Title: Good and Faithful
Text: Matt. 25:14-30
[Mat 25:14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
[Mat 25:15] And 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.
[Mat 25:16] Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
[Mat 25:17] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
[Mat 25:18] But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
[Mat 25:19] After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
[Mat 25:20] And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
[Mat 25:21] His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
[Mat 25:22] He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
[Mat 25:23] His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
[Mat 25:24] Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
[Mat 25:25] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
[Mat 25:26] His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
[Mat 25:27] Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
[Mat 25:28] Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
[Mat 25:29] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
[Mat 25:30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Introduction
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The parable that we just read is about the Kingdom of Heaven
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We will look at this parable from five different perspectives
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The summary of the story is that
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A man, who is later called Lord, called His servants and gave them talents (His goods)
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One servant got five talents
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The second got two talents
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The third got one talent
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He gave them according to their abilities
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However, Jesus did not tell us whether the man gave them instructions on what to do with the talents
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The first went and traded with his talents and gained five more
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The second went and traded with his talents and gained two more
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The last hid his talent in the earth, so he gained zero more talents
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When the Lord returned, they all brought back reports
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From the report of the first two, the Lord called them good and faithful servants
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From the report of the last one, the Lord called him wicked and slothful
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What you do with your talent will determine whether you are good and faithful or wicked and slothful
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The perspective we will review are
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Heaven, The Lord, The Servants, The Talents (Lord’s goods), and fruitfulness
Main Topic
Heaven’s Perspective
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[Mat 25:14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
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The entire story is about the Kingdom of heaven, and the players involved
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The man doing the giving is the Lord of the Kingdom
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What the Lord gave are the goods of the Kingdom
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The servants belonged to the Lord
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The kingdom’s expectation is to increase through the investments made in the servants
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In short, heaven made an investment in the servants to bring more into the Kingdom
The Lord’s Perspective
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[Mat 25:14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
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The Lord called His servants, so the servants belongs to the Lord.
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He gave to them His goods and expected them to do something with the talents so He can have more
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He left them to decide on what to do without forcing them to do it
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He’s the one that will determine whether what the servants did was acceptable or not acceptable
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He’s the owner and the judge
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He’s the one that will determine whether the servants will enter into the joy of the Lord or whether it will be outer darkness
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He’s the one that the servants need to please and report to
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The Lord’s expectation is for the servants to do something with the talents, so that He can bless them and give them more
The Servant’s Perspective
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[Mat 25:15] And 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.
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Their Lord called them and gave them goods
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They are His servants, so their loyalty must be to their Master
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The talents they received did not belong to them. It was given to them by their Lord
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[Jas 1:17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
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The servants did not own anything
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Their purpose is to bring gain to the Kingdom using the talents that the kingdom invested in them
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They had different abilities, so they were not created equal
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Their Lord knows them and knows their abilities
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None of them was left without a talent
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Two of them traded with the talents and doubled the talents, bringing returns to the Lord and the Kingdom of heaven
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[Mat 25:21] His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
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By gaining more with the talents, they were faithful to the Lord
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They became ruler over many things
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The entered into the joy of their Lord
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The purpose of being given the talents is to become ruler over many things and to enter into the joy of the Lord
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Notice that the five and two received the same reward.
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The servant with the one talent would have received the same reward, but he was fearful.
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One of them hid his talent in the earth
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Many believers are hiding their talents in the earth
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Hiding one’s talent is hiding the glory of the Lord and that of heaven
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Hiding one’s talent is indirectly telling the Lord that he made a mistake by investing in us
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Hiding one’s talent is being wasteful
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Heaven is better off giving the talents to someone else that bring better returns
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Hiding one’s talent will land the person in outer darkness
The Talents
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[Mat 25:14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
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The talents are the goods of the Lord. They belong to the Lord
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They were loaned to the servants and are to be used by the servants to bring in more goods
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They are like seeds. Inside them is the ability to multiply
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They cannot do anything by themselves. The servants have to make use of them
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Some of them are used and some of them are wasted by not being used
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The ones not used have zero chance of multiplying
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The ones used have the ability to double and more
Fruitfulness
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This is what happens when the servants make use of their talents
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They become fruitful
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[Gen 1:28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
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[Gen 9:7] And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
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Being fruitful means one is making use of the talent (blessings) that heaven invested in them
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Being fruitful means being busy for the Lord
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Being fruitful means one is obedient to the commandment of the Lord
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Being fruitful means to bring returns to the Kingdom of heaven by our abilities
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Since it’s by our abilities, we are not to compare ourselves with others who may have more abilities
Conclusion
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Whether we like it or not, heaven had made an investment in us
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What we do with the investment will determine whether we are good and faithful or wicked and slothful
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Make use of what heaven has deposited in your life so that you can become ruler over many things and enter into the joy of the Lord