Introduction:
A. Allow me to start this sermon with the story of a boy who other children called “Sparky” after a comic strip horse named Sparkplug.
1. Even though the boy hated the nickname, he could never shake it.
2. School was difficult for Sparky.
a. He failed every subject in the 8th grade.
b. He holds the school record for being the worst physics student in the school’s history.
c. He also flunked Latin, algebra, and English.
3. Sparky didn’t do much better in sports.
a. Although he made the school’s golf team, his poor play ended up costing his team the championship.
4. Throughout his youth, Sparky was a loser socially.
a. It wasn’t that he was disliked by other kids, but nobody paid much attention to him.
b. He never dated or asked a girl out for fear of being turned down.
5. Sparky did, however, have a hobby – he loved drawing cartoons.
a. No one else thought they were any good.
b. He submitted them for the high school yearbook, but they were rejected.
c. After graduating from high school, he wrote to Walt Disney Studios inquiring about a job, and they requested samples of his artwork.
d. Sparky submitted samples, but received a letter telling him there was no job for him.
6. Sparky was disappointed but not surprised, since he had always been a loser.
a. In a weird way, he thought his life was kind of funny.
b. He tried telling his own life story in his cartoons of a little boy loser who was a chronic underachiever.
7. The boy who failed the 8th grade, the young artist whose work was rejected not only by his high school yearbook, but by Walt Disney Studios, was Charles Monroe “Sparky” Schultz.
a. He was the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip and the little boy loser named Charlie Brown, whose kite never flies and who never gets to kick the football.
B. We have all likely experienced our share of rejection and failure in life, but God has gifted each one of us with unique talents and abilities that enable us to make a significant contribution as servants of God.
1. What are our gifts, talents and opportunities? Unless we attempt to use them, we will never discover how God has prepared for us to contribute to the church and to the world.
2. In our sermon series about learning to Serve Like Jesus, we have explored the fact that God wants us to serve like Jesus and that this requires us to think like a servant and develop the attributes of a servant.
3. Last week, we talked about how a servant’s influence is like the impact of salt and light.
4. Today, we want to explore the tools and tactics of a servant which involves putting our gifts to work in our service.
5. I want us to use Jesus’ Parable of the Talents to draw out our lessons for today.
C. Jesus said: [The kingdom of heaven] “…is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. In the same way the man with two earned two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
“The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
“The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
“His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned.
“‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Mt. 25:14-30)
I. Let’s draw several important lessons from Jesus’ parable: the first is: You are the Lord’s Servant.
A. The master in this parable is God, and who are the servants? We are.
1. He has generously entrusted each of us with His resources to manage until He comes back.
2. This was a common practice in Jesus’ day - servants often managed a great deal of their master’s commercial business, and were entrusted with lots of money and responsibility.
3. The servant’s job was to do what the master wanted done.
B. And so, the first lesson for us is that we are God’s servants, called to do God’s will, not our own.
1. In Jesus’ day, servants had nothing of their own.
2. All they had belonged to their master, and he entrusted it to them to accomplish his will.
3. Did you notice that it was the master’s money they invested, and when he returned, they gave back to him not only the original investment, but all the profit? It was all the master’s.
4. The same is true for us - all that we have, all our time, all our talent, all our treasure, is God’s and whatever we make of it will be His as well.
5. That is what it means to be God’s servant – we are not our own, we belong to God.
C. This is hard mindset for us!
1. We like to see ourselves as independent and autonomous individuals.
2. We Americans think: “I’m free! Nobody can tell me what to do! I’m the captain of my own ship, the master of my own fate. I make my own money, buy my own stuff, run my own life, call my own shots, and do my own thing. It’s my life and I’ll do what I want with it!”
3. But the Bible says in 1 Cor. 6:19-20, “You are not your own! You were bought at a price!”
4. Ultimately, It’s not our ship, our fate, our money, our stuff, our thing, or our life.
5. As disciples of Jesus, we belong to God, because we were bought with a price—Jesus Christ gave His life for us—and now we are God’s: lock, stock and barrel!
6. To be God’s servant means that we are willing to do whatever He asks.
7. The heart of a servant says, “Yes Lord, to anything, anytime, anywhere, because I’m yours.”
8. Say that with me: “Yes Lord, anything, anytime, anywhere.” -that’s the heart of a servant.
II. Lesson #2: You are unique.
A. The master in the parable gave them differing amounts based on their differing abilities.
1. Verse 15 says, “each according to his ability” - have you noticed we have differing abilities?
2. Romans 12:6 says: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”
3. 1 Cor. 12 says that the Holy Spirit gives different gifts to each of us, just as He determines.
4. We’re all different, each one of us is unique, and we all need each other.
B. You are unique and so is everyone else!
1. You are a unique creation of God, a unique blend of background, personality, natural abilities and spiritual gifts.
2. When God made you and me, He threw away the mold!
3. We aren’t one in a million; we are one in billions.
4. You and I are works of art, a one of kind masterpiece by the Ultimate Artist.
C. Unfortunately, sometimes we compare ourselves unfavorably with others.
1. We might decide that we are not as smart or athletic or handy or talented as others, so what can we do?
2. But just because others might outshine us in different ways, that doesn’t mean we can’t do something.
3. Truth is that there are many things we can’t do well, but if we focus on what we can’t do, we won’t get much done!
4. We’ve got to recognize and accept our unique gifts and abilities and put them to work.
5. Perhaps the third servant looked at the other two and thought, “I don’t have 5 or even 2 talents; just one, so what’s the use? Why try?”
6. God would have us stop worrying about what we don’t have, and start using what we do have.
D. A woman named Barbara Glanz is a consultant who did a customer service session for a large retail grocery company in the Midwest.
1. Speaking to a large crowd of front-line service people—cashiers and baggers, stockers and butchers, bakers, and others—Barbara told them, “Each of you should put your own signature on your job. What could you do that is uniquely you, that tells your customers they are important?”
2. Three weeks after her talk, Barbara got a call from a nineteen-year-old grocery bagger named Johnny, who has Down’s syndrome.
3. Johnny told Barbara, “The night after I heard you speak to us, my parents and I talked about what I could do in a special way for my customers. I’ve collected good quotations over the years, and we decided I would give them to the people I serve at the store.”
4. Johnny went on to tell her that he typed his list of quotes on the family computer, made 150 copies of each, and cut them out and folded them.
5. The next day, he chose one of his quotes, and when he finished bagging a customer’s groceries, he’d say, “I’m putting my quote for the day in your bag. I hope it makes your day brighter.”
6. The day Johnny called Barbara, the store manager was making his rounds and when he got to the front of the store, he saw that all the customers were in Johnny’s checkout line.
7. When he tried to usher some of the people into other lines, no one would leave Johnny’s line - they all wanted to get Johnny’s quote for the day.
8. When Barbara spoke with the store manager, he said, “One of the customers told me, ‘I used to shop here once a week; now I stop by here every day.’ Since the kid’s success, everybody on my staff is trying to do special things for customers!”
9. What could you do that is uniquely you? You are unique! Use what God has given you to serve Him!
10. You can do things for Him that no one else can ever do in the same way!
III. Lesson #3: You are gifted.
A. In the story Jesus told, one man got 5 talents, one got 2 and another got 1.
1. Have you ever heard someone say, “Oh I’m just a one talent person. Some folks are 5 talent people, some 2 talent people, but me, I’m just a one talent person. Some have a lot, and some not—I’m a not!”
2. We might look at others and think that God gave them everything.
3. We know some people who were at the front of the line when God was passing out talent.
4. Maybe you feel like you never even found the line where God was passing out the talent.
B. In Jesus’ day, a talent was a weighed measure of money and it was a lot of money!
1. Some calculate the talent in the parables to be equivalent to 20 years of wages for the common worker.
2. Other scholars estimate more conservatively, valuing the New Testament talent somewhere between $1,000 to $30,000 today.
3. Most people focus on the difference between the amounts given to the three men, but we make too much of the difference and overlook the largeness of each gift.
4. Jesus was saying that the one who got the least still got a lot.
5. Even the one talent person today is greatly gifted – we must not discount the gifts God has given us.
6. This parable of Jesus suggests that everyone has been given more than they suspect!
IV. Lesson #4: You must put your gifts to work.
A. This is really the main point of the parable.
1. We must use what we’ve got; we must not bury it or waste it; but must put it to work!
2. 1 Peter 4:10 says “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
3. Did you catch that: “each one”—that’s you and me—should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.
4. The Bible mentions a number of gifts in Ephesians 4, Rom. 12 and 1 Cor. 12, but even those lists aren’t exhaustive.
B. How do we know what gifts we have received? There are a number of ways to discover our gifts.
1. We can examine our experiences: what have we been good at in the past?
2. We can ask our friends: what do you see in me?
a. It’s important to give people permission to be honest with you—not American Idol friends!
3. We can experiment: try something and see if it fits.
a. We may discover that we have a gift we don’t know about simply because we’ve never gave something a try
4. We can ask ourselves what we are passionate about.
a. What kinds of things warm your heart or prick your heart when you see a need?
b. What is the one thing you would change, if you could?
c. What is the one thing you would do, if you could?
5. Finally, we can just find a need and meet it.
a. We are surrounded by needs in our church and community and world.
b. Wherever there are people, there are needs.
c. We are surrounded by opportunities to serve! Find a need and meet it.
C. A popular acronym that people use for exploring and using their gifts is called “S.O.A.R.”
1. The S stands for Seek: We should seek the Holy Spirit and the gifts He gives for the good of the body.
2. The O stands for Openness: We should be open to how the Spirit might empower us, enable us, and gift us for the benefit of others.
3. The A stands for Act: We should step out and act in service using our gifts.
4. The R stands for Rely: We should look for God’s power to enable us to serve using our gifts.
V. Lesson #5: You will succeed if you try.
A. The 3 men in the parable were entrusted with large resources; two succeeded and one failed.
1. What was the difference between them? Two tried and one didn’t.
2. Everyone who tried, succeeded! Their success rate was 100%!
3. If we don’t try, then we never will succeed.
4. Woody Allen said, “80% of success is just showing up.”
5. The person who tries, who keeps showing up, faithfully using his/her gifts, is the one who succeeds in the end.
B. When I said that you’ll succeed if you try, I’m was not suggesting that you’ll never fail, because you will fail along the way.
1. If we’re not experiencing some failure, then we’re probably playing it safe; burying our talent!
2. If we try, we’ll fail some, but our failures are preparation for our success.
3. Paul Harvey said that if anyone asks him the secret of his success, he tells them, “I get up when I fall down.”
4. If we can learn from our failures, and then keep trying, then we will eventually succeed.
5. Ultimately, the only way to totally fail is to do nothing – to not try at all.
C. Why didn’t the third man try? He said, “I was afraid.”
1. He was afraid of the master, but the master was kind and generous with everyone who tried, and was harsh only with the one who did nothing.
2. More than anything else, fear keeps us from trying.
3. What are we afraid of? Maybe we’re afraid of failure, afraid of embarrassment, afraid of what others might think…and maybe even afraid of God.
4. But in this story Jesus is saying to us that we have nothing to fear from God as long as we try to act in obedience to God.
5. God is the One who has so generously gifted us and God is the One who will graciously reward any effort we make.
6. One of the main ways to risk God’s displeasure is to let fear paralyze us.
D. Think about the many ways we have had to overcome failure in order to develop a skill or accomplish something.
1. We all fell down a lot when we were learning to walk, but we kept getting up and now we can walk!
2. We likely almost drowned the first time we tried to swim; but we kept trying, and now we can swim!
3. Did you hit the ball the first time you ever swung a bat? Probably not.
4. Imagine if a baseball player quit the first time he or she struck out.
a. Babe Ruth struck out a record 1330 times, but also hit 714 home runs and had a lifetime batting average around .330, one of the best of all times.
5. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his famous store in New York caught on.
6. And Thomas Edison had over 10,000 failed attempts at inventing the light bulb before he got it right!
7. We must not allow the fear of failure to stop us.
VI. Lesson #6: You either use it or you lose it.
A. It is interesting that those in the parable who risked failure, succeeded and gained more, while the one who played it safe, failed and lost everything.
1. Jesus indicates that you can increase what you have by using it.
2. The talent taken from the lazy servant was given to the one who already had ten, who had proven he would use whatever God gave Him.
3. When we use what God gives us, then He gives us more opportunities and responsibilities!
VII. Finally, Lesson #7: You will give an accounting.
A. The master in the parable required all three servants to give an accounting for what they had done with what He gave them.
1. Someday each of us will stand before God and answer for what we’ve done with the life and the gifts He gave us.
2. God expects a return on His generous investment in us.
3. The good news is that God will reward us for our efforts.
4. The two who tried, who were faithful to put their gifts to work, were praised and rewarded by the master. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” God rewards our faithfulness.
5. Every effort made to serve God and serve people will be rewarded.
6. Jesus said in Matthew 10:42 “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
7. Even the smallest things count and are noticed and rewarded by the Lord!
B. But along with the good news, there is also bad news.
1. The lazy, fearful, unfaithful servant received the punishment that he deserved.
2. The punishment that fell on that unfaithful servant included being thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
3. Jesus often used the illustration of darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth to describe the experience of those in hell.
4. It is certainly nothing that any of us want to experience! Am I right about that?
C. It is so important for us to examine ourselves and our relationship with God and service of God.
1. What if God called you in to settle accounts today?
2. What would you have to show Him?
3. What have you done with what He’s given you?
4. How have you used your gifts to serve God and others?
5. What have you done that will last forever?
6. How have you helped to advance God’s kingdom?
D. Let’s not wait until some day to face those questions.
1. Let’s take those questions seriously today and focus on putting our faith into action and serve the Lord faithfully employing our gifts and talents.
2. Even though we know that our works aren’t what saves us, we know that we are saved by grace through faith, but we also know that faith without deeds is dead.
3. So, let’s love God with all our hearts and let’s serve God wholeheartedly, so that when we reach the end of our lives and stand before God, we will hear these words from the Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness.”
Resources:
Sermon by Joe Wittwer, Use Your Gifts to Serve Others.
Sermon by Charles Stanley, Gifted for Service.
