Welcome brothers and sisters to tonight’s study. I am so very glad you joined me again and that the Lord held you and protected you through another day! Shall we begin…

Scripture

Luke 16:14-15
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Proverbs 30:7-9
Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Matthew 25:14-30
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou 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.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
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.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Devotional

BE A FAITHFUL SERVANT

Do you want to know if there is anything in your heart that would fall under the category of loving money? Would you be willing to ask the Lord to search your heart? I don’t think any one of us would want to be like the Pharisees.

Do you know what is in your heart? Does it ever frighten you? Do you sense your sin or temptation to sin in this area? Pray a prayer based on the Scriptures above. Then see if you can identify your concerns regarding money. How often do you think about it? What causes you to think about it? Do you find yourself distracted by money – by either having too much or too little?

As you examine the three servants from Matthew 25, imagine yourself being one of them.

Servant with five talents

Servant with two talents

Servant with one talent

What were the masters comments to each servant? What were his closing comments? What would the Master’s comments be to you?

What do you sense the Lord has given to you (financially and otherwise)? What are you doing with what He has entrusted to you? Have you invested it well? Have you invested what you have been given for His purposes or your own purposes? Do you think Jesus is speaking only or even primarily of money in this parable? What things besides money has the Lord given you that you need to use for His kingdom?

Close by taking time in prayer.

My Own Thoughts

May we all ask the Lord to search our hearts and to hear what He is telling each of us in this matter. I have no room to talk to anyone about money. Fortunately, when faced with measuring up to perfection, we can’t. This used to bother me but strangely I take comfort in knowing that no matter how good I am, I am never going to be as amazing as my elder brother Jesus and I don’t want to be. However, I will follow in His footsteps and in doing so I too can have the Father say to me; Well done my good and faithful daughter!