Friday, August 15,
2014, 7:17 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Only In Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Matthew 25:14-30 (NASB).
The Parable
“For
it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and
entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another,
two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his
journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded
with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had
received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent
went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“Now
after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with
them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more
talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained
five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your master.’
“Also
the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you
entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master
said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your
master.’
“And
the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew
you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you
scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the
ground. See, you have what is yours.’
“But
his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I
reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought
to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my
money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it
to the one who has the ten talents.’
“For
to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but
from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Talents
A talent, in this context, is a reference to a particular
weight of silver or gold used as the basis of monetary exchange (See: http://biblehub.com/greek/5007.htm).
Literally it means “the scale of a balance; a balance (as supporting weights);
that which is weighed.” It was taken to be a sum of money or something of value
that was used for monetary exchange.
Reading this definition brought to mind the passage of
scripture in Daniel 5. King Belshazzar of Babylon had a great feast. He invited
many guests. He gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels which his
father King Neb (the king of Babylon) had taken from the temple, which was in
Jerusalem. He and his guests drank wine from them and praised the gods of
silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. What an abomination!
“Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began
writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s place.”
The king saw this taking place and he was frightened. Daniel was called in to
interpret the writing. The interpretation given to Daniel was that the
inscription that was written on the wall said that God had numbered the days of
the king’s reign and had put an end to it. He had been weighed on the scales
and found deficient. So, his kingdom was divided and given over to the Medes
and Persians.
In this case, the item of value that was weighed to
determine the value of exchange was the man’s life and his life’s work (his
kingdom reign). When weighed on God’s scales, the man’s life came up lacking,
incomplete and defective.
Scripture teaches us that God sets kings in their kingdoms.
Romans 13:1 says: “For there is no authority except that which God has established.”
Daniel said that God removes and sets up kings. He appoints over kingdoms
whoever he wishes (see Dan. 2 - 5). So, in a sense, King Belshazzar’s one
talent may have been his kingdom reign, but instead of multiplying it for the
glory of God, he squandered his one talent so that it not only did not gain
anything, but what was given to him ended up being corroded and not even worth
its original value.
So, the talents we are given can be whatever is of value to
God that he wishes to give to us to be used for his glory and to advance his
kingdom, not our own. First of all he gave us the breath of life. He created us
to worship him. He gives us the knowledge of him through his creation (see Ro.
1). He gave us his Son Jesus Christ as an offering (atonement) for our sin. He
gave us his word. He gave us his gospel. And, he gives spiritual gifts to his
servants.
The Results
In this parable one person was given five talents, another,
two, and one man was given one talent which he buried. He never did anything
with it. I would imagine that the talent he was given was either his life, the
knowledge of God (Ro. 1), and/or the gift of Jesus Christ in dying for his sins
- the gospel of our salvation. He took what he had been given and he buried it,
instead of making use of it and producing fruit in his life through it. The
others were given more. They took what they were given – life, the knowledge of
God, Jesus, the gospel, the word of God, spiritual gifts, and/or the fruit of
the Spirit, etc. – and they multiplied what they had so that it produced more
in like kind.
To those who had multiplied their talents (gifts and/or
assignments from God), who had proved faithful in what they were given, was
given honor and praise for their faithfulness, as well as even greater responsibility
and privilege to be put in charge of many things. Yet, to the one who buried
his talent, what he had been given was taken away from him, and he was thrown
out into outer darkness.
The interesting thing about this servant is that he knew he
had done wrong, and yet he made excuses for his sin. But, the excuse did not
hold water. It was a flimsy excuse. He tried to convince his owner that he was
thinking about him instead of about himself, but his owner saw right through
the lie the man told, and probably which the servant had believed about himself.
The master called the lie just what it was, and confronted the man with his
sin. He had been lazy and wicked and that is why he hid his talent, not because
he was being considerate of his master.
It can be so easy to deceive ourselves into thinking our
reasons for not doing what we know we ought to do, or our reasons for doing
what we know we ought not to do, are good and justifiable reasons, while all
along they are just flimsy excuses for disobedience, laziness and wickedness.
God has given to us the breath of life. That is a wonderful gift right there.
If that is our only talent, we should use it for his glory! He has given us the
knowledge of himself through his creation, and he has given his Son Jesus
Christ to die on the cross for our sins. He has offered to us his great
salvation, and he has given each of us natural talents and abilities, as well
as he has given his followers spiritual gifts and ministries.
Don’t Waste It!
We must not take what we have been given lightly. We must
not waste what God has given to us and then make up excuses for why we can’t do
what we know we are supposed to do. We are not here on this earth by accident.
God put us here for a purpose. We should not waste our lives by burying our
talents (whatever God has given to us) and by giving in to physical or
spiritual laziness (apathy and complacency), or by holding on to sin in our
lives. When we waste the precious gift of life we have been given, and we do not
yield our lives over to the one who created us for his purposes, but we seek
our own pleasure, then we are guilty of depending on the flesh of man (our own
flesh) instead of investing in what God has given to us to be used for his
purposes and glory.
For those of us who have multiplied what we have been given,
and who have accepted God’s great gift of salvation, and who have followed the
Lord Jesus Christ in surrender to his will for our lives, we will hear “Well
done,” and we will be given even more. But for those who bury in the ground
their wonderful gift of life given them by God and do not accept Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior of their lives, and do not bear fruit for his kingdom, what
they have will be taken away, and they will be thrown into utter darkness where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So, don’t throw your life away. Don’t waste it on selfish,
worldly and sinful pleasures. Give your lives completely to Jesus Christ today,
and multiply the gifts which he has placed within you for his glory. I can
attest to you that this is the only way to live! I am the happiest in life when
I am walking in fellowship and in obedience to my Lord in being who he wants me
to be, in doing what he wants me to do, and in going where he wants me to go. I
surrender all! Nothing this world has to offer me is worth holding on to. Jesus
is my all in all. He is worth more than all the silver and gold this world has
to offer me. Amen!
ONLY IN HIM / An
Original Work / February 19, 2014
Based off Isaiah 30
Woe to those who look
to man’s help;
Who turn away from
Jesus Christ;
Forming an alliance
not in step with God;
Making their own
plans, and praying not.
Willing not to listen
to truth,
They close their ears
to what is right.
Pleasing words are all
that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages
that bring cheer.
Trust in your Lord;
turn from your sin.
Put your faith now
ONLY IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols.
They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you.
That’s why He died.
Your Lord will be
gracious to you.
He cares all about
you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of
your sin
When you give your
life up to Him.
Oh, how truly gracious
He’ll be
When you bow to Him on
your knees;
Turning now from your
sin; walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide
you all of your days.
Now you will sing
praises to Him.
He delivered you from
your sin.
You’ll tell others now
of His grace,
So they may see Christ
face-to-face.
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