Pearls From The Parables Part 50: God Is Not Trying to Take Something FROM YOU, He Is Trying to Get Something TO YOU!

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Quick Testimony:

Before I get started, I want to share two quick testimonies. I had two things happen this weekend that I want to share with you.

My family went to Augusta, GA, this weekend to attend a celebration and to preach. Before we left, I had to go pick up Joshua from college. I drove down to Richmond to pick him up from VCU. While I was in the lobby of Josh’s dorm, waiting for him to come down, a young man approached me. He asked, “Are you Rick Piña?” I said, “Yes.” He then showed me his phone with my YouTube channel and asked, “Is this you?” I said, “Yes.”

This young man then told me about my ministry’s impact on him and his father. He talked about how they have been watching for years and how the teaching has changed their lives. He then called his father on Facetime, and I met him virtually. The young man is a youth leader at his church, and his father leads a group. The father told me he has used my teachings often as resources with the group he leads. I gave them my phone number and hope to connect with them soon. I left that interaction, giving God the glory for using me the way He does.

Later in the weekend, I preached in North Augusta, SC. When I was done, a man asked to speak to me (I posted his picture on social media). Here is a summary of what he said:

“Last time you were here, I was homeless. Your message truly inspired me. I got a copy of your book. I read it, and I wound up getting several copies and handed them out in the homeless shelter where I was. Now, I am no longer homeless. God has been good to me. I have a job, I have an apartment, I have a fiancé, and I am about to get married. Thank you so much for the Word!”

I am not taking credit for this man’s turnaround. That’s God. I am simply sharing it as a testimony of the transformative power of God’s grace. There is nothing God cannot do through someone who is submitted to Him!

Now, let’s get into the Word.

This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”

Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.

(Psalm 126:4 TPT)

Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.

This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. 

(Matthew 25:14-30 TPT)

14 “Again, heaven’s kingdom is like a wealthy man who went on a long journey and summoned all his trusted servants and assigned his financial management over to them. 15 Before he left on his journey, he entrusted a bag of five thousand gold coins to one of his servants, to another a bag of two thousand gold coins, and to the third a bag of one thousand gold coins, each according to his ability to manage.

16 “The one entrusted with five thousand gold coins immediately went out and traded with the money, and he doubled his investment. 17 In the same way, the one who was entrusted with two thousand gold coins traded with the sum and likewise doubled his investment. 18 But the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

19 “After much time had passed, the master returned to settle accounts with his servants. 20 The one who was entrusted with five thousand gold coins came and brought ten thousand, saying, ‘See, I have doubled your money.’

21 “Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you have been a faithful steward to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Enter into the joy of your Lord!” ‘

22 “Then the one who had been entrusted with two thousand gold coins came in and said, ‘See, my master, I have doubled what you have entrusted to me.’

23 “Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you were faithful to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Enter into the joy of your Lord!” ‘

24 “Then the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins came to his master and said, ‘Look, sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless businessman who grows rich on the backs of others. 25 I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is–take it, it’s yours.’

26 “But his master said to him, ‘You’re an untrustworthy and lazy servant! If you knew I was a shrewd and ruthless business man who always makes a profit, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? 27 Then I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. 28 But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. 29 For the one who has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him.’

30 “Then the master said to his other servants, ‘Now, throw that good-for-nothing servant far away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and anguish!’ “

So, what does this mean for you today?  A few things.

1.  Living #TheGraceLife is connected to believing what God believes about you.

Most people who know me know that I teach about living a #TheGraceLife. One important aspect of #TheGraceLife is living free from the constant pressure to perform. Another major aspect is getting to the point where you truly believe what God believes about you.

I will make a connection between the two points I just made and the Parable of The Talents.

— The owner of the resources was already good at managing money and causing it to grow.

— He picked three men from the group of his servants whom he believed were capable of financial stewardship. This is key. He chose them according to their abilities. He saw things in them that they may have not seen in themselves.

— He did not give them an assignment based on what THEY THOUGHT they could do. He gave them an assignment based on WHAT HE believed they could do.

— Two of the three men came back with amazement. It’s almost like they were saying, “Look, Sir! We doubled your money. We did what YOU believed we could do. Now we believe it too! Thank you for seeing something in us that we did not see in ourselves.”

— But the unfaithful steward failed to see what the master saw. He did not see it as an exercise in developing himself. Instead of the focus being on HIM, he has his focus on the MASTER and what he perceived about the MASTER. So he said, “Hey, I know you get rich off the backs of other people. So I did not do anything with your money. I am glad you are back. Here, take your stuff back. I don’t want it.”    

— The unfaithful steward missed the assignment, and he failed to tap into the grace of God to become what the master believed he could become.

Here are some ways this can apply to you today:

— God sees things in you that you do not see in yourself.

— God gives you assignments that help you to walk in the grace He already provided for you.

— If you accept the assignment by faith, your faith will tap into God’s grace, and you will do things you never imagined yourself doing.

— Once you have the experience of doing what God believes you can do, you will get to the point where you believe what God believes about you!

— Once you believe what God believes about you, there is no limit to what God can do in, with, or through you because there is no limit to His grace.

— When you live #TheGraceLife, you live a life that far exceeds anything you ever imagined because your life will not be limited to your humanity. Once you are free from the limits of your power, ability, and strength, you are also free to let God do what He wants to do with your life!

— The key to living #TheGraceLife is believing what God believes about you!

— You will have tremendous JOY when you can go to God the way the two faithful stewards did in the parable, basically saying, “Look God, I did it! I did what You wanted me to do!” I pray you get to this point in your life!

2.  The owner of the talents was not trying to take something FROM his servants; he was trying to give something TO them.  

In the Parable of the Talents, we see one man, an owner, give resources to three men. He gave it to them according to what he saw in them and expected them to produce what he believed they could.  

The owner saw potential in them that they couldn’t see in themselves. So, he distributed talents (sums of money) based on their abilities and the potential he saw in them. The servants who doubled their money, from five talents to ten and from two talents to four, were thrilled when they returned the talents to their master. In essence, they were saying, “We now see in ourselves what you have always seen in us.” The master was equally excited because they had reached the point where they believed what he believed about them.  

However, the unfaithful steward who was given one talent had a different perspective.  He thought the master was trying to exploit him.  He even accused the master of getting rich at the expense of others. This servant missed the point entirely. The master, who already owned everything and needed nothing, was trying to give him an opportunity for growth, not take something away from him. 

This misconception is unfortunately common today, especially when it comes to giving.  People often think that God is trying to take something from them, not realizing that God is actually trying to bless them. God owns everything; He doesn’t need to take anything from us. However, He does give us opportunities to prove ourselves as good and faithful stewards. If we fail to seize these opportunities, we miss out on the blessings He has in store for us. 

God’s system requires us to be faithful and to pass various tests. It demands that we make the most of every opportunity presented to us. It also requires us to overcome procrastination and to stop blaming God for our shortcomings.  Those who blame God, thinking He is trying to take something from them, will never progress in their spiritual journey. We must prove to God that we can be faithful with what He has entrusted to us today so that He can release the blessings He has already planned for our future.

Here are some things we can glean from this:

(a) The Master’s intent is always empowerment, not exploitation.

— The master distributed talents based on what he saw in each servant, much like how God gives us gifts and opportunities.

— He saw untapped potential in them that they couldn’t initially see in themselves.

— God gives us opportunities to make the most of the resources we have been given. These opportunities are not designed to take something FROM us. They are designed to get things TO us.

— If you have the wrong perspective, and you think the master is trying to take something FROM you, you will miss out on the opportunity He gave you.

(b) You experience amazing JOY when you realize the potential God has placed in you.

— The servants who doubled the money were thrilled!

— They finally saw in themselves what the master had always seen.

— Powerful things happen when you make a human alignment with your divine assignment.

— When you experience self-realization that is aligned with God’s purpose, the level of fulfillment is far beyond anything you can experience any other way!

(c) Not only do you get JOY when you align with God, but He also gets JOY when His children align with their purpose.

— The master was excited because the servants had come to believe what He already believed about them.

— God takes JOY in our success!

— God loves it when we believe what He believes about us.

— God loves it when we become who He planned.

— God loves it when we make the most of the opportunities He places before us, maximizing our purpose and potential in the process.

— When you seize the opportunity and embrace God grace to make the most of it, God is very pleased!

(d) If you have the wrong mentality, and you think God is trying to take something FROM YOU (instead of getting something TO YOU), you will miss the opportunities He places before you.

The unfaithful steward missed it. This was his mentality: he said to the master, “Look, sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless businessman who grows rich on the backs of others. I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is–take it, it’s yours.”

— The unfaithful steward thought the master was exploiting him instead of empowering him.

— He accused the master of getting rich at the expense of others.

— His mentality proved that he did not know the master at all.

— Many people have a misconception of God, of His people, and of the church, so they miss out on God’s best.

— They don’t understand God’s generous nature.

— They don’t realize that God is not trying to take something FROM THEM. He is trying to get something TO THEM!

That is enough for today!

Declaration of Faith:

Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:

I declare that I am living #TheGraceLife, free from the pressure to perform, and aligned with Your divine perspective about me.

I acknowledge that You see things in me that I may not yet see in myself. My job is to get to the point where I believe what You believe about me!

The assignments You give me are not based on my limited view of myself, but on Your limitless belief in what I can achieve.

I declare that as I step out in faith to fulfill these assignments, Your grace empowers me to do things I never imagined possible.

I am committed to being a faithful steward of the opportunities and resources You have entrusted to me.

You are not trying to take something FROM me; You are trying to get something TO me.

I proclaim that as I align my actions with Your divine assignments, I experience a joy that is beyond human understanding. And in doing so, I bring joy to Your heart as well.

Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!