Jesus used a parable to describe the kingdom of heaven when He told about a businessman traveling to a far country. The businessman called three of his servants and gave some of his goods to do business while he was gone. To the first one, he gave five talents of silver. To the second, two talents of silver. And to the third, one talent of silver.
When the businessman returned from his travels, he called the three servants to give an accounting. The first and second servant doubled the businessman’s investment with their trading.
The businessman said to these two servants, “Well done, good and faithful servants; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you rulers over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
The third servant did nothing with the talent of silver given to him and returned it in full to the businessman. “You wicked and lazy servant…” said the businessman to the servant. “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents…And cast this unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Yikes!
Did Jesus cast the unprofitable servant into Hell for being lazy?
Dr. Spiros Zodhiates in his commentary, The Complete Word Study New Testament, wrote about “the outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth”:
These terms may be applied to believers who have failed the Lord in their service…In this instance, the “outer darkness” may be a reference to a place or a position of far less rewards for the servants who proved themselves less diligent than those who used their talents to the fullest.
Kenneth Wuest wrote in his book, Greek New Testament:
This darkness is simply the darkness that is outside the King’s banqueting house.
Charles Stanley wrote in his book, Eternal Security:
The outer darkness here simply refers to being thrown outside of a building into the dark. It is not a description of hell.
Unfaithfulness and failing to run the race of faith all the way to the end of our lives will probably cost us rewards in the world to come.
And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.(Revelation 5:9)
Do you not know that the saints (the believers) will [one day] judge and govern the world? (1 Corinthians 6:2 Amplified Bible)
For He has not put the world to come [Millennial Kingdom], of which we speak, in subjection to angels. (Hebrews 2:5)
What are my plans for 300 years from now?
I’m assuming that Jesus will return and set up His Millenial Kingdom on earth. So, with that in mind, I want to be one of His rulers who reign in partnership with Jesus on earth. Some of us will rule over nations, some over states, some over cities, and some over smaller territories.
There could be millions of positions in His infrastructures all over the earth. My desire is to be the best I can be for His glory.
What about you?
If I would have written 100,000 words on this subject, it still wouldn’t have been enough to cover every topic on this subject. But it was my hope to at least stir up each reader’s desire to be a faithful servant all the days of his or her life.
(Conclusion…but if you want to read all of the parts, you can go here.)
Larry Who 
Do We Still Need Prophecy and the Spiritual Gifts?
A commenter on Dr. Michael Brown’s recent column, Charismatic Movement Needs Some Self-Policing: “The fruit of the Charismatic Movement has not been good.”
Like many critics, this person could only see the thorns of the Charismatic Movement and not the beautiful rose blossoms that have blessed numerous lives, including mine.
On May 20, 1985, I decided to commit suicide. This decision was based on my failure to put together a farm publishing company. All of my financial sources were maxed out, with the only untouched asset being a $125,000 life insurance policy on my life.
Suicide was not a problem because I was an agnostic. My not believing in God relieved me of worrying about Hell and God’s eternal punishment for my unbelief. It seemed like a good business decision on my part.
For some reason, I stopped at an insurance agent’s office that afternoon. Bill wasn’t my insurance agent nor was he a close intimate friend. Our relationship was built on my coaching his son for a teen baseball team the year before.
Bill invited me into his office. I sat down on a chair in front of his desk while he sat on the opposite side. We talked about baseball, but in the middle of our conversation, he paused and stared at me. “You’re thinking about committing suicide, aren’t you?” he said.
His words hit me like a sledgehammer. How did he know? It was my secret $125,000 payday. I was speechless. As I sat there, a vision played across my mind about my car ramming into a viaduct and killing me.
I wept. “How did you know?” I asked.
“Oh,” said Bill, “the Lord told me while we were talking to each other.”
His words shattered my unbelief. God was alive and He cared about me.
We continued talking for a while longer. He gave me a book to read: Power in Praise by Merlin Carothers. Bill stated how the small book had changed his life a few years earlier.
When I arrived home, I began reading the book. After finishing the first eighteen pages, I walked into the bathroom, closed the door, looked into the mirror and said, “Jesus, I’ve tried everything else and nothing has worked. I guess I’ll give You a try.”
Instantly, I was changed. I bowed down on the tile floor and worshipped my new Lord and King.
How a reader views my salvation testimony probably depends on which camp of Christianity the person presently sits in.
Eight to ten percent of American Christians might pooh-pooh my salvation testimony because they’re cessationists who believe that prophecy and the spiritual gifts ceased at the end of the apostolic age.
Another fifteen to twenty percent of Christians might jump up and down, saying, “Amen, brother.” These are the Pentecostals, Charismatics and others who wholeheartedly endorse prophecy and the spiritual gifts.
That leaves a balance of seventy to seventy-five percent of American Christians who are not in either of the first two camps. They have heard about prophecy but have not seen the spiritual gifts functioning in their own churches. For the most part, they do not hold any opinions one way or another on prophecy or the spiritual gifts.
What does the Bible say about prophecy and the spiritual gifts?
The Apostle Paul wrote the above verse in his first letter to the Corinthian Church around 55 AD. It explained the spiritual gifts and their proper usage.
The historian Eusebius pointed out the importance of prophecy in an event that occurred only ten or eleven years after Paul’s letter. A Messianic believer in Jerusalem prophesied that everyone should flee the Holy City to save their lives. The prophecy also reminded the believers of Jesus’ prophecy on the first Palm Sunday.
By early 69 AD, every Messianic believer had fled Jerusalem. Most went to a city in Jordan, named Pella, which was about sixty miles from Jerusalem.
In 70 AD, the Roman army led by General Titus sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, slaughtering nearly a million Jews. This calamity fulfilled the prophecy spoken by Jesus on that first Palm Sunday.
The number of Messianic believers who fled Jerusalem were about sixty thousand in total. Those believers loved Jerusalem and their Jewish neighbors. They would have told everyone about the prophecy, but sadly, the Jewish army had won some battles against Rome when the prophecy was first spoken. Therefore, most Jews ignored the words of those Messianic believers and remained in Jerusalem. The majority of them died.
What if someone today prophesied that we should evacuate San Francisco or Chicago or New York City or Washington D. C. or wherever because the city was about to be destroyed?
Maybe you’re thinking something like this could never happen, right?
The Book of Revelation tells us about the horrific destruction which will occur in our world sometime in the near future. Half of the earth’s population will die during the seal and trumpet judgments. Most of the cities will be destroyed. If believers don’t take the mark of the beast, we won’t be able to buy or sell anything, including food and medicine.
So, how will believers survive without prophecy and the spiritual gifts?
Maybe our American-held belief of a pre-tribulation Rapture will be accurate. Maybe believers will be out of here before the bad stuff happens.
But just in case, it might be a good idea to develop an ear for prophecy and learn about the spiritual gifts now.
(The above post appeared as a column for WND.com on April 13, 2018 which can be seen here.)
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Filed under America, Christianity, Commentary, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
Tagged as Christianity, Commentary, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual gifts