Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:19

All right back to Matthew, chapter 25. We have been studying the parable of the talents, which begins in verse 14. And we've looked at the five-talent man and he made five talents more and he received a reward. And the master said well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master. 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.

Speaker 2: 0:50

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.

Speaker 2: 1:30

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.

Speaker 2: 3:11

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.

Speaker 2: 3:51

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.

Speaker 2: 4:32

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.

Speaker 2: 4:57

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.

Speaker 2: 5:42

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.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Faith produces action, so go and do what he says Amen. Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.