Matthew 24-25

January 8, 2008

At what hour will the Son of Man come? How can we be
ready for him?

That no one knows when Jesus will return is evident from this
discourse. Our task is to be prepared at all times. Our
preparedness will be evidenced by our devotion to the task
regardless of the state of the world. (24:45ff) We need to be
diligent in the work God has called us to do.

This is key in living as followers of Jesus in a secular world. Do
the work. Do not look back and do not look too far ahead. Do
the work!

Also, Jesus appears to be describing two events. One is the fall
of Jerusalem - (Please note that while these events are taking
place BEFORE the fall of Jerusalem, more than likely they are
being written down AFTER the fall of Jerusalem and he
destruction of the Temple.) - the other event is the return of
Jesus at the end of the age.

According to 'The Parable of the Talents' what should we
do with the gifts God entrusts to us? What should we not
do with those gifts?

WOW! This is simple. We should invest all that God has given
us, expecting a return on investment (interest). We invest our
gifts in people! We should not hide them, bury them, ignore
them, pretend we don’t have any, or consume them.

However, that is exactly what we most often do. And, it has far
reaching ramifications for the church... for WALNUT STREET
BAPTIST CHURCH...

The question is NOT - What should we do? What is God calling
us to do? Where is God leading us? What is God’s will for us
(individually & as a congregation).

The question is why aren’t we already doing what we already know we
should be doing? Why aren’t we already investing those talents and gifts
God has already given us? Why aren’t we already making the most of
what we have right now?

Naturally we have many good reasons for NOT exercising our
gifts. I wouldn’t argue with anyone for not stepping up and using
them. However, the message of the parable is that our reasons
are not good enough, nor are they acceptable to God.

I believe the reason we hesitate and refuse to invest our gifts
has to do with fear! It is not that we lack faith but we are afraid.
Fear disrupts our faith and becomes a huge obstacle to trusting
and obeying God.

Growth always involves risk and risk always involves fear - the
fear of failure and the fear of success.

The greatest consequence of fear is the loss of availability to
God.

Tell me how available are you to God? That is the $64,000
question isn’t it. The future of this congregation hinges on your
answer to that question.

What festive meal did Jesus celebrate with his disciples for
the last time?