Big Idea:
Believe that you have SOMETHING that is UNIQUE, that you can CONTRIBUTE for His cause, through FAITH, and be REWARDED.
If you were asked at the end of your life, “Was it worthwhile?” how would you answer it?
• How do you really measure whether your life is worthwhile or not?
I like to use this popular parable – the Parable of the Talents – to help us think through this question.
• Strictly speaking, talents here refer to money. Based on the context, what the Master gave were large amounts of money that can be invested.
• But we can see it in a broader way. If the talent is something that (1) belongs to God and not us, (2) distributed “to each according to his ability” (25:15), (3) something that can be invested, on behalf of the Master, and (4) reaps benefit for the Owner and not the servant, we can understand this ‘talent’ to mean the resources (or opportunities) that God gives us to use on His behalf.
• Whatever God has given us – money, position, status, opportunities – to be used for the sake of Christ.
How best can I use what the Master has given me? I can buried it and therefore waste it (without even using it).
• Or I can spend it, that is, just use it. If it is worth $10 just buy something with it.
• Or I can invest it, like what the other two servants did, and earn more out of it.
So it is with our lives. You can waste it, not using the time wisely to benefit anyone or even self.
• You can just spend it. If it is worth 80 years, just enjoy that time on earth without any significant gain.
• But the best way will be to invest it, so that we end up with MORE than what we start off with. In order words, I am making an impact, an influence, or a contribution beyond myself.
If we can do that with money, we can do that with our lives.
• Here are 7 principles to take from this parable that can help you invest your life in a way that counts.
(1) Understand OWNERSHIP – Believe that you have SOMETHING…
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL BE LIKE “a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.” (Matt 25:14)
• You cannot make an impact in someone else’s life without understanding this.
• God is the Lord of your life and He works through you.
• We are more than just human beings running around on earth. We are God’s representatives, changing lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Everything we have really belongs to God. He owns this life and all that we have, and He can use them to bless those whom we are called to touch.
• Therefore if we offer them to Him, God can do with them more than what we can on our own.
• In fact, He has given them to you precisely for this purpose – to bless the world around us.
If God owns it all, it also means we will have what is needed to do the job.
• In order words, we will have the resources to change the world around us.
• If the Lord says, “Go and make disciples of all nations…” and all that we have come from Him, then logically, they must be enough to do the work.
• What we are given can do the job. No wonder someone said, “God’s will never lead you where His grace cannot keep you.”
(2) Understand ALLOCATION – believe that you have something UNIQUE
God is our Master and He allocates DIFFERENTLY to each one.
• Matt 25:15 “To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent…” WHY? “…each according to his ability.”
• Why God treats us differently? Because we are different. We have different abilities, different skill sets, experiences, maturity levels and so on.
• The Master gives them based on their ability to handle the resources given. This is precisely what 1 Cor 12 says. The Spirit of God gives gifts to everyone just as He determines (12:11).
RAKU WARE
Raku-yaki or Raku ware, is a type of Japanese pottery that is traditionally and primarily used in the Japanese tea ceremony in Japan, most often in the form of tea bowls. It is traditionally characterized by hand-molding of the clay as opposed to turning it on a potter's wheel, resulting in each piece being "one-of-a-kind".
“Each pot is hand-formed,” the tag explained, “a process that allows the spirit of the artist to speak through the finished work with particular directness and intimacy.”
So it is with us. We bear the imprint of the Potter’s hand. We each reflect the creativity, the wisdom and the skill of the Maker. Each of us is formed in a unique way for a unique work: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).
In the art world, you are priceless.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit who gives them (12:4).
• In fact, 1 Cor 12 tells us God does that so that we complement one another and be able to finish the task He has called us to do.
• So this diversity is critical to the accomplishment of the mission. The diversity we see today in our churches is God’s design, it is critical to the fulfilment of God’s plan for the redemption of the world.
• It is not a sad thing; it is a good thing. We need this diversity to reach a diverse world for Christ.
Nobody is talentless. We are given different portions but no one is without any.
• So to invest your life like God wants you to, you’ve got to acknowledge that He has given you certain abilities, opportunities, and resources that He hasn’t given others.
• Don’t say, “I do not have what he has. He can do this or do that, but I cannot.” Rather, say this: “Hey, I’ve got what they do not have. I can do this or that better than anyone else here.”
Understand what God has given you. Only then can we begin to think about investing it.
• Don’t live in denial of what God has given you. Nor in neglect or being ignorant of what God has given you.
• How can you even start to invest when you feel that you have nothing? Take a hard look at what you have.
(3) Understand UTILIZATION – believe that you have something unique to CONTRIBUTE…
The master expected the servants to use what he had given them.
• Matt 25:19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
• God expects something out of what He has given. All investors expect a return. God will ask you one day, “What did you do with what you were given?”
• Burying your talents is not acceptable. While the other two invested their gifts and doubled their master’s talents, the third buried his. He didn’t even get simple interest. He didn’t even try.
It’s the principle of sowing and reaping; you will reap if you had sowed.
• You will surely reap if you had sowed. God will surely bless what we put to good use for Him.
• That’s why the master’s reaction was surprisingly harsh - “You lazy, wicked servant.” Most of us wouldn’t consider what the guy did as wicked. He didn’t do anything near wicked! But Jesus says that’s wicked.
• Firstly it was a great waste. But more importantly, it showed a lack of appreciation for what was given. It’s like receiving a birthday gift and putting it into the storeroom.
God expects us to TAKE RISKS and use what He has given. When we use it and we can see what God can do with it.
• For God to do something through your involvement is undeniable (from the Scriptures). There’s no problem on God’s side, His Spirit is ever-ready to work.
• So when we use God’s gift, we are actually giving ourselves the privilege of seeing God’s works through it.
(4) Understand MOTIVATION –
believe that you have something unique to contribute, through FAITH…
• It takes faith. Fear will stop you from doing anything. Verse 25 “I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.”
• What kinds of fears? Self-doubt – I don’t think I can do well, I don’t think I can make it; Self-pity – I’ve got only one talent, it doesn’t make a difference. Or self-consciousness – worry more about what other people will think of them.
• They are worried about what people think MORE THAN what God would think.
Don’t focus too much on SELF.
• God cares little about the mistakes you might make or the mistakes you have made. He wants to know, “Will you use what I’ve given you to make a difference in the world?”
Faith means you are daring to try and then allow God to do His part. To try is to take a step of faith.
• If you don’t take risks, if you don’t try, you don’t need faith. And Heb 1:6 says “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” No wonder the Master was unhappy with the third servant.
• What risks have you taken with the talents God has given you? God would rather have you fall flat on your face for Him in ministry than not even try.
(5) Understand RETURNS –
Believe that you have something unique to contribute, through faith, and be REWARDED.
25:28 “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.”
• It does not sound fair, but that’s investment.
• It’s like the English Premier league, you buy players and you expect them to play well and bring in trophies for the club. When the season starts, all eyes are on the newly acquired talent to see if he was worth the cost. The ultimate measure of the player’s success is whether his contribution to the team is a good return on the investment.
• If you buy shares in a company and it is not doing well (going bankrupt), you’ll take all the money out and put it somewhere else.
• It is already doing well (and precisely because it is doing well and making huge profits) – that you put in more money. This is why the one with 10 talents get more.
The more successful you are in ministry, the more resources God will pour into that ministry.
• When you are using all that God has given you, you will find yourself receiving more.
Matt 25:23 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!”
• God rewards those who are faithfully serving Him, with affirmation (praise), promotion (giving him more), and celebration.
• These are the dividends from your investments. God rewards you.
Imagine going to work one day and being greeted by your boss, who says, “Come by my office at 9:30. I’d like to talk to you about how you’re doing on the job.”
• This could be a nervous time for you as you think about what your supervisor might say. You wonder, How does my boss think I’ve been doing? Could there be a promotion with a pay increase? Or could I lose my job? Am I going to hear, “Well done” or “You’re done”?
• After this life is past, we will stand before our Lord. Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
• We want to hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). The challenge before us as followers of Christ is to serve Him with excellence.
• Based on the way I am living today, what kind of review will I get when I see Him?
