God is the Equipper of Gifts

Scripture: Luke 19:11-13

While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’

Insights: This week we are going to be looking at the Parable of the Minas.  Before we begin, however, let me make a distinction between the Parable of the Minas and the Parable of the Talents.  In the minas parable there are ten slaves and each one is given one mina.  In the talents parable there are three slaves and one is given five talents, another is given two talents and the third is given one talent.  The point of the talents is to point to God’s part of the equation of equipping.  In other words, there are individuals out there who have been overly blessed by the Lord with gifts from Him.  They can sing and preach.  They have the gift of encouragement and so on and so forth.  These people are like the five talent slave.  Then there are those that can only do a couple of things well and they are like the two talent slave.  There are still others that can only do one thing and they are like a one talent slave.  Now we turn the page and we look at the minas for a moment.  This parable deals with our side of the equation.  In other words, no matter if you are a five talent slave or a one talent slave, what does your work ethic look like?  This question is the point of the minas parable.  As we progress this week we are going to look at the results and expectations that this Equipper of gifts has for us, but this is the starting point for us to understand this parable.  In both the Parable of the Minas and in the Parable of the Talents, the thing to remember is that it is the Lord who gives the gifts.  He is the One who equips us for the work of service to His kingdom and to His glory.  Beloved, I pray you will serve the Lord with all of your heart and that you never turn back and walk by sight.  May your faith perpetually grow in His love and His service.  If you would like more information about the Minas and the Talents, let me point you to Bruce Wilkerson’s book The Life God Rewards.

Questions:

1.  Have you discovered your spiritual gift(s)?

2.  In what ways do you think the Lord has equipped you to serve Him?

Prayer: Father, thank You for equipping me with gifts.  May I never forget from where my giftedness came.  I pray I use Your blessings in my life for Your glory and point people to Your grace.  Amen.