The Hardest Thing to Find in the Church Today Is People Who Are Willing to Serve | Derek Prince

Summary

Derek Prince explains the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–30 and applies it to Christian responsibility and service.

Key teachings

• God entrusts people with different amounts according to their ability. In the parable, one servant receives five talents, another two, and another one. Prince says God does not expect everyone to do the same amount; He expects each person to be faithful with what they have been given.
• Faithfulness matters more than the size of the result. The servants who doubled their talents—whether five or two—receive the same commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Prince interprets this as God looking for faithfulness relative to what a person has received.
• Doing nothing is condemned. The servant who buries his talent is called “wicked and lazy.” Prince stresses that failing to use one’s abilities or opportunities is not neutral; it is a sin of omission. He cites James 4:17, which says that knowing the good one should do and failing to do it is sin.
• Even a small contribution can be put to use. Prince argues that someone who feels unable to do much can still support a fruitful ministry, comparing this to the servant depositing the talent with bankers. He warns against using “I only have a little” as a reason to remain inactive.
• Service is needed, including service that supports someone else’s work. Prince says it can be hard to find people in the church who are willing simply to serve. He contrasts faithful helpers with people who insist on having their own ministry and are unwilling to invest in another’s.
• The parable warns of accountability and judgment. The master returns to settle accounts, and the unprofitable servant is cast into “outer darkness,” where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Prince interprets this language as referring to people who were close to spiritual truth and had ample opportunity, but never acted on it.

Three stated principles

1. Service in this life determines a person’s position in the next.
2. Failing to use a talent risks losing it.
3. Failing to do good when one can is sin.

Prince also groups the foolish virgins, the one-talent servant, and the goat nations—who failed to help Jesus’ brothers—as examples of people rejected in the passages he discusses. He says their common failure was that they did nothing.

Speakers and sources featured

• Derek Prince — the sole audible speaker in the subtitles.
• The Bible — especially the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–30, James 4:17, and Prince’s references to Matthew 5 and the teaching about the “goat nations.”