Luke 12:41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Is this parable for us? Yes. We can apply the need in our life. Verses 43-44 speak of rewards for the faithful. The owner comes and surveys the work of the stewards. He rewards if they are found doing their assigned tasks. There will be rewards in heaven. The owner looked for faithfulness. Are you faithful? My calling is to preach the Word of God. I’ll give account for every message and how faithful I was to preach the whole counsel of God. First Corinthians 4:2 says Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. Revelation 2:10 says be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. There is a lot of emphasis in the Bible on faithfulness. God will reward the faithful servant. I want to hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant” when I meet the Lord. Do you sing? Preach? Teach? Lead? Whatever your job is, have you been faithful? The work of Christ is suffering. Satan has always had his sources. The work is not suffering because of this but because the people make excuses for not doing the work of the Lord. The devil offers the excuses not to do the work, but there is a lost world that needs the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Unfaithfulness expresses itself in several ways. (1) Unfaithfulness in giving. The work of God is hindered when people will not support the work. Souls are lost. People perish every day. Give so missionaries can be on the field and work of the church can be accomplished. (2) Unfaithfulness in time. Be faithful every moment: 24/7, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. Some give God a little time and think he ought to be satisfied. They give half-hearted time and attention. Just suppose I told Debbie that there was a woman in trouble. She needs help and I am going to stay with her one day and night a week, but that I’d be with her the other six days. Would she accept that? Absolutely not! Yet some drop in on Sunday morning and expect God to be grateful. We need to be faithful to him all the time. (3) Unfaithfulness in use of talents. Can you sing? Teach? Lead? But just won’t do it. This church needs everyone to work. Why not use your talents for the Lord? What’s wrong in this country? If we ever expect to experience revival in America it must begin in the house of the Lord. Here. Pray, but put legs on the prayer. We’re in a sick condition in this nation. It will take a turning back to God to fix it. Do what you can. (4) Unfaithfulness in prayer and Bible study. Does the Bible still mean what it used to in your life? Do you still desire to read it? Do you desire to talk to God? When we pray, Jesus intercedes for us; he carries our prayer to the throne room. I start by praying and then I have the opportunity for him to talk to me through the pages of his Word. From Genesis to Revelation God speaks to us. We live in a fast-paced society and don’t have time for anything. It’s going to take time from our day to pray and get into the Word of God. Set aside the time.
The owner was the boss, the inspector. He came to inspect the work. In essence God grades us each day. In taking a test you’re ready for, it’s okay. But if you’re not ready you dread the test. One day the Master Teacher will come. What kind of grade will you get? C? A? Or F? Could you have done better? Could you do better?
Verses 45-46 speak of punishment for unfaithfulness. Why were the stewards unfaithful? The owner delayed his coming. Some live like Jesus is not coming soon. Live everyday looking for his coming. Is there something you do that you would not want to be doing if he came back? It’s amazing how much has to be put up when the preacher visits. The Lord already sees it. Don’t get ready for the Lord. Be ready!
Unfaithfulness on the job occurs when the boss is not around. When the teacher left the room in school, what happened? Chaos! When the cat’s away, the mouse will play. God is watching every moment, even the thoughts of the heart. Yet the longer he delays his coming, the more unfaithful people become. God is patient; he is longsuffering, not willing for any to perish. That’s why there is a delay in his coming, but one day he’ll come back. As sure as we’re here today, he is coming back.
Are yours sins of ignorance or of knowledge? Both are not excused. James says to the one who knows to do good but doesn’t, it is sin. It is wrong to knowingly commit sins. This is presumptuous sin. To commit a sin without thinking is one thing but to commit sins even knowing you should not is wrong. The devil cannot make you do anything that you don’t want to do. Some have even said they won’t read the Bible so they can remain ignorant of what it says. That won’t be sufficient. You can read. If you don’t read the Bible, God will tell you that you should have known because it’s in the Book.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. There is a law of accountability. Will your stripes be few or many? There are laws that can be defied but cannot be broken. If you defy the law of centrifugal force, you will find that you cannot break it. If you jump off a building thinking you can fly, you will find that you have defied the law of gravity but not broken it. You will fall to the ground. The natural laws are you sow and reap. Sow corn; reap corn. Sow beans; reap beans. In the spiritual realm, the law is the same. Sow to the flesh and you’ll reap the consequences. Sow to the spirit, you’ll reap that. The Bible says be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. You can defy this, but you cannot break it.
When a person is saved the Lord will give him/her something to do in the work of the Lord. How faithful have you and I been in using the talents and abilities the Lord gave us. What kind of grade do you want from the Lord?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 