by Neema Joshua | 22 December 2021 08:46 am12
Luke 19:12–13
“He said: ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’”
Praise the Lord Jesus. I welcome you again to this series of teachings that explains the various rewards that God will give, and the criteria He will use to grant them. We have already looked at several types of rewards and their requirements in previous parts, and now we continue with part five.
5) There Are Rewards of Ruling Over Many Cities in the Kingdom of God
God has promised to grant greater authority to those who faithfully serve Him while on earth.
Let us look at the parable Jesus gave to help us understand this better:
Luke 19:12–26 (NIV)
12 “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.
21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’”
This parable is self-explanatory. If the Lord has entrusted you with a certain level of grace to serve Him here on earth, He expects you to multiply that gift and serve diligently with it.
For example, if He has given you the grace to sweep the church compound, He also expects to see the restrooms clean, the windows wiped, and the chairs in order. In short, faithfulness in small things matters.
On the day He returns, He will inspect your work. He will compare what He gave you and how you used it. If you thought that sweeping was too lowly to matter and ignored it, He might say, “If you were too lazy to do it yourself, you could have hired someone to do it for Me. Why let My house remain filthy?”
Just as He told the servant who hid the mina, “Why didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned, I could have received it with interest?”—so He will also say to us!
But if we are faithful with what He gave us and even exceed expectations, then our reward will be great. Our faithfulness now will determine our position in His Kingdom. If cities are to be ruled, we shall rule according to how faithful we are today.
1 Corinthians 4:2
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
Matthew 25:21
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Therefore, this should motivate us to do the Lord’s work without excuses, without despising anything, and to do more than expected. These small acts of obedience and faithfulness are the measures of our eternal inheritance.
May the Lord bless you
Source URL: https://wingulamashahidi.org/en/2021/12/22/how-god-will-reward-and-the-criteria-he-will-use-part-5/
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