Use it or Lose it?
1Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, we ask that You would give us what we should receive from this message. To Your glory, in Jesus Name Amen.
Matthew 25:14-30
Here is the parable of the man traveling into a far country. So he delivers to his servants his goods, to gain with.
Matthew 25:14 “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called His own servants, and delivered unto them His goods.”
To begin this, it would seem that to stress the most important fact; we should deal with “ability”. “Each to his several ability”.
Matthew 25:15 “And unto one he gave five talents, to another, two; and to another, one. To every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey”
“Several ability”,….the plain teaching of this parable is that even the one talent person could have gained something; in as much as each had a several ability…..
…….Which means there is more than one thing they could have done.
Matthew 25:29 “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
But from “him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath”?
In other words, that which he had, but made no use of.
Luke 19:12-14 “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.”
Here in this parable we see two groups: Servants, and citizens.
Those that say they are His servants, who are entrusted to use part of the nobleman’s wealth, to gain for Him while he is gone.
And the citizens of the country are those of the world which hate him, outright.
When the nobleman returns (as Christ will one day, having been given His Kingdom here on earth [Revelation 11:15]). Then he calls for an account of his servants.
The Parable in Matthew 25 uses “talents”.
Each of us receiving a different amount to use,…..symbolizing the calling and abilities (grace) given us, by the Holy Spirit, to do God’s Will.
But here in Luke, they receive one pound each…….and are told to “Occupy till I come”.
This is a merchandise term , as used in the day of Christ.
It means to use it…..and gain with it.
(The “pound”, is the faith by the Holy Spirit. Will we yield to the Holy Spirit and show forth Christ to the world around us?)
Luke 19:16-17 “Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
And He said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”
Faithfulness to God in what He has given you, much or little, is what He rewards.
Luke 19:18 “And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.”
And so He gave the man who had been faithful, even though with less…….authority over five cities.
He had not gained as much as the first servant, but had been faithful and gained;…..and so, was rewarded.
Now to the one who hid his talent, for selfish fear.
He did not think well of the Master, and did not care about “gaining” for Him.
So he thought he would hide his talent, to protect himself. He would give back what he was given, and be done with it.
The Nobleman couldn’t complain, he thought, because He had back, what He had given.
But that is not what the Nobleman, or our Lord Jesus, wants.
He wants His servants to use what He had given them, out of honor for Him.
We have been given faith, by the Holy Spirit, to help us.
Are we taking the help?
We have been given gifts and callings (ability). Are we using them to His glory?
Luke19:23 “Wherefore than gavest not thou My money into the bank, that at My coming I might have required mine own with usury?” (Interest)
He was responsible for his one talent,…..but he did nothing with it.
That one talent, he was given, could have gained at least one more.
And should we not use our faith,……and grow in grace?
Perhaps, if he had only grown in faith,….he would have gained love…..love for the Master, he was to serve…..and that would have resulted in more gain.
But sadly…..he hid his talent.
What about us? Are we using what we have been given as faithful stewards of Christ Jesus?
We can and should……and gain by it.
Let us do what we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and be blessed.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 