"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant” | Matthew 25:14–30

Show Notes

Episode 738: 
In this episode, we dive into the parable of the talents, exploring the profound message behind Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25. We reflect on the significance of the phrase "Well done, good and faithful servant," a statement we all long to hear when we reach heaven. We unpack the parable where a master entrusts his servants with varying amounts of silver—five bags to one, two to another, and one to the last—based on their abilities. The first two servants invest their money wisely and double their returns, while the last servant, paralyzed by fear, hides his master's money and returns it without any gain.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, good morning everybody. We are the Bible Guys, and we are back. We are back today. What is today? Wednesday or Thursday? I don't know. I don't know either. How many? How many do we do? We've been going back to back to back to back. Baby, all right, we did Monday, we did Tuesday, we did Wednesday. Oh, today is Thursday. People are yelling Thursday, yes, yes, Oh no, Today's Wednesday. Okay, dad, gummt. I'm sorry, it's Wednesday. So Wednesday is humpday. It is the middle of the week, middle of the week. I hope that everybody is doing well getting through the week. This is going to be amazing. So we've been working on you know, you've mentioned several times you want to reshoot our roll in. Oh yeah, sure, walking in. So we need to redo that. But we also feel like it's time to upgrade the theme song. We need a theme song, which we have none. We need a theme song. So we've tried, we have great or nothing. We've tried so many options, all kinds of TV theme songs, you know, to the tune of dukes of hazard and cheers and all those. Well, today, what I thought is what we need? None of those worked for us. They've been good, Chris, You've done a noble job trying to make it work. But what we were thinking is perhaps we need something more, more regal, more impressive, with more just make you want to stand up and salute. Right, So we asked chat gpt. We asked chat gpt to help us write a theme song for The Bible Guys, which is just a podcast about two guys, two buddies who like to talk about the Bible in front of practical ways. And we asked chat gpt to write us a theme song to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner. Which which can get? Can you get more pretentious? Yeah? So so I'm really curious to see how that worked out for you. Would you sing it for Chris grace us? Have you ever sung the Starspanko banner at a baseball game? I? Have you have? Of course? You have? Have you not? No? No, I wasn't a good a single. Okay, here we go, okay, and by the way, my throat like, here we go, and I'm not hopefully, I'm want to get this right. Here we go. It goes, Oh, say, can you hear from your couch, car or phone to best butts cracking jokes with a Bible in tone, with a verse in one hand and some coffee nearby. They'll explain live Viticus and probably why this way too high? We will dive deep into truth while still making you laugh lo cast on it plagues to Paul's missionary path. So grab your. Ear buds and lower your expectation. It's the Bible show heard around the name. Shall you literally fit in Leviticus. And the Yes and Paul's missionary journeys? And lower your expectations. So let's set the table. Yes, I think we should seriously consider adopting that one. Oh you think so yeah? Wow? That so far? Wow, that's the front runner? Feels like it to me. I mean the tune was right, The tune was right. Yeah, it has all the all the the panache that a show like this deserves. Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night and you can hear my voice. I'm struggling. Well. The Bible says that the Lord gives rest to those he loves. And then I wow, is that all you sleep like a baby, Jack, because everybody knows you do. Everybody knows you do you straight to bed like a baby? I do. And uh anyway, but then I started this in like what like the highest key ever. Yeah, that was funny. Anyway, that was awesome, Chris, Yeah, that man, it was a treat. Yeah, you're in your pay today. That was fab which means. Uh, uh we get absolutely zero for the podcast. That's right. So we're gonna get a raised today. Yeah. Double, We're gonna double it today. Yeah, you're getting a hazard pay. That's right. Hey is that coffee in your cup? From nothing to nothing? Yes? Okay, Well so then you were being honest about it because I don't drink coffee, So I was thinking that lyric is not entirely true. But you're drinking coffee, Oh it is? Yeah, oh because the lyrics. Yeah, you with coffee and uh, what did you say, coffee in one hand or something? Yeah, verse in one hand and some coffee nearby. Yeah. Wow, Hey, how did you know that we drink That's fantastic. I don't know, it's probably just an assumption. Well, hey, talking about I have no idea. I have no transition for this one. Oh, have that one? Yes, So the thing is well done, thou good and faithful servant? Yes? Oh oh yeah, well done, Chris, Thank you, well done, Chris, thank you. Speaking of well done. You know I've always tried Jeff to be a good and faithful service. When you asked me to do these crazy. Speaking of being a good and faithful service, yes, yeah, it's okay, perfect. That was a perfect setup. Good job, Chris. So we're doing this series. We're in on the podcast, which is what if Jesus had a podcast? That segment only works if I did well? Yes, yes, and you did okay, good, fabulous, already said fabulous? Yes. When was the last time I said? I've said fabulous five times on this show, which is five times more than I've said on any other show of the almost nine hundred episodes we've done. Wow, right you think about it. Wow fabulous Chris, that's six six times. So anyways, serious about Jesus. Yeah, if Jesus had a podcast, and so we're just taking famous statements that he made, and the well done, good and faithful servants. One of his famous statements we find this in Matthew chapter twenty five, and. This is the statement that we all long to hear exactly right. So when we get to heaven, one of the things that we want is this. I would say, up until this point in heaven, by the time we hit that mark, I don't think that in that moment there will be nothing more important in all of our existence than that moment. Yeah, I can't think. And here's what it says again. The Kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone, and he gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. After a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he'd entrusted five bags of silver, came forward with five more and said, Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I've earned five more. The master was full of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in the handling of this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. The servant who'd received the two bags of silver came forward and said, Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I've earned two more. The master said, well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant, and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid i'd lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look here your money back. But the master replied, you wicked and lazy servant. If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant, and gathered crops I didn't cultivate. Why do you need deposit my money in the bank. At least I would have gotten some interest on it. And then he ordered take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useful servant into outer darkness, where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Whoo yeah, wow, yeah, no kidding. What a story. Yes, I like most of it. This is also a big fanom like two thirds of that story, right, big fan, big fans. This is also known as the Ten Talents, right, yeah, that's right. So it translates here into bags of silver in this translation. But a talent was a form of payment. Right yeah, it was like a guess, that's exactly the US. That's exactly what us. But but a lot of versions use the word talent. It's all I was trying to say, Yeah, it was. It was a form of currency, so that the talent was like saying one hundred dollars bill. Which which I've always didn't like because we hear the word talent and. We think of skill ye, skill sets, right. So I like this translation better. Yeah, But however, I just want to say this. I remember, uh, this scripture being taught, and I remember a friend and a mentor of mine for a short time when I lived in Atlanta was Louis Giglio, And so Louis was talking about the idea that there are some people who are one talent people, and there are some that are five talent people, and there are some that are ten talent people. And he says, it's not it's not, it is just what it is like to some people, God just gives many more responsibilities, and then that person thrives when they're given a certain aoun responsibilities. Then God gives them more, and then God gives them more, and God gives them more. And he says, in some people they're just you know, they're given two talents, and then they end up getting four talents, and then they spend most of their ministry being sort of like four talent people. And it was interesting how he was able to sort of talk about it in a sense to where he was looking at all these college pastors in the room. We were all the pastors of college ministry. And he goes, and some people might say. Hey, what's the big idea. He goes, I've worked really hard, I'm faithful, and I only have like twenty college students in my ministry. He goes, well, you work really hard and you have like a thousand college students. He goes, I only have two talents. What's the big deal? And he goes, I'll tell you what the big deal is. He goes. He goes, you had no talents and God gave you two, so be grateful. That's what he said. You had no talents and God gave you you to talents. And he says, and that's what God wants you to work with, and be grateful that God has given you. And he says, do the best you can with those two talents. And I started thinking to myself, Wow, that's one of the first times that I've ever heard somebody actually say it's okay that that God has planned to use some people for greater influence, and it's okay that God has planned for some people to to you know. So, my friend, our friend Nick Boring always says God has all different kinds of churches everywhere for all different kinds of people. Right, Yeah, isn't that interesting. Yeah, So when he's saying, hey, here's bags of money. What anytime you read these these stories that Jesus tells, there's always the rich man, there's the father, there's the business man, right, and that always represents who It always represents God fund that's right. So here it's a The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man a long journey. He calls together his servants and then he entrusts them with his stuff. Right. This is a common theme in Jesus' stories too. Oh yeah, right, So all the stuff is the rich man's stuff, all the stuff is the boss's stuff, All this stuff is the father stuff. It's with the prodigal son. It's the younger son who doesn't deserve it, who goes to his father. All the stuff is his father's and he asks for some of it. Right. In this situation, it's the same. And it's a rich man who brings the servants and all the stuff's my stuff. I'm gonna give you five, I'm gonna give you two, I'm gonna give you one, and hey, i'd love it if you guys areld do something with it. And so we have to remember, first of all, in every story, Jesus tells us, none of the stuff is actually our stuff, right, that would totally change our perspective. It's his vineyard, it's his money. So whether you're talking about talents, you're talking about money, you're talking about opportunities, you're talking about your house, your car, your kids, your career. None of your stuff is actually your stuff. It's the king's stuff, it's the rich man stuff, it's the father's stuff. And the reason why that is is because we recognize that all blessings come from God, even children, right, children come from God. All of our money, God gives us our opportunities. In fact, we just planned this series yesterday where the idea was upcoming like eight weeks from now at Heritage Church. And the idea is, people say, hey, I earned my money. I earned Who do you think, who do you think takes care of me? You know what the idea is, I take care of me. And whereas God would say, and he has said to job, who do you think gave you intelligence? Who do you think made the blind, the deaf, and the dumb? Who gave you the ability. To have the opportunities? Everything comes from God. So this is how Jesus stories always go. It's all his. And then I love it the fact that it says he gave five to bags of silver to one guy, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last, dividing in proportion to their abilities. Yep, and then he left it up to them. Yeah, he left on the trip. Isn't that crazy? Yeah? And God, Jesus never tries to send this idea of of fairness. So it is interesting because Jesus does promote the idea of equality. God loves the whole world. God so loved the whole world that he gave us one gospel and it's available to everyone who. Jesus literally says, whosoever will may come, that's what he says. So equality is a part of Jesus' mindset in that your value is the same as others to God, he wants you in his kingdom, but your abilities are not equal. Right, So fairness is never part of the story. He looks at the abilities, how you're wired, the opportunities you've had, all these things. He goes, Okay, I'm gonna trust you five. So the story for the listener, we're tempted to hear that's not fair. Five two and one is what we all heard. We all heard five two and one. That's right. But for the King, for this Master, it was not about five two and one. It was about what did you do with what you have? He did not challenge the guy with one thing and say, why didn't you get me five more? Right? Right? He didn't say that right. He doesn't say to the one with two who came back with four, four is good? But you hear about that other guy he brought me ten. He never compares them, because God is not comparing us to the other person. You will not be measured by the accomplishments of somebody else. You will only be measured by God, whether you're a good and faithful servant or a wicked servant, only based on what you did with what God gave you. And I've heard so many Christians go, I just don't really have much to offer God. And my response almost always is, but are you giving all of what you have to God? Right? Are you doing all you can for him? He's not going to measure you based on what Jeff can do, or what Chris can do, or somebody else can do. He's going to measure you based on the investment he made in you, and he wants you. By the way, one hundred percent return is really impressive, Right, He's not looking for a thirty five percent return. Hey, I'd love it if you just remember fact. He's frustrated with this guy, going, dude, these other two doubled it, but here you are. You didn't even think to put it in the bank. Get a little interest. Right, He's looking for some kind of return. But in Jesus' story, the return that was given was one hundred percent. That was that well done, good and faithful servant kind of thing. As I took what you had and I doubled up, I overshot, I shot the moon. And that's really something when we think about it, that this is God's expectation, is significant return for the investment he's made in your life. Right. There's frustration with the guy that he didn't at least get a little interest. But it's clear in Jesus' story what he's wanting is significant return for what God's invested. Yeah, and there's a direct correlation with blessings here because what he's saying is is he saying, like, hey, you've not been faithful with what little I gave you, So therefore. I'm not gonna give you anymore, right right, I'm gona trust you more. I'm gonna trust you more. He goes, In fact, I'm gonna get. I'm gonna get with what I gave to you, and I'm gonna give to this other guy who's really faithful and so so it just goes to show you that regardless of how much you have, as long as you're faithful with what God has given you, God then will know that he can trust. You with more. Here's what I like to do with these stories. I don't know if our listeners do this. When I read the stories like this and I see Jesus break it into threes, I want to be the good and faithful servant, don't you? Oh yeah, okay? So usually what I do in these stories is I set aside the bad part of the story, and I go, that's not gonna be me, right, So then I'm not thinking about fairness. I'm just thinking about I don't know if I'm a five talent guy, but I do believe i'm a two talent guy. I'm gonna give him everything I got because his intent was you've been faithful handling this amount. So it was a test you understand that the whole thing. It was never about the two or the five or the one. It was the test of can I trust you because I've got more for you? That's exciting to me if you can move beyond the story of saying God expects a return and instead realize he has more for me, if I'm faithful with what he gives me right now, that's exciting to me. So, dude, I want to take the two and turn it into four. But wait, wait, it doesn't end at four. There's more. Not only that. He says, let's throw a party, let's celebrate together. God's intent is he wants to celebrate. He wants this to be fun. He wants this to be beyond the kind of joy that you and I could imagine they only saw two. He doesn't say, hey, listen, I'm going to give you two, but I've got a big plan beyond the two. He just goes, let's see how you do with the two, and then he comes back with four, and God goes, dude, I can trust you with a little bit. I'm gonna give you way more. Let's have a party, and so let's set aside the negative. But let's just decide we are not going to be the unfaithful servant. And let's go and say I might not be the five talent that Chris is, but I'm a two talent, right, so I'm gonna I'm gonna do the very best I can with what God gave me. And then just understand he intends to do far more than we could have imagined. Always always take the five talent. And I placed it on like the Billy Grahams of the world. Yeah, okay, let's make Billy Graham the five talent guy. Yeah. Yeah, so we're the twos right for sure. But but yeah, it is amazing. In fact, I remember, I remember we were going up to Willow Creek Church, you know, and so you know, Bill Apples ran into some trouble later on his career, but for decades and decades, what a great example he and how how he blessed the churches of America right and around the world. But anyway, somebody was going up there and he had built this chapel, and there was another group of people there and they were measuring, they were they were taking measurements on the chapel. They were literally measuring everything, and Louis told the story and he goes, he goes, he goes, hey, he goes, if you're measuring this size of a chapel to build it, he goes, I sure hope your bill Hibels. He goes, I sure hope you have a bill Hybels, because. What the heck? Because you know, obviously those buildings are pretty grand. Sure. Yeah, And that's what he was really doing as he was saying, like, yeah, this is an impressive building, but guess what this kind of building belongs to a five talent person, right, and yeah. So I don't see it as in, I can't measure up to what somebody else said. I don't even I hardly ever think well they have more or they have more opportunity. I don't want I don't want that to be a part of my thinking. It creeps in, it crosses my mind sometimes. I don't want that to be a part of my thinking. I only want to be thinking what do I have in front of me? And how do I maximize it? What do I have in front of me? And how Just to be clear, Louis was only talking to the complainers. Yeah, sure, for those who compared themselves among them. You've been a part here at Heritage, you know, we've been on a I think the last fifteen years we're averaging twenty four percent growth or something like that. It's some crazy thing on a year over year over year over year over year. Not twenty four percent over the last fifteen years, twenty four percent every year for fifteen years. And so now here we have our building is too small, we don't have enough, we don't have enough parking, we don't have a big budget. As a matter of fact, we're in the bottom ten percent of all churches our size in America as far as how much money comes in. Part of that's our county, and part of it is you and I are bad at talking about money. So there's that, right. We have not yet led our people to be generous this way. But the bigger picture is this. In my mind, I'm not looking at going there are places even in our county with way bigger buildings. There are places in Southeast Michigan that have way more money coming in per person. Instead, I'm just looking at it going, well, we've only got seven hundred and fifty seats. We got thousands and thousands and thousands of people try to figure out how to come to our Sterling Heights campus. We don't have the money to do more things. I guess we're gonnadd too more services. So instead of doing four it started off we were doing one. Then we did two services, and we went to three services, and we went to four services. Now we're going to six services, all in the same building, all identical services. So God gave us this. Alls I'm trying to do is figure out how to maximize it. He gave us a building, and we were dreaming could we ever fill this building? Right? Could we ever fill it? And then we started thinking, well, yeah, we can fill it. How about what's it going to take to do it twice? And then what's it gonna take to do three times? What's gonna take to do four? What was gonna take to do six times? Now is what we're dreaming about. And I hope that God looks at that and goes, hey, you've been favored a little bit. You know, I gave you this little building. It's not a little building. It's sixty five thousand square feet or something, but it's small for what we're trying to accomplish. Right, And I gave you a parking lot that's a little too small, all those things, but it was enough. It's enough if we would choose to decide there are no limits on what God's trying to do. I'm the one who places those limits. Now, I would say this, it's scary to be an investor. So my wife and I, she always teases me because I usually don't play a lot of video games. The only video game I really play is Call of Duty Mobile. I play that on my phone some, but even then I'll go months without playing it. But I do like to fiddle around with investment apps, especially like the free investment things where it's it's a simulator. I don't know why, and you know, you take risks and for a while you usually as my fact right now, I actually have an actual investment portfolio that I'm managing. It's not big, it's just a couple thousand bucks, but I'm it's it's because I want to learn the pressure of trading real money, right, because a lot of pressure in that. Yeah. And for the first six months of this year, I put it. I put I put some spending money in there, a couple thousand bucks, and for the first six months of this year, I've gone negative, but I'm convinced it was the right investment. Well, just this week I turned positive. Right, right, I turn positive. So there's a lot of risk. It feels it's uncomfortable to risk money. It's uncomfortable to do things. And so he's asking them why. The one guy, because he was afraid, just hit it and said, hey, I hope you're happy. I gave back what you gave me. And he's like, I expect you at least to take some kind of risk in order to achieve it requires that we have the guts to take a risk. But then what the story doesn't include is the fact that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us to protect us. Right, and so it's going to require that we get out of our comfort zone, that we risk a little bit, and then just trust the process. He trusted you with what he gave you, knowing that you do have the ability. None of them does he say, well I gave it to you, bit I never believed you had the ability what he gave you. You do have. It's according to your ability. You do have the ability to produce a return for his investment. And so you just have to be willing to take that risk. Yeah, that's great. It's exciting to me. I read this, it's exciting to me. Yeah, yeah, well it's it's great. And uh and I think that God was really clear, you know, and is uh this is one of the illustrations, one of the parables that are just pretty crystal clear. Yeah. So uh and when we. Get to heaven, that's what I want to hear. Is well done, you good and faithful service. That's right, that's that. The next few verses he talks about heaven specifically, and he uses that phrase again. That's great. Well, that's a great place to end, and hopefully we will see you tomorrow on the Bible guys. H