You've Been Blessed To Invest Series

NOTE:

My manuscripts are basically my thoughts on paper. Typically, I use them as a guide, not verbatim. Very rarely do I preach my message exactly the way I wrote it. If you would like to hear the message preached, please visit Abundant Life Fellowship’s multimedia page at http://www.abundantlife-lompoc.org/multimedia.html

A few weeks ago, we began talking about your “stuff”. We defined our “stuff” as those things that God has given us to accomplish His plan and purposes for our lives and to pour into the lives of others. We looked at the third chapter of Acts where Peter and John went to the temple and healed the lame man. We saw how Peter and John used the “stuff” that God had given them to turn lame legs into leaping legs.

This morning, I want to us to come to the realization that we have been blessed to invest. God has blessed His children in order for them to turn around and invest into the expansion and building up of His church. Let’s take a look at our scripture text found in Matthew’s Gospel the 25th chapter. If you’ve received a complimentary Bible, you can find our passage on page 689. Let’s begin reading with verse 14.

In this passage we find Jesus speaking with His disciples on the Mount of Olives. He begins telling them of the signs of times regarding His return. In the verses just before our text, Jesus tells His disciples a parable about ten bridesmaids, or virgins depending upon which version of the Bible you are reading. Jesus uses this illustration to teach His disciples and His church today about being prepared for His return. But here in verses 14-30, Jesus wants to teach us about being faithful with what He has given us between His ascension and His return.

As we look at our text this morning, I want to draw a few applications from it.

1. EVERYBODY HAS SOMETHING

The Word tells us that the Master (Jesus) called his servants together and gave them talents. Now, please bear in mind that a talent in this sense doesn’t refer to giftings and abilities, although the same could apply to those, but this is referring to an amount of money. We see here where one servant received five talents, another two, and the third received only one according to their abilities.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:6 that “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well” (NLT). Notice that Paul doesn’t say that we have developed our own abilities to do things well, but it is as God gives. God has definitely blessed us beyond measure. In this parable, Jesus says that the master gave his servants different measures of talents. Now, according to Nave’s Topical Bible, someone who has five talents would be a multi-millionaire. Which tells me that even the servant that received the one talent was still well off. And why shouldn’t he be? Everything that we look at and call our “stuff, is really God’s. The Word tells us “No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right” (Psalms 84:11 NLT). Everything that the Lord gives is costly, worth more than we could ever do on our own. So even if you feel like the servant who received the least, remember that it’s still costly.

The nails that pierced the hands of Christ that caused the redemptive blood from the spotless Lamb of God to flow, which paid the price for you to receive a blessing that all the money put together on the face of the earth couldn’t purchase. Just before Jesus ascended into the heavens, He said that you would receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8). He also told His disciples that when He went away that we would do the same works He did, and even greater things (John 14:12). You have been blessed, but not just to hold on to it, or bury it the way the third servant did, but to invest it. So again, you’ve been blessed to invest.

2. DON’T COMPARE YOUR MONEY BAG TO ANYONE ELSE’S

Be faithful with what you have been given. Be thankful for what you have been blessed with, rather than belly aching about you don’t think you have enough. The Word tells us that the Master gave His servants a portion according to their ability to handle it. Face it, not everyone is capable of handling large responsibilities. We have to start out small and prove ourselves faithful with the small things in order to handle larger responsibilities.

So instead of looking at everyone else’s abundance all the while you are looking at what you might think is a measly blessing (is there really such thing?) and feeling sorry for yourself, begin investing. I’ve known people who started off with small amounts of money and invested it and had an incredible return on their investment. But the thing with that is, they were taking “their” money to invest in somebody else’s stuff. What I am talking about here is God’s stuff. He has given you a fortune to invest back into His stuff. There will always be a return on investment!!! There are no risks investing your blessing.