To Whom Much is Given

"To whom much is given much is required" Luke 12:48

Why is it not many are given "much"?

Could it be few will really carry the responsibilities behind this statement?

Few will work beyond the normal or simple.

Few will endure beyond "little".

Few will seek to be "more" much less "much".

Numbers 12:1-9[NKJV]

1. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2. So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it. 3. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) 4. Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out. 5. Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6. Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. 8. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?" 9. So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed.

Moses did not have to think about his daily needs because God supplied everything for him - but - His responsibilities were great. Not even Aaron and Miriam wanted to endure what he did to have the relationship with God that Moses had.

With great position comes great responsibility; great requirements; great loss of freedom; great demands upon your personal time or opportunities. There are few that really want to work through this level of commitment.

Moses had no personal needs because everything was taken care of by the hand of God. He was the chosen leader of the people, but with this position came many requirements. Moses was not allowed any opportunity to do anything wrong. Everyone else was given many chances, but not Moses. He hit a stone out of anger to give the people water in their unbelief, yet it cost Moses everything (Numbers 20:11).

Moses was the one who was willing to do all God demanded, yet God did not give him another chance when he messed up. Even Aaron and Miriam were given more than one chance.

At one point Moses put himself in position to lose his own eternal rest for Israel (Exodus 32:32), and when he did this one thing by hitting the stone, Moses lost the chance to go into the land of promise which he had been waiting eighty years to do.

There is a level one can reach in relationship with God where He gives you everything you need, and even some of the things you want; but be careful, for this place in Christ is not an easy place to be. Because the Lord has brought you here, developed you, raised you up to walk on this level, He requires you to understand it is not acceptable for you to slip-up or do anything wrong. He gives you much but in return he requires much from you. Not many come to this level of relationship because not many are willing to walk this narrow road of being responsible to the Lord.

Everyone wants to be the leader of the band, but not everyone is willing to become a band leader!

Exodus 20:18-21 [NKJV]

18. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw [it], they trembled and stood afar off. 19. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." 20. And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." 21. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God [was].

After the people saw and heard God from the holy mountain they were not willing to hear from him out of fear. They were not willing to go beyond the normal and have relationship with God on His level, but Moses was, "So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was." Moses was not afraid to be in the midst of the Lord. He was comfortable in the middle of the thick darkness, in the thunders and lightening.

If you are wanting to live in a relationship with the Lord where he allows you to experience the "Much" you must be willing to live there in God's existence not your own.

You cannot go up on the mountain and demand that the Lord change his ways so you are able to abide with him.

You must be willing to change your ways so you can abide in Him;

So you can fellowship with Him.

It is not your "much" it is His "much" and for you to experience it you must be willing to go beyond all human possibilities and abide in the supernatural existence of God.

The Much is not personal, it is purposeful!

We are given much so we can minister with it.

So we can bring God to the People and they can have hope in this life to accept what God has for them.

So the question is, How can I use what God has given me to help people live better?

Ecclesiastes

2:26 [NKJV] For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to [him who is] good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

3:13 [NKJV] . . and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor--it is the gift of God.

5:18-20 [NKJV] 18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting [for one] to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps [him] busy with the joy of his heart.

Everyone desires to have a life filled with promise; to have the ability to take care of our families, live in peace, and enjoy the fruits of our labors. This gift from God is a good thing to have, however, the Lord gives us this gift so we can glorify Him by using what we have to make life easier and better for all we come in contact with.

1. If you are a business person; you do not have the business just to gain wealth. You have that business to supply jobs for people needing to take care of their families. You have that business to supply a service or need to your community and all who purchases from your establishment. You also have your business so you can be helpful through the wealth that is generated from the business. This is done by reaching out through the business to help people, families, and community needs beyond the scope of the business operations. Your employees assist in local and national organizations that generate better lives for people. Your business donates sums of money for charity purposes. You as a business owner challenges other business owners to join in and do things to make good and wholesome changes to your community.

2. If you are a person of knowledge or experience such as a teacher, a scientist, a farmer, medical professional, technology specialist, lawyer, politician, student, or writer; you should be using your ability to strengthen, build up, and grow your society. This is why you have become who you are, to make a true difference by the use of your knowledge and skill levels, not just so you can have a good job and make plenty of money.

3. If you are a first responder or protector of the community such as a paramedic, fireman, police officer, security personnel, or military personnel; you have already started making a difference for everyone else because of what you do every day. You have come to realize your purpose is for others more than for yourself.

4. If you are a skilled laborer working in a factor, a garage, in a field, in a building, or on a ship at sea, you too are very important. What you are doing is not just a job, but it is a way to be of service to God and man, by being good at what you do, and make your skill a craft that leaves the best service or product possible for the persons receiving it. You should take it personal that everything you put your hands to will be a blessing to all those who use what your skill is about. This will change how skilled labor is productive in the world.

5. If you are in ministry you are there, not for yourself, but for all who you are exposed to in the world. Your studies, your teaching, your outreach, your purpose each day; all these are for people and their needs. We who work in ministry must keep this before us so we do not become complacent and not willing to step out beyond our own lives. What God wants you to do in the world is too great for you to set back and glide through life. You must meet each day with huge expectations that today the Lord is going to use you to change people's lives.

You are Created to Be Much

You may look at yourself as not much in the world, but the Lord God created you to be "Much."

He did not created you so your life would have no meaning, or so you could be a static on a population report.

You are not just a person of consequence but you were created with purpose and direction.

As an arrow is necessary for making the bow have purpose, so does your life have purpose and direction. The arrow shoots into the air so it will hit it's intended target. Your life was begun by God to hit it's intended purpose. As we make ourselves more available to the Lord, He reveals more of who he wants us to be. As we search more into the scriptures, He shows us more what his intended purpose is for each of us. The more I respond to what God is showing me, the more he continues to reveal to me, and with these revelations he gives me promise which leads to blessings. Then I find myself being placed in positions of responsibility because He begins to pour out his blessings on me.

The thing I have found about this process, is it takes time to work out God's will. When you first start seeking God's will you are not able to start doing things for the Lord and be in the place of great responsibility and great blessings. Moses was 80 years old before he began to work in his place of responsibility.

He had endured many things to become the leader of God's people:

• Knowing he was to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt at the age of 40, he tried to become their leader to soon, when he defended a Hebrew being beaten. This caused him to flee from Pharaoh before he would be killed (Exodus 2:11-15).

• He lived in the wilderness for forty years keeping the sheep of his father-in-law before returning to Egypt (Exodus 2:15-25).

• He endured being rejected by the children of Israel when he returned to lead them to freedom (Exodus 5:20-21).

• He endured the dangers of facing Pharaoh and the resistance that came from the plagues (Exodus Chapter 5-11).

• He endured the continued rejection and complaining by the children of Israel once they left Egypt (Exodus 14:11-12; 15:24; 16:2-9; 17:2).

• He even faced his own brother and sister speaking out against him (Numbers 12:1-9).

• Moses endured changing God's mind from destroying the children of Israel (Exodus 32:31-35).

Because it takes many years before a person will find themselves walking in the fullness of God's intended purpose. We must be patient and available to the Lord so he can build us up.

When you make yourself available God starts revealing to you his purpose through the preached word, words of prophecy, the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit.

The Lord exposes you to small amounts of truth at first, then, as you respond to what God is showing you, He gives you more knowledge and truth. You grow through this process and time God raises you up, slowly bringing you in to your place of responsibility. Hebrews 11:6 says, "God is a rewarder of those who seek him."

Humility is a requirement for being exalted.

As we become more of what God wants us to be we need to become more humble to serve and be like Jesus. The Bible said Moses was the most humble man on the earth at the time (Exodus 12:3). He is looked at as one of the most powerful men that has ever lived, yet humility was what motivated Moses to honor God. 1st Peter 5:6 encourages us to "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due season." So if you desire to be exalted you need to learn humility. This could be part of the reason it takes so long for people to reach that place where God can use them.

Humility is patiently waiting for God.

Humility comes from the Latin word humilis, which literally means low.

Humility is having the lack of ego or pride.

Proverbs 3:34 “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 16:19 “Better to be a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

James 4:6,10 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

For someone to be raised up in a place of responsibility that will bring them "Much" blessings and "Much" happiness, you must be willing to chase after humility. You have to die to Christ and kill all pride.

You must be willing to:

• Kill selfishness

• Kill pride

• Kill the need to make a point

• Kill ego – an inflated feeling of superiority toward others

• Have a willingness to be patient and long suffering

• Have an attitude of being meek – mild control without self interest

In Luke 12 starting at verse 35 Jesus is teaching the disciples how to be a faithful servant. He compares the reward for a faithful servant to that of an unfaithful servant. Then he makes the statement in verse 48, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." Jesus concludes this statement with ". . .and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." In his teaching Jesus is encouraging disciples to be active in the Kingdom of God and not be passive, as he explains the more you are committed to the more you will be asked to do.

It is God's full intention to bring you up in His will and have you become what He created you for.

It is God's full intention that He gives you ability, knowledge, power, and understanding so you can do what He has committed unto you.

You should never view what God commits to you as being insignificant or non-important.

That which God gives you to do is specific and defined for you to complete it.

That which the Lord desires for you to work on in the Kingdom of God and for humanity is His blessings being poured out upon all who receive and are exposed to its purpose.

So as you remain about the Father's business He will ask more and more of you.

As you continue to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be stretched to bounds that requires supernatural strength because God will work out of your faith as you work out your own salvation.

Endorse this assignment with great joy, with jubilant excitement for all the Lord is doing in you.

Start each day with a Hallelujah Shout! because the Lord is on your side, pushing you as an arrow toward the intended target, that is ultimately God's will in your life; knowing that today is the day that the Lord has made for us to be in, and he has committed to us "Much" so we can receive "Much" from him!

#Blessings #Discipline #ListAll