Do you consider your ministry small and insignificant? God doesn’t! I encourage you to press on in your service to the Lord. Do not let the enemy discourage you! Trust the Lord to lead you and guide you. He who promised is faithful!
In the following parable, “The bags of gold (Greek talanton) represent all the opportunities God gives people to serve Him, including their wealth, reputation, abilities, and learning. This parable warns believers to diligently take everything God has given and invest it for His glory as they await Christ’s second coming.” (David Jeremiah Bible Study Notes)
Read the passage below and ask yourself, “What have I done with my bag(s) of gold?
The Parable of the Bags of Gold
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:14-30 NIV
Maybe you think you have been given only one bag of gold. For example, maybe you write a blog and don’t have many views. Or maybe you teach Sunday School to children, or your ministry is visiting the nursing home.
Maybe the enemy tries to deceive you into thinking your small ministry isn’t important. He wants you to give up (bury it). The enemy will try to make you afraid and quit. “I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.” (v.25)
Don’t hide your bag of gold in the ground! Just one bag of gold was worth, 20 years wages! Your “small” ministry is valuable to God!
(a) Matthew 25:15 Greek five talents … two talents … one talent; also throughout this parable; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wage.
Every time you speak or write God’s Word from the Bible, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. That’s right!
“The sword of the Spirit … is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17
Speaking TRUTH is spiritual warfare. Fight on!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
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If we’re living for the Lord, He will put us where He wants us. And right there is where we can serve Him, no matter what that serving looks like. Thank you, Cindy, for this encouragement today. God certainly doesn’t measure “success” in the same ways that we have been conditioned to do.
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I agree! I believe God uses our efforts to serve Him in ways we are not aware of. Our part is to be willing and put our trust in Him. Blessings!
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Thank you, this was a much needed spiritual food for my soul, God Bless you
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This is so encouraging, Cindy! Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you for your encouragement, ML. We can all use some of that! God bless you, today! 🙏
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Thank you for this encouraging word Cindy. The enemy tries to discourage by making us feel that what we do is insignificant by making us look at it through the world’s eyes of success. But may we trust God with what he has placed in our hands.
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Amen!! To bring encouragement to just one person is a wonderful thing. Thank you for encouraging me today. Blessings, Manu!
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Your pep talks are much appreciated! 🙂
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This is so very true – “Every time you speak or write God’s Word from the Bible, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. That’s right!”
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Thanks for commenting, Mary. Blessings!
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Thank you for this encouragement Cindy. Let us never despise the day of small beginnings x
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Amen! Thanks for reading. God bless you, Nicola!
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Oh my goodness… this topic has been on my mind lately. I have a YouTube channel where I share how God has helped me with different things but I don’t post consistently. Lately I posted a couple of videos and there are no views. I’m also not consistent with blogging and recently became frustrated that my old post about dreadlocks seems to get more hits than my posts about God. Sometimes I’ve wondered if I should even continue or even questioned if God led me to do either of these things. I’ve always enjoyed writing and I don’t want to give that up. Thanks for your encouragement to keep going, Cindy. God bless you!
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Evette, I fight those thoughts all the time. Remember how Sanballat and Tobiah tried to stop the Israelites from rebuilding the wall? That’s what the enemy tries to do. Stop the work! Read about it in Nehemiah chapters 2 – 6. God gave you this gift (to write). Use it for His glory! I will pray for you to be encouraged and energized! The devil is such a liar! God bless you today, my friend!
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Thanks Cindy. I didn’t see this post before, but I really needed it today.
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I pray the Lord will encourage and strengthen you today, Pastor Pete. Your ministry is so important to Jesus.
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Thanks Cindy. He is in the process of doing just that.
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I needed this today! What word! And this line right here: “Every time you speak or write God’s Word from the Bible, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. That’s right!” POWERFUL! Thank you so much for sharing.
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I’m thinking about writing a post about it. I think spiritual warfare is simpler than we may have thought. I’m so glad this was encouraging to you! God bless you today, Sharon!
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Please write it because it is something that I think we all need to see and hear. The enemy is so crafty and he would love for us to be indifferent or lukewarm about the awesome gifting God has given us. God bless you too!
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Thank you for the encouragement to write it. It may take a while to look at all the Bible has to say about it!
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