Will You Do Your Utmost?
You now possess a wealth of information that your forefathers never had. However, now that you possess this new knowledge, what will you do with it?
Will you, like a noble Berean, study these things out for yourself, to see whether they are so?
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
[Ma’aseh (Acts) 17:10-12]
And, if you discover that what you have just read is true, will you do your utmost to share this truth with others? We know from Yeshua’s parables that this is really what He wants of us:
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of Elohim would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: "A certain Nobleman (meaning Yeshua) went to a distant country (meaning Heaven) to receive for Himself a Kingdom, and (then) to return.
13 So He called ten of his servants (meaning the Lost Ten Tribes), delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.’
14 But his citizens (meaning the House of Judah) hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this Man to reign over us!'
[Luqa (Luke) 19:11-14]
The certain wellborn Man is Yeshua, and He has gone to Heaven to receive His Kingdom. He will some day return; but before He left He gave His ten servants each a ‘mina’, which in the parable is a type of coin.
The ‘mina’ is not actually money (per se), but refers to our eternal Salvation; and the ten servants are the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel (or Ephraim).
Many believers think that since they received their Salvation freely (as a gift) that it is theirs to spend as they choose. One can see how this idea would appeal; but this is just one more desirable half-truth that Satan tempts the woman (Israel) with.
Contrary to Christian myth, the Nobleman does not just hand out ‘free money.’ Rather, He gives His servants the means with which to help Him build His Kingdom, and then He intentionally leaves His servants unsupervised. He tells them what they should do and then waits to see who does it, so He can see who truly wants to serve Him (and who does not).
It is only those servants who use their lives in service of Him that will be taken into His Kingdom:
15 "And so it was that when He returned, having received the Kingdom, He then commanded these servants to whom He had given the money to be called to Him, that He might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 And He said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities!'
18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise He said to him, 'You also be over five cities.’
Those who serve Him will be greatly rewarded. However, not everyone will choose to serve Him:
20 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is Your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 For I feared you, because you are an austere Man. You collect what You did not deposit, and reap what You did not sow.’
22 And He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I was an austere Man, collecting what I did not deposit, and reaping what I did not sow.
23 Why then did you not put My money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'
This last servant did not love his Master enough to do anything with his mina (his Salvation). He did not spend it bringing others to Salvation, and he did not assist those who were (which is what Yeshua means in the parable by the expression, “putting His money in the bank, that He might collect it with interest”).
It is a sad but sobering fact that most believers are under the mistaken assumption that one needs to do in order to be taken as part of His bride is to call upon His Name. This being the case, most believers fail to dedicate themselves to building their Master’s Kingdom. This, however, is what Yeshua called ‘laying up one’s mina in a handkerchief’; and it does not lead to their being taken as part of His bride:
24 "And He said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 “‘And they said to him, 'Master, he (already) has ten minas.’
26 “But I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
[Luqa (Luke) 19:24-27]
The Parable of the Minas is not really about money, but about a deep devotion to the one who died to save us all from our sins. It speaks to an abiding commitment to serve one’s Master; not out of a sense of obligation, but out of a pure genuine love, and a resolute sense of devotion:
"But why do you call Me 'Master, Master’, and not do the things which I say? [Luqa (Luke) 6:46]
Yeshua lived a perfect life and then died an agonizing death, in order to give us all a wonderful gift. Sadly, at least judging by their actions, the majority of people who call themselves by His Name seem to take His sacrifice for granted.
The naked, ugly truth is that while most people talk a good game about serving YHWH, at least judging from their actions, they want to give back to Him just as little as they can get away with. This does not indicate a genuine love for Elohim; nor does it indicate a genuine Salvation:
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[Yochanan (John) 12:24-25]
Genuine Salvation calls for dying completely to one’s own desires, and then living one’s life in total service to Him. One’s grain (one’s ego or self) must fall to the ground, and be buried.
However, rather than looking at their Salvation as an opportunity to serve their Intended (as the Apostles most certainly saw it), most believers seem to look at Salvation like they look at life insurance: They want to make sure that their premiums are covered.
Can this really be what Yeshua really wants, in a bride? Even an earthly man looks for a woman who loves him enough to try to help him in any way that she can: and if this is what even a mortal seeks, then why would the King above all Kings want to settle for anything less?
Believers tend to forget that Yeshua is free to pick-and-choose His bride from all the available virgins (the Nazarenes). He is not really under any obligation to take any of them. He is free to marry only the ones He finds pleasing.
Therefore, if Yeshua can choose His bride from among the likes of the Apostles, then why should He choose to take anyone as a bride, who does not do as much as they did?
If you were Yeshua, whom would you choose?
44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
[Mattithyahu (Matthew) 13:44-46]
It was after these people had found the Kingdom that they sold all that they had, in order to secure it. This means that one’s bridehood is not automatic. In order to gain entry into the Kingdom, one must show Yeshua that you value His free gift more than anything you have in this world.
The way that this is done, is by serving Him.
No one can tell you how to serve your Master: Only the Spirit can tell you what you should-and-should-not do. However, if your love for Him is true and genuine, no one will ever have to give you a pep-talk to get you working hard for Him.
If you truly love your Intended, you will already be looking for ways to do all you can, to help build His Kingdom.
There are many different ways one can help build the Nobleman’s Kingdom: One can minister, one can feed the poor, one can help widows and orphans, or one can support those who are doing so. If one has no other resources, one can earnestly pray. All these are valid, constructive ways to show your Master that you truly care about Him more than anything else; which is really what He wants to know, after all.
To demonstrate by your actions that you value His Kingdom more than any pleasure in the world is the true test of faith. In fact, nothing else quite shows it.
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[Yochanan (John) 12:24-25]
May your grain also die.
In Yeshua’s Name, amein.