“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. Matthew 25:14-15 NIV
Last week, Paster Rurel started the sermon series, God’s Economy. This link is posted from last week’s message:
Pastor Jeremy picked the series up this week with the following part called, Everything is on loan. Here are the notes that I took during this powerful message.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-3 NIV
One of the things that are a challenge for most is this idea that “everything” we have, from our bodies to the air we breathe, is created by and owned by God; this includes our time, money, and talents.
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
As we live as Christians, we are responsible for the resources that God has provided us. It is essential to define the “resources” that God has provided to us:
- Time – this is a perishable resource. The only thing that we don’t know about our time is when the Lord is going to call us home or return to get us.
- Talents – these are the skills that the Lord has given each of us to support and contribute to the Kingdom of God.
- Money – this is current instrument of exchange that we use to buy and sell goods.
In our focus verses, the Master gave the bags of gold “each according to his ability.”
He gave five bags of gold to one, 2 to another, and 1 to the last. Each one was instructed to take the gold and invest it.
The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Matthew 25:16-18 NIV
Two out of three doubled the investment, and one buried the bag of gold in the ground.
The question that is important for us to think about concerning the resources that God provides is:
“Am I making the most of what God has provided me?” Am I using my time, talents, and money in the most productive ways in advancing the Kingdom of God?
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:19-23 NIV
There is one thing that we need to consider is that we will all give an account.
Major Point #1: God has the right to whatever He wants, whenever He wants it.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'” They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. Mark 11:1-6 NIV
In this case, we find Jesus sending His disciples into Bethpage to get a colt he would be riding into town. He told the disciples what to say if anyone asked them what they were doing.
What God gives us is ultimately for His use. And what He gives us, He can ask for in full. But in God’s economy, God works in multiples. He can take what we have and make it much more.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV
Major Point #2: Spending decisions are spiritual decisions
The Bible talks a lot about money. I’m sure that is because He knew we would struggle with money in our lives.
A challenge that many people have with the church is the idea of tithing. There are arguments from both sides of this issue.
Tithing is giving a certain percentage of your income to where you get your source spiritual teaching. For me, that is the church that I attend. It was a giant leap of faith when I started doing this because I wasn’t making a lot of money, and I was in debt.
But I decided to trust in the Lord with my finances. From my income to my giving, I completely trusted in God. The only thing that I controlled was my efforts at work, trying to be the most valuable worker for my company. I left the rest in the Lord’s hands.
The key here is to be faithful when the amounts are small to develop this as a habit.
In the parable we are working through, you’ll see that the two servants that doubled their investments were given more to invest with: “His Master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness!’
We need to be “intentional” about what we do with the resources that God provides us. We need to keep this in mind with our time, talents, and money.
Major Point #3: God uses the resources He’s blessed us with to reveal our faithfulness and to grow us spiritually.
In the parable, there were two responses:
- The one that the first two got which was: “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
- For the one that buried the bag of gold his response was:
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Matthew 25:24-27 NIV
The Master’s response was very pointed, “You wicked, lazy servant!”
This servant buried the gold. Maybe the servant felt that because it was only one bag, what difference does it make?
Everyone is given a useful talent that God wants to use when born. A problem that many have is that when they start to “compare” their skills with the skills of those around them if they don’t measure up in their minds, they may bury that skill in the ground.
One of the things that I used to think was that because my skill was easy to me, it should be easy for everyone; Thereby discounting the talent that God had given to me.
Make the most of what God has provided you today!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the talents that You have provided. Help us to recognize these talents and use them to advance Your Kingdom.
Thank You for the faithfulness of the Pastors who preach Your Word every week. Please let them know that their efforts make a difference in the church.
Help us keep You centered in our hearts and give us the courage to use our talents to spread the Gospel of Jesus boldly.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
