OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: MONDAY 27TH JULY 2020.
THEME: PROFITABLE STEWARDSHIP.
MEMORISE:
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Matthew 25:21
READ: Matthew 25:13-34
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
MESSAGE:
“Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” Leviticus 19:13
My God does not use people and dump them. If you work for Him faithfully, you are sure to get a very handsome reward for your efforts. In the above passage, He said that we should never allow any laborer’s wage stay in our hands overnight. If He said this, how then would He not reward you when you labor for Him?
Now, what is the work God wants us to do? In Luke 10:2 He said “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: ” The harvest He was talking about is the souls that need to be won to Christ. He needs laborers to go out and win souls. He needs soul-winners. When you win a soul, you make Him happy, but more that that, you secure more benefits for yourself too. In the parable of talents in Matthew 25:21, the Master did not take the extra talents from the servant that multiplied theirs: He left it with them as their reward. Even the one talent that the unprofitable servant did not multiply was not kept by the master but rather, given to the person who had ten talents. In John 12:32, He said if He is lifted up, He would draw men to Himself. This also implies that He will draw men to the fellow who is lifting Him up. I must tell you that I am really enjoying the benefits of being a soul-winner. Due to the fact that I keep raising my Father for people to accept Him into their lives, He has drawn many men to me, now, I have many children-in-the-Lord all over the world such that there is hardly any city I visit wherein there wouldn’t be someone ready to host me in their home for the duration of my stay.
John 15:2 says that any Christian who does not bear fruit will be separated from Christ. The unprofitable servant decided not to bear fruit and was not only cast away, but sent into outer darkness where he wept and gnashed his teeth forever (Matthew 25:30). It pays to be a profitable steward of God. Are you one?
REFLECTION:
How many souls have you won for Christ this year?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37
Psalm 46, 80 135.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 9: HOLD THE FORTH.
1. Ho, my comrades, see the signal, waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.
Refrain:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
2. See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!
3. See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over every foe.
4. Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!
