Immeasurable

     (per a conversation I had with a friend a couple of weeks ago, this study has been burning in my heart. this is part one)

     Talents can be added to, multiplied. decreased and divided. Talents are goods, possessions, commodities. They can be traded with the intent to gain increase or banked to gain interest, depending on the type of commodity in question. 

     The talents spoken of in Matthew 25:14-30 are given by The Lord God as stated in verse 14 "the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country". The kingdom of heaven denotes sovereignty and kingship. And, who is King but our King? who is God but our God? Psalm 113:5 " Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?"

     Who receives these talents? The Lord's servants (V.14). Who are His servants? Exodus 19:5,6a "Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." 

     What determines who receives each quantity of talents? (V.15) "To every man according to his ability." Talents are not abilities. Ability in this instance means "miraculous power, might, strength" according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. God knows the hearts of His servants and to each of us He has given a portion of His goods. Not bury in the ground and hide away (V.25), but to increase such goods that God would be glorified by our actions. 

     Since it is God who determines what is given to whom, we are not to wonder, envy, nor judge what has been given but help one another to increase the talents. But the talent (talanton) is not a monetary unit, but a measuring unit by which all commodities are weighed, such as by scale, as each country has it own coin and trading system. 

     We are each given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), a portion (territory, tract of land) of our inheritance, our reward. But it is up to us to multiply our measures, that when our Lord returns for what is His we are able to give Him the bounteous harvest He is looking for on His return. 

Waiting On God

Waiting on God does not mean doing nothing on our part. In this passage 'waiting' means 'to bind together (by twisting {think braiding] ). Waiting on God means to 'wait upon'. We wait for Him to speak to us, then we obey what we have heard Him say to us. Each of us has a purpose which God wants to fulfill in us. Each of us has at least one mission field to which God not only sends us, but goes with us.
Do you not understand even yet that God goes with you? In His Word He tells us that He will never leave us: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (cf. Genesis 25:15, wherein God makes a promise to Jacob).

Wherever God is fear is not. Speaking to Joshua: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for The LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest". Joshua 1:9.

Speaking through King David to Solomon: "All this, said David, The LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. And David said to Solomon, Be strong and of a good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for The LORD God , even my God, will be with thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of The LORD." 1 Chronicles 28:19-20.

So, don't be afraid to wait on God. Be more afraid of not waiting on God.

When Samuel first heard God speak to him, he did not know it was God speaking, for "he did not know The LORD yet". He ran to the man he thought was calling his name, only to be informed on the third call that this was God's voice, not Eli's. It is only when we know The LORD that we will learn to listen and obey His voice.

You are not past the point of no return. You can still learn to listen to God, learn to know His voice. It is the voice of love, mercy and patience.
God is patient with us. Way more patient than we are with each other.
God is longsuffering. He puts up with quite a bit of our unrighteous acts. Why? Because He loves us and He only wants to bless us. He can't do that unless we obey His Word.

Obedience to God's voice brings God's blessings. Disobedience to God's voice brings God's curses, His wrath.

See this little scale? God has treasures set aside for each of us on a daily basis, when we obey His voice, His Word. But on the other end of the scale? Nothing. No blessings, no treasures, no gifts.

Waiting on God means to go where He sends us and to not be afraid when He sends us in a direction we are fearful of going. That bend in the road will glorify God. That steep climb will glorify God. That speech, that marathon, that song will glorify God. Whatever it is you think you can't do even though God has called you to do it, you can because God will be with you wherever He sends you, whenever He sends you.
Waiting on God means to be patient. (Warning: do not pray for patience. God will give you trials to learn to be patient in). Actually, when we are filled with The Holy Spirit, we have patience: we just need to exercise it. It is, after all, part of the fruit of The Spirit -- Galatians 5:23 -- "longsuffering".

Waiting on God means to live in love, as Christ loves us. John 15:12 "This is My commandment, That you love one another as I have loved you." How has God loved us? Unconditionally. Sacrificially.

Waiting on God means to do God's will. "And this is the will of Him that sent Me (Jesus speaking), that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40

Waiting on God means to serve Him, not as slaves, nor servants, but as friends. We like to do things for our friends, do we not? To show them how much we love them. We bring them smiles on cloudy days. We clean their houses, when they are laid up. We care for their children when they are overwhelmed. We prepare meals when they are grieving. Because we love our friends we choose to make them happy, at times meeting their needs before meeting our own. Why? Love.

God loves us and wants us to obey Him in love. "We love Him because He first loved us". 1 John 4:19

Are you truly waiting on God? Do you wake up in the middle of the night, when you hear Him speaking to you? Are you digging into His written Word, eagerly turning pages, seeking Him out? Have you heard Him speak and known it was God who was speaking?

It's not too late. God is calling you right now. Some of you He is calling to salvation. Some to service. Some to healing. Some to rest. Some to the baptism of His Holy Spirit, to be filled with power to walk in His Word. Some of you He is calling for the last time. I hope you are ready. I know I am.