God Loves A Fat Man

14For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15And 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.

In the parable that is before us, Jesus deals with stewardship and His expectations for those whom He has entrusted with certain talents. Now I want you to understand that the parable is about more than money. Many people view this story in Matthew only through the lens of finance, but there are more important things in life than money. Money is important, but money will not buy your way into heaven.

I want you to look with me, for a few minutes, at the symbolism in this text. In the parable, the Master (or the man traveling) is Christ, who is the absolute Owner and Proprietor of all persons and things, and especially His church. Into his hands all things are and must be delivered.

The servants in the parable are Christians, (You and I, or at least we call ourselves Christians, which means we’re supposed to be Christ like.) In any case, we’re supposed to be His servants because we are born in His house, bought with His money, and redeemed by His blood. Therefore, we are to be devoted to His praise, and employed in His work.

Now, the parable says that the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who calls his own servant, and delivers unto them His goods. Christ is really painting a picture for His disciples and giving them a sneak preview of His ascension back to heaven - because you know it wouldn’t be long now (in the context of this passage) that Jesus would be tried and crucified, but three days later would fulfill the prophecy spoken about Him and get up from the grave and ascend to His father in heaven.

Yes. . . when Christ went to heaven, he was as a man traveling into a far country; that is, he went with a purpose to be away a great while. And when he went, he took care to furnish his church with all things necessary for it during His absence. He committed to His church truths, laws, promises and powers: the parakatatheke, or the great depositum as it’s called. In other words, Jesus left His Spirit to enable His servants to teach and profess those truths, to press and observe those laws, to improve and apply those promises, and to exercise and employ those powers, ordinary or extraordinary - Christ, at his ascension, left His goods to His church. He didn’t have to do it, but He did - and I’m so glad He did!

And the thing about it is that Jesus (the Master) committed all of this to us “in trust!” He appointed us to work, for Christ doesn’t keep any idle servants! NO. . . He left us something to work on. And when He comes back He’s going to want to know:

– “What did you do with the goods I left you?”

– Were you faithful with them?

– What’s your account of it?

– And can I trust you with anything better than what I left you?

In other words, Jesus is going to want to know, “Have you been “Faithful, Accountable, and Trustworthy?” I’m using an acronym for it: “F” for “Faithful, “A” for Accountable and “T” for Trustworthy . . . F-A-T: “Fat!” That’s why I’ve come to tell you that “God Loves A Fat Man!”

My brothers and sisters, we must understand that we have been given ’talents’ from God to get the increase with. Our talents are the scriptures; the Holy Bible. Now know this: If we take the Word of God and harvest it , we’ll have an increase. Remember what the Lord said in Luke 9:26? "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son af man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels."

So, I ask you right now, have you been ashamed of His words, have you taken the ’talents’ He’s given you and went for an increase? Whether it be cleaning the toilet at the church or taking care of the church grounds, or leading the Bible Study. When the Lord comes back He’s going to look at how we handled the task He set before us!

The parable of the talents not only speaks of future judgment, but it also speaks of our stewardship, because whether you realize it or not, you are a manager. Each one of us have been entrusted with resources from God’s storehouse.