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Whatever it Takes… to Hear Well Done, Part 2

Summit Life / J.D. Greear
The Truth Network Radio
December 16, 2024 9:00 am

Whatever it Takes… to Hear Well Done, Part 2

Summit Life / J.D. Greear

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December 16, 2024 9:00 am

We may recognize the time, treasure, and talents God has given us, but have we asked God for his purpose in giving them to us? Pastor J.D. continues to teach in this message about investing our lives in God’s kingdom by sharing what keeps so many of us from investing our resources wisely

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Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. God owns all that we have. Even if you feel like you earned all the money you have by yourself, the opportunities and talents and health that you used to make that money came from him. It's all his. It's not that only 10% is his and the other 90% is all ours.

All of it is his. And so the most important question you'll ask about your life is, God, what was your purpose in giving these things to me? Thanks for joining us today as we kick off another week of solid biblical teaching here on Summit Life with Pastor J.D.

Greer. As always, I'm your host, Molly Betovitch. While it's true that we may recognize the time, treasure and talents that God has given us, have we ever really asked God why he gave them to us? Today, Pastor J.D. continues the teaching he began last week by sharing what keeps so many of us from investing our resources wisely. We're in a teaching series called Whatever It Takes. And remember, if you've missed any part, just catch up online at jdgreer.com. Let's rejoin Pastor J.D.

in Luke chapter 19 right now. Again, what does your checkbook say your priority is? I know your mouth would say that Jesus is the most important. What does your checkbook say?

Your calendar and your checkbook are much better indicators of what's important to you than your mouth is. Your talents, how are you using whatever skills you have? How are you using them? How are you using your career for the kingdom of God? Do you know your spiritual gift and are you using it?

You got one, by the way. If you're a believer, do you know what that is and are you using it? See, one day you and I are gonna give an account to the master for how we used all these things, how we used our knowledge of the gospel and our time, our treasure, and our talents to help others know him.

Right? So that's question number one is what do these represent? It's whatever resources God has given us to know him and help make him known. Number two, what does God expect of each of us personally? What do you expect of each of us personally? In short, for us to take what he's given us and double it. This parable teaches us that we're not responsible for how much we receive. That's the decision of the master.

We're responsible to invest what he's given us according to the abilities that he's given us. The master gave the same commendation to the one who earned back five as he did to the one who earned back 10. Each did according to his own ability. Matthew's version, by the way, makes this even clearer because in Matthew's version, the master actually gives different amounts to each of the servants.

The one he gives five, one he gives 10, one he gives one. You see, our master knows, he's acknowledging, listen, that we all start at different places. Perhaps you, like me, you were born into the home of a godly mom and dad and you were given the incredible privilege of growing up in a good church like I did where you heard the Bible taught consistently and you were around examples of people who both loved you and lived out the gospel in front of you. That's a very different starting point than the little boy who never knew his father and whose mother struggled with a cocaine addiction. My mom used to always repeat to me the words of Jesus, JD, to whom much is given, much is required. You've been given a lot.

Much is going to be required of you. With great power comes great responsibility. See, there might be pastors out there who reach thousands who are still poorer stewards of what they've received than the man who's just struggling to stay sober as he shares the gospel with his children. Maybe he came from a terrible background, unlike me. Maybe he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome. He may never be as successful in the eyes of the world as that big mega pastor, but he started with so much less. And maybe it took a Herculean effort on his part just to stay sober and bring his kids to Jesus.

Y'all, can't you see his master's smile on that last day as he says to the master, oh master, you gave me life and salvation. I'm not the world's best evangelist and you know that. I had all these lingering weaknesses that plagued me until my dying day, but because of my efforts, one more person knows you today. I took what you gave me and I doubled it.

I've improved your assets. So don't sit on that talent, no matter how small you think it is or how insignificant you think you are. Because see, on the other hand, failure to invest what you've been given has serious consequences. The master calls this lazy servant wicked. Again, in the kingdom of God, there's more than one way to be wicked.

You can be wicked through sins of commission, breaking the commandments, or you can be wicked by sins of omission. Just failing to invest what God gave you for his kingdom. Have you been a good steward of what God gave you? Are you ready right now to stand before God and give account of how you stewarded the time, the treasure, and the talent that he's given you? Friend, understand this, with grace comes responsibility.

Paul in the book of Romans actually uses the word debtor. I'm under obligation to those who haven't heard the gospel. Because God gave me the grace of hearing the gospel, because he gave me all these privileges that I did not earn.

God didn't choose me to hear the gospel because I was a better person than anybody else. It's just a gift of grace. But because of that, I owe something to those who have not heard, and if I don't double the investment of this grace, I'm robbing my master.

You say, how are you robbing your master? Well, imagine you work for compassion in the Dominican Republic. And the CEO of Compassion contacts you and says, hey, good news. Good news, we just received a huge million dollar donation. And I'm transferring it to your account down there so you can distribute it to those needy kids.

But instead, you just let it sit there. You'd be robbing the donor of his investment and robbing the kids of the grace that was supposed to have come to them. Even worse, of course, would be if you used that money on yourself. Used that million to upgrade your house or increase your lifestyle down there. That's how God thinks about those of us who do not invest what he has given to us into his kingdom.

Y'all, this is serious stuff. These servants receive the harshest condemnation. Maybe you're the kind of person who believes all the right things and you live a good moral life and you come to church. But if you have failed to leverage your life for the kingdom, have you actually ever started to follow Jesus? His command was not be a better person, stop cussing, give a little bit to tithe and come to church.

His command was follow me. It's like when one of Charles Spurgeon's students asked him, Pastor Spurgeon, how can the lost be saved if they never hear about Jesus? Spurgeon responded, that's a good question, but the better question is how could we actually be saved if we fail to go and tell them?

Number three, here's the third question. What keeps so many from investing for the master? What keeps so many from investing for the master? What kept the one servant in this parable from investing? Well, he actually tells you, doesn't he? Verse 21, he just says, I was afraid of you because you're a severe man. Verse 22, Jesus says, yeah, by your words, you've condemned yourself.

By your words, you let me and everybody else know you didn't really trust me. Even though this story shows the master to be so generous and so patient and so wealthy, that becomes all the more potent when you consider that the master who's telling this story, Jesus, is on his way where? To Jerusalem.

What's going to happen in Jerusalem? He's gonna die for the sins of his rebellious servants. Has there ever been a master more gracious than Jesus? A master more worthy of the entrustment of your life?

Now, let me be really clear, okay? To really follow Jesus involves risk. It's scary because you gotta take your hands of control off of your life and you gotta yield control to him. And you gotta stop seeing your resources, your time and your treasure and your talents.

You gotta stop seeing those primarily as assets by which to build your kingdom and instead see them as entrustments given to you to build his. To really do that, you gotta know that Jesus is worthy of the entrustment of your life. That was a phrase my dad repeated over and over again when I was growing up.

I often use it here. Only one life to live will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. Those words were penned by a man named C.T. Studd.

C.T. Studd was England's most well-known professional athlete at the turn of the 20th century. He played cricket, which I know is not that impressive now. I feel like it's kind of a goofy game, but in those days, it was the most popular sport in the world. Please don't send me YouTubes of awesome cricket players, okay? I get it.

It's hard, but I'm just saying, in our culture, we don't see that as a central kind of thing. But back then, it was like the deal. This guy was the Patrick Mahomes or Lionel Messi of cricket. But at the height of his career, he walks away from all of it to become a missionary to India and then later to China, where he dies in relative poverty. Imagine if one of those guys did that today. Imagine if LeBron holds a press conference later. I'm taking my talents and I'm going to South Sudan to live as a missionary there.

I'll never play basketball again. When people asked C.T. Studd why he would do that, he said that phrase, only one life to live will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. But the other thing he always said, which to me is every bit as important, if Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice could be too great for me to make for him. In other words, my master is worth the offering of my life.

By the way, if you're going to be a professional athlete to have the last name Studd, I mean, that is like on point, am I right? So when I think about what this parable means for our mission in the triangle right now, 2022, here are my conclusions. All right, letter A, all we need to accomplish our mission, it's already in our hands. These servants didn't have to ask the master for resources, did they? No, he'd already given them all that they needed. What if everything necessary for this church to reach this community in this year was already in our hands?

Here's a second conclusion. Each of us in this church is going to be judged by how we use what was entrusted to us. Here at the Summit Church, we often use the word steward when it comes to our resources. A steward is not the owner of something, a steward merely manages it on behalf of the owner. If I take my money to a financial investor and I give it to her, that's not her money to use however she wants. That's my money that she manages for me.

She's the steward, not the owner. And that means the most important question she can ever ask is, what does JD want done with his money? And that's conclusion C, the most important question any of us can ever ask. Why did God give me what he gave me? That might be the most important question you will ever ask about your life.

Why did God give you what he gave you, y'all? Because that house, not yours. That car, not yours. Those talents, not yours.

That bank account, not yours. Many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking like owners. And because we think like that, we become resistant, even, let's be honest, resentful when God asks us to give. Who are you, God, to demand some of my money? And God's like, excuse me? Parents, it's kind of like when you go into the gas station to pay for gas and on the way out, just out of the goodness of your heart.

I mean, just in a moment of parental kindness, you buy your kid a bag of cookies or snacks. They weren't even asking for it. And when you hand it to them, you ask for one and they say, no, these are mine. And you're like, the audacity. Kids, you need me to remind you who paid for that.

And while we're at it, who bought the clothes you're wearing and the car you're sitting in and provided everything else of value in your life? I remember hearing Will Smith in an interview, pre-slap Will. He was talking about his kids. Can't quote him as much anymore, but this is pre. And the interviewer said, he said, Will, when did your kids learn that they were rich?

And Will interrupted the interviewer and he said, let me just stop you right there, champ. I'm rich, my kids are not. I let him use some of my money, but it's not theirs. Same thing with us and God. God owns all that we have, even if you feel like you earned all the money you have by yourself and you pulled yourself up by your bootstrap, so to speak.

That kind of American myth. The opportunities and talents and health that you used to make that money came from him. It's all his. It's not that only 10% is his and the other 90% is all ours.

All of it is his. And so the most important question you'll ask about your life is, God, what was your purpose in giving these things to me? You were listening to Summit Life with Pastor J.D. Greer, and we'll return to our teaching in just a moment. This Christmas season, we want to take just a moment to thank you for being a part of all that God has done at J.D. Greer Ministries in 2024. You have helped us shine the light of the gospel in the darkest corners of the world. Because of your financial support and most importantly, your prayers, we have seen God multiply our efforts like only he can.

We're definitely shooting for that well done at the end of our time. To thank you for your generous year-end gift today, we'd like to send you our most popular resource each year. It's the 2025 Summit Life Planner. As always, we've included a Bible reading plan to help you maintain that most important spiritual discipline this next year. And the scripture we'll be reading together aligns with the teaching that you'll hear here on Summit Life in 2025. Receive this planner as our thanks for your generous gift to the ministry right now.

Give us a call at 866-335-5220 or check it out at jdgreer.com. Now let's get back to today's teaching on Summit Life. Once again, here's Pastor J.D. He's given us the minas of our time and our treasure and our talent.

He's already put it all right here that we need to get the job done. So the question is, have you asked him that all-important question? What is the purpose, God, that you have for me and what you gave me? Because whatever it is, he wants you to double it for his kingdom.

He's given you salvation. Double it. Make a disciple. He's made you a small group leader. Double it.

Plan a new small group. He's given you Bible knowledge. Double it. Teach what you know. You might not be the best teacher. Maybe you got a one mina teaching gift.

That's okay. Double it. Mentor somebody. Teach your kids.

Tutor an at-risk kid through one of our community outreach programs. He's given you money. Double it by investing in what God is doing here.

Think about your careers. How are you using your career for his kingdom? We often tell our college students, you students that are young professionals, that what it means to follow Jesus is to do what you do well to the glory of God. He didn't make you all to be pastors.

He didn't make you all to be worship leaders or writers, but he made you good at something. Do that well to the glory of God, but also do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God. The most unreached parts of the world live in what missiologists call the 1040 window. It's think Northern Africa and the Middle East and that band that stretches across the world.

It's very difficult for missionaries to get into, but you can get there through business easily. You say, well, why would I do that when there's so much need here? Simple, because that's what our master told us to do. Make disciples of all the nations, he says.

I mean, think about it. If you were an EMT, this is how people think. If you're an EMT and there was an earthquake and you came into a building full of hurting people, you would never leave that group right in front of you to drive across town to help a different group.

Unless that's what your supervisor told you to do. Our master Jesus had said that this gospel must be preached among all nations. So we don't go overseas because Raleigh Durham is fixed. We go overseas because our master told us to. Maybe you ought to consider going.

By the way, for you college students, one very practical thing that you can do is consider joining what we call our city project for the summer. It's an incredible eight week program where you live in housing that we provide while you do theological training and mission trips for the summer. You may not know what God has called you to in life yet, but this is a way of exploring your spiritual gifts and learning those skills of discipleship that you'll need wherever you go. For our retirees, use these years to invest in the kingdom.

An older friend of mine calls this season of life, he calls it his preferment instead of retirement because now he can do whatever he prefers to do. Use your preferment for the kingdom of God. You ought to consider giving a few years to go and serve on one of our teams.

We can't figure out a way for you to do it through us. We'll hand you to the North Carolina Baptist Convention we work with and they'll figure out somewhere for you to go. Double those three years of your retirement by investing them in the kingdom. For many of you, God has given you a home. Double it by showing hospitality.

Open it up. Maybe you got a 10 minas home. Use that well, friends, because you're going to have to answer for every square foot. He's given all of his time. 86,400 seconds every day that he puts into your account.

God, this one is so important. Your time is not your own. You understand that, right? Your time, every second of it, is on loan. You got to work, play, love, and rest like your master has commanded. By the way, in saying that, I don't mean that you're going to engage every second in unending, wearying work. After all, Jesus commands us to rest. I just mean that you recognize that every second belongs to him so we work, play, and rest as we think he would want us to. How much of your time are you directly investing in his kingdom, volunteering or serving?

God has given each of you minas of time, treasure, and talents. Don't cover them. Don't cover them with a handkerchief. Let this handkerchief represent all those other things that you might use your time, treasure, and talents for.

You just slowly, not maliciously, but you just slowly start to bury it, pursuing a life of leisure, golf, boating, beach houses, getting your nails done, or video games, or TikTok, or whatever it is for you. Sometimes somebody will say to me, a lot of times it's a parent of a college student who feels called to go with one of our church plants overseas, and they'll say to me, I don't want my son or daughter wasting their lives as a missionary. We raised all this money to send them to UNC Chapel Hill, or NC State, or Meredith, or Peace, or North Carolina Central. We're investing all this money, and they got all this talent.

They got into the school. We don't want them to waste those talents and that money. Is that a waste? Not if this parable is true, it's not.

Let me tell you what is a waste. A little feature story from a financial magazine. Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was only 59 and she was 51. Because of their wise investments, they retired early and they now live in South Florida, where they cruise around in their 30-foot trawler, play softball, and collect shells. You say, that sounds amazing.

I'd love to be able to do that one day. Let me quote John Piper here. Bob and Penny achieved the American dream. The American dream comes to the end of your life. Your one and only life. And let the last great work before you give an account to your creator be. I collected shells.

Look, Lord, look at my seashell collection. That's a tragedy. That's a waste. And yet people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Today I'm here to plead with you, don't buy it.

Don't waste your life. It's popular now, I've told you, for people to live by a bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket.

I want you to think about a bucket list in light of this parable. The Bible says that our master's kingdom, the one that he has gone to receive, the one he'll share with us one day, it's a renewed heaven and earth. Which means that it will contain all that we loved about the earth down here just without the curse of sin. And that means that whatever you miss out on on earth down here, whatever you miss out on, you'll make up for in abundance there. I may never make it to the earthly Iceland. I've heard it's beautiful, it's awesome.

But that's just the cursed one. If I never get there, that's okay. One day I'll experience the heavenly one. I may never own my own private jet, but that's okay.

In heaven I won't need one. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to fly around up there. I may never get to climb Mount Everest here, but if not, that's okay.

This Mount Everest is just the cursed one. I can't wait to see the heavenly one. There's only one thing, there's only one thing I cannot do in heaven that I can do right now. And that is invest these minas that he's given me in bringing people to Jesus.

So that's the only thing that should go on my bucket list. They all need a chance to hear all of them. So I want to take these minas and I want to double them for my master in heaven. What a great challenge from Pastor JD today. If you missed any part of today's teaching or would like to catch up on our brand new series called Whatever It Takes, just head to jdgrier.com to view each sermon free of charge. From the very beginning, God intended for his church to move from person to person, household to household, neighborhood to neighborhood, nation to nation, to move into areas of brokenness and despair and injustice, bringing God's healing, hope and perfect peace. What moves us today is the same thing that moved the earliest disciples 2000 years ago, the gospel message. The gospel transforms us, empowers us, unites us and propels us.

And because of the gospel, we reach, we disciple and we send. That's truly what Summit Life is all about. As our way of saying thanks for your support of this mission, we'll get you a copy of our latest exclusive resource, the 2025 Summit Life Day Planner. It's a great tool for busy students, parents, businessmen and women, anyone really. You can keep track of your deadlines, create to-do lists, and throughout the planner you'll find Bible verses to remind you of what you were learning on the program.

We're even including a year-long Bible reading plan to help you grow deeper in the gospel throughout the year. Ask for a copy of the 2025 Summit Life Day Planner when you give a one-time generous gift today at the suggested amount of $45 or more. Call 866-335-5220.

That's 866-335-5220 or give online at jdcareer.com. Your support is essential to our mission and we are so grateful for every contribution. I'm Molly Vidovitch. Be sure to tune in again tomorrow as we head toward the finish line of our new series with a message titled Whatever It Takes to Possess Jesus. That's Tuesday on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by J.D. Greer Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-17 03:06:32 / 2024-12-17 03:17:17 / 11

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