Sermon # 6 - Sow Bountifully, Reap Bountifully Series

We read in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “Besides, God is able to make every blessing of yours overflow for you, so that in every situation you will always have all you need for any good work.” (ISV)

The Lord is leading all of us to reach this stage of overflowing abundance in our lives. Also the Lord is faithful to keep His promise, but there are some things that we are required to do as well. We will see this principle at work in many places in the bible. Though the Lord Jesus had the power to raise dead Lazarus, the task of removing the stone was given to those who had gathered there. The Lord was able to make Peter get a miraculous catch of fish, but in order for that to happen he had to throw his net into the deep. Think about the time when the Lord turned water into wine. The miracle to do so was in the Lord’s hands, but to fill the stone jars with water was left to the servants who were at the wedding. We understand then that we are therefore working partners with the Almighty God who is the creator of heaven and earth.

The master invests in his servants

We already studied in detail the Parable of the talents as recorded in Matthew 25:14-30. Here’s a quick summary of this parable. There is a man who goes on a long journey, and before he goes he calls his servants and entrusts his money to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two and another one.

This is recorded in Matthew 25:15, “He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.” (NLT)

These bags of silver is referred to as talents in another version. In general when we refer to talents they could refer to our resources, our time, our family, our children, our ability to speak, hear and even our breath. There are some who are not using these talents, but the Lord reminds us that the more we use it, they will grow and multiply.

The master’s expectation

However we read in Matthew 25:27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.' (NLT)

The talent that is referred to in this parable refers to money, and so it was right that the master told the servant with one talent that he should have deposited the money in the bank so that he could have at least got the interest for the same. Note how the master reiterates that it was his money that was entrusted to the servant.

We often think that the money we earn is ours. All of our finances belong to God, but He entrusts it to us in various ways. Everything that we have in our hands belongs to God, He is the owner and we are called to be good stewards who have the responsibility to multiply all that is given in our hands.

Of the 37 parables that Jesus taught 16 of them are about the way we use money and worldly things. You might wonder why Jesus took so much time to teach about money, instead of speaking about spiritual things only. Here are some important principles that we should learn and follow from God’s word.

One can’t serve two masters

We read in Matthew 6:24 "You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (GNB)

A man can only have one master, and that master can either be God or money because no man can serve God and money. For many people money has become their master. The one thing that can take the place of God in our lives is money, and Jesus has made this very clear to us.

How do we use our finances the right way?

There are many people who prioritized money over God in the bible too, and lost everything. Think about Judas Iscariot who placed money over Jesus, and thereby lost his life. The bible talks about another young man who sought Jesus, and wanted to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him that he had to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, this shocked him and saddened him and he walked away from Jesus. Think about Ananias and Sapphira who loved God, but also loved money, and lost their lives and salvation.

It is therefore of utmost importance that we learn to use the money that is entrusted to well in the right way.