Transforming Your Talents

Introduction

I remember when I first began to understand talent. I never considered myself as having many talents, I saw myself as lacking talent.

I try out for basketball in Jr. High. To help you better understand how silly it was for me to think I was going to make the team, two of the kids who started with me, were scout by NBA by the time they were in high school. They help lead our High School to an Indiana Basketball state championship.

Here was little old me, trying to block Riley Lee, who would go on to play for Indiana University, right.

But what I discovered, after many failed attempts, was I was trying to force myself to have talents, I just did not have. It was later that I discovered that the same Talents are not give everyone. I have learned, by trail and error, I don’t define my talents, God does.

As Robbie read the text this morning, did you see who gave the talents out.

Talent comes from God

Matthew 25:14 NIV

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

Matthew 25:14 NIV

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

Matthew 25:

Matthew 25:14

Read with me.

Circle the word, “entrusted.”

The man entrusted, or handed over his most valued assets, his property. He gave some to each of his servants, he did not leave any out. They were all given some talents.

In this story the talents were money, but in our case our talent is our special abilities that God had entrusted to us.

Notice not all of them recieved the same talents or even the same number of talents. One recieved five talents, one recieved two talents, and one person only recieved one talent.

Some of you here today are five talent people, some of us are two talent people, and some only have one talent. The point is not how many talents do you have, the point is God has entrusted you with the gift talent.

God has an investment in you. That is the meaning of this parable.

God has made an investment in you. That is the meaning of this parable.

God has great plans for you. He has invest both talents and gifts. We talked about the gifts last week and as promised, there is a gift questionnaire on the table outside. Please pick one up and discover the gifts that God has given you. Also, please call in to the church and let us know what gifts you have. The questionnaire is very easy to fill out.

So last week we looked at how God wants us to use the gifts He has given us. today we are talking about how God has invested talents in you.

Moses

Illustration

God came to Moses in the wilderness and spoke to him from a burning bush.

God said, “Moses, Moses,”

Moses said, “Here I am.”

God said,

Exodus 3:7 NIV

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

Exodus 3:8 NIV

So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Exodus 3:10 NIV

So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Can you hear Moses cheering Him on at this point. Yes, God, it is about time, they have been suffering for far to long. I think He was thinking, “Our people have been slaves for 400 years.” You go God.

Exodus 3:10

But then God said,

Exodus 3:10 NIV

So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

The Message Chapter 3

Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Exodus 4:2 NIV

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

Exodus 4:13 The Message

He said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!”

God expects you to Invest

Matthew

Matthew 25:16 NIV

The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.

Matthew 25:15 NIV

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.

Matthew 25:15–16 The Message

To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment.

Illustration

Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment.

Illustration

The story tells us that the servant went out and right away, began to use the talents they were given.

Well, at least the first two did. The other one buried his in the ground, but we will learn about him later.

God expects us to use the talents we have been given.

Last week was the 500 aniversary for an world changing event, does anyone know what happened five hundred years ago.

The reformation. A priest, a no body really, Martin Luther, began to use his talents with public speaking to call out the Roman Catholic church for it’s failures. What happened?

I learned this fact this week while eating lunch with a friend who did his doctorate in the Reformation. One year after Martin Luther launched the reformation in Germany, just twelve short months, the Pope sent a messenger to find out what was happened in Germany. He came back with this report, “now 80 percent of Germany are Lutheran, and the other 20 percent are anti-catholic.

The Reformation was the direct result of Martin Luther using his talents. What if he had said with Moses, “Please find someone else.”

Invested Talent will Grow

Invested Talent will Grow

Matthew 25:

Matthew 25:21 NIV

“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!’

Explanation

Illustration

Horded Talent will Disappear

Matthew 25:27 NIV

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.

Explanation

Illustration

What is Your Talent? _________________________________________

How will you invest it?________________________________________

________________________________________

“What simple, easy, concrete steps will you take in the next 24 hours to move that investment forward?”