Steward Your Mina | Steward Your Life | Luke 19:11–27

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application.

This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

Let's dive in together into God's Word.

Good morning, everyone.

So how many of you might have gotten confused with the parable of the talents versus the parable of the minas?

It's very easy for us when we read this, we're like, wait a minute.

Didn't Jesus go over the parable of the talents, and what is the significance and the difference that we find here with the minas?

Like any parable, even if there is a variation, like what we find with the gospel accounts,

if you find a slight variation, you should pay attention to it.

Just like how we have the four gospel accounts giving different perspectives of what happened with the story of Christ,

sometimes we find what seems to be almost an overlap here.

And this parable of the ten minas, then, is similar to the parable of the talents.

However, there is some difference.

The first thing that we can note, just before we even go into this, is the parable of the talents.

Each servant was given a different amount.

How many of you remember that?

It starts off with how many?

Ten?

Ten?

Ten?

What about the second servant?

Five, right?

And the third servant received one, which was the indication is that we are to steward our talents, our money.

And I had previously talked about how important it is for us to steward our time, our talent, and our treasure.

Well, what's different here is that each servant is given one mina.

So here it's equal.

And there's a reason for that, we'll find, as we go into this.

So what I want us to do, let's pray, and we'll go forward.

Father, we thank you for this time and this opportunity for us to gather together.

As the seasons are changing, we know that you are the God of all seasons.

You're also the God that is the God of truth and the God of love.

We pray today as we go through this very different type of parable.

That seed is planted in us and that we steward everything that you have given to us.

For as your scripture says that every good gift comes from above, may we steward it well.

Amen.

We love you.

We praise you.

We glorify you.

And we honor you.

It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray and we all say together, amen.

So turn your Bibles to page 1044.

And we're going to, you know, we had our scriptural reading, but we are going to go over this here.

You'll find that this parable is after the parable of the persistent widow in the Gospel of Luke.

You have a lot of these teachings and healings where Jesus is healing the blind beggar and

Jesus and Zacchaeus, if you remember that story.

So what I want to do to kind of give us an understanding of what's going on, because when

you start off in verse 11, as they heard these things, well, what things are they hearing

is the question that might come up, amen.

You might wonder that.

So we know the story of Zacchaeus.

It goes in, you know, hurry and come down.

I must stay at your house.

Verse six.

So he hurried down and came joyfully.

When they saw it, they all grumbled.

He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.

Oh no.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.

So what is the thing that's being said is what we find in verse nine and verse 10.

Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham.

And verse 10, which is basically the gospel of Luke.

If we were to find one of the most significant passages is, let's read it together.

So it is upon hearing this, this is where Christ is painting this scene here.

As they heard these things, he, Christ, proceeded to tell this parable.

Why, church?

Because, let's read it.

He was near to Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear when?

Immediately.

That helps us with the understanding of why this parable is even being done.

You can imagine that when you're hearing this, if you were part of the crowd, you have Zacchaeus,

he's coming down and Jesus is going to dine with this sinner.

Well, there are some people who are thinking, well, the salvation has come.

That's right.

So, okay, the kingdom of God must be appearing here immediately.

And for some of us, we might have heard about the, when is the, well, when are the end times

going to happen?

When is the second coming of Christ?

We can see that just as people are so excited about when the kingdom of God would appear,

so too do us as Christians.

How many of us have heard that before?

When, when the end times will happen?

When Christ will return?

You don't have to raise your hand, please don't.

But I'm sure at one point or another, we've heard the millennium, right?

How about Y2K?

You guys remember the Y2K bug?

Now, logically, that seemed to make sense, right?

The year 2000, that's when Christ will return.

There's a lot of times when people are looking at when is Christ going to return, just like

we're seeing here.

And so Jesus is telling this parable, this is important for us to know, before the triumphal

entry.

And he's saying this because if we remember in Palm Sunday, the crowds are thinking that

Jesus is going to be a revolutionary.

One that would, let's just say, overthrow the government.

He's explaining in this parable that it's not going to happen immediately.

And so we find in the text here that there's this nobleman who is leaving for the kingdom.

And I want to take a second here.

We find this so much in parables.

Think of the parable of the ten virgins.

Think of the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas.

This scene where you have the bridegroom or the master or the nobleman who's basically

somehow just disappearing off of the scene and then returns.

When we see that kind of language, that symbolism is, in this case, the nobleman is representing

Christ.

We're seeing Christ's first coming and his second coming.

Okay?

That's where you find, again, parable of the ten virgins, right?

They are waiting in anticipation for the feast.

The same thing with the parable of the talents.

They are waiting for the master to return and the master does return.

And in this sense, they are waiting for the nobleman to show up.

And this nobleman is offering...

Now, it's very interesting.

Let's go into the text here.

Verse 12, he said,

Therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Well, we've talked a lot about how, in Scripture, that which is small expands into something that

is great.

For the seed that gets planted into the ground, growing into a tree.

The stone, Christ representing the cornerstone, like in Daniel 2, expanding into a mountain,

which is showing kingdom expansion.

When we think of salvation, how it was originally for a select group of people, and now is available

for everyone, it is showing the kingdom that is expanding.

So when we're seeing to receive himself a kingdom and then return, it's talking about the expansion

of the kingdom.

And then return, calling out...

Now, it's so interesting in here.

How many...

Church, how many servants are in this text?

There's ten of them.

But there's only three that's mentioned here.

So it begs the question, what about the other...

the seven of the servants that were in this parable?

Well, there's a lot of debate on what's going on in there.

There's some scholars that say, well, ten is representing the completedness of the servants.

And some also say, well, clearly the Lord didn't want us to know what happened to the

rest of the seven.

I'm sorry.

It could be either of those.

It's just...

It is up for debate on that.

However, what's important to note is that there are ten servants, and they are all receiving

one mina each, and there's mentioning of three of them.

The three that were the most important, let's just say.

He gave them ten minas, and he said to them, engage in business until I come.

Now, there's a distinction then between citizens and servants, if you notice within the text.

Well, he's giving a mina to a servant, but not the citizens.

Well, that's something that we should take note initially, right?

He gives one mina to the ten servants, and there's only the mentioning of three.

There's two of them that basically invest their money, as it were.

And what about that third one?

It says he hides it where?

In his handkerchief, right?

The original language is saying he hides it in a cloth.

So if you're like, handkerchief, they had those back then, well, it's just indicating a cloth or something.

They may not have called it a handkerchief back then, but you're hiding it.

In other words, how many of you...

Don't raise your hand on this.

You might have that weirdo cousin that gets a lot of money and just hides it under their bed, right?

You might have one of those.

I have one of those in my family, right?

You can kind of think of some sort of modern equivalent to that.

But in essence, he hides it into a cloth and doesn't do anything with it.

And so we have these three.

Engage in business until I come.

I want to take a moment for the citizens then.

These citizens are not servants.

They live within this kingdom, as it were.

But they are rejecting the rule and the reign of the authority or the nobleman, as it were.

So it says his citizens, verse 14, they hated him and they sent a delegation after him.

I can kind of think, okay, what do you mean by that?

Did they like write a letter together and they're just going to send it over to the nobleman saying, we don't like you?

We can think about that.

This delegation after him saying, well, what does it say, church?

We do not what?

We don't want this man to reign over us.

And this is very similar to what we found within other parables and other times in scripture,

where you have people that are blatantly rejecting the Lord.

For example, when we talk about the four soils, the seed that is trying to get into the earth,

well, you have the, well, the path, right?

The road, as it were.

The seed's not going to go into there.

I'm sorry.

It's just going to bounce off whatever.

We can also think about how when we're, when we talked about these vineyard parables,

how there were people that, well, they rejected the messengers.

They even killed the sun.

So there's that lot of that kind of similar language that is in here.

The citizens hated.

They sent that delegation.

They don't want the king.

Verse 15, when he returned, having received the kingdom.

So there's this sense of preparation.

And let's also keep in mind, just as we see within this parable and in other parables,

God gives a certain amount of time for there to be preparation.

So it's not like he goes for a few minutes and then returns.

There's a certain amount of time, which actually, from a symbolic perspective,

we can think of how, how many of you have heard of the age of grace or the church age, as it were,

or the age of salvation.

In other words, it's a time in which we as people can respond to the gospel message until Christ returns,

until the final judgment, as it were.

This is showing that in a parabolic, in a very simplistic manner.

And so it goes on into, he ordered the servants who had given him money.

Verse 15, that he might know what had been gained by doing business.

The first came before him saying, Lord, your mina has made how many more?

Ten minas more.

And he said, well done, good servant, because you've been faithful in a very little.

You shall have authority over ten cities.

Which is basically, if those of you hear the language of you want to 10x your business or 10x your life,

it's basically God saying, I'm going to give you so much more.

Because when we think of not only just receiving salvation being the greatest gift,

but also how much more when we think of eternal life,

when we think of the works that we do upon being saved,

that they are storing up treasures in heaven.

There's so much into that.

The second came, verse 18,

Lord, your mina has made five minas.

And he said to him, you are to be over five cities.

And another came saying, Lord, here is your mina, which I kept away in a handkerchief.

Why?

Why did he do it?

He was afraid.

That's interesting.

He was afraid of the nobleman.

I was afraid because you are a severe man.

You take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.

In other words, he's saying it's not fair.

It's kind of interesting.

He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant.

You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

Why then did you not put my money in the bank at my coming that I might have collected it with interest?

And he said to those stood by, take the mina from him.

It's very harsh language when we're thinking of that.

Receiving some sort of payment and then having it taken away because you didn't do anything with that.

Verse 25, and they said to him, Lord, he has 10 minus.

I tell you that everyone who has it will be given more.

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

But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring...

He's speaking to the citizens in that regard.

The ones who are blatantly rejecting his rule and his reign.

And so in this, I want to go to the symbolic meaning.

If we can go to that slide real quick.

It's the previous one then.

So yeah, the nobleman then represents Christ.

And the mina then is a representation of the invitation.

Now, I've mentioned to you before about how God extends an invitation.

And it's the question of whether or not you are going to respond to that invitation or not.

We've been going over this idea of metanoia, right?

The changing of mind.

And sometimes the changing of mind can be filled with grief and sorrow.

But even despite the changing of mind, you might not still respond.

It's just like when you receive literally a letter in the mail and it's saying RSVP to this.

You might think about it and be like, oh, I should go.

But I'm not going to go anyways.

There's still this call to respond to salvation.

So when we have this idea and this notion of repenting, changing your mind,

whether it's the light bulb idea or whether it is through grief and sorrow,

there is still a responsibility for you, for us as individuals, us as people, to respond accordingly.

And so what you're seeing here is the opportunity from God.

It is the question then we can think of the mina not necessarily as salvation,

but the question of whether or not you are going to respond to that salvation.

Because when you see verses like this, just like the seed language,

you could see, okay, this is salvation language.

The seed needs to take root, though.

The invitation needs to be responded to, or the mina needs to be put.

In this case, there needs to be response with what God has given to you.

So in this, when I use the language of believing in the Lord and being saved,

that is you responding to the gospel message.

Because you can receive, again, that invitation and say,

you know what, I'm not going to do anything with this.

But it is up to us to respond to that.

We also have the citizens then who reject, those who reject blatantly the noblemen.

Why didn't they receive a mina?

They didn't want it.

Even if a mina was given to them, they wouldn't have cared.

That's something we have to factor in.

Just like how we talk about the posture of the heart.

Are you ready to receive the invitation?

That's why there's so much in Scripture that talks about

how your heart needs to be softened, ready to receive.

That's why we, as Christians, evangelize and we live out the gospel

so that minds can be changed and hearts can be softened

so they are ready to receive the invitation and respond accordingly.

That's how things get connected with that.

And then, of course, cities, which is future rewards.

I put in your notes, eternal reward, kingdom partnership, right?

You're partnering with the Lord.

And so the big thing with this is knowing that everyone receives,

the servants receive one mina.

And this is connections connected with the wicked tenants,

the talents, the ten virgins.

All of these, you start seeing patterns that exist within Scripture,

which helps us not only understand who God is,

but how he embeds the stories,

the whole gospel narrative within parables.

It's actually how we can share in the gospel message with other people.

When you share with people from different faith traditions,

or you're just sharing to someone who doesn't believe in the Lord,

sharing a parable with them is a great way of sharing a story.

You know, there's some people out there who talk so much about storytelling

that it's a way to relate to people.

What better way for you to relate to somebody

than through the parabolic messages?

I think it's so funny that using the word parabolic,

I think of a parabola in mathematics,

but also a parable.

You can actually use parabolic in a mathematic sense

and in a biblical sense regarding parables.

I thought that was very interesting.

And so in this then, let's go to that next slide.

What can we learn about this?

Because part of what we do here at Ontario Community

is we read the word of God.

Scripture is our source.

We learn from the word.

And the first thing is that servants receive a mina.

The citizens reject the noblemen

and in turn do not receive a mina.

The servants receive the mina,

representing a chance to respond in faith.

And so the mina is representing the opportunities

that God has entrusted to you.

And it's the question of what you're going to do with that.

Now, it's not the question of,

well, how much money are you going to make?

No.

It's how you're stewarding what God has given to you.

That's what matters.

And so God gives us,

He gives us this life on this earth.

He gives us salvation.

He gives us that time, that talent, and that treasure.

And it's the question of how we are going to respond to that.

I mean, even if you think about it,

we think of stewardship.

It even can be applicable to the unbeliever.

You can even take this and say,

how are you stewarding your life?

Just period.

How are you stewarding your life here on the earth?

And how are you stewarding your life in Christ?

So there's kind of this twofold.

There's this layered sense that exists with that.

The second thing then is faithfulness is shown through what, church?

Through action.

The words that you speak, the things that you do.

We have to, when we receive salvation,

the greatest gift given to mankind,

it is allowing for God to work in your life.

It is allowing for God to transform you from the inside out.

When we think of love and compassion and joy,

we think of the fruit of the Spirit.

We think of how God is changing us from where we once were,

from once being in darkness and entering into light

and continued transformation is remarkable.

Now, I must remind us, we're not saved by what we do,

but we are saved so that we can do.

There's a difference there.

And so the servants,

it's showing the sense of how they stewarded what God has given to them.

And for us, it means that faithfulness,

it means responding to what God has given to you.

So it's not a contest of, you know,

oh, I got 10 minas, you know,

Joey here, he got two.

No, it's not like that.

What matters is that you are stewarding what God has given to you.

That's what matters in the eyes of God.

And then the third thing, now this is interesting.

The view of God is determined by stewardship.

Now, it's very important for us to know when we come to know the Lord,

God calls for us to be transformed.

And when we think about it, we shouldn't be afraid.

Just as how scripture tells us that we're not to worry about tomorrow.

We're not really to worry about much in trusting in the Lord.

And yet, in this case, it was actually fear that was holding this person back.

That's, to me, when I read that, that's very convicting to me.

I don't want to be afraid of the Lord and not do anything.

I want to have full confidence in the Lord and boldly step out in faith.

In how I grow as a person and how I live out the faith for other people.

And so, when I read that third one, I want you to think,

well, that might be very convicting to you in how you view the Lord.

Hopefully, you look at the Lord.

Yes, understanding that He is the God of justice, mercy, love, compassion, truth,

all of these different attributes.

It's a call to respond.

Not a call to not do anything.

Some of you may have heard, how many of you have heard churches say,

come as you are.

You can raise your hand on this one, right?

Now, it wouldn't make any sense for a church to say,

come as you are and remain as you are.

It wouldn't make sense for someone to say,

well, you can't come as you are either.

It's a two part.

There's two parts to this.

That we come as we are in our current state,

regardless of all the junk and the messiness that we have,

and letting God transform us.

It's not something that I or man or people can force upon you.

The ball is in your court to respond.

And I certainly pray, and just like for this church, or really in any church,

that when you come to the Lord,

you come as you are,

but you don't remain as you are.

But that you change even but a little.

Even in knowing who Jesus Christ is and believing in Him,

placing your trust in Him,

and being saved and letting God work in and through you.

I'm always encouraged by the thief on the cross,

that even at the last moment,

that thief was saying,

Can Jesus remember me?

Well, talk about last minute change of plans, right?

But yet, Christ said,

Amen, you will be with me in paradise.

And so, there's still some sense of transformation.

Maybe not a lot.

Well, it's better late than never.

Amen?

We have to think about these things.

And so, maybe,

don't let your view of God

make you think that you come as you are,

and you stay as you are.

Come as you are, and be transformed.

Let God change you

to who He wants you to be.

And I'll tell you,

perhaps you can identify with this.

You might know people

that have come to the Lord,

and they've been transformed,

and their life has never been the same,

or they've been on a trajectory.

This doesn't mean we're going to be perfect,

mind you,

but it means we are going to be changed.

We're going to grow in Christ as it were.

And so,

let us be faithful to the Lord,

and how you view God

should not be,

I'm going to come as I am

and remain as I am.

I'm going to receive salvation

through belief,

and I'm going to be on a journey

of being molded

and being continually transformed.

This then comes to then,

what do I do about this then?

Well, I mean,

there's nothing in the parable

that's saying that citizens

can become servants,

but we can find throughout Scripture

the call for us

being in darkness and into light.

Maybe you identify as a citizen, though.

Maybe you've lived your life

in rejection to God.

Maybe you've said,

you know what,

I don't want an invitation,

I don't want God,

I don't need God.

Perhaps it's a prayer for you

or a prayer for us

to pray for people

who have hardened hearts

for the change of heart,

for the change of mind.

I pray that if your heart is hardened,

that it will be softened.

Just like as we talked about

the parable of the wheat and the tares,

the weeds representing sin,

that you will have that change of mind

of who Christ is

and how you need to rely on Him.

And so,

become a servant,

receive your mina,

receive that invitation.

And upon receiving that invitation,

respond accordingly.

Believe in the Lord

and be saved

and be on this path

and this trajectory

of being molded by Him.

I wish I had a picture of it,

but yesterday,

my wife and I,

we went over to,

there was a new coffee shop

in,

I want to say Nampa.

I get those cities confused,

I apologize.

There's a new,

no, it was in Boise,

excuse me.

It was in Boise.

It was a new coffee shop,

I believe it's called Art Gallery

if you want to look it up.

And on Saturdays,

they have a pottery class.

And what's so fun

is when you see children

try to make pottery

as opposed to someone

who is a skilled potter

and they're using the wheel

and they're pushing

the little button, right?

You could probably make a beat

going on some music

while you're molding

the clay there.

But it was so fun

seeing my children

try to make pots,

as it were.

Right?

And let's be honest here,

you know,

I can't really drink

out of the cup

that they've made.

Or it's going to fall over,

I'm going to set it down

and it's going to,

you know,

spill out my drink

as much as my kids

would like me.

Oh, you know,

put your coffee in there.

Not really going to happen.

But we see that

when someone is working

at the wheel

and they're molding it,

they're putting their thumbs in it,

they're putting water into it

to make it into

a specific image.

How many of you

have done pottery before?

You know exactly

what I'm talking about,

right?

You're molding into it

and you're putting,

you know,

there's,

I'm not a potter

so if I screw this up

I apologize in advance,

right?

But you're changing it

as it's happening.

You're changing its shape.

And to think of God

as the potter

and us being the clay then,

well that takes a lot of work,

doesn't it?

If you can think for a moment,

if we were just a pile of clay

and we're being put onto this wheel

and spun around and whatnot,

that's something that is requiring

God's hand

or hands as it were

with intentionality

molding you.

That's not just one,

you know,

a one time thing,

one and done.

No,

you keep working at it

until it's ready to go.

And that's part of how we see

how God works in and through us.

So I bring this back to this idea

of the mina,

symbolic for the invitation,

symbolic for our life in Christ.

Are you going to respond then

to the Lord?

So become a servant,

receive your mina,

accept the life

and the opportunities

that are entrusted to you,

not only on earth,

but also in Him.

And choose to acknowledge

and understand who Christ is

the second thing then

is, right,

respond in faith

in your what

and your what church?

Your words

and your action,

right?

You don't want to be known as,

how many of you have read

that verse in scripture

is don't be a double-minded man

or don't be a hypocrite,

right,

when Christ is calling out

the Pharisees,

calling them hypocrites.

We want our words

and our actions

to be in alignment,

not against that.

Who wants to live that way?

I mean,

you really think about it

being,

saying that you are one thing

and living completely.

That just,

I think of what my mother

used to say.

There's a famous poem,

if some of you know it,

that's awesome,

is,

oh,

what a web we weave

when first we practice

to what?

Deceive,

right?

So a lot of us

do know that one,

right?

When we're not living

in congruence

or we're not living

in alignment,

we've got to have

our words

and our actions

be in alignment.

So when we're placing

our trust in God,

now look,

does that mean at times

like our backs

at the chiropractor

need to be adjusted?

For sure.

We're not going to be perfect,

but we've got to have

that alignment.

We've got to have

that intentionality.

So don't bury your mina.

Don't throw away

your invitation,

as it were.

Use your life.

The,

it's just like

when we've talked

about the parable

of the talents

where we consider

our time

and our talent

and our treasure.

Steward your life.

Most especially,

respond to the gospel

invitation then.

Let your life

reflect faith

through your words

and in your actions.

And finally,

live today

in confidence

of what?

Christ's return.

Isn't it interesting?

In so many parables,

it's talking about

the bridegroom,

the master,

the nobleman returning.

I just find that fascinating

because even back then,

people were thinking,

this is it.

It ends here.

But we know

that in so many times

in scripture,

it's talking about

preparing the way,

living in preparation,

living with oil

in your lamp,

as it says in the parable

of the ten virgins, right?

Stewarding your life.

There's all of these things

that help us

in our journey.

Look,

Christ will return

and he will bring

his kingdom.

And that's something

to look forward to.

So are you a citizen

or are you a servant?

I pray that you are

a servant

and I pray that you

respond

with your mina.

Much like you respond

to your invitation.

And let this be a call

for you to steward

every single day

with purpose

and intentionality.

Knowing that we're

a work in progress.

Are we all a work in progress?

Don't raise your hand, right?

I know you all are.

We are all

a work in progress.

But it means that God's

going to continue

to work on us

in our minds

and in our hearts as well.

Steward today

with eternity

in mind.

And so,

if you've received

that mina,

that invitation then,

may you respond

accordingly.

May you respond

boldly in faith

in your actions

and what you say

and in what you do

and know

that Christ

will return.

And you will give

an account to him.

And so,

let us think about

all of this.

This wonderful

parable.

Right before

Jesus goes

in his triumphal entry,

this is what he's teaching.

To show

that these people

that are the crowds

that are going to be there,

well,

we do say,

Hosanna,

we praise the Lord.

But we also recognize

Christ being

the fulfillment,

him showing up

the first time

and that he will

come again.

May we have

full confidence

in him,

in his promises,

and in his prophecies

together.

Let's pray together.

And Father,

we thank you

again for this time

for us to go over

this very unique

parable.

May we

not be like

the citizens

who blatantly

reject you.

And may we

come as we are

to you

and receive

this invitation

to respond.

but may we

respond

by believing

in you,

growing in you,

knowing your word

and knowing

what it means

to live in love

like you,

and may we

be moved

to act

in our words

and in our actions.

what a powerful,

often overlooked

section of

scripture.

I pray that

if there's

anyone

that has

that hardened

heart,

that it will

be softened.

I pray that

if someone

has received

the mina,

may they

steward it,

may they

respond,

so to speak.

and I pray

that all of us

have responded

to the greatest

opportunity

and that is

salvation

in your son,

Jesus Christ.

May we

continue to grow

not only as

individuals,

but as a church

and may we

be moved

to live

and love

like your son,

Jesus.

It is in the name

of Jesus

that we pray

and we all say

together,

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for

listening for this

week's message

from Ontario

Community Church.

I pray that

you are encouraged

and strengthened

in your walk

with Christ.

For more sermons

and resources,

visit

OntarioCommunityChurch.org.

May God bless you

as you live out

his grace

and truth

every single day.