Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.12UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.09UNLIKELY
Fear
0.58LIKELY
Joy
0.62LIKELY
Sadness
0.5UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.63LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.46UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.63LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.97LIKELY
Extraversion
0.2UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.95LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.79LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
This morning, we are turning to Matthew 25, as we look at the one of the parables of Jesus.
We’ll be starting in verse 14.
From this story, we see that God entrusts us with everything we have, and He expects us to use it to honor Him.
Look with me at the story of a master and his three servants…
As we look at this passage this morning, we should note that this parable applies to much more than just finances.
Here, Jesus gives us an example from the realm of financial stewardship to tell us how to manage every blessing we have, both spiritual, physical, material, etc.
So as we talk about stewardship today, know that this applies to more than just our material resources, even if that’s the main application we make today.
In fact, we’re going to use three words to represent what God has given us:
Time – Each of us has 1440 minutes in a given day to spend in love for God and others.
Talents – The talents the parable speak of is a unit of measuring money.
When we say “talents”, we are talking about abilities.
God has given each person in this room a unique set of gifts, skills, and abilities, and He expects you to use them for His glory.
Treasure – We use the word “treasure” to talk about the material blessings God gives us…from our socks to our homes and everything in between.
Whether you are talking about your time, your talents, or your treasures, you must understand that you are simply a steward.
We’re going to see three different truths that come from this passage this morning
The first truth about everything we have is…
1) God owns it all.
Look with me again at verse 14…
Did you notice the language?
This is not a man who is giving things away; rather, He entrusted His possessions to them.
There is a big difference in those two phrases.
If someone gives something to me, I can do whatever I want with it.
It is mine.
The person no longer has any control over what I do.
If you’ve ever had to give your child in marriage, or give away a pet you could no longer care for, you know what I mean.
You release that child or that animal into the care of the person you’ve entrusted them to, knowing that they are no longer yours.
It’s totally different if someone tells you, “Look after this until I get back.”
When my brother and his wife were newly-weds, a man and his family temporarily relocated to another state and needed someone to watch the house while they were gone.
For a year, that was my brother and sister-in-law’s house.
They lived there, slept there, and ate there.
Yet, when the man and his family returned, they had to give it back.
While he was gone, they had to keep it just like it had been.
They couldn’t paint the bedroom or till up the backyard and plant a garden.
Why?
Because it wasn’t their house.
Had it been theirs, they could have done whatever they wanted.
The same principle applies to our stuff.
Everything I am and everything that I have is on loan.
Nothing about me is mine, right down to my socks.
That changes things, doesn’t it?
The fact that God owns it all means that He has the right to do with me and my gifts and possessions as He sees fit.
This is another one of those comprehensive statements—God owns it all.
Everything!
Maybe what you need to do this afternoon is to physically sit down and make a list of everything you own; house, car, tools, dishes, boats, stocks, bank accounts, etc.
After you have made your list, go through each item and transfer ownership of it back to the one who really owned it the entire time.
As you do this, you are releasing your control and your right to do what you want with what you have.
It’s challenging, but it’s worth it as you gain a proper understanding of how God expects you to look at what you have.
God retains the ownership of all that He has entrusted to you, which is why…
2) God rewards stewardship.
You see that the master assigns differing amounts to each steward and then leaves on his journey.
BTW, remember that you cannot press the details of a parable to extremes.
God hasn’t left us alone with these gifts, but is intimately involved in the affairs of everyday life.
In fact, we can only truly use His gifts for us as we recognize our own need for and dependence on Him.
If He isn’t giving us the strength, we can’t use our time, talents, or treasures the way He calls us to.
However, we do see from this, just like with the parables and teaching surrounding this story, that there will be a time God calls us to account for what we’ve done with what He entrusted to us.
The first two stewards did exactly what they should have done.
What do we see in verses 16 & 17?
They both immediately started using their gifts.
This is a good reminder to us that we shouldn’t sit around and wait for “the right time” to do what God has called and equipped us to do.
You’ve probably had friends who have waited to do something, whether it’s start a family or change jobs or whatever it is.
Although there is a time for us to be cautious and wait, there is also a time to obey, even when it is difficult:
If God equips and calls you to do it, now is the time to be obedient, even if it is difficult.
That doesn’t mean you need to jump in to something impetuously, but it does mean that you should start taking what He has given you and doing what He is telling you to do with it.
There is another beautiful truth nestled in this.
Look at verse 15…
Why did God give each of these stewards what He gave them?
Because He knew they could handle it through the strength He supplied.
God gave to “each according to his own ability”, which tells us that if God gave you that gift, whether time, talent, or treasure, He knows that He can give you the strength to accomplish His will through it.
Notice the beautiful language of verse 20-21…
Here, the steward who was entrusted with the largest sum was commended for having used it to the fullest extent.
What seems to me to be even more beautiful, though, is what I see in verse 23…
It is an exact copy of what the master told the servant who had been given and made twice as much.
There is a beautiful truth in this: The amount isn’t important, the attitude is.
It is highly unlikely that God will ever use me to the extent of C.H. Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, or Adrian Rogers.
Yet, it doesn’t matter.
I have to be the best Sean Couch He equips and enables me to be.
When I get to heaven, He isn’t going to say, “Why didn’t you preach as well as those men, or win as many as those men?”
Rather, He will ask me how faithful I have been with what He has entrusted to me.
The same applies in the area of finances.
You may be in a situation where you have very little to give, if anything.
You may not be in a position to give any more than you are already giving to the church.
If that’s you, remember that the amount isn’t important; the attitude is.
We will see that even more next week when we look at some of the excuses we give about why we don’t give when God prompts.
The flip side is also true.
You may be able to give more than someone else, but are you giving at the level God has commanded you to give?
I have heard it said, “It’s not how much you give that’s important; it’s how much you have left over that matters.”
There is some real truth to this.
The amount isn’t as important; the attitude is the key.
As we talk about giving to the church and meeting needs through our Season of Giving, I want you to know that the numbers are between you and God.
You must do what God has called you to do to be faithful to Him.
If that’s one penny, praise the Lord.
If that’s $1 million dollars, praise the Lord.
Whatever amount you give or don’t give, give in such a way that the Master who entrusted it to you will say,“Well done, good and faithful servant!
You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
Share your master’s joy.’ (Matthew 25:23, CSB)
Ask yourself if your giving of your time, talents, and treasures would meet those qualifications:
Are you spending them on things God would consider “good”?
Are you being as faithful as possible with what He has given you?
Remember, this is the only life you have to give to the God who gave Himself for you.
“We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them.”
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9