Stewards for the Kingdom

As we have entered a new calendar year, I have spent a significant amount of time thinking on how to express to our church family the year that the Lord has ahead for us. I considered preaching about evangelism. I thought of preaching on our own spiritual growth. But at each turn I couldn’t help but think about the parable that we are about to read together. Let’s stand together and read

The Master Gives Investments to All of His Servants (v. 14)

There are several characters discussed in this parable. First off, you have the man who entrusts the servants with His property. This man represents the Lord, who holds the world in His hands. Everything that we have has been given to us.

We should note that the talents that are given are done so with complete commitment. The master leaves on a trip and the servants have full control over these things.

It should be noted here in the first point that every servant is given something. Most often, the word for talent, which is a reference to money, is discussed mainly as the abilities that the Lord has given us. Though I think that this is the primary focus, I want to go beyond just the giftings we have and also think of this in terms of the wisdom that we have, our time, and money.

To fully understand the main point of this message, I really need to drive home the fact that everything that is in our hands has come from the Lord. The money that you used to buy your vehicle came from opportunities that God gave you. The time that you have each day has been given to you. The abilities that you use at work were given to you by the Lord.

But as we will quickly see, the Lord would have for us to utilize these investments. A master chess player is only known for their skill as they are playing the game. An author can only put their skill on display as they are writing.

But we have to understand that these things that God has given us are tools for His Kingdom and building His church in order to fully utilize them. We start there and then understand, next, that

The Talents of Every Servant Vary (v. 15)

It is helpful for us to first understand what exactly a talent was during the first century. Most historians agree that a talent was about

It is a difficult thing to understand for us but it is clear that not every person has the same amount of ability to invest. While it is tough for us to fathom, it is clear based on reality. There are some people that we interact with who seem to have it all. They can sing, have a great job, are brilliant, are great at socializing, etc. Based on these verses, we can see that the talents of every individual are different. But just because each person has a difference in talents doesn’t mean they shouldn’t put them to use.

As we consider these things, we should now look at the expectations of the master.

The Master Expects a Faithful Investment of What We’ve Been Entrusted With

The expectation of the Master’s trusting of the talents is made clear when we look at these verses. The one with the five talents puts his forward in order to make more. As does the one who has two talents. However the one with just one talent does nothing with his. We will shortly see the effect of this.

We need to notice that there was an effort put for by the first two men. One traded and the other simply made two talents more. As we consider using our skills and gifts for the Lord, we cannot just sit idly by and assume that it is going to happen naturally. Instead, we need to remember that this will happen when we put in work for the kingdom. The old hymn, “we’ll work til Jesus comes” comes to mind in this case. Once a person has committed themselves to the Lord, the responsibility is then to serve Him for the rest of our lives.

Finally, this morning, there are consequences for how we invest our talents.

Faithful Investment Means the Lord Will Trust Us With More (v. 19-30)

The Lord is pleased with those who did much with what they were given. We should be encouraged with this.

But for the one who did very little, there is a concern. This ought to motivate us.

So, I want for us to think about this parable in two contexts. First, for you personally, how are you serving Christ’s church with the talents that God has given you? With your time? With your money?

I’d also like us to pray about how we as a church are serving the kingdom of God.