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Faithfulness -- Principles for Working with the One Bag of Silver

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"The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. -- Matthew 25: 16-18 (NLT)

 

Realize today that the three servants are you and I and the people who sit next to us every week in the pews of churches across this country. The bags of silver are giftings and talents that God has given us to use for the advancement of His kingdom. Now the parable has one out of three not investing what has been given to them but in the church it may be two out of every three. It always seems that about 33% of the people do 100% of the work in churches these days. The rest take what God has given them and dig a hole in the ground to hide it. We have a lot of people hiding what God has given them. Some may hide it because they think that they only have one call. Just because God gave you a voice to sing does not mean you have to be in the choir. Take the mop when it is offered -- you never know the blessings God has in store for you if you would just be faithful. Others hide their talents because they prefer to be the served than the servant. Sometimes the modern American church can teach people that they should expect to be entertained at church instead of humbled to seek God. In this parable we see:

 

"Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, "Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.' -- Matthew 25: 24-25 (NLT)


God does not expect a zero return on His investment in us. As the key verse shows us the master sees the faithfulness of the one who had five bags and two bags and because they were faithful in those small matters He now will give them even more to be responsible for. This is a principle we need to remember, especially if we find ourselves in a period of stagnation. What has God already given us that He might be waiting on us to be faithful with? Have we buried something God has gifted us with? We need to be introspective and find it because here is how the principle plays out:

 

"Then he ordered, "Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. -- Matthew 25: 28-29 (NLT)

 

As our faithfulness increases, so will the territory God gives us. You don't start in the palace -- you start as a slave in the house of Potiphar. You don't start as the King of Israel -- you start by playing music for the current king or delivering cheese to the front lines of war. You don't start with the fantastic preaching ministry -- you start with the mop. I remember when I had my first offer to preach and I turned it down out of fear without even praying. I was still like Jonah back then, the reluctant prophet. I was serving in seven ministries, leading three of them. My writing was starting to take form. I was busy. But God handed me that bag of silver and I buried it. Over the next six months I watched as God stripped away half my ministries. I could hear Him telling me that if I wasn't going to make time for Him then He would have to free up some of my time. The next opportunity to speak came a year and a half later but by then I was more afraid of not speaking. I got back in line for what God was trying to do in my life.

 

Faithfulness. It is the key for the furtherance of the territory God intends to entrust to us. It does not start with the grand plans but is forged in the little steps that follow God's will. Sometimes we are too busy looking at how many bags of silver our neighbor has instead of working with what God has given us. Sometimes we look at the one bag of silver we have and wonder why God has given us so little. We may bury it because it seems insignificant to us but to God -- nothing He gives us is ever insignificant. The vision may give us a glimpse of the end product but the journey there is made through small steps of faithfulness and watching how God will expand our territory to bring the vision to pass. Amen and hallelujah!

 

 

Reverend Anthony Wade -- August 9, 2012

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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