Never Give Up - Part 3

I could be wrong, but I feel the Lord wants me to talk more about the three classes of servants mention I mentioned in Part 1. The Master gave each servant a certain amount of money according to each individual's own ability. Servants #1 and #2 were successful in their investments for the Kingdom, but servants #3 failed.

I could be wrong, but I feel the Lord is saying to the majority of the believers fit in the #3 category. The majority of believers do not fit into this category because they are doomed to fail, but rather they feel they do have any personal ability to do much for the Lord. The Lord has given each of us a measure of faith in order to accomplish His will on this earth. What we do for Him on this earth will build up treasures in heaven that we will enjoy for eternity. Treasures on earth have little value compared to the treasures the Lord has stored up for us in heaven.

I could be wrong, but the believers that fit in category #3 lack confidence in themselves because they do not have the abilities of the #1 and #2 believers. Those that lack confidence doubt in their own abilities and are prone to feel discouraged and easily give up because of feelings of inferiority. I know because I am one of those #3 believers. I know because I sometimes feel inferior to those with a college degree. I sometimes feel inferior to those with extroverted personalities because I am an introvert.

I could be wrong, but I believe the Lord can use those of us who are considered weak people to accomplish His will for the Kingdom in spite of our weakness. Listen to what the Lord had to say through the Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 1:26-28 New King James Version (NKJV)

Glory Only in the Lord

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

Did you notice the kind of people God has not called?

• not many wise according to the flesh
• not many mighty
• not many noble

But God has chosen:

• the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise
• the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty
• the base things of the world and 
• the things that are despised
• and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are

What do you think the Lord is saying to us #3 type believers?  I could be wrong, but I think He is saying that we should not look at ourselves the way the world sees us.  He is saying that we should look at Him and His righteousness.  We can do nothing on our own, but in Him, we can do all things He has called us to do.

What has He called you to do?  Not sure! I could be wrong, but I believe the answer is found in the following scriptures:

Matthew 25:31-46 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Now that you have read the above scripture have you discovered what God has called you to do?  If you are still uncertain here are some clues:

• give food to the hungry
• give water to the thirsty
• give housing to those that need a place to stay
• give clothes to those that do not have any clothes
• give your time and visit those who are sic
• give your time and visit those who are in prison

Are you physically not able to do any of the above things?  Here are some things you may be able to do:

• give money to organizations that provide food, drink and shelter to those in need
• give your excess clothes to organizations like the Salvation Army
• give your time to intercessory prayer for the sick
• give money to organizations, like Derek Prince Ministries, that provide Christian materials to those in prison.
• become a volunteer at the Salvation Army, a Rescue Mission, or Homeless Shelter

I could be wrong, but I believe if a believer can do any of the above things mentioned above in service of others then you are one of the sheep Jesus mentioned in the scripture.  Why?  Because you have done it to Jesus.  You have been following His commandment to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.

Never Give Up - Part 2

© YouVersion

2 Corinthians 4:16 Living Bible (TLB)

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day.

In "Never Give Up" - Part 1 I explained in some detail why I think servant #3 refused to obey the Master. I think this part of the Parable of the Talents is a warning to the Church.  In my humble opinion, this is a warning because Jesus does not want us to become overwhelmed by the cares of this world.  He does not want us to be discouraged, disappointed, or afraid because of our circumstances.  He expects us to trust in Him no matter how bad things seem.

Years ago I heard that a friend of mine had skin cancer on his are in it spread to other parts of his body.  I heard that as this man lay dying on his hospital bed shook his hand toward heaven and cursed God because he blamed God for his suffering.  When I heard this it broke my heart to think this friend did this.

To me, Jesus is telling us to "Never Give Up" no matter how bad things look because Jesus expects us to overcome the temptation to give up.  Check these the following links:

• Overcome
• Overcame

It doesn't matter whether your calling in Christ Jesus is to be servant #1, 2, or 3 you still have free will and therefore are subject to the ultimate failure and this is to give up.  

Jesus has a message for you today,  "NEVER GIVE UP"!  "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." Revelation 3:21

Never Give Up

In the last post, I talked to you about "How To Invest In The Kingdom".  Jesus gave us an example known as the Parable of the Talents.  In this parable, the Master gave a different amount of money to three different men.  He gave them an amount that was fitting to their ability to invest and earn a positive return on the Master's money.

Now I don't if I'm right or not, but I feel the Lord has impressed some things He wants me to share with you.  The first two men were successful in their investments and pleased the Master, but the third man was a failure.

Today I want to focus on the third man and why he failed.  Let's look at the verses that take about the third man:

Matthew 25:24-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

There are several things I find interesting about this man's words:

1. I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  To me, this man had utter contempt for his Master because he felt the Master was not just and fair.  
2. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’  To me, this does not make logical sense because if he were truly afraid of the Master he would have done what the Master told him to do.  I believe the man acted more in rebellion against the Master instead of in fear of the consequences.  In my opinion, it was more a matter of dishonor and disrespect for the Master than it was fear because he was not afraid of the consequences of his decision.
3. Look, there you have what is yours.’  In my opinion, his words have an overtone of bitterness and resentment toward the Master.

Because of the third man's rebellion, Jesus called him, a ‘You wicked and lazy servant.  In verse 30 Jesus calls him an unprofitable servant.  The Greek word is achreios which means; useless, good for nothing.

As I stated earlier I do know if I am right or not, but I feel the Lord is saying to me that this parable was given to show there are three different types of people.

1. Servant #1 - Those that God has called for exceptional and widely known ministry.
2. Servant #2 - Those that God has called for a modest ministry that is not commonly known.
3. Servant #3 - Those that God has called for a very small ministry that goes unknown.

All three servants are called by God, but each one has free will to do what they were called to do or to reject their particular calling.  Servant #3, in the parable above, was just an example of an unprofitable, useless, good-for-nothing servant.  How do I know this?  Jesus gave us another example of a person that appeared to be doing great works for the Lord but was rejected by Jesus.  Let's take a look in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

In my opinion Servant #3 represents the majority of people today.  I think I personally fit in the #3 Servant category of people that is under-educated and perhaps not as smart as others.    What can servant #3 types, like me, do to be obedient to the Master?  Even though we #3's weren't given as many abilities as other people we can still be obedient to the Master's call in the ability He has given us.  Here are just a few examples:

• We may not be able to preach a sermon, but we can be a witness by telling others our story about Jesus and what He has done in our lives.
• We may not be able to teach a class or lead a small group, but we can pray for others without them knowing we are praying for them.  We don't pray for our glory we pray so that the Father will get the glory.  I like to walk the streets of my neighborhood and pray for my neighbors.  I also like to pray for everyone I see while I'm eating out.  I know this seems small and insignificant, but I believe the Lord expects us to pray for one another.  See the video link below.
• We may not be affluent as far as the world's standards, but we can share what we do have with others.
• We may not have a college degree, but we share the wisdom that comes from the Lord

There is little glory, if any, for the #3 servant on this earth, but our glory is waiting for us in heaven.  Why, because what we do for the Lord is build up treasures in heaven for us.  Our glory comes when we hear Jesus say to us, "Well Done my good and faithful servant . . . "

Truthfully it does not matter whether you are Servant #1, #2, or #3 type because the only servants that will enter into the joy of the Lord are those that heard His voice and obeyed His words through trusting in Him.  Notice the attitude of Jesus toward the righteous in verse 37 below:

Matthew 25:31-4 6New King James Version (NKJV)

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

In my opinion, servant #3 had given up in the Parable of the Talents.  He had become discouraged and had blamed all his problems on His master.  The moral of today's lesson is "Never Give Up".  If you cannot do anything else you can pray.  Your prayers make a difference.

God answers prayers in unexpected ways. Never give up praying!