Matthew 25:14-46

Live a life that counts

Right off the bat! Bam! The Holy Spirit hits me smack dab in the face. Do you ever get sudden messages of conviction right away as you start reading a passage? It happens to me every once in a while. I started reading our passage and within the first 2 verses I immediately got the message. God gives each person according to their abilities. simple but profound all at the same time. God gives us exactly what we can handle, nothing more nothing less. He created us and knows us intimately, so of course He knows what gifts He has given to each of us and He knows that if we use them accordingly we will accomplish the goal.

Then the one given the least

Continue reading the passage and you see that someone didn’t quite use his talents wisely. Have you been given talents? Yes, you have. Have you been using them ?

This Parable of the talents again emphasizes those characteristics we talked about last time. The lord is absent for a time, the servants are responsible for his possessions, the servants are expected to work, and then judgement by the master is given upon his return. Each of these particular parables drives home an important point: What God has promised will come to pass. But, our time is not to be spent daydreaming of that future day. It is to be spent in the service of our absent Lord who has entrusted His possessions to us. He has entrusted us to us our talents in serving in His kingdom.

#1 What dos it mean to be ready for His coming?

It means being involved as servants in the ongoing ministries commited to us by the Lord. At our church we have a 90+ year old woman who praises the Lord throughout the service but most notably is her calling out at the end of the service “and all God’s people say...” and we respond Amen in unity. Recently she was hospitalized for an extended time and many people in church missed her. After a couple of weeks passed, one woman called out Edna’s emphatic call to the parish and we all responded with Amen. I tell you this to remind you that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, there is work that God has given to you to do. Edna’s work is to remind us to praise God. it is simple and it is important.

Jesus goes on to share about the future. When Jesus comes again He will bring forth the kingdom with all his glory and He will gather His own to Himself. With His coming will also come judgement. All the nations of the earth. ALL. Each one of us will be sorted into one of two groups. What seems to be important for Jesus to communicate to the people is not the exact timetable of future events , but that we understand how we are to live while we are waiting for Jesus to come back.

#2 Kingdom living requires us to use our talents in service. what talents has God given you? What are you doing with them?

my talents are administration, and hospitality. I use them in organizing studies both online and in person, and I serve as a greeter at church and I make a bot load of muffins for the church members to eat each Sunday.

#3 On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being burying them in the sand and 10 being faithfully using them) how would you rate yourself?

administration is probably about a 2-3 … I am dropping the ball a lot lately

hospitality is also one I have much to improve upon.. with that being about a 5