Before we start this morning, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, as we as we study your word this morning, I pray that your spirit would move here among us to convict our hearts and even to save souls. Help us to be attentive to your word. Wipe away the distractions as we mine for the treasures that we find in there. In your son's name we pray. Amen. So for 30 years, one of the men who pioneered technologies behind computerized stock trading stood at the pinnacle of Wall Street. as one of the true giants of the investment management world. And he owned a firm that managed more than 60 billion dollars of investor money. And he had a seemingly foolproof strategy for beating the stock market that was so successful that many people happily invested their entire life savings with him. But almost exactly 10 years ago today, June of 2009, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running the largest and most notorious Ponzi scheme in US history. It was all a lie. The shocking truth is that there was never any investment fund to begin with. All the money he got from his investors, he simply deposited in his bank account. And instead of investing it, Bernie Madoff spent his clients' money on posh Manhattan residences, expensive yachts, custom designer suits, and many other luxuries. The spectacular returns that he was showing were all lies. And instead of becoming a master of investing, Bernie Madoff was a master of faking financial statements and brazenly fooling regulators, auditors, and investors alike. But like every fraudster, eventually, there is a day of reckoning. And in the end, it was his own two sons that turned him in. One actually committed suicide soon after. And it's clear to us, of course, that Bernie Madoff was a fraud who betrayed everyone who trusted him, destroying the lives of thousands. But what we'll see today is that you also, my friends, have been entrusted with an investment from God. And exactly the same way, there will be a day of reckoning when God will ask, where is my return on my investment? And what has God invested in us, you ask? And what returns does he expect from us? To see this, I want you to turn with me in Matthew 25, verse 14. This will be our text this morning, Matthew 25, verse 14. through 30 in the pew Bibles. I believe it's on page 987 Matthew 25. But while you get there, I want to tell you a little bit about this parable to let you know some of the background where we are in this text. So here we find Jesus a few days away from the cross and he has just a few last teachings for his disciples. And he gives these lessons in the form of parables, which are short, memorable stories. They're fictional illustrations, but they convey a spiritual meaning. And the parable I want to look at with you today is famously known as the parable of the talents. But it doesn't stand alone. This parable of the talents is embedded in this series of parables in which Jesus is describing what the kingdom of God will look like following his departure and his resurrection and departure and before his second coming. So he's describing our time. He's describing the time we live in. So that's the context of the series of parables. And let me tell you a little bit about the parable that precedes the one we're looking at. So the one that precedes the one we're looking at has some bearing on how we interpret the parable we're in today. So immediately before our parable in Matthew 25 is the parable of the 10 virgins. And in the parable of the 10 virgins, there are 10 bridesmaids who are waiting for the bridegroom to come pick them up to go to the wedding party. And the bridegroom is greatly delayed, so they're waiting for a long time. But when the bridegroom finally shows up, only five out of those 10 are ready. So five are taken, but the five who were not ready are left behind. And the point of the parable is this, that in the church age, before Christ comes back. There will be people in the church who look like Christians. They look like Christians on the outside, but on the inside, they lack saving faith. There will be false believers in the church. And that's a chilling message for us. But if you're a disciple, and you're listening to Jesus tell his parables, your next question might be this. How do I tell them apart? Is there any way to know the genuine from the frauds? And that's the point of our parable this morning. Jesus will tell us what sets apart the true believers from the frauds. And I'll be honest, Jesus' answer to this question, I think as we go through this, makes me uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable because it forces me to evaluate my life according to the scriptures, against the scriptures. And I think it might make some of you uncomfortable as well. But my prayer this morning is that we would humble ourselves before this text, no matter how difficult it may seem for us. Amen. Let me read it to you. Matthew 25 verses 14 through 30. For it is just like a man about to go on a journey who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one, he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his ability, and he went on his journey. Immediately, the one who had received the five talents went and traded with him and gained five more talents. In the same manner, the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Now, after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled the counts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. Also, the one who had received the two talents came up and said, master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. And the one who also the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, master, I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. But his master answered and said to him, you wicked, lazy slave. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gathered where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank. And on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore, take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the 10 talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Now, for the purpose of giving some structure to our narrative, broken up our parables into three acts, right, which we'll look at in order. So act one, we'll find from verses 14 through 15, and I've entitled this the master entrusts the master entrusts. So let's roll it back to verse 14 for it. And he's talking about the kingdom of heaven for it is just like a man about to go on a journey. who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. I'll stop right there. Now, Jesus' parables, as you know, are metaphorical. And this man who goes on a journey is, of course, clearly representing who? Jesus, right? Jesus, who, in just a few days, will be dying on the cross, be resurrected, and then he will go on a journey. He will depart for heaven. So then who are the slaves? The slaves then are referring to those in the professing church who are waiting for Jesus's return. That's you and me. And by the way, the word slave, if you're wondering about it, is an accurate and biblical way of describing our relationship with Jesus. This description is frequently used in the Bible. We are Jesus's slaves because we have been bought with a what? a price. Right? First Corinthians 6 20. We're bought with a price and that price was the blood of Jesus Christ. So these slaves represent people in the visible church, not necessarily everybody who saved. It's just like the parable of the 10 virgins where there were five who were who were ready and five who weren't. These were people in the visible church could be people in our room today. And the setup is this, Jesus, the master, is going on a long journey, but he's leaving his wealth behind with his slaves. So see that in verse 15. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and he went on his journey. So now you may ask, what does a talent represent? A talent in the vernacular of the age was actually a measure of weight. In this case, some weight of a precious metal, probably either silver or gold. And each talent represents about 75 to 100 pounds. So it's, let's say, 75 to 100 pounds of gold. So right away we know this is an enormous amount of wealth. It's said that a talent will represent what a normal person would make working 20 years of wages. For 20 years of wages. So if you do the math from what we kind of average we make today for 20 years, then a single talent would be in the ballpark of about a million dollars. A single talent is about a million dollars. Even the one who got one talent got a million bucks. And so these are enormous sums of money. And notice that the master isn't giving these out in equal measure, right? He gives them out in proportions to the slaves' what? Abilities. In this parable, each slave has a different level of ability and so therefore is given to be a steward over an amount of talents that is proportional. to that ability. Okay, so what are these talents? What can we understand them to be? Well, let me just say that this is not just a parable about money. There are many reasons for this, including just the sheer amount of wealth being thrown around. Plus, the context of it seems strange if it's talking about money. I think it's unlikely. Instead, it's best to understand the abilities and talents here together as the sum total of all the blessing that God has given you and me on this earth. Some total of all your blessing. So think through with me what these things are. I like to break it down into three categories. These could be your, we could talk about your powers, your privileges, and your possessions. Your powers, your privileges, and your possessions. First, let's talk about your powers. This includes your talents in the traditional meaning of the word talent. And in fact, it might be interesting to you that the English word talent actually was coined from this very parable. If you look up the word talent in a dictionary, you'll see they refer you to Matthew 25. Because this was the traditional understanding of what a talent, what this meant. So what are your abilities? Well, some of you, of course, are great at mechanical things. Some of you are great with computers. Some of you are great with music and art and writing or languages. Or maybe you have a unique skill in being able to make friends easily. Maybe you're a born leader with magnetic personality, or maybe you're great with kids. And of course, we know that when one becomes a Christian, God gives them a spiritual gift as well. And each of us should then think, think of what talents you have. Everybody has something, right? So think about that. Keep that in mind as we go forward. And secondly, your privileges. Here are the things that you are born into, right? So family connections, your friends, the love and nurturing of your mothers. Happy Mother's Day, by the way. your wife or your husband that supports you, the communities that you're a part of. This also includes your health, your physical strength, your intelligence, your bubbly personality or your genetic and ethnic makeup, or the family and country and time you were born in and all the privileges that that conveys. Even your church. and the spiritual blessings that you have because of where you live. So, think with me, what are your privileges before God? And finally, your possessions. These are also given to you by God because of course we know from James 117 that every good thing and perfect gift is from where? From above, right? So, these are physical blessings such as your money, your home, your car, but also your free time. So, think it through. What are the powers and privilege and possessions that God has given you? Now, notice that these things are unequally given out. And Jesus makes no apology for that. And in our culture, the topic of the day is about privilege this and privilege that, right? and how unfair it all is. But I want you to notice that the lots given here are unequal as well. And the slaves had no control over what they got initially, right? What they got, what they started out with was whatever God's pleasure was to give. And it's the same with us. See, our culture seems nowadays to be really concerned about what we start out with. But what we'll see in this parable is that God is not nearly as concerned with what you start out with as what you do with that. But let's see that from Act Two. So Act One was the master entrusts, the master entrusts his treasure. And Act Two is verses 16 through 18, which will entitle the slaves work, the slaves work, verse 16. Look at verse 16. Immediately, the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained five more talents. Stop right there. Okay. So clearly all the slaves know the scoop, right? They know that the master isn't just giving them this money to spend on themselves. The master is giving them to invest it. And it's still the master's money. And while he's gone, his clear expectation is that his slaves would work hard, using their powers, privileges, and possessions to yield a what? A return. A return on the master's investment. And so notice, what does the first slave do? It says he slowly got to work, right? No, he immediately got to work. See, an old pastor of mine used to say that delayed obedience is disobedience, right? That's something for the kids there for Mother's Day. Delayed obedience is disobedience. But not so with this slave. This slave didn't drag his feet or complain or moan or groan. He just got to work. Now, Ask yourself this, when do you think this slave stopped working? Do you think that he just kind of placed a bet on the horse race or maybe found the unicorn stock and just kind of kicked back until the master came back? Of course not. That would have been a perfect recipe for losing it all, right? Instead, the text says that he, what? What did he do? He traded. That means he started businesses. Okay? So, leveraging his five million in seed capital, he bought businesses or set up his own businesses and set up perhaps the logistics and the supply chain, assembly lines, hired employees, managed them, created value, created a marketing plan and executed it. See, this is not easy work. It's a lot of work. This was a faithful slave working hard over a long period of time. A long period of time. And this slave leveraged his God-given powers and privileges and possessions and worked hard from the moment his master left to the moment his master returned. many years later. And the result of his hard work is that he managed to double the master's money from five talents to 10. Incredible, incredible work. It's 100% return for the master. And let's look at what the second slave did in verse 17. Verse 17 says, in the same manner, the one who had received the two talents gained two more. Wow, this slave, it says, went in the same manner, right? Immediately, eagerly, faithfully, and also doubled his money from two million to four million. The same amount of faithful, hard work as the first slave over the same long period of time. And I want you to note carefully what this second slave didn't do. What didn't he do? He didn't whine and complain that he received less than the first slave from the start, did he? He didn't strike and demand that the first slave give him some of his money in the interest of fairness. No, this slave accepted the will of the master and simply got to work. Now, when we bring this back to our own world, we have to ask the question, what would doubling our money look like for us? And what is the kind of return that Jesus is looking for? I think the answer is very easy to understand. In fact, Jesus himself comes right out and tells you what he wants right before he leaves, right? What does he say? Matthew 28, 19, right before he departs on his journey. Matthew 28, 19 says, go therefore and make what? disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. See, that's the return that Jesus is looking for. He wants you to make disciples. It's not money he's looking for. It's disciples. That's the master's order to us, that we are to enlarge his kingdom by making disciples. And in this verse, Jesus told us there's two ways to enlarge his kingdom. If you notice in Matthew 28, it can either enlarge its breadth, that is, you can evangelize and bring people in, or you can enlarge its depth by teaching and growing the disciples that are already there, right? Two ways to enlarge his kingdom. And that is the return that Jesus is looking for from you. So, what does that look like in practice? Well, of course, first, you should be sharing the gospel. Ideally, you should be discipling people on an individual basis. And for mothers, of course, since it's Mother's Day, one of the ways you are called to do that is with your own children, right? So, have you been doing that? But the second thing you can do is to serve in the church. Because discipleship and evangelism, after all, is what we do here as a team, right? And by serving in the church, you participate as an important part of the church's overall mission of evangelism and discipleship. And God, believe me, he sees that. So for example, those who serve perhaps in the nursery are enabling other people to be in the service to be discipled and hear the gospel without distraction, right? And those who host home groups or set up chairs or prepare food are providing a venue in which evangelism and discipleship can take place. So my point is this, when you evangelize or disciple or you serve in the church, if you faithfully put in hard work over a long period of time, you yield a return for your master. That's the kind of return he's looking for. But now we have to look at the third slave, verse 18. Let's look at the third slave. But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. All right, now the first thing to notice from this text is that what did the slave do? He went away. The other people immediately got to work. This slave went away. And this most likely means that he went away from what? From the other disciples. In fact, it's likely that the first two disciples were working together. Maybe they were helping each other out, trading ideas. After all, they share the same master and the same passion and the same goal, right? But the third slave isn't interested in that. What he does is that he buries his master of money and walks away. So then, who does this slave represent? Well, this would be the professing Christian who does not participate in the Great Commission in any meaningful way. He's taken the powers and privileges and possessions that God has given them and buried it in the ground, essentially, for all the good that it's doing Jesus. This is a person that says the right things. He calls Jesus Lord, Master. But the truth is, he's not interested in serving his master at all. And looking at his life, you might observe that the bulk of his time and the bulk of his energy and interest really goes towards his own pursuits and his own leisure and his own entertainment. He's checked out. The question is, will he get away with it? Act three, we'll see. So in the first act, we saw the master in trust. In the second act, we saw the slaves get to work, right? and in this last act, the master returns. The master returns. Verse 19 to 20, now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Verse 20, the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents saying, master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents. You see, the master is back. and he wants his money. He wants to see whether his investment in you has paid off. So the first slave comes up, and the first thing he does is what? He acknowledges the source of his blessing, right? He said, you entrusted five talents to me. See, he rightfully understands that his talents were entrusted to him by the master, not his, but the master's, to do the master's work. And I also think we can read some excitement here in his words. He says, see master, the slave is rightfully excited to be able to deliver to his master a good return. After all, he's worked hard and his conscience is clear. He's fought the good fight and finished the race. So watch this. The master looks at him and he says to the Slave, the words every Christian longs to hear. What is that? Verse 23. His master said to him, what? Well done, good and faithful slave. Well done. Why does the master call the slave good? Because he loved the master. And he demonstrated his love through his immediate and faithful obedience. And his concern all the time that the Master was away was for the Master's interests, not his own. And he was faithful because he did this consistently over a long period of time. So, Calvary, let me ask you now, by this definition, Can you expect to hear the words, well done, good and faithful slave? I think that in our culture, we have been lulled into thinking that God demands little of us, that our God is a God of low expectations. We are not often told, are we, that God requires from us hard work and continual devotion. That's right, not just in your private battle against sin, not just in your personal study of the word, but in working with the powers, privileges, and possessions that the master has given you to yield a return. Disciples for the master. See, this slave did phenomenally well and we see that the master will give him two rewards. Alright. So, first reward, number one, the master says, you were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. So, the first reward is a promotion. a promotion in the next world. See, your reward in the kingdom of heaven in the eternal kingdom will be a Some of you might say work in heaven. That's that doesn't seem like heaven to me, but it will be because God is a creative God, you see, and you are a creative being, aren't you? You've been made to work. But it won't be the frustrating or dangerous or tedious work like here on Earth. It will be an engaging, creative, satisfying, productive, exciting work that will give your life deep purpose and fulfillment. And the more of that type of work you do, the more joyful you will be. The more faithful you are here, the more that will be in the life to come. And note, Five million dollars. Is that a lot of money for us? It's a lot of money for us. And the master, he just dismissively refers to that as a few things, right? Ah, you were faithful with just like a few cents over here. I'm gonna put you in charge of many things. Huge amounts of responsibility and joy. And the second reward we see is this. He tells the slave to enter into the joy of your master. The sense here is to share and your master's happiness. That's what it literally says. You have to understand how shocking of a statement this is. You don't see this to a slave, right? A reasonable reward to a slave might be what? Maybe new clothes or a few extra days off. Slave's just doing his job. But no, the master throws open the doors of his mansion and says to the slave, enter freely. All I have is yours. Relax on the couch. Put your feet up on the furniture. Eat the food in the fridge because it's all yours. All of my joy is now your joy. You think that God is the most joyful being in the universe. That joy will be yours. No sane master would do this. No sane master gives his slave his entire fortune. This reward is wildly out of proportion to what the slave actually provided to the master, right? Five million, a lot of money for us, but to the master is nothing. And the slave goes, here's your reward, billions, here. See, this is describing heaven. This is heaven. Now, let's look at the second servant's reward, verse 22. It says, also, the one who had received two talents came up and said, master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents. Same thing. Now, remember, the slave is bringing less talents than the first slave, okay? First slave brought five million talents, five million dollars, and this slave is only bringing like two million. Is the master going to be angry? Is the master going to be angry? Let's see verse 23. The master said to him, well done, good and faithful slave. You are faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. Now, did you guys notice the difference here between the second slave's reward and the first slave's reward? Did you miss the difference? No, because there is no difference. There's no difference. It's the exact same reward. See, God doesn't have unreasonable expectations, right? He has high expectations. But they're not unreasonable or unrealistic. He fully knows what he gave you to start. And he's only asking for results from you in proportion to his initial investment in you. So the message to us is this, if you're the two-talent guy, you don't have to compare yourself against that five-talent guy. If you're faithful with what you got, then you'll get the exact same reward as, say, Pastor Bobby, or even John MacArthur, or whoever else you look up to as the heroes of your faith. And similarly, if you're the five-talent guy, You better not compare yourself against a two-talent guy and conclude that you're doing pretty well. You better not show up with only two talents, right? If you're the five-talent guy, you better deliver those five talents for God, because Luke 12, 48, from everyone who has been giving much, what? Much will be required. See, God expects from each of us a return proportional to what he's given you individually. Or to put it another way, with great power comes great responsibility. It's not from the Bible. That's from Spider-Man. That one's for free. OK, but what about the one-talent slave? The one-talent slave, maybe he should get a pass. After all, he didn't start out with much. Maybe we should just kind of let him slide, right? Verse 24, and the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, Master, I knew you to be a hard man. Okay, so this is not a good start for the slave. The one talent slave kind of knows he's in trouble. He's seen that the other two slaves deliver their returns, and he knows what he has. So it's not a good start. He has nothing. So here come the rationalizations. Are you ready? First, he calls his master a hard man. This means that a man who is demanding, unreasonable, unrewarding, harsh and unyielding, the kind of man that mistreats his workers, right? Back in verse 24, he says this next, that the master reaps where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. What does this mean? He's saying that this master is one who unjustly profits off of the back of others. Somebody else is sowing and he's reaping, somebody else is scattering the seed and he comes and gathers it up. This is a master who sits idly by while other people do all the work and then he swoops in at the last moment to take all of the profit. I think you hear an incredible amount of resentment in these words. And the slave is saying, why should I work for you? No, really, why should I spend my time, my life, risk my life, enlarging your kingdom? See, this slave has forgotten the love and the generosity of the master. And on top of that, he's forgotten his own identity as a what? slave. A slave who was bought with a price. See, what good is a slave that won't work? That's right. But he continues in verse twenty-five. And I was afraid. And you know what that means? It, it means that he has no love for the master. Because, of course, we know, first John four eighteen And then he says, and I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. See, master, it's really your fault that I didn't yield a return. If only you weren't such a hard, unreasonable man, a demanding, unjust master. What did you want me to do anyways? I only got one talent. You're the one who owes me the apology. You know, I think the slave might have thought this master would accept him anyways, because maybe he presumed on the kindness of the master, because there's no hint of an apology here, right? There's no begging for mercy. It's only excuses and bitterness and insults. Let's see how the master responds to the slave. Verse 26. But the master, his master, answered and said to him, you wicked, lazy, Slave. See, this is exactly the opposite of what? Good and faithful, right? Wicked and lazy. See, you have no love for me. And you're lazy because while my other slaves were working hard, you were just chilling off to the side there. And maybe the slaves saw the two-talent and the five-talent slaves working hard, and he said, ah, I got, they got this. They got this. I'll leave it to the pros. Why tire myself out if they're willing to do the work? Then verse 26, the master says this. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank and on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. In other words, the master said, you're right, I don't deny that I reap where I do not sow and I gather where I scatter no seed. That is how the master works. That is how the kingdom of God grows. The harvest of disciples, listen, is one entirely through you guys, evangelizing, discipling, and serving in the church, right? Jesus isn't here in person doing those things. He has delegated that task to you. So, he doesn't deny that. But here's the real problem though, he says. Here's the real problem. It's not that you were afraid. It's that you were not nearly afraid enough. Because if you were truly afraid, if you had true fear of me, you would have at least put my money in the bank, right? You don't have to do anything if it's in the bank. It just sits there. And then when I come back, I would have at least have some interest. But you didn't even do that. So you know what? Your problem isn't fear. It is wickedness. It is bitterness. It is selfishness and laziness. And by the way, you don't fear me as you ought to. And we see that this is the heart of every false professing Christian. Now, what will the master do with such a person? Just like in the other slaves case, he gives out two punishments, two punishments, the first in verse 28. Therefore, take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have in abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does will be taken away." Do you see how this is the opposite of what happened to the first two servants, who were given unimaginable wealth on top of what they had? On the other hand, this guy had what little he had taken away. My friends, this is the counterintuitive and almost disturbing truth of how the kingdom of God works. Those who are faithful have shown themselves to be faithful. Rewards and responsibilities, both in this life and the next, will multiply without end. And remember, responsibility in this case means joy. But to the lazy and wicked, You're not gonna have any responsibility or fulfillment in the life to come at all. Why? Take a look at the second punishment, verse 30. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I don't think the slave expected this. This is what? What is this? It's hell. This is how Matthew describes hell, a place of conscious, eternal torment, filled only with sorrow and regret and pain. See, the wicked slave, despite calling the Lord Master, was never really saved, was he? Why? Because a slave who won't work isn't a slave at all. And from Jesus' own mouth, the slave that won't work is what? I just want to pause a second and just make sure you understand that we're not talking about working your way to salvation here, right? So, salvation, getting into God's kingdom is by grace, through faith, through belief in Jesus Christ. But it's also true that those who are truly saved, they will be changed. They will be changed. They will be changed from being slaves of what? sin, the slaves of righteousness, the slaves of God. So, if you're not that, you're either one or the other, and if you're not slaves of righteousness, Jesus says you're worthless. So then, how can we tell a true believer from a false one? True Christians will serve their master, working hard and faithfully according to their giftedness, their powers, their privileges, and their possessions, and making disciples, and building God's kingdom. And see, this is why the church here, we should never be lacking for people to serve, right? We should never be having trouble staffing the kids' ministries, or rides, or the kitchen, because these are your opportunities, oh slaves of Christ, to yield a return for your master. So then what about you? Be honest with yourself. A few minutes ago, I asked you to think about what your powers and your possessions and your privileges are. And now I want you to honestly assess what is God's return on investment in you. There's one last thing I want to show you this morning. It's one last thing. Some of you might be asking why why is Jesus so concerned with his investment performance, okay? And I just want to show you one more thing that might shed some light on that Look again in verse 14. Just take a quick look at the answers first 14 and And you see the word entrusts, right? Remember the master entrusts Act one so I want you to turn back if you can with me to Matthew 11 verse 27. Matthew 11 verse 27. This is what Jesus says there. He says, all things have been handed over to me by my father. And that word handed over is the same word as entrusts. Okay. So it was the father that first entrusted Jesus and then Jesus turns around and entrust it to us. Now, that's not that's not over. So, we we saw that at the end, Christ will come calling for what he entrusted to us back with the return, right? He's going to come and get his return but then what? I want you to now turn to first Corinthians 524 and I just want to show you this last He says, then comes the end. When he, who's he? Jesus, right? Hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. So I want you to see the progression here, okay? The Father entrusts all things to Christ. Christ is entrusting to you. You yield the return. return it to Christ, and then Christ hands it over to his father as a gift. See, today is Mother's Day, and maybe some of you kids, you made a card for your mother, or you probably ought to, and why do we do that? We do that because we want to show our mothers how much we love and appreciate them, right? of their, of what they've done for us and who they are. Would we want to give our mothers a gift that is worn out and tattered and broken? Would we want to do that? Of course not. We want to give our mothers the best that we can produce, right? Because that is the least of what they deserve. But see, I want you to see that Jesus is making a gift too. He's making a gift for his father. It's his gift to his father. And get this, he is letting you participate in the making of that gift. Giving you a part in that. And he wants you to make the best gift for his father that we can make. And those of us, of course, who do so faithfully, will one day hear the words, well done, good, and faithful slave. Let's pray. Father, as we close today, we acknowledge anew that we are slaves of Jesus Christ. But of course, we can only rightly call ourselves slaves of Christ if we work to serve Christ and his interests. And there will be a time in the future where we are called to account for how we stewarded what God invested in us. So I pray that we would be able to all give you 100% return on your investment in us. And while we look forward eagerly to your return, help us to know what it means to serve you with all our hearts. working hard and faithfully as a church, even here at Calvary, to yield for you a harvest of disciples. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand as we sing our last song. Come behold the wondrous mystery In the dawning of the King He the theme of heaven's praises Robed in frail humanity In our longing, in our darkness Now the light of life has come He looked to Christ who condescended Took on flesh to ransom you Come behold the wondrous mystery He, the perfect Son of Man Have a trace, nor stain or stain See the true and better light Come to save the hell-bound man Christ the great and sure fulfillment Of the law in Him we believe Christ the Lord upon the tree In the stead of ruined sinners Hangs the Lamb in victory See the price of our redemption See the Father's plan unfold measured love untold. And come, behold! And come, behold the one whose destiny seemed by death a cloud of life, but no grave could restrain Him. Praise the Lord, He is alive! But a foretaste of deliverance now on the way We'll bring our hope, grace and power Resurrected as we will be ready now But a foretaste of deliverance now on the way As we will be when he comes