Sermon by Pastor Dale Wolcott

August 30, 2003

(Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless noted)

[Children’s Story]

Four-year-old Jason awoke to the smell of smoke in the house. Terrified, he shouted for his daddy. An instant later the boy’s bedroom door flew open, and his father burst into the room.

Scooping Jason’s 2-year-old brother up in one arm, the father grabbed the older boy with his free hand and dragged him from the bedroom and down the stairs.

At the foot of the stairs Jason suddenly remembered that he had left Patches, his favorite stuffed animal, upstairs on his bed. The child wrenched free from his father’s grasp and dashed up the stairs.

The father shouted after Jason, but the boy continued to run. Daddy couldn’t risk the life of his 2-year-old by running back into the house. Standing on the front lawn, he looked up and saw his son standing at the open bedroom window.

The frantic man shouted, "Jump, Jason, jump!"

"I can’t," cried Jason.

"Don’t worry; I’ll catch you."

"But I can’t see you, Daddy," the 4-year old wailed.

Sometimes when we’re afraid and can’t see God, we need to remember that what counts is not that we can see Him, but that He sees us and He’s strong enough to catch us.

[Scripture Reading:]

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

"Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

"After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

"He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

"Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.

"But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25: 14-30.

[Sermon]

This is a really strange parable, in a couple of ways. Most of Jesus’ parables have to do with sheep and shepherds, seeds and farmers, wheat and tares, things of nature. But here is Jesus telling a parable about investment bankers and stock market trading – very different!

And it’s not only the subject matter that’s unusual. Did you have a problem with the ending? Again and again in the gospels, Jesus says: the humble will be exalted; it is the poor who will have riches in heaven. The first will be last and the last first. Scholars call this emphasis "the great reversal;" it’s a major theme in the teaching of Jesus. In fact, Mary sang about it even before Jesus was born: "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty" (Luke 1: 51-53).

But in this parable of the talents, Jesus seems to say the opposite: "To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away" (Matthew 25:29). Jesus, what are you talking about? I can’t believe that would come out of Your mouth!

On the other hand, maybe this parable has never struck you as strange at all. If so, there’s a very good reason: At first glance, the parable of the talents fits perfectly with the American capitalist work ethic. "You’ve got to have money to make money." "He who has the gold makes the rules." And here it is, right in the Bible, we may be tempted to say: God helps those who help themselves. And we’re tempted to add: In this great land of opportunity, if somebody’s broke it’s probably because he is lazy, just like this character that buried his talent.

So the classic American interpretation of the parable of the talents simply says: God wants you to make the most of your talents. If you can play basketball, be the best you can be. If you’ve got a beautiful body, go for Miss America. If you inherit your dad’s business, you should franchise it and become a billionaire.

As Adventists, we’ve bought into this as well: Emmanuel Missionary College has become Andrews University, and the College of Medical Evangelists has become Loma Linda University. (There are still some missionaries coming out of Andrews University and Loma Linda, and we thank God for those fine schools. But not nearly everybody who graduates from them today comes out with the missionary mindset envisioned by their founders.)

So let’s take a fresh look at the parable of the talents to discover Jesus’ own secret for "Experiencing An Absent God." Let’s pray:

The first thing I notice about the parable of the talents is that Jesus anticipated a delay in His return. The 2,000 years that have elapsed since Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection are predicted right here in the gospel of Matthew. Notice Matthew 24:48 – "My master is delaying His coming." Then in chapter 25, verse 5, "The bridegroom was delayed." And later in verse 14, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country," and then verse 19, "after a long time the lord of those servants came."

I don’t believe the theory that all the New Testament Christians mistakenly believed that Jesus was coming back any minute. The lapse of time between the First Advent and the Second Advent has not caught God by surprise. Jesus went to considerable lengths to prepare His people for that time lapse by sharing with us how to keep our experience with God fresh, vivid and bright, even though time keeps passing and, like the little boy in the burning house, sometimes we can’t see Him.

So how do we experience an absent God? The Bible mentions many ways: He sends His Holy Spirit; His Word is alive and powerful, and we experience Him when we read the Word. Through prayer we may boldly approach the very throne of heaven.

Yet many of us are desperately eager to experience our absent God. Our librarian tells me that books about spiritual disciplines – how to experience God – are some of the most often-requested titles in our church library.

And here in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus is telling us that one of the ways to experience the presence of God, even in the face of His ongoing absence, even in the midst of this lapse of time when He is still in heaven and we’re down here, and He hasn’t come back yet, and we sometimes feel like we’re choking on smoke and can’t see His face – one of the ways we stay close to Him, and keep Him close to us, is by getting involved in His business.

Let’s go again to Matthew 25: 14-17. For the kingdom heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also."

Skip over the one talent servant for a moment, and drop down to verses 20 thru 23. Did the master give out proportionate rewards? (By the way, the concept of proportionate rewards is taught in the Bible. There’s a parable in Luke 19 where Jesus says to one servant, you’ll be ruler of ten cities, and to another servant, you’ll be ruler of five cities, and so on.)

But here in Matthew 25 the five talent man and the two talent man both hear the same identical words from the master: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (vs. 21; compare vs. 23).

So this parable is not about, "the more you have, the more you make." It’s not about making the most of your talents, and being rewarded accordingly. (By the way, I do believe we should make the most of our talents). It’s about taking ownership of the Lord’s business. Jesus is saying, because I love you and I want you to know I’m near, I’m giving you a stake in my business. And the person who is truly sensing that God is close is most likely to be the one who has made God’s business his or her own.

My question for you this morning is: Have you bought into the business of heaven? My brother, my sister, if you find yourself struggling with a sense that God is far away – maybe what you need to do is invest wholeheartedly in His business.

I’m not talking about what goes in your tithe envelope, although, this is a stewardship sermon, and the parable of the talents is a stewardship parable. I have found that some of my best experiences of knowing that God is close to me have been when I’ve stretched myself to do something significant for Him. If you want to know God, go into partnership with him. These two fellows knew who they belonged to, and they identified themselves with His business. That’s what their life was about: Trading on those talents; investing what they’d been given for the benefit of the master, knowing that the master truly cared about and trusted them, and that as they did His business for His benefit, they were benefiting too.

So there’s no contrast at all between the five-talent servant and the two-talent servant. The contrast is between the two-talent servant and the one-talent servant. What did the one-talent man do with his? He buried it. He put it in a safe place, to make sure he’d be able to retrieve it and give it back when the Lord returned – then went on with his life.

Is that the way you’ve been living your Christian life? You’ve learned the truth and filed it away, because you know someday you’ll need it. Maybe once a week you get it out to make sure it’s still there. But you’ve got your life to live, and you really don’t have time to get involved in the Lord’s business.

So what made the difference between the faithful servants and the wicked, lazy servant? It was not their actions; it was their attitude. Actions flow out of attitude, and their attitude was a reflection of their perception of their master’s attitude toward them. Notice that in verse 25 the wicked servant does not take ownership; he refers to the one talent as "your talent", "what is yours", yet in verse 15 the master "gave" these talents to his servants. He didn’t just lend it; He gave it!

So the talents are God’s business, His working capital. What is God’s business? Salvation. The faithful servants accepted the gift, internalized it and multiplied it. Everybody who is going to someday experience God face to face will arrive there with at least two talents! If all you care about is saving yourself – you won’t be saved. The wicked servant never really took God’s gift as His own. That’s why he had no interest in doing anything with it.

Is God’s business your business? The Great Controversy is almost over – there’s a huge work yet to be done. Notice in the following parable beginning with verse 35 how the faithful servants experienced God in His absence: "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." Matthew 25:35-36. When we are throwing our lives into Jesus’ business, we are going to see Him, we are going to feel Him and experience Him.

Did you happen to read the story in this month’s Michigan Memo about our sister church in Mt. Pleasant? Two couples in Mt. Pleasant have taken children into their home from the Marshall Islands to provide them with educational opportunities unavailable to them otherwise. That’s a Matthew 25 story, isn’t it? Those families are buying into God’s business.

Your talent may be different, but you’ve got one, probably more than one. I could tell Midland stories too, of the lives of people who’ve invested in God’s business – stories that may not be appropriate to share because it might embarrass someone.

There is a story at the bottom of the same page in this August edition of our conference magazine, the Michigan Memo. This story occurred a year ago in Eau Claire, Michigan. They have a church school and their school year (2001/2002) ended with an $8,000 deficit. Someone in the congregation said, "The Lord’s business is my business," and promised to match whatever was raised. (He had $4,000 in the bank that he didn’t need.) So the church went to work, writing letters, making phone calls, gathering pledges. And they prayed. On a Sabbath morning last December, the final offering was taken. Over $12,000 had been raised! What was this dear brother to do? After praying about it, he decided to keep his promise, so he emptied his bank account and prayed for a miracle. Before the end of the week unexpected funds arrived at his home, which not only finished off his pledge, but also replenished his bank account. Eau Claire’s school is beginning this school year with a $16,000 reserve.

Has God given you some talents? Absolutely! There is some part of His business, His plan of salvation, that will only be done if you buy into it and put everything you’ve got into the Lord’s business. You’ll have an experience with God. He won’t be absent!

Anything in your life or my life that we are investing in – any business that is not the Lord’s business – is being buried, my friends, and someday it’s going to burn.

I’m not talking merely or mainly about money. I spent a little time recently with Ellen White’s book Christ’s Object Lessons. It’s a book about Jesus’ parables. The longest chapter in the book (42 pages) is about the parable of the talents, including the following subheadings:

§ Mental faculties 2 pages

§ Speech 4+ pages

§ Influence 3 pages

§ Time 4 pages

§ Health over 4 pages

§ Money only 1 ½ pages

On page 351, the short section on money wraps up with these words: "Money has great value, because it can do great good. In the hands of God’s children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked. It is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of help to the sick. But money is of no more value than sand, only as it is put to use in

Ø providing for the necessities of life,

Ø in blessing others,

Ø and advancing the cause of Christ."

In a few moments I am going to ask you to use a response card, which you will find in the pew rack right in front of you. Before you do that, notice one more thing about this parable: in this parable, money becomes a symbol for everything else in our life. Jesus knows us, doesn’t He! Money is a symbol for everything that is of value. I remember listening to an immigrant from Mexico tell how astonished he was as he was trying to learn American English idioms when he heard someone refer to a wealthy person by saying, "He’s probably worth half a million dollars."

So please take a look at the response card in the rack. It’s the tithe/offering envelope. That envelope is a parable for everything that’s important in your life. We are going to use it differently than you might expect. Rather than putting something in it, just to write on it.

Before you do that, let’s review. How can you experience an absent God? How can you know and feel that Jesus is close, even while you’re still waiting for Him to come back? There are three very simple steps:

1) Remember He owns you.

Verse 14 says the master called "his own servants." He made us, and then He bought us back with His own blood. You’ve been redeemed! You are precious to Him! You and I belong to Him. When we internalize that, we will also realize that we don’t have any business doing any business other than His business. Having said that, step 2 is crucial.

2) Take ownership of those talents!

God doesn’t just lend talents to you; He gives them to you. Do you really believe that all God’s assets are your assets? Or do you think of Him as being sort of stingy, and you need to feel guilty about enjoying and freely using your talents?

The men who were out there trading those talents were having lots more fun than the guy who was hunkered down in his hut keeping guard over someone else’s underground talent! I think it’s safe to say that the only reason the master didn’t give the third man more, was that he could tell ahead of time that the fellow wasn’t going to use it. That is why Jesus said, "He who has will have more; he who has not will lose even what he has." The one talent man never really had that one talent. He never really took ownership of it. And because those talents really truly are yours, you can afford to take some risks in trying to multiply them. So:

3) Go for it!

Live your life largely! But do it for God because you belong to Him! Go out on a limb for the kingdom of heaven.

I’ll never forget when Nancy and I got the invitation to leave our comfortable home in Red Bluff, California. We had a swimming pool in the back yard and Raley’s supermarket just down the street, and they wanted us to go to the Navajo Indian reservation where we would live in a rented doublewide trailer and drive 150 miles to the nearest shopping mall.

We prayed, all four of us, and the Lord said, "Go for it," and the decade we spent with the Native American people was the greatest experience of our life. It also led to some of our most painful experiences, but we have absolutely no regrets!

So if you sense God calling you to do something, and you pray about it, and you counsel with godly friends, and God says "Go for it" – GO FOR IT! And don’t look back.

It might be a little thing; maybe you come into church feeling like you need a hug, and you decide to give one instead. Or it might be as simple and unnoticed a thing as purposing that those small children under your feet are the talents God has given you and you are going to specialize in being an excellent parent, bringing those children up to become jewels in the Master’s kingdom.

Please take a response card (tithe envelope) now and I would like to invite you to make three specific decisions: First, perhaps you need to make a commitment to recognize God’s ownership of YOU by starting to return a faithful tithe (10% of your income). If so draw a circle around the word "tithe."

Secondly, God may be putting on your heart that you could reallocate some of your monetary talents, to spend less on your own business and more on His business. If so, place a "+" next to whatever freewill offering you want to invest in more heavily, perhaps a larger percentage toward our church budget or Michigan Advance.

Finally the third and most important: Are you ready to put everything in your life into partnership with God? If so, on the bottom line, across from the words "total enclosed," write the word, "ALL."

In a moment we’re going to sing a hymn of response. While we sing, bring that tithe envelope and lay it on the altar.