A Strong Exhortation

Faith and Works

“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”
Matthew 25:21,23
(From the Parable of the Talents)

When the time came for the master to reckon with his servants, he did not say “well believed”; He spoke the words “well done”. True servants of God are not idle, nor slack concerning the gracious bestowal of talents. They invest their lives into God’s investment in them. They are faithful in the things entrusted to them. In this passage the one who was slack concerning God’s investment was reproved and cast into outer darkness. The talents were given to HIS SERVANTS and as such the Lord expected a work and a labour into that which was given. These were His people upon whom such privileges were bestowed. They were not given on the basis of individual merit, but according to each one’s ability. Men and women who declare they are not able to walk in such things declare God to be unjust in His estimation of their ability.

“His lord answered and said unto him,
thou wicked and slothful servant…”
Matthew 25:26

Whose Lord? The servant’s Lord. Let us make no mistake as to the meaning of this Parable. It is a false and foolish gospel that has robbed God of His rightful place as Lord in our lives. Let us turn from this deceit and embrace the responsibility and the great reward that awaits those who are found faithful to our Lord and Saviour.

In this Parable Jesus declares:

“After a long time the lord of those servants cometh,
and reckoneth with them”
Matthew 25:19

Rest assured His coming is nigh unto us. Can we not hear with the ears of faith?

“Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh
shall find so doing”
Luke 12:43

Again, the word does not say blessed is that servant that he shall find “so believing”! His Day is upon us and we are to be faithful in so doing and admonishing others to the same.

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins…”
Hebrews 10:24-26

Do we not hear the exhortation to stir one another unto “love and good WORKS”? Can we not feel the day approaching? It is a slothful people who do not exhort one another unto “love and good works”. Read the context of the above scripture; it is willful sin not to be doing this as we assemble together.

The lethargy and false comfort preached in our day blinds His Own to their responsibility to the talents given.

The Day of the Lord is a day of reckoning for His people.

(Please read 2 Corinthians 5:9-11)

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be”
Revelation 22:12

Ω

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the Lord’s work,
because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”
1 Corinthians 15:58

Brian Troxel

“Occupy till I come”

“A certain nobleman went into a far country
to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds,
and said unto them, Occupy till I come”
Luke 19:12-13

The Kingdom of God has many claims upon those whom He has called. The “pounds” are given to His servants and His directive to them is to be occupied in the stewardship of them. When the King returns He will require of them an accounting of the gains to His investment.

“And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading”
Luke 19:15

Unto two of the servants His return was a glad and glorious day filled with the just rewards of their faithfulness. To the others it was a day of loss and great judgement. To yet another it was a day in which his portion was not only taken from him but given to the one who had gained ten. He suffered great loss not only in the portion given but also in not knowing the King’s approval. The other “servants” were not only rejected but were judged severely.

Occupy till I come!

It is the chief purpose of all His servants to be fully occupied with the goods so richly given and so little deserved. It should be our sole desire to live faithfully, fearfully and determinedly to see His portion developed within the fullness of our abilities unto the Day of his return.

Occupy till I come!

This is His command to His servants. His word to us is to be occupied with the development and growth of the portion given to each of us. We must all be diligent to the thing He has (past tense) placed within our lives. I cannot walk in another’s portion. I must be about His call, His purpose and His design for my life. If we are lazy or refuse to go His way, to allow His Spirit to reign and rule within our lives, the Day of His appearing is most fearful.

He is coming. He is coming to collect the gains of the investment he has made in each one of us by His grace!

“And, behold, I come quickly;
and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be”
Revelation 22:12

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Tag: Faithfull servants