Are You Serving

I recently heard a radio commercial that caught my attention. It was an advertisement to refinance your home and save $1000’s. The commercial asked, “What could you do with all that savings?” People exclaimed, “We could buy a new car! We could go on a cruise! We could remodel the kitchen.” (There’s nothing wrong with any of those things. Ecclesiastes tells us, “There’s a time to be born, a time to die, a time for war, a time for peace…” There is a time to remodel the kitchen.) But what struck me is that this is a CHRISTIAN radio station. Why didn’t the people exclaim, “We could sponsor a child! We could support a missionary! We could increase our tithe! We need to pray and seek what the Lord would have us do!” Could it be – nobody suggested these things because we are much more worldly than Christian?

Matthew 15:14-30 is the Parable of the Talents of Money.

TEXT: “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” (Matthew 15:14-18)

THE KEY:

1. A man. That would be Jesus Christ.

2. A journey. This would be the time between the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1 and His return (The Second Coming, which is what the previous chapter is all about).

3. His Servants. Who are they?

HIS SERVANTS

How did the disciples, who became the Apostles, who were given all authority by Jesus, who gave us the New Testament, who radically changed the world… How did these men perceive themselves?

Romans 1:1, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus…”

Philippians 1:1, “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus…”

And it wasn’t just Paul:

James 1:1, “James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…”

2 Peter 1:1, “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ…”

Jude 1, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ…”

This is what the Redeemed of the Lord do. They serve! (They serve the Lord with gladness!)

Serving Jesus Christ is the most natural response of a grateful heart (A heart that Loves Jesus - with all their heart, mind, and strength). We serve Christ by doing kingdom work: Evangelism, Edification, Benevolence, Hospitality. We serve Christ in EVERYTHING we do: At home, at work, at play. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

TALENTS OF MONEY

It doesn’t say, “He entrusted them with talent”. It says, “Talents of money”. (Greek: talanta). A talent of money is a measurement of weight. It doesn’t say if it was a measurement of gold, or silver, or bronze. So we don’t know how much. But the implication is: It was a lot! It would be the equivalent of saying, “He entrusted them with a TON of money”. Or, “a BOATLOAD of money.”

And Notice: It is the Master’s property. The Bible says, ““The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above”

Even you belong to the Lord. “…you were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) He made you and He saved you. You were redeemed by God. You belong to God.

He has the rights, and we have the responsibility. He is the Master, you and I are the managers. He is the sovereign, we are grateful servants.

John Maxwell says “We will never get money and possessions right—really, all of stewardship—until we consciously affirm, believe, and live in light of the truth that God is the true owner of it all.” I totally believe this. Your life will not make sense until you acknowledge that it all belongs to God. And once you acknowledge it – that all belongs to God, then everything starts making sense.

ENTRUSTED

And notice – it was ENTRUSTED to them. It wasn’t given TO them. It was given FOR them… to use, to invest, to work. Matthew doesn’t clearly write out the expectations. A similar story in Luke, it says, “Do business until I come” (Luke 19:13). There is an expectation that these servants would use the Master’s resources to grow His kingdom (Something the first two servants clearly understood). The servants have been entrusted with the Master’s resources to manage His property. To grow His kingdom.