YOU HAVE BEEN WALKING THROUGH THE BOOK OF MATTHEW:
- You’ve seen how Jesus used parables to help provide a window into HIS KINGDOM.
- Parable would typically have a singular overarching meaning.
Kent Hughes Commentary - HELPS US CONNECT WHERE YOU’VE BEEN TO TODAY
“So we might say that readiness looks like HOPE (The parable of the Virgins), LOVE (The
Parable of the Sheep and Goats), and FAITH (The Parable of the Talents).”
In this sermon our focus is on faith, more specifically on faithful working, or even more
accurately a faithfulness that works.” -
These set of passages in Matthew are a series of parables about how we should live our
lives at his eminent return.
What we should discovery is an urgency to live out what God has put in each of us, for his
glory and our joy? And caution against not taking it serious.
READ PASSAGE: MATTHEW 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted
to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another
one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the
five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So
also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received
the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a
long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he
who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,
‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His
master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over
a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who
had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents;
here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and
faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into
the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward,
saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and
gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your
talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him,
‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and
gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with
the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with
interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten
talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.
But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the
worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’
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2 Things to Highlight in this Passage:
1) It helps us see ourselves rightly
2) It helps us see God rightly
1) You cannot know yourself without knowing God
1) You can do a deep dive and know your desires and then find a group of people with
those desires and sprinkle Jesus on top of it...but that is still not HOW YOU ARE
WIRED AND HOW YOU WERE PLACE.
First Thing We See in the Passage:
God distributes his talents and abilities not to all alike, but to each
individually.
• THIS NOT WHAT THE MASTER IS DOING -
“Here’s 5 talents for you and 5 talents for you”
• IN OTHER WORDS - WE ARE NOT ALL GIFTED THE SAME WAY?
- HE GIVES ACCORDING TO THEIR ABILITIES...
• THE TRUTH IS - Some of US would get killed with 5 talents. WE would just be crushed.
The day God has for SOME US and the day he created you for YOU MAY require the 1 talent.
PROBLEM: 5 TALENT PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT
We look at the 5 talent guy and think important and then the 1 talent guy and think less
important. WHEN WE THIS THIS WAY - IT IS AN ACCUSATION AGAINST GOD.
• ACCORDING THIS PASSAGE:
• 5 TALENT PEOPLE ARE NOT:
• Loved more by God or know more of God’s pleasure
• Listen...its not about “Man I wish I had what that guy or that women has...”
• Praise God our cultural score cards are not His.
• HIS SCORE CARD IS NOT EVEN ABOUT THE TALENT!!!
His Kingdom score card is about FAITH, RISK, COURAGE, and
WILLINGNESS to step into what HE built for you...
• NOT you trying to be a cheap imitation of somebody else.
• ARE YOU WITH ME? WE HAVE GOT TO SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY.
• He didn’t gift us all the same way.
EXAMPLES:
• America’s Got Talent
• Work Place
• There are people at your job that have a skill set that is not your skill set. And if you
tried...you might even get a B.
• But you’d be EXHAUSTED, It would ware you out, you’d hate it - It would be B level work.
• Meanwhile there’s that guy that came out of the womb asking for a spreadsheet.
• Hello - Im here to create systems and structures.
WE ARE GIFTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
• ME: If I tried to get into the weeds at that level - I can pull it off to a point. But then its like
C level work -
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• BUT if I stay in my lane and I’m me - NOT THEM
• MY STORY - CALLING TO MINISTRY - NOT SURE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE
SAY
YOU ARE NOT THE BEST AT EVERYTHING, YOU ARE LIKELY NOT THE BEST AT MOST
THINGS - BUT YOU ARE GIFTED BY GOD...WITH A TALENT
ONE THING I LOVE ABOUT - The idea of Compound Interest
• The 1 talent guy could have sewed his - just as the 5 and 2 talent person.
• What’s at stake here is not the TALENT - BUT What you do with the talent.
DISCOVERY:
• SO WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF YOUR GIFTS:
• 1st - THEY COME FROM GOD - THERE ARE HIS
• Nature abilities God just wove into you
• Your Story - Through your story God has redeemed some things
• Kelly - Single mom who wanted to create a place for other single moms to find love and
hear about the love of Jesus.
• People would tell Kelly - you are so gifted at this - No -“I’m so broken, and know what
others are feeling and have to do something about it.”
• PIC 2 - Kelly & Ladies On Stage
• PIC 3 - Kelly & Family
* PLACE - Story of Dee & Marc
• Somethings Given At Salvation:
• When we surrender to Jesus that a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common
good
• 1 of 2 Ways:
• Comes in and Begins Something That Wasn’t There Before
• Most Time - Electrifies What Was Already There
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of
service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same
God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good.
DO you see what ’s happening -
Where we are prone to go - THAT PERSON’S got this really amazing thing and I got this little
baby thing... God is freeing you up...He’s saying same team, same team, same team...
Why is this so important?
• It frees us up to celebrate one another.
• Whether its the same gift or a completely different gift.
• You see what He’s doing...
- Variety of gifts, variety of services....One God, One Spirt - Same Team, Same Team....
• HE’S BUILDING THAT TEAM - to cause problems with the darkness of the world.
• SAY: Oh if we could see ourselves correctly - Our attention would be ON Him -
And you would realize just how dangerous you are to the darkness. Oh that we
might come awakened.
Some of You Get This:
- Football season is around the corner
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- Something you will not see
- Is a 6’5 - 350 lb guy lining up in a slot receiver place
- That kinda guy was built to fight you in phone booth.
- You get him out of his spot - He looks stupid and the team suffers.
- BUT - IF HE WILL PLAY HIS SPOT - Its like a cascading effect
- He blocks/opens up a space for the guy to run or creates some protection...not we can
move the ball down the field.
- If we get him out of position - he’s a liability.
SO IT IS - IF WE WILL SEE OURSELVES CORRECTLY - AND YOU PLAY YOUR SPOT.
- Not your friends spot
- Not my spot
- Not your cousins spot
- Not your spiritual hero spot
- YOUR SPOT
- The kind of joy you can walk in that you are not walking now.
My heart breaks for some maybe today - You’ve been walking in someone else’s
spot. You are poor version of someone else. NOT the beautiful version of what
you could be.
SAY:
I’m not trying to puff up your self-esteem. This is God’s economy. He’s involved in
that. Its not you that’s amazing - Its God that’s amazing IN YOUR STORY.
WE MUST SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY - You have been gifted.
BUT MUST SEE GOD RIGHTLY AS WELL
Now - The Guy w/ 1 Talent
- He has no eagerness and no urgency - no joy and confidence
- Rather - He makes accusations against the character of God
- The bible says to this man - You are lazy and wicked - I don’t know how you are wired - but
I’m not wanting that said about me BY GOD.
How is he lazy and wicked?
- I think this how this works.
- SAY: When you don’t see God rightly - AND you don’t see yourself rightly... You
will begin to think thoughts about God that are out of step with who he is and
what He does.
- In so doing, you will make accusations in your heart just like this servant.
- Maybe He Thought, “Man my talent is so small and God is so rich”. It just
doesn’t even matter. REPEAT —- What I have is so SMALL and God is SO
big...I don’t have to do anything.”
- Let the people with the 5 talents do it.
IF YOU WERE MADE FOR THE DAY AND THE DAY FOR YOU.
- God is intimately involved in shaping and forming you.
- Redeeming You - Redeeming your hurt, victories and losses
- Giving you a life a purpose and belonging with an unshakeable identity.
That kinda thinking - “My gift is too small, he’s so rich, he wouldn’t even miss
this...is an accusation against God.
This is why he calls him wicked and lazy.
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What we really know - God is actually very generous.
You posses nothing that is not Gods and has been given to you to steward.
CS Lewis - 6 Pence None the Richer
- So it is - You and I have nothing that does not rightly belong to the creator
God. You don’t have a talent, you don’t have an opportunity.
- BUT I WORKED HARD FOR WHAT I GOT.
- Great - But Be Honest:
- Were there other people that worked hard-Did’t get quit as far
as you?
- Were those others that positioned themselves rightly, yet the
opportunity was not there for them?
- Is there nothing naturally not in you that gave you that edge?
GOD IS GENEROUS!
• IT IS GOD WHO:
• ...GIVES, ...SAVES, ...SETS, DRAWS, MAKES A WAY,..POSITIONS US
RIGHTLY, HE IS AT WORK
• JOB MOVING HERE - I WAS NOT THEIR FIRST CHOICE
Vs 25 - He gets real honest about why he was paralyzed- HE WAS AFRAID
- WHY BECAUE HE DIDN”T KNOW WHO GOD WAS:
- HE’S MAKING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST GOD.
- He’s saying I was afraid - of what might happen if I invest it and loose?
- At least the 5 talent guy has margin to spare - “I got 3 left - some
bitcoin got me”
HERE’S ONE OF THE BIGGER TAKE AWAYS - I’ll SAY IT AGAIN - GOD’S SCORECARD IS
NOT THE SAME AS OUR SCORECARD.
SAY: What HE delights in, what HE is honored in —- IS FAITH - Not our
metrics of success.
- I tell you - a lot of us are going to get ROCKED when we get to glory. When we see
who the big deals are. - RANDY ALCORN EXAMPLE
GOD’S SCORECARD IS NOT OUR SCORECARD:
He honors FAITH, RISK, COURAGE
- Our guy here was AFRAID
- THINK ABOUT YOU AND I:
- FEAR Will Likely Keep You From Moving Forward in Faith
- Maybe You’ve Been Hurt:
- Not doing that again, Not trusting anyone with information again,
- Fear of IT not working.
- Here’s I Guy - I WAS AFRAID - I only have 1 talent - What if I bet it and loose it. Your
powerful, so what does that mean for me?
HOW DO WE STAY ROOTED? SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY?
SAY - Your faith and what Jesus is doing is WAY bigger than your personal
salvation. LOOK AT ME - It is not LESS than your personal salvation.
• But it is epically MORE than your salvation.
• We have been so conditioned to think when we hear Gospel (Good News)
to only think - PERSONAL SALVATION.
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PERSONAL SALVATION:
- The transfer out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son.
- So, you want to play in the Kingdom, personal salvation is a necessity.
BUT IT IS BIGGER THAN PERSONAL SALVATION - YOU AND I ARE CAUGHT IN A STORY.
ITS THE ONLY STORY - ITS THE STORY THAT ALL STORIES FIND THEIR PLACE.
HIS STORY:
- THE CREATOR GOD OF THE UNIVERSE CREATED THE WORK IN SHALOM.
- In rhythm and beauty to reflect His glory - an overflow of his divine, triune perfection - Father,
Son, Holy Spirit overflowing on the canvas of creation.
- THE MAN AND WOMAN WERE NAKED AND UNASHAMED - Little do with nudity and
everything to do with the heart and their relationship with the Father and each other.
- SIN ENTERS THE COSMOS AND FRACTURES IT
- The man goes from WO-MAN, Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh to - Its that WOMAN
YOU GAVE to ME.
- Relational strife immediately between each other and God and man.
- HERE’S GOD’S RESPONSE: To move towards - to redeem / to save
- He makes a people - Exodus 17 - And you will be for more a Kingdom of Priests that the
Nations might see my light.
- Christ come - kills sin and death for those who would believe
- You and I by the power of His spirit are called into this Kingdom
- Uniquely wired - Uniquely Placed - Set to cause problems for a vanquished enemy who
doesn’t know He quit vanquished yet.
THAT’S THE STORY YOU AND I ARE IN.
If we are to have the urgency we need - The FAITH, COURAGE TO MOVE - WE HAVE TO SEE
GOD RIGHTLY.
If we see God Rightly, We Will See Ourselves Rightly and Place Ourselves into the Story -
There are no SMALL TALENTS?
DEEP WORK, OVER TIME, IN COMMUNITY:
DEEP WORK - IN the quite - With the Holy Spirit
ON SCREEN
TALENTS:
What do I love to do?
What motivates what I do?
What do I constantly think about?
HEART:
What would I do if I knew I wouldn’t fail?
What do I care most about in this world?
How do I hope others describe me when I die?
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