Would he be pleased with you? We often are like this as well. For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. In order to have Gods power work in us, we must believe the promises in Gods Word. And, as stewards, we must be faithful. He emphasizes that it is a stewardship from God. In what ways do our lives parallel his? Or would he receive you kindly? says the, For the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Have dealt very treacherously with Me, declares the, This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, . In fact, Christ says that if one is not willing to take up his cross and follow him, he cannot be his disciple (Luke 14:27). Heb 5:12). The Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants instructs us to keep watch because you do not know at what hour your Lord comes. Faithful servants know the difference between Gods power operating in their lives and their own power. Good News Translation (Todays English Version, Second Edition) Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. amzn_assoc_linkid = "1a9cca6b6dd8e39e9dc5a83f7c74e29f"; Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. Are they servants of Christ? And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 43How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. What lessons can we learn from his story? Responsible for managing the household and feeding the Masters family. Meaning of the Faithful and Wise Servant. The story as a whole, not the individual characters in it, provide the comparison. Dont let the Masters delay lure you into unchristian living; Jesus is coming soon! 46 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.. 51The master will cut him in pieces[a] and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the Lord God. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8). In Ephesians 1, he prays that they may comprehend the great power at work in them, the same power that raised Christ from the dead (v. 19-20). God calls Joshua to meditate on the law day and night and to obey it, with the promise that he will prosper if he does so (Josh 1:7-8). What information about this servant can we glean from the biblical account? The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. Being a servant of God is not about the work of our hands. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (A. Farstad, Ed.) Here, Paul says that grace was given to him to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles and to everyone else (v. 8-9). What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. One must surely conclude that this parable is not just an interesting story, but a message of eternal significance. If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemiesor if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. Jesus continues to say there will be two women grinding at the mill, one shall be taken and the other felt. However, the good news Paul proclaims doesnt stop there. Holstein, Joanne The Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants:. Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.. Saving the best for last, Jesus was undeniable, the clearest and most beautiful example of true servanthood we have to emulate. Matthew has carefully restructured and focused the parable to balance the examples of the faithful and unfaithful servants. Let's read it: Matthew 24:42-51. Serving means doing.. Usually precious things are rare; their very rarity increases their price; but here that which is most precious is also boundlessriches of compassion and love, of merit, of sanctifying, comforting and transforming power, all without limit, and capable of satisfying every want, craving, and yearning of the heart, now and evermore.4. What does it mean to be a faithful servant of God? What the Bible says about It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Application Questions: Why is it important to study Gods Word and to understand its mysteries? Horns: Garth - sax, trumpet, Rick - trombone, Richard . (Ephesians 3:2-6). He was faithful for a while, (otherwise, why would he have been chosen for such high responsibility?) You might consider these the 7 ways God will evaluate your faith and faithfulness! We must live in Gods Word to minister in his power. James 4:6 says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When a servant is humble, Gods gives him grace. Working in his own strength is marked by frustration, anxiety, and fruitlessness, but Christs power brings peace and fruitfulness. Were we faithful stewards of all he gave us? God makes his servants through the discipleship of other faithful men and women of God. Unfaithful Servants, Parable of the Faithful and Evil Servants. He allows difficulties and hardships so we can recognize our weakness. Are you a faithful servant? Watch ye therefore: for ye know not . It equips the man of God for all righteousness (2 Tim 3:17). Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.. The unfaithful servant are those who take advantage of the absence of Jesus and avoids doing what they are expected to do and is cruel to his fellow servants and is living in an unrighteous manner. All rights reserved. Matthew 24 is close to the time when Jesus will be crucified. Similarly, our lives must be marked by faithful prayer for Gods power to work through us. But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? The Great Commission is not just about sharing the gospel; it is about leading people to Christ and discipling them according to his Word. Unless a person is humble, he will not be called a good and faithful servant. He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. A servant is a very common person and addition of faithfulness makes him/her distinct and unique person. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment. I looked around me and saw others serving in the kitchen, serving in Sunday school, serving in the choir and thought to myself, Oh, I see. If we truly want to be servants of God, then we must understand and expect that it will come at a cost. The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviners wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norn 2023 The Virtual Preacher. 1. The Great Commission is to make disciples of all nations teaching them to obey everything I commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20). Are we willing to serve in the quiet, unnoticeable, and often unappreciated or unacknowledged ways? He worshipped the true God and remained faithful in every condition. They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. The Believers Commentary shares this (via Blaikie): Two attractive words, riches and unsearchable, conveying the idea of the things that are most precious being infinitely abundant. While in Jerusalem, he was accused of bringing an Ephesian, Trophimus, into the temple (cf. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the. "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Therefore, there will be aspects of suffering in the life of every true believer. In the Parable of the Talents, God describes each believer as a servant, or steward, given various gifts and responsibilities. Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen what faithless Israel did? He was eager to know, what Gods wishes from him. As a faithful servant, Samuel obeyed God humbly and politely. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. Human beings have a habit of having two different attitudes toward God. Everybody needs to be accountable to somebody! Patient, kind, long-suffering, forgiving, he gave himself for us. (Romans 1:1). Humility is a discipline. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; In fact, God desires our ample submission whenever He says anything (Ephesians 6:5-8). This is a continual discipline, but as we practice it, Gods grace will be given abundantly to us. I believe faithfulness is a significant characteristic of every follower and disciple also. If I have put my confidence in gold,And called fine gold my trust, If I have gloated because my wealth was great,And because my hand had secured so much; If I have looked at the sun when it shoneOr the moon going in splendor,read more.And my heart became secretly enticed,And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment,For I would have denied God above. In reality he was left with nothing even then, he remained persistent and committed. Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Mk 1:17). Of course, Gods plan has always been to bless the Gentiles through Abrahams seed (Gen 12:3, 22:18), but the Old Testament doesnt specifically teach that Jews and Gentiles will become one body and co-heirs together. Our focus is on what we can give to others, not what were trying to get for ourselves. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; If I have gloated because my wealth was great, If I have looked at the sun when it shone. Faithful servants suffer willingly for Christ and others. How is God calling you to further develop humility in your life? You have loved harlots earnings on every threshing floor. She is well-known as a counselor to Christian faithful who are struggling with tremendous burden in these difficult times. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you GentilesSurely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. Although I am less than the least of all Gods people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, (Ephesians 3:8), Next, Paul says something that is linguistically impossible but, at the same time, theologically possible, when he calls himself less than the least of all Gods people. It literally means the leaster or less than the least.2. The very reason Paul was in prison was because he taught that Gentiles now shared the same spiritual privileges as Jews. He never wavered in his faithfulness to God, and his hope in Him. They are involved in our worship services (cf. It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Are you willing to suffer for your Master and for others? The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. At first, you may have a choice but eventually, only God can break the bondage of sin. Martin G. Collins Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering. Chicago Style Citation: Like the priests during Malachi's time, unfaithful Christians are bold enough to use words that are "stout" against Him (Malachi 3:13). 28 Bible Verses about Unfaithful Exodus 21:8 Verse Concepts If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. The angels understood Gods righteousness, holiness, and wrath. Servants dont serve for their own glory, but for the glory and satisfaction of othersand this was true of Paul. From the fruit of a mans mouth he enjoys good,But the desire of the treacherous is violence. 1:1), indicating that having been bought by Christ, he had now become a willing slave, binding himself to his new Master, Jesus.