In his Parable of the Talents, Jesus gives us a glimpse of the future, a glimpse at what will happen on the last day of world history and the first day of eternity. This glimpse at the first day of eternity is significant because most of the world – and many Believers too – have lost their eternal perspective on life. And when we lose our eternal perspective our priorities change; our pursuits change; we make decisions differently; and we don’t endure things that we should endure. So, what Jesus reveals through this parable ought to change the way you walk through life. Here’s why ...
I. JESUS HAS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU (Matthew 25:14)
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them (Matthew 25:14 NIV).
Jesus has given every Believer a specific kingdom focussed assignment to carry out according to their gifts, skills and abilities. There was a servant who had ten talents, a servant who had five and a servant who had one. But everyone one of them has a place in the work of Jesus’ kingdom. For us there is the work of revealing God to people; the work of helping people; and the work of leading people to Christ.
One time, Jesus was praying to his Father in heaven and he said this about his own work …
I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do (John 17:4 NLT)
So Jesus honoured God by fulfilling his specific assignment on earth. And we honour God the same way.
In the story, a talent had a monetary value (about 20 years wages) – and we are to leverage our money for the kingdom. But Jesus’ meaning here goes far wider than just money. Every one of us has been uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills and abilities and we have been given these so that we could complete our specific Kingdom assignment.
The Bible says …
God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow thorough you (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT).
So the point here is this, the Christian life is not a sprint, it’s an endurance race. You may have started the race, and that’s fantastic but it’s not about how you start the race, it’s all about how well you run it, and how well you end the race. Jesus is coming back (i.e. The race is going to end), in the meantime he has some things for you to do. Have you understood what your assignment is?
I want to talk to you some more about that in a minute. But before I do, Jesus has more to say about what to expect when he returns. I said a minute ago that what Jesus has revealed to you through this story ought to change the way you walk through life. The first reason for you to make that change is that Jesus is telling you he has an assignment for your life. You have been uniquely shaped to fulfil that assignment. The second reason is that ...
II. JESUS WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE (Matthew 25:19)
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them
(Matthew 25:19 NIV).
Friends, please understand, on the last day of this earth all people will be judged.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV).
You might be thinking, “But hang on. I’m a Christian. Jesus has forgiven me for my sin – I thought I had a clean slate? I thought I had escaped judgement”
If you are a Believer you do have a clean slate. But let’s get this straight. When Jesus comes back he will not be judging Christian Believers according to their sin, he will judge them according to what they have done with their lives. Judgement has already been passed on the sins of Believers. And the penalty has already been paid by Christ on the cross.
Christ died once for our sins (1 Peter 3:18 CEV)
So, if you are a Christian Believer, you will not be judged for your sins on that last day, but you will be judged according to what you have done with your life! And what will be the result of this judgement?
We see in Jesus’ story about the boss, his workers and the talents – the man with five talents put them to work and made a return of five more talents for his master. The man with two talents put them to work and made two more for his master. These men were richly rewarded. And Jesus says that he has a reward waiting for you in heaven too.
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27 NIV).
But the man with one talent hid it and made no return for his master. As a consequence the master takes the talent off him and gives it to the man who had ten talents. Here’s the point; you can lose everything that you have worked for.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
Friends, don’t go after the wrong things, don’t build with wood, hay or straw. Make sure you know what your kingdom assignment is and live it out!
Jesus taught this parable of the talents to emphasise the fact that he will hold all people accountable for the way they have lived their lives. He said, about the servant who failed to use his one talent:
"Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the 10 talents" (Mt 25:28 NIV).
Friend, if you don’t use what you’ve been given for the glory of God then you’ll lose it.
Jesus has an assignment for you and he’s going to hold you accountable for the way you get it done!
III. JESUS HAS AN AIM FOR YOU (Matthew 25:21 and 23)
Now all this is sounding pretty heavy; a bit harsh maybe? But let me tell you a story that may help you understand why Jesus has come down very hard on this one.
As a parent, one of the aims I have for my children is that they would be a delight for anyone to have around. If they should come over to your place, I want you to find them to be a delight to have in your home. If you’re teaching their Sunday school class, I want them to be a delight for you. I want them to be a delight for their teachers to have in their classroom at school.
My wife and I actually intentionally work towards this. We teach our children good manners; we teach them appropriate social behaviours and so on. We want them to be a delight to any future employer. We want each one of them to be a delight to their future spouse and to any possible children they may have.
Ultimately, and most importantly, we want our children to delight the heart of God. And this is Jesus’ aim for you too. Jesus wants you to delight the heart of God
Now, when we’re teaching our girls how to be a delight, we have to be really clear about the consequences of not being a delight. And sometimes we have to carry through with those consequences. That’s what Jesus is teaching us in the parable of the talents. He’s showing you how to be a delight to your Heavenly Father. He’s teaching you how to live a life that is pleasing to God.
Church, Jesus has an assignment for you; Jesus will hold you accountable for the way you complete that assignment; and thirdly Jesus has an aim for you too – and his aim is that you will delight the heart of God. He says as much in the Parable of the Talents …
"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!’ (Matthew 25:23 NIV)
Jesus aim for you is that you will grab a hold of your kingdom assignment and live it out. And that on that last day you would stand before your Father in heaven and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant … come and share your Master’s happiness.”
IV) HOW TO KNOW YOUR ASSIGNEMENT
I said up front, at the start that the Christian life is not a sprint, it’s an endurance race. You have a specific Kingdom assignment and Jesus is going to hold you accountable for it. Well, just quickly, here is how you can know what your kingdom assignment is.
I heard John Bevere speak on how to know your kingdom assignment at the Hillsong Conference in Sydney last July. I want to share some of the points he brought out from Scripture with you now.
a) Seek God earnestly
First, if you want to know your kingdom assignment you’ve got to seek God earnestly.
… without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
And …
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. (Proverbs 20:5)
If you want to know what God’s assignment is for your life, you’ve got some work to do. This must include putting in some serious time to prayer and meditation on the Scriptures. It could take days, weeks, months or even years to “draw this out” as it says in Proverbs.
Now, some things are simply obvious. It may be that the Lord is just saying to you, “I have given you three children; I want them delivered to me as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ” – that is your assignment.
It could be that he has placed you in your street or your workplace to complete your assignment. I can tell you that part of your assignment is tied up in your own home church.
b) Be planted in the local church
If you want to discover your kingdom assignment you must be planted in the local church.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him" (Psalm 92:12-15)
Unless you plant a seed, it won’t grow into its destiny. A seed will stay a seed until it is planted. But when a seed is planted it grows up into what it was destined to become.
And “planted” does not mean “transplanted” every couple of years or so (A plant will not grow or produce fruit if it is continually transplanted).
And “planted” does not mean just attending. Psalm 92:12 says those who are “planted” in the house of the Lord. It does not say those who “attend” the house of the Lord. This means commitment. It means getting in deep.
And being planted in the church means you have the right conditions to become what God has destined you to become. Good soil has some manure in it. In fact many of the nutrients in soil come from the manure and other rotting matter. Church can be like soil. It’s full of spiritual nutrients that can help you grow. But there’s also some manure! There’s personal differences, people’s rough edges and interesting personal habits! But these are the very things that can help you grow up; as you learn to deal with them and love people anyway.
c) You must not be entangled in this world
You might remember the story about the rich young ruler who came to Jesus one day. He was entangled in this life. He was tied up in his wealth and when Jesus told him to give the whole lot to the poor, we read this …
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:22-23).
What entangles you?
Mortgage/home
Money
Pleasure
Wrong relationships
Security
These things can cost you the call on your life. The rich young ruler’s entanglement with wealth cost him the call of God on his life.
CONCLUSION
26 year old Kyle MacDonald had a red paper clip and a dream: Could he use the community power of the Internet to barter that paper clip for something better, and trade that thing for something else — and so on and so on until he had a house?
He advertised the paperclip on craigslist.com and two women swapped a fish-shaped pen for it.
Later that same day, MacDonald was able to trade the pen for a small ceramic doorknob with a smiley face on it.
He traded the doorknob for a Coleman camping stove.
Next, a US navy Marine swapped a generator in return for the stove.
Then a guy from New York swapped "instant party package" (a beer keg and a neon Budweiser sign) for the generator.
The beer package went to a DJ in Montreal, in exchange for a snowmobile.
By this time Macdonald was starting to attract attention and he was invited onto Canadian TV to tell his story.
As a result, he was able to trade the snowmobile for an all expenses paid trip to an obscure little town in Canada called “Yahk.”
He then traded the trip for a 1995 delivery van.
He gave the van to a muso wanting to haul her gear around in exchange for a recording contract, with studio time and a promise to pitch the finished CD to music executives.
He swapped the recording contract with a singer who gave him a year’s accommodation in a house in Phoenix Arizona.
He excchanged the accomodation in Arizona for a day with Alice Cooper. And the day with Alice Cooper he swapped for a snow globe of the band KISS! Now if you thought that was a weird swap get this. The KISS snow globe was swapped for an acting part in a movie! Aparently the actor Corbin Berinson is an avid snow globe collector and was particularly interested in the KISS snowglobe, so he swapped his part in the movie for the snowglobe!
Finally,a local municipality in Saskatchewan Canada, handed over the title deeds for a house for the movie role.
That is the amazing story of how Kyle MacDonald tyrned a red paper clip into a house! Macdonald says he has offers from Hollywood studios to turn his story into a film. Now, Kyle MacDonald is an amazingly talented negotiator/salesman. And he has used his talent to turn a paper clip into a house. But to what end?
Jesus’ Parable of the Talents is a glimpse of the future; a glimpse of the first day of eternity. It teaches us to leverage the gifts, talents and abilities we have been given. We are to turn a kingdom profit and live a life that is pleasing to our God.
Friends, the message contained in this parable ought to change the way you walk through life.
If one man can turn a paper clip into a house just with some motivation and a little bit of sales technique, imagine what God could do through you if your gifts, talents and abilities were totally his.
