Talents on Loan from God
Pastor Darryl Bentley
Midland SDA Church
February 28, 2009
Homiletical Idea: The Lord gives us talents that are to be coupled with the inherent abilities that we are born with and that we cultivate through life. On our own we are very weak, but when we become partners with Christ we can do amazing things as Jesus works through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just Tripping
How many of you can recall the most embarrassing moment of your life? I certainly have no trouble remembering mine. Back when I was a lay worker in my home church I was tasked with helping our church family transition smoothly from Sabbath school to the divine service.
I had always loved football and the time frame was half way between the services so I called it “half-time”. During half-time we would sing songs together, cover our announcements, show special mission videos, and the like. Things were going really well for me I thought. Each week more and more people were making it a point to come in from the foyer and take part in the activities and many people commented on how much they liked the new structure.
The one item that always haunted me, however; was the clock. There were some old-timers at the church who wanted you to start at 11:00 a.m. on the dot and they would let me know about it if I was a minute over. So each week I tried my best to get it all done by 11. We used the screen to display the songs and I would have people lined up along the front pew that needed to make announcements and things went fairly smooth. That is until the week that I forgot to play the mission story. It was a special offering and the leader of that ministry was insistent that we show the video to help boost the offering.
Seems simple enough right? Well not so fast. You see our projector setup was such that the projector was behind the screen. And to switch the feed on the projector from the computer to the video you had to walk up on the platform and switch it with the remote. Still seems simple enough right? And it would have been really simple had I not been in such a hurry to get finished by 11. As soon as the video was over I dashed up onto the platform to switch the feed on the projector back to the computer so we could do our last song before going into the worship service, and then I turned to dash back off the platform to take my seat while we sang. The problem came in when my feet were not moving as fast as my mind, and when I turned to dash back off the platform my feet became tangled up and I fell right off the front of the platform that was about two feet high. Yes, I pulled a Bob Dole right in front of nearly 300 people.
Even with my substantial girth back then I bounced right back up to my feet and just stood there blankly staring at the congregation. You could almost feel the walls of the church pull in from the collective gasp of the congregation. It seemed like an eternity passed as I wondered what I should say or do next. Finally, I said to the church family, “Go ahead and laugh, I am.” And immediately the church erupted with laughter. After they knew I was alright they felt safe to enjoy a hearty laugh at my expense.
I replayed that moment over and over in my mind. I prayed and asked God why He would allow that to happen to me and the answer that I came away with changed my life forever. As I prayed about that day God revealed to me that I was trying to do everything in my own strength. I literally would not let others help. I was of the mindset back then that if I wanted it done right I had to do it all. Others would come to me and ask about helping out with half-time, but I would blow them off and tell them I had it all covered. But after I fell off the platform I realized that I needed to let go and let God handle things for me.
The first item of business was to stop fretting over the clock. I was mindful of the time, but I was not about to lose sleep over it. Secondly, I prayed and asked God to help me find ways to include others. I also prayed and asked Him to take the lead and to equip me to do the work He wanted me to do. The results were amazing. Not only did I not fall off the platform anymore, but the others who got involved were richly blessed by being able to serve the Lord and their church family. Once we all allowed our God-given abilities to be coupled with the Divine our church family was truly blessed during our services.
Bringing it Home
When I think of communion I always get a smile on my face. Communion is that special time when we can get a fresh start with Jesus once again. We can let go of all the past hurts and failures and just lay those things at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to mend our hearts and prepare us for the days that lie ahead. When we do this we must be willing to surrender to Him completely. We must be willing to allow Him to truly take charge of our lives and begin to mold us into what He wants us to be.
Once we come to Christ and allow Him to clean us up we are then prepared for service with and for Him. You see, Jesus longs to use each one of you to reach others for Him. Sure, not everyone is going to be a pastor or evangelist full-time perhaps, but each one of us can do our very best to reach one more person. The great part about it is that Jesus does not expect or want us to try and reach people on our own. He has an intense desire for us to work in harmony with Him in winning souls for the kingdom.
You see if we try to win souls without Jesus by our sides then you may very well end up just like I did: on your face in front of 300 people. But when we consecrate ourselves to do the work Jesus has called us to do then He will pour out to us talents that will equip us to reach souls for Him.
Transition to the Text
This concept is something that Jesus understood very clearly. In fact He even gave us a parable to help us better understand what He expected from us. Let’s read the parable together and see what the Lord has in store for us today.
**Read Matthew 25:14-18**
Notice what is happening here. The master gave each one of his servants talents to be used along with their own ability. The Greek word used here is dunamis which literally means: power. So we see that the master was able to perceive the amount of power or ability that each of his servants possessed.
Next we see that the servants were to “trade” with the talents. When we look once again at the Greek word used (ergazomai) we see that it literally means “to work” or “to labor”. So we can see clearly that the master expected the servants to couple the talents that he gave them with what they naturally possessed and to use them in working for their master. We can see clearly also that the servants who took the commission seriously and worked with their talents saw a return on their work; the one that had five gained five more and likewise, the one who had two gained two more. The only one who did not see an increase was the one who took his lonely talent and hid it in the earth where it was of no use to anyone.
Talents to Serve
This part of the story is a direct parallel with what Jesus does for each one who chooses to follow Him. He gives us gifts in accordance with our natural ability. But He does not give us gifts just so that we may hoard them and do nothing with the talents that He gives us. When Christ bestows a talent upon us he expects us to use it for His glory and for the building up of His kingdom.
When we take up that challenge we can be assured that He will multiply our efforts. But what happens when we refuse to do what God asks us to do?
Wicked Servants
**Read Matthew 25:19-30**
We can see that the master was not at all happy with the state of affairs conducted by the salve with only one talent. The others had done the will of their master and had worked with the talents that their master entrusted them with. The one gained five and the other two, but the slave with only one did nothing with it and because he did not work with what he was given even the little he had was taken away.
I think it is imperative for us this morning to ask the question of why the servant who had one talent lost it when he refused to put it to work. The answer may not be one that we want to accept this morning. The answer may not be one that we can feel warm and fuzzy about. In fact, it may offend a few of you.
The problem is that God does not give out His resources for them to be wasted by His people. In other words, God does not equip you and I with talents just to have us sit and warm a pew. He does not send His Holy Spirit to come upon us to bring forth spiritual gifts for us to just blow it off and say, “I will let someone else do it.” No! God evaluates our abilities or power and measures out exactly what we need to be successful for Him.
If you read the story closely you will see that each one who put their talents to work for the Lord saw a 100% increase in their talents. The 5 became 10 and the 2 became 4. Results like that are only possible with God.
The inverse is also true. If God gives you and I talents to be used for His work and we refuse to serve His cause, then one day He will come and take away all that we have and cast us into outer darkness. I can assure you that outer darkness is not the place that you want be friends. Outer darkness is code language for suffering the second death. Outer darkness is code language for saying that you will be cast into the lake of fire. Think I am being extreme? I am just following the words of Christ. He said it and I am just repeating it to keep you from falling into Satan’s snare.
A Time to Serve
Very soon our ministry placement committee is going to begin meeting to fill the offices in the church. I am taking this opportunity today on communion Sabbath to challenge each one of you to consider why you should serve. Serving in the church is not some pathway to fortune and fame. Serving in the church should not be a political game where we try to build ourselves up into being more important than we are. Serving in the church should be exactly that: serving.
To serve means that you place other’s needs above your own. I have known some people who refuse to ever take a job within the church. They may say that they are too busy or that they don’t feel ready or even that they just don’t want to do anything in the church. Friends, I want to challenge all of those lines of thinking today and ask you to look beyond your needs and ask God what He wants you to do. I want to challenge you to humble yourself and ask God how He would have you serve your brothers and sisters in Christ.
I can promise you friends if you are not willing to serve one another down here, you can forget about living with one another up there. We should all take the attitude of the ones with 5 and 2 talents. The attitude that says we are willing to allow God to equip us with what He sees fit in order that we may serve Him and His church. When we partner with the divine Savior of the universe friends we cannot fail. It is not possible to fail when we are partners with God.
When we are not partners with God you better watch out because you may just fall off a platform in front of a great crowd of people. God may allow you to fall just so He can get your attention. You better believe that it sure got mine.
Wrap-up and Appeal
Today as we take part in this communion service, I want to ask each of you to pray within your hearts and ask the Lord how He would have you serve. Perhaps you have never stepped up to the plate and partnered with the Lord, but this is a new year and there is still time before the Lord returns. I beg of you that you do not allow yourself to be robbed of the rich blessing of serving God and His people. It does not matter what you think your abilities might be. God will be the judge of that and He will quip you to do exactly what He wants you to do. And if you are faithful then He will reward you richly by allowing you to enter into the joy of your master.
**Appeal**