Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Each week across the world, people fill churches of all shapes and sizes. They listen, participate in worship, nod their heads and say, "Amen," in agreement, and then walk out the door right back into the lives they led before they entered. Some do soak up what they hear and they welcome it into their lives. But others leave their faith right there in the church, hoping it will be there next time they come back.

Up next on Leading The Way, Dr. Youssef takes you for a look at the parable of the talents. This is a story that Jesus told with a practical message for the generations. If your situation allows, open your Bible or your chosen device to Matthew chapter 25. Here is some background from Dr. Youssef as he begins this episode of Leading The Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Every one of us is called to be in the spiritual stock market: the 12-year-olds and the 80-year-olds, the very poor and the very rich, the intellectually brilliant and those who are of average intelligence. We are all in the spiritual investment business. Every one of us has been given a certain amount of spiritual currency, different amounts of spiritual assets, and different spiritual portfolio values. How we invest what has been entrusted to us and how much return we can bring back to our boss is the basis for which you and I are going to be rewarded or judged in the last day.

If you turn with me to Matthew 25, beginning at verse 14, the Bible tells us that one day you and I are going to be either rewarded or judged based on how we invested the spiritual portfolio. Jesus gives us three examples in Matthew 25:14 of three different people who were entrusted with the investment of their spiritual assets. Two of the three investors had the right attitude, which is the attitude of faithfulness. The third investor had the wrong attitude, which is the attitude of faithlessness. The two who had the right attitude were given enormous rewards. The one who was not faithful suffered for eternity.

This is a very important parable in the scripture because it is all about faithfulness and diligence. It is about the difference between those who take their commitment to Jesus Christ very seriously and those who claim to be Christians. It is about the difference between those who truly love the Lord Jesus Christ and those who are merely religious. This parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is about the difference between those who belong to the church of Jesus Christ and those who might have membership in an earthly church but do not belong to the church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, speaking of himself, said that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who had planned to go on a long journey, but then he handed his property over to managers to manage it for him. He did not assign to them equal responsibilities. He gave them different measures of responsibilities and opportunities. He placed them in different situations. They don't all get the same responsibilities or the same amount of money to manage for the master. One gets five, one gets two, and the other gets one.

I don't want you to miss this because this is of eternal importance. The master does not tell these three people how, when, where, or in what to invest their stewardship. The master is after one thing only: how faithful his servants will be with what they've got. That is the heart of the parable. The master is after how diligent each servant is handling what has been given to them. Faithfulness and diligence—that is what the parable of the talents is all about.

There are four things that I want to share with you that you see in the parable. First, you're going to see the responsibility we have. Secondly, we see the reaction to that responsibility. Thirdly, we see the reckoning—the day of reckoning that is coming. And fourthly, the reward. Responsibility, reaction, reckoning, and reward. Each one of us has been given certain responsibilities. Your responsibilities are different from mine. God did not give you mine, and God did not give me yours.

God is not going to judge you based on how you've taken care of my responsibilities, and he's not going to judge me about taking care of yours. He will judge and reward you and me based on the responsibilities that he's given each one of us. The first two servants were given different amounts, but both produced an equal percentage of profit. The one who had five brought five more back, and the one who had two brought two more. They both doubled what they were given.

The master did not expect five back from the one who had two any more than he would expect more than 10 from the one who had five. God is a fair and just God. He will only hold you responsible and accountable for the responsibilities that he's given you. Every one of us will react to these responsibilities one way or the other. You cannot be neutral. This brings me to the reaction. What is your reaction to your responsibility?

The first two men represent the true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the genuine believers who are truly born and regenerated of the spirit of God. Therefore, the reaction was one of joy, excitement, enthusiasm, and faithfulness. Faithfulness is not something that you have to work up a sweat for. Faithfulness should not be a burden, a chore, or something you do just because you have to. If you are running around saying you have to be faithful, you've missed the point.

Faithfulness is something you love because you are being faithful; it is not just something you do. Although the second servant received less than half of the responsibilities and the gifts that were given to the first one, yet both were equal in their reaction to their responsibilities. It doesn't matter how much responsibility you have. You're going to be judged and rewarded based on how faithful you are with it. The problem with the third servant is that he hid what he had and spent his time complaining and grumbling.

He spent his time moaning and complaining about how unfair the master is, how tough life is, and how bad things are. The first two's reaction was maximizing what God had given them. The third's reaction was to moan, complain, and sulk. Someone said that the person who's busy pulling on the oars does not have time to rock the boat. If your reaction to your God-given responsibility is joyful use and faithfulness, if your reaction is a delight in maximizing these responsibilities, then this is a clear indication that you are a servant of the living God.

If your reaction is that you don't have any gifts, your gifts are not important, or you can't accomplish much, then you don't know Jesus according to this parable. If you just sit in the pews Sunday after Sunday and think about whether the sermon or the music was good or not, then you don't know Jesus. If you really belong to the master, you would joyfully and faithfully serve him, focus on him, and keep your eye on him. We all have responsibilities, and we all have to react to these responsibilities one way or another.

But also, there is a day of reckoning coming. Did you notice that the exact time of the journey was not mentioned in this parable? That's not by accident. It's not mentioned because it's irrelevant. It's not important. What is important is that the day of reckoning is coming sooner or later. What is important here is that the master will face you, and you are going to face the master one day. The master said to the first two, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Do you know what he commended them for?

It was not for the fact that they doubled their money. He was not talking about the quantity here. He said, "Well done." Good and faithful qualities are character traits. Their character was excellent. Their attitude was excellent. And when you have excellent character and attitude, it is inevitable that you're going to produce excellent service. But there's something else about the third servant here that I don't want you to miss. Some people really misinterpret and misunderstand this text to their own detriment.

This servant does not represent the atheists, the agnostics, or the reprobates. This third servant recognized the master's rightful ownership. This man did not waste the talent on an immoral lifestyle or selfish pursuit. He simply disregarded the stewardship that he was given. This man represents the average churchgoer, the average church member who enjoys being in a spiritual environment and the fellowship while, in reality, he or she never surrendered their life to Jesus Christ.

Not only that, this man actually insulted the master by accusing the master of injustice. The servant represents the professing Christian who might remember God a couple of hours on a Sunday morning but has such limited knowledge of who God is that they can accuse God of being unjust. The master describes him as a wicked and lazy servant. The distinction between the first two and the third is that the first two were willing to invest everything they had for the service of the master.

The third servant put God aside except maybe for a couple of hours a week and then got busy with life. I plead with God that not one single person who's listening to me today would be like that third servant. I know that's not an easy message for you to hear, and it's not an easy message for me to deliver. The third servant made the master angry because of the careless waste. Not only do we all have responsibilities, and not only must we react to these responsibilities, but finally, the reward for faithfulness is as sure as God himself.

Jesus said that in the visible church, the wheat and the tares are growing up together. He said that the sheep and the goats are mixed up together. Jesus said that those who are genuine believers and the counterfeits get mixed up at times—so much so that outwardly, it may be difficult to tell them apart. Outwardly, they appear to be doing the same things. But those who are not his will be spiritually unproductive. Here is a divine principle I want to share with you before I conclude.

Those who are counterfeit will lose everything, but those who are faithful will gain everything. Those who are counterfeit have no true faith and therefore no saving relationship to God, no matter how much they appear in the forefront of the churches. They will hear those devastating words from the lips of Jesus. It tears me up. Paul said, "I wish that I would actually end up for eternity in hell if it helps my fellow Jews to come to know Jesus."

If I did not believe this with all my heart, I would resign as a minister and go do a few other things. But because of this, I've dedicated my life. I don't want anybody to hear these dreadful words from the lips of Jesus: "I never knew you. Depart from me, you practice of lawlessness." I would do anything in my power if it would help so that no one would hear those words. Jesus says they're going to say, "Lord, but we went to church. Lord, but we knew Michael Youssef." Lord said, "Who?"

While the two servants were rewarded for their faithfulness, that was not enough as far as God was concerned. He said, "Take what belongs to the one who was not faithful and give it to them." Jesus said those who are faithful in their heart are going to be faithful in their life. Jesus said something else that you must never miss: that those who are faithful with little are going to be faithful with much. The quantity has nothing to do with it. One got five and one got two, but it didn't make any difference.

When you're faithful with little, Jesus said you're going to be faithful with much. Jesus is not going to have people to reign and rule with him for eternity who have been unfaithful in this life. That is why I plead. This is the day. You can say, "Lord Jesus, I want to take you and receive you completely into my life so I can be faithful in the day of reckoning." Those who are faithful in their heart will be faithful in their life.

The third servant was sent into the outer darkness of eternal torment and eternal separation from God because he was given all kinds of opportunities. They heard the gospel in so many ways. They belonged to the church that has a cross on top of it. And that is why it's devastating, because you not only lose what you have, but you end up eternally in torment while the faithful ones are celebrating and reigning and ruling with Christ.

Guest (Male): A powerful message on faithfulness from Dr. Michael Youssef. We thank you for making Leading The Way part of your day. If you'd like to get in touch with us, we would love that too. Give us a call at 866-626-4356 or visit ltw.org.

Guest (Female): Growing up as a child, I had many family members, including my mother, who was an addict. Life was really lonely. I don't think I ever heard anyone say, "I love you." When I was about 27, I was seeing a man that ended up putting drugs into a drink of mine. I did it again and again, and it never stopped. I put myself in a lot of physically dangerous situations. I ended up having to stab a drug dealer who had attacked me, and I sat for about six months in jail. I had literally nothing to live for, I felt like.

It had gotten so bad in jail. I was physically aggressive and harming myself. They ended up actually putting me on 23-hour-a-day isolation. I needed someone to care about me.

Guest (Female): I met Erin while she was incarcerated. When she was on lockdown, I would sit by the door and talk to her and sing to her.

Guest (Female): One of the girls felt pity for me, and she slid that tablet underneath of the door. I found Michael Youssef and Leading The Way Ministries, and everything was available in that app. I started to understand who God was. I wanted to change. I wanted to be what God wanted me to be. I wanted to do what God wanted me to do.

Guest (Female): She was on fire. I was only able to see her once a week. Those sermons were a part of her daily routine. Without that, I don't know if she would have grown as much as she did.

Guest (Female): God has opened up so many doors in my life that I really never thought were ever going to happen for me. After I was released from jail, I put in an application at Quincy Recycle, and I think I was hired the same day I went in and spoke. My boss, Kyle, ended up being a Christian. I knew that this was definitely something God was putting in front of me.

Guest (Male): Erin's been a big part of the team for several years and is always willing to learn, very dependable, easy to like, easy to work with, and does so with a smile and a can-do attitude. To watch Erin speak about her faith very candidly is wonderful to hear. It kind of helps bring the light to others. Hats off 100 times over to Leading The Way and to others that help. The word of God, the Bible, can and should be shared through any open door available.

Guest (Female): I feel important, needed, and loved. All of the trials that brought me into the jail were everything that needed to happen in order for that tablet to be slid underneath the door to me and for me to hear Michael Youssef's teaching. Michael Youssef proves he is just trying to bring people to Jesus with the Navigators and the Open Door and my journal that I actually get in the mail. I am definitely thankful that God put him here to do this job, and he does it so well.

Guest (Male): Connect with your representative at the Leading The Way call center when you call 866-626-4356 to stand with Dr. Youssef this month. Or use your computer or mobile device to visit ltw.org. As I close, I want to share our mailing address as well, because I know some people enjoy crafting and sending personal notes. We love getting them. Here is that address: Leading The Way, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia, 30325. This program is furnished by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Learn more at ltw.org.