The Power of Gifts
The writer John Ortberg tells a story of the time shortly after his mother had passed away. His father was cleaning about the home and found two boxes of dishes in the attic. Not really having a use for them he called his daughter-in-law to offer the dishes to her. He said they remind him of her because they were her favorite color. Blue. Not only were they blue the outer rims had hand-painted flowers and the cups were inlaid with mother of pearl.
John could not ever remember seeing the dishes before and so he began researching their origins. What he found was that the complete set of dishes was priceless. They had been made in a factory in Austria that was destroyed during World War II. They could not be replaced. But what bothered him more was that during the entire time he had been growing up he had never seen the dishes in use.
When he questioned older members of the family he found that his mother’s family had been very poor. So they had bought the set of gift and given it to her over time. A plate for Christmas. Perhaps a cup and saucer for a birthday. And so over many years she had received the full set of dishes.
The mother had known just how important these dishes were. So each time she received one she had carefully wrapped up the dish and put it in the box. To bring it out and use it meant to risk the dish. It might get broken with use.
The daughter in law too knew the value of the dishes. She loved them so much that she used any excuse she could to make the dishes useful. She proudly used them at dinner parties with friends, family dinners, and any other occasion when they could possibly be used.
The truth is as Christians we have received a marvelous gift in our talents, experiences, even in our very lives. More importantly we have received a gift of choice. We can choose how we use what we’ve been given. We can bring it out for all to see. Or we can bury it and let it be forgotten about.
Jesus told a parable just about this sort of thing. Many of you are probably familiar with it. Let’s take a look at Matthew 25:14 – 25.
14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ’Master,’ he said, ’you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 "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!’
22 "The man with the two talents also came. ’Master,’ he said, ’you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 "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!’
24 "Then the man who had received the one talent came. ’Master,’ he said, ’I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 "His master replied, ’You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
I don’t think it’s any accident that Jesus calls these gifts talents. You see, in those days a talent was worth about fifteen years worth of wages. That’s a huge sum of money for a group of people that probably lived hand to mouth every day of their lives. This master was rich. By far he was the richest man in his community. Imagine for a moment just receiving more money at one time than you have ever seen or will ever see in your whole life. This a special kind of gift. It is given once in a lifetime. It is an unbelievable opportunity.
Not only that but we get the word talent right from the very word Jesus is using here. A talent is a gift or an ability that you are able to use.
Above all else about this story I want you to remember that you are the trusted servant. You are the master is entrusting with his belongings.
The truth of the matter is you have already been given talents. Each and every one of you is given talents. We can plainly see that if we look back at verse 15. To each servant the master gives a gift. To the first servant he gives five talents, to the second he gives two and to the last servant he gives one.
Just like the servants in the story every single Christian receives gifts. So maybe you can’t play the trumpet like Louis Armstrong. Maybe you can’t sing like Sandy Patty. But you’ve still been given a marvelous gift.
You may not even realize that you have the gifts and talents that you do have. They may not seem like talents at all, but every thing about you is a gift. But He gave you experiences, gifts, and talents. You may not think much of your experiences. Some of them may have been quite painful. They’re still gifts. Right now some of you are thinking, “My divorce wasn’t much of a gift.” “My miscarriage wasn’t much of a talent.” But those are experiences that can be used for God. You aren’t alone in having gone through them. Chances are other people have had those very same experiences. Chances are other people are going to have them in the future. Think of the comfort, of the sharing that you can do when you put those experiences to use in helping someone through their tough times.
I think a few years back to my own divorce. I had fallen a long ways away from God and as I struggled through my divorce had come back to God. The first thing the pastor of the church I attended did was get me in touch with another man who’d been through a divorce. Dan’s experience was less than a year old and yet e took one of the most painful experiences in his life to share with me. There were a lot of 2 AM coffees and a lot of tears. But he put to use a gift that he had been given.
The second thing I think we need to learn is that not everyone receives the same gifts. If we look back at the parable we can see that one servant received five talents, another two, and the final one received only one. Each one got different gifts.
Even Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:7 – 11 that each person receives gifts.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge. 9 The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
In this church there are some very talented people. I know a man with a wonderful ability to intercede on the behalf of other members. I know a couple of women that can cook better than those people on Food Network. I know a woman that play the piano so well it makes me wish I could play just like that. I know a man that plays the guitar better than I do. I want to do all those things.
I can pray but I don’t feel this is where I am spiritually strongest. In fact, I am sure spiritually it is one of my weakest areas. I can cook but the food isn’t anything to write home about. And I know tey cook better tan those people on Foodnetwork because I’ve tried making some of the recipes from that channel. I can tell you where middle C is on the piano but I can’t read the sheet music. I could practice more to become better at the guitar but I’ve become content with what talent I do have there.
But some times I get talent envy. You know what talent envy is right? Talent envy is wanting to have the gifts someone else as already been given.
Unfortunately many of us want the talents that others have. I’ve got something to tell you and it’s going to hurt. “Get over it! Those gifts aren’t yours!”
It isn’t your choice either. You don’t get to choose your gifts. They’re given to you. God knows what it is you’re going to need. More importantly he knows how you can use that to his good.
We’re given the opportunity to use the gifts we’ve been given. Unfortunately like the mother in John’s story many of us hide our gifts. We store them away for safe keeping. We know that using the gift may mean our getting hurt or that gift being destroyed.
The number one reason why people fail to use their gifts is fear. The devil knows that. He does the best he can to keep you away from using your gifts.
Look back at the passage and you can see it. The master comes home and he asks the final servant what became of the one talent the servant had received. Do you know the servants answer? “I made you one more.” No. That isn’t the case.
Instead the servant answers and says, “Master I knew you were a hard man. You reap where you haven’t sown. You gather where you didn’t plant. And I was AFRAID.” I was scared.
We get scared of the what ifs. So most of us have built a comfort zone all around us. Right here in the middle it’s safe. No one can hurt me here. From here I don’t have to worry about getting hurt. I don’t have to worry about what you think of me. I don’t have to worry about the rejection that sometimes comes along. But out here, right here by the edge things get scary. The closer I get to the edge of my comfort zone the more nervous I become. “What if I’m rejected?” “What if I get hurt?”
It’s a fight right here. This ground isn’t yours. But you’ve been given a gift. That ground is yours to take for God. And the moment that you cross the line, the moment you use that gift you’re in for a huge fight. You’re going to get wounded. You’re going to have to struggle to hold that piece of ground.
When you do what a glorious moment. You’ve got a victory. You’ve gained a new piece of ground. You’ve expanded your comfort zone.
But don’t get too comfortable. It’s not over. You’re going to have to use that talent again and again and again. And each and every time you do there’s going to be a fight. There’s going to be a struggle. You’re going to keep moving forward. Each time that ground will expand. Can you imagine what it would be like if each of us chose to use our talents, our gifts every time we could? Think of how much ground could be gained if we did. Think of the lives that could be touched if we only dared.
There is some bad news for some of us though. Maybe you think I’ve forgotten about it. Or maybe you didn’t notice it in the story.
The master is coming back.
What an awesome truth some of us forget sometimes. Jesus is coming back!
And when he does there will be questions. “What did you do with what I gave you?” We’re going to have to tell him exactly what we did with the gifts we’ve been given. He’s going to ask you personally.
He’s not going to come to me and say, “What did so and so do with what I gave them?” Because I’m not going to know. Nor is he going to ask you what I did with what he gave me. Because you won’t be able to answer that question.
Nor is he going to ask me what I did with what he didn’t give me. “So… Did you ever play that piano concert to a packed auditorium like I asked?” Because I can hear that answer now. “Lord, I can’t play the piano.”
He’s going to want to know what I did with what I received. He’s going to want to see what you did with what you received. You and I are going to be held accountable for our gifts. He’s interested in the results.
What did you do with what I entrusted to you?
So the master has calls each individual. You and I have come and we’re given the gifts. But now we’re left with the decision about what we’re going to do with what we’ve been given.
I want to leave you today with a personal story. Something to think about. A story about a very special gift.
Some time ago I was given an important gift. You may not think very much of it. It probably wouldn’t even be valuable to you.
About a year ago I received a set of Time Life Old West Books. They had belonged to my grandpa. As a child I remember sitting and reading the books. Actually I’m not sure I really read them at all. But the pictures were fun to look at and so as a child I would often flip through the pages of these books.
When I first received them I treasured them. They were put right on a shelf in the living room where they could be seen and looked at. I even sat down to read them. Alright I still just flipped through and looked at the pictures. But they were mine.
But there was some jealousy that went on. You see, I know my grandpa had a set of the Civil War books by Time Life and as most of you know I’m a huge fan of the Civil War. But I had gotten the Old West set. My cousin received the Civil War set and in my heart I thought, “Didn’t my grandmother know I’m the one that’s interested in the Civil War? Those books should have been mine.” But they weren’t given to me.
So there were the Old West books and I loved them. They were sitting out to be used, to be risked. I think my son even used one to work on a report for school.
Then came Christmas. And we needed that set of shelves for Storm’s Dicken’s Houses. So the books were packed away. They were put into there boxes and stored, only to be forgotten about.
As most of you know we ad a flood here in town about two months back. And as I was cleaning out the basement of the house I found the books. They been sitting at the bottom of a pile of boxes in the basement. The flood waters had destroyed them. With the growing mold there was only one thing they were good for. And so I carried them out to the trash with a saddened heart.
It was during the time that I first began writing this sermon that I found the books. And so I thought what a great example God is giving me about gifts. You see I suffered from gift envy. I saw the use of my gift. Sadly though I learned the ultimate lesson. A gift that is unused is worthless. It’s wasted.
And so I ask you, what are you doing with the gifts you’ve been given.
Lord,
Heavenly Father I thank you so much for the lesson of the gifts you’ve given me. I ask that you give me a chance each day to use those gifts. Help me to overcome the fears I have in using those gifts.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
