Today on Forms & Patterns™, we will be looking at the Master of the Field, His Expectations and His Heart. We all know that as we have been called to Ministry, we have been called to a field. The field we have been called to is called the field of the earth. And there is a Master of that field, He owns that field; and I want us to quickly look at Luke 19, verse 12-26 will be the verses of our considerations and we will also look at other verses. Luke 19:12-26. The Bible says:
Listen To Podcast: THE MASTER OF THE FIELD: HIS EXPECTATIONS AND HIS HEART
"Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ 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.’ 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?’ 24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For 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. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in Jesus' name.
Now these verses that we have read is making us to understand something. In this parable that Jesus told in Luke 19, we were made to understand that there is a Master, and this Master has territory and He had servants. And we know that there is an assignment for servants. Jesus also told a parable about a particular man that had servants and he was going on a journey, he had a vineyard and he put these people as his vinedressers. His expectations of the vinedressers over the territory he handed over to them was so that he could have fruits from the vineyard at his return. And the Bible recorded in that parable that the owner of the vineyard sent his servants and these vinedressers beat them up, humiliated them, gave them nothing, returned them back to him empty handed.
So, he decided to send his son afterwards and see what they would do to him. What they eventually did was to even kill the son and not just beat him up. And we see from the story that the man was grossly displeased with this. In the same way, children of God are servants of God. This assignment that God has given unto us, He is the Master of the field. We have different fields that He has put us in to tend and to keep for Him. For Adam, it was the Garden of Eden. God planted a garden eastward in Eden and put Adam in that garden and then commanded him to tend and keep that garden for Him. For you, yours may not be the Garden of Eden, it has another label. But remember, that garden, that field, is not yours. It was not your idea. It was God's idea. He is the Master over that field. And over that field, you will give an account.
One of the things I want us to know about the expectations of the Master of the field is that the Master of the field expects everyone in His field, everyone assigned to His field to be accountable to Him. You must account to God how well you kept and tended the field that God has given to you. Many times, people feel comfortable and feel "this place that God has given me has become mine, these are my people, this is my church, this is my congregation, I have labored to put this together." Remember, it was not your idea. They are not your people. The church is not yours, the congregation is not yours. The minute you start bursting your bubbles, and start coming to reality; that there is a Master of the field to whom you will give an account; you will start threading gently, you will start being mindful. Because, if you don't do this, I hope it will not be too late for us to realize that we have actually been doing the Lord's business. That we have actually been trading with the Lord's money that the money is not yours you were given, the talent are not yours, you were given. The gifts were not yours, if is from the Holy Spirit, it is of God's: the word of knowledge, the gift of healing, the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of interpreting tongues, the gift of faith, it is not yours. It is for the Master. And of those gifts and that money, you will give account.
You were supposed to trade with them, not own them or consume them for your own selfish lost. There is an assignment; there is a trading that the Master of the field expects of you to do. There is an assignment He has assigned for you; there is that field He has assigned for you. He expects you to trade on that field and bring more fruits. That is why you will see in that parable (of the vinedresser) that what the Master, what the owner was requesting of them was fruits. He was requesting fruits. But before God even requests fruit from you, the number one thing He will request from you is your faithfulness. And that is why He was asking that servant that if you knew that I reap where I do not sow, at least you would have kept my money in the bank. If you will not be fruitful, at lease be faithful.
The two expectations of the Master of the field concerning that field that He has given to you is your faithfulness and your fruitfulness. And God is looking down at you as you are working the work, and He is looking at how faithful and how fruitful you are. And that is why you will see in Matthew 25, when Jesus told the parable of the servants or the workers, the last minute workers. He said the Master chose, He has the prerogative of rewards. But His expectation for you is straight and clear: it is faithfulness and fruitfulness. No matter the tenure, God does not reward His servants based on the number of times they have spent in His field. He rewards based on faithfulness and fruitfulness.
You can say "after all, you have been serving God for so and so years, when did this young man start? When did this man got hired? How come God is rewarding him this way?" God has the prerogative of reward. What is expectation is for you is that you come to Him, being accountable to Him, you come with your faithfulness and fruitfulness. And that is why in Matthew 25:21, see the response of the Lord. He said: "His lord said to him, ‘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.’" And this is what God does. He has the prerogative of reward. When you become faithful and fruitful, God rewards you. God rewards faithfulness and fruitfulness. God does not reward time; He does not reward the number of years you have done serving Him. He does not reward the length of time.
God rewards the length of your faithfulness and your fruitfulness. And that is why you will see concerning the servant that has five minas and traded with it. He said to him: "rule over ten cities." Your faithfulness qualifies you to rule over ten cities. Your fruitfulness qualifies you to rule over ten cities. And the one that had one and refused to be faithful and fruitful with it, that one was taken from him and given to the one that had ten because God rewards faithfulness, the length of faithfulness and fruitfulness. So please, let us not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. Whatsoever a servant of God sows, that will he reap. Please, be mindful of the heart of God concerning you. He does not want you to go around like a sheep without shepherd.
He wants you to be accountable to Him. He wants you to know that He is your Master, and that field is His field. Be accountable to the Lord and make sure that the expectation of your Master is met. And what are His expectations: faithfulness and fruitfulness, and I pray that the Lord will help us in the name of Jesus.
Lord we thank you for this time that we have spent listening to your word, your expectations and your heart for us. The grace to be faithful and to be fruitful we receive in the name of Jesus. Thank you Almighty God, in Jesus' Mighty Name we have prayed. Amen!
God bless you.
