Using What God has Given
Reading: chapter 25 verses 14-30.
Quote:
“The word ‘Faith’ in the Bible is spelt ‘R.I.S.K.’”
Quote:
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing, your true self
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing
They may avoid suffering & sorrow but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live
Charmed by their attitudes they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom
Only a person who risks is free
In the parable before us:
• Two servants were willing to ‘R.I.S.K.’ that is to demonstrate faith;
• While sadly the third servant was not.
Ill:
This third servant reminds me of the African impala:
• This creature can jump to a height of over 10 feet;
• And cover a distance of greater than 30 feet.
• Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall.
• The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.
• They imprison themselves because they will not exercise faith.
• And like this third servant, they take safety as the option but it only imprisons them,
This parable starts in verse 14 with a small but important word:
• Verse 14: “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey…”
• The word “again” indicates that it is linked to the first parables in chapter 25.
• In the first parable the theme is ‘keep watch’.
• In this parable Jesus teaches us how this is to be done.
• In the first parable the servants are represented as waiting for the Lord.
• In this parable the servants are pictured as working for the Lord
It is a simple story to understand:
(a).
• The man going on a “journey” is Jesus.
• Even a child could work that one out!
(b).
• The three servants who all receive a ‘talent(s)’ are his true followers;
• As we apply this parable this would be symbolic of all Christians (you & me).
Seven Principles to Note.
(1). What we have is not ours (Verse 14):
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted HIS property to them”.
In Biblical times it was common for wealthy men to take long journeys:
• Before they would leave,
• They obviously had to put their affairs in order;
• They would arrange for someone to look after domestic matters;
• E.g. Take care of the mail & to feed their pets etc.
• But more than that, they would have to put their business affairs in order;
• So that when they returned they not only still had a business but a prosperous one!
So often the owner would delegate:
• Control and responsibility of their wealth to trustworthy employees.
• These employees were expected to bring a return on what had been handed over to them.
• Now given the uncertainties of transportation in those days:
• The time of the masters return for even a well-planned trip was often open-ended.
• The master would return back at an unexpected time.
• So they needed to be diligent, so as to please him when he showed up!
Now here is the point to note:
• There was no doubt in the minds of these servants;
• That the property and money still belonged to the master.
• They were the possessors, but not the owners.
• Their job was to manage on the masters behalf, what they were given.
Application for us today is the same:
• We must remember that everything we have has been given to us;
• And is not really ours anyway.
Ill:
Pearl of great price drama sketch.
• Remember it’s mine but you can wear it for me,
• You can spend it for me etc, etc.
In the normal Christian life, we need to remember that:
• Jesus is the Master and I am the manager.
• Jesus is the benefactor, I am the recipient.
• We must never forget this important truth,
• That everything we have belongs to the Lord;
Ill:
• Our days are in His hands.
• Our gifts and abilities are on loan from Him.
• Our money is an “advance” from the Almighty.
• Our houses, cars, clothes, and every possession we have doesn’t belong to us.
• It is all his and we are given it to enjoy and to invest.
• For our pleasure, to the benefit of others and most of all for his glory.
(2). We are given what we can handle (vs 15):
“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”
Question: What do we mean by the word “talent”?
Answer:
• In some Bible translations the word has been changed to refer to currency, to money.
• Originally a ‘talent’ was a measure of weight;
• Because you could have a talent of copper, or silver, or gold (commonest being silver)
• A talent was often used to indicate a very large sum of money.
• While commentators differ on what the exact amount of money a talent was,
• Many suggest that it would take an ordinary labourer almost 20 years to earn just 1 talent.
• So we are talking about a large sum of money,
• That the master gave to each of his servants.
I would Suggest:
• That the ‘talent’ is symbolic;
• It can refer to money, to spiritual gifts, or to opportunities of service that come our way.
• So think beyond money;
• Let the word ‘talent’ be symbolic of all the other things God has given us.
Notice in the story.
• The Master gave the first servant five talents,
• The second guy received two talents,
• And the third steward got one talent.
• Even though there’s a big difference between five talents and one talent,
• The guy who received one talent still had an awful lot of money (20yrs wages).
Verse 15 makes it clear the talents were given:
• “Each according to his ability”.
• The point this verse is teaching is:
• It is not a persons talent or many talents that is important to God;
• But rather how we use the talent or talents God has given to us that matters.
• People may not be equal in talent;
• But all people can be equal in effort!
• The principle in this verse is whatever talent we have big or small;
• We need to use it in the service of God.
Verse 15 also makes it clear:
• That God entrusts different gifts and functions to different people;
• Notice the ratio of five, two and one.
• This does not indicate a different value on the person.
• But a different significance to their work.
Ill:
• If five talents had been given to the third servant;
• He may well have been destroyed by the heavy responsibility.
• If one talent had been given to the first servant;
• He may have felt disgraced and degraded.
It also is an indication that God knows what we can handle.
• He will not ask us to do that which is beyond our ability.
• Neither will he under use us in his plans.
• He knows exactly the ‘abilities’ that we have;
• And uses us in his service with this knowledge in mind.
(3). We must invest what we have been given (Verse 16):
“The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more”.
(a).
• Verse 16 tells us that the man who received five talents went;
• “AT ONCE and put his money to work and gained five more.”
• He didn’t waste any time;
• But immediately went to work on his investment strategy & doubled his master’s assets.
(b).
“So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.
• The man who got two talents did the same thing;
• He was prepared for hard work.
• And as a result;
• He also doubled his master’s money, ending up with four talents.
(c). Verse 18 describes the different approach of the third servant:
“But the man who had received the one talent went off,
dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
In contrast two the first two servants:
• This one-talent servant was a slacker who went off and buried his blessing.
• The practice of hiding valuables in the ground was quite common in Bible days.
Quote: In fact under ancient Palestinian law;
If a slave was entrusted with money by his master and the slave hid that money straight away, if anything happened to the hidden money, the slave who hid it was protected, was held not responsible under law.
• So this third servant was using the law to protect himself.
• He was only interested in looking after himself (no thought of his master).
Application for us:
Quote:
“Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him”.
Ill:
• Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky,
• He did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir.
• When he took violin lessons, the neighbours persuaded his parents to make him stop.
• Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
• His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was whittling.
• When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker.
• His knack for whittling grew into a skill of carving and his hobby became his craft.
• He worked patiently and faithfully.
• By the time he died, he left over 1,500 violins,
• Each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.”
• They are the most sought-after violins in the world;
• And sell for more than $100,000 each.
• Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but his responsibility was to use his ability,
• And his violins are still making beautiful music today.
• Quote:
• “Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him”.
Notice in the story:
• The man who gained five talents is not compared with the man who gained two,
• God is not expecting us to compete with one another.
• But he is expecting us to fulfil the mandate received from God;
• With the resources he has given to us.
(4). A day of accountability is coming (vs 19).
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
• Jesus is coming again and there will be a day of reckoning.
• While most of us believe this in our heads, we don’t always live it out by our actions!
• If we would think more about His return,
• We would be more focused on making an eternal return on our investments.
Quote Daniel Webster was asked:
“What is the greatest thought that can occupy a man’s mind?”
He replied: “His accountability to God”
In New Testament times:
• When this parable was literally lived out
• It was the duty of servants to always bear in mind that the master would be returning;
• And when he came back;
• He would settle his accounts with them.
Application for us:
• The New Testament makes it very clear;
• That each Christian (you & me included) will one be judged by Jesus.
Quote: Romans chapter 14 verse 12:
“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Quote: 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
• Remember this judgement will not affect the Christians salvation,
• That was settled 2,000 years ago at the cross.
• But it will definitely affect the Christians reward!
• And it will also affect our future service for Christ in his coming kingdom.
• We are not going to heaven to sit on clouds and play little harps.
• We are going to serve the king in his kingdom!
That future service will be affected by our earthly service:
• How did we used our time,
• How did we our money,
• How did we use our natural talents,
• How did we use our spiritual; gifts,
• How did we use the gospel message, which he has entrusted to us.
• How did we contributed to our local fellowship, which is HIS church!
• The question will be: did you invest in these things wisely?
• May our answer be yes!
• I want to hear those words: ’Well done, good and faithful servant!
• I don’t want to enter his presence in embarrassment & disappointment.
(5). What we do with what we have reveals our view of God (verses 20-25).
The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ’Master,’ he said, ’you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 The man with the two talents also came. ’Master,’ he said, ’you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 Then the man who had received the one talent came. ’Master,’ he said, ’I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’”
The way the servants viewed the master affected their service:
(A). THE FIRST SERVANT:
• The man who had been given five talents;
• And who used them to gain five more.
• His language is insightful. He says, “See, I have gained five more.”
• The word “see” means, “Behold” or “Look!” or “Stare”
• This man was eager to invest what he had been given;
• And now he’s excited to show the master what He had done.
• He’s bubbling with enthusiasm and thoroughly thrilled.
• He couldn’t wait to present what he had done because he wanted to please the owner.
Ill:
• Kathy when they come home from pre-school,
• “Daddy, daddy look what I’ve made for you!”
(B). THE SECOND SERVANT:
• The man with the two talents, who gained two more.
• He too approached this time of reckoning with the same anticipation and excitement.
• The master is thrilled with both of them
• Because they both demonstrated responsibility and worked for the master.
Notice Jesus says the exact same thing to both of them:
“Well done, good and faithful servants! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
To both these servants:
• The master increased their resources after they had proven themselves faithful.
• And they were given even greater things to do for him.
These two faithful servants received three things:
(1). Affirmation:
“Great job! Well done.
I appreciate your good work and your faithfulness.”
(2). Promotion:
“Since you’ve done so well with what I’ve given you, I’m going to give you even more responsibility and opportunity for growth.”
(3). Celebration:
• “You’ve made me very happy. Let’s celebrate together!”
• The phrase, “well done” can be translated, “excellent,” or “wonderful.”
• These two servants were called faithful and were called good;
• Because they had a right view of the master.
• Likewise, when we see God for who He is,
• We will want to be faithful and we will focus on doing good things for him.
IN contrast:
• The one-talent guy came a bit more reluctantly to the master and said in verse 24:
• “…I knew that you were a hard man…”
• Notice that the first words out of his mouth were about himself:
• “I knew.”
• We could translate this as, “I always knew.”
• The other two guys kept their focus on the master: “Master, YOU entrusted me.”
This third guy had a wrong view of the master:
• He already had his mind made up even before he received his talent.
• He looked at him as someone who was hard and harsh, instead of loving and gracious.
• To excuse his laziness and bad judgement,
• He tries to lay the blame on the master.
• He is trying to make out that the master is some kind of hard task master:
• But it’s quite clear in the story that he’s nothing of the kind.
• Remember he has entrusted ten servants (actual word is ‘slave’ N.I.V. is wrong)
• With the equivalent of 20 years worth of wages for a hired hand.
• Remember, these slaves did not even have the status of an employee;
• In the ancient world slaves were regarded as ‘living tools’.
• Yet this master values them and commits to them this considerable wealth,
• Putting it at their disposal to use while he’s away.
What’s more:
• He even gives the first two servants a generous reward.
• Far from being exploitative and ruthless, this man is a generous benefactor.
Quote: A.W. Tozer was right when he said that:
“What we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
• A wrong view of God always leads to fear.
• A right view of God always leads to faith.
Just scan over the differences between the three servants:
• The first two were determined to make a profit;
• The third was determined to not take a loss.
• The first two were willing to work hard and take risks;
• The third took no risks.
• The first two received the gift;
• The third refused the gift.
• The first two wanted to advance the master’s domain;
• The third had no interest in what mattered to the master.
• The first two viewed the money as an opportunity;
• The third guy saw it as a problem.
• The first two allowed the master’s gift to change their lives;
• The third refused to let the gift touch his life.
• The first two invested;
• The other one wasted.
• The first two saw a blessing;
• The third guy saw a burden.
• The first two knew the master;
• The third guy had no clue.
(6). What we have we must use or what we have we will lose (Verse 26):
(The Message):
"The master was furious. "That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?
• The master saw right through the flimsy excuses of the useless servant
• Look at what he calls him, “You wicked, lazy servant!”
• These are pretty strong words, but the man was wicked because;
• He deliberately misrepresented both his master and himself.
• He falsely accused the master of being harsh;
• And he lied when he said in verse 25: “See, here is what belongs to you.”
• He actually owed his employer not only the one talent
• But also whatever it would have earned had he been faithful.
• Yet amazingly, instead of owning his guilt,
• He behaves as if the master should have given him credit for having been so cautious.
• Now because this third guy did not use what He had been given,
• Verse 28 says he lost it.
• “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.”
• It’s the “use it or lose it” principle.
There is a principle here that also applies to many areas of life:
• Ill: An athletes muscles and skill will diminish &weaken without trading & competition.
• Ill: An artists creativity will shrivel up and be lost if the imagination is not stretched!
The principle is clear:
• The more we exercise that proficiency and that gift;
• The greater it will become.
• But if we neglect that natural ability or spiritual gift and do not practice or use it,
• It sadly will deterate and almost die!
The two servants who were faithful with their talents:
• Were promoted by God, they started as servants and were promoted to rulers.
• Because they were faithful with a few things, God trusted them with many things.
Regarding your talent that God has given you:
• Develop it, hone it, and multiply it by using what you’ve been given.
• So that the talent will be productive.
Ill:
• One day while walking with some children,
• Queen Mary was caught by a sudden down pour of rain.
• She quickly took shelter on the porch of a near by home,
• As the rain continued to rain.
• The queen was wearing a hat that partly covered her face;
• And she was also wearing some very plain clothes.
• She decided to knock at the door;
• But not reveal her identity.
• And so she knocked at the door and asked to borrow an umbrella.
• Emphasising the fact: “I’ll send it back tomorrow”.
• The homeowner, reluctant to give a stranger her best umbrella,
• Offered her a cast-off she found in the attic.
• One rib was broken and there were several holes in it.
• Apologizing, she turned it over to the monarch, whom she did not recognize.
The next day the house-holder had another visitor:
• It was a man with gold braid on his uniform and an envelope in his hand.
• After revealing the identity of the mysterious visitor, he said:
• “The queen sent me with this letter,
• And also asked me to thank you personally for the loan of your umbrella.”
• Stunned, the woman burst into tears, crying.
• “Oh, what a fool I have been I have missed the opportunity to give my very best for the queen,”
(7). Who you know and what you do will lead to either abundance or agony in the next life (verse 29).
• In verse 29, we learn that those who are faithful with the little things;
• Will have an abundance, or excess:
“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.”
• The two servants who had done well are not told to lean back and rest on their oars;
• They are given even more opportunities, even more responsibilities.
• On the other hand,
• Those who bury their blessings will miss out & lose the little they have!
Jesus concludes this parable by describing this third servant:
(a). He is called wicked:
• He is ‘wicked’ because he was lazy.
• He was unwilling to busy himself in the master’s interests.
• Quote Jerome K. Jerome in his book ‘Three men in a boat’.
• “I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours”.
(b). He is described as worthless.
• He is ‘worthless’ because he is producing nothing.
• There is no gain to his activity and pursuits.
(c). He is described as weeping.
• He is described as weeping because he is cast into darkness.
• Unlike the other servants who are ‘sharing in their masters happiness’.
• This servant will be ultimately sad and miserable;
• Like his talent he is out of sight and wasted.
Remember:
• The focus of the parable is not on the master (God);
• It is not teaching us new truths regarding his character.
• It is not on judgement;
• It is not a parable designed to teach us regarding eternal destinies.
• The main focus of this parable is on the three servants;
• And on what they did with what they had been given.
• It is a reminder that one day they will be called to account as to how they used that talent.
• The challenge for us tonight is; How are we using out talent!
