As we have discussed, a talent was a measure of the currency of the time, and this parable specifically addresses how we handle the money we are entrusted with, which is a primary test of our character and spiritual wisdom. However, it is about more than money, rather all of the resources we have been entrusted with, including the spiritual and natural gifts. If we are going to be good, effective managers, we must begin with prioritizing our lives so that most of our time and effort is devoted to the things that are the most important. Let's look at just a few of these.

          As we’ve discussed, even if you’ve read many books on the characteristics of a person’s voice, if you have never heard it with your own ears, you will likely have a very hard time recognizing that voice in a crowd. You may not have even thought about the technical characteristics of their voice, but if you have spent a lot of time with that person, you’ll recognize their voice as soon as you hear it, even if others are talking.

One of the most quoted lines Charles Dickens wrote has to be: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That could certainly be attributed to the challenges of Christianity in America right now, but I would rephrase it a bit to the following: “The worst of times will lead to the best of times.” We can be confident that the Lord is going to lead us into His triumph in everything that happens. However, we need to know where we are to know how to get where we’re going. Let’s briefly review how this is playing out in our country at this time.

Last week we discussed the extraordinary anointing to mobilize that manifested so quickly on Governor Sarah Palin. Instantly it seemed that she went from being the obscure Governor of Alaska to one of the most interesting people in the world. The interest in her was not all favorable of course, but she immediately began to rally crowds larger than the other candidates, a very rare thing for a Vice Presidential nominee. She also overwhelmed the others in the news coverage as well.

A few weeks ago, I had two of the most powerful visions I have had in years. I was basically shown the Lord's heart at the beginning of creation and what the main desire of His heart is now. It was His bride, the church. From these visions, I understood profoundly that the love He has for His bride is so impacting that the church does not exist for the kingdom, but the kingdom exists for the church. This was a reorientation of my thinking, and I am therefore sharing this with those who have been with me in this study of the kingdom for nearly two years.

We have briefly covered how the Reformers considered that many of the biblical prophecies were fulfilled in history by the church in the Middle Ages which had become apostate. A counter eschatology arose within the Catholic Church which presumed that the Middle Ages had in fact been the 1,000 year reign of Christ, and the Reformation was Satan being let loose for a short time to deceive the nations again, which of course is a very interesting perspective. However, to this day we tend to have new perspectives on eschatology quickly followed by counter-perspectives.

The next aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is “goodness” (Galatians 5:23). The Greek word that is translated for “goodness” is agathosune, which is defined as “virtue” or “beneficence.” This is still a very broad concept that I would like to narrow down a bit so we can practically apply it. However, we do need to keep in mind that it is a broad and expansive characteristic that every Christian should have.

As we covered previously, Psalm 89:14-15 states one of the most basic truths that we must understand about the Lord and His ways if we are going to be His followers:

One of the great biblical keys to understanding many of the current events is Zechariah chapters 12 through 14. This week we will look at 12:1-10: