The Kingdom of Heaven – Part 8
Service matters. We are called to serve. But everything we need to do has been prepared in advance by God.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10
If we are in Jesus we are expected to produce fruit. A way of serving others is by making them participants of the fruits in our lives as the result of our relation with Jesus.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. – Jn 15:1-8
We are just the branches that hold the fruit. The only thing we need to do is to keep ourselves attached to the vine. Our relation with the Lord Jesus determines the amount of fruit in our lives. No relation = no fruit. Note that the passage says that branches that don’t abide in him will have no fruit, and as a result they will be cast out.
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it…In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. – Mc 11:12-14,20
He really cares about fruit. However, we are not expected to produce the same about of fruit. Some will yield 100%, some 60% and some 30% according to each individual capacity (Mt 13:23).
To further explain how important this is for Jesus he used the parable of the talents.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. “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.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ “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. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “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. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘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. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ – Mt 25:14-30
A talent was a unit of weight and money used in ancient times in Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East. A talent was the amount of silver needed to pay the crew of 200 rowers in a warship for one month. The equivalent would be $300,000 if silver and $3,000,000 if gold. Either way it is a huge amount of money. That is how Jesus compares the talents (or skills, abilities, potential) that He has given us. We have been given a lot, and to do nothing with it would be irresponsible. At a minimum, God expects us to yield interests on what He has given us.
As you have seen, this is not about producing. The fruit is produced by the vine; the talents were given by the master. This is about investing and spending what He has given us. There is a lot of need in this world. Lets use what we have received to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not an option, it is our responsibility.
If you would like to begin a discussion on this teaching please do so by accesing the topic about the Kingdom of Heaven our forum site http://forum.forachangeonline.org/
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