Matthew 25:14-30

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability, and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise, he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his lord’s money.

¹⁹ After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²² He also, who had received two talents, came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him, who has ten talents.

²⁹ ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'”

A dear pastor friend and mentor passed away on April 10. I was by his bedside along with his family; his wife of more than 60 years, who has worked alongside him, was there as he drew his last breath and went home to his redeemer. It was a time of mixed emotions. He had suffered for many years from various ailments, and it was hard to see him deteriorate little by little—first his mobility, then his ability to attend church, stay awake for long periods, the ability to move without pain, and more. The endless doctor visits, 4 or 5 days a week on a dialysis machine, and the gradual loss of his cognizance.

On the other hand, it was hard to watch his wife face the first few moments without him, grandchildren, and children having to say goodbye, the conversations turning to gravesites, and the financial burden of the funeral. Over the tens of funerals I have done, it never gets easier to sit with those who are left behind. Still, there is a peace that overshadows the death, and we are comforted that we know he is truly in a better place. His faith has become a sight, and he can see, for the first time, Jesus, the patriarchs, and billions of saved people from the past 6,000 years of human history.

This brother pastored churches in British Columbia and then in Ontario, Canada. He raised three kids on the road, and they are all still involved. He shared the gospel with hundreds, if not thousands, over the years and led many to faith in Jesus. He never pastored a big church; in fact, I am now pastoring the church he came from BC to Ontario to plant. He asked me to help about 4 years ago, and here we are.

In the parable from our text today, Jesus is the man going away; he leaves his servants to do the work of the kingdom, and then He returns to judge their progress. The first two are successful and are greeted as ‘good and faithful servants.’

As I was pondering this dear brother’s life, I do not doubt that he was greeted as a ‘good and faithful servant.’ But it made me think and wonder how I would be greeted. Maybe we need to ask ourselves that. How would you be greeted? Are you and I truly investing all of our abilities and talents in the kingdom of God? We will all be judged one day.

Maybe it is just that I am getting older; maybe it is that over the past few months, I have seen a lot of death, and I know there may be more to come as in-laws get older and parents get older. This weighs on my mind, and I wonder if we preachers have prepared our folks for the judgment. We talk so much of grace that we forget to remind our folks that even God’s children will be judged and have to give an account of their lives after salvation.

In verses 24-30, Jesus confronts the slothful servant who hides the talent and gives it back to Jesus. There was neither loss nor gain, but Jesus points out that even a bit of interest was better than nothing. The man lost his talent, and he was sent into ‘outer darkness.’ For a long time, I heard many say he was sent to hell. But this is not the case. He was a servant in the kingdom and thus could not lose his place in the general kingdom; instead, he was sent away from the New Jerusalem and into the outlying areas away from the glow of the new city. He did not lose his salvation; none of us can.

How many of us will be in the outer darkness area, saved but not living in the New Jerusalem? Lord, help me to be like the first two servants who diligently worked in your kingdom and joyfully gave you a return on your investment. Which of the servants will you be? Be sure we will stand to be judged; we will not escape.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist ChurchHow to Connect with Us

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Ezekiel 33:1-6

“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, ³ when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.'”

In the last few months, I have seen and heard some things that make me wonder. If you watch famous people like Joe Rogan and others, you will see that there has been a concentrated effort to get the gospel out to millions. I find it ironic that some of these people, like Joe Rogan, have been used by God to get the gospel out to millions of people who have never listened to anyone unless they were hearing it on the podcast.

This is happening in situations over and over again. God will not be quieted. A few weeks ago, I had a young man here at my work ask me to come to dinner with him and his girlfriend and explain Christianity to them. They listened for 2 hours, and although they did not accept Christ, they heard, and I have been asked to do it again. Just a week ago, a dear friend called; he was sitting with his dad and asked if I would come and share the gospel so his dad could hear it; maybe even on his death bed, he might listen. I ended up sharing the gospel three times in about an hour with the attending family; most were Catholic and probably never heard the pure gospel.

We, or at least I, have been watching and looking for the Lord to come back. There are so many signs and so many things that are all happening at once; we have earthquakes, eclipses, and other strange things. We have this sudden release of tons of classified information about ‘alien’ sightings and encounters. At the same time, we have the exponential growth of AI software and its capabilities, as well as the financial struggles that are plaguing a lot of people all over the world. They are all coming together at this rapid rate, and we can feel that there is something about the break.

It may take months or years, but those of us who know Jesus understand that a line will be crossed, and the beginning of the end will commence. We are not to be idle at this time; we are not to waste this precious commodity and squander our time. So, Sean, what shall we do?

1. Watch the heavens.

We are to keep an eye on the heavens. Jesus will call us to Him soon, and we should be living each day ready to be called. This means that we should love the Lord openly and with great fervor; we should love our siblings in the Lord with the same fervor, and by this, we can draw some to the gospel of John 13:34–35. Read the scriptures, know what to look for, and keep our hearts from being deceived.

One of the things that seems to be growing is the number of people claiming to have some ‘new’ or ‘special’ revelation from God. They do not. God has revealed to us in the completed Bible all we need to know, and nothing is added. Be wary of people who want your money so that they can tell you what God has for you. They are fleecing you, for the most part. Even if someone is genuine, check the scriptures before you swallow the message.

Sadly, there are a lot of Christians who do not understand or even desire to understand the end of the church age. There are a lot of churches that shy away, and frankly, there are a lot of men who simply refuse to study and/or teach about the end times. It is hard work; it takes reading and studying, and it requires a commitment to search the scriptures. A lot of men are simply not ready to step into the next phase, where Jesus comes as a righteous judge, makes war, and executes judgment. But we are called to warn the people—yes, even saved people—that judgment is coming. Jesus will judge the saved and the lost.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:9–11. “So, we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

2. Watch the people around us.

Are you prepared spiritually and scripturally to share the gospel? In these last days, are you ready to tell someone how to be saved, how to be ‘born again’? Sadly, most of us are not. One of the most important things for the watchmen was to know which trumpet sound to blow—was it a trumpet for war or peace? Was it a trumpet to scatter or gather? As we get closer and closer, there will be people wanting to know about the Lord Jesus. Some will want to make fun; others will want to repent. Can you help the one who wants to repent? What we know for sure, according to the passage in Ezekiel, is that we will be held accountable for how we warned and even if we warned.

God expects us to warn the people around us about the heaven to gain and the hell to shun. Are you and I doing that? Here is a question for you: could you lead someone to faith in Jesus? Do you know what verses you would use? Philip, in Acts 8, took Isaiah 53 and taught the Ethiopian Eunuch about Jesus. Could you have done that? Sadly, a lot of us Christians really could not do that.

Here are some of the verses that you should have committed to memory; these will help you be prepared: John 3:16-18, Romans 3:10-23, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, and others that you can think of. You should know the story of the’ thief on the cross,’ his simple act of faith and belief—no baptism, no tithing, no church membership, nothing, just Jesus.

Take responsibility for those around you, pray for them that God will open their eyes, and be prepared to help them see once their eyes are opened. The Bible and the Word of God are your only tools (Romans 10:17). Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. You cannot and will not argue with or philosophize a person into heaven. Share the scripture, and the Holy Spirit will take the truth and change lives. If they refuse the gift of eternal life in Jesus once they have heard, that is on them; you have done your job, dear watchman. Be prepared!

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook (live broadcast of Sunday’s Message at 11 am): https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09

Online: https://www.mmbchurch.ca

Email: support@mmbchurch.ca

Sign Up To Be A Part of Our Bible Study Community: www.mmbchurch.ca/drawclosertogod