Sermon #73 Series:
Matthew
Title: God’s Servants - The Faithful and the Evil
Text: Matthew 24:45-51
Reading: Off:
Lindsay Campbell Aud:
Mark Henson
Subject: Characteristics of Faithful and Evil
Preachers
Date: Tuesday Evening - February 6, 1996
Tape # S-21
Introduction:
The title of my message tonight is God’s Servants - The Faithful and the Evil.
My text is Matthew 24:45-51. In these verses our Lord gives us a parable in
which he describes two servants, one faithful, the other evil. Notice that both
the faithful and the evil are the Lord’s servants. The fact is, all things
serve the gracious purposes of God toward his elect (Pro. 16:4; 21:1; Ps.
76:10). Satan is as much the servant of God, though unwillingly, as Gabriel is
willingly. The fallen angels, the very demons of hell, are as fully the
servants of God, though they despise him, as are the angels of heaven who adore
him. Every human being is the servant of God, too. Some of us rejoice in that
fact. What a privilege is ours, to serve the living God! Others despise the
thought of God’s dominion; but they are nonetheless under God’s dominion and
serve his purposes ((Rom. 8:28; 11:36; Eph. 1:11). Our God rules everywhere,
everything, and everyone, totally and absolutely! However, the point I am
making is this: Even those evil men who
are false prophets and messengers of satan, deceiving the souls of men with
their perverse doctrine, are the servants of our God, sovereignly used by him
to accomplish his purpose (I Cor. 11:19).
Proposition: This
parable is a word of instruction, inspiration, and warning to those men who
stand in the house of God as his servants.
Divisions: My message tonight
will have just two parts. I want to talk to you about God’s faithful servants
first. Then, I will take just a few minutes to talk to you about those who are
here described as evil servants.
I. In verses 45-47, our Lord
gives us a description of God’s faithful servants.
Without question, as I showed you last Tuesday, the
instruction of the parable may be applied to every believer in his particular
calling in life. We who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ gladly bow to his
dominion as our Lord. We are his servants. Our lives are spent in his service.
Whatever your particular gifts are, whatever your station in life may be, that
is the place of your calling and service in the kingdom of God, where you are
to use your gifts for the glory of Christ and the good of his people. Be God’s
faithful servant where you are.
Those men who are gifted of God to
be preachers and teachers in his church, but are not called and gifted as
pastors, are also his servants; and ought to be highly regarded as such. God
has gifted this congregation with some men who are clearly gifted of God as
preachers and teachers of the Word. Lindsay, Ron, and Larry are all gifted to
preach the gospel of God’s grace. They are all gifted teachers in this
assembly, though none of them are called of God to be pastors. They are,
therefore, to be heard and treated with the respect that their gifts demand, as
the servants of God. But our text is talking about that specific group of men
who are trusted with the care of God’s household as pastors of local churches
(v. 45).
Perhaps you think, The message tonight has o bearing upon me. I
am not a pastor, and never plan to be. Do not be so foolish. You may never
be a pastor; but you will, as long as you are in this world, need the services
of a faithful pastor. You will be wise to know what to expect from God’s
servant, how to pray for him, and how best to assist him in the work God has
put in his hands. And you need to know how to recognize and distinguish between
a faithful and an evil servant. So I ask you to give me your careful attention,
as I endeavor to explain to you the things here taught by the Son of God.
In these verses, our Lord Jesus
Christ describes his faithful servant, a faithful gospel preacher, a faithful
pastor by four things in which he is distinguished from a self-serving false
prophet. These four things describe and are characteristic of God’s true
servants in every age of the church and in every place where gospel churches
are found.
A. His Position - God’s servant is here described as one “whom his Lord hath made ruler over his
household.”
The church of God is his household,
the household of faith, and the household of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is God’s family and God’s church, not mine, not yours, not this or that
denomination’s, but the Lord’s! This is God’s House and God’s Temple.
·
I Corinthians 3:16-17
·
Ephesians 3:15
·
I Timothy 3:15
In the
family of God there are some fathers, some young me, and some children. There
are some who are strong and some who are weak. There are some who are very
independent and need little attention, and some who need a good bit of
attention. Each one has been placed in his house and family exactly according
to the Master will. God ordained pastors
have been placed by him as rulers over
his household. They are not tyrants, dictators, or lords over God’s
household, but rulers, placed over the house to govern it as stewards under
Christ.
·
Acts 20:28
·
I Timothy 3:4-5
·
Hebrews 13:7, 17
Most
preachers these days are Junebug preachers. The church, the deacon board, the
board of elders, or the denomination has a string tied to his leg and controls
everything he does, like a little boy ties a string around a Junebug’s leg. Not
God’s servants. God’s servants serve his people, but they are not controlled by
them.
Note: Where in the Word of God can you find a prophet, or a
preacher, who was ruled, governed, or even influenced by the will of the people
to who he was sent to preach? The only preacher like that you can find in this
Book is a hireling prophet! God’s
servants are responsible under God to rule his house...
·
By His Word (II Tim.
3:16).
·
According to His
Will.
A faithful
steward rules his Master’s house exactly according to his Master’s will. As e
does, all in the house are expected to honor and obey the steward in charge of
the house. And that household is most honorable and most happy that is
well-governed, with each member of the family knowing his place, working
together with every other member in love for the welfare of the whole family.
B. His Work -The pastor’s work is
“to give them meat in due season.”
How
I wish I could make this generation understand that it is the work, the
calling, and the responsibility of gospel preachers to feed the church of God
with knowledge and understanding, with the eat of gospel truth.
·
Jeremiah 3:15
·
Acts 20:28
It is not
the pastor’s work to be a good socializer, an analyst, a therapist, a
counselor, a priest, or a community door knocker. God’s servants are preachers!
They feed the house of God by preaching the gospel, by opening the bead of life
and dispensing it to the family. If a pastor does that, he has to spend his
time in his study, not running the roads (II Tim. 2:15).
1. It is the work of the pastor “to give,” not to take (Ezek. 34:7-8).
2. That which is to be given is “meat.”
It
is not our business to enact laws, but to give meat. It is not our business to
regulate the lives of men, but to feed their souls. And that with which God’s
servants feed his children is the sweet meat of the gospel, not the husks of
intellectualism, the mists of mysticism, the stones of useless doctrinal
speculation, or the poison of heresy. God’s servants come with the meat of
saving grace in the knowledge of Christ, declaring
·
Ruin by the Fall!
·
Redemption by the
Blood!
·
Regeneration by the
Holy Spirit!
3.
We are to feed the saints of God with “meat
in due season.”
The Word of God must be rightly
divided; and each member of the family must be fed with the meat that is
suitable for him at the time.
·
Grace for the Guilty!
·
Pardon for the
Fallen!
·
Redemption for the
Ruined!
·
Righteousness for the
Wicked!
·
Cleansing for the
Defiled!
·
Reproof for the
Wayward!
·
Comfort for the
Troubled!
·
Strength for the
Weak!
·
Christ for All!
C. His
Character - Our Lord describes his servants as men with
these two traits of character: “faithful and wise.
1. God’s servants are faithful men (I Cor. 4:2).
God’s
servants are stewards of the mysteries of God, of the manifold grace
of God, and
of the unsearchable riches of Christ (I Cor. 4:1; I Pet. 4:10; Eph.
3:8).
“They are
faithful to the trust reposed in them... They preach the pure gospel of Christ,
and the whole of it; conceal no part, nor keep anything of it; seek not to
please men, but God; neither seek their own things, their ease, honor, and
profit, but the glory of God, the honor of Christ, and the good of souls; and
abide y the truths, cause, and interest of the Redeemer at all costs.” (John
Gill)
“A faithful
minister of Jesus Christ is one that sincerely designs his Master’s honor, not
his own; delivers the whole counsel of God, not his own fancies and conceits;
follows Christ’s institutions and adheres to them; regards the meanest,
reproves the greatest, and doth not respect persons.” (Matthew Henry)
2. As they are faithful, God’s servants are wise.
They are
neither faithful nor wise by nature; but God has made them both faithful and
wise by grace and by his gifts upon them, making them fit and able ministers of
the gospel. They are well-instructed in the things of God, given a clear
understanding in the doctrines of the gospel, and wisely exercise their talents
and gifts for the glory of God. They seek constantly to improve their
knowledge, make the best use of their time, and manage their lives to best
serve Christ and his people. God graciously gives his servants wisdom to guide
and direct his people and to care for them, like a father guides and cares for
his family.
3. Notice this too:
The faithful and wise pastor is a man who is doing what God called him to do
(v. 46).
He always
has something to do. And he is always found doing what he has been sent and called
of God to do. He is not found dreaming, or loitering, or talking, but doing his
Master’s will and work, feeding his sheep.
Illustration: John Calvin, “What, do
you want the Lord to find me idle when he comes?”
·
This implies that he
is constant in his labor.
·
It also implies that
he perseveres in the work God has put into his hands.
D. His Reward (v. 47).
The
Scriptures nowhere teach, or even imply that there shall be degrees of reward
in heaven. That is contrary to everything taught in the gospel (Rom. 8:17).
Certainly, our Lord does not exalt one servant in his kingdom above another.
But God does reward faithfulness, both in this world and in the world to come.
1. Those who are faithful over a few things shall be made
Lord over many things (Luke 19:17). Frequently, God honors faithful service by
giving greater service to perform.
2. God’s servants shall find immensely great reward in
seeing those for whom they have labored around the throne of Christ in glory (I
Thess. 2:19).
3. And God’s faithful and wise servants shall themselves
inherit all things with Christ in glory (John 17:5, 22).
II. In verses
48-50, our Lord describes those men who are evil servants in the house of God.
Here again,
our Lord gives us four things which are descriptive of that man who is a false
prophet, an evil servant in the house of God. I will not say much about him.
But you will see immediately what such a man is.
A. His Character-Unbelief
(v. 48)
B. His Conduct -(v. 49)
·
He is Judgmental.
·
He is Legalistic.
·
He is Self-serving.
C. His Astonishment (v. 50)
D. His Doom (v.51)
Application:
·
I Thessalonians
5:12-13
·
II Thessalonians 3:1