1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,600 Today's the third sermon in the sermon series Blind Spot entitled See the Future. It's the finale of this sermon series. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:07,600 I'm glad you're here for it. We're gonna have a great conversation 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:10,240 today. Hey 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,120 if you are interested in going deeper in the Bible, I want to encourage you to come to a 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:21,180 Tuesday night midweek study that we're gonna be starting called First Thessalonians. I teach this every Tuesday night. 6 00:00:21,180 --> 00:00:27,320 It's a Bible study that meets right here in this class just about 100 to 150 of us and it starts back up Wednesday 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,920 Tuesday night September the 5th. It's not a small group. It's a midweek Bible study 8 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:36,380 and it's gonna go throughout the fall if you want to join us and you're interested in things like the return of 9 00:00:36,380 --> 00:00:41,920 Jesus Christ and the rapture and these sort of things. We're touching on all of that as we go verse by verse for eight weeks through 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,020 the book of First Thessalonians every Tuesday night. Now, 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:47,600 See the Future. 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,760 That's the title of the sermon today. See the future and I need you to see it before it's too late. 13 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,080 Here's why because I believe that those who see the future own the world. 14 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:04,320 Those who see the future own the world. What is that thing where 15 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:12,480 the thing that you pull out and you can see and the pirate thing? What's the pirate? The thing it's a 16 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:18,960 telescope. It's not a telescope. Somebody said telescope. It's a it's no, it's not a periscope. That's in a submarine. 17 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,440 So it's not a telescope, it's not a periscope. It's a it's a it's a spyglass. 18 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:29,600 Give this young man a round of applause. He knew exactly what it was. It's a spyglass. 19 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,480 Did she say it too? See like only the children know. Only the children. 20 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:40,160 It's a spyglass and a spyglass was created and invented years and years ago for the sole purpose of being able to see a 21 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,840 far distance in space. 22 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,440 Certain pieces of glass mirrored up to one another allow you to see a far distance in space. 23 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:54,520 You can stand here and see a long way away in space. I 24 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:02,680 wish there was a an invention that we could have that could allow us to see a far distance in time. 25 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,520 To see a long way away. 26 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:16,000 To be able to stand here and see the future. And what's most fascinating to me in today's story from Jesus is 27 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:22,520 there is an expectation that his followers can see the future. 28 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:29,240 Now not everything. You can't know everything of the future and you probably shouldn't know everything. 29 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,080 How many of you are thankful you don't know how you're going to die? Amen? 30 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:40,280 I've seen that in movies come up. You're like would you like to know? No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to know everything. 31 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,760 But there are certain things that Jesus wants you to know about the future and you can see the future. 32 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:55,040 And in this passage Jesus wants you to see some very core aspects because those who see the future own the world. 33 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,360 We know this to be the case, right? Don't you wish you could predict the stock market? 34 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:07,320 Do you wish you could pick which stock is going to triple in the next week and then buy enough now so that you can pay off everything then? 35 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:16,600 My father is from Las Vegas. I'm from Las Vegas and my grandfather, well, he moved to Las Vegas. 36 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:22,400 My grandfather is an immigrant to the United States. Any grandkids or children or immigrants to the United States? 37 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,480 How many of you, your grandparents or parents or you immigrated to the United States? Raise your hand. How many of you? 38 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:34,440 Okay, a lot of us, right? We're a nation of immigrants. My grandfather immigrated from the Middle East and he moved to Las Vegas in the 1940s. 39 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:42,160 My grandmother was a worker downtown. She was a cashier. My grandfather was a taxi driver. So just in the industry, like a lot of you. 40 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:50,760 And my grandfather had a friend who was getting into real estate in the 1940s in Las Vegas and he came to my grandfather and said, 41 00:03:50,760 --> 00:04:04,880 Paul, you got to buy some land on South Las Vegas Boulevard. And my grandfather said, there's nothing south of Las Vegas Boulevard. Flamingo's the end. 42 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:15,880 This is 1948, 1949. He's like, you got to buy. If you do now, I'm telling you, this place is already growing. It's going to explode. 43 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:26,880 He's like, well, how much? And I don't remember exactly the number, but it was like $6, $700 an acre on Las Vegas Boulevard in 1949. 44 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:33,880 So my grandfather, being the financial wizard that he was, he went home to my grandmother and they discussed it. 45 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:39,880 My grandmother said, how in the world are we going to buy land? Number one, we got to pay the bills. 46 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:49,880 Number two, how in the world are we going to pay for that land whenever it's a piece of dirt, dusty, nothing that nobody will ever want? 47 00:04:49,880 --> 00:05:02,880 So they passed on the deal. And I am poor. No, I'm fine. God takes care of me. 48 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:07,880 My family and I often do discuss as a broader family, like what direction would have that taken our family? 49 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:14,880 Like what exactly would our lives be? And though God has a perfect plan or perfect purpose and sovereignty, it doesn't change the concept in my own mind 50 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:21,880 that investing at the right time does just blow the mind as it relates to what that could have been. 51 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:30,880 And today, what's going to happen for you is exactly what happened for my grandfather 70 years ago. 52 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:41,880 Today, I'm going to wake you up to the reality of what will be. I don't want a dollar out of your pocket that other people deal with financial stuff. 53 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:48,880 I want not a moment of your time, other people want to take your time. 54 00:05:48,880 --> 00:06:00,880 I want the one thing that every single one of us have, and I want you not to give it to me, I want you to give it to him. 55 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:12,880 The one thing I want from you today is your entire life, like it all, everything. 56 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:21,880 Because there's one thing that we've all been given, and that's what it's talking about today, the life to invest in the future. 57 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:28,880 Luke chapter 19 and verse 11 says, the crowd was listening to Jesus and everything he had to say. 58 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:35,880 And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them the story to correct the impression of the kingdom of God that it would come right away. 59 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:41,880 There's a little background to the story we're about to study from Jesus, and the background is that Jesus and his disciples are traveling. 60 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:46,880 They're just left Jericho. Remember, they met a small man in Jericho. 61 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,880 Does anybody remember his name? What was his name from last week? What was his name? Zacchaeus. 62 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:56,880 So they're leaving behind Jericho, and they're heading up a trail, an ancient trail up to the city of Jerusalem. 63 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:03,880 Now, as they're entering Jerusalem, all of the disciples are thinking, Jesus is coming to become king of kings. 64 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,880 He's going to be the Lord of lords. He's the Messiah that is going to conquer the world. 65 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,880 Now, that's true. He was the Messiah to be king of kings and Lord of lords. 66 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,880 He was going to conquer the world, but Jesus' timetable was misunderstood by the disciples. 67 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,880 They thought that Jesus would be king this week. 68 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:27,880 And so Jesus knew that was their perception, so to correct their point of view, Jesus tells a story. 69 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:34,880 That's the story we're about to study. Jesus is telling them the story to look to the future for the moment that the kingdom will be established. 70 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,880 What did Jesus want them to know about the future? Number one, he wanted them to know, number one, 71 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,880 he would claim the throne, number one, he would claim the throne. 72 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:48,880 I'm going to say, number one, you say claim the throne. Number one, claim the throne. Number one, claim the throne. 73 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,880 Jesus wanted them to know, I'm going to Jerusalem to claim the throne. 74 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:59,880 Now, the way he would claim the throne is to get to the throne, he had to go through the thorns. 75 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:08,400 to get to the crown he had to go through the cross. We know that because we've been studying 76 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,560 the book. We know that because we lived 2,000 years later. But the disciples thought Jesus 77 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,440 was just going to go and take the crown and the throne and he'd be king of kings. And so 78 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:22,640 Jesus tells them this story, verse 12. He says in verse 12, Jesus said, a nobleman was 79 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:31,280 called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Jesus tells a story as 80 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:37,440 he often does to prove a point. He said, guys, once upon a time there was a nobleman and 81 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:42,400 the nobleman was called away to a far empire to be crowned king and then he was going to 82 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:49,200 come back. Now in this story, who do you think Jesus is talking about? Who do you think this 83 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,400 king that is going to be going away to a far country, get crowned and then come back? Who do 84 00:08:53,400 --> 00:09:00,760 you think Jesus is talking about? Who? He's talking about himself. And what throne is Jesus 85 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:06,080 going to claim? Well, if you were here two weeks ago, and by the way, that's why it's important. 86 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:11,720 You'll notice today, sermon, every single person in this room today is going to learn and grow. 87 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:18,600 You're going to love it. I promise. But two weeks ago, all of the beautiful truths that are going 88 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:23,920 to flourish in today's sermon were planted two weeks ago. Because two weeks ago when I taught, 89 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:29,720 the Bible talks about this in the early, late part of Luke chapter 18, Jesus referred to him 90 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:40,280 himself as the son of man that would one day reclaim the vacant throne. You remember this? How 91 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,000 many of you were here two weeks ago? You're starting to remember, amen? If you were, all right, 92 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:48,000 all right. Okay, the son of man. Remember Jesus called himself the son of man. What is the word 93 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:55,920 man in Hebrew? Somebody shouted out, what was it? Adam, Adam. When Jesus came, he called himself 94 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:04,480 the son of Adam. I am here to reclaim the throne of humanity. I am the king of kings. I am the king 95 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,760 of humanity. When we think of Jesus sitting on the throne, we often think that he's sitting on the 96 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:14,760 throne of God. No, he's sitting at the right hand of the throne of the father in the throne of Adam, 97 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:21,280 mankind's throne. Jesus came to be the king of humanity. We talked about that two weeks ago. 98 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:27,200 So now Jesus comes back to that thought and tells the story. I'm going away to reek to be crowned. 99 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:31,640 Why? Because the way to get to the crown was through the cross. I'm going to get to the throne. 100 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:37,000 The way to the throne was through the thorns. He's going to die and sit upon the throne. This is 101 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:47,880 what he's talking about. And that concept of Jesus being on the throne, in fact, let's show that. 102 00:10:47,880 --> 00:11:04,600 Let's show that picture of Christ on the throne. This should bring peace to your heart. You ever 103 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:13,640 get worried about the future? Like really, you ever think, man, I'm a little concerned. Maybe 104 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:19,680 it's for your personal health. How many of you sometimes get concerned about not only your health, 105 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:25,840 but your family, your children, the choices they're making? You ever get concerned about the society 106 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:31,520 we live in? How many of you are a little worried about the country that we live in? You ever get 107 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,240 concerned about the direction of the world and how the world is going right now? You ever get 108 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,720 worried about your personal finances or your relationship? Maybe there's some seeds of destruction 109 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:45,240 that have been planted and you're like, what's going to happen with this relationship? Okay, 110 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:50,720 so here's my question. We all do it. We all do it. All of us at some point or another talk to 111 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:59,000 ourselves and we say, it's going to be okay. Right? It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. 112 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:04,520 All right. When you worry about finances, relationships, problems, work, the society at 113 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:12,400 large or your own health, when you say to yourself, it's going to be okay. What rationale do you have 114 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:18,960 behind that? Like really, think about it. Are you just lying to yourself when you look at your 115 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,480 spouse and say it's going to be okay? When you look at your children, you say it's going to be 116 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,800 okay? You say, well, that's what humans are supposed to say to each other. Yeah, but is it? 117 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:31,560 Like why do you think it's going to be okay? Some of us think it's going to be okay because I've 118 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:36,000 saved up enough money in my accounts and my retirement. I think I can weather any storm. 119 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:42,520 Really? Money flies away, the Bible says. It sprouts wings. Have you ever had money sprout wings? 120 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:49,240 Yeah, we all have. You say, no, I think everything's going to be okay because look at the United 121 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,880 States. We're the strongest, greatest empire that ever was. We're empires rise and fall, 122 00:12:53,880 --> 00:13:00,160 my friend. We might be watching it fall now. If you're putting your faith in your finances, 123 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:07,800 your faith in your country, I'd be careful about lying to yourself. Everything's going to be okay. 124 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:12,840 You see, man, everything's going to be okay because I don't trust my country or my finances. I trust 125 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:20,960 myself. I've always landed on my two feet. I'll be fine. Hey, we all grow old and weary. At some point, 126 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:29,080 you won't be able to last. So when you look at yourself and say, it's going to be okay, what do 127 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:34,520 you base that on? Say, okay, Josh, are you telling me it's not going to be okay? No, I'm telling you 128 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:39,960 it's actually, it's going to be fine. It's all going to be okay. I truly believe that. You say, 129 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:45,240 how do you know it's going to be okay? Here's how I know it's going to be okay because Christ is on 130 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:52,000 the throne. Don't you understand? It's not that Jesus one day will be on the throne. It's that 131 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:56,280 Jesus Christ died, was buried, rose from the grave, talked to Mary, said, don't touch me yet. I'm 132 00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:03,040 about to ascend to my father. For what reason? To be crowned king of kings. He sat upon the throne 133 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:09,200 and he now rules and reigns over the kingdom of God on earth and is preparing for the kingdom of 134 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:15,200 heaven to come. The reason everything is going to be okay, hear me, is because God is on his throne 135 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:25,400 and at his right hand the son of the father sits in power and glory. Now verse 13, before he left, 136 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:29,920 he called together the ten. Before who left? Oh, it's the story. Go back to the story. You see it 137 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:35,080 in verse 12. A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and return. Before 138 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:44,480 he left, he called together his ten servants. How many were there? How many? Ten. Say it with me, 139 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,360 everybody say, how many were there? That's going to be really important at the end of the sermon. 140 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:57,400 Don't miss it. How many were there? Ten. And he divided among them ten pounds of silver saying, 141 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,960 invest this for me while I am gone. He said to every single servant, you get a pound of silver, 142 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,880 you get a pound of silver, all ten got one pound of silver. How many of you would like that if 143 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:12,880 that was our guest gift on the way out today, right? One pound of silver. Everybody gets a pound 144 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:18,840 of silver. Go invest it and bring it back. Now look at those on. It wasn't just servants who were 145 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:24,880 in this kingdom. There were also haters. Look at what it says. But some of his people hated him 146 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:31,560 and set a delegation after him saying, we do not want you to be our king. Oh, interesting. So now 147 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:38,040 we're introduced to two groups. One is the one group are the servants of the king. The second 148 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:45,960 group are the haters of the king. Friend, listen to me. In this world, there will always be servants 149 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:53,160 of the king and haters of the king. Look, look, look, look, look. Some of you are, how many of 150 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,360 you are Christians if you are, say amen. All right. Some of you Christians think to yourself, 151 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,200 I don't understand why this world thinks the way they do because you're a servant of the king and 152 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:07,960 they hate the king. You're never going to understand their fundamental dynamic because they think 153 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:13,880 completely differently than you. They are haters of the king. They don't want him to be the king. 154 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:19,080 Now more on them a little later. They're two groups, servants and the haters, verse 15. After 155 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:25,480 he was crowned king, Jesus, he returned and called the servants to himself that he had given the 156 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:39,640 money and he wanted to find out what their prophets were. All right. Two kinds of people. Haters of 157 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:44,200 the king, servants of the king. Now we're not all perfect, but how many of you say, Pastor Josh, 158 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:49,320 I'm not perfect, but I'm definitely not a hater of the king. I'm a follower of Jesus. I would call 159 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,480 myself a servant of the king. How many of you are in that camp for this story? If that's you, 160 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,000 raise your hand and say amen. All right, servants of the king. All right. This is what he says. 161 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:03,760 Jesus says the king's going to come back and he's going to ask his servants, what did you do with 162 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:11,120 the one thing that I gave you? What is the one thing that God has given you that he has given 163 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:25,160 to every other servant of God that has ever lived? Your life. Listen to me. God has only given you 164 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:38,680 one life. How are you investing that? What are you doing with it? This is what I'm doing today. 165 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:52,280 I'm being your spyglass. I am helping you see the future because just as certain as you're sitting 166 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:58,960 right here right now, there is coming a day where your life will be over and as a follower of Jesus, 167 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:05,040 you're going to stand before your king. The question will not be, do you go to heaven or hell? You 168 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:10,880 are not a hater. Hell is not an option. You're going to go to the kingdom of heaven. The question 169 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:18,160 will be, what did you do with the life I gave you? So I'm letting you see the future that you will 170 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:22,760 stand there and the king is going to want to know what you do. Here's what Jesus wants you to see 171 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,880 about the future. He would be crowned king, but number two, number two, he expects an ROI. 172 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:36,720 He's going to be mind blowing, especially to some of you Christians who have only experienced a 173 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:43,960 pat on your head Christianity. Say what's pat on your head Christianity? Welcome to Jesus. Everything's 174 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:50,160 okay. You don't have to, your life is perfect. Every decision you've ever made is the right decision, 175 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:56,560 and every decision you'll ever make is the right decision. You're just, you're amazing the way 176 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:10,840 you are and hopefully you know that. Goodbye. This story of Jesus does not fit into that paradigm at 177 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:22,720 all. Christ through his death upon the cross bought you with a price. That price was his own blood. 178 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:29,360 He purchased you, he redeemed you. These are all biblical terms that describe what salvation means. 179 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:37,440 You are not your own, the Bible says. You say it's my life only if you're a hater to the king, 180 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:42,160 and we'll deal with that later. But if you're a servant of Christ, you've been born again, 181 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:51,440 you don't belong to yourself, Paul told the Corinthians, and he expects a return on the 182 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:59,160 investment. Now look, look, look. My job is to simply tell you and help you understand what this 183 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:05,560 says. That's all I'm supposed to do. My job is not to patronize you or treat you like children. 184 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:11,680 My job is to say, look, do you see what Jesus told us? What are you going to do with it? Here's what 185 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:17,360 Jesus expects. He expects an ROI. What is an ROI? Come on my business people, what is an ROI? Return 186 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:24,560 on investments. So what is a return on investment? You've seen Shark Tank. Who's your favorite shark? 187 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:30,200 You like Mark Cuban? You like Mark? Yeah, yeah, what's that? I like Mr. Wonderful too, 188 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:37,520 because he's not wonderful. It's an ironic, it's ironic, right? Like Lori, I like them all. 189 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:43,400 Like Damien, they're all great sharks. And when you go before the Shark Tank, you're looking for 190 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:52,080 their money, and what are they looking for? A friend. Right? Damien's in there because he doesn't 191 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,720 have enough friends and he wants to find a friend. And so he's going to pay you to be his friend. 192 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:05,120 Is that what's going on? Yes or no? They are looking for a return on their investment. The 193 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:11,400 expectation is really clear. You say, well, what are you saying? I'm saying Jesus is telling his 194 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:18,840 disciples one week before he dies. My expectations are very clear. I'm leaving my servants behind, 195 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:23,640 and when I, I'm going to go get crowned, and then I'm coming again. When I come again, 196 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:29,960 I'm going to see what you did with the one thing I gave you. Expect a return on his investment. 197 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:37,360 Verse 15, and he was crowned, and he returned, and called the servants together to whom he 198 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:43,360 had given the money, and he wanted to find out what their prophets were. Now, when Jesus does 199 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:47,040 sit on the throne, let's go to Jesus on the throne. When Jesus sits on the throne, the only 200 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:51,280 problem with the picture that you see in front of you is that with this graphic, it gives the 201 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,960 idea that there's a bunch of people there. And though there will be those moments, when you 202 00:21:54,960 --> 00:22:05,680 stand before God, when you stand before the Master, it will only be you and him. It's a one-on-one 203 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:14,000 relationship here. Now, I don't want you to be confused because our relationship with God, 204 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:20,880 as beautiful as it is, has many dimensions. God views mankind in multiple ways. For example, 205 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:28,080 God views men as sinners who need to be saved. Do you remember when you were a sinner who needed 206 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,880 to be saved, amen? Say, Pastor, I still make mistakes. I know you were, you still sin, so do I. 207 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:40,000 But there was a moment where you rejected God and ran from God, and God saw you merely as a sinner 208 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,000 who needed salvation. And there was a moment in your life where you understood that God loved you, 209 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,720 and your sin was going to curse you, and you needed to call upon Jesus to be your Savior. And right 210 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,840 there at a church or at a coffee shop or with your grandma, you bowed your head and you asked Jesus 211 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,440 to save you. And you went from sinner to saved. Do you remember that moment? If you do say, 212 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:05,200 amen. Now, if you've never been saved, we can talk about that sometime. Sinner. But God doesn't 213 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:12,720 just view you as a sinner. Once you get saved, God views you as a son. Yes? Or a daughter, 214 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:19,000 a child of God. He adopts you into his family, and now you have this like really cool relationship, 215 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:25,080 don't you? But now we're introduced to a third way in which God interacts with you. Listen, 216 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:33,600 you were a sinner who now saved. You are a son of God, but you were also a servant of God. 217 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:45,960 It's strange to have a dual relationship with the same person, isn't it? Anybody ever work with family? 218 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:54,280 You ever work with family? How'd it go? Don't answer. It went well for me. I worked with my 219 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,120 father for several years. He was a pastor. I was one of his associate or assistant pastors, 220 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:04,000 and I enjoyed it tremendously. But I found it was really weird because dad would have moments 221 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:12,080 where dad was not dad, dad was boss. And I saw him in a very different light. And there were moments 222 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,560 it was so weird because sometimes I'd be figuring out a priest. I was a children's pastor, and I 223 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:20,200 would be figuring out a presentation about a children's program I wanted to start. And I'm 224 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,840 preparing it, and I'm like, this is like I'm in college, and he's like a professor. And I'm going 225 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:30,040 into my father's office and officially presenting him a game plan, like he's a boss. And you know 226 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:38,800 why? Because he was my boss. But he was also my dad. And sometimes that relationship works really 227 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:45,480 well if both parties understand what it looks like. Friend, listen to me. We humans make mistakes 228 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:52,120 all the time, but God never does. God can be a father who loves you at the same time be a master 229 00:24:52,120 --> 00:25:04,840 who expects results. And he does. He does. He expects results. So here's the question. When you 230 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:12,840 stand before Jesus, what are you going to show him? Do you see, I want you to see the future. 231 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:20,200 I don't want you standing before Jesus one day, and he's like, okay, so what'd you do with your 232 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:28,200 life? And you're like, Pastor never told me, I'm telling you. Like, he's, what are you going to show 233 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:34,560 him? You say, well, what are you going to show him? Here's what I'm going to show him. I'm going to 234 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:42,640 show him things like this. Like, Jesus, this is what I did. I spent my time starting small groups 235 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,240 where I could teach men the Bible and they themselves could go teach their families the Bible. 236 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:52,960 I'm going to show pictures of people like Daisy and Josh, my friends. You say, right, sitting right 237 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:59,160 here. How they came to know you as Savior Jesus, and then I baptized them, and my wife and I took 238 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,400 them under wing and loved them and mentor them. You're going to be in my young men's mentorship 239 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,960 group next year, aren't you? Yeah. This is what I'm going to do. Don't you understand? I'm literally 240 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,400 going to take them and I'm going to say, Jesus, this is what I, this is what I tried to do for you. 241 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:21,720 I'm going to show them pictures like, see these people I was telling about Jesus? I'm going to, 242 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,480 I'm going to, I want them to see pictures like, like of the Baptistry where I could show pictures of 243 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:34,640 Randall and Zeke and Sterling. See, these are men that I led to you. Say, Pastor, aren't you showing 244 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:40,520 off? No, I'm trying to, the Bible says as a pastor, my job is to be an example of the believer. 245 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:48,240 And so I'm actually going out of my way, which is very odd for me to say, look, I, I literally, 246 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:55,960 my whole life has been about this thing. There's going to be a day that I stand before him, and I 247 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:03,800 owe him everything. He saved me from hell and a really messed up, screwed up life. And because he 248 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:11,120 did that, I feel like I owe him. And I know what he says. He loves me no matter what, but I want to 249 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:15,720 pay him back somehow for what he's done. I'm not earning my salvation. I just want to serve him 250 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:22,520 with my life. And one day when I stand before him, he does tell us, he expects an ROI. And so he's 251 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,800 going to say, so what'd you do with the life I gave you? And I want to show them these things. This 252 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:33,720 is what I did. It was the best I could do. This is why we take Blake and Lisa and Michael 253 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:39,040 and Abby in this next pit, and we, we ship them off to take a church and lead it to the next level 254 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,600 across the country instead of trying to hold on to them. This is why we take some of the best 255 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:48,520 members of our church ever, like, like, no, go back, go back, like, like, like Akeem and Jamie. 256 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:57,360 And we say, hey, go to Oakland and plant a church. By the way, some of you in this room have been 257 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:03,560 faithful in your prayers and your financial giving, and you've lost friendship because they live 258 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:09,760 there now and you live here now. You say, man, that's a big loss. Friend, that's not a loss. That's 259 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:16,120 an investment. Don't you see the same pictures I'm showing you or the pictures that you can show 260 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:22,920 Jesus? Because you are part of that. Now, you're not part of that if you just sit here to be blunt. 261 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:30,760 You're an observer of what servants of God do. Is that too harsh? I'm trying to wake you up and 262 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:36,920 say you don't have to be a spectator. Get in the game. This is why our church took some of the best 263 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:42,120 people we have ever had. The Snooks, go to that picture. The Snooks used to sit here every Sunday 264 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:47,320 for 10 years and God put on their heart. He's a surgeon. She's a nurse to go to Africa and become 265 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:53,040 missionaries to Africa. Now they work in a hospital there and they minister in the local 266 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:59,720 churches. Amazing. And you, as a church, sent them. And you, as a church, support their ministry 267 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,680 for like, I don't know, $1,000 a month or whatever. And some of you support them individually, which 268 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:09,080 is amazing. You say, why do you do that? Why do we do that? Here's why we do that. Because one 269 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:15,440 day we're going to stand before God and we want to say, this is what we did for you. We do it for 270 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:24,840 our families. Some of you men and women, you take seriously your family responsibilities. I love 271 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:31,440 this church, but my number one ministry is not you. My number one ministry is them. And I've 272 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:36,880 invested my life with that boy and those two girls. And that's why yesterday we spent the entire day 273 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:46,760 watching volleyball games in, where were we? In, in Bady. Have you ever been to Bady, Nevada? 274 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:59,560 Don't go. It's, is anybody from Bady, Nevada? No, of course, you didn't escape. There's no 275 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:06,640 escape from Bady. Watching volleyball games and say, why? Because I want them to know that I love 276 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,760 them. My whole life is about them so that I can lead them to Jesus. So we can have like, 277 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,760 a little scarlet come up here and say, you need to invite your friends to Jesus. Do you see? This 278 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,760 is what we do. What am I going to show Jesus? I want to show, I want to show Jesus Southern Hills. 279 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:26,200 See, this wasn't here before we were here. And by the way, this wouldn't be here without some of you. 280 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:32,200 I see some friends sitting in the back. I won't call out your names, but you know, this building 281 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:38,680 would not be here if you did not help start the church so many years ago. I know what some of 282 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:44,240 you are thinking. You're like, I don't think I have anything to show Jesus. I think maybe you do. 283 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:52,880 You have so much that you've done for Christ. Ron and Sheila, all of the people over the years 284 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:58,040 that you've discipled, you've led to Christ and led small groups, Mark and Jacob, all that you do 285 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:04,200 to invest your lives here with little thought or little thanks. These are all things that you are 286 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,920 developing so that one day you can stand before Jesus and say, we did this for you. Some of you 287 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,080 just caught on to this in the last 12 months. You're like, we're building a new building program. 288 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,920 I wasn't here on the bottom floor, but I'm ready to go. And you're like, I want to get involved. 289 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:22,000 This is not a place of spiritual entertainment for you. It's a place of kingdom investment for 290 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,280 you. And the reason you're here is because you're excited about one day going to God and saying, 291 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:33,200 look at what we did together with Josh and Heather. That's why you're here. Because you see the future. 292 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:39,120 Look at the story of Jesus as it goes on. He says in verse 16, the first servant reported, 293 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:46,000 master, I invested your money and I made 10 times the original amount. I love this. The servants 294 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:51,760 come before the king. I invested your money and I got 10. How many of you would love it if your 295 00:31:51,760 --> 00:32:05,080 investment came back at 1000%? Would you like it? Say amen. So would I. Well, the king likes it too. 296 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:10,160 Look what the king says. Well done, says the king. By the way, the only thing I'm living for is one 297 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:18,800 day Jesus is going to look down and say, well done. Well done, Josh. You did all you could do with the 298 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:27,040 one thing I gave you. You have been a faithful with little that I entrusted you so you will be a 299 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:38,240 governor over 10 cities as your reward. Huh. As your reward? There is a reward. Say it. There is a 300 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:50,720 reward. Either that or Jesus is lying. There is a reward. The next servant reported, master, 301 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:56,640 I invested my money and I made five times the original amount. Well done, said the king. You 302 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:04,480 will be governor over five cities. Huh. Say it. There is a reward. Say it. There is a reward. 303 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:11,600 But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, master, 304 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:20,960 I hid your money and I kept it safe. I was afraid because you are hard man to deal with taking what 305 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:30,560 isn't yours and harvesting crops that you did a plant. Can you picture them? This fearful believer. 306 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:40,320 Is he a hater or is he a servant? He's a servant. Is he getting in the kingdom? Yes or no? Yeah. 307 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:49,280 He'll be in the kingdom. But he's so afraid. Master, I was really nervous. I didn't know what to do. 308 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:57,280 You know, I'm not the greatest and I only had one life. So because I was nervous about making mistakes, 309 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:08,000 I just, I did nothing. And the king said, don't worry about it. Sometimes we all make mistakes. 310 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:20,880 Is that what he says? That's not what the king says. You wicked servant, the king roared. 311 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:28,640 Look, I just don't want you to get there and be shocked. That's all I'm saying. Do you understand? 312 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:37,040 Like if you were to go to Edward Jones and sit down with somebody, they would say, okay, 313 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,480 when do you want to retire? Very simple question. You say 72. They say, okay, how much money do 314 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,080 you want to have by the time you're 72? Does that make sense? And they're making you see 315 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:48,000 something that you're not paying attention to now. Okay, these are the things you need to do 316 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,960 so that when you're 72, you can stop working. Right? I'm doing the exact same thing, 317 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,280 but one day you're going to talk to God. You wicked servant, he proclaimed. 318 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,520 Your own words condemn you if you knew that I am a hard man who takes what is not mine and 319 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:11,040 harvest crops that I did not plant. Why didn't you deposit my money in a bank? At least I would 320 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:17,680 have gotten some interest on it. Now this story was not made in America 2023 because there is no 321 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:26,960 interest in savings accounts at this point. Here's what Jesus wanted them to know about the 322 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:33,680 future. Number one, he is claiming the throne. Number two, he is expecting a return on his 323 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:43,920 investment. Number three, your future is rooted in today's choices. Now, if I was a motivational 324 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:50,640 speaker, I would be talking about your future as in when you're 70. I'm not. I'm a spiritual pastor, 325 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:57,680 so I'm talking about what happens after you die. Your choices today affect your future. Your future 326 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:07,920 is rooted in what you choose to do today. I've had a lot of discussions about spiritual matters, 327 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:14,400 and one of the things I've often heard people say is, pastor, I got a real problem. I got a real 328 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:20,720 problem with this idea that somebody can curse God and live whatever they want, hurt people, 329 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:25,520 ignore God, they spend their whole life running from God, and in the last moment, right before they 330 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,440 get saved, right before they die, they pray a little prayer, Jesus forgive me my sins, I repent 331 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:34,240 of my sins, I'm asking you to save me, and they get saved, and now they go to heaven, and everything's 332 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:46,000 okay. I got a real problem with that pastor, and I say, me too. Me too. Wait a second. I thought 333 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:51,120 you believed that all you had to do to get to heaven because Christ died for our sins is repent 334 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:56,400 of your sin, receive Jesus as Savior, and you'll be born again. You can get into the kingdom of 335 00:36:56,400 --> 00:37:03,200 heaven simply by faith. I do believe that. Well, why do you think everything's just going to be fine 336 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:09,520 even if they ignored God their whole life? I didn't say that. Just because they get into the kingdom 337 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:17,360 doesn't mean everything's perfect for them. This is making it very clear here. Very clear. 338 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:26,080 So pastor, I think I'm a little confused. The reason why we might be confused is though salvation 339 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:31,520 is by faith, by grace, through faith, and all you need to do to be born again is repent and receive 340 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:37,040 Christ as your Savior. There's a big misunderstanding as it relates to what heaven is like. You know, 341 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:41,920 a lot of Americans think heaven is like this. This is what they think heaven is like. If you 342 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:49,120 can't read the caption, it says, I wish I had brought a magazine. There is a fundamental 343 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,880 misunderstanding about what heaven is actually going to be like. You think you're going to get 344 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:59,120 to heaven, you get your own cloud, and you get to sit on that cloud with a harp, and you're going 345 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:05,120 to stay there for 10,000 years, and then you get invited to a worship service. And then the worship 346 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:08,560 service lasts for 10 million years, then you get to go back to your cloud, and that's heaven. 347 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:19,360 We totally underestimate what the future kingdom of heaven is actually going to be. 348 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:25,040 A kingdom of heaven that begins where God deals with his faithful servants by saying you get 10 349 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:34,880 cities, you get five cities, you get two cities, you get rewarded for serving the king here. You get 350 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:44,400 rewarded there. You say, but I'll, look, look, look, look what it says. Then turning the others, oh 351 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,960 my goodness, look at this, then turning to the other, standing by the king ordered, take the money 352 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:53,360 from the one servant and give it to the other that has 10. Now this part is just mind blowing. 353 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:58,320 Some of you are going to hate it, some of you are going to love it. He says, he says, hey, that guy 354 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:03,200 who wasted his life, take the one he has, give it to the guy who has 10. And some of you are like, 355 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:08,160 because you grew up in America, you're like, that's not fair. Well, these people must have been 356 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:16,320 Americans too, look at what they say. But master, they said, he already has 10 pounds. And then Jesus 357 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:23,680 replies, yes. And to those who have done well, they will be, they, with what they are given, even more 358 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:29,680 will be given to them. But those that have done nothing, even the little that they have will be 359 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:41,200 taken away. Notice in this story, at the beginning, everybody receives equally, equality from the start, 360 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:46,880 but not equity and outcome. And that's a political talking point. Some of you love for this world, 361 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:53,520 but it is a kingdom principle that Jesus is talking about. You get one life, and you will get to heaven 362 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:58,720 if you believe on Christ. But what heaven looks like there is going to be based upon what you do here. 363 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:07,760 That's what it's saying. And it's something that pastors have stopped preaching. I don't know why, 364 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:15,680 because they know the secret. That's why they're serving God. I'll tell you what it's like. How 365 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:23,680 many of you have ever had Chef Boyardee raviolis? You ever have Chef Boyardee raviolis? Have you 366 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:30,080 ever had, raise your hand. Yes, God bless Chef Boyardee wherever he may be. And raviolis, good 367 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:34,960 stuff. Have you ever had it? You need to go to Albertsons to get a cup. It's really, they're, 368 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:40,880 but eat them warmed up. You say, well, of course, warm them up. Well, we, we did it always. My, 369 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:46,320 my father was a huge family man, wanted to take the family to Disneyland, so we went. 370 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:54,720 But we didn't have a lot of money. And so instead of buying food in the park, you know, 371 00:40:54,720 --> 00:41:04,560 where a hamburger is $700, you can get a balloon for $300. Instead, he would pack a backpack filled 372 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:10,960 with food. And one day he decided, hey, we like raviolis. Let's pack seven cans of Chef Boyardee 373 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:16,720 ravioli and a can opener. This is before that, you know, this was a, you remember, remember the 374 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:22,480 things? So there we were walking around all day, 12 o'clock, I'm like 11 years old. I'm like, hey, 375 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:28,320 I'm hungry. Can we eat? And he's like, absolutely. We sat down all like yesterday, I can picture us, 376 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:36,720 on Main Street, on the curb. Some of you know exactly what the curb I'm talking about. I'm, 377 00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:43,440 we're on that curb, 11 years old, 1991. You could have been there. And my dad sat us all down. 378 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:46,720 And they, he opened up the backpack, pulled out a can, 379 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:55,120 gave it to one kid, give it to the other kid, give it to the other kid, all the way down. 380 00:41:55,120 --> 00:42:00,320 Now I'm a 11 year old boy, I could care less. All I could care about was this, get on the ride, 381 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:05,440 let's go, Space Mountain is waiting. So I'm like, I'm the second born child too. So there's a lot 382 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:10,000 there. I'm just like, let's go. My brother is different. My brother's two years older. He had 383 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:14,080 just turned 13. And at 13, you're embarrassed of the world, you're embarrassed of self. You don't 384 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:20,640 want to be a part of anything. And he's like, what are we doing? We're eating ravioli. I've got like 385 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:27,360 orange smudge on my face. Let's eat, let's go. He's like, I'm not hungry. He walked around the 386 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:34,400 corner and he waited by Space Mountain. He's going to be beside these freaks, eating ravioli on the 387 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:43,120 side of the road. What a weirdos. You say, man, Josh, you must have had a miserable day, quite 388 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:49,120 the opposite. I had an incredible day. I loved every moment of it. Why? Because I was in the 389 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:58,560 Magic Kingdom. Don't get me wrong, friend. If you repent and receive Christ as your Savior, 390 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,960 you're going to love the kingdom. It is paradise regardless of where you're staying. 391 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:10,240 Do you understand? It's amazing. Hell is a whole different place. You made it to the kingdom of God. 392 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:18,400 But as fun as I had in the Magic Kingdom that day, it was not the same experience of the kids 393 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:26,720 eating at the Golden Horseshoe. It was just a different experience. It was different. Do you agree? 394 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:39,120 And that's all I'm saying. That's what Jesus is saying. You can believe in Jesus Christ. Call upon 395 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:44,400 Him. Follow Him. You can follow, and then just ignore Him the rest of your life. And because of 396 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:50,320 the grace of God and your simple faith, you got your free ticket. Go into heaven. 397 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:05,760 But your future is rooted in today's choices. We've got to clean up some stuff before this story ends. 398 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:10,880 We talked about two groups, the one or the servants and the other were the, anybody remember? 399 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:17,440 The haters. What about the haters? Jesus deals with them verse 27. He says, 400 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:24,080 And for these enemies of mine who didn't want me to be their king, bring them in and execute them 401 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:34,320 right in front of me. Okay. If you're not a believer in Jesus Christ as your Savior, 402 00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:42,400 you're right. Your life is your own. Do whatever you want with it. But if you reject His kingship, 403 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:53,280 you will not enter His kingdom. You have an opportunity now to repent of your sin and receive 404 00:44:53,280 --> 00:45:02,400 Christ as your Savior, your Master, your Lord, your King. But that choice is yours, and your choice 405 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:15,520 today will affect your future. Last piece to clean up. You ever watch a movie and you're like, 406 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:21,920 that was a good movie, but I think I, there's a hole in the plot. You're like, it bothers you 407 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:28,640 because you're like, they didn't tie together that string at the end. And as I study this passage 408 00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:34,080 over and over, I kept thinking there's something not right. There's something wrong with the story. 409 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:42,960 There's a hole in the plot. Does anybody else see the hole in the plot? Anybody? 410 00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:49,360 Do you remember how many servants there were at the beginning? Ten. 411 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:57,120 But how many servants did the king deal with? Three. What happened to the other servants? 412 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:08,240 So this is an old way that rabbis used to teach. Rabbis would often leave the story 413 00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:15,280 with an obvious hole in it so that you figure out the ending. So you say, well, what did happen to 414 00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:24,800 the other seven? Good question. What happens to the other servant? You're the other seven. 415 00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:35,280 How does your story end? When you stand before God, will he say, well done? 416 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:41,600 If you've taken the one thing he's given you that he gave these other three, the one life and 417 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:46,080 invest it for him. Let's pray. Thank you for watching the Southern Hills YouTube channel. 418 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,720 Make sure you subscribe and hit the bell icon to be notified every time we post a new video. 419 00:46:50,720 --> 00:47:12,080 And remember, we exist to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Have a great week. Bye.