This sermon about spiritual troubles will take you in a deeper understanding on the right things to do when you are in spiritual troubles. There are lots of things that affects us in our spiritual walk. Sometimes, these challenges and trials does affect us spiritually and at times blocking us to enjoy the salvation that God gave us.
Luke 12:35-48
A. Always be ready (v.35) “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning…”
B. Be a faithful and wise manager (v.42) “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?”
C.Do the Master’s will (v.47) “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.”
Challenge:
- Do something this week that you do not regularly do, but you know it will please God.
- Post at least 3 times this week on your Facebook or any social media (as long as you have one) that tells truth from the Bible.
- If you do not have a social media account, try to share the gospel to one person you know.
The Manuscript of this Sermon
After the Lord Jesus dealt with the material things that surrounds us and that which is bothering us in our walk, the Lord now turns his focus on our spiritual walk as spiritual stewards of his word.
Here, the Lord used the parable of the faithful servants who waits patiently for the master’s arrival. So today, let’s learn what Jesus says about being a good servant.
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[s2If current_user_is(s2member_level1) OR current_user_is(s2member_level2)]Always be ready (v.35) “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning…”
The first thing that we are to learn of being a good servant is to always be ready. For several lessons have past, one of our frequent challenges is “readiness” to face God. And here in the passage once again, the Lord emphasizes on readiness.
Jesus used the parable of the servants who faithfully waiting for the master’s return from a wedding banquet. In the same way, we are to be ready for our master’s return.
Have you ever experienced being locked out of your house? You went outside and you forget the keys? It’s annoying because all you can do is to blame yourself. But what if you have someone inside the house whom you are expecting to open the door for you and he was not there when you arrived? It will be a different story then.
Another challenge for us here is that we do not know when is the Master is coming. He is not obliged to tell his servants when he is coming back. But when he does, the servants is better ready.
Meditating on these words, this leads us in asking ourselves, are we ready for the arrival of our Master? Or are we sleeping on our watch? Is the lamp still burning or is already out of oil?
Be a faithful and wise manager (v.42) “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?”
The next part here is an answer to Peter’s inquiry if the parable above is for them or for everyone. So the Lord answered him with a question that is at the same time teaching about what it should be as a manager.
Take note here that a manager is also a servant. But as a manager, he is in charge of other servants to give them food allowance. So there’s a degree of authority here over other servants. And the main point that the Lord is teaching here is what are we doing if we are those whom the Lord appointed as managers?
Are we doing our part of evangelizing? Are we taking care of the Lord’s flock? Are we feeding the sheep with the Lord’s teachings?
‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ this suggests that there will be a waiting time. The master will go and the manager and the servants has to wait fo his of his coming. But while waiting, we are to make sure that we are doing the right thing he told us to do.
“The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect…” tells us that no one knows when exactly the master is coming back. We do expect that he will come back, but for the time, we do not know. The challenge is to be found faithful whenever he comes.
Do the Master’s will (v.47) “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.”
So here’s the thing, since we already know that the master is coming we have now the mandate to obey his words and always be ready upon his arrival. And not only that, we need to be doing what he instructed us to do.
“…they will be beaten with many blows”. For those who deliberately disobeyed God after hearing him, there is a bigger consequence.
“But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.” Now here we can see the difference between someone who have known God and disobeyed him from those who does not know God and is doing wicked things. The first one is more guilty than the latter.
So as a Christian, this tells us that we have bigger responsibility to be obedient and to live in accordance to God’s will because this time, there is no more excuse. One deliberately intentional, while the other one is out of ignorance. The degree of punishment is not the same.
Challenge:
- Do something this week that you do not regularly do, but you know it will please God.
- Post at least 3 times this week on your Facebook or any social media (as long as you have one) that tells truth from the Bible.
- If you do not have a social media account, try to share the gospel to one person you know.
