How to Be Ready

The scripture for today comes from Matthew chapter 25.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 1, we read,

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them.

But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

But at midnight there was a cry.

Here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him.

Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said to the wise,

Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

But the wise answered, saying,

Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.

And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came.

And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying,

Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered,

Truly I say to you, I do not know you.

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

Then he went away.

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them.

And he made five talents more.

So also, he who had two talents made two talents more.

But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,

Master, you delivered to me five talents.

Here, I have five talents more.

His master said to him,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

And he who had two talents came forward, saying,

Master, you delivered me two talents.

Here, I have two talents more.

His master said to him,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying,

Master, I know you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gather where you scattered no seed.

So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Here, you have what is yours.

But his master answered him,

You wicked and slothful servant.

You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scatter no seed.

Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers.

And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

For to everyone who has will more be given.

And he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,

then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Before him will be gathered all the nations.

And he will separate people from one another,

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then the kingdom will say to those on his right,

Come, you are blessed by my Father.

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave me food.

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.

I was naked, and you clothed me.

I was sick, and you visited me.

I was in prison, and you came to me.

Then the righteous will answer him, saying,

Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,

or thirsty and gave you drink?

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you,

or naked and clothe you?

And when did we see you sick, or in prison and visit you?

And the king will answer them,

Truly I say to you,

As you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers,

You did it to me.

Then he will say to those on his left,

Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire,

Prepared for the devil and his angels.

Where I was hungry, and you gave me no food.

I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink.

I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me.

Naked, and you did not cloth me.

Sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

Then they also will answer, saying,

Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty,

or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,

and did not minister to you?

Then he will answer them, saying,

Truly I say to you,

As you did not do it to one of the least of these,

you did not do it to me.

And these will go away into internal punishment,

but the righteous into eternal life.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thanks so much, Annabelle, Risa.

That was great reading.

Good to have the alternation.

And yeah, we are racing through the book of Matthew,

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25.

And today,

why don't we pray together,

as we listen to God's word.

Father, thank you for these words.

Thank you that we have the words of Jesus.

We pray that we would listen

to our King, our Savior, our Master.

Please speak to each one of us.

Would we hear what you want us to hear?

Whatever that may be.

Thank you that you are the living and speaking God.

So encourage us today,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, it's great not to have masks.

Although, looking back,

if there was one restriction

that you have to keep,

which one would it be?

I don't know.

And actually,

the one that I'm most grateful for

is quarantine gone, right?

Life is so different now.

I don't know how many of you

have been flying.

So many people,

they're now on business trips

and on holiday.

And so, of course,

you're flying

and you get the safety features, right?

The sewer that's showing

where's the exits

and here's the live vest.

How many of you listen to that?

I think no one, right?

Well, the reason is very simple.

We don't think it will happen, right?

And there's no way we're going to crash.

So why would I listen?

What if you really knew

the plane would crash?

I think you would listen, right?

Everyone would get a mobile phone

and video it

and kind of save it for later.

Now, if you really know

something's going to happen,

you would be ready.

We just don't think it will be.

And I think that's why

we want to listen

to what Jesus has been saying, right?

Something big is going to happen.

We heard that last week.

If you were here,

Jesus is going to return.

It's going to be

the end of the world,

the end of history.

Big change, right?

The new creation,

the final judgment,

as we heard.

And Jesus says,

we need to be ready.

And if you were there last week,

yeah,

that was challenging.

We want to be ready.

We want to hear,

right?

The disciples,

they were interested.

Okay, hey, Jesus,

when are you going to come back?

And what will be the sign?

And Jesus starts saying,

okay,

you need to be ready.

And today is basically

part two of that speech.

And so I hope we want to listen,

especially because I think it's,

I've been challenged

that it's not quite what I expected.

But right,

Jesus wants us to be ready

for his return.

I mean,

if you read the whole New Testament,

I think one out of every 10 verses

is about Jesus' return.

It's just a big topic.

Let's listen to what Jesus has to say.

And we have these three parables.

Obviously,

the last one isn't a parable.

Three stories.

And they help us,

well,

how to be ready.

So first,

yeah,

the virgins.

Now,

what is the story here,

right,

with the virgins?

Well,

then the kingdom,

verse one,

of heaven will be like 10 virgins

who took their lamps

and went to meet the bridegroom.

I don't know.

It's,

I guess these virgins

are like bridesmaids.

What happened back then?

Yeah,

that was the big feast,

but the bridegroom,

I think he would go

and get his bride

and then come back

and there would be

this big procession

into the feast

and these bridesmaids

would have lamps

to kind of light the way.

And so they,

they,

they,

they were kind of waiting

for the bridegroom to come

so that they could kind of,

you know,

then have their lamps

and go in with him

to the feast

and be part of the procession.

I like bridesmaids.

That's what you should think.

The only thing is,

well,

of course,

they were wise and foolish

and some of them brought

this extra oil.

But they,

they trimmed their lamps,

right,

they were waiting

but the,

verse five,

as the bridegroom

was delayed,

they all became drowsy

and slept,

right?

They put their lamps

on the lowest setting,

just waiting outside

for the bridegroom.

And then suddenly,

well,

here at midnight

is the bridegroom,

right?

Here is the big moment.

And so they,

they all get up

and they,

they put their lamps

to the highest setting,

right?

Now,

here's the procession.

We're going to go in.

And the only thing is,

well,

you need extra oil then,

all right?

Because the lamps

have been burning all night.

And so the wise ones,

they have oil.

But the foolish ones,

we don't have oil.

And,

well,

what do we do?

Well,

go and buy some.

So five of the bridesmaids,

they go off to buy oil.

And while they're away,

the bridegroom comes.

The wise ones go in with him

and the door is shut.

That's kind of the story here,

right?

I guess we can follow it.

Here's the bridesmaids.

And some of them,

well,

we think it's about being ready,

right?

Although he actually,

when you read the story,

it was very surprising,

right?

I mean,

you expect this,

this comes after what Jesus

has been saying about his return.

And of course,

he is the bridegroom,

right?

He is the bridegroom

who comes back after a long delay

and we want to be ready,

right?

But,

you know,

he talked last week,

hey,

I'm coming like a thief in the night.

I'm going to come suddenly.

So you'd expect be awake.

And isn't that what this parable is about?

Well,

here are the 10 virgins

and,

you know,

five of them stayed awake

and five of them were asleep.

Well,

that's not the story.

How many of them were awake?

None of them.

They all fell asleep.

What made the difference?

How do you say it?

Right?

They had oil.

You had added oil.

That's the thing,

right?

Five of them were prepared

and five of them were not prepared.

It's not about how,

were they ready?

It's not about what were they doing

when the bridegroom came.

It is,

were they prepared?

And when do you prepare?

Well,

you do that beforehand.

You do that now,

right?

The difference between the wise

and the foolish,

actually,

there was a long time

before the bridegroom came

that they were ready.

And actually,

that is really surprising to me,

right?

It's not what you expect.

We always talk about,

okay,

Jesus is going to come back.

You need to be ready then.

This story actually says,

well,

you need to be ready now.

You need to be prepared now.

And actually,

it's exactly the same

with the other two stories,

isn't it?

Because here's the master

and he,

and the servants,

and then he calls them to account.

Does it talk about

what the,

what the servants were doing

when the master came?

No.

I mean,

that was last week.

There was a parable about that,

yeah.

But here,

it is about

what have they been doing

while he was away?

And likewise,

yeah,

the final judgment,

it's not what people were doing

when the son of man came.

It's what were they doing

while he was away?

And so that is,

I think,

the biggest surprise here,

right?

It is prepare for Jesus' return.

Being ready is about now.

And I think that,

yeah,

it's,

yes,

there is an element

what we looked at last week,

right?

Make sure you're not

kind of away from Jesus.

You're not,

you know,

completely away from Jesus

when he comes

because that'll be a shock.

But actually,

getting ready

is part,

it's a lot of it

is about now.

What do we do now?

How we live now,

at work,

at church,

in our family,

now?

That is how Jesus says

we're going to be ready.

It's about what we're doing

while he is away.

And I think that's really,

in a way,

encouraging,

right?

I don't know,

some places in Asia,

especially like Korea,

they have this,

at the end of high school,

there's this really big exam,

right?

Everything hangs on this one exam

at the end of high school.

Which university do you go to?

Which career can you have?

It's all about this one exam.

And your whole time in school,

it doesn't matter,

right?

It doesn't really matter

what tests you did

or exams,

it doesn't matter.

It's just about this one final exam.

And in a way that,

you know,

your life is not very important,

it's just about this one exam.

What if,

the day before the exam,

your boyfriend breaks up with you

and you're completely distraught

and, you know,

this one exam goes wrong.

So much pressure on this one thing.

Well,

it's wonderful to hear

it's not like that with Jesus.

It's not about,

okay,

there's this one unknown day

in the future

and that's when you need to be ready.

That is the only thing that matters.

And that puts so much pressure

and that's why Christians want to know,

when is it going to happen?

Because so much pressure on this one day.

Actually,

Jesus says,

no,

it's about preparing.

It's about being ready now.

And it's encouraging,

right?

Your life now matters.

Your family now matters.

Your work now matters.

Church now matters.

Right?

That is what Jesus wants.

Actually,

we want to prepare for Jesus' return.

We want to be ready.

Well,

we do that now.

And that's where we're going to go.

Of course,

then,

okay,

what does it look like to prepare?

What does it look like to be ready?

We'll look at the foolish virgins later.

Well,

second story,

well,

it's about this story about the talents.

In a way,

the story is quite straightforward,

right?

There's a master.

Verse 14,

it will be like a man going on a journey

who called his servants

and entrusted to them his property.

To one,

he gave five talents,

to another two,

to another one,

to each according to his ability.

And then he went away.

And he,

this man goes away on a long journey

and he gives his property,

his money to his servants.

And they are supposed to go and invest it.

And that's what they do,

right?

Two of them,

they go and put their money to work.

They trade,

they make five more,

they make two more,

but one hides in the ground.

And then again,

after a long time,

he came back

and then he calls his servants to account.

What have you been doing

while I was away?

And the point is pretty simple,

right?

In a way,

use your talents.

That's what it says.

The only thing is,

you know,

yeah,

use your talents.

Don't bury them.

But what are these talents,

right?

Now,

I guess most of us,

we hear talents

and you think like,

Britain's got talents,

right?

And you,

you,

we use in English the word talent

for kind of artistic skills,

right?

Like piano

and violin

and ballet.

That is,

you know,

and you hear this parable

and,

you know,

if you can play the piano,

you need to use it.

You know,

go for the grade eight exam

and,

and those kind of things,

right?

This is the,

the Tiger Mom parable,

right?

Make it,

use your talents.

But of course,

that's modern English.

This was Greek

2000 years ago.

What does the word talent mean?

It doesn't mean skill.

A talent is a unit of weight.

It's about 30 kilos

and usually 30 kilos

of,

of silver.

So it's basically

a money unit.

So he's just giving money.

That's the story,

right?

It is the servant,

the master gives

his money to the servants,

go and invest it,

go trade with it.

It's money.

All right?

So what is it?

Well,

we don't really know.

He doesn't say.

I mean,

he says,

uh,

when we all know,

we just know it's different,

right?

One has five,

one has two,

one has one.

So in Luke,

there is the story

of the 10 minas.

That's where each servant

gets exactly the same.

I think that that's the gospel,

right?

We all have the same gospel

and we're supposed to use it.

This is,

I think,

something that's different

between us.

So,

you know,

it doesn't say what it is.

I think it's just,

you know,

use what you have,

you know,

use what you have.

Maybe you,

uh,

use your money for Jesus.

Use your time for Jesus.

Use your gifts.

Yeah,

of course,

if you can use your piano

for Jesus,

do it.

Great music team.

But,

you know,

uh,

use your opportunities

for Jesus,

right?

Use what you have

for Jesus.

I think that's

what it says,

right?

The master wants

the servants

to use his property

for him.

use,

yeah,

use it.

Use what you have.

And then what do we learn

from this parable?

I mean,

one thing that I hope

strikes you

is that the master

is really generous.

I mean,

30 kilos of silver,

that's a lot,

right?

your ESV footnote

tells you

is a monetary unit

worth about 20 years

wages for a laborer.

Okay?

So,

one of those things

is worth

two and a half million

Hong Kong dollars.

So,

this master,

he gives

12 million

to this guy

and five million

to this guy

and two and a half

million to this guy.

Go and invest it.

If you work in finance,

I don't know how much

you get to invest

from people,

but it's a lot of money,

right?

But then when

he comes back

and,

you know,

here's the servant

and,

hey,

your five talents

have made five more.

What does he say?

Well,

such a great response,

right?

Well done.

Good and faithful servant,

verse 21.

You have been faithful

over a little,

just 12 million,

a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy

of your master,

right?

I'm going to give you

a much greater responsibility

and enter into the joy

of your master.

Come celebrate with me.

Come to my party

and be with me,

right?

A great reward.

He's so generous

and he's so fair,

right?

Because here's one guy

and he's made five talents.

Well,

there's the other guy

with the two talents

and he's made two more.

And what does he get?

Well,

that's okay.

No,

no,

no,

right?

Verse 23.

His master said to him,

well done,

good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful

over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy

of your master.

Exactly the same response,

word for word,

right?

It's so fair.

It doesn't matter.

One had five talents,

the other had two talents.

Exactly the same response.

It's so nice,

right?

I mean,

use what you have.

Some people just have

more than others,

right?

There are some people

who are amazingly gifted

and others are not

and you just think,

well,

they,

Jesus is so pleased with them

and Kevin is so amazing

and,

you know,

and I'm,

you know,

that's how many of us feel.

No,

it's use what you have.

Maybe you don't have very much.

Maybe you have a young baby

and the only thing you can do

is change nappies

and you don't have much time

for anything else.

Jesus knows that

and he is not expecting you

to do,

right,

a lot.

He knows.

Maybe you have a medical condition

and you can't do very much.

No,

Jesus knows what you have.

He's given it to you.

Just use what you have,

right?

In a way,

that's encouraging.

Here's a master

who is generous

and fair,

right?

And maybe the person

who gets the most reward

is someone you don't expect.

A bit like that widow

who put in the two copper coins

compared to all the rich people

because she put in everything

and they put on just a little bit,

right?

And that's so encouraging.

Use what you have

and what an awesome privilege,

right?

I mean,

I don't know what your boss is like.

So many bosses in Hong Kong

are terrible.

He is the most wonderful master.

Not Kevin,

by the way,

but

but yeah,

use what you have,

so use it

and we'll come back

to the first servant later.

But of course,

use what you have,

well,

for what?

And that is the third story.

It's not even a parable,

right?

The final judgment

because he doesn't say

then it will be like,

it's not,

this is what it's like,

this is actually what it is.

This is the future.

This is Jesus' return.

And verse 31,

when the Son of Man

comes in his glory

and all the angels with him,

then he will sit

on his glorious throne.

Before him will be gathered

all the nations

and he will separate people

one from another

as a shepherd separates

the sheep from the goats.

Imagine the scene,

the Son of Man,

Jesus,

in glory,

on a throne,

all the angels with him.

There's not a single angel

out there suing something else

because,

you know,

this is the end of the world.

The universe has stopped.

There's nothing to do.

There's only one thing

happening right now

which is,

well,

the final judgment.

Here is Jesus.

He gathers all the nations,

all the billions of people

from across the world,

from across history,

before him.

But it's not about nations.

It's about individuals,

right?

He separates people.

You go there.

You go there.

No protests.

No rebellions.

No complaints.

This is it.

This is Jesus coming back.

I mean,

I think I made too many jokes,

right?

In a way,

this is really solemn.

It's an awesome scene,

but this is what will happen.

This is the future

for all of us.

I know you want to get that right,

right?

But then,

it does seem a bit unusual

how Jesus judges here,

right?

Because you read it

and it sounds like

you need to be kind to the poor.

Because verse 34,

then the king will say

to those on his right,

come,

you who are blessed

by my father,

inherit the kingdom,

prepared for you

from the foundation

of the world.

For I was hungry

and you gave me food.

I was thirsty

and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger

and you welcomed me.

I was naked

and you clothed me.

I was sick

and you visited me.

I was in prison

and you came to me.

Right?

But we didn't see you.

Well,

when you did,

what you did

for the least of these?

It's what you did for me.

It sounds like,

yeah,

helping the poor,

which of course

we know is a good thing,

but you'd expect Jesus

to say,

okay,

you guys,

you cling to the cross

and you don't.

So,

that's the big difference,

right?

You believe in me

and you don't.

Well,

that's why we need

to think carefully

about this.

Well,

what does he mean?

Well,

first of all,

and it sounds almost

like they're earning it,

right?

Hey,

you've done good,

you've helped the poor

and you haven't done good.

Well,

first of all,

verse 34,

notice what he says.

Come,

you who are blessed

by my father.

Come and inherit

the kingdom.

I mean,

they are words of grace,

right?

You are blessed.

You inherit.

Inheriting,

you don't do anything

for that.

You just receive.

And of course,

you know,

what is Jesus going to do

after his speech?

He's going to go

to the cross.

Why would he go

to the cross

if we can earn it

by helping the poor?

But also,

actually even more,

look at the surprise

of the righteous.

They're kind of surprised,

right?

I mean,

if I was thinking

I was going to earn salvation

and Jesus says,

yes,

you're in,

I would go,

yes,

I've done enough,

right?

No one says that.

They're just surprised.

Oh,

we didn't know

we were helping you.

They were not doing

anything to get in

or something.

It was just what they were,

they were just normally

living like this.

And they were surprised

that Jesus actually,

you know,

saw that

and cared so much

about it.

That's the thing,

right?

And it's not like

the ones who didn't

that they,

well,

they tried,

but they didn't do it enough.

There's no standard.

It's very binary.

There's people who do,

people who don't.

It's really one

or the other.

And also,

it's not just generally

the poor,

right?

Because it's,

well,

verse 40,

look at what Jesus says.

And whatever you did

for the least

of these,

my brothers.

Yeah,

he says,

this is these,

my brothers.

This is about poor Christians.

Doesn't mean we don't need

to care about all the poor,

but the focus is here

on Christians.

And actually,

to make that,

so in a way,

it's,

you know,

it's serving God's people.

That's what he wants,

serve God's people.

And to understand it,

I think you,

you know,

we think of being a Christian

in modern Hong Kong,

where being a Christian

is easy.

Actually,

in most places in the world,

being a Christian,

you know,

you're in a small,

marginalized,

little community.

You know,

you're in a Muslim country

or something,

and the majority

is Muslim,

and they have all the power,

and the Christians

are just this,

this tiny group,

right?

And then they're marginalized,

and they're oppressed.

That is what it's like

in most places

to be a Christian.

To be a Christian

is to be,

in many countries,

poor and hungry

and in prison.

And you have

just two communities.

You have the,

you know,

the world,

and they reject

the Christian community,

and you have the Christians,

and they care for each other.

So in a way,

what this boils down to

is just

what Jesus is saying,

which side are you on?

Are you on

Jesus' side?

Then you're part

of the church,

and I guess

you embrace the church.

Or if,

are you not part of,

not on Jesus' side,

in which case

you probably

will reject the church

and,

you know,

oppress them.

That is basically

what lies behind it.

It's so different

from here,

because here,

you know,

you become a Christian,

the only thing

that changes,

well,

Sunday morning,

I can't go

and lie in bed,

I go to church,

right?

That's almost,

there's so little cost

to being a Christian.

In many places

in the world,

there's a huge cost,

and I think

that's what lies

behind it.

So,

yeah,

which side

do you belong to?

Because your attitude

to Christ

is seen in your attitude

to the church.

And Jesus said,

how do you know,

how can people see

that you belong to me?

Well,

if you love one another,

if you are part

of the church,

if you care

for each other,

that is almost,

that's the evidence

of being a Christian,

because,

you know,

as Christians,

we need it.

If life is hard,

as it is,

we need each other.

So,

you put these parables

together,

I hope you can see

what they say,

right?

These three things

together,

prepare for Jesus'

return by using

what you have

to serve God's people.

That is what

these three things,

I think,

together say.

This is what,

yeah,

how Jesus wants us

to live.

You want to be ready,

right?

What should we be doing

now?

How should we be living

our life?

What should we do

with our time

and money?

Well,

I want you to

serve each other,

to love one another,

to take care.

So,

not just showing up

on Sunday.

I mean,

it's great to be here.

I hope you get a

kick out of being here

that will last you

the whole week.

But other people,

they go to the football

field and they get a

kick out of that

last Sunday week.

You know,

we're here for each

other.

We're here for

community,

right?

And not just hanging

out with your CG,

but,

you know,

actually loving

and supporting

each other.

And what if it's

really harder

to be a Christian?

You know,

CG is great.

What if your CG

member is fired

from their job

because they're a

Christian and

then they can't

pay their rent

and they need to

move in with you

for three months?

Would you like that?

I guess then it's

suddenly,

okay,

do I really love

my CG members

or not,

right?

That is what

he's asking.

All right?

Even now,

people may not

get fired,

but people here

are going through

a tough time.

Let's take time

to sit with them,

right?

Listen patiently

to them

because they're

your brothers

and sisters

and Jesus

loves them

and he wants,

and so if he

loves them,

we want to love

them.

And using

what you have,

I mean,

for some of it

it's money.

I think the

challenge in Hong Kong

is often time,

right?

Are we willing

to give our time

to people?

Give our homes.

That's,

yeah.

Or how about

Christians going

through hard times

elsewhere?

Because the thing

is that the

social media

and stuff,

right,

we know what

the world is like

and we know

that there's

plenty of Christians

in Southeast Asia

or in India

and life is very

difficult for them

and,

you know,

some of those

Christians are,

you know,

they have to survive

on hardly anything

and we have so much

money compared to them.

Wouldn't it be

wonderful if we

can support

the church

in places

like Bangladesh

or something?

There's organizations

doing that,

like Stand Asia

or here in Hong Kong

or other ones.

It's wonderful

if we can be

a worldwide church,

right,

where we love

our brothers

and sisters.

And they're not

just people

out there.

They're our brothers

and sister

and Jesus died

for them,

Jesus loves them,

he's made us

part of the same

family.

You know,

can we try

and love them?

That's one thing

that Jesus would

love us to do.

Right?

If we are Christ,

we will love

his little ones.

That is what

genuine faith

looks like.

Because it does

matter,

right?

I've been focusing

on the positive,

but in these stories

and these parables,

that there is,

there are people

who just do not

live like this

and it doesn't

end well for them.

There is a strong

theme of judgment,

right?

I mean,

five foolish

virgins

shut out

from the wedding

feast.

They knock

on the door

and the guy

says,

I do not

know you.

Chilling words.

Although we need

to remember,

you know,

wise and foolish,

I mean,

there are moral

words in the Bible.

I mean,

it's not that

one was smart

and the other

was a bit forgetful.

You know,

the kind of people

they're always

prepared and

they always

have spare

masks and,

you know,

an umbrella

and sunglasses

and all that

stuff with them

and there's

people who

are just

forgetful.

Oh,

I forgot my

keys.

These are not

the forgetful

versions.

These are,

well,

foolish versions.

Right?

I mean,

if you want

to be a

bridesmaid,

if you want

to have a

lamp,

you need

oil to

just not

bring oil

in a way

you don't

care much

about the

groom,

right?

You don't

care much

about the

wedding if

you don't

bring oil.

In a

modern day,

if you're

a bridesmaid

and you

forget to

put on

your

bridesmaid's

dress,

I don't

think the

bride would

think well

of you,

right?

I mean,

this is a

more serious,

ultimately,

they just

don't care

about the

groom and

bride,

right?

And if

he says,

I do not

know you,

I mean,

knowing is

relational,

actually,

this is quite

a relational

breach here,

right?

If you treat

me like this.

Or look

at that

servant,

the servant

with one

talent.

I mean,

that was

two and a

half million

dollars that

he got to

invest.

And what

does he do?

He buries it

in the

ground and,

I don't know,

go and watch

Netflix or

whatever.

Again,

it's not that

the servant

really tried

his best,

and I'm

sorry,

I only made

half a

talent more.

I tried,

but you know,

the economy

isn't good.

It's nothing

like that,

right?

He just

buries it

in the

ground and

does nothing.

And no

wonder Jesus

says,

wicked and

slothful

servant.

Well,

again,

this is a

servant,

right?

The virgin

was waiting

for the

groom,

and this

servant

belongs to

the master,

except that,

well,

he did not

do what

Jesus asked.

He didn't

do his

job.

He just

took the

time and

the money

and the

gifts and

everything

Jesus gave

and didn't

do anything

with it.

Well,

Jesus,

yeah,

I mean,

what does

he care

about his

master?

His

wonderful,

generous

master,

and he

says,

oh,

I thought

you were

so harsh.

You don't

know me,

right?

Ultimately.

Or,

yeah,

the goats,

of course,

that's the

most severe.

Verse 41,

you know,

depart from

me,

you cursed

into the

eternal fire

prepared for

the devil

and his

angels.

You know,

the fire

wasn't for

them.

It was for

the devil,

but if

you choose

his side,

yeah,

that's where

you end

up.

And that's

a scary

word,

right?

The eternal

fire,

or verse

46,

these will

go away

into eternal

punishment,

but the

righteous into

eternal

life.

But again,

which side

were they on,

right?

I mean,

ultimately,

again,

we shouldn't

see this as

a standard.

These are not

people,

you know,

all of them,

and they really

tried their best.

They just

weren't good

enough.

That's not how

this thinks,

right?

It's very

binary.

And ultimately,

yeah,

it's coming

down,

do you know

Jesus,

right?

The virgins,

they rejected

the groom because

they didn't

prepare for

their wedding,

and the

servant rejected

the master

because he

just didn't

do anything

with the

talent.

And the

other people,

well,

they rejected

Jesus'

community that

Jesus loved

so much.

They didn't

know the

master.

They didn't

know how he

identified with

these little

ones,

right?

He's not a

king on a

throne.

But he,

you know,

he loves

these little

ones.

And if you

give a cup

of water to

one of these

little ones,

he's so

pleased and

you're blessed.

If you reject

one of these

little ones,

yeah,

he cares about

it.

If you reject

them,

you reject

him.

I know

these are

scary verses.

I mean,

if you're not

a Christian,

I hope you

take these

words seriously.

I mean,

it's more

about,

you know,

challenging

Christians than

you,

but it is

true,

right?

There is an

authority figure

here.

There's a

groom,

there's a

master,

there's a

king,

the son of

man.

And it's

his world,

it's his

party.

And,

yeah,

if you don't

know him and

you don't belong

to him,

then you won't

be at the

party.

that makes

you want to

come back.

He is good,

he's generous,

he's kind,

I hope you

see that

through it.

He will

love to have

you back,

he would

love to

forgive you,

he would love

to welcome

you at the

wedding,

at the

party,

to enter

into his

joy together.

So do

do that.

I hope

for us

Christians,

if we

see Jesus

here,

I hope we

want to be

ready,

right?

And not

out of

fear,

but because

we want to

be with

him at

the

wedding.

It's a

privilege to

be his

bridesmaid.

It's a

privilege to

be his

servant and

be entrusted

with millions

and using

that for

him,

using that

to love

his people

of which

we are

one.

I hope

it's just

a natural

response to

this,

right?

Again,

this is not

a standard

we need

to reach.

It's just

a natural

response if

you know

Jesus.

And if

you're not

sure,

if you

wonder if

this is

you,

please just

take another

look at

Jesus,

right?

Again,

if we're not

living like

this,

if you

wonder,

am I

really doing

anything with

my life for

Jesus?

Am I

really,

you know,

come back to

him,

come back to

the son of

man.

You know,

see his

generosity,

see his

kindness,

and see

the gospel

as,

you know,

chapter 26,

right?

The same

son of

man.

I just

think it's

so,

you know,

you wonder

what it

means,

the son of

man.

But here in

chapter 25,

right?

The son of

man on his

glorious throne.

But we go to

chapter 26.

when Jesus

had finished

all these

sayings,

he said to

his disciples,

you know

that after

two days

the Passover

is coming

and the

son of

man will