The Bible does give us some insight into these ten years. As soon as he recovers his sight Paul begins to preach the Good News about Jesus Christ. He travels to Damascus and Arabia and finds persecution for his new beliefs. He returns to Jerusalem three years later and the Apostles are skeptical of this new convert. Additionally, his testimony is one that garners him a great deal of enemies. His former friends now wish him dead. Eventually the Apostles send him on his way back to Damascus. He spends five years there preaching in the surrounding areas as his reputation and testimony grow. Barnabas comes looking for him and they proceed to start the first missionary journey, nearly ten years after Jesus knocked Saul off of his horse.

This background is given so we can see that not everything we read in the Bible is smooth transitionally. Nearly an entire decade passes between the time Paul is called out and sent out. Between the times he is saved and then commissioned. That is a long time but God doesn't waste anything. Just like Joseph was not ready until the full 13 years in prison were up, Paul must not have been ready until the ten years had passed. He had to hone his craft. He had to learn his doctrine. He had to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Faithfulness has a foundation. It is founded upon a steady trust in who God is. Think how difficult it must have been for Paul to approach those that he used to hunt and try and convince them that he was now one of them! How humbling it must have been to attest to the saving grace of Jesus Christ after spending so much time persecuting anyone who uttered His name. Spiritual boot camp is never pleasant but it is vital so that we can be prepared for the good works God would have us do. Re-read that list of sufferings Paul endured and realize again that God knew they were all coming for him. If God had just sent out Paul without any preparation, who knows how long his faithfulness would have lasted. If Joseph is released from prison five years earlier maybe he seeks retribution upon Potiphar and his wife. Or maybe even on his brothers and family. Maybe that retribution ends the nation of Israel before it can even begin. God knows what He is doing beloved.

The final principle for today is that the more faithful we are the more responsibility God will give us. I remember when I was first saved at my old church. I was on fire and planning out all the wonderful things I was going to do for the Lord. I was going to create new ministries and lead this one or that"and God said, "Here's a mop, why don't you start in the bathroom"" You see, the pastor had a need in the baptism ministry as he had no men to help. So as a "favor" to him, I joined reluctantly. This was God however reminding me that Joseph did not start in the palace. David waited over a decade to assume the throne. Whatever ideas I might have had for ministry were going to have to wait because someone needed to mop the bathroom after baptism services and God wanted to see if I was doing this for Him or for me. As a side note however, the baptism ministry would prove to be my favorite ministry I have ever had. God always knows better. I was not going to start out preaching. I was not going to start out writing. I was going to start out mopping and if I handled that, God would give me something else to do and we would take it from there.

That brings us to the key verse today, taken from the parable of the three servants. The chief lesson in this parable is all about faithfulness and using what God has already given you, if you expect to see more increase. I think sometimes we have a pre-set goal in our heads and we are waiting for the realization of that goal without seeing that God may want us to get there in steps. I can tell you two things unequivocally about my ascent in ministry. One is that I most definitely did not want to join the baptism ministry and two; that God knew better. There were things I had to learn in the baptism ministry before God could bring me to the next level He had for me. Even that however, was not the level I was looking for. God had many steps for me to go through, learn from, and prove myself faithful in -- before the vision comes to fruition. Joseph had a dream when he was 16 that God delivered when he was 30. Were those 14 years wasted? Hardly. Those 14 years are what made Joseph who he was in God. Sometimes we get overly enamored with arriving at the destination when God is trying to get us to appreciate and learn from the journey.

In the parable of the three servants, we see a man going away on a trip. He calls his three servants together and according to their abilities he gives the first servant five bags of silver, the second gets two bags of silver and finally the last got one bag of silver. Here is what they did with what was entrusted to them:

"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