Matthew 25:16-30 is about ATTITUDE TO THE TALENT.
The positive attitude was shown by the servant receiving five talents and two talents.
On the contrary, the negative one was shown by the servant receiving one talent.
Matthew 25:19
25:19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accountswith them.
Our attitude to the ministry must be accounted for before God when Jesus comes a second time, whether it is a positive one or negative one. The positive one will get reward from God but the negative one will be judged with everlasting judgment.
Matthew 25:20-23
25:20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
25:21 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
25:22 "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'
25:23 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
We learnt about the positive attitude last week, namely BEING FAITHFUL and GOOD(Please check in General Service, August 22, 2010).
The other positive attitude is BEING FAITHFUL and WISE.
Luke 12:41-43
12:41. Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"
12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
12:43 "Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Being faithful and wise must begin with a pastor that is faithful and wise in feeding the sheep.
A faithful and wise pastor will feed the sheep on time and the preaching of God's Word becomes spiritual food growing the spirituality of the congregation to the perfection.
The spirituality of congregation will be grown up although the spiritual food is hard, as long as It comes from God.
If a pastor, the ruler over the shepherding, is not faithful and unwise, all servants in the shepherding must be unfaithful and unwise.
Being faithful and wise cannot be separated. One may not be faithful without being wise or be wise without being faithful.
Being faithful, we minister seriously, nothing may hinder.
Being wise means as follows:
Luke 12:43
12:43 "Blessed isthat servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
As a result of being faithful and wise, one has heavenly joynothing in the world may influence.
2 Timothy 1:6
1:6. Therefore I remind you to stir upthe gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Romans 12:11
12:11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
The other positive attitude is being faithful and fervent in spirit.
The servant of God who is faithful and good, wise and fervent in spirit is as the flame of fire. Such servant of God has Holy Spirit or the spirit of glory.
Hebrews 1:7
1:7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."
Revelation 1:14
1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
God's eye is as the flame of fire.
Thus, the servant of God who is faithful and good, wise and fervent in spirit is the apple of God's eye.
The practices of being the servant of God who is as the apple of His eye and has the spirit of glory are below:
The positive attitude was shown by the servant receiving five talents and two talents.
On the contrary, the negative one was shown by the servant receiving one talent.
Matthew 25:19
25:19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accountswith them.
Our attitude to the ministry must be accounted for before God when Jesus comes a second time, whether it is a positive one or negative one. The positive one will get reward from God but the negative one will be judged with everlasting judgment.
Matthew 25:20-23
25:20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
25:21 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
25:22 "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'
25:23 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
We learnt about the positive attitude last week, namely BEING FAITHFUL and GOOD(Please check in General Service, August 22, 2010).
The other positive attitude is BEING FAITHFUL and WISE.
Luke 12:41-43
12:41. Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"
12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
12:43 "Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Being faithful and wise must begin with a pastor that is faithful and wise in feeding the sheep.
A faithful and wise pastor will feed the sheep on time and the preaching of God's Word becomes spiritual food growing the spirituality of the congregation to the perfection.
The spirituality of congregation will be grown up although the spiritual food is hard, as long as It comes from God.
If a pastor, the ruler over the shepherding, is not faithful and unwise, all servants in the shepherding must be unfaithful and unwise.
Being faithful and wise cannot be separated. One may not be faithful without being wise or be wise without being faithful.
Being faithful, we minister seriously, nothing may hinder.
Being wise means as follows:
- Knowing the limit.
We must know the limit in our saying that it may become blessing for other people.
Besides, we have to know the limit in our friendship, especially for youth. The limit is real in righteousness and purity.
We have to be righteous and pure in trading, in fellowship, in all matters in life, including not eating food which is prohibited by our doctor. - Being patient.
Proverbs 14:17
14:17. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
We are patient in suffering through not murmuring or grumbling.
Besides, we are patient in waiting the time of God. Do not seek your own way outside the Word of God! There is a dead-lock and perdition outside the Word. - Being obedient.
Matthew 7:24
7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
1 Peter 1:22
1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Being obedient, we will be sanctified from hatred, bitterness, envy, et cetera until we can love one another fervently with a pure heart.
One who is faithful and wise will be employed in the ministry of building Christ's body, beginning with a marriage. Obedient marriage will become beautiful. On the contrary, a marriage without holiness and love will be vain. After being employed in the marriage, one will be employed in shepherding, inter-shepherding, up to the perfect body of Christ.
Luke 12:43
12:43 "Blessed isthat servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
As a result of being faithful and wise, one has heavenly joynothing in the world may influence.
2 Timothy 1:6
1:6. Therefore I remind you to stir upthe gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Romans 12:11
12:11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
The other positive attitude is being faithful and fervent in spirit.
The servant of God who is faithful and good, wise and fervent in spirit is as the flame of fire. Such servant of God has Holy Spirit or the spirit of glory.
Hebrews 1:7
1:7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."
Revelation 1:14
1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
God's eye is as the flame of fire.
Thus, the servant of God who is faithful and good, wise and fervent in spirit is the apple of God's eye.
The practices of being the servant of God who is as the apple of His eye and has the spirit of glory are below:
- Being endurable in facing the fire of sanctification in shepherding.
Exodus 3:1-3,5
3:1. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
3:2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
3:3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn."
3:5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."
The bush refers to fragile carnal men.
The fire points to the fire from heaven, namely the fire of God's Word, Holy Spirit, and God's love.
The bush was burning with fire, meaning the sanctification done by God's Word, Holy Spirit, and love. It happens through our patience in committing three main services in shepherding as follows:- Golden Candlestick (https://www.gptkk.org/tabernacle_golden+candlestick.html) -->patience in committing General Service -->sanctification done by the fire of Holy Spirit.
- Table of Showbread (https://www.gptkk.org/tabernacle_table+of+showbread.html) -->patience in committing Bible Study Service and Holy Communion -->sanctification done by the fire of the Word.
- Golden Altar of Incense (https://www.gptkk.org/tabernacle_the+golden+altar+of+incense.html) -->patience in committing Prayer Service -->sanctification done by the fire of love.
The result of the sanctification is we can take our sandals off our feet [Exodus 3:5], meaning the sanctification for our outward and inward life until we become as a newborn baby.
Baby means as follows:- One who humbles and makes himself of no reputation, no right but duty only.
It is as Jesus who humbles Himself until He descended from heaven to die on the cross.
Isaiah 49:3-4
49:3 "And He said to me, 'You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.'
49:4 Then I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the LORD, And my work with my God.'"
Being willing to become a baby, we do not insist our right and our right and reward are in God's hand none may charge against. We have them for our present life in the world until our eternal life is in His hand. He will never fool or give us any disadvantage. - One who is sanctified until he is neither sinful nor be able to sin. He is righteous and holy as Jesus is.
- Golden Candlestick (https://www.gptkk.org/tabernacle_golden+candlestick.html) -->patience in committing General Service -->sanctification done by the fire of Holy Spirit.
- Being endurable in facing the fiery trial.
Daniel 3:16-18,24-25
3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
3:17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
3:18 "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."
3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
3:25 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
The fiery trial can be in these forms:- Temptations in all impossible matters,
- Sins up to the peak, namely sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying and giving in marriage,
- False teaching, et cetera.
Only the fire from heaven may face the fiery trial.
The temptations come from Satan to make the faith of the sons of God fall.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego kept on worshipping God and loving Him, and believing and entrusting themselves in full to Him.
Here are the results:- God's hand preserves and protects us in the midst of impossible matters.
The hand which formerly has helped Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego will be able to preserve and protect us now. - God's hand is able to finish all our problems even the impossible one.
- His hand gives us beautiful future life.
- Temptations in all impossible matters,
- Being endurable in facing the fire of glory at the time of Jesus' second coming.
Being endurable in facing the fire of sanctification and the fiery trial, one will appear as what is written in Revelation 12:1.
Revelation 12:1
12:1. Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
This is the perfect and blameless Church of God at the time of Jesus' second coming.
Revelation 12:2-3
12:2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
Actually, the condition of the Church is as a pregnant woman who is going to give birth. She is so powerless and faces the dragon, referring to antichrist.
We only need to cry the name of Jesusin such condition.
Revelation 12:14
12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
As a result, God will give us a way out of problem through the two wings of a great eagle He gives us which will fly us to the wilderness far away from the presence of the eye of serpent. We are preserved there.
Romans 8:22-23
8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Besides, we have to cry in pain to face Jesus' second coming so we will not be left. We have to do that to have the renewal of life from carnal men to spiritual men, beginning with being strong and of good courageto wait the time of Jesus' second coming. We are renewed to become as glorious as He is at the time of His second coming.
The Lord will come with fire and only God's servant who is as the flame of fire may be endurable.
2 Thessalonians 1:4-7
1:4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,
1:5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
1:6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
1:7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,