WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

PROCLAMATION

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”  Matthew 25:21 and 23 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which were spoken by Christ according to the Apostle Matthew.  As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, He continued to speak to His disciples.  He told them the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the Parable of the Bags of Gold (Matthew 25:14-30), and He also told them about The Sheep and the Goats. (Matthew 25:31-46)  Five of the virgins were wise and prepared ahead of time and five were foolish and did not so they were not ready when the time came.  Two of the servants used wisely what their master had given to them and were rewarded with “Well done …” while the one servant who did nothing was punished.  The King will separate the sheep from the goats, one people from another, and those who treated the needy people kindly were rewarded, and those who didn’t were punished.  He said, “… As ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

APPLICATION

We ought to get ready now for the return of Christ.  Delaying and procrastinating may cause us to be left behind like the five foolish virgins.  We all have God-given abilities and gifts which we need to use to His glory.  We should give of our time, talent, and treasure to the kingdom building efforts here on earth while we are able to do so.  When the time comes, we will be rewarded for our work. (Matthew 16:27)  We also need to be very careful regarding how we treat people.  Christ said, as you have done it to them, you have done it to Him. (Matthew 25:40)  But He also said, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me. (Matthew 25:45)  This clearly states that we can sin by commission and by omission.  When we don’t do that which we should do, we also sin.  Doing nothing can be sinful, especially when we have the opportunity to help someone and we don’t do it.  Let us not waste our God-given abilities and gifts, let us work to the glory of God.

WE WANT TO HEAR WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

Proclamation:

“‘Well done, my good servant’, his master replied.  ‘Because you have trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of …’”  Luke 19:17 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  As He was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped and blessed the house of Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector. (Luke 19:1-10)  Then Jesus told a parable to those who had followed Him about a certain nobleman and his servants. (Luke 19:11-27)  After this He continued on to Jerusalem.  When He got there, He entered the city on the back of a colt as the crowd cheered. (Luke 19:28-38)

Application:

In this parable the nobleman represents The Lord Jesus, The Christ, and we are the servants.

Each of us has been blessed with various different abilities and we each have been given an assignment according to our ability to handle it. (Matthew 25:15)  Those of us who faithfully discharge our responsibilities as we work for The Lord will be rewarded.  He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your Master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21 and 23)  

WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

Proclamation:

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness!'" Matthew 25:23 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Apostle Matthew recorded these words of Jesus, The Christ, as He was describing to His disciples what heaven would be like.  After giving an example likening the kingdom of heaven to the ten virgins, Jesus gave a second example likening the kingdom of heaven to the three servants, who were given a different number of talents by their master based upon their different abilities.  Afterwards, the three servants had to give and account of their stewardship.  This verse is the judgment received by the second servant, which is a repeat of the judgment of the first servant. (Matthew 25:21)  Being faithful and doing a good job with what we are given will please The Lord, and He will reward those who are faithful over the little that they were given.  

Application:
Today, we must be aware of the fact that there will come a day when each of us must give an account to The Lord for all that we thought, said, and did; and for all that we did with that which had been entrusted to us. (Matthew 12:36, Luke 16:2, and Romans 14:12)  As believers, we are saved and our sins have been forgiven.  We will be judged on our kingdom building efforts.  (Revelation 11:18 and Revelation 20:12-13)  We will be judged on our works, on what we did to give glory to The Lord.  Anything that we did which did not give Him glory will be consumed by the fire which we must pass through. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)  For our good works, we shall receive a reward.  Some of us will receive one or more crowns. (2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Peter 5:4) first and foremost we want to hear The Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter into the joy of The Lord."

Well Done Good And Faithful Servant

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share Your master's happiness!' "  Matthew 25:23 (NIV)

The Apostle Matthew recorded these words of Jesus, The Christ, as He was describing to His disciples what heaven would be like.  After giving an example likening the kingdom of heaven to the ten virgins, Jesus gave a second example likening the kingdom of heaven to the three servants, who were given a different number of talents by their master based upon their different abilities.  Afterwards, the three servants had to give and account of their stewardship.  This verse is the judgment received by the second servant, which is a repeat of the judgment of the first servant. (Matthew 25:21)  Being faithful and doing a good job with what we are given will please The Lord, and He will reward those who are faithful over the little that they were given.  

Today, we must be aware of the fact that there will come a day when each of us must give an account to The Lord for all that we thought, said, and did; and for all that we did with that which had been entrusted to us. (Matthew 12:36, Luke 16:2, and Romans 14:12)  As believers, we are saved and our sins have been forgiven.  We will be judged on our kingdom building efforts.  (Revelation 11:18 and Revelation 20:12-13)  We will be judged on our works, on what we did to give glory to The Lord.  Anything that we did which did not give Him glory, will be consumed by the fire which we must pass through. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)  For our good works, we shall receive a reward.  Some of us will receive one or more crowns. (2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Peter 5:4)  There are mansions prepared for us. (John 14:2)  However, all rewards aside, on judgment day, first and foremost we want to hear The Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter into the joy of The Lord."