Shalom,
Let’s be found as obedient and faithful servants who wholeheartedly seek God’s will in everything we do!
Today’s sermon has a theme “How Our Heart Responds to the Lord’s Trust” taken from Luke 19:11-28. This story is preceded by the story of Jesus coming to Zacchaeus’ home where salvation took place (vv. 1-10).
While Jesus was still at Zacchaeus’ home, he told a parable of the minas (v.11), so He was still talking about money. A mina was a monetary unit worth one hundred denarii or a worker’s one-hundred- day wage (cf. Matthew 20:2). The parable is about a noble man who went to a distant country to be appointed as king. Before leaving, he gave ten minas to his ten servants, saying “Do business till I come.” It clearly shows there was an instruction which was based on trust. This parable is quite similar to another parable in Matthew 25:14-30 which speaks about the Heavenly Kingdom that was likened to a man who, before going on a journey, called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. Although the amount of money used in this parable is greater (one talent—worth one thousand denarii), these two parables have the same significance: the masters’ trust in their servants.
In short, what did the third servant do? He kept one mina in a handkerchief, meaning he didn’t put the money to work with an excuse of fearing his master. He seemed to have a deep respect for his master, but what he said afterward proved what was in his heart (v. 21). Verse 14 tells us there was hatred: “But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” Yet, the coronation went on then he returned home and made a business settlement with his servants. The Bible doesn’t mention the third servant’s interaction with the people who hated the noble man; however, his words indicated his dislike of his master.
This story teaches us a lesson on how our heart should respond to the Lord’s trust.
- Remove hatred from our heart when receiving the Lord’s
Why did the noble man’s fellow citizens hate him and refuse him to be their king? Why did the third servant say to his master, “you are an austere man”? The cause of their hatred wasn’t stated clearly, so it means they premised their hatred on assumptions. An assumption is a willingness to accept something as true. If Jesus was likened to the master, it was no wonder that “when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”” (v. 7).
In our daily life, we may be easily tempted to dislike someone simply because of their appearance or manner or our assumption provoked by viral malicious gossip or hoax. Honestly, it also happens in our ministry that we are prone to make assumptions without any proof, resulting in hatred toward our fellow ministers.
What’s the result of receiving the Lord’s trust while in hatred? 1 John 2:11 says, “But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
And what’s the consequence of serving the Lord when still living in darkness? He makes himself a murderer who has no eternal life (1 John 3:15). The gospel of Matthew writes that a useless servant is to be thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30) which is perdition.
Introspection: What is our heart’s attitude in serving the Lord? Is our ministry contaminated with antipathetic feeling to other ministers as the result of others’ bad influence or our wrong assumption? Remember, we, indeed, have a sinful nature but let’s not indulge into sinful practices. Rather, let’s turn to God and repent so that He helps us. We ourselves know our hearts whether we now dislike or even hate someone. Stop it right away and repent!
- Don’t make our hearts the highest authority in making a decision!
The people and the third servant objected to the noble man out of hatred in their hearts. In other words, they made their hearts the highest authority, rather than their master’s will.
Why can’t we make our hearts the highest authority? Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things … I, the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
Scripture gives many examples of the heart’s attitude toward the Lord’s trust. Some of them are:
- God told Jonah to go to Nineveh; nevertheless, following his heart, he went to Tarshish instead although he had to pay for a ticket (Jonah 1:2-3). Fortunately, God helped him after he repented and paid the price—being swallowed by a huge fish (Jonah 2).
- When Joseph was still a teenager God had gifted him with dreams which he always shared with his father and brothers (Genesis 37:5). This caused his brothers to hate him even more that he was thrown into a dry pit before being pulled out and sold to the traders (v. 24,28). Did he insist on telling his dreams at the time? No. He was anguished and pleaded with his brothers (Genesis 42:21). What happened to him was according to God’s will as evidenced by the following fact that “the Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did” (Genesis 39:2). However, a critical question might arise as to why being with God, Joseph was then seduced and slandered by Potiphar’s wife, and even put in prison on account of false evidence of his garment (v. 13). But the Lord continued to be with him (v. 21). How was his feeling while in prison? He felt so sad and wretched that he wanted to get out (Genesis 40:14). However, what happened to him was God’s will.
- Let’s not presume that when we walk with God, everything will run smoothly and no problem will come our way. How will our heart’s attitude be when facing a test and what will come out of our mouth? According to Matthew 15:11 it’s not what goes into our mouth that defiles us, but we are defiled by the words that come out of our mouth, springing from the We can honor God with our lips but our heart is actually far from Him (v. 8).
- Peter had adamantly declared that his heart wouldn’t be shaken although he had to die for his Teacher (Matthew 26:33). But what happened later? He denied Jesus out of fear (vv. 70- 74).
Therefore, when receiving the Lord’s trust, don’t make our hearts the highest authority; instead put His will above all. Why? As long as we live in the flesh, the graphic line of our spirituality can be up and down. It all depends on how well we know the Lord and His will that can be found in the Bible. Have we diligently read and meditated on the word of God?
Introspection: Do youngsters prioritize God’s will in choosing their spouse? Do you seek a rich, highly-educated, beautiful and charming one regardless of God’s desire for you to have a fellow believer as your spouse? How about married couples? Are spouses able to accept their mate’s weaknesses and hold on to God’s word in Matthew 19:6 “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”? Quarrels in a marriage often happen because each of them succumbs to their hearts’ will not to tolerate their spouse’s character and attitude. Remember that so long as each spouse prioritizes God’s will, He is more than able to change a heart however hard it is, so that they are able to accept and love their respective spouses. Now the question is whether we are willing to suffer in obeying His will or we choose comfort although being apart from Him as we disobey Him?
- Don’t become idle, but work on the minas entrusted to you!
A trustworthy servant won’t be stagnant or stand idly by in his comfort zone. Rather, he will make every effort to carry out his task and multiply the minas, lest he will be regarded as wicked and lazy servant (Matthew 25:26).
Introspection: What can we do during this prolonged pandemic? Doing nothing and giving in to the ordeals that ensue? Or wisely benefiting from the technology to remain active in our worship and ministry? We can surely ask the Holy Spirit to help us make the minas entrusted to us thriving because He is a dynamic Spirit. Start off working on the smallest (one mina) and then make a progress, imparting others! Don’t imitate the wicked servant who aggressively lashed out at and criticized his master while contributing nothing!
In working on the ministry entrusted by the Lord, we should keep our heart from hatred and disappointment toward the Lord. On top of that, let’s make His will the highest authority, not our heart, because our heart can be easily influenced by mood and others’ opinions. Further, when we succeed in the ministry, we shouldn’t stop or do nothing for feeling complacent. Keep on passionately working until the Lord acknowledges us good and faithful servants, entitled to enter His Kingdom to enjoy eternal happiness with our Master, Jesus Christ! Amen.