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Investing Your Faith
Get ready for the end times and step into the shoes of the wise servants.
Matthew 25:29 - 30
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. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This scripture is one which probably troubles a lot of Christians. Jesus had just sat down upon the mountain of Olives and his disciples had come to him for a private discussion concerning the signs of Christ's coming and the end of the world. We can see from God's Word, in Matthew 24, that Jesus warned them about not being deceived and about false prophets. He told them that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world and then went on to tell them there would be great tribulation and that no one would know when the end would be except those who were observant of the signs of His Coming.
He continues in Matthew 24:44 - 45 to tell us to be ready and to explain just how to be ready. Jesus expects us to be faithful and wise servants. He even goes so far as to explain what an un faithful and un wise servant does. Then He gets down to the point of his explanation. He tells the parable of the ten wise and foolish virgins. Five of those virgins were not ready for the marriage, but five were. He builds on this parable by telling the story of three servants who were each given a certain amount of money to invest. Each servant was given whatever amount his lord knew he could handle. He gave the first servant five units of money and two units of money to the second, or as the King James version of the Bible calls them, "talents" (one talent equal to the amount of money a man could earn in his lifetime).
To the last servant, though, his lord gave only one talent. To many of us that may seem unfair until we read on and find that the first two servants invested the money they had been given while the third servant went and hid his money. The investors were each rewarded handsomely for their efforts but the hoarder, the one who hid his one talent, had even his one talent taken from him. There are those who may say that this seems unfair and even cruel, but we need to remember that God has expectations of each of us. God has given each of us certain abilities and blessings which he expects us to "invest".
Let me ask you to look at the money these men were given to invest, not as money, but as spiritual gifts. We have a listing of these gifts in Galatians 5:22-26. These gifts are called the fruit of the spirit. We invest this fruit, such as kindness or gentleness, and we receive even more.
One of our greatest gifts, or talents which we are given, is the Faith of God. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:23 to have Faith. Some translations of the Bible say that Jesus said "Have faith in God" while other versions say that He said, "Have the faith of God" or "Have the God kind of Faith". No matter how you look at it, Jesus told us to have faith . There are some people today who mock those who choose to have faith, but those who accept that "talent" from Jesus Christ are given the full measure of it. How we use that Faith is up to us.
We can invest that faith according to God's Word, with courage and conviction, sowing it as a seed and watching it grow as we're told in Romans 10:17 "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God". In other words, the more you "hear" the Word of God, the more Faith you have. We can hear the Word of God these days in so many different ways, especially in the United States of America and in the democratic countries of the World where people have freedom. Just as Jesus explained in Matthew 24:14 " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come ." We have as many different translations and versions of the Bible as we want. We can go to any denomination or church building we want. We can listen to the Word preached by radio, and on television. If we're willing to listen and receive what God has to tell us, we will receive all the faith we want.
If we're willing to invest that faith as a seed, applying it to whatever situation where it's needed, God will bless the growth of that seed of faith. We learn in Hebrews 10:38 that "the just shall live by faith" and in Hebrews 11:1 that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.". We learn also in Hebrews 11:6 that "without faith, it is impossible to please Him."
So if we use all that is written about having and using the God kind of faith together, we can set ourselves right in the shoes of the wise servants who took the "talents" they were given and "invested" them or sowed them as seed and watched the result (of using faith in God) come to pass. The result of Faith is perfectly summarized in God's Word in Hebrews 11. That entire chapter is dedicated to those people who, even without knowing personally of Jesus, were able to have the God kind of Faith as Jesus teaches us in Mark 11. These people were good stewards of God's Word and of His Faith. They pleased God by using their faith.
There are noticable exceptions to this Hall of Faith. For examples, we don't see Peter's name there or John's or James or even Mary's name. At the time Hebrews was written, I will surmise that their faith had not yet matured enough for them to be included in this writing. You and I are going through the same process of spiritual growth. We have a choice to make though. Will we be like the wise servants who invested their money, or will we be like the foolish servant who hid his money? Will we have actually used the faith of God that we have been given, learning from his Word that we have set ourselves to read and study and hear? Will we give faith good "ground" to grow in by being obedient to God and righteous before him and by accepting the salvation of Jesus Christ ?
Or will we be like that foolish servant who took his one talent and hid it.
Will we say, out of false meekness, "Oh, I'm just dumb I guess. I can't figure out what the Bible says so why should I bother myself to try to learn anything about it?"
Will we say, out of a lazy spirit, " I'm too tired to go to church!"?
Will we say out of a judgemental, spirit "Those people at church are all a bunch of hypocrites!"?
Will we stay in bed on Sunday mornings and not attend church? Will we give up even trying to read the Bible?
Or will we say to God this prayer,
" Father, I'm sorry I haven't been getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ as you have taught me in your Word. I need your help, Father, to be the wise servant you want me to be. I ask you now to help me by your Holy Spirit to see with my spiritual eyes and hear with my spiritual ears those things you want me to see and hear. Father, I need your help to get out of bed early in the mornings and stay away from television so I can read about the "good news" of your gospel instead. Father, I ask now in the name of my Lord, Jesus, that you give me the spirit of Christ to help me get ready for the end. "
God's Word promises that if you ask His Help, He will give it in time of need. Luke 11.
Let's all resolve to repent of laziness and ignorance concerning God's Word and the Fruits of His Spirit and to set ourselves to live in the spirit (Galatians 5:25). Let's resolve to use God's Faith as He teaches us in his Word and to strive against sin. Jesus is the author and finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2) so let's let Him teach us how to use that faith by staying in His Word.
Let's be like those good servants who invested their "talents" and were able to present their lord with a hundred percent profit. Let's use the Faith of God that Jesus has so generously invested in us and show Him a good profit.
By the Holy Spirit and to the Glory of God
Merrellee Moore - 8/3/2001
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