Text: Matthew 25:21

Topic: A faithful Servant of God

Introduction
Matthew 25:14-30 contains the Parable of the Talents. A “talent” in ancient Israel was a unit
of exchange, a monetary value, not our modern sense of a talent being a skill.
Jesus in the context — entrusted (vs. 14) five talents to one servant, two to another, and
one to yet another, to “each according to his ability.”
When the master returned, he found that the first two servants had “put his money to work”
and doubled what the Master had given them. But the third servant had hidden the talent in
the ground and produced no profit for his master. The master called him “you wicked, lazy
servant” for his failure to serve the master with what the master had entrusted to him.
But to the servants who had honored the Master’s trust and had worked and produced fruit
and gained profit, the Master said: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
1. Well DONE!
James 1:22, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
To the first two servants Jesus said, “Well DONE!” They understood that the Lord wants us
to work for Him, to “do” His bidding, not just listen to good sermons or read our Bibles
merely for knowledge. He wants us to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
[our] selves.”
Jesus called the wise builders and the foolish builders in His Matthew 7:24-27 parable. The
foolish heard His words but did not put them into practice. The wise builders “heard His
words and put them into practice” (24). Everybody like to hear whom our Lord and Saviour
gives the commendation: “Well DONE!” I believe nobody will deny this!
Mark 7:37, People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He [Jesus] has done everything
well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Jesus did no lazy work, no haphazard work, no half-hearted work. He did all things well! And
that’s the attitude He wants us to take with whatever He has entrusted to us. For example, in
the realm of the gifts of the Holy Spirit — 1 Corinthians 14:12 Since you are eager for gifts
of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. We are commanded to strive for
excellence in ministering the spiritual gifts the Lord places in our lives for the purpose of
building up His Church.
2. GOOD Servant
Here we are not talking about the servant we keep at our home. But a true servant of God.
Here’s a suggested composite of its various New Testament uses: a good servant would be of
high character … would produce wholesome fruit consistent with that character … would be
morally honorable … would be pleasing to God and of benefit to others. He or she would be
the opposite of evil.
How good should we determine to be? — As new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), we
are to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(Ephesians 4:24). Wow, what a high calling to goodness, to righteousness, to God-like
holiness! Press toward that goal in this life, and you’ll hear Jesus call you a “GOOD
servant.” Our character matters greatly to the Lord. As the popular saying goes, “Character
is more important than charisma.” Both, of course, are important, but “good” character
even more so.
Illustration on Pastor’s Wife Movie……
3. FAITHFUL Servant
1 Corinthians 4:2, Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove
faithful.
Jesus emphasized 5 words: Well … done … good … faithful … servant. Faithfulness is the
one He reemphasized in giving out His rewards (Matthew 25:21, 23): “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!” The master had entrusted the servants with
a portion of His assets, which they were expected to use faithfully on behalf of the master.
The apostle Paul tells us, “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove
faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
The Bible commands us to “examine ourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Ask yourself, are you
faithfully committed to the Lord, your spouse, your family, your church, and to the gifts and
callings of the Lord in your life? Remember Jesus’ words to the third servant, who had failed
to be faithful in what the Lord had entrusted to him — “You wicked, lazy servant!” (Matthew
25:26).
When we talk about SERVANT
Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus, the greatest Person ever to walk the earth, said that even He came to serve, to give.
How can we, for whom He died, do any less?
We born-again children of God are citizens of the kingdom of God (John 3:3). And greatness
in God’s sight comes through being a servant. Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be
your servant” (Matthew 23:11), just as He came to serve us in His life, in His ministry, and in
His death and resurrection for our salvation. He washed the disciples feet to give all of us an
example: if our Lord and Master served in this way, how much more should we?

Luke 19:1-10- Jesus and Lazuras

Conclusion and Implication
Matthew 25:21 (and 23): “Well … done … good … [and] faithful … servant.”
But more importantly, it gives us a measuring stick to evaluate our lives before the Lord:
1) Are you doers of God’s Word, and not hearers only? [DONE]
2) Are you striving to excel at whatever the Lord has entrusted you with? [WELL]
3) Are you content just to “get by,” or are you aiming to be a “good” servant, “created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness”? [GOOD]
4) Are you being faithful to those things the Lord has put into your life to do? [FAITHFUL]
5) Do you live each day with Jesus’ attitude — that is, not to be served, but to serve?
[SERVANT]
As our academic ends and will be graduating and going for the vocation very soon let us
possess servant hood quality in us. Some of might be regarding staying here for 1, 2, 3, 4 &5
years and going out with fulfilling like the lazy servant who talent was unfruitful. Especially
to the 14 outgoing friends, as many of you are going for serving and some for the further
studies, I want all of you to have this servant hood quality that on the day you will be able to
get the reward.
Thank you…….