BEING A GOOD STEWARD
FINDING GOD’S WILL FOR MY LIFE.
February 29, 2012WHAT DOES JUBILEE MEAN TO A CHRISTIAN
October 5, 2012Passage: Matthew 25:14-30 (passage posted below this message)
The Bible tells us a story of a master who decided to invest his talents in the hands of 3 of his servants. To one he gave 5, the second he gave 2 and the 3rd he gave 1. He asked them to use his talents and give him account when he returns. This parable is an illustration of God our master and we his servants. Each of us was entrusted with the following.
- Life
- Opportunities
- Salvation
- Experience
- Spiritual gifts
- Skills
- Physical and financial resources and many other things
His desire is that through us, His name will be made famous, through us that the world will know Him and that we may be custodians of His creation.
Going back to our parable we get to see what our Lord expects of us, that we become good stewards of what He entrusted to us.
- A good steward uses, invests and multiplies his master’s resources.
- Looking at the 1st two servants, stewardship is not so much of how much but more of how faithful.
- A steward looks at his master’s goods as his. He treats the resources as well as his own. In the passage he calls his master’s talent as his.
- A steward is not a store keeper; the 3rd servant stored the talent and the master called him unfaithful.
- When we are faithful, our God promotes us just as the stewards who were faithful got more on top.
- The master rejoices with us when we are faithful.
- Each one of us is gifted differently and we are judged by that not by the gifts of others, servant no. 1 and 2 were both equally praised.
In the next few days I would like to encourage you to look deeply at yourself, list all the things your God has entrusted to you and commit yourself to being a good steward.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “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.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
