Step Into His Joy (Chapter 8A)

Wednesday Chapter of Joy in Spite of Stoopidity

Joy in the Word

Matthew 25: 21 and 23 (ESV)

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

… (second verse same as the first…if you can name that tune you get bonus points…)

Like last week’s post, these verses sit right in the middle of a parable, and is reflecting the way two servants handled the money (talents) of their master. Both found ways to increase the amount he originally left with them. This pleased him and he welcomed them into his joy.

I want to back us up to verse 13 because it is telling the listener to “watch”. Jesus is saying, “Pay attention!” He wants his listeners to be actively ready to respond to the gospel and the kingdom of heaven.

Talents in Matthew 25 are very large sums of money, or measures of wealth. If we back up to verse 15, we see that the master gave his servants different amounts to manage. We know that the master trusted each of them to do their best to use it for his gain…to build his estate. I think it is safe to say (based on later verses) that he expected financial growth, however large or small it might have been. We also know from verse 15 that he gave each based on what he knew of their abilities. The Greek word for “talents” provides us with the meaning of the English word as “a gift or ability”. Let’s look at some cross-reference verses for Matthew 25:15…

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Ephesians 4:7 (ESV) – see also 1 Corinthians 12:7 given the Spirit for the common good

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned…Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…

Romans 12: 3, 6 (ESV)

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4: 10-11 (ESV)

When we believe Jesus is who he said he is, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and gifts to steward well in the kingdom for the glory of God. And just as the master in the parable knows the ability of each of his servants, so God does with his children. We have learned that our treasure is the truth of God and his grace revealed through Christ, our talent is how God wants to use us to show his glory by the power of the Holy Spirit, and our being obedient in those gifts brings us into the joy of being partnered with God.

It is not about who has what talent. It is about being bold and not playing it safe with the gospel for the glory of God. And then, joy. Not just any joy, but the actual joy of the Lord. We can be confident in how we have been equipped by the Holy Spirit to work in the kingdom because God has done what is best to show his glory. When the servants were welcomed into the joy of their master they became partners with him. Their well-done accolade was due to their eager willingness to accomplish the task at hand. When we shake off spiritual sleepiness and pay close attention to participating with God in the building of his kingdom, we are stewarding our gifts well, this too by the grace of God, and we will be welcomed into the joy of the Lord.

Don’t waste time comparing the gifts you have been graced with. Be obedient in them, grow in them, see the grace in them, let others marvel at God’s glory, and then?

Enter into joy…Kristin

(Matthew 25:21 ESV) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

(Matthew 25:23 ESV) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

I am studying today two verses that contain the word JOY in the same Bible story, the Parable of the Talents, however, the verses are identical!

Whenever God’s Word repeats, a flag goes up alerting me to pay attention as if God really wants me to know what He is saying to me.

These words are an invitation to the first and second servant in Jesus’s story, and also an invitation to me.

Jesus tells a story about a master who goes away on a journey, entrusting three servants with different talents (aka money, aka skills, aka opportunities, aka resources, aka gifts). Guy One receives 5 talents, Guy Two receives 2 talents, and Guy Three receives 1 talent.

Guy One and Guy Two invest their talents and double what was given to them. Guy Three buries his talent in the ground out of fear and it does not grow.

When the master returns, he praises and rewards the first two servants with the verses of this study, but the third servant he rebukes. The main message of the story is about being faithful stewards of the gifts that God gives us (aka taking care of God’s creation entrusted to us), but for this writing, we focus on the word JOY.

Thinking personally, my Master is God, and I am His servant, and I can hear Him saying these words to me too! If God said to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” I would well up in satisfaction and pride. I can feel my facial expression changing, wanting to be humble and not acknowledge a job well done, but pressing my lips hard together in an attempt to hold back a big smile, with my eyes smiling with uncontainable JOY anyway. My chin would lower while my eyes would look up to the Master to acknowledge His praise.

There is JOY in my heart for having done what I was supposed to do and for doing it well, and for the acknowledgment and affirmation received from the One who matters the most.

This has to be the same feeling the servants in the parable felt.

My Master, God, continues, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” Oh, a reward for my job well done! Because I did it well, God is going to give me even more to care for! God trusts me enough to take care of His creation! I feel JOY because God trusts me so much! Now that is a JOY of validation! I sure can feel that in my heart!

This has to be the same feeling the servants in the parable felt.

My Master, God, continues, “Enter into the JOY of your master.” Oh, an invitation to come on in and enjoy the good things of God! That sounds like heaven to me! In God’s kingdom there is an eternal reward, fellowship with God, and a happiness that comes with serving faithfully.

These things God has entrusted me with do not belong to me. They belong to God, yet he invites me in to enjoy these good things. It’s like a big celebration of all things good! It is a victory party that I am allowed to join in because I helped make it happen! There is always SO much JOY going on at a happy party. Everyone celebrating shares in the same JOY of the Master.

God not only entrusts in me with physical things to care for, but He also places other people into my life for me to care for. I have a concern for their well-being and their faith. By sharing God’s Word with them, God also invites them to come on in and enjoy the good things of God.

Come on in! Step into His Joy. Step into shared JOY. God shares it with me and with all those He approves of who steward what He gives with faithfulness. It is a huge rewarding welcome for all.

This has to be the same feeling the servants in the parable felt.

THREE STORIES IN MATTHEW 25 - THEME OF PREPARING

There are three stories in Matthew 25 and all three relate to the same theme of preparing to Step into His Joy. Be ready for Jesus’s return by living wisely, faithfully, and lovingly, not in passive waiting.

First in the parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13), the wise bridesmaids are ready when the bridegroom arrives while the foolish one misses out. The bridesmaids enter the wedding feast which is a place of JOY.

Next is the parable of the talents (25:14-30) which we just reviewed, where the faithful servants enter into the Master’s JOY. Preparedness is shown in how they lived out their faith by how they took care of God’s creation gifted to them.

Finally is the story of the separation of the sheep and the goats (25:31-46). The sheep because of their loving everyday actions to others inherit the Kingdom which God has prepared for them. Serving “the least of these” is actually serving Christ Himself with love.

Those who are wise (like the wise virgins), faithful (like the good stewards), and loving (like the sheep) are the ones preparing to enter into the JOY of God’s kingdom and presence. When I live wise, faithful, and living, I step right into the joy of my Master.

Faithfulness leads straight to the JOY of my Master! This Greek version of the word JOY is only found in the New Testament, which is different than the word JOY in the Old Testament.

Please pray with me, Lord, thanks for the reminder today that some day You will come again and Your children who have been faithful will enter into Your JOY forever and ever. I get to share in that JOY with You and all those faithful to You. I love the thought of sharing. Keep firm my faith and give me strength in faith to be a good steward of the gifts which You give me. I want so much to take care of all the things You have given me, even my neighbor. All who come into my path in life are my “neighbors” and I want to help to take care of their physical needs and their spiritual needs, but know I fail often. Help me be better. Thanks for the reminder that merely living out Your Word by caring for all that You have created is being faithful to You and being prepared for You to come again. It is that simple. Amen.

Concordance G5479 chara: χαρά, Pronounced khar-ah’ (khar-ah’) Meaning joy, gladness, delight, greatly joyful, from the root word G5463 (χαίρω - rejoice); Found 59 times in the Greek New Testament.

This writing on my website where you can find it again. I recently put together the index which includes the chronological project through the Gospels that I am working on.

Quotable

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