WILL GOD REGRET ENTRUSTING YOU WITH HIS GIFTS?

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 30, 2023.

SUBJECT: WILL GOD REGRET ENTRUSTING YOU WITH HIS GIFTS?

Memory verse: "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.” (Matthew 18 vs 23.)

READ: Matthew 25 vs 14 - 19:

25:14: For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered his goods to them.

25:15: 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.

25:16: Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

25:17: And likewise he who had received two, gained two more also.

25:18: But he that had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.

25:19: After a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled account with them.

INTIMATION:

All we have on earth; our time, energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, resources, and so on, are all gifts from God and are entrusted to our care and management by Him. We are stewards of whatever God has given us. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. The Owner is God, and has only given us right to use when we come in. It is for this reason we come into the world bringing nothing with us at birth, and takes nothing away with us at death. God loans the earth to us while we're here. And He will give the same right to another when we depart in death. You just get to enjoy it for a while. He expects us to invest all He entrusted to us wisely. 

God entrusted the care of His creation to man and appointed him the trustee of His property (Genesis 1 vs 28). This role has never been rescinded. If God truly is our Master, we must obey willingly without excuses. All He has entrusted to our care must be handled and managed properly. When we ignore, squander, or abuse what we are given, we are rebellious and deserve to be punished. 

This stewardship is the major purpose of our life. Unfortunately, the common culture amongst us is to careless of what you don't own. But that is not God's idea. Christians should live by a higher standard: "Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it to the best of my ability." (See First Corinthians 4 vs 2.)"

Jesus often referred to life as a trust and told many stories to illustrate this responsibility toward God. In the story of the loaned money (the talents) according to the passage we read today, the kingdom of heaven is like a businessman who entrusts his wealth to the care of his servants while he is away. When he returns, he evaluates each servant's performance against given responsibility and rewards them accordingly. Those who do well, in line with his expectations, he says, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy your Lord." (Matthew 25 vs 21.)

In the passage we read today, the master divided the talents among his servants according to their abilities. No one received more or less than he could handle. Therefore, if anyone failed in his assignment, his excuse could not be that he was overwhelmed. It will obvious he failed due to laziness or hatred toward the master. 

The talent represents any kind of resource God has given us: time, talents, possessions, and other resources according to our abilities, and he expects us to invest them wisely until He returns. We are responsible and accountable for whatever God has delivered to us, and should ensure proper usage or investment. The issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have.

In order words, inactivity in the kingdom is not accepted. When the kingdom reign of Jesus is in the hearts of those who have accepted Him as their king, they are moved into action for the king. Inactivity is evidence that the king is not reigning in the hearts of men. The faithful servant does the master's bidding. Each day God presents us with needs and opportunities that challenges us to do what we know is right. We must use our resources—time, talents, abilities, possessions, etc—diligently in order to serve God completely in whatever we do. 

The excuses of the ‘one-talent’ servant actually insulted the integrity of the master. It manifested the fact that he didn’t know the master, and thus, did not know what the master expected. He was rejected on this basis. His inactivity manifested his lack of concern and response to the will of the master. The will of the Master is not burdensome to the one who responds to the love and grace of a loving Father. The sin of the ‘one-talent’ servant resulted from his ungrateful response to the master who had given him so much.

Stewardship is the main subject of the kingdom. Even those who are “one talent servants” must do what they can for the king. Emphasis is not on how much one does, for the amount one accomplishes is determined by the personal gifts from God. Emphasis is on doing. The world is filled with those who buried their talents in the deceptions of indifferent religiosity, and lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4 vs 6.) We must not make excuses to avoid doing what God called us to do. If God truly is our Master, we must obey willingly. The gifts are not ours, but God’s. When we ignore, squander, or abuse what we have been given, we are rebellious and deserve to be punished.

The ‘five talents’ and ‘two talents’ servants were commended on the basis of their faithfulness and stewardship to carry out in their lives the will of the king. If one determines to serve God, then God will give the increase, for it is God’s grace that works in our hearts to bring forth fruit to God. “Well done good and faithful servant” What greater words could ever be heard from God? Christians should be motivated to work for God in order to hear these words from Him. The works they do are in response to the grace of God. 

At the end of each one’s life on earth one will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well one handled what God entrusted to him or her. That means everything you do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications. If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity. First, you will be given God's affirmation: He will say, "Good job! Well done!" Secondly, you will receive a promotion and be given greater responsibility in eternity: "I will make you ruler over many things." Thirdly, you will be honored with a celebration: "Enter into the joy your Lord." 

The neglected use of one’s gift will result in losing everything one has been given. If one refuses to respond to God’s grace, he cannot expect to receive anything as a result of his lazy ingratitude. In the final end of things, the glories that will be given to the Christian will far outweigh that which he has accomplished on earth. He will receive more than what he can earn by works on this earth, all by God’s grace. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are forever faithful. Endue me with the spirit of faithfulness to You in all things, being a worthy and effective steward for I have been entrusted with, and be found worthy of Your approval, and the crown of glory in eternity, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!