|
Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 23 - Ten Minas
Luke 19:20-27
20 And [kai] another [heteros] came [erchomai] , saying [lego] , Lord [kurios] , behold [idou] , here is thy [sou] pound [mna] , which [hos] I have [echo] kept laid up [apokeimai] in [en] a napkin [soudarion] :
21 For [gar] I feared [phobeo] thee [se] , because [hoti] thou art [ei] an austere [austeros] man [anthropos] : thou takest up [airo] that [hos] thou layedst [tithemi] not [ou] down [tithemi] , and [kai] reapest [therizo] that [hos] thou didst [speiro] not [ou] sow [speiro] .
22 And [de] he saith [lego] unto him [autos] , Out of [ek] thine own [sou] mouth [stoma] will I judge [krino] thee [se] , thou wicked [poneros] servant [doulos] . Thou knewest [eido] that [hoti] I [ego] was [eimi] an austere [austeros] man [anthropos] , taking up [airo] that [hos] I laid [tithemi] not [ou] down [tithemi] , and [kai] reaping [therizo] that [hos] I did [speiro] not [ou] sow [speiro] :
23 Wherefore [diati] then [kai] gavest [didomi] not [ou] thou [didomi] my [mou] money [argurion] into [epi] the bank [trapeza] , that [kai] at my coming [erchomai] I [ego] might [an] have required [prasso] mine own [autos] with [sun] usury [tokos] ?
24 And [kai] he said [epo] unto them that stood by [paristemi] , Take [airo] from [apo] him [autos] the pound [mna] , and [kai] give [didomi] it to him that hath [echo] ten [deka] pounds [mna] .
25 (And [kai] they said [epo] unto him [autos] , Lord [kurios] , he hath [echo] ten [deka] pounds [mna] .)
26 For [gar] I say [lego] unto you [humin] , That [hoti] unto every one [pas] which [ho] hath [echo] shall be given [didomi] ; and [de] from [apo] him that hath [echo] not [me] , even [kai] that [hos] he hath [echo] shall be taken away [airo] from [apo] him [autos] .
27 But [plen] those [ekeinos] mine [mou] enemies [echthros] , which [ho] would [thelo] not [me] that I [me] should reign [basileuo] over [epi] them [autos] , bring [ago] hither [hode] , and [kai] slay [katasphatto] them before [emprosthen] me [mou] . KJV-Interlinear
20 'And another came, saying, 'Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 'He said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 'Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?' 24 'And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.' 25 'And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas already.' 26 'I tell you, that to everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 'But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.' NASB
Now we have the third classification of believers who will be in heaven and who will receive the basic blessings that all believers will receive - a resurrection body, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, no more death and so forth, but the real blessing to be found in heaven is in the additional blessings that God rewards believers with when they comply with His mandate in this life and advance to spiritual maturity.
I'm sure that you all know of the lotteries, and raffles and such out there in the world, where you buy a ticket for a dollar with the hope of winning millions. Well, you as a believer have in your very own possession and greatest wining lottery jackpot ticket of them all. And as I said, it is a winning jackpot prize ticket. A sure winner. The drawing had already been concluded. That occurred in eternity past, and you hold the winning ticket.
The only thing you have to do is redeem it in the proper way. How so? You redeem it by living the spiritual life that God intends for you to live. That's all. And that is the simplest thing to accomplish in life. Just as believing in Christ was very simple, so too growing up in the spiritual life is very simple. Now do you value your ticket, or do you throw it away?
This third group is the largest group of them all. They are the indifferent. The are believers and therefore saved. They will go to heaven. They know, by their very own words, the character of Christ. A person could just live a good and decent life and comply in some respects with Gods mandate for living a spiritual life. That is like putting the money in the bank and letting it grow on its own. No work whatsoever required. But indifferent people don't even do that. They live outside the fellowship sphere (even though they know of it) and they have no spiritual life to show for their time on this earth.
They become historical filler. They just exist and become the great losers in life. How smart can one be when you lose a fortune by simply being indifferent? By holding the winning ticket and not turning it in?
Now each person stands or falls on their own. Your future does not depend on anyone else in this world. No government, no regulation, no stranger, no friend, no family member, no one can do anything to restrict the thinking within your mind. Your thoughts are what you are, and your thoughts are your ticket to the greatest future ever.
Before you were born into this world, you had no say in what the circumstances of your life would be. You did not choose your parents. You did not have a say in what neighborhood you would live. You did not have any say in your physical make up, IQ, etc. You had no input in defining your life. But now, you have all the opportunities to define your next life. Would you choose to live out eternity in a slum, or in a castle?
And the title to that castle ownership, is in your hands. What do you do?
The third classification of slave who approaches Jesus Christ will lose all they have in terms of extra blessings. Jesus did not throw him into the lake of fire. He did not remove the clothes on his back, He merely took away the investment capital, and then redistributed it to those who were obedient - the mature believers.
Note that those believers who have some marginal growth, will not participate in this redistribution. Only those who actually advance to spiritual maturity. Note also that this redistribution comes out of a blessing pot which already exists. So the jackpot prizes in heaven have already been determined for everyone and they are all equal. Those who do not receive their full share will forfeit their balances (whether in whole or in part) to mature believers.
Spiritually mature believers will receive phenomenal blessings in heaven. They will receive their own jackpot of blessings as well as the redistributed portions of those who did not receive their full share. We cannot question His decisions ('but he has ten already') because we do not know the magnitude of the future. God is fair.
We can however look up at the night sky and see or get an idea of the vastness of the universe above us, and know that Gods wealth goes far beyond that. We do not even know how big our universe is.
The second group of believers will receive some blessings, but they could have done more in their life, and they know it. Thus they will forfeit some blessings in eternity. They will include those who will compromise their life on this earth with petty preferences or attitudes. They will be less than charitable, they will define some of their own little social rules. They will construct barriers which prevent themselves from advancing in their spiritual life. They will get angry at someone and then make themselves suffer (by getting angry at God) thinking that they are hurting someone else. They will define certain comfort zones within which they will choose to live. They will emphasize something of a worldly nature (work, hobby, social, etc.), which will prevent their spiritual growth. They are their own worst enemy.
You are the master of your own destiny. But any master needs a compass to navigate. God provides you with His counsel (the Bible) which will guide you to the greatest treasure ever. Do you use His compass, or do you wade through thick fog and try to find it on your own? Or, do you do nothing?
There is no title for this second group, but they do receive some compensation though it will be infinitely less than the first group of mature believers. Wouldn't it be much nicer to be included within the first classification of believers? And do you know who is preventing you from being within that group?
You and you alone prevent your success. God has given you everything to succeed. If you fail, then it is your fault and no one elses.
And as for the enemies of God. All unbelievers? They will be the greatest losers of all. They reject God and thus will be thrown out of Gods eternity. They go to the Lake of Fire and there will be lost to oblivion and history. There, they will have no name, no reputation, no legacy, no memory. They will be the forgotten, and they will suffer horribly forever and they will be alone forever.
You have hopefully made that first step toward securing your destiny by believing in Jesus Christ. That was simple to do. You hopefully will seize Gods words and decide to advance in your spiritual life to the point of spiritual maturity.
You only have this life in which to do that. Decide today. Look back at our check list which we put together some time ago and begin to follow it without exception. Don't let greed, don't let compromise, don't let any little thing stand in your way to the ultimate future which is simply out there for the taking and is already yours. Now just redeem it in the proper way and live the Christian life.
End of Lesson |
|
 |
Table of Contents
|
 |
Previous Page |
|
Next Page |
text-indent: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;">
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
If You Wish To Support This Bible Study,
Please Make Your Donation Here
Go To Home Page
|
|
