Matthew 25:20-21 (NKJV) “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.’ 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.’
The master in this message must be very gracious towards his servants, treat them well, trust them, and love them enough to entrust them with his goods. However, even when the master loves his servants, has good plans for them, and entrusts them with his goods, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be reciprocated with their love, faithfulness, and desire to carry out his instructions. Each servant’s respect and honour for the Lordship will be tested once they have been given the responsibilities of the master’s goods. Although Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of heaven, He is using this earthly parable to convey the truth of being good stewards. It is the grace of God that He has entrusted us with whatever He has blessed us with on this earth. The first two servants or slaves must have a love for their master and be appreciative of the grace shown to them.
Sadly, many servants act more like the third servant who buried his one talent in the ground because he was unwilling to do what was entrusted to him by the master. He overlooked that he would have no harvest if it were not for the master providing the seed for planting. He failed to see the grace, love, and wonderful plan the master had for him. He was reluctant to do more than the minimum. He never felt responsible or accountable. Similarly, all of us are blessed with resources from God, whether we are believers or otherwise. The issue is whether we recognise God’s grace, love, and plan for our lives by making Jesus the Lord of our lives. We must cease living solely for ourselves. The lesson is: don’t be like the third servant while there is still time to change our ways!
It may be challenging to accept or live this out, but everything we have in life belongs to God—our gifts, time, talents, assets, resources, and money. God has entrusted us to be stewards of what He has given. Therefore, there will be times when the owner calls for what is His to be used. One must demonstrate faithfulness in being a steward of all that God has entrusted to us.
Sermon Series: Giving out of a heart of gratitude
忠心的考验
马太福音 25:20–21那领五千银子的又带着那另外的五千来，说：‘主啊，你交给我五千银子，请看，我又赚了五千。’主人说：‘好，你这又良善又忠心的仆人，你在不多的事上有忠心，我要把许多事派你管理。可以进来享受你主人的快
在这个比喻中，这位主人显然对仆人非常恩慈：他善待他们，信任他们，也爱他们，甚至把自己的产业交托给他们。然而，即使主人爱他的仆人，对他们怀有美好的计划，并把产业托付给他们，也并不一定意味着仆人会以同样的爱、忠心，以及执行主人吩咐的心志来回应。当仆人领受了主人产业的责任之后，他们对主人主权的尊重与敬畏，便会受到考验。虽然耶稣是在教导有关天国的真理，但祂借着这个地上的比喻，向我们传达了作好管家的属灵原则。神的恩典在于，祂把今生一切所赐给我们的托付在我们手中。前两个仆人显然是爱他们的主人，也珍惜并感恩主人向他们所施的恩典。
遗憾的是，许多仆人更像第三个仆人——他把那一千银子埋在地里，因为他不愿意去完成主人交托给他的事。他忽略了一个事实：若不是主人先提供了种子，他根本不可能有任何收成。他没有看见主人对他的恩典、爱，以及那美好而周全的计划。他只愿意做到最低限度，从不觉得自己需要承担责任或向主人交账。同样地，我们每一个人，无论是否已经信主，都从神那里领受了各样的资源。关键在于：我们是否藉着让耶稣成为我们生命的主，来回应并认出神在我们生命中的恩典、爱与计划。我们必须停止只为自己而活。这个比喻给我们的提醒是：趁着还有时间可以改变，不要成为那第三个仆人。
也许在接受或实践这一真理时，我们会感到不容易，但事实上，我们生命中所拥有的一切都属于神——我们的恩赐、时间、才能、产业、资源和金钱，都是如此。神把这些托付给我们，要我们作忠心的管家。因此，当真正的主人呼召我们，将属祂的一切按祂的心意使用时，我们应当预备好回应。在神所托付的一切事上，忠心，是每一位管家必须活出来的生命见证。
讲章系列：出于感恩之心的奉献