Watch
Listen
Read
Famous Last Words: God expects a return
God expects a return on everything that He’s entrusted to you.
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Different Measures
Hidden Talents
The Kingdom With Interest
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
-Matthew 25:14-30
Different Measures
God has given every individual different measure of talents (resources) to earn and achieve for the Kingdom of Heaven.
After his sacrificial death on the cross to reconcile sinful humanity to God, Jesus would be the Master who was resurrected and would go on a journey, ascending to the right hand of the Father. Before leaving, he says he leaves his servants with talents with which to do business until he makes His promised return.
What was a talent?:
In New Testament times, a talent was a unit of money worth 6000 drachmas (a common laborers earned about one denarius a day), or 20 years wages.
*People are given different measures of opportunities and resources, even physical attributes in life. Regardless of where you begin, Jesus says that everyone has the ability to do business with what’s been trusted to them resulting in the growth of the Kingdom of God.
*We are to be servants of God. We must see what we have in terms of intellect, resources, relationships and opportunities as ultimately belonging to Jesus. Each of these things are components of the Master’s property and we are to be stewards of His property. We will give an account for it all. Thus we are to use all that we have the way that the Master would.
The question is “What has the Master given you? What are you going to do to multiply it for the Kingdom?”
Hidden Talents
The temptation will be for each of us to waste, misuse or bury our talents.
This parable begs the question: “Does God expect anything of his people besides moralistic obedience?”
The answer is unequivocally yes. Christ is looking for a multiplication of the life of God in you to be produced in others. It was Jesus who charged his followers for all time with the Great Commission:
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
-Matthew 28:18-20
*The charge does not change with our circumstances. As in any business venture, it is incumbent upon those employed to find creative ways to see their business succeed and grow, despite the changing environment and times. This was the message of the talents. (It is what we’re doing even in the midst of the virus going online with our community groups. We’ve already heard the testimony of increased participation from these efforts!)
*The problem of trying to live your best life now is it gets severely interrupted in times like these. More than that, it is a misappropriation of the talents with which you’ve been entrusted.
Even friendships today sadly suffer the fate of:
Waste
Misuse
Being buried in temporal, rather than eternal significance
“True friends don’t spend time gazing into each other’s eyes. They may show great tenderness towards each other but they face in the same direction - toward common projects, goals - above all, towards a common Lord.”
C.S. Lewis
“The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Where the truthful answer to the question "Do you see the same truth?" would be "I see nothing and I don't care about the truth; I only want a Friend," no Friendship can arise - though Affection of course may. There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about; and Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travellers.”
C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
In times like these, it is easy to want to bury your talent because you are:
Thinking about self preservation
Afraid to make a mistake
You don’t feel like your talent is valuable enough
The paralysis of perfectionism must be swallowed up by an understanding of the grace of God.
The servant who started and ended with one talent was called wicked and slothful. This servant thought that his master was an exacting man. He did not know his master well and made excuses for his lack of productivity.
The worthless servant who buries the talents has the consequence of being thrown out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is imagery referring to hell and eternal damnation in the New Testament, being referenced by Jesus six times in Matthew and once in the gospel of Luke.
The Kingdom With Interest
God expects a return on the talents that He’s invested in you.
Whether it be your intellect, your relationships, your resources, your opportunities or skill, God wants what He’s entrusted to you to result in the advance of the Kingdom of God.
We can grow in ability.
What should drive me each morning is to one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”.
Let comparisons die. You are not responsible for that with which someone else has been entrusted. The Master said “well done” to the servant with the five talents as well as to the one with the two talents. What Jesus is looking for is faith and faithfulness until he makes his return.
The question I should ask daily is:
“How will my life be used today to advance the Master’s Kingdom purposes?” How can I invest what He has entrusted to me to see Christ gain the interest of souls won, disciples made, churches planted and the rule of Heaven entering all spheres of society? God is taking ground each day and your aspiration should be to be a part of what He is doing.
*Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a substitute for the punishment we deserve for our rebellion toward God and rose from the dead three days later to give us the opportunity for eternal life. Though salvation is the same for all who repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus, it is clear from the parable that the rewards in eternity will be different based on what we do with what God has entrusted to us. Let’s repent today of the sins of the wicked, slothful servant and turn today to serve the Master who will make his return with his great reward.
Study
Click HERE to download our study guide!
Second City Church - Famous Last Words - Parables of Jesus - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020