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? We have been talking about stewardship for weeks. Today, I will discuss the mentality we must develop in order to become faithful stewards for God.
1. Learning from the White House Chief Steward position.
Today, the general manager of the White House building operations is known as the White House Chief Usher. This is a key position within the Executive Residence of the White House. Here is a list of just some of the things this person is responsible for:
Administrative Duties:
— Oversees the Executive Residence staff, including butlers, maids, chefs, florists, and other personnel.
— Manages the budget for the Executive Residence.
— Coordinates with the Secret Service and other security agencies to ensure the safety of the President and First Family.
Event Management:
— Works closely with the First Family and their staff to plan, coordinate, and execute official ceremonies, state dinners, and other White House events.
— Ensures that all logistical aspects of events, such as seating arrangements, menus, and decorations, are taken care of.
Household Management:
— Supervises the maintenance, renovation, and preservation of the White House, including its historic rooms and artifacts.
— Coordinates with the First Family on their personal needs and preferences, such as meal planning, décor, and family events.
Guest Relations:
— Manages the accommodations for visiting dignitaries and guests, ensuring that their stay is comfortable and meets protocol standards.
— Acts as a liaison between the First Family and the residence staff to meet guest needs.
And much more.
This position, known as the “The Chief Usher” today, was originally entitled “The Chief Steward” or simply “Steward.” Why? Because that is a better description of what this person does. This person is stewarding the White House, and in most cases, this person sees Presidents and First Families come and go while they are responsible for managing or stewarding the resources of the White House.
This is a tremendous responsibility, especially when considering the magnitude of the people this person is serving and the level of resources this person has to manage. If you can understand that, I want you to expand your capability to believe God today because I want you to see yourself as God’s Steward! While the White House Chief Steward manages things for the highest position in the United States government, you are working directly for God. You are his steward. You are His manager. You are managing His resources. And while the White House Chief Steward has access to the resources of this nation, we have access to the resources of God. He is our source, and His resources have NO END!
My desire today is for you to EXPAND your capacity to believe God, and you will when you start seeing yourself as God’s Steward!
2. God did not allow David to build the Temple, but David was assigned the stewardship responsibility of raising the funds so his son Solomon could build it.
David had to steward the “raising the funds” part, and Solomon would steward the “building the temple” part. Each had the grace to do what he was called to do. Guess what? The same can be said of you!
(1 Chron 29:1-9 ERV)
1 King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered together, “God chose my son Solomon. Solomon is young and does not know all that he needs to do this work. But the work is very important. This house is not for people; this house is for the Lord God.
2 I have done my best to provide what is needed for the building of my God’s Temple. I have given gold for the things made of gold. I have given silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze. I have given iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood. I have also given onyx stones for the settings,mosaic tiles, all kinds of valuable stones in many different colors, and white marble stones.
3 I am making a special gift of gold and silver things for my God’s Temple. I am doing this because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. I am giving all these things to build this holy Temple.
4 I have given 110 tons of pure gold from Ophir. I have given 263 tons of pure silver. The silver is for covering the walls of the buildings in the Temple.
5 I have given gold and silver for all the things made of gold and silver. I have given gold and silver so that skilled men can make all different kinds of things for the Temple. Now, how many of you Israelites are ready to give yourselves to the Lord today?”
6 The family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals, the captains, and the officials responsible for the king’s work, were all ready and gave their valuable things.
7 These are the things they gave for God’s house: 190 tons of gold; 375 tons of silver; 675 tons of bronze; and 3750 tons of iron.
8 People who had valuable stones gave them to the Lord’s Temple. Jehiel took care of the valuable stones. He was from the Gershon family.
9 The people were very happy because their leaders were willing to give so much. The leaders had given freely to the Lord from good hearts. King David was also very happy.
David was responsible for raising the offering to round up the resources required to build the Temple of God. The first point I will make about this today is one about vision.
— God gives us a vision for the things He wants done on this planet.
— As Stewards, we are not responsible for coming up with the provision. The one who came up with the vision (God) already has the provision stored up for His projects.
— Going back to the White House Chief Steward analogy, when the President gives direction to the Chief Steward, the Steward does not have to come up with the money to do what he was instructed to do. He just has to execute the guidance given, expecting that the resources will be RELEASED or ALLOCATED according to the directions of the President. Likewise, when God gives you a VISION, you must believe that the PROVISION is already stored up. Your job is to move out in faith, believing that the resources will be RELEASED or ALLOCATED at just the right time.
— God gave David a vision for the Temple. Solomon was the one who had to build it, but he did not receive the vision from God. The vision came from God to David. In the vision, David saw that there were things that needed to be made of gold, so he raised God. The vision also required silver, bronze, iron, precious stones, wood, etc. Everything David saw in the vision is what he raised.
— David CASTED the VISION, and the people brought the resources! The DEMAND attracted the SUPPLY!
— When you have a VISION from God, you need to write it down and make it plain (Hab
2). This may manifest in the form of a business plan, a budget, a project overview, a proposal, etc. If the VISION came from God, the demand will attract the supply because God is the source. You are not!
— God gave you the VISION, and He only did so because the PROVISION is already stored up. Your job is to believe God. The White House Chief Steward puts in requests to satisfy the desires of the President. He uses software and forms. As God’s Stewards, when we want to put in a request to satisfy the needs of our God, we use PRAYER and FAITH!
3. Let’s learn from the prayer David prayed when he raised the offering for the Temple.
(1 Chron 29:10-17)
10 Then David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered together. David said, “Lord, the God of Israel, our Father, may you be praised forever and ever!
11 Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you, because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you! The kingdom belongs to you, Lord! You are the head, the Ruler over everything.
12 Riches and honor come from you. You rule everything. You have the power and strength in your hand! And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful!
13 Now, our God, we thank you, and we praise your glorious name!
14 All these things didn’t come from me and my people. All these things come from you. We are only giving back to you things that came from you.
15 We are only strangers traveling through this world like our ancestors. Our time on earth is like a passing shadow, and we cannot stop it.
16 Lord our God, we gathered all these things to build your Temple. We build it to honor your name. But all these things have come from you. Everything belongs to you.
17 My God, I know that you test people, and that you are happy when people do what is right. I gladly give you all these things with a pure, honest heart. I see your people gathered here, and I see that they are happy about giving these things to you.
David’s prayer is a masterclass in acknowledging God as the source of all provision. Let’s unpack this prayer to understand how we, as God’s stewards, should approach our responsibilities.
— David starts by praising God, acknowledging that “Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you.” This sets the tone for us. Before we do anything, we should acknowledge God as the source of all things.
— David says, “Riches and honor come from you. You rule everything.” This is a critical point for us as stewards. We must remember that every resource we manage comes from God. We are not the source; God is!
— David makes it clear: “All these things didn’t come from me and my people. All these things come from you.” As stewards, we must never take credit for the resources we manage. They are not ours; they belong to God.
— David says, “Lord our God, we gathered all these things to build your Temple. We build it to honor your name. But all these things have come from you. Everything belongs to you.” This is the essence of stewardship. We manage God’s resources for God’s glory, according to God’s vision.
— David ends with, “I see your people gathered here, and I see that they are happy about giving these things to you.” As stewards, our ultimate joy should come from knowing that we are managing God’s resources in a way that brings glory to Him and benefits His people.
— Just like the White House Chief Steward submits requests to fulfill the President’s vision, we submit our requests to God through prayer and faith, fully expecting that the provision has already been stored up. Why? Because the vision came from God!
— When we align ourselves with God’s vision, we can confidently move forward, knowing that the provision will be released or allocated at the right time. Our role is to execute God’s vision faithfully, trusting Him for the provision.
— As God’s stewards, we should be excited about the opportunity to manage His resources. Why? Because when we do it God’s way, for God’s glory, we get to partake in the joy of seeing God’s Kingdom advance on the Earth!
So, as you head into your day, remember: You are God’s steward. You are not the source; God is. Your role is to manage His resources faithfully, for His glory, according to His vision. And when you do, get ready, because God has a way of releasing resources you didn’t even know were available. That’s the kind of God we serve!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
I declare that You are my source, and Your resources have NO END! I am not limited by what I see because I serve a limitless God.
I recognize that just like David had a vision for the Temple, You give me visions for my life and assignments. I am not responsible for the provision; You are. You already have everything stored up for Your projects.
I move in faith, knowing that the resources will be RELEASED or ALLOCATED at just the right time, according to Your perfect will.
I declare that I am aligned with Your vision, Father. I will write it down and make it plain, whether it’s a business plan, a budget, or a project overview. I trust that the demand will attract the supply because You are the source.
Father, I understand that prayer and faith are my tools for submitting requests to You. I will use them to align myself with Your vision and provision.
I declare joy and excitement in managing Your resources. I am part of advancing Your Kingdom on Earth, and that brings me ultimate joy.
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!
