Mike Bickle emphasizes the necessity of living with an eternal perspective, as taught by Jesus in Luke 12-13. He highlights the importance of spiritual alertness and readiness for the Lord's return, urging believers to cultivate the fear of the Lord and to be watchful in their discipleship. Bickle explains that the choices made in this life have eternal consequences, and believers must be diligent in their service to God, as their actions will be recorded and evaluated. He warns against complacency and encourages a proactive approach to faith, reminding the congregation that their lives matter significantly in the eyes of God.

Well, tonight we're on session 22, and I'm going to take up where I left off last session, session 21. We were in Luke chapter 12, 11 and 12, talking about leadership principles, particularly related to discipleship. And in the last five minutes of our last session, we touched the end of Luke 12. But Luke 12 was so important that I just felt like I couldn't move on to just the next episodes of Jesus' life. This is a passage, a quite elaborate, extensive passage, Luke 12 and 13, the last part of Luke 12, where Jesus is revealing and pointing to the reality of eternity. I can't think of many things more important than cultivating an eternal perspective. I mean, the love of God, the beauty of Jesus, eternal perspective, I mean, they've got to be right at the top of the list. Though many believers, they think, well, that's kind of neat, but come on, let's be honest. And I want to go in the opposite direction. It's really practical and really essential to develop an eternal perspective. And it takes time and it takes intentionality to cultivate it. Luke chapter 12 is a passage that, for many years, I've drawn strength and encouragement and realigned my heart over and over and over by what he was teaching about discipleship here in Luke chapter 12, related to the subject of eternity, but really it's the subject of the fear of the Lord. Eternity and the fear of the Lord are very closely connected. And again, these two topics, which are really one, they have to be intentionally cultivated. We don't wake up one day and we're realigned with an eternal perspective. It's something we realign over and over and it's like peeling an onion, you just gain a little bit of ground every time. But it's critical. Roman numeral one, spiritual alertness, being spiritually alert, paragraph A, Jesus taught three short parables on the wisdom of being watchful. Now this is related to the Lord's return to the earth. So he gave three parables here, but the core context, the core reality here is here in verse 40, I'm jumping right in the middle of the parables. He said, I want you to be ready, this is Jesus talking, for the son of man is coming at an hour you don't expect. Now remember the apostles don't even really understand he's leaving. And the idea he's returning, they're just kind of looking at him going, okay, we believe you, but we don't really know what you mean. Now the subject, I mean the title, the son of man is really key because that phrase is the phrase Jesus used most about himself. And the remarkable thing is that prophecy, that phrase is coming from a prophecy, Daniel seven, but it's only one prophecy that talks about the son of man. It's an elaborate one. It's a big one. It's a very significant one. But every time Jesus uses the title, son of man, he's going back to Daniel seven because that's the only other place in the old Testament, the only other place where it's prophetically used of the Messiah. And it talks about when he's returning to the earth in glory to rule all the nations. So every time Jesus says the son of man will serve, he means the one who's going to come back in the clouds, rule the nations. He's the one that's going to serve. So he always is connecting it to the Daniel seven reality. But the real takeaway here is that he wants us to make life choices that will prepare us for when we stand before the Lord. Now whether we're alive on the earth when he appears in the sky or when we stand before him, it's the same Jesus and it's the same reality. The reason he puts emphasis on, on the generation that would be on the earth when he comes because there'll be other dynamics on the earth that are very challenging. And he said, you really need to be prepared in that time of history. But all the saints through history need to be prepared because we're going to stand before the son of man on the last day anyway. But if we stand before the son of man and we're in the final generation with all the added dynamics of challenge and difficulty, then it's more imperative to be watchful and to be preparing is the idea. Paragraph B, I just mentioned that, that the Lord, he comes to us really in two ways. At the second coming and at the time of our physical death. Because we stand before him, either time it boils down to the same. But again, the generation that's alive at his coming has all those extra dynamics while they're still alive, they will be challenged. And therefore, waiting and watching is critically important for one generation more than all the others. And of course, I think that we're in the early days of that generation. That's my opinion. And so I think this passage is very, very appropriate for this time in history. Paragraph C, I talked about that just now, the son of man. It's that generation that will have the most, when the Lord returns, the most persecution, the greatest pressures, upheavals in the nations, the greatest temptations, the greatest spirit of deception, the most significant deception happening in the earth and demonic activity. It will be the time of the greatest falling away in history. But also it will be the release of his glory like no other time in history too. But Jesus is saying, but you've got to access that glory by preparing yourself. It won't take care of itself, but glory is greater than all of the challenges. But you have to be diligent to put yourself in the place of preparedness and alertness because of all the heightened realities that will be happening on the earth in that generation. Now the son of man passage here is Daniel chapter 7. And I want you to note a couple of things. This is the only son of man prophecy there is. So every time he uses this title, I think it's 81 times in the New Testament Jesus used the title, he's always referring to Daniel chapter 7, this passage. Because there's no other time that it's ever used. Verse 9, it's the time when the ancient of days, that's a title for the father in his eternal nature. The ancient of days, Daniel sees a vision of his court. The courts are seated. But here's a key thing that Luke 12, these parables are going to reference, the books are opened. Beloved, there's very detailed books about everyone's life and every event in history. And Jesus said, all the words that you say are recorded in those books. Those books are elaborate and detailed. In Luke 12, these parables are going to bring us into awareness of those books. And he says, the books are opened and the son of man is coming. He's in the sky, so he's returning in glory. All the nations, verse 14, are going to serve him. So these parables are also talking about serving the son of man before he comes. And then there's a connectedness to how much in the quality of how we will serve him after he comes, when the saints receive eternal rewards and glorified bodies. So serving him before he comes and serving him after he comes are connected with one another. Paragraph D, somebody asked me, well what's the kind of the real underlying point of these three parables? If I had to pick one underlying point, there's quite a few actually, but if I had to pick one, it's the subject of the fear of the Lord. And what I mean the fear of the Lord is the conviction that God is watching. Now the fear of the Lord is more than that, but at the very core, the fear of the Lord is the growing awareness he's watching and he cares. When we grow in that awareness, everything in our life changes. And we want to spend time cultivating that reality. Proverbs 15, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. The eyes of the Lord are watching everything. The evil and the good. Revelation 20, on the last day, John the Apostle saw a vision on the last day, everybody gathers before God. The books are opened. I mean there's the number of books we can imagine, the record keeping that heaven is precise and up to date on. Now here he's talking about the judgment of the damned, those that go to the lake of fire, but the books are on the saints as well for the purpose of reward. And the dead are judged according to their works. Now these three parables here in Luke 12 are going to show us there's different levels of judgment and penalty and there's different levels of reward and blessedness. And it's according to what's written in those books and those books capture the words we say and the deeds we do. Those are the things that make the books. Now imagine, just I'm trying to stir up your fear of God, I don't want to get you going the other way here. I have imagine, there's a heavenly camera, let me just picture one of these cameras. That camera is on you every minute of your life, always recording everything. You know, if somebody came up to you with an iPhone and a camera and they put it in front of you, you'd go, oh, oh, beloved, that camera is always on you, always. Every word, every deed. You go, oh no. Well, the good news, that if any thought, word, or deed, but it's really words and deeds are the real points of focus that are in the book, that's repented of because of the power of the cross, it's erased out of the book. That's glorious, but that isn't exactly the end of the story. And what I mean by that, a lot of believers are very comfortable with their compromise. They've found Bible verses to back them up. So they don't repent of those deeds. And they still go to heaven, but when they talk to the Lord, he measures their life in the light of whatever deeds they're willing to take with them when they go to his presence that they didn't want to discard by repentance. And I don't mean a glib like, Lord, sorry about that, just in case. That's not repentance. I mean like, Lord, that was really wrong what I said. And I don't mean you got to tell everybody else. You say, I want that off the books. I'm an enemy of what I said. I'm not into that. I might say it again, but I will be sorrowful in my heart if I do. That's not where I want to go. You can erase what is in the books by the blood of Jesus with genuine repentance. But again, many believers I know, they justify many things they do that they might not want to show up on the last day. And again, it doesn't condemn them to hell, but there is a suffering loss. There is a, there's real reality about the choices we make in our life in this age. Meaning, this is glorious because it gives our life tremendous significance. Every hour of every day. I don't mean every hour is the most significant, but I mean we can, even when we rest and play, we can do it in such a way where it's in line with the will of God. Every day of your life matters, regardless whether the rich and famous pay attention to you or not. Because God is paying attention. He's writing his book. And that's what gives our life power. I mean, I love this truth. I mean, I got a lot of bad stuff, but I go, Jesus, I'm serious about that blood and confessing. I don't want those things on the record. He goes, okay, they won't be there. Be real though. Be real about it. So now the first parable. There's three parables here. He goes, he gives three exhortations, paragraph A here in Roman numeral two. This first parable focuses on the promise of blessing. Verse 35, now notice there's three exhortations. Number one, verse 35, let your waist be girded. Number two exhortation, let your lamps be burning. Number three exhortation, be like people who are waiting for the return of the Lord. Jesus said, I want those three things. Now this was true for 2000 years and the Lord didn't come, but they went and met the Lord. So it still helped them. But if you happen to be alive in that generation, again, the human dynamics on the earth will be so much more challenging. You really, that generation wants to take heed to these three exhortations in a heightened way. I think it's imperative in a very, very serious, significant way that they take these three things very, very seriously and very literal. We'll look at those three in just a moment here. He goes, no, why do you want to do those three? We're still in verse 36. Why? So that when he comes, he knocks on the door, you open to him immediately. Now the kind of a picture, I mean, picture this very wealthy master of a whole estate and he has a, let's just use modern terms, he has a gated community. I mean, it's gated. And so the servant is watching, the servants are watching for when he comes and they're meeting him at the gate. And when he knocks, they're right there, they're fully dressed and ready to go. And they have lamps in their hand and they walk with him through the night because it's dark and they didn't have street lights back then. The servants had lights in their hands, little carrying little lanterns here. And they would walk back to the house and then the house would be prepared and ready. And he says, if you can open immediately, what that means is it's the opposite of when the Lord comes and all the servants go, oh no, we didn't know you're coming. The house is amassed. Our lives are out of order. We didn't do anything. You said, give us a day. We'll be back here tomorrow. We're going to rush around and clean things up. And Lord says, no, no, I'm not going to tell you when I'm coming. I want you ready. I want you at the gate with the lamp in your hand, girded your cloak with a dressed and proper attire, ready to go. And he goes, if you do that, verse 37, you're blessed. You're blessed. And he's going to unpack the blessing a little bit more later. But he goes, there's a promised reward. It will be worth it to you if you live that way. Then if I find you watching. Now the term that's used over and over is waiting and watching, watching and waiting. And they're all, that term implies all three of these things, these activities. The girding of your loins, being girded, the lamps burning and watching for the master. And I'll look at those in just a moment. But when he uses the word watching, Jesus is referring to all of those activities. It's he just reduces them down to one word. Now look at this as I can't imagine a promised blessing that is anything like this. This is like, it's just even hard to read it because it's like, what? And the Lord says, no, I'm really like this. Jesus said, when I come and you've been living those years before you met me, again, whether it's physical death when you meet him or you're alive on the earth when he comes in that generation. Because if you're ready, you're responsive, you're not drawing back in sin. You're not drawing back in compromise. You don't have to go, oh no, I got to go get everything fixed now because I haven't done what you've told me to do. But you're up to date with the Lord. He says, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to gird myself. I'm going to sit you down at a meal. It's the messianic banquet. It's that great banquet of the bridegroom banquet that is really in focus here. But this is not just a one-time event. And Jesus said, I'm going to serve you. I'm going to show you how dear the way you lived is to me. I'm going to actually honor you and serve you. And you go, Lord, no. And the Lord says, well, I'm a servant forever. That's what I do. That's who I am. And that's why I so value it when you do it because that's who I am in my glory. I am a servant. Verse 38, then he even intensifies the adoration here in verse 38. He goes, but if I come in the second watch, you know, getting on towards midnight, or the third watch, you know, two or three in the morning, meaning the wait has been longer. The work has been greater. There's more work involved. The wait is longer. There's more obstacles. It's more inconvenient. And you're still ready for me, even in the inconvenient hour of more work and longer endurance. He says in verse 38, you will be so blessed. You will say in that day, I promise you, I'm imagining the Lord saying this to us. You will say it was worth it. It was worth it because you will be blessed. Now look at paragraph B. He says, let your waist be girded. The other term you see a lot in the scriptures, the girding of your loins and your waist girded. It's the same idea. It's describing the servant who had a long robe and on, and he tucked the robe up under his belt so that he could work. He could run. A military leader would wrap the robe up or the long garment in his belt so he could go to war. In other words, the girding of the loins was the tucking up the garment. So you could be active too. You could be unencumbered to serve, to run, to do war, to be engaged. You're not encumbered because the robe is down. You can't, you can't move fast. And so he's saying, live unencumbered, be ready to go ready to act right now. When I come in, when I knock on the door, I, I, I want you in the mode of you're engaged in the kingdom, building up other people's lives, seeking me, doing my will. And it's not something that you've kind of put on the back burner for the last few years of your life. You're actively involved in my mandates in your life. Now he talked about the lamps burning. And again, the lamps were like carried in the hand. And again, just picture the big estate and it's two o'clock in the morning and it's dark. And the servant is walking the master, the bridegroom God is, is the bridegroom King is the analogy in Matthew 25, walking back with him to the house, but lighting the path. The idea is that you're engaged in the light, but Matthew 25, a parable associated with this adds, put oil in your lamp. So it means more than walking in light. It also means having a vibrant spirit. There's a interaction with the Holy Spirit. There's oil in the lamp to keep the lamp burning. So that's talking about walking in the light and, and having a vibrant spirit. And then paragraph D the third thing, because there's the girding being ready to run and active service. Number two, walking in light, occupying yourself with the light, filling your mind with the light, speaking the light, realigning your heart with the light, having a vibrant spirit, interacting with the Holy Spirit. All of those are connected with carrying your lamps or having oil in your lamps. And then the third one, be like somebody who's waiting for the return of the master, not just willing to work. That's good. That's the first exhortation. Be girded, willing to work and not just willing, but engaged in the work, actually doing it. But this idea of waiting for the Lord that speaks of particularly in that hour of history, that generation, when the Lord returns, understanding the unique dynamics in his leadership in that hour of history. Again, there'll be greater persecution, greater deception, greater temptation, greater cold activity, greater falling away, great resistance. And yet his power, his glory, and all of his kingdom mandates are coming to fullness. And when he says, when he says, be like somebody waiting for me when I return, you're grasping those dynamics and it creates urgency and it creates understanding. You understand unique dynamics that are taking place because in one generation of history, there'll be real intense positives and real intense negatives. And those two intensity, those polarized intensities will create a unique dynamic never happened in history before. And only the servants of Jesus will understand those unique dynamics. But he goes, I want you paying attention to them. I don't want you just engaged with your loins girded, ready to serve. I want more than that. I want you really preoccupied with light and filling your mind with it and speaking to the others. But I want you aware and with understanding what's going on so you have the urgency. And then what will happen is that when I come, you'll, when he knocks on the door and they open, it's not like he's going to come to everybody's house and knock on the door, but it spoke of in the parable, instant, immediate responsiveness. They don't have to, they're not saying, well, I just quit because I'm all discouraged now. I'm just on the sidelines for now. A lot of believers are stuck on the sidelines with condemnation. A lot of them stuck on the sidelines, discouragement, a lot of them stuck on the side. They're bitter. A lot of them are mad at people and they're just kind of sitting there and the Lord says, no, I want you engaged. Get through that by, by lining up with my view of how about life and your problems and my leadership. And I want you engaged. I want you responding to me, not sitting out another five years, sulking on all the things that went wrong and all the issues get deal with them and get through these things. And I don't mean I'm making light of those issues, but he doesn't want us camping out around our lust and our fears and our anger and our criticisms. And I've had it up with here with the body of Christ. He doesn't want that attitude in his people. He wants them engaged and moving forward in the light, aware of what's happening, aware of what hour they're living in. Let's look at a paragraph, a Roman with three. Let's look at the second parable now. It's a little different. The, uh, the characters in this parable, they all, all three of parables go together. But in this parable, uh, it's not the servant waiting for the master watching for the master, but it's a different narrative. It's the master of a house and it's still talking about the servant of the Lord. The master of the house is watching for the thief. Jesus says, there's a different point I'm making here because Roman numeral three, this second parable, it's a little different. It's not just a promise of blessing. It's a sober warning. And the sober warning is paragraph a, that one's future blessing can be stolen and can be minimized even by a good servant, that a good servant who's in the wrong place of blessing, if they're not paying attention, the thief, and it's not talking about so much as the devil is the thief, the circumstances will come and you'll respond in all these wrong ways and it ends up causing you to suffer loss. That's the idea. Jesus is not the thief. What Jesus is the one coming unexpected, but the unexpected coming results in the person suffering loss. That's the imagery and the metaphor of the thief. Jesus says, I am coming, but if I'm coming and you're not ready, my coming actually leads to you suffering loss of blessing that should have been yours because you wasn't paying attention. You were sulking. You were quitting. You were overemphasized with priorities outside of my will for your life. You were mad at people. You were paying them back. You were in bitterness. No, the thief is stealing from you with those things. That's what he's talking about. If I come in a way where you actually lose ground, you lose some of what was yours, that is the imagery of the thief. It's not just the suddenness. It's the suddenness that leads to loss. They're still saved, but they really do suffer loss. Now, you don't hear much about suffering loss. That's not a theme. I've heard, I've mentioned it a few times over the years. I don't talk about it enough, but it's a real biblical theme and it's a real reality. When we stand before the Lord, and this is a subject that believers need to be sober about because Jesus was actually very pointed about this topic on a number of occasions and so was Paul the apostle. He goes here. Here's the second parable. Verse 39. He goes, I want you to know this. Jesus is talking. Pay attention. Apostle, sit down for a second. Listen to me right now. You got to know this one. They go, okay. The master of the house had known the thief was going to come. He would have been alert and fully ready. That's a common idea. He wouldn't have allowed the thief to steal. He goes, I need you alert and responsive so you don't suffer loss. The thief doesn't have the impact that takes from you. The idea is it is possible to suffer loss. Again, that's a theme you never hear about, but it's a theme that Jesus talked about on several occasions and so did Paul the apostle and so did Peter. One of Paul's kind of more direct statements about this is 1 Corinthians 3, verse 15. He's talking about standing before the Lord, believers. He goes, if anybody's work, their deeds, because a person's work is their time, their money, and their deeds. That's kind of the summation of a person's work, how they spent their time, how they spent their money, and what they did with their speech. That would be the summation of works if I had to just make it real brief there. He goes, their works are tried by the fire of God and none of them prove to bring rewards or to result in eternal rewards. He goes, that believer will suffer loss. The loss is real. It's loss of what would have been theirs, what was within reach by the grace of God for their life if they would have been prepared and responsive and alert. Alert, responsive, prepared is really all saying the same thing. He says, but that person will be saved. He goes, they're not going to hell. They will be saved, but as though through fire, meaning it's like they went through the fire and everything got burned. They survived, but all of their goods were lost. It's like a person escaping through a burning house and they got their treasures with them and all their treasures get burned up in the process and they escape and flee and they escape with their life. That's the imagery here and you find this imagery several other places in the New Testament as well. Paragraph B, when he says, know this, his real point is suffering loss can be avoided. He goes, it doesn't have to happen. It's within the grace of God for everyone to avoid the loss, but they have to do it my way by these three things that we said in verse 35 and 36. Okay, paragraph D. So he just makes it really clear here that it's about the son of man coming, meaning we apply this for 2000 years for the time of somebody's physical death. But Jesus says, it's true. It does apply to that for those people through history, but I'm really mostly talking about when I appear in the sky in that one time of history for those, that billion plus, maybe a lot more in the great harvest that are on the earth being faithful. And he says, I want you to know that my bride will be ready. God is going to have a people all over the earth who respond, even in the midst of the troubles that the persecutions, the temptations, the demonic, the occult, the deception, the offenses. God will have a people across the nations, weak and broken people like us, but there'll be all over the earth where the grace of God is sufficient for them to be prepared. John saw it with his eyes and revelation 19, the bride was prepared at the end of the age. It worked. The first commandment will be in first place in believers all around the earth. But we got a ways between now and then, but the coming pressure is going to really sift the body of Christ and many will draw back and said, I've had it and others will press in hard and then there'll be a great release of the power of the spirit and a great harvest. And those new believers will press in hard with those that stayed steady through the transition that is coming in the days to come top of page three. Now we're looking at the third parable. This third parable, again, he's three in a row and they all go together and they need to be read together because they overlap a bit. Jesus is now going to elaborate a bit more. Now he's going to focus on people that have been involved in leadership, that they have a leadership mandate. Now the leadership may be over five. It may be a leadership stewardship over 50, maybe 500. It doesn't matter the size, but it's a sphere of leadership. Whether it's small or large, it doesn't matter. Jesus is going to talk directly to that group and he's going to tell them about the blessings, but he's going to give them the most sober language that he ever speaks to the body of Christ in this parable. This language is so sober and so intense because he's talking to those that he's entrusted leadership to at one time throughout history, the people in the body of Christ. And his room is full of people that have been entrusted with leadership. Again, maybe it's over five, maybe it's 50, maybe it's 500, maybe more. It doesn't matter the size. He's called you to feed and nourish other believers and he's entrusted that with you. Maybe you don't get attention for it, maybe you're not recognized for it, but the Lord sees it with that imagery I gave of the great camera in the sky. He's catching everything. Everything's in the book. Nothing's lost. So Peter says, verse 41, Lord, you're speaking this parable, meaning the second parable, the one about the thief, that it's possible to lose some of what is potentially ours. Are you saying that to us or are you saying that just to the crowd? And go back to the first parable about you serving and honoring them. Is that just to us or is that to the crowd too? I want to know, is the intense blessing for us or everyone? Is it the warning for us or everyone? Because there's a big crowd there in Luke chapter 12. You'll see. As a matter of fact, thousands are there. It's a massive gathering in Luke chapter 12. It makes reference to it two or three times throughout the chapter. Peter said, Lord, do you speak this parable, meaning the second parable with the one we just looked at about the warning only to us or is this to everybody? And it is the first parable about the promise to us or to everyone. In verse 42, Jesus said, I'll answer your question with a question, which is Jesus' top typical way. You ask Jesus a question, often he's going to ask you one. It's like, oh, Lord, come on, just give me straight, just yes or no. He says, no, I'll ask you a question. When you answer my question, you'll discover the answer to your question. Oh, Lord, just, I'm a simple man. I just want yes or no. No, no. I'm not going to do it that way, Peter. He goes, let me ask you this. Is these promises and warnings only to the apostles? Well, who's the faithful and wise steward? Who's the one that I've given leadership? I've given some kind of authority in my house and they feed my people. Peter goes, well, that's us. Well, it's just the 12. And Peter and Jesus might say, is it just you? I just anointed the 70. Well, it's us and the 70. Well, aren't I going to anoint a lot more people through history? Huh? Well, I guess it's them too. Yeah. Well, didn't I just tell you, Peter, that this is about when the Son of Man returns? Yeah. Well, what group is that? Peter might say, well, isn't that us? I don't know. Who does this apply to? And the answer is, when you read the whole parable, it's those that God has entrusted a responsibility to feed others. That's encouraging, that's serving. And I'm telling you, that's not a, most of you know this, it's not always glorious. You know, you go talk to a mom, she's got her five kids and she loves her five kids so much. But if you said, is it like just amazing all day, every day serving them? She might just say, well, not really all day, every day. It's important, but amazing has its moments that are amazing. Well, serving in the body of Christ is the same way, feeding, taking care of people. Not just the rich and the famous, and not just taking care of people so you get a big platform for it or you get recognition. A lot of the people you care for won't even respond to you. A lot of the people you pour yourself out to might turn back around and criticize you. And the Lord says, it's not about how they respond, it's about, will you do what I said? Will you feed those I've put you around? Words of encouragement, serving them, blessing them, speaking the word to them, personal conversations. Will you feed them in due season? And it's not always easy to do that. And so Jesus' answer to Peter is, who does that in my kingdom? Peter said, well, the 12 and the 70, and I guess others are, and I guess when you return in the sky, there'll be others as well. And Jesus goes, that's the answer. It's to anyone who will be faithful. But beloved, it's, you know, having been a pastor 40 years, there are so many challenging moments on your energy, your resources, just even the cooperation of people responding in a helpful way to be a blessing to them. And every shepherd, whether you're over five or 50 or hundreds, has the same challenges. I mean, it's glorious and it's real, but it's really work and not always fun. And so when you, when I locked into that some time ago, I said, I'm in it for Jesus, not in it to how well they respond. I like it when people respond well, but I'm going to keep doing it if they respond bad. And I'm going to keep doing it if they criticize. I'm going to do it if they fight me. I'm going to keep doing it. I don't always, but by the grace of God, this parable, I go, Lord, I want to keep doing it. And not just big numbers, one-on-one whenever, whoever, wherever I'm in to all the way, because you're watching, you're writing into your book and it matters to you. And Jesus said, verse 43, blessed is that servant. When I come back and they're doing that, they're not backing away in their discouragement and criticism, exasperation, despair, fear, compromise, being caught by other agendas, ambitions. They're really staying steady. He goes, it will be fantastic. He says here in verse 44, I'll make them ruler. I'll give them a place of proximity to me in the age to come because they've shown themselves true to being a servant who feeds my people, regardless what they get in return in this age. I, because that's what they really are, I'm going to use them in that way in a far greater way. Verse 44, when I return, okay, let's look at a paragraph B. Now he says, but if those faithful servants, if they're start off right and they decide to go another path, and I've seen much of that over the years, I've seen a lot of folks go hard. I mean, hard meaning really focused on the Lord with high standards and real commitments for five or 10 years. I've seen many, many people go five or 10 years. I'm not seeing so many go 20 or 30 because the, just the challenges in the war, in the race, I've seen many draw back and say, you know what, I think I'm just going to do my little thing and I'm not going to, I'm not going to pour, pour out like I used to. I'm not going to press in like I used to. I'm not going to believe for the breakthrough like I used to. I did that back when I was in my twenties. I'm in my forties now or my fifties, and I think I'm a coast a little bit. And you know, just get new directions from the Lord. I've heard, I've heard that kind of rhetoric and they 10, 15, 20 years later, they're still waiting. And I said, get back in the race, man, jump in. And with all of your heart, like you did in the early days, well, my point is Jesus is describing leaders who really end up, they start okay, but they end up responding wrong. Some of them in really intense ways, wrong. And others of them wrong, but not as bad as others. So there's not only a good response. There are those that leave the good response and they morph into that other response over the years. And again, I, I, I, I don't want to over do this, but I've seen that so often in 40 years at the 10, 15 year mark, that drifting into a different approach to the kingdom. Jesus said, verse 45, he gives the most terrible example right off the bat. He goes, well, let me say, verse 45, if that servant, again, he started off good, he started off okay, serving and feeding. But he says, you know, my master's delaying in his coming, the years are unfolding. The time is longer. The wait is longer. The work keeps getting increasing. I don't know. And he's delayed and I want the party, but the party seems to keep being delayed and, and the delay, the delay, the delay, and he begins to beat his servants. Now Jesus isn't talking about people in the body of Christ taking a stick and hitting people that they serve. He's not, he's using the language of the Roman culture. It was very, very common, the slave culture in the, in the ancient world there. So Jesus is going to use the language in this parable straight from that culture, but he's, he's not, he's not talking about the body of Christ actually taking a rod and hitting somebody and say, well, they beat somebody with a pole. That's really bad. He's talking about abusive leadership here. He says, but not only are they abusive in their leadership, they begin to eat and get drunk. They begin to be self indulgent. It's not just that they eat and drank, but they become preoccupied in that and they're, they become indulgent instead of vigilant in their spirit. They've kicked back their coasting and they're indulgent in the way they spend their time and money and appetites as the years unfold. Verse 46, when the master comes, he will cut that leader in two. This is Jesus talking like we're not used to Jesus talking like this and he will appoint him his portion with unbelievers. Now that's a interesting statement. His portion with unbelievers cut him in two. Again, he's using the language of the day of what would happen in a Roman culture because the Roman authority structures were over Israel and all the nations round about. And so what does it mean to this leader? There's two different opinions or several different opinions, quite a bit of debate. I mean, there's a lot of, because this is troubling to everybody that because it's really one of his leaders and he, they're really assigned a portion with an unbeliever. I think the most convincing is that this person, this leader has gone far off the past and they've actually walked away from their salvation and they literally end up with unbelievers in hell. I believe that's my, I think the best approach to this. And many commentators take that approach. Others go, nah, you can't lose your salvation. I believe that you can. But a lot of really good Bible teachers believe you can't, so they don't know what to do with this verse. And I've read so many views of it and I mean, there's some real fancy footwork to try to get away with this, to try to make it say something different. And I think this is, you know, a reasonable, they go, well, they're not going to hell because you can't lose your salvation. But these leaders are signed a place of no honor in the body of Christ, like unbelievers have no honor in the body of Christ. So they've lost their honor. And so I don't know exactly what the real takeaway is, but I know it's not good. It's intense. Jesus is, I think he's appealing to their, or let's put it this way. I think the Bible students of the day would recall in David's army, when they fought against various enemies, I have it here in 1 Chronicles 20, they fought against the Ammonites. And when they defeated their harsh enemies, they laid them all on the ground and they literally cut them in two. They destroyed their enemies. And that was a picture in the mind of the zealous ones in Israel. And Jesus isn't saying I'm really going to cut them in two, but I'm going to give them a place of penalty. Like go back in history in the most severe way that you saw a penalty. That's the real point. It will be a severe penalty. And Matthew adds, and I have it written on the notes here, he adds, they will not just be with unbelievers, but they will be in the place of the weeping and gnashing of teeth. I personally think it is a leader who has lost, gone off the path. It's intensified, intensified, intensified, and he's actually stepped away from the faith. That to me seems to be the most realistic one in terms of applying this. Okay, then Jesus says, well, verse 47, we're sticking with the parable, and I got some of these notes written down so you can look at them later. Verse 47, he goes, but then there's the servant who didn't go that far. He knew the Father's will. He knew my will, and he didn't do it. He neglected my will, but he wasn't abusive and indulgent at that level. And yeah, he will have many stripes. Now again, he's using the culture of the day, the language. I don't believe anybody in heaven gets whipped with stripes. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about the slave language and culture. They have a penalty. They have a penalty. There is a suffering of loss. There is something. They are not happy that it happens because he says, I told them to do it. I gave them a stewardship. They just didn't do it. They thought they had the right to do what they want to do because they don't. I'm not only their creator. I'm not only their redeemer who paid the price. I'm the king. They can't say no. Beloved, if the Lord, this reality, it touches my heart. I've had assignments in the Lord, and sometimes I go, Lord, I don't want to. And the Lord says, well, you know, that's not really the conversation. You know, because it's the kingdom culture, not the American culture. We start thinking Jesus is an American. Well, I don't really like that. And he goes, OK, yeah, I get that. Just do it, though. Well, and I'm not really getting the kudos back from it. I thought I should. That's OK. I said, do it. I'm your creator. I made you. I'm your redeemer. I shed my blood for you. And I'm your king. Do it. And that is just a, that's language that the church in the West, that that's odd. It's like, I don't feel like that. And the Lord says, OK, still do it. I'm the king. And Jesus is, I mean, this is strong language. And there's a, there's a negative, again, I don't know how to interpret. They have many stripes, because again, I don't believe anybody gets hit with a whip. That's not, he again, he's talking in the language of that day, of the Roman culture. He goes, but 48, verse 48, he goes, now there's another kind of servant. One servant goes all the way and is super abusive and super indulgent. And they are assigned a place to the unbelievers. The second type of servant, they ignore what I told them to do. They just said, no, I'm not going to do it. I just quit and want to do what I want to do. The Lord says, no, it doesn't work that way. Well, yeah, I think it does, because that's how everybody else does it. And they have many stripes, meaning the penalty is real. But then there's verse 48, the leader who didn't grasp clearly what the Lord was telling him to do, but they still didn't do it, but they didn't have the full knowledge and awareness. Jesus says there'll be beaten, meaning there will be a suffering of loss, but it will be lesser. In other words, there's different degrees of penalty, different degrees of reward, which means, and what we do really, really counts. It's real. It's real. Some folks think grace of God means that life is pass, fail, and if we get past, do what you want to do and just go to heaven and just have a ball. Life really matters. What we do with our actions, our money, our words before a sovereign King there, it's real. And yes, there is pass fail in the sense that we get a free pass to get to heaven, but our life still matters what we do as believers. And there's written in the books, and there's discussion with the Lord about it, and there's things that happen as a result of it. I've been teaching this for almost 40 years, and I mean, I get so much feet, a kickback by believers. They don't like it. Like I've heard this over and over, that makes me feel pressure. I go, that's the point. It is the pressure that what you're doing matters. I don't want to feel that. It's better that you feel it now. It's like the prayer I've prayed over the years, shock me now. Don't shock me then. This is real life, but it gives, but there there's a, a pressure, meaning a, there's a demand on us to, to give ourselves. That's what I mean by the pressure, but there's a glory in it. That means our smallest deeds, our cup of cold water, it matters to the Lord. He remembers it. Our kind words to an enemy, he writes them in his book. They all matter. A conflict in your family, but you humble yourself and speak kindly, it's in the book. So I don't think so much about the pressure that, that it really does matter what I do, but I think of the glory of it. I go, this is really mad. This is really makes my life powerful, not about preaching. It's about what I do not throughout life. It's way more than a few public hours a week in a public service. That's not what I mean by my ministry. I mean, it's the day in and day out in this of living and deciding to, to respond in humility and love. And, and I don't do it well, but I know what I'm aiming for. I'm not saying Lord, I do it well, but I'm saying I'm going for that. I, at least I get what the agenda is. Then Jesus, uh, gives the, uh, the principle here, right at the end of verse 48 that we all know. He goes, everyone, everyone, believer, unbeliever, everyone who's given much, there will be a higher requirement for them on the last day. And those it will be required of them and whom the Lord has committed much to, he will ask a greater response for them. I mentioned this last week. It's like, I think of, you know, we are in the most prosperous nation in history at the freest place of the gospel with more gospel resource and we have so much teaching. We have so many godly people around us, so much liberty. I'm thinking of the saints over in Saudi Arabia or the saints in a Muslim country or the saints in a far away place where the gospel hasn't been preached yet. Think of how much we have. And then on top of that, we've got a 24 hour prayer room with godly people who are in it that we're connected to. The Lord says, I've given you a lot, a lot. Most people in 2000 years of history don't have this amount of liberty resource opportunity like Christians in the West do right now. And again, in various places, there's more than others. And I look at this and the Lord says, I want a response from you. I want a real response from you on that day of how that you said yes to me. And again, it's all by the grace of God. Even though there are rewards, you don't earn them. I mean, you do a nickel's worth of labor using a imperfect analogy. He gives you a million dollars. I mean, the rewards far outshine anything you did. You give someone a cup of cold water and you get the glory of God. I mean, you don't earn anything. Not really. It's just that he says, but it doesn't matter to me. And over the years, I've just, I've just had folks go, I don't like this. It infringes on my sense of doing what I want. I go, yes, yes, it is. That's called the fear of the Lord. But think of the opportunity, how glorious it is. Okay, let's look at Roman numeral five. We're coming down to the last couple of minutes here. Roman numeral five. So now he's on the same theme. He's on the theme of the coming judgment, the coming trouble. In verse 49, he goes, I want you to know the trouble is going to increase. The persecution is going to increase. The division is going to increase. And I, and I've told you to be alert and to prepare and respond because it's going to get more intense than it is now. They're looking at him. He says, verse 49, I came to set fire. I'm going to set fire. And the fire is a cleansing purging fire. That's positive. And the fire is a judgment punitive fire, removing the things that hinder love. That's negative. Meaning to the people that receive the judgment. He goes, I, I know what's going to happen before I return in glory. The fire that will be released on the earth. And he's talking about the great tribulation plus all the events around his company's confronting darkness head on. He goes, it's going to get intense. He goes, Oh, I wish that was already kindled how I wish that fire had already started because verse 50, I have a baptism to be baptized with. And he's talking about his own embracing of the cross. He goes, there's going to be a fire that's going to be released. I mean, all through history a little bit, but at the end of the age, it's going to come to fullness, but it's going to purify the planet and it's going to drive evil off the planet and have a purified people ruling the planet. The fire is necessary, but he goes, I wish I were, it's already kindled because it begins that fire began with his baptism. And his baptism means his immersion into this whole drama at the cross. He was baptized in suffering. He was immersed in the wrath of God. He says, it starts with me bearing it. But once I bared it shifts the entire situation on planet earth, because then it's just a trajectory. History unfolds in it culminates with my victory openly in the sky and all of evil will be driven off the planet. The fire will come, but it starts with me and I'm a few months away from it because he's only a few months from the cross. He goes, Oh, I wish my baptism had already happened. And I kindled that fire. That's going to culminate to cleanse the earth and purify all things and drive Satan off the planet. He goes, Oh, it's, there's, there's more. He's got, he's looking at them. He goes, but back to you guys, you have to watch and wait and be prepared. Even if you don't see the fullness of it in your day, you need to respond to me this way. But again, all through these parables, he's talking to the generation of, of, of the hour of his coming. He goes, verse 51, he goes, or do you have it all mixed up? Do you think I came to bring peace? Because there's so many messianic promises that the Messiah brings peace. I mean, there's many, many of them. I mean, and the answer is, well, every young Jewish boy or girl knows the Messiah brings peace. So he's, he's speaking in a paradox here because he does come to bring peace, but that's not what happens first. Peace with God. Yes. But not peace on the earth just yet. There's some situations that unfold first. He goes, do you think I came to bring peace? This is really intense because I tell you not at all like what, where's that in the Bible? Oh, there it is. I came to bring division, meaning I am going to insert my leadership. I'm going to assert my plan and darkness on the planet and demonic and sin and men are going to resist my agenda and my leadership, but I'm not backing away from it. And I'm going to have my people stand with my agenda. And for a season, we know now it's 2000 years plus or minus, whatever, but there's going to be kickback and resistance. When I assert my leadership, the reason he's telling them this, cause he's saying you got to watch and wait. You're not going to just wake up one day, all prepared and connected. You got, you got to realign yourself over and over with my agenda and my purposes. This is an ongoing thing, watching and waiting as it unfolds because the division is going to get intense because I'm going to assert my leadership and I'm going to have my people stand true to me and many won't like it. He goes, as a matter of fact, it's going to get really intense. It's going to divide families and the division is over Jesus, his person and his leadership because the Lord is going to require his people to be true to it and not just this love Jesus in a corner, but to say what he says, beloved, what Jesus says. He says some things are like, I don't, do I have to like say that if I do, they're going to be mad. He goes, yeah, yeah. But it's the truth. I want you to say it, say it kindly, say it tenderly, but say it. I want my agenda being proclaimed by my people and it's going to cause disruption. So let's turn to top of page five. So he looks at the crowd and their eyes are getting real big and he goes, you know what? He goes, you don't get what's going on at all, do you? And they're looking at him going, what? He goes, verse 54, you see a cloud rising in the west, meaning coming from the Mediterranean Sea when a cloud comes from the sea, you know, rain's coming. He goes, that's pretty simple. Verse 55, you see a cloud coming from the south because the desert's in the south, you know, heat's coming. You see simple signs. They're very, very, uh, minimal evidence, but you have real clear conclusions. You hypocrites, you can analyze the weather, but you can't analyze a man is in your midst that's fulfilled prophecies that raises people from the dead, that opens blind eyes, casts out demons, walks in purity. You can't figure out who I am. He goes, you're hypocrites. You obviously can't. The evidence is everywhere. He goes, but he, his point isn't just to rebuke them, he goes, why don't you, 57, on your own initiative, he's telling the crowds, forget the fact you've been biased and intimidated by the Jewish leadership against me because of the agenda of the scribes and Pharisees we've looked at a few times. Forget them. On your own initiative, check out what hour of history are we in a man from heaven came to earth. He wants you to be a part of his family. He's called you by a spirit, pay attention to what's going on. And they're looking at it going, Hey, cause bear the reproach, endure the rejection, bear with the division. I'm worth it. And what I'm about is worth it. Can't you see who I am? Then he goes on paragraph B and he gives verse 58. He goes, let me give you a little, another little parable. He's talking to the crowds. Now he goes, when you go with your opponent, a man that's suing you and you go to the magistrate. Now the magistrate was one of the court officials. And what a magistrate did, you go to the guy that wants to sue you because if he sues you and wins the court in those days, if you owed money, you went to the debtor's prison. You went to prison. This is really bad. If you had a, even a small debt. So he goes, we're going to go to the magistrate. The magistrate is going to hear our case. If the magistrate has the initial response, you know, the, the, uh, at the, you know, his reading of the problem here, here in verse 58, the preliminary hearing he's heard, he's, the magistrate is going to say, you know what? I don't think this needs to go to a judge because if it goes to a judge, it goes to the court system. If it goes to the court system, then the officers of the court might take you away to prison. So Jesus is saying, when you got an opponent that you've offended, that you're in debt to when you talk to the preliminary court officials, the magistrate make an effort to settle, don't go to the magistrate because he might recommend you go to the judge. And if you go to the judge, there's a big hearing and the chances of you being turned over to the prison system is big. So the one you're in debt to the one you've offended, make peace with him on the front end before things escalate. Because if you go to prison, you're going to pay the real penalty. What he's talking about is himself. He says, my father sent me, you have to reconcile with me. You can't see the times and the seasons of who I, of what our history make peace with my father now. And you do it through me make peace now because judgment is coming to Israel. Judgment is coming to every individual in the earth. And if you don't have a good answer, you're going to prison, which is hell. And I'm your only way out. Find out. He's talking in this legal language, how to make peace with the one you're in debt to. And that one you're in debt to is my heavenly father, actually. And I am the way for your peace, but you're writing me off. And he looks to his disciples and don't forget to watch and wait and to stay engaged. I'm worth it because the whole fire is coming. I'm going to cleanse the earth and my whole end time purposes and my, not just the end time purposes through history, I'm going to bring them to pass. I am worth it. I am worth it. And then I'm going to leave you to page six on your own. But I just leave, I'll say this to you, worship team, go ahead and come on up. In Luke 13, he's actually staying on the same subject. He doesn't change subjects at all. The Luke 13 verses one to nine there, he's on the same subject with the same group of people talking about the end time judgments, talking about preparing to stand before him on the last day. And so I'll just kind of stir you up to go check that out because there's a lot of resources on the internet. Luke 13 is phenomenal, but it's a part of the same message as well. I just spent too much time on the other stuff. Well, let's just stand before the Lord and let's respond to him. Lord, here we are. Lord, I want your agenda. I want it your way. You're big. I'm little. You're smart. I'm not smart. I just want to do what you want to do. Here we are, Lord. Lord, we say we want to lay our agendas aside, our offenses aside, our lusts aside, our preoccupations aside, our busyness aside, our entertainment, our playing, whatever, whatever, whatever. We want to lay things aside. We want to gird ourself for action. We want to walk in light with a vibrant spirit on the inside. We want to be watching and waiting for the dynamics related to your coming. Holy Spirit, I just ask you even now to touch us. I ask you even now to touch us. This is the gospel of the kingdom. Touch us with the gospel message right now. The kingdom of God, the gospel message, even now. Holy Spirit, here we are before you. We have need of thee. Lord, I want the lamp burning in my life. Lord, here we are before you. I say yes to your leadership and who you are, Lord. This is a time that issues in our life that are sidelining us, pulling us to the side of that full engagement with them. The Lord says, I want you to lay them down. I want you to line up with me tonight. I'll forgive you. I'll completely forgive you. But I want you to lay down those competing agendas, whether it's bitterness or lust or entertainment that's outside of what God wants. Under the sky, bring all distractions aside. Wisdom, heart to fear you, Lord. Give me a heart, a heart of wisdom. And unite my heart to fear you, Lord. A heart, a heart of wisdom. And unite my heart to fear you, Lord. Give me a heart, a heart of wisdom. And unite my heart to fear you, Lord. Holy Spirit, we ask you for your ministry, for your presence to touch us. Come and mark us in a new way right now, Lord, we ask. Change us. Mark us. Mark our hearts. In a new way for you. With you. We align our hearts with yours. Hearts with yours. Unite to fear you, Lord. Lord, we say it's worth it. Oh, your heart of wisdom. Unite my heart to fear you, Lord. Lord, I want to be wise. Jesus said, blessed is that servant who is doing what I said. I just pronounce over you, even in your weakness, in my weakness, blessed. Blessed. Blessed is the servant. It's worth it. The Lord says, I will gird myself and I will serve you. Blessed. More than you know. More than you know. Wash us in your prophetic declaration. It's gonna be worth it. Wash us. It's gonna be worth it. In your declaration. It's gonna be worth it all. In your declaration. Blessed. The devil's a liar. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it. Feed the ones the Lord puts credit with. It's gonna be worth it all. Regardless how they respond, feed them. So God, stay engaged with the kingdom agenda. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it all. I believe. Worth it. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it all. I believe. I believe it. I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it all. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it all. I believe. I believe. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be worth it all. Worth it. And blessing will be my heart. And blessing will be my portion. And serving will be my heart. And blessing will be my portion. Serving will be my heart. And blessing will be my portion. Serving will be my heart. And blessing will be my portion. You're worth it, Jesus. Believe it. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. When I see your face. It's gonna be worth it all. Even through trials. And tribulation. I'm giving you up to me. No matter how small my heart may be. I'd gladly waste it on you. Cause you're beautiful. Beautiful. Worth it all. Beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful. Beautiful. Worth it all. Beautiful. You're beautiful. Beautiful. You're beautiful. I just speak the Lord's words, blessed are those who will watch and wait. Lord, I ask you to just to wash the lies the enemy tries to put into us, that we're wasting ourselves. Blessed are those that will watch and wait, says the Lord. You'll see. Watch and wait. Eat and see. Faithful. Whoa. It's just a waste of time. Watch and wait. Oh no, it's not just a waste of time. Oh no. It's not just a waste of time. And wisdom will be justified. And watch and wait. Watch and wait. And wash away all the lies. I'm in it all the way. I'm in it to love for life. In the love of God right now, all over the room. I ask the Holy Spirit, he says he pours the love of God out into the heart. Let's take a few moments here. That real specific request. Lord, here we are before you. Holy Spirit, we acknowledge your presence right now, all over this room. We ask you to renew our love right now. I ask you to rest on people. Like the fire of God, right now. Ask to liberate hearts and fill hearts with the presence of God right now. Touch hearts and lives right now by love. I ask you that people would encounter your love right now tonight. Come like fire. Come and mark hearts with the love of God right now tonight. Come and release your fire, Lord. Let's just wait for a few moments. Lord, we long for a touch. A greater touch. By your Spirit tonight. Lord, we're letting release the presence of God on people right now, all over the room. Your manifest presence right now. Renew them in the love of God tonight. Liberate hearts tonight in the love of God. If you're feeling the presence of the Lord like heat resting on you in any way, I want you to come stand up here. I want to ask the Lord to increase that. Some of you are feeling it. On your chest, on your face, on your shoulders, your abdomen. You're feeling like heat resting on you. Like the Lord saying, this one, I want to get more prayer tonight. I'm going to get more. It's like an indicator. This one, I'll give more to tonight. They need prayer. Just come and stand right across the whole way here. On the front line up here. So others can have room to get up. Increase, Lord. Your manifest glory right now resting on them. And others as well, Lord. Those that you've indicated that they need more prayer tonight. We say yes. I would like the others, the rest of you to come up and help me pray for some folks. Just come and pray for a few people. We're going to linger here for a little while. More, Lord. I need you to pray right now. More, increasingly. Just break chains right now. Hindrance. Fear and bondage. Liberate hearts right now in the love of God. Put your hand on their heart right now. Come like fire right now. Awaken hearts. Awaken hearts. In a new way. Renew tonight. Come like wind. Come like fire, even now, more, Lord. Come like fire. Come like wind. Lord, I ask for counting tonight. We need encountering. Anybody that wants to pray for folks, come on up and pray for them. So come like wind. Come like fire. Come like fire. Come like oil. Come like rain. So come like wind. Come like fire. Come like oil. Come like rain. So come like wind. Come like fire. Come like oil. Come like rain. Come like wind. Come like fire. Come like oil. Come like rain. Cause I'm in it for love. Oh, little love. I'm in it all the way. Yeah. I'm in it for love. Oh, little love.