Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.”  But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High;

 and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered and said to her,

 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

 and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your Word.”  (Luke 1:26-35,38)

Thus began one of the most mind-boggling commitments ever made by an individual.  Have you ever reflected upon the magnitude of God’s calling upon Mary’s life?

Consider the announcement itself.  An angelic being – sent by God – was the messenger.  He informs her that she, a virgin, was about to become pregnant … but there would be no human father.  The developing fetus within her uterus would be, in reality, the Son of the Most High God … Who, being clothed with flesh, was Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David … and His Kingdom would be eternal.

How could she possibly have comprehended the weight of this announcement!  Mary must have been in a state of stunned wonder as she said “Yes” to the will of God.  In fact, I don’t think she ever got over it, even to the day she breathed her last breath.

Nor do I think she fully grasped the consequences of her submission to the will of God.  Have you ever tried to place yourself in Mary’s sandals?  What effect do you think this calling had upon her life?

• First of all, noticeably absent from the angel’s announcement was any mention of her betrothed husband Joseph.  What would he think about all of this?  She was given no guarantee that he would complete his marriage contract with her.  As far as she knew, she could very well end up being a single mother.  If so, she would be shunned for the rest of her life.

• Indeed, under normal circumstances (apart from God’s protection) she would have faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 22:13-14, 20-21).

• As word spread throughout her small hometown-village that Mary carried an illegitimate child, her reputation was very likely shredded … and Joseph’s … and her family’s … and, for that matter, her Son’s.  I have an idea that, during her pregnancy, she was called a lot of names in Nazareth.  “The blessed virgin Mary” was probably not one of them.

• Nine months later, Mary accompanied Joseph on a grueling trip to Bethlehem where she gave birth to the Child in what was possibly a cave-converted-barn, filled with the stench and filth of manure.

• A few days later when the infant Jesus was taken to the Temple to be “presented to the LORD,” she was warned that her Son would cause division among the Israeli nation, resulting in the excruciating agony of her own soul (Luke 2:25-35).  She would not have long to wait before witnessing the first of several attacks upon her Son’s life.  One or two years after His birth, she and her husband had to flee from an assassination attempt made by Herod the king (Matthew 2:13-16)

• Then, some 30 years later, she would observe the full force of that prophecy as she stood before her blood-drenched Son impaled to a Roman cross.

“Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your Word.”

Did Mary comprehend the full effect this pregnancy would have on her own life?  Probably not.  Nevertheless, her ready submission to the call of God revealed the commitment of one who truly had the heart of a bond-slave, an attitude she probably had long before she was addressed by the angel.

Can you imagine what it must have been like when this extraordinary woman breathed her last breath and found herself in the presence of God’s promised glory … bowing before the One she had birthed … the Son she and Joseph had so diligently nurtured and protected … the Creator of the universe … her God and Savior … the radiant King of glory?

I wonder what He said to her about her faithfulness to God’s calling upon her life.

It makes me wonder what He will say to me about mine.

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It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.  (Hebrews 9:27)

So teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12)

If you would like to know what a person believes about the future, observe how he lives in the present.  If someone tells you that he believes Krispy Kreme Doughnut stock is going to quadruple in value by this time next week, then take note:  Is he buying as many shares of Kripsy Kreme Doughnut stock as he can afford … or no?

According to the Scriptures, what we believe about the future will have a great influence on how we live in the present.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  (1^st John 3:2-3)

As the brevity of life becomes more and more apparent with each passing year, he who is wise will live more fervently, not for a world scheduled to be destroyed but for an eternity that is fast approaching.

LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days.  Let me know how transient I am.  Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight.  Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.”  (Psalm 39:4-5)

Today, you and I are one day closer to appearing before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  Whether we are removed from this earth by the Rapture or by death, we are that much closer to bowing before the Son of God.  We are one day closer to giving an account of our stewardship.

It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed … But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”  (Romans 13:11, 14)

To be prepared for our approaching evaluation, we must be able to present a life of faithful character and service when Christ asks to hear our account of what we did with His property:

“What did you do with the time and the resources and the abilities and the strength and the opportunities … I entrusted into your care … to prepare yourself and others for eternity … to the glory of My Name?”

Beloved friends, we do not have the luxury – or the right – to foolishly squander our fleeting lives on the temporal affairs of a dead world.  Most certainly, the race we have been called to run will prevent us from being “in sync” with all the Jones’s out there.  But the reality of our situation is this:  We each have only one heart.  We do not have two.  We can have, therefore, only one devotion … only one all-consuming passion.  We cannot have two.  It is impossible to pursue the glitter of fool’s gold that so enamors this spiritually-dead world and be faithful to Christ at the same time.

Therefore, let us look down the track and set our gaze upon the finish line.  Do you see “the joy set before (you)”?

How immense that joy will be to find ourselves in the smiling Presence of our glorified Master!

How glorious it will be to receive from His hand an imperishable reward!

How satisfying it will be to hear that wonderful greeting,

“Well done, good and faithful servant!  Enter into the joy of your Master!”

Just imagine what it will be like to cross the finish line!  I have an idea that, at that moment, we will fall before our Savior, grab hold of His wound-scarred feet, and weep with gladness.

And so, with this eternal perspective, let us all

… lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

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Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

In the “Parable of the Soils” (Luke 8:4-18), a farmer is shown planting a crop by casting his seed upon the ground.  This seed falls upon four different kinds of soil:  hardened, rocky, thorn-infested, and good.  The hardened soil prevented the seed from taking root.  The rocky soil was too shallow to hold moisture.  The thorn-infested soil choked the crop from growing.  But the good soil provided the fertility that seed needs to take root and flourish.  Only one kind of soil could produce a crop.  The other three could not.

Jesus then explained the meaning of this parable:  The seed is the Word of God.  The sower represents the one who rightly explains God’s Word to others.  The four “soils” represent four different kinds of hearts responding to God’s Word in four different ways.  Of these four hearts, three bear no fruit (i.e., they do not respond in true faith and obedience).  Only the fourth – “an honest and good heart” – holds fast the Word and bears fruit with perseverance.

Most certainly, the sower can refer to today’s preachers and teachers explaining God’s Word to their audiences.  In this particular setting, however, Jesus is probably referring to Himself as “the Sower,” the seed referring to the presentation of Himself as Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, and the four soils as being the Jewish nation’s different responses (mostly rejection) to His offer.

After the parable is finished, Jesus then challenges the hearer / reader with a caution:

• So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given;

• and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.  (Luke 8:18)

It is the context that helps us understand this verse:

• For whoever has a living faith that motivates him to respond to God’s Word in faith and obedience, to him more understanding shall be given;

• and whoever does not have a living faith that motivates him to respond to God’s Word in faith and obedience, even what understanding he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.

Dear friends, God’s Truth is a stewardship with which you and I have been entrusted:

If we respond to God’s Word with faith and obedience, we will be blessed with an increased capacity to understand and apply even more of God’s Word.  Why?  Because we have shown ourselves to be wise and faithful stewards of the Truth we possess.  The Lord can trust us with more.

But if we have no intention of doing anything with the Truth we know, our capacity to understand God’s Word gradually decreases.  We become “dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11).  Why?  Because we have proven ourselves to be foolish, unfaithful stewards of the Truth we know.  We cannot be trusted with more.

This dulled sensitivity to Truth is the worst condition in which an individual can find himself.  It is worse than cancer.  It is worse than paralysis.  It is worse than prison.  It is worse than the loss of a loved one.  All of these involve the physical body and the emotions.  And as grievous as these conditions would be, they are, nevertheless, temporal in nature.  But the inability to understand the Scriptures affects the soul; and the soul is eternal.  If a person cannot understand the Scriptures, then he cannot believe them.  And if he cannot believe God’s Word, he cannot obey God’s Word.  It is, in fact, the most dangerous of situations.

• If he is lost, he will remain lost.  How can one be saved if he does not understand the Gospel?

• If he is saved, his own spiritual growth will be stunted,

• His life will be a detriment to the reputation of God,

• His personal witness to a lost world will not present a clear picture of the Savior they need to know,

• His local church will suffer from his immaturity,

• And he will suffer eternal loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

That is why the Lord Jesus added this warning:

So take care how you listen.  (Luke 8:18)

Bible study is risky business.  It demands a response.  It will produce either a joyous reward or a grievous loss depending on whether we are doers of God’s Word or mere hearers.  What we learn, we are responsible for.  So, the bottom-line question we should all be asking ourselves is

What am I doing with the Truth I already know?

Am I responding to It in faith and obedience?

There is coming a day when we will be ushered into the presence of Christ Jesus.  This will be one of the subjects of that conversation.  If we give ourselves to this pursuit, we can look forward to seeing the smile on our Master’s face and hearing these longed-for words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

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Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen.   (Jude 1:24-25)

You are the owner of a large business.  The nature of your business demands prompt delivery of its goods to local manufacturing companies.  This business is so large that it has two warehouses, each having its own manager.

Over the course of time you notice that the manager of warehouse # 1 always ships each order on the day it comes in.

The manager of warehouse # 2, however, is indifferent toward the need for punctuality.  More times than not, the goods are shipped two, three, sometimes four days after the orders are received.

One day, you receive an order for goods that, if delivered on time, will result in many large orders from this company.  Otherwise, you will lose all their business.  To which warehouse manager would you entrust this shipment?

In one of His parables, Jesus tells us which manager He would choose.

THE STEWARDSHIP OF SERVICE

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. (Matthew 25:29)

What does this verse mean?  “Everyone who has” what?  And “more” of what “shall be given” him?  What does the second one “not have”; and what exactly “shall be taken away” from him?

Matthew 25:29 is a verse imbedded within the “Parable of the Talents” (Matthew 25:14-30).  This story describes the stewardship of three slaves who were given certain responsibilities to perform during the absence of their master.  The first two slaves were faithful to the responsibility entrusted to them; the third slave proved to be irresponsible.  When the master returned, he rewarded the first two slaves, but he reprimanded – and then expelled from his presence – the third slave.

The timing of this parable is quite interesting.  The nation of Israel as a whole – and the Jewish religious leaders in particular – had rejected Jesus as their Messiah-King.  Knowing that the Day of His Crucifixion was very near, Jesus used the remaining time He had to prepare His followers for His absence.  A part of that preparation is found in this “Parable of the Talents.”

In this parable Jesus informed His disciples that there would be an interval of time between His departure (Ascension) and His Return (Second Coming).  During this interval His followers would be entrusted with certain responsibilities.  Each slave was expected to use his God-given resources to promote his Master’s interests.  Upon His Return, they would then be summoned to give an account of their stewardship.

The parable ends with both a promise of blessing and a warning of loss.  Once their stewardship has been evaluated, those who were faithful to the Master are given greater responsibilities in His Kingdom.  Those who were not faithful to Him suffer great loss.  And then, our verse appears:

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.  (Matthew 25:29)

It is the context that fills in all the blanks:

For to everyone who has a living faith that motivates him to faithfully serve his Master, more Kingdom-responsibilities shall be given, and he will have an abundance of authority and honor;

 but from the one who does not have a living faith that motivates him to faithfully serve his Master, even what responsibility he does have shall be taken away from him.

You and I have been entrusted with the stewardship of service in the name of Christ.  The question we need to ask ourselves is this:

Am I using my God-entrusted resources to serve my Master?

It is a worthy consideration.  There is coming a day when every believer will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ.  And when we do, we will be called upon to give an account of our stewardship.  If we were faithful to that responsibility, we can look forward to seeing the smile on our Master’s face and hear His words of praise:

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

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To Him Who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, Whom no man has seen or can see … to Him be honor and eternal dominion!  Amen.  (1^st Timothy 6:15-16)

It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.  (1^st Corinthians 4:2)

There was once a man who owned an orchard.  In this orchard were ten apple trees.  One day in early spring, the man left town to go on a long trip.  But before he left, he told one of his field hands to take care of his orchard in his absence.

Each day the field hand was careful to cultivate the owner’s orchard.  He kept the surrounding ground aerated and watered.  And at the proper times, he fertilized the root system with just the right ratio of nutrients.

As the summer passed, however, the field hand became greatly troubled because he saw absolutely no fruit.  Not one apple.  Week after week, the worker faithfully cultivated the trees.  But that fall, there were still no apples to be seen.  “Surely, my boss will not be pleased with me,” he thought.

Word came that the owner’s absence was to be extended.  “Whew!” said the worker.  “Perhaps next fall, there will be a harvest of apples.”  And so, the next spring he got an early start.  He aerated.  He watered.  He fertilized.  He covered the trees to prevent damage from a late freeze.  He prevented insects and disease from harming them.  But that fall there were, once again, no apples.

Each year, the owner’s absence was extended.  And each year the field hand carefully cultivated the orchard.  Yet, there were never any apples.  Finally, after seven years, the owner returned.  One by one, each worker was called into his office to give an account of their assigned tasks.  Expecting to be fired, the field hand packed his suitcase and, with hat in hand, walked into his employer’s office.  But to his utter amazement, his boss praised him!  And promoted him!  And gave him a raise!

And that next fall, there were ten apple trees with branches weighed down with hundreds upon hundreds of bright, red, juicy apples.

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There is coming a day when every reborn Christ-follower will bow before the Judgment Seat of God.  And there his level of faithfulness will be evaluated.  Concerning that appointment, I have never met a believer who did not want to hear his Master say,

“Well done, good and faithful servant”

But if that is what we want to hear, there is something we need to come to grips with.  For faithfulness to be dyed into the fabric of our souls, situations must exist that tempt us to give up … to throw in the towel … to quit being and doing what Christ has given us to be and do.  This is the reality of stewardship.  It is impossible to cultivate faithfulness without going through trials that demand perseverance.

To be aware of that fact goes a long way in understanding why troubles … and weariness … and circumstances that don’t make any sense are so vital to the Christian life.  It explains why God (seems to be) so slow and so silent and so aloof at times.

One thing that tends to discourage us is a certain false expectation.  We have been promised that those who remain in intimate fellowship with God through faith and obedience – those who “abide” in Christ – will bear “much fruit.”

I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  (John 15:5)

The false assumption we have is that we will see that fruit.  But when Jesus said that fertile soil will yield a crop “some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty,” He did not assure the sower that he would see these results in full, at least on this side of the Resurrection.  Maybe he will.  But more than likely he will not.  And if he does not, he will be in very good company.  Many missionaries have ministered on the field for 20, 30, some even 40 years, yet do not live to see most of the fruit of their labors.

In fact, I don’t think I have ever met an effective servant of Christ that has not asked himself at one time or another,

“Am I really doing any good?”

“Should I continue to languish in this ministry that’s ‘going nowhere’ when every fiber of my being tells me to ‘throw in the towel’?”

His labor has been skillful.  His motive has been Christ-centered.  But as far as he can tell, he is having little impact in the lives of those he serves.  And this continues on and on and on until, finally, he just wants to give up.

It is at this point that the bond-slave must ask himself a question … a “bucket-of-cold-water-in-the-face” kind of question:

How many lives must I see impacted by my ministry before I can be faithful to my calling? The answer, of course, is “None.”  That’s because

Faithfulness has nothing to do with results

There are some things that can only be forged on an anvil.  Perseverance is one of them.  This trait does not come quickly; nor does it come easily.  Faithfulness is not tempered by the laborer seeing the full impact he is having in the lives of others.  To the contrary, it can only be strengthened when few, if any, results are seen.  Steadfastness is fortified when the laborer doggedly remains in a stagnated situation because he knows that is where his Master wants him to be … and that’s the only reason he stays.

During those times, let us be fully convinced of what is taking place in our lives:

the Father is cultivating our faithfulness by stretching our endurance.

I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vine-dresser.  Every branch in Me that … bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.  (John 15:1-2)

To whom, then, should we turn for the spiritual “grit” needed to endure this confusing and often discouraging – but necessary – pruning?  To the One Who,

for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:2b)

Therefore, let us not give up.  Let us not throw in the towel.  Let us not lose sight of “the joy set before us.”

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.  (Hebrews 12:1-2a)

Those “flat” periods of anguish and confusion that exist in the lives of those who want to please their Master with their lives and service will be well worth every prayer that was poured out and every tear shed.  And at the finish line, each of these faithful ones will hear his Master say,

“Well done good and faithful slave”

And he will savor that praise throughout eternity.

And eternity is a long, long time.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.  (1^st Corinthians 15:58)

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  (Galatians 6:9)

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Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ … that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.  (Colossians 4:2-4)