Untitled Sermon

- The last several weeks have been difficult for a lot of people. Unexpected deaths

- The last several weeks have been difficult for a lot of people. Unexpected deaths

- The gift of time that God has given is often over-looked, but it is crucial that we understand the significance of it. We have the opportunity to change lives. We have the opportunity to make him proud.

We take our life for granted: money and time

Matthew 25:14–30 NIV

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Talent = largest unit of currency at the time; represented a large sum of money

I’m going to ask 3 people to help me illustrate this story. Not a perfect analogy, but will help us grasp the story.

I open up 3 different types of restaurants. I’m all about the money; I can’t get enough of it. I’ve got some really important business to take care of in another country, so I leave you 3 alone for a long time.

I

I

Student:

Favorite restaurant:

I let you manage 5 restaurants. You worked so hard; you went out to do marketing, you did events; and you made enough money where you opened 5 more restaurants for me. My account has doubled.

I

Student:

Favorite restaurant:

I let you manage 2. You worked hard, you opened 2 restaurants for me. My account has doubled.

Student:

Favorite Restaurant:

I gave you one restaurant to manage. You didn’t want to risk anything. You weren’t willing to leave the restaurant to do marketing cause you were afraid it’d burn down. In fact, you decided to close the doors cause you didn’t want anything bad to happen. You knew I was a strict manager and you didn’t want to upset me. When I came back I had the exact same amount of money I had when I left. You could’ve at least left it running so I could’ve gained something.

All 3 of you had an opportunity. Based on your abilities, I gave you a certain amount of responsibilities; and you had the opportunity to make me proud.

Point of story! God gives us the opportunity to make Him proud. We’re all different, we’re wired, but we all have the opportunity to make him proud.

Beginning of parable - called and entrusted

Money; more importantly our time

Video

The time that we have on earth is decided by God, our creator. I don’t know about you, but when that time comes I want to hear those 6 precious words “well done my good and faithful servant”

3 areas of our lives that I want to address: money, identity, and happieness

Money

- Money is important to our culture - education - to make money

work too much

1 Timothy 6:10 NIV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Identity

We crave an identity

“tell me about yourself?”. We compare ourselves

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Happiness

We pursue happiness; emotional state tied to immediate circumstance

Candy

Coffee

Matthew 6:33 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

My hope is that we would acknowledge that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God, and that when it’s our day to return to the LORD, we would hear those 6 words.

Write out weekly schedule

Track time - RescueTime

Change your language - Use the word “priority” instead of “busy”. Words you use will influence how you act

Press pause.