30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
LUKE 19 11-27 TO EVERYONE WHO HAS, WILL BE GIVEN 16 Faithfulness and Authority
📖 Luke 19:11-27
24Dec2020 - *Faithfulness and Authority* - _Luke 19:11-27_ - TO EVERYONE WHO HAS, WILL BE GIVEN 16 – Bible reading: _Daniel 6:3-4_
The assessment of the performance of the servants was now taking place. _Luke 19:16-17 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' (17) And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'_
The Master commended the servant, who had produced good results out of the investment. _Matthew 25:21 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.'_
The servants were now giving an account of the result that was produced out of the investment that the nobleman had placed in them. Before we look into this matter of the result, let us revisit our purpose statement.
_We are citizens of the kingdom of God here on earth, redeemed and reconciled back to God, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This world is being driven by the evil one, through man, who has become his prisoner._
_We, citizens of the kingdom of God, live and work, fulfilling all the elements of the creation or cultural mandate, in the image of God, with the capital that He has invested us with, in the enablement and wisdom of the Holy Spirit._
_The kingdom of God has already begun, which will come into its full effect when the Messiah returns. As we prayerfully await His return, we reach out to an audience that is rejecting God but with boldness and love._
_In the eternal kingdom of Jesus, we will continue under the theme of having dominion, which was our theme here on earth. We will be assigned roles and responsibilities, depending upon the results that we produce here on earth, with the capital that God has invested in each of us._
Let us look at the substance of the judgment.
The way we manage the capital that God has invested in us and how we replenish it for the good of society is the indicator (following the road map, the cultural mandate in Gen 1:28) by which responsibility will be given to us in the coming age.
We see that the Master commended the servant as being faithful. _Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much._
Faithfulness is a quality that will give us eternal rewards. The quality of faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit. God is faithful. In the world, it may seem as though the faithful person is ignored but let us always keep in mind that we serve God in our workplaces. The world may overlook our faithfulness but God will take our faithfulness into account.
Daniel was faithful in his workplace. _Daniel 6:4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, *because he was faithful*; nor was there any error or fault found in him._
David was faithful in his workplace, for which he was treated badly but rewarded by God. _I Samuel 22:14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants *is as faithful as David*, who is the king's son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honourable in your house?_
Secondly, the work that we do here on earth, (which we at times consider as a heavy load), is ‘very little’ and 'few things’ in comparison to the task and scale of work and responsibility that is awaiting us in the age which is to come.
For many, the work here on earth has been a drudgery and they are looking forward to an eternity of leisure. We will be rested in the eternal kingdom of God but we will be handling, work, responsibility and authority in a scale, much higher to what we have been handling here.
Thirdly, in the eternal kingdom of Jesus, we will have ‘authority over’ and we will be ‘rulers over many things’. This theme of dominion was the overarching role that was given to us here on earth. We will carry the same theme into the next age, the eternal kingdom of Jesus, where we will have dominion.
*Thought to ponder*
```God’s word calls us to set our mind on things above not on things of the earth.```