#12 - Joby Martin // Becoming a Fearless Faithful Servant

The two-talent man who risked it all also receives the exact same reward . Well done , good and faithful servant receives the exact same reward . Well done , good and faithful servant , enter into the joy of your master . And then the parable begins to shift in a very significant way .

When you get to verse 24 , it says he also , who had received the one talent , came forward . Now , if this parable had a soundtrack , the music would change here Dun , dun , dun . And he also , who had received the one talent , came forward . And here's what he says Master , you can hear the excuses beginning .

I knew you to be a hard man , reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed , and so I was afraid . All right , mark that down , make a mental note . If you're driving , just put a note in your phone or whatever . I was afraid . This is the key to understanding the problem with the one-talent man .

I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground . Here have what is yours . But his master answered him you , wicked and slothful servant , you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have scattered no seed .

Then what you ought to have done is invested my money with the bankers and at my coming , I should have received what was my own with interest . So take the talent from the one talent guy and give it to the one who has 10 talents , for to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance .

But from the one who has not , even what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness , into the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and you say oh man , what happened to the one talent guy ? Here's what happened . The one talent man did not have faith in the master .

The one talent man put his faith in himself and he was filled with fear . This is the key to understanding the master . Jesus calls this one talent man , who is filled with fear , wicked and slothful . Now , I don't know if you know very many slothfully lazy people , but I know a whole bunch of people who are selectively lazy .

They get real busy with the external , real busy with the common day things so as to avoid what the master has called them to do . Because if I'm the attorney for the one-talent guy , when the master says you , wicked and slothful servant , I'm going to say I object . My client has been working his fingers to the bone .

I mean the other two guys that you just blessed . They took the money , they invested it in the stock market . It turned around quickly , but they haven't done anything .

My client had to dig a hole , had to go get a wheelbarrow you didn't give him a talent on a debit card , these are shekels or denarii and so he had to go to Lowe's and get a wheelbarrow and fill it up and find a hole and dig it and put it in there and then hide it .

And then , when he heard that you had come back , he had to go and do all of this again . And he was busy , busy , busy , busy doing the common day things so as to avoid what the master had actually charged him to do . I've got some good and terrifying news for you . Did you know that the opposite of faith is not doubt ? This is the good news .

The opposite of faith is not doubt . The opposite of faith is not unanswered questions . So if you've got doubt and you've got unanswered questions , I got a really good news for you . You could make a great disciple and you say , pastor , where do you get that idea ? The disciples , they had all kinds of unanswered questions .

So if you have doubts and unanswered questions , then what you do is you pick up your doubts , you pick up your unanswered questions and you follow after Jesus by faith and eventually , if you do that , your doubts will go away . Maybe not by next Tuesday , but one day when you enter heaven , you will have no more doubts . The opposite of doubt is not faith .

Excuse me , the opposite of faith is not doubt . The opposite of faith is fear , because faith always produces action and fear paralyzes . The Bible says that fear is not a feeling . Fear is not a personality type . Paul tells Timothy , for God did not give you a spirit of fear , but of power and love and of a sound mind .

So let me ask you this , bro All week , this is the thing I want you to get from Matthew 25 . Whatever you do in preparation for the return of the king , don't waste your one and only life . Don't waste your time , don't waste your talent , don't waste your money , don't waste your family , Don't waste your influence .

And I believe that for many of you there is some thing , some talent , some opportunity , some talent , some opportunity , some ministry , some phone call , some conversation , some investment that God has given to you in order to push back darkness and advance the kingdom . But like the one talent man , you have been wicked and slothful and you have buried that talent .

And by the power of the Holy Spirit . Right now , I implore you , by faith , to go get your proverbial shovel and go dig up that talent before it's too late , to start that ministry , to invite that person to church , to share the gospel , to begin reconciliation , to fight for your marriage , to go after your prodigal son , to do whatever .

It is that thing that you know God has called you to do , but you have been too afraid to do it . God has not given you a spirit of fear . He has given you a spirit of power and of love and of self-control .

And the good news here , the reason you can swing for the fences , is because the promise , the blessing that the master gives the five-talent guy and the two-talent guy is not well done , good and fruitful servant . The fruit will be up to the Lord . He says well done , good and faithful servant . Enter into the joy of your master .