Leftovers For God: Time, Talent and Money
Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21; 4:18-22;
Introduction:
Last week I started this message "Leftovers For God" by reviewing just was "leftovers" were as it pertained to both food and non-food. In my first message I focused on how we give God our left over time. This morning I will focus on how we give God our left over talents. Our foundational Scripture is found in Matthew 6:19-21. It says: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." As I shared with you on last week, the things that we treasure the most are the same things that we are willing to dedicate good time to. As with time, the things that we treasure the most are also those things that we are willing to use our talents for, to ensure its success. This morning when I speak of talents, I am talking about all talents, not just the ones that society and the Church deemed are important. If you have been blessed with a talent, any talent, there are ways for you to use your talents in service to God. One thing to remember, a talent can be natural – something you’re born with, or developed through life experiences. Whichever type of talent you have, born with or learned, you can use it to serve God. To get us started, let’s take a look at a few of the disciples and some of their talents.
I. Disciples Talents Utilized
"And walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ’Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they immediately left the nets and followed Him. And going on from there, He saw two others brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father mending their nets and He called them. And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him." Matt. 4:18-22
Fishermen, then and now, formed a distinct class of people. The strenuousness of the work, (Luke 5:2-5) ruled out the weak and forced one to become patient and hard. Because the job required a very coordinated effort, fishermen had little patience for those who were lazy or just wanted to have the results with no work. Fishermen were crude in manner, rough in speech (where we get the term "cuss like a sailor" and in their treatment of others. James and John before they became tempered by Jesus’ influence were nicknames "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Their name gave insight into their character before Jesus. Luke 9:54 records a situation where they asked Jesus if He wanted them to rain down fire on some people and kill them. The fishermen’s exposure to all kinds of weather made them hard and fearless. They could endure all types of weather for long periods of time. They were accustomed to bearing with patience many trying circumstances. They often toiled for hours without success; yet they were always ready to try once more. When you understand the life of a fisherman, you begin to understand why such men, when impelled by the same Spirit as filled their Master, indeed became "fishers of men." The raw talent and skill that they had as fishermen would be used by Christ to save others. Their ability to work long hours; be patient in the midst of difficult circumstances; and their understanding of the water during the times when they were traveling to minister all helped them in their new found occupations. They did not set out to become fishermen so that they could later be used by Christ, they took what they had, their skills and made them assessable to Christ when He called them. They came to the table with what they had and made it available for Christ to use. They understood what the process was to catch fish; the planning and the persistence necessary to ensure success. All of these "talents" that they learned would now be freely used in a different way, to bring souls to Christ. These were unlearned men in the Scripture, but their experience has fishermen gave them what they needed to be a long-term disciple who would change the course of history.
When Jesus called Levi (Matthew) he called a man who had experience collecting taxes (Levi was a tax collector). These people were not the most honest or respected people in society as they often increased the amount of taxes a person owed and kept the difference for themselves. These individuals were often Gentiles who worked for the Roman government collecting taxes from the Jewish people. When Jesus chose a tax collector as one of His disciples, He was breaking major new grounds for this man was considered one major sinner (by trade if not by personal acts). When tax collectors interacted with Jesus, their hearts were changed. Jesus admonished them "…collect no more than what you have been ordered to." What talents would a tax-collector have for Jesus? Well one he was already accustomed to dealing with people who did not like him while staying focused on the task at hand. The disciples would also face similar circumstance but for different reasons. He was also very familiar with the Roman government and their taxes which would benefit Jesus throughout his ministry. Although he was a tax collector, he was very hospitable and penitent. His hospitality led him to invite Jesus to dinner. I would have imagined that he had a positive impact on the fishermen who were not as hospitable.
Finally, consider Judas Iscariot. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus. Although he later betrayed Jesus, Judas had a purpose for the ministry that was unrelated to his subsequent betrayal. When Jesus called Judas, He saw within him something that He would be able to use. When Judas accepted Jesus’ call, he saw something within Jesus that made him think Jesus was the Messiah. When Judas accepted Jesus’ call, Jesus placed him over the money of the group, which was not a lot. Although some may disagree with me on this, I find it hard to believe that Jesus would place Judas over the money if He knew that this would tempt Judas. I also find it difficult to believe that Judas would willingly join a band of poor, penniless preachers if he was a greedy and petty stealer. What he would get from these preachers would be so small that it would be a waste of his time. No I believe at the point when Jesus called Judas, Judas was someone that had great potential. He had to have had skills with money for Jesus to place him as the head trustee over the funds of the ministry. We have two trustees, Dea. Willis and Sis. Valerie. Would I willingly appoint them over our money if I sensed that they would be stealing from the ministry? If I can figure this out, Jesus is much smarter than I am and I knew He would have known. Judas had great potential and initially he used his gifts to serve the ministry.
All of the disciples brought something to the ministry. What is important is that with the little talents and/or gifts that they brought to the ministry, they developed others talents that enabled them to be very effective ministers for Christ. It is not what you bring to the table that will count, it is what you use and develop in the process that will make the real big difference. Let’s look at our gifts.
II. Your Leftover Gifts and Talents
Remember what I said earlier about talents could be natural or learned? Because of this one fact, we should not ever consider someone’s contribution as great or small based on what they are "capable" of doing. If someone is giving their all to the best of their ability, then that is all that God expects and what we should appreciate. However, we do not always get the see the best, we often get to see the leftovers.
When we think about our leftover talents, let me give you an example. Let’s say that I am an accountant. I deal with people’s money every day, five or sometimes six days a week. I am very good at what I do and I enjoy my job. I have the ability to evaluate financial decisions and come up with what is the best case scenario for any situation, it I my natural gift that I perfected with additional schooling. But here is the problem. When I leave work, I do not want to think about anything pertaining to accounting. When I go to Church, I want to work with the youths. I want nothing to do with being a trustee or getting involved with the Church finances. The Church is struggling in some areas based on some poor decisions made by the finance committee, but I am perfectly happy just working with the youths. I am so tired from using my real talent at work that I refuse to use it to help the Church – I am just too tired. When I come to Church I want to do something that I like, not something that I do everyday. In this example, I am giving God some of my leftover talent. I could easily work with the youth while being an advisor to the financial committee of the church. However, I am choosing not to do that because I want to do something else. I am giving God of my leftover talents. Although I am still fulfilling a need, I could also be using my best talent for service and I am not.
Another way in which we give God leftovers as it pertains to our talents is when we choose not to give our best. Maybe we are tired from a hard week or we are just in a blue mood, but for whatever reason we are not giving our best. Whenever we are doing anything and we are not giving our best, we are giving our leftovers. Our best is given when we are able to give it our full attention and focus. We know what needs to be done and we are giving it our all. When you evaluate what you are doing for Christ, are you giving Him your leftovers? Are their talents and gifts that you have that you are keeping to yourself because you just do not want to get involved in that area? Has God told you to do something and you are fighting against Him because it is not something that you really want to be involved in?
My final example for you to consider is our "unmet potential." This is a major area where we give God our leftovers. Let me help you grasp what I am saying. How many of you work a job and have received a promotion on your job because of your skill development and expertise? How many of you learned to cook in such a way that every meal that you make is good, even when you are just "throwing something together?" How many of you have a talent (or gift) that you are recognized for? Now here is the key question, how many of you were born with the talent or gift and you had to do nothing, absolutely nothing, to perfect it? No practicing, no schooling, no training, no nothing. What you have you have it all and you were born with it. You are so gifted that you do not have to do anything to maintain or improve your talent?
Not many of us fall into this category. Even the most gifted person at birth must do something to maintain or improve on their gifts. This is the one area where we really give God our leftover talents. We bring to the table what we currently have and we do nothing once we get there to improve. In my accountant example, if I had chosen to use my skills for the Church in some capacity, I could have potentially been giving God my leftovers. However, if I chose to do my best, go back and research taxes and finances as it pertained to not-for-profit entities, then I would be taking it to the next level. I would take what I have and add to it in order to be more effective in what I am doing for God. You see, when God looks at us, He see where we are, where He wants us to be and what it will take for us to get there. The problem come for us in the "what it takes to get there." We have no problem understanding where we are currently and no problem becoming what God wants us to be, but we do have a problem going through the process of getting there. We want God to accept us just as we are, and He does, but if you are going to work, He wants you at your best and meeting your full potential. If you are not seeking to improve on the skills you are currently using for God, you are not giving God your best, you are giving Him leftovers. If you are holding out on using your talents, your best talents, for whatever reason, you are giving God your leftovers.
I want to challenge each of you to pray about the skills you have that could be of use to this congregation. We have a few people doing a lot and our goal is to have everyone involved. If you are not sure if your talent can be used for the work of the God, please come and talk to me. I am sure we can find a way to use your talent. Also, if you are currently using one of your talents for God, are you using it to your best? Have you found ways to improve on it so that you may continue to grow. I truly believe that God expects our best. Maybe we should start expecting the best in others while giving our best.
Next week I will close with giving God our left over finances.
