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| Apostle Anthony C. Josephat-Nwokolo |
Understanding The
Parable of the Talents & the Meassge Behind It - by- Apostle Anthony C. Josephat-Nwokolo
"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 - Matthew 25: 14 - 30
You have heard the kingdom concept from Our
Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings himself. Furthermore, for better
understanding I implore you to read the whole of the parable up to verse 46. In
view of the foregoing parable, the man travelling to a far country refers to
the Lord God and the servants refers to the inhabitants of the earth (you and
i), while the talents refers to capital; such as, God-given gifts, your life, time,
the earth, the Word, the Son and the Spirit of God.
God has given to everyone of us the
aforementioned gifts to profit withal, and to add value to His kingdom and to
the earth it. And God in his infinite wisdom made those available to all free
of charge.
The returning of the master of those servants
refers to the returning of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge everyone as the
master of those servants returned to settled accounts with them (judgment). And
after the judgment the Lord promoted the two servants that were profitable to
enter the joy of their father (Heaven), whereas the servant that hid his talent
in the ground refers to the unfaithful, unrighteous and unprofitable people to
God. I mean those that does not know, serve, fear, worship, obey, glorify God
nor fulfill their purpose and assignment. They neither believed nor confessed
Christ as their Lord, talk less of using their God-given gifts to serve God and
mankind, therefore they were unprofitable to God and to humanity as the unfaithful
servant that was cast into outer darkness (hell), where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Friend, God has invested so much in every one
of us and we are to account for it at the end, and whoever performs well and
maximized the gifts God has given him or her shall be promoted, whereas
whosoever that performs poorly shall be demoted to hell. This reminds me the words
of my biological father to me after giving me some capital to establish
business with it, he used to tell me that to whom much is given much is
expected. I therefore drew my conclusion that, that my Heavenly father has
invested much more in me than my earthly father, He would expect much more from
me than my earthly father. What do you think? A word is enough for the wise.
You Cost
God So Much
God has invested so much in your life and
have also sacrificed even the precious blood and life of His only begotten son
Jesus Christ for you, that is why you should be very careful and prudent how you
spend your life and the gifts of God, because you shall account for it on the
last day and whosoever shall be found wanting, shall pay dearly for it and
shall suffer for it forever. For
God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believe on Him shall not perish but have ever lasting life – John 3: 16.
It would amaze you to discover that everything you have, whether physical,
spiritual or material you have received from God. Secondly, it would inspire
you to discover that the most valuable gifts in life are all free of charge.
Gifts such as; Life, Talents, Time, Wisdom, the Word, Salvation and the Holy
Spirit are all free of charge. No wonder it is written, “What does a man have
that he did not receive?
I implore you to wake up from your slumber
and beginning to use the gifts, which God has given you freely, because if you
fail to use it to perform and fulfill divine purpose, you will be asked what
did you do with it on the last day before the judgment throne of Christ.
“But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men
knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” -1st Corinthians
2:10-11
In view of the foregoing Bible passage, I
understand from God’s word and through the Spirit of God, that on the judgment
day our Lord Jesus Christ would ask all the people that lived on the earth
these two determinant questions;
1.
What did you do with what I (Jesus Christ)
did on the cross for you?
2.
What did you do with the gifts which i
deposited in you?
“But unto every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He saith, When He
ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he
gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” - Eph 4:7-8, 11- 12.
Now, that you have got an idea of the
criteria which our Lord would judge us with, I implore you to strive by all
means to obey and trust the Most High God through His Son Jesus Christ and
endeavour, as well to to discover and utilize your God-given gifts to fulfill His
purpose here for His glory. Remember, a stitch in time saves nine.
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