Sermon - Matthew 24:45-51 - Be Faithful - Littleby Baptist Church - November 10, 2019

We ended last week with these verses.

Matthew 24:42-44

“⁴² Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The Lord is coming, and we need to be prepared for it. We will not know the day or the hour, we do not know when our days will be up, we do not know who is watching, and we do not know what in our lives will try to knock Jesus off of the throne of our hearts.

We need to remain faithful! We need to stay alert! We need to make our hearts, minds, and every part of our lives His.

Psalm 25:4

“Make your ways know to me, Lord; teach me your paths.”

If we are following Jesus, if we are living for Him, being missionaries in our personal mission fields, being who He created us to be, we will be walking along His path. If we are doing these things, we will not be caught unaware by the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We will not fall away or be led astray.

If we are living for Jesus, we will be ready when our time comes.

Matthew 24:45-51

“⁴⁵ “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

In these verses we see a tale of two servants. There is one who does what he is supposed to do and another who does not. Both of these servants have been put in charge of their master’s household, they have been given some level of responsibility.

A lot of times when we look at these verses, we see a faithful follower of Jesus and we see a non-believer. Here is the thing though, Jesus calls both of them servants. An argument can be made that both of these servants were followers of Jesus. One of them remained faithful and did what he was supposed to do. The other fell short, was tempted by the things of the world and lost his way. One did as He was commanded, the other did not.

Let’s start with the faithful servant.

Matthew 24:45-47

“⁴⁵ “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

The faithful servant is taking care of the tasks given to him. He is caring for those around him, feeds those under his charge, and is right there with them working to get the job done. Does not seem that far-fetched does it? Do you expect your co-workers to do their job so that when everyone pulls their weight the desired result is achieved? Of course, we do. Do we expect that children and grandchildren will complete the chores that they need to do? Absolutely.

God expects the same from His followers. We are to carry out the mission He has given us, we are to remain faithful.

What does it mean to remain faithful?

Micah 6:8

“Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

As faithful servants of the One True God we are to act justly, love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with our God. We will not be successful in this every day, it is not humanly possible, but our desire should be to live it to the best of our ability.

How do we live being a faithful servant?

A few verses we are familiar with.

Mark 12:29-31

“²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ³¹ The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

We need to love God with all that we are. Every ounce of our being needs to be poured out to Him. Jesus needs to be first in our lives! A faithful servant of Jesus is going to Love Others, which can be seen in many ways.

Acts 1:8

“⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

If we are Loving Others, we will be witnessing to them.

Matthew 28:18-20

“¹⁸ Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

A faithful servant will continue to spread the Word of God and help others to learn it and live it.

James 1:27

“²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

A faithful servant who is loving others, will lookout for those in need and care for those who cannot care for themselves.

Ephesians 2:8-10

“⁸ For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹ not from works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

A faithful servant is going to do what they were created to do, which starts first and foremost with Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Everything else flows from that Love. It will look different for each one of us as we were created with different skills and given different gifts, but at the core of it we will be sharing God’s amazing gift of grace with others. We will be caring for those in need, and we will be serving others.

The faithful servant of Jesus’ day did what he was supposed to do. Faithful servants today need to continue serving God with all they have.

Matthew 24:48-51

“⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The wicked or evil servant is one who is trapped by their love of the things of this world. They may look the part, they may say what is needed, and they may even love God, but not with ALL of their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

A wicked or evil servant is not necessarily a ‘bad person’, but one who is not following Jesus. They have fallen short of the Glory of God but have either not repented of their ways or have yet to choose to follow Jesus.

Jesus tells us in verse 50 that the wicked servant does not see the signs of his master’s return, which leads to him not being prepared when the time comes. They may be seeking all the world has to offer. They may be doing a lot of good things, but never repented, and never choose to follow Jesus.

Sadly, for those who are not following Jesus as commanded, judgement is coming. A judgement that will be eternal, a judgment that there is no reprieve from, a judgement that means an eternity without Jesus. Imagine finally realizing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords with every ounce of your being and not being able to be with Him. Talk about agony. That is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.

If you are a follower of Jesus this morning, I want to remind you to Live Your Faith. Learn what the Bible tells you about being a faithful servant. Love God with all that you are. Love Others by sharing the gift of Grace you have been given and care for those in need.

If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior this morning and you are ready to ask for forgiveness for your sins and to put your trust in Him. I want to encourage you to come forward during our final song. I would love to talk and pray with you.

May the Lord Bless you abundantly!

Robert