1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
It is not too difficult to identify the talents we have.
• Some are good at music, some good at drawing, cooking, writing…
• After a short period of time, we can tell more-or-less what we are good at.
• Our problem is not in identifying the talent, but in using it.
• Most of the time, we are not using what we have been given.
In this parable, Jesus wants to remind us of the need to use what God has given us.
This parable was given in the middle of a long teaching session Jesus gave to His disciples. It started from the beginning of chapter 24.
• Jesus was responding to His disciples’ question in 24:3.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus warns them to be on guard so that no one will deceive them and helps them understand that after He leaves, He will come again.
• He urges them in the 2nd part of chapter 24 to be ready because He will come at an hour when He is least expected.
• In chapter 25, Jesus compares His coming to the eastern custom of a bridegroom arriving in the middle of the night.
• He concludes by saying in 25:13: “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
And in 25:14 Jesus starts off with another parable (which is the text we read): “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey…”
• The word “again” 又好比indicates that Jesus is using yet one more parable to talk about His second coming.
• The man going on a “journey” is Jesus and He will return one day.
A few things Jesus wants us to learn from this parable.
1. What We Have Is Not Ours
Verse 14 says that this man who was getting ready for a journey “…called his servants and entrusted His property to them.”
• It was common then for wealthy men to take long journeys.
• Before they would leave, they would arrange to have someone pick up their mail and feed their pets.
• But even more than that, they would often delegate the management of their wealth to trustworthy employees.
• They were expected to bring a return on what had been handed over to them.
• Given the uncertainties of transportation in those days, the Master would not be able to tell them the precise time of his return.
There was no doubt in the minds of these servants that the property and money still belonged to the master.
• They were the possessors, but not the owners. Their job was to manage what they were given.
Likewise, we must remember that everything we have has been given to us and is not really ours anyway.
• Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
• Haggai 2:8 adds, “The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the LORD Almighty.”
• He has the rights, and I have the responsibility. He is the Master and I am the manager. I am the servant; He is the sovereign Lord.
We may know it, but we need to be reminded again and again.
• You don’t really own anything. Everything belongs to the Lord.
• Until we recognize this truth, we will not be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us.
• Our days are in His hands. Our gifts and abilities are on loan from Him.
• Frankly, we really don’t own anything. We will one day leave everything behind.
2. We Are Given What We Can Handle
In verse 15 we see that the master gave some talents to three of his servants: “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.”
Each servant received talents “according to his ability.”
• Your responsibility is tied to your ability.
• This is very interesting. God’s Kingdom does not operate according to what is ‘fair’ – that is, every one getting the same.
• When God gives us the gifts, 1 Cor 12:11 says “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.”
Once in the church in Corinth, the believers were taking sides over two different leaders. Some says, “I follow Paul,” and another group says, “I follow Apollos.”
• Paul writes to them (1 Cor 3:5): “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task.”
Did you catch that?
• We are all assigned different tasks. No need to compare or compete.
• We are just doing what God has called us to do.
• If that is the case, then we need to ask, ‘What has God given me?’
• Our job is to be faithful to what He has called us to do.
You have what you have because God gave it to you.
• And He expects you to use it for His Kingdom’s sake.
• He entrusts different things to different people because He knows how much we can take.
• In order words, what He expects from you is something you can handle.
• He knows more about us than we know about ourselves.
• So let us invest what we have received, by faith.
• Use whatever amount He has given you, and work with it.
3. We Must Invest What We Have Been Given
Verse 16 tells us that the man who received five talents went “at once and put his money to work and gained five more.”
• He didn’t waste any time but immediately went to work on his investment strategy and doubled his master’s portfolio.
• The guy who got two talents did the same thing; only the text doesn’t say he went to work “at once” like the first guy did.
• We do know that he worked hard however, because he also doubled his master’s money, ending up with four talents.
Verse 18 describes the 3rd servant’s approach: “But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
• Even though we did not read about any specific instructions for what to do with the money, the first two servants went to work and multiplied their investment.
• The one-talent servant was lazy. He buried his blessing.
• The problem was not that he has nothing, but he did nothing.
God has made an investment in your life, so let us not waste it.
Offer up Your Gift - Antonio Stradivarius
A young boy Antonio loves music, but his voice was high and squeaky, and so he did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbours persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was cutting things up. When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violin-maker. He learnt to cut out wood and developed the skill of carving. His hobby became his craft. He worked patiently and faithfully. By the time he died, he left over 1,500 violins, each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.” They are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 each.
Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but he used his ability, and his violins are still making beautiful music today.
Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him.
• Zig Ziglar has said, “You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.”
• Are you investing what you’ve been given, no matter big or small? Or, have you buried your blessing and kept it hidden from others?
4. A Day of Accountability Is Coming
Every company will have its accounts audited at the end of the financial year.
• At the end of our life journey, we will also be ‘audited’ so to speak.
• We will have to give an account for how we’ve used what we’ve been given.
Look at verse 19: “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
• If all that we have today comes from Him, then it is only right that He has to ‘settle account’ with us.
• How have we been using the life He has given us?
• What have we done with the things He has blessed us with?
Jesus is coming again.
• While most of us believe this in our heads, we don’t always live with eternity in our hearts.
• If we would think more about His return, we would be more focused on making some eternal return on our investments.
• Rom 14:12: “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
• So let’s be faithful in doing whatever He gives us to do.
• He has invested something in you. Don’t waste it.
• Your job may be big or small, but whatever it is, do it to the best of your ability.
Let’s look at the differences between the first two servants and the third.
• The first two were determined to make a profit; the 3rd was determined to not take a loss.
• The first two were willing to work hard; the 3rd one was not willing.
• The first two wanted to improve on what the master has; the 3rd had no interest in the master’s work.
• The first two viewed the money as an opportunity; the 3rd saw it as a problem.
• The first two invested; the other one wasted.
• The first two sought to please the master; the 3rd is not bothered.
The moral of the story is clear.
• Let us use what God has given us, to further His Kingdom. And to be found faithful in doing that until He returns.
Persian Legend - Pour Water into Basket
A certain king had a task to accomplish. He called two of his servants. They were given the same wages and told to fill a basket with water from a nearby well, saying that he would come in the evening to inspect their work.
After dumping one or two buckets of water into the basket, one of the men said, "What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we pour the water in, it runs out the sides."
The other answered, "But we have our wages, haven’t we? We are called to do it until he returns. It is the master’s business, not ours. He is a wise King, and must have his own purpose that we do not understand."
"I’m not going to do such a foolish work," replied the complainer. Throwing down his bucket, he went away.
The other man continued until he had drained the well. Looking down into it, he saw something shining at the bottom - it was a diamond ring.
"Now I see the use of pouring water into the basket!" he exclaimed. "If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was dry, it would have been filtered out in the basket. The King was actually looking for his diamond. Our work was not useless."
The King found his most faithful servant!
God has an important task for us today - He is looking for lost but precious souls.
God has given us the gifts and resources to do the job. Let us be diligent and faithful.
