If
you had a large sum of money in a safe inside your house and you guarded it
carefully but never used it or invested it, what good would it be? If it stayed tucked away and was never spent
to meet your needs or the needs of others, it would be useless. And if you didn’t deposit it in an
interest-bearing account, it would stay the same throughout the years, never
increasing.
Our
lives are the same way. They are given
to us to be used and invested during our time in this world in a way that will
make a difference for eternity. The
Apostle Paul said, “for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He
is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” The word ‘keep’ means to guard or
preserve. The word ‘commit’ means to
deposit. When we deposit our lives into
God’s hands, He will guard it and see that it is put to the very best use with
nothing wasted. But first we have to
commit it to Him. The most difficult
obstacle we face in making that deposit from our hands to His is prying our
fingers open so we can surrender it all.
Once we take that step, He can accomplish great things through us.
Have
you made that deposit yet, or are you still struggling to maintain control of
your life? We may feel safer when we are
“in control”, but the fact is there is no way we can truly be “in control”. Just when I think I have everything going in
the right direction, something unforeseen happens to prove me wrong. When we realize that fact will never change
and we lay all our efforts at His feet, we are the safest we can possibly be…and
the most useful. Since nothing takes God
by surprise, He can keep everything going in the right direction without
anything disturbing His schedule…even our reluctance to surrender.
As
we deposit our lives into God’s hands in full surrender, He deposits His Word
and His Holy Spirit in us to allow us to gain the optimum increase. His dividends are “out of this world”! It works like this. We deposit our lives into God’s hands so He
can deposit His Spirit and Word in us.
But it doesn’t stop there. Because
from that deposit in us we are to make a deposit into the lives of someone else
so they can start the chain over, depositing their lives into God’s hands,
receiving His deposit and passing it on.
It’s like the seeds that produce trees that produce fruit that produces
seeds that produce more trees…and on and on it goes! That’s how trees are perpetuated in the
earth. And, spiritually speaking, that
is how we perpetuate the Kingdom of God in the earth!
Just think about
it for a moment. Jesus came to earth and
chose twelve men whom He took under His wing and deposited into them the Word
of God by teaching them and by example. They
left their past behind, deposited their lives into His hands and followed Him. Eleven of those twelve continued with Him and
received His deposit as He poured out His Spirit on them. From that moment on, they were swept into
another life, into another dimension, and they began to deposit the Gospel into
the hearts of those around them. That is
why you and I can have this holy deposit today.
It began with their testimony of Jesus and has continued to be passed on
all the way down to us.
From
the moment we surrender our lives to Jesus, we no longer continue as we were,
because we have entered the Kingdom of God and He is always urging us forward. He is always teaching us and leading us to
the next season in our lives. And He
equips us for whatever work He calls us to, because Jehovah-jireh always
provides what we need for the journey.
God
gave Moses complexly specific instructions on every little detail of building
the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, even down to the fringe on the priests’
robes. It must have seemed completely overwhelming. But God also gave specific men the gifts and
abilities to be able to accomplish His plan perfectly. We read in Exodus 31:1-6, “And
the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the
son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with
the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in
all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in
silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of
timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of
the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put
wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee”.
God supplied the
men to do the work, but it wasn’t through their own abilities and wisdom. God had specifically placed the wisdom,
ability and understanding in them they would need for the task…by His Spirit.
That is a
beautiful example of how God equips us to do His work today. God gave them abilities by filling these men
with His Spirit. When He calls us, He
equips us, and He has called every born-again believer to ministry – to spread
the Gospel throughout the earth. When we
say with a sincere heart, “Here I am, Lord; Send me”, He will begin to show us
the specifics He has for us. He will show
us our part in fulfilling His great purpose on a day to day basis – sometimes
on a minute to minute basis. And He
gives us all we need to accomplish it just when we need it.
So God equips us
by depositing in us His Holy Spirit and His living Word - the same Holy Spirit and the same living Word
Who empowered the disciples and the men who worked on the Tabernacle. When we speak God’s Word, there is power in
what we say.
Even our natural
words have a certain power to them. We
can influence a person’s life with encouraging words or discouraging words,
with lies or truth. Just imagine how
powerful our words can be when we speak God’s Word with the force of His Spirit
in them! The Word of God is alive! We need to
realize what we have and use it for the glory of God and the perpetuation of
His kingdom. The Spirit and the
Word work together in us to help us have understanding into spiritual
things. The Spirit gives us insight into
the Word that we would never possess otherwise.
We have wisdom, power and ability by that same Spirit. We will be
called into account for what we have done with that deposit in us.
Jesus told the
parable of a nobleman who went on a journey and gave several of his servants
money before he left, saying, “Occupy till I come”. The word ‘occupy’ means to carry on
business. When he returned, the servants
showed him the profit they had made from what he had given them, except for one
servant who was so afraid he would lose his master’s money, that he wrapped it
in a napkin and hid it, then he presented it back to him on his return.
Each servant was
given the same amount of money. Each was
expected to invest it while the master was away. Those who wisely used what they were given
had a healthy increase to show and were rewarded with even more. The servant who didn’t invest what he was
given had even that taken from him.
Jesus has given
each of us the same amount of His Spirit and His Word to invest in the lives of
others. What are we doing with the Word
of God and the deposit of His Spirit within us?
It is up to us to develop it and invest it. We can’t do anything with what we have on our
own, but we can do miracles with what God has given us.
He is saying
through this parable that we need to invest what He has given us so it can
multiply. Remember the five loaves and
two fish that Jesus used to feed about 5000 men plus women and children? Remember the oil and meal that was only
enough for two little cakes for a widow and her son, but lasted “for many days”
for them and the prophet Elijah? They
didn’t have much to give, but God increased it!
God doesn’t ask us to provide what we don’t have. He wants what we do have so He can work
through it.
God doesn’t call
just a few to do the Father’s business.
Jesus tells each of us to occupy till He comes, to carry on His business
while He is away. And He expects a
return on the deposit He has placed in us.
The more we give, the more we will receive from Him. If we hide what He gave us, we will lose
it. Are we about our Father's business?
Or have we fallen into the pattern of this world so completely that we
have nothing to give? If so, it’s not too late. With full surrender we receive His deposit.
None of this
information is new. We know all of these
things, but knowledge is not enough. Jesus
expects us to put it into practice and live out what we know.
What are we
doing with this holy deposit?
