The Parable Series Part 4

The Parable Series Part 4

"A TALENTED CHRISTIAN"

Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

Matt 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

INTRODUCTION

In our culture we often define worth by what we possess:

a. The place we live

b. The kind of house we live in

c. The kind of car we drive

d. The line of credit we have

e. The clothes we wear

f. The degrees we’ve earned

In God's kingdom however, we possess nothing of our own, rather our worth is determined not by what we possess, but how we use what God possesses, that which He has entrusted us to use!

ILLUS: Years ago a Sunday school in Philadelphia was overcrowded, much like some of our children's departments today. A little girl was turned away.

She began, that day, to save her pennies to help the Sunday school have more room. Two years later, she died.

They found a pocketbook by her bed with 57 pennies and a little scrap of paper with a note saying to help the church build a bigger Sunday school.

The pastor of that church, Dr. Russell Conwell, used that note to make a dramatic appeal to his congregation.

People's hearts were touched. One realtor gave the church a piece of land. He said he just wanted a down payment of 57 pennies.

The local newspaper picked up the story, and it was carried across the country. The pennies grew, and the results can be seen in Philadelphia today.

I've never been to that spot, but I'd like to go see that church. It seats 3,300 people with a large Sunday school department.

I'd like to visit Temple University and Good Samaritan Hospital that came about as a result of that initial effort.

I'd like to visit the room at Temple University where that little girl's picture is on the wall with the reminder that she gave 57 cents with an amazing result. -- Bob Russell, "Take the Risk," Preaching Today, Tape No. 143.

Jesus teaches us that stewardship is not an optional choice in His kingdom for those of His kingdom, but it is required of His servants who will identify themselves with the Kingdom of God!

Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

Let’s look at the word— Servants

Servant - one that serves others.

We are not Lord's or Rulers. We get to serve

We own nothing. We get to serve.

We had Equal status because we are all servants. And we get to serve

ILLUS: When the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being and placed you in this world.

He placed you here not as an owner but as a steward.

He entrusted you for a season with goods of various kinds but the sole property of these still rests in Him, nor can ever be alienated from Him.

As you are not your own but His, such is likewise all you enjoy. -- John Wesley -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 464.

We came into the world with nothing, and leave it with nothing. (You can't take it with you!)

The Other part is the man: Then the man went away.

That’s where we are right now in this story, in our lives. Jesus, having accomplished our salvation on the cross and rising from the dead, went away.

He ascended to heaven and has remained there a long time, but He is coming back. That’s a message through out the Bible. Jesus is coming back.

Until then, the kingdom of heaven will be like His servants being good stewards by investing the talents He has given us in kingdom work until he returns.

And then there’s the talents: I think that the talents in this parable represent all that God gives us to steward during our lifetime: our skills, our time, our resources, our money, our energy, our affections, our prayers, our words, our work, everything.

Talents represent our lives and what we do with them to be productive for the kingdom.

Matt 25:14 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.

Matt 25:15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

Matt 25:16 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.

Matt 25:17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.

Matt 25:18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.

Now the concept here is that a servant must be a good steward.

Good steward of God's property which He has given to us to use,not to be used for self but for master.

The whole idea is that if we have been entrusted with something (like riches, talents, etc.) we should recognize that we have been blessed with them to benefit others!)

Stewardship involves responsibility – the idea here of “investment!”

There is no portion of our time that is our time, and the rest God's; there is no portion of money that is our money, and the rest God's money.

It is all His; He made it all, He gives it all, and He has simply trusted it to us for His service.

A different amount given to each one of us but equal job of responsibility!

Some will run from responsibility.

Matt 25:18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.

This servant was one who was willing to try and hide in the world what God has given him , or one who fail to invest what God has given him; no stewardship.

Put trust in the world and self.

You see, the idea of burial here is keeping it for self, not to invest it for growth for the master.

This is not just about money; this is about all areas of our lives, stewardship is about all our resources: time, talent, and tithes.

Without a doubt today many believe that their actions are not being held accountable. Because the Master, King Jesus has been gone for such a long time, and He may not come back at all.

So what they have been blessed with or to many what they think that earned is their and the account will not be settled.

Matt 25:19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.

There will be accountability for what we've done with the Lord’s goods and opportunities He has given us.

The implication is that everyone was given something to start with, some with much, some with less … but everyone with something!

At some point in the future everyone will give an account for what they have done with what they had.

Gal 6:4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.

Gal 6:5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

We must have a clear understanding that we will reap what kind of stewardship we practiced!

Gal 6:9 So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

ILLUS: An interesting fable is told of a rich man who wanted to help a poor man. The rich man hired the poor man to build a house on the hillside and went away on a long journey.

The carpenter said to himself, "My boss is away and I can use cheap materials for the parts of the house which will not show.

The house will be weak and undesirable but nobody will know except me." But when the rich man returned he said, "The house is not for me: it is for you!"

The carpenter accepted the key in astonishment. Instead of a first class home he now had a fourth-class home.

God gives us a job, a life to build. We have to live in the house we build. If we do a poor job, we cheat one person -- ourself. – Source Unknown

Matt 25:20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, 'Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.'

Matt 25:21 "The master was full of praise. 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together! '

Matt 25:22 "The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.'

Matt 25:23 "The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'

Notice praise is not determined by amounts made, but by faithfulness in using what they possessed!

The Master replied the same to each who had been a good steward in spite of the final amounts.

He said, “Well done...”

Same reward for same faithfulness even with different totals!

It is not how much do I have, but it was “what am I doing with what I have?”

You see, It is required of a man that he be faithful, not successful.

Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

Mark 12:42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Mark 12:43 Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

Mark 12:44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."

This widow gave 2 mites (KJV), (fraction of a penny to a couple of cents) it was greater than those who had given much more because it was greater in proportion to what she had.

Attitude of steward.

Willingness of steward.

Notice the master equally praises them: “Well done, good and faithful servant!

Notice the master equally promotes them: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”

Also notice the master equally blesses them: “Come and share your master's happiness!”

One more thing this morning: Let’s look at: The Selfish Servant

Matt 25:24 "Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, 'Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate.

Matt 25:25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'

This Servant wasn't interested in helping the master. His interest was self.

While the master was away he would do as he pleased with the goods given to him.

So He invested everything in the world ... his thinking was that the master is a hard taskmaster so he wouldn’t do anything to help him ... in the meantime what do I get out of this stuff!

ILLUS: I heard about a little girl who experienced a major breakthrough in her life when she learned to tie her own shoes. Instead of excitement, she was overcome by tears.

Her father asked, "Why are you crying?"

"I have to tie my shoes," she said.

"You just learned how. It isn't that hard, is it?"

"I know," she wailed, "but I'm going to have to do it for the rest of my life."

My hunch is that some of us feel the same way when it comes to Christian stewardship. We learn that it's exciting to give.

But isn't there just a tiny bit of dread because we know we have to do it over and over again for the rest of our lives?

This wicked servant just buried the investment and never used it productively, only to protect his own self interest.

His only concern was to preserve his own life by not losing anything; he wasn’t interested in gaining anything.

In this servants, there was some problems:

Matt 25:26 "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate,

1. The heart of the problem -- laziness!

2. Didn't trust God. This was the root of the issue … he could have at least put it in the bank and had the original grow interest for the master without his having to do anything … but it was obvious he hated the master and did not trust him, meaning God.

3. Not willing to invest in God's work.

4. Trusted self more and the world over the master!

5. He didn’t care to return anything to the master. His interests were self interests.

No true servant acts this way with the Master's things! He was cast away!

He served only self not God. The idea here was that this wicked servant was only interested in self preservation.

His kingdom was “self” … he served no master but himself. It wasn’t the single talent that he had been given that was the problem; it was the lack of investment that was the problem.

The Kingdom of the world demanded more attention than the Kingdom of God!

The concept of stewardship is quite clear in this story, no one can please God without being a steward, and you cannot be a steward if you serve yourself.

You can't be God's servant without also being His steward! To not be one mean that you cannot be the other!

In whose kingdom are you invested in, God's or this world’s? The" talented" Christian uses God's blessings ... the wicked servant hides them or uses them for self!