John Bevere - This Is REQUIRED to Be a Steward
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Hey everyone, welcome to lesson three of Multiplied, and the title of this lesson is «Faithful.» Now, let me remind you that this entire course is based on the book titled «Multiply Your God-Given Potential,» and I cannot stress enough the importance of reading this book because, as much as I am going to share with you in this course, it is impossible for you to glean everything that’s in this book. This book is life-changing, so let’s pick up where we left off in the last lesson.
In 1 Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, Paul said, «Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards.» A very important word, «steward.» Stewards of the mysteries of God. Specifically, Paul stewarded the ability to reveal revelation, whether it was through his preaching, teaching, or writing. Your gifts may be different, and we covered that very thoroughly in the last lesson. Moreover, it is required—now listen to the word «required.» It’s not advised, it’s not recommended, it’s required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Now, I think it’s interesting he doesn’t list a group of required attributes; he gives just one required attribute of a steward: faithful. Okay? Now again, as I said in the last lesson, I have polled leadership teams, congregations, and conferences all over the world about what the definition of «faithful» is, and I have compiled a list of most of the answers. This is not exhaustive; I have received others, but these are the most common responses from leadership teams: steadfast, consistent, dependable, reliable, loyal, true, trustworthy, devoted, truthful, resolute, obedient. All of us would agree these are very good one-word definitions of faithfulness.
Now there is a definition that I consider to be primary that I’ve never once heard, no matter where in the world I’ve been or what leadership group I’ve talked to. I’ve never heard this primary definition given, and that is the word «multiplication.» You say, «Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Multiplication is the primary definition of the word faithful?» Yes, and you’re going to see why in this lesson.
Let’s begin with Jesus’s story about the parable of the talents, most commonly known in Matthew 25:14. But I’m going to refer to the New Living Translation: «The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted—that’s a steward—his money to them while he was gone.» So two things are really important to notice: it’s a long, long trip (Jesus has been gone for about 2,000 years), and secondly, he entrusted his money to them.
Again, we see a classic definition of a steward here. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags to another, and one bag to the last, dividing them in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. Now, the New Living Translation calls them «bags of silver.» The Greek word is actually «talanton.» I told you I wouldn’t say a Greek word, but I have to say this one. Other translations use «talent,» which is probably a closer translation, but the reason I like the New Living is that it illustrates what it is. A talent is actually a measure of weight; it’s not a measure of money. However, it was usually associated with the weight of gold or silver. In this instance, the New Living Translation shows the weight of silver.
Now, one talent is approximately 75 pounds. So when this master gives these servants these bags of silver, don’t think little tiny bags; we’ve got a 75-pound bag of silver. What is the value of that? Most references I have come across vary slightly, but most agree it’s right around $188,000. What’s the point in me telling you this? It’s valuable. If I gave you a bag containing $188,000, I would not expect you to throw that in the corner of your garage and leave your garage door open without a thought. I would expect you to care for it and steward it carefully, are you following me?
In other words, this imparted ability that God gives us is very valuable to Him. Of course, I’ve already leaked the information: these talents represent not money—because remember, when Jesus tells a parable, he’ll use wheat for godly people, tares for evil people, seeds for the word, thorns for the cares in life, harvests as the end of the world, and reapers as angels. In this parable, he’s saying a bag of silver, but it represents the charisma that God has placed on your life and on my life. So from this point forward, when I say «talent,» I don’t want you to think «bag of silver.» I want you to think about a God-given ability or charisma that He’s placed on your life or my life.
Now, the thing we’ve got to notice is that each servant was not given the same amount. I don’t want to generalize; I want to put names and assign personal identities to each of these servants. The one who gets five bags, I’m going to call that person «Allison.» The one who got two bags, I’m going to call that person «Bob.» The gentleman who got one bag of silver or one gift, I’m going to call him «Larry.» So if your name is Larry, I’m not picking on you; it’s just hypothetical.
Alright, so Allison, who received five bags of silver, began to invest. She’s using what was entrusted to her—the money—to earn five more. She started with five, multiplied it, and ended up with ten. So you’ll see the math here: she had five, multiplied it by two, and ended up with ten. Bob, who received two bags of silver, also went and worked to earn two more. So Bob had two, multiplied by two, and ended up with four. Then we read about Larry. Larry, who received one bag of silver, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. So Larry started with one, maintained it, and ended with one.
Now, let’s look at the judgment of these three servants; it’s quite interesting. After a long time—again, we hear the term «long time,» affirming that Jesus has been gone for 2,000 years—he’s not micromanaging his church. He’s not micromanaging what we steward; he’s expecting us to use what he gives us with his heart, and that is to multiply.
After a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account. This is clearly judgment. Now, when you think of the judgment of believers, don’t think condemnation. Jesus is going to judge all of us believers; that’s called the Judgment Seat of Christ in the New Testament. Think of it as an award ceremony. He’s going to say, «You were faithful; here’s a reward.» If we weren’t faithful, we suffer loss. It’s not about eternal damnation. You must realize all saints will be judged not on our sins, because our sins have been eradicated by the blood of Jesus. We’re going to be judged on how we served in the capacity of what he enabled us to do—in other words, what he entrusted to us: the talents.
After a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they used his money. Now let’s talk about Allison first. So Allison, to whom he entrusted the five bags of silver, came forward with five more and said, «Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I doubled that and earned five more.» Now listen to the master’s response. The master was full of praise. This is what all of us want to hear from the master when we stand before him: «Well done, my good and faithful servant!» Hear the word «faithful.»
Now listen to this: «You have been faithful in handling this small amount.» Oh, stop right there. The only thing that Jesus tells us Allison did is she multiplied five by two to make ten. He didn’t say she was sweet; he didn’t say she was kind; he didn’t even say she was trustworthy directly. All he said is she multiplied five by two to make ten. There is nothing else written about what Allison did, so he directly attributes being faithful to her multiplying. «You were faithful.» The only thing that’s written about her is that she doubled it. So do you see now that one of the primary biblical definitions of the word faithful is to multiply?
Now, I need you to have a paradigm shift. When you hear the word faithful, I want you to immediately think «multiply.» Don’t just think trustworthy, devoted, truthful. Those definitions are valid, but when you hear the word faithful, you should immediately think «multiply.»
Okay, «You have been faithful in handling a small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together.» Now let’s go to Bob. Alright, Bob, who had received two bags of silver, came forward and said, «Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest; I have earned two more.» Listen to the master’s judgment of Bob. The master said, «Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful.» Again, he attributes Bob’s faithfulness to only one thing: he multiplied from two to four. «You have been faithful in handling a small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together.»
Do you notice that their judgments are exactly the same? God’s not going to look at the person who has more talents than you and judge you based on their results. He’s going to look at the proportion of how you multiplied. Did you multiply by two, by four, by six? Got it? I need you to understand this very important point, as it keeps you from comparing yourself to someone else.
Now let’s look at Larry. Then Larry, with the one bag of silver, came and said, «Master, I knew you were a harsh man.» Well, there’s a problem—he doesn’t see the character of his master; he perceives him incorrectly: «harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid.» So, not knowing his master’s character created fear. «I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here’s your money back.» Okay, he said, «Take it back.»
So Larry maintained; he didn’t multiply. He maintained what was given to him. Listen to what the master said: «You wicked and lazy servant.» Okay, he didn’t say «You wicked and lazy outsider.» He said, «You wicked and lazy servant.» We’re not talking about salvation here; we’re discussing people who are born again and have been entrusted with gifts, and the master looks at this servant—someone inside his kingdom—and says, «You’re wicked and you’re lazy.» Wow.
Let’s take a look at it. First of all, let’s look at the easy word «lazy.» The Greek word means this: it’s defined as to delay, to be slow, tardy, slothful, and lazy. Another definition implies a lack of ambition or the idea of a person who hesitates to engage in something worthwhile. So think about it: you’ve got the gift of God, and you hesitate to engage with it.
Here’s another part of the definition that implies a lack of ambition. My friend Rick Renner, who is in Russia and an expert in Greek, defines this word as conveying the idea of a person who has a do-nothing, lethargic, lackadaisical, apathetic, indifferent, lukewarm attitude towards life and productivity. So that’s the first word «lazy.»
Let’s look at the word «wicked.» The word wicked is defined as possessing a serious fault and consequently being worthless. Now, we’re not saying your character is worthless; it means you have been worthless in engaging with your gift.
Alright, it’s no different than Paul saying, «Woe is me if I don’t exercise my gift.» So I hope you understand the seriousness of being faithful to the gift. What does faithful mean? To multiply the gift that God has placed on your life. Okay, Paul said, «Woe is me.» We see in this parable the master saying, «You’re wicked and lazy; you’re worthless regarding your gift.»
So let’s make this clear: those who multiply are considered good and faithful by the master. Those who simply maintain the gift of God that’s on their life possess a serious fault and are deemed worthless and lazy.
Now, this is heavy. Again, I cannot stress enough how important this is. I am not talking about character; I am not talking about your worth to God as a person. I’m talking about what you do with what He entrusted to you. It’s crucial that we understand that two important things happen when we’re born again. We become children of God; that’s our character. But secondly, we are called to do something.
If you look at Ephesians 2:8 and 10, it says we are saved by grace, not of works, right? We’re talking about our salvation. But then in the next statement in verse 10, it says, «For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared beforehand.»
If you look at Jesus, he said, «My food is to do the will of him who sent me.» Think about it: food is important; it energizes us. Not doing the will of God has the opposite effect; it weakens us. I’ve seen more people backslide in the church—please listen to me—because of not engaging with what God has called them to do in His harvest field. Because what happens is they become weak and now they are vulnerable to temptation.
Jesus said, «My food, what I eat, is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work.» Jesus said to you and me, «As the Father sent me, I’m sending you.» So not only were you created to be a child of God, you were equally created to do something. God has imparted those gifts into your life and expects you to steward those gifts and multiply what He has entrusted to you. We will talk more about this in the next lesson; it is crucial because it gets even more revealing as Jesus continues this parable.