This point needs to be made… God gives us gifts… God gives us talents… not for our own benefit… the businessman in the parable wasn’t handing out talents simply for the benefit of his servants. He wanted to see how these three servants were going to invest and use the talents. He was concerned with one thing… what would his investment yield?

Jesus also pointed out what would happen if you do not use the talents you were given… One day Jesus was walking along with his disciples when he passed a fig tree. Fig trees are commonplace in the Mediterannean, and so that fact alone was of little consequence. Jesus was apparently hungry, and he wanted a fig. When he saw that this particular fig tree had not borne fruit, he pointed to the tree and said “You have not borne fruit, and you never will again!”
Paul gives us a catalog of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in
I Corinthians 11: 1 – 11… He points out first that nobody can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit… so the gifts in this catalog can only be yours if you have a specific relationship… if you have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Then he points out that there are different kinds of gifts… different talents that we are given… but the same spirit… and the same Lord. Wisdom… Word of Knowledge… Faith… Healing… Miraculous Powers… Prophecy… Discernment of Spirits… Speaking in Tongues… Interpretation of Tongues… and the same Holy Spirit gives these gifts to each one as he determines… so I might not have the same gifts of the Holy Spirit that you have, but the overall message to each of us is simple… be ready to use the gifts that God has given you… let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works, and give God all the glory.

The last verse of Chapter 11 is an interesting springboard from the catalog of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, to the most famous chapter in the whole Bible… the Love chapter… Paul looks back in this verse, points to each of these gifts, and says “earnestly desire these gifts… but there is something more… and now I will show you the most excellent way…”

What Paul does in the Love chapter is point back again at the gifts, and says that each of the gifts mentioned in the previous chapter… prophecy… healing… faith… miracles… tongues… is meaningless and worthless without the greatest gift… Love.

It had been at least 20 years since I had done any painting or sketching, and yet, while I was away at on retreat one year ago, God rekindled my love for painting, and who knows how that gift may one day be used to share Jesus.

I Timothy 1:6 gives us a kick-start… “rekindle the gift within you…” God’s word tells us that it is not too late to use your gifts to be a blessing to others… it’s not too late to bear fruit and allow God to minister to others through you.

Galatians 6:9 gives us even more encouragement… “Let us not be weary in doing good…”

Yes, it is often the easiest thing, when you are discouraged, when you are tired, when you feel as if all hope is gone, to throw in the towel. My pastor and mentor, Dr. Ken Steigler has often encouraged me by telling me that when I feel like throwing in the towel, I am to pick up the towel, drape it over my arm, and serve.

My word of encouragement for you today is simply this… be ready to use the talents that God gave you, whatever they may be, because he has given you those talents to be a blessing to those people around you… will the master give you even more talents for having borne much fruit, or will the master point at you and say “You haven’t borne any fruit, and you never will again…”

Get ready… be ready… for the day of the Lord… Get ready to use your gifts… roll up your sleeves… put the serving towel over your arm… the King is coming!

I Bid You Peace..
Dr. Ken+

Fear Not - Shalom!

Isaiah 41: 8 – 16

One of my favorite speeches of all time is Russell Conwell’s classic of encouragement and wisdom, Acres of Diamonds. It is about a wealthy farmer who was one of the richest men in all of Africa, who did not know that those shiny looking rocks that were peppering his property were actually diamonds.

Conwell was pointing to four weapons of mass destruction which the enemy of our souls uses against the Body of Christ in an attempt to render us ineffective in our work for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Body of Christ is being attacked by four heavy guns… four spirits which have been latching onto God’s people for years, and in some instances, stopping us dead in our tracks. These are spirits straight from the enemies’ camp, and we have the authority in the Name of Jesus to roll these attacks and render them ineffective. The true identity of these attacking spirits are Lack, Limitation, Hindrance, and Devouring. And while these spirits are pretty daunting we need to remember that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

Martin Luther was trying to tell us something when he wrote his famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God…” He was telling us that God has already given his children the victory over the forces of darkness…
Where there is lack… God has no lack…
Where there is limitation… God is limitless…
Where there is hindrance… God has no hindrance…
Where the enemy devours… God is the God of abundance!

The enemy would attack us with the Spirit of Lack…. The enemy wants us to believe that there is just not enough… That nothing we can do will ever be enough to make ends meet… The enemy is waiting in the wings to see the church fall on its face… God’s word says something different… Paul writes “I know my God will provide all your needs according to his riches in Glory by Christ Jesus!

The enemy would attack us with the Spirit of Limitation… The enemy wants us to believe that we will never be able to do enough – that because of whatever situation we face, we will never amount to anything… that we are fighting a losing battle… The Word of God says something different… “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…”

The enemy would attack us with the Spirit of Hindrance… The enemy has tried to stop God’s faithful people in so many ways… sickness, injury, “accident”, financial trouble, strife…” The Great “I AM” says something different… “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength… they will mount up with wings as eagles… they will run and not grow weary… they will walk and not faint.” “He sent his word and healed them…” “By the stripes of Jesus we are healed!”

The enemy would attack us with the Spirit of Devouring…. The enemy seeks to rob, to kill, to destroy the things that God’s people have… our finances… our health… our families… our marriages… our relationships…our children… our parents…
The promise that the enemy does not want you to know is that God says himself that He WILL REBUKE THE DEVOURER FOR OUR SAKES!

The Greatest weapon that the enemy has to level against the church is the spirit of fear… Evangelist and Pastor Dwight Thompson uses a very revealing acrostic for the word FEAR…
FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.

A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing…
We have on our side…
God himself (His word says “Fear not, for I am with you…)
We have the Word of God… We have his faithful promises…
We have the Blood of Christ… Without the shedding of his blood there is no remission for our sin…
We have the Cross of Christ…
We have the Resurrection of the Carpenter…
That is resurrection power!
HE is our shield and our great reward!

God’s word is simple and straightforward about paralyzing fear… This week I had a day in which the Spirit of Fear seemed to be encroaching on all sides, and it seemed as if there were no way out of the fear that was looming all around me… and it reminded me of an experience I had many years ago one autumn day walking along the beach at LaJolla, California. It was during a very difficult time in my life many years ago. I had taken a moment to sit on the rocks and watch the surf roll in and crash on the breakers below… as I was watching the seagulls rolling and playing above me, and the seals frolicking on the beach below me, I could faintly hear the voice of one speaking through the crashing waves, “fear not… fear not… fear not…”

God’s word has specific guidelines for navigating through rough waters and uncertain times.

II Timothy 3: 16 – 17 “All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the Man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work…”

II Timothy 1:7 “God did not give us a spirit of fear (or timidity), but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

Isaiah 26: 3 “You will keep him in peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you…”
And these words from Jesus himself…

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.

Jesus invites us to come to his table today…
If you are anguished… he says “come”
If you are troubled… he says “come”
If you are careworn… he says “come”
If you are feeling condemned… he says “come”
If you are in pain… he says “come”
Whoever you are…
Where-ever you are in your journey of faith…
You are welcomed at his table…

I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken+