Page 81 - The Divine Quest

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are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master,
has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a
handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up
what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’He said to him, ‘By your
own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting
man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why
did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it
with interest?’ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and
give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten
minas already.’ I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the
one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”

If we take the measure of faith we have been allotted and we exercise it in obedience
to God, bringing Him glory, He will bestow upon us a greater faith. However, if we
take what we have and hide it in the dirt of this flesh (Matthew 25:25), bringing no
increase or benefit to our Father in heaven, then even that which we had will be
taken from us.

Matthew 25:29
For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but
from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

The Scriptures are plain that our faith can grow, and it is the normal course of things
for faith to do so. Paul wrote to the Corinthian saints:

II Corinthians 10:15
But with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere,
enlarged even more by you...

George Muller was a man who lived an extraordinary life of faith, and he has given
much hope and encouragement to the saints who have heard of his life, and read
about him in the many books that were written by him and about him. Mr. Muller
was intensely interested in seeing the faith of God’s children built up, and he gave
much advice on the matter, including the following quote taken from a biography of
his life written by Roger Steer.

Muller’s answer to those who asked how they might have their faith strengthened
was as follows. He would begin by quoting James 1:17: “Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is
no variableness or shadow of turning.” Then he would point out that as the increase