The Lord Has Blessed You
Text: Luke 19:12-27 Speaker: Pastor Matthew Ude Festival: Graduation Passages: Luke 19:12-27
Full Service Video
Luke 19:12-27
12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Footnotes
[1] 19:13
[2] 19:13
[3] 19:17
(ESV)
As a kid there is nothing better than Christmas morning. You wake up. You eat Christmas bread, and you open your gifts. The only thing more exciting than opening your gifts is using your gifts, getting to play with them. How frustrating it is if you get a gift that you can’t actually use.
The Lord our God has showered you with gifts. He doesn’t want those gifts to sit on the shelf. Go out and use them, explore creation, build bridges, create beauty, entertain, farm, serve, protect. Whatever gifts and talents God has given you use them to the glory of God.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;
The Lord our God has many names. Each of these names describes to us various aspects of his being. He is just. He is holy. He is strength. One of his primary names and characteristic is giver, for he is gracious.
Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
The Lord created and gave to us the earth and all that is in it. He gave us life and still preserves it. Above all he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This text is a parable about the giving nature of our Lord. The primary point of this parable is not what the servants do with their minas but what the nobleman does. The parable begins with the giving of gifts, from the lord to his servants.
The first two servants imitate their lord. They also give and use their gifts. In the giving of their gifts, they are blessed, and the gifts do not decrease but increase. Notice the response of the first two servants. When they return they do not say to the master, “look, I have earned ten/five more minas.” They correctly say to him, “look your mina has earned ten/five more minas.” It is not about who they are, it’s about who their lord is. They are successful not because of their cunning or wisdom or strength, but because of the gifts and blessing of their lord.
You have been given gifts from the Lord, each and every one of you. The Lord blessed you with talents at your birth and has blessed you with more gifts in the years since. Your teachers and parents have labored to teach you how to use these gifts. You have grown both in wisdom and the knowledge of the Lord. Now go out and use those gifts.
Two of the servants follow their lord’s example, but there is discord in the parable. There is one who is not like his lord. He does not value his gift. He does not use it or share it. He hides his gift. In so doing he not only shows his disdain for the gift, but also for the giver.
To us the response of the master to this third servant seems way over the top, but we have to view it as we do all of scripture in the light of Christ’s cross. God gave his only son. Jesus gave himself into death for our sins. This is the primary gift of the Lord. This man so despised the gift of Lord that he hide it away. He buried not just his talents but Christ himself and his grace.
Do not despise the gift of your Lord. Do not despise the talents he has given you. Do not despise the person he has made you. Above all do not despise and treat with contempt the forgiveness and grace of the Lord which he has given to you though his son Jesus Christ.
The Lord has also given and given generously to each of you.
One mina was about three months’ salary. On the low end we could call it about $10,000. $10,000 maybe isn’t a huge amount but it is still a generous gift. What is more Jesus makes it clear that if we use it wisely, he will bless us and give us more.
to everyone who has will be given
The greatest gift you have received is Christ himself. We don’t have to be afraid of our God or of his gifts. When we mess up, we can trust in God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can go forward in our life and use the gifts he has given to us without fear.
We might worry that we are more like that third servant. Wasteful of our lives and the grace that God has given to us. This gift also the Lord has given to us that whoever repents of their sins and believes in Jesus will be forgiven and saved.
Psalm 47:5 God has gone up with a shout, The LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
During the Exodus, God lead his people as a pillar of cloud. Whenever it was time for the people to pack camp and begin to move, this cloud which symbolized God’s presence, would go up from the earth. At the same time trumpets would sound forth. When the people saw the cloud ascend and heard the trumpet they knew it was no longer time to sit still. Now was the time to move. Sometimes they surged forth into battle. Sometimes they moved from place to place getting closer to their goal of the promised land.
Psalm 47 reminds us that the signal has been given. God has gone up before you. Jesus has ascended into heaven. The trumpet has been blown. At his ascension he showered you, his people, with his gifts. This ascension, this going up of the Lord, is a call for us also to go forward.
Christ has gone up before you and showered you with his blessings. Go forward in his grace and in his strength. Do not be afraid to use the gifts he has given. Do not despise his grace and gifts. The Lord has ascended before you. Amen