Series 1: Parables of Kingdom Truths-My Part in the Kingdom of God

My Part in the Kingdom of God

Matthew 25:14–30

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

In Jesus’ Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25, the master of the house came out of the house to search for his three most loyal employees.

When the master found them, he asked one of them to load one bag onto the wagon while he opened another.

They had never seen so much money.

One talent alone was valued at twenty years of salary.

Eight talents were just an arm’s length away.

A. All the Talents Belonged to the Master

The boss lifted out five talents and handed his first servant all five talents.

This money would take care of him for one hundred years.

The boss reached in again, lifted up two talents, and gave them to the second servant.

Finally, the boss reached into the bag a third time, picked up the one remaining talent (still worth twenty years of salary), and gave it to the last servant.

Jesus intentionally said the master of the servants left immediately and left his servants holding the money in their hands.

But before they quit their jobs and went on a spending spree, they understood the money was not theirs; it belonged to their boss.

He earned it, and he was free to do with it what he wanted, but they were not.

Clearly in this parable, the master represents our Lord, and the talents represent the gifts He gives.

We do not deserve more than we have and should not bemoan anyone for having more than we have.

All of the gifts God gives—gifts to sing, preach, teach, administer, easily make friends, easily make money, work with our hands, work with our minds—belong to God.

And all of the gifts God gives—our houses, our vehicles, our clothes, our food—belonged to God before He ever gave them to us. We should use these gifts for God’s glory.

How would you feel if your boss came to you tomorrow, opened up a briefcase, counted off ten thousand crisp one-hundred-dollar bills, handed them to you, and rode off to the airport?

What would you do with the money?

B. The Three Servants

The name tags Jesus slapped on these men read, “Servants.”

Although this message is for all humanity, Jesus only spoke it to His disciples.

There was nary a hardened sinner to be found in the whole congregation when He preached this parable.

Jesus hinted that just spending time in the Master’s house is not enough.

We are called to invest the gifts God gave us because He expects a return on His investment when He returns.

When the dust cleared, the Bible reads, “He that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents” (Matthew 25:16).

The first servant was savvier than most.

He wore expensive suits and sipped coffee with brokers and bankers.

Many bosses may have worried handing over so much money to one servant, but this servant was promising.

The servant traded, bartered, bought, sold, and he earned five more talents.

When his master returned, the servant would hand over ten talents—nearly two hundred years’ worth of wages.

The second servant was different.

While his stockbroker servant friend had smooth hands and wore expensive suits, this servant had calloused hands and wore work boots.

He knew what seeds to plant and when to plant them.

He carried his two talents into town, bought as many seeds as two talents could buy, and then he went home and planted them when the time was right.

His work was different from the first servant, but just as valuable.

Although he was given less and gained less, Jesus did not paint him as bitter or resentful but as grateful for the opportunity to invest his master’s money and give him a return on that investment.

Why do we often battle resentment when someone else is promoted or blessed more than us?

How do we stave off resentment?

The third servant stood and watched his two friends run into the marketplace to make more money for their master.

Surely he could do something to invest his master’s money, but he was no risk-taker.

He carried around an umbrella on cloudless days.

Jesus drew this servant in greater detail than the first.

Maybe Jesus spent more time on him because most identify with him—just ordinary people doing ordinary jobs.

Abraham Lincoln said, “God must love the common people because He made so many of them.”

Rather than run into town, he walked to the shed, found a shovel, and dug a hole deep enough to bury the talent.

He may not have gained, but he did not lose either.

Surely his master would be satisfied to get back what he gave.

Some may read this story and deduce that the master loved the five-talent servant more than the one-talent servant, but that is not true.

He knew them, and he knew what they could do. He knew they were different, and they came with their own gifts.

He did not underestimate the first servant by giving him too little; neither did he overwhelm the second servant by giving him too much.

That is why he gave them differing gifts according to their differing abilities to be a blessing with what they were given.

The talents represent opportunities to use our abilities

God assigns work and opportunity according to ability.

C. I Will Faithfully Invest My Talents in the Kingdom of God

Do not be jealous or resentful.

Jesus knows what we can handle, so He will not underestimate our ability by giving us too little or overwhelm our ability by giving us too much.

It may be honesty, it may be humility, it may be a little bit of both, but few of us would profess to be a five-talent servant.

Those are the people who can crochet, ride a unicycle, play the kazoo, drop a transmission, and make a key lime pie that would make your lips pucker and eyes water.

They are gifted.

More of us would profess to be a two-talent servant.

God has given us a few gifts and talents.

Yet more of us might profess to be a one-talent servant.

God has given us the ability to do one thing and do it well.

Whatever gifts God gave you, use the gifts to give glory to Him.

This parable points out there is room for five-talent servants in the kingdom of God.

And for two-talent servants.

And for one-talent servants.

James was right to write, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

James summed up the principle of this parable: every gift we have comes from God and should be used to glorify God and to bless His kingdom.

If God gave you the gift to work on vehicles, ask your pastor if you can help keep the vans serviced or even provide a service to people in the church who cannot afford routine maintenance.

If God gave you the gift to cook, offer to cook for funerals or fellowships.

Perhaps God gifted you with creativity; invest that into your church’s website or social media or print promotions.

The gifts God has given us are more than just for making money; they are to glorify God and help us make disciples.

What would you say is your most skillful God-given gift? How are you using it for the glory of God?

II. INVESTING MYSELF IN THE KINGDOM

Their master was away a while, but one day without warning, he returned.

The chauffeur pulled past the front door, parked between the pillars, and the servants came out to greet their boss.

A. The Joy of Serving

It would have been easier to keep the sun from shining than to keep the first servant from smiling.

It brought him joy to see his master so pleased.

His master put his hand on the servant’s shoulder, smiled, and said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.

“You’ve been faithful over a few things; I’ll make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:21.)

The second servant stepped up with his dirt-covered hands full—two talents in one hand, two in the other.

And just like he did for the first servant, the master put his hand on this servant’s shoulder and said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a few things; I’ll make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (See Matthew 25:22–23.)

The master did not scold the second servant for doing less than the first because he doubled what he was given just like the first servant.

When our Lord returns, He will not ask you why you did not preach on Sundays if He did not gift you to preach on Sundays.

And He certainly will not ask you why you did not repair the vans if you struggle to start a leaf blower.

We find abundant joy when we use the gifts God gave us to glorify Him and make disciples for Him.

B. Self-Reliance, the Enemy of Obedience

Our third friend trusted in himself and himself alone.

Because he was not overly gifted, he buried his talent and did nothing to bless his boss.

His boss was livid.

He reminded the servant of his own words.

You know I’m not the easiest guy in the world to work for.

Why didn’t you take this talent to the bank so it would draw some interest?

That would give me a little more when I came back than I had when I went away.

Then the master acted in a way many of us would deem unfair.

He commanded, “Take that one talent away from him and give it to the one who has ten” (See Matthew 25:28)

Before we have a chance to ask why, Jesus gave us the because: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:29–30).

These sentences sound cruel to our sensitivities. It does not sound fair.

The ten-talent servant had enough.

At least let the one-talent servant keep what little he had.

But Jesus was letting us know what matters to Him.

It is not what we have or how much we have; it is what we do with what we have.

In addition to skills and talents, what other gifts from God might we use for the glory of God? What about our finances, our friendships, our influence?

C. I Will Do My Part to Advance the Kingdom of God

If God only gave you one talent, He does not expect you to bring back five.

He expects you to take the one talent He gave you and invest it to glorify Him and bless His kingdom.

If He gave you two talents, He expects you to use both of them for His glory and to bless His kingdom.

If he gave you five talents, be thankful and use those talents to point people to Jesus, not just to you.

As Jesus said in Luke 12, “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48.)

Use those gifts as a means to bring glory to God.

There is great joy in glorifying God and using His gifts to make disciples for Him.