What Are You Doing With The Investments I've Made?

By: Dr. Christy Bee

Photocred: lovelyday12 via Adobe Stock

I lost someone near and dear to my heart earlier this week. My mentor, seminary professor and friend, Dr. Martin Sanders, has gone on to be with the Lord. Martin was a one of a kind man of God. He often taught us Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS) students from Numbers 14:24 which states "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendents shall inherit it." With this scripture, Martin encouraged us all to be just like Caleb--a people who housed a different spirit--men and women that carried the might and goodness of God and could be blessed and used by Him in great and unique ways. I can confidently say that for the years I knew him and was able to glean from his life, Martin embodied this well.

As I've spent this week grieving this loss and reflecting on all that Martin has invested into my life and different parts of the body of Christ, I've had nothing but gratitude to express to God. Martin had a God-given gift of identifying men and women to invest time, energy and resources in and spent most of his life doing so. I am thankful to have been a part of the number of men and women who have partaken in the gift that he was. As I've been taking the time to express my gratitude to God this week, His sweet Spirit has responded by saying: "One of the best ways for you to show that you honor and appreciate an investment made into your life, is to use it well and invest it into others."

This statement hit me like a ton of bricks when He said it. Since then I have sensed that God is calling me out of comfort and into a new cadence of life. He is challenging me to show my gratitude by taking faith-filled risks and steps of obedience to use what's been invested into my life well, by multiplying it and investing it into others. Ultimately, this statement is calling me into alignment with God and His kingdom agenda. To drive this point further, Holy Spirit reminded of Matthew 25:14-30, the Parable of the Talents, and today's post is a look into the insights I've walked away with, from this text. I have a strong conviction that this new year and season of life is demanding that we as believers of Christ, steward what has been invested into us, well. No longer can we afford to honor with our words what we've received, but fail to honor with faith-filled risks and action--there is a demand for what's been invested into our lives!

One of the best ways for you to show that you honor and appreciate an investment made into your life, is to use it well and invest it into others.

The Parable of the Talents starts off with Jesus describing the kingdom of heaven as "a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them." This man, who has wealth, chooses to entrust different amounts of his treasure to three of his servants.

What is intriguing to me here is that the master did not call his sons or daughters to hold his treasure, but rather, he entrusted it in the hands of his servants. Not only does this imply a level of trust between the servant and the master, but it also gives us insight on what the master wanted to be done with the treasure. He did not want his treasure to be spent carelessly by those he entrusted it with, or considered as if it was their own. The master knew he would return for what was his, so he wanted those he entrusted with his treasure, to work to safeguard and multiply it until he returned.

Within the first verse of this passage, we are given a clear picture of what the kingdom of God is--it is a kingdom where God has entrusted treasure into the hands of those who are called to steward it well, until He returns. Both you and I have been appointed by God to be those who would carry the investment of his treasure. And when he returns, he will ask of us, "what have you done with the investments I've made?"

Both you and I have been appointed by God to be those who would carry the investment of his treasure. And when he returns, he will ask of us, "what have you done with the investments I've made?"

The next intriguing point of this parable is found in vv. 15 which states "and to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, to each according to his own ability." The word ability in the Greek is dynamis which means power or strength. Within this context, it can also be seen as one's capacity. The master knew that each servant had a different capacity so he only entrusted them with the amount of treasure that associated with what they could handle. This word dynamis is also used in other parts of the New Testament when describing the power of the Holy Spirit that is given to man (Acts 1:8) and the miracles or signs that follow them. I think it's important to note that the ability that a person has is both God-given and God-determined. So to the servant who received five talents, he was given by God, the ability to handle five talents. To the servant who received two talents, he was given the ability to handle two. And the same was true for the servant who received one talent. The master was aware of their capacities, and gave them the amount of treasure to steward, that their capacities could handle.

The third thing that stood out to me in this passage of Scripture was the difference between the first two servants and the last one. The first and second servants were different from the last in that they understood that:

Their master was the source of the gifts they’d received,
They were chosen to steward those gifts well,
They had the ability to steward what they were entrusted with,
They’d have to return what was loaned to them and give an account for their stewardship and
The best way for them to honor their master and what he entrusted them with, was to invest and multiply it.

Based on their actions and how they managed what their master gave them, we can see that the first and second servants understood the assignment--they had a different spirit, just like Caleb did. In the history of the Israelites, Caleb was one of the twelve spies that were sent into the land of Canaan that God promised to give to the children of Israel (Numbers 13). These spies were sent to scope out the land and bring a report back to Moses and the people. After being on mission for forty days, the spies came back and gave their report. Eleven of them discouraged the Israelites from going into the land that God promised them because of the appearance of a threat. Because the people who lived in the land were strong and had fortified cities and technologies that the Israelites did not have, these eleven spies discouraged them from possessing the promise that God made to them. Caleb was the only spy who gave a different report: "let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."

Because Caleb had a different spirit, he was able to see this as an opportunity to partner with the will of God and not a death sentence. Similarly, the first and second servant of the master chose to see this moment as an opportunity to partner with their master and steward his treasure well because they had a different spirit. They were faithful, obedient, and risk-taking servants who honored their master and the investment he made into their lives by multiplying what He gave them. However, the third servant failed to do the same. Just like with the eleven other spies in Numbers 13, the third servant was so focused on himself—what he knew, what he felt and what he feared—that he missed out on the opportunity to partner with something greater than himself, which was multiplying his master’s Kingdom.

The third servant was so focused on himself--what he knew, what he felt and what he feared--that he missed out on an opportunity to partner with something greater than himself, which was multiplying his master's Kingdom.

I think it's important to stop here and ask the question "why?" Why did the third servant do differently than the first two? When confronted by his master, the third servant spilled the tea on why he failed to multiply what he was given: "Lord I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours."Let's take a moment to dissect what the servant is admitting here.

He was so focused on what he knew of his master that he missed what he was being introduced to about him. The master was a hard man and he did reap in places where he did not sow, however, he also was introducing his servants to a new way of being where they could partake in his kingdom and play a role in its advancement. Consider how the master responded to the first and second servants: "well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord." The master awarded their faithfulness with more rulership and in the process of their faithful stewardship they also grew in their capacity to manage more treasure.

The third servant was not only hindered by what he knew about his master; he was also hindered by what he feared and as a result, he did not partake in the new thing that his master invited him into. He chose to spare his life and hid the one talent he was given in the ground and it did not multiply. You see, because of the intensity of the third servant's self-life (his self-reliant, self-protecting and self-serving ways) he missed out on the opportunity that was presented before him by his master and mismanaged the investment that was made into his life. I think it goes without saying that if you and I don’t learn to fix our eyes on Jesus and abandon all manifestations of our self-life, we run the risk of doing the same.

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of multiplication. Just like with any investment account that exists in our world, when someone makes an investment into one of these accounts, the expectation is that their investment multiplies. However, you can't experience the multiplicative benefits of an investment account if you don't take the risk of making an initial investment. The same goes within the kingdom of God. God has chosen to invest his treasure in the hearts of man, and He intends for us to multiply it and produce good fruit. However, we can't do so without taking faith-filled risks and acts of obedience just like Caleb did in Numbers 13 and like the first and second servants did in the Parable of the Talents. If we choose to be limited by what we see, perceive and fear we will resort to living into our self-life and disobeying our master just like the third servant did. This will cause us to mismanage the investment God has made into our lives and miss out on the opportunity to partner with God in the advancement of His kingdom.

We definitely need to examine the outcome of these choices. In Numbers 14:26-45, God judged the eleven spies who induced fear in the hearts of the Israelites by their report. Caleb was the only spy who lived to see the promised land while the rest were sentenced to death and rejection from God because they refused to partner with God's will due to their perception of a threat. Similarly, in the Parable of the Talents, the third servant was cast away into darkness and eternal separation from his master. I can't stress enough how costly disobedience to God is. While taking the risk to partner with the work of His kingdom seems costly, not doing so and living into the self-life costs infinitely more. One day, we will all stand before the Lord and he will ask us "what have you done with the investments I've made." And each of us will have to account for what we've done, just like the three servants in this parable did.

I believe that we are in a season where God is applying pressure on His people. He is putting a greater demand on those He has entrusted with much because there is a need in the Earth for what He has invested. Romans 8:19 says "For creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God..." Creation is waiting for those who house the investment of heaven, to rise up and advance the kingdom of God. The hour is far spent and He will be returning soon.

Personally, the passing of my mentor has opened my eyes to see that there is a need for the next generation of faith and Spirit-filled leaders to take their positions. These are leaders who have been invested in by heaven, tried by seasons of testing and fire and ultimately are those who have been called to partner with God the work of His kingdom in this hour. As I continue to process the investments that have been made into my life by God through the lives of Martin Sanders and many others like him, I am determined to be a faithful steward, a woman with a different spirit, and my prayer is that for each of you reading this post, your decision is to do the same.

Next Monday, January 15, 2024, I will be making an announcement that will present the opportunity for those of you who are reading this post and others like you, to glean from the investments that have been made into my life. This announcement is me taking a faith-filled risk and step of obedience to steward all that has been invested into my life, well. If you haven't already, I encourage you to subscribe to my email listing and connect with me on my social media accounts so you can stay in the loop when the announcement is made!

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Until we speak next, may you be found partnering with God in the expansion of His Kingdom!