Faithfulness, Stewardship, and the Parable of Talents

Think about that for a moment. It means, we select the standard used to determine the blessing we will receive from God. Did you know that? It's our choice. The measurement we use will be used for us. So the question is not should we tithe not only should we tithe gross or net, but what kind of blessing do we prefer? A gross blessing or a net blessing? [01:14:41] (38 seconds)  #ChooseYourBlessing

``So here's a quick conclusion. Tithing as 10% whether gross or net is a time tested biblical principle. It's to be presented to the church you attend. Generosity and giving is both an Old Testament and New Testament practice. Regardless of the method we choose, financing God's work is a privilege, not an obligation. It's an act of worship. It's one way to honor God with our finances, and doing it right opens the door to the blessing of God on our lives. [01:25:43] (41 seconds)  #TitheAsWorship

An amazing thing happened. Each year the district's subsidy gradually decreased. And the congregation gradually increased their tithing. Within five years, the church was able to take over the mortgage, assume all financial responsibility, and shortly afterward, pay off their mortgage. And the congregation was blessed. How do you account for that? It was directly linked to obedience to the word of God. [01:28:06] (45 seconds)  #ObedientGivingPays

So as we continue, I wanna quickly give you the third time. You can expect God will try and get your attention and that is when you begin to wander into the world's way of thinking and living. So let me explain what that looks like. It's when we start to focus only on the temporal, like possessions and social status and financial gain and success in this life. When we prioritize earthly affairs over spiritual pursuits like being absorbed in material things and worldly pleasures. If we do, we can expect God to try to get our attention to help us reenvision our eternal view of our destination for we're to have one of those. [01:30:43] (64 seconds)  #GodResetsPriorities

So let's capture some key thoughts here with the third servant. Other than a business arrangement, there's nothing to prove the third servant had a personal relationship with the master unlike the other two. His concept of the master was inaccurate, his character was rebellious and sinful, and his sad end was the consequence of his own choices. He lost everything. Jesus said, in this life and in the life that could have been. [01:36:33] (42 seconds)  #AvoidThirdServant

Second, at some point, God will create a new earth. It's on the calendar. God will dwell on this new earth with his people, Revelation 20, and it will be ruled and managed by Jesus and his people. Daniel seven, second Timothy two, Revelation one, three, five, and twenty. Very clear. It will be the fulfillment of what we call the Lord's prayer when Jesus' kingdom finally comes. [01:39:13] (39 seconds)  #NewEarthComing

Third, and this is where Matthew 25 comes into play, in the eternal future, God's people will receive new assignments. In verses twenty one and twenty two, notice what Jesus said about the talents and the joy. First, there will be increased responsibility which relates to the future use of talents and abilities. And second, there will be entry into a special kind of joy, which refers to experiencing joy in eternity with Jesus and experiencing joy participating in the ongoing care of God's creation. It's on the calendar. [01:40:31] (59 seconds)  #EternalAssignmentsAwait

Here is life lesson number three. God is not just preparing a place for us in eternity. He's preparing us for the place in eternity. And in that place, we will serve him and use our talents. We won't be sitting around floating on clouds, playing harps all day. Some may play harps in the eternity. Who knows? But that's not what we're all gonna be doing all day long. [01:41:30] (41 seconds)  #PreparedToServeEternity