Maximize Your Talents

It's great to be able to worship with you all.

Thanks for joining us.

Please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 25.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to give you a copy that you can have,

use while you're here,

and you can take it home with you.

Matthew chapter 25, we're in verses 14 to 30.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we humble our hearts before you

and incline our ears to your word once again

because your word is truth,

and your word is life to us.

You are our Lord, our King, our Master.

You have the words of eternal life.

To whom else can we turn?

We look to you as a maid servant looks to the hands of a maid.

We long to be fed from your word.

So teach us, address us.

Teach us what faithfulness looks like.

Teach us the meaning of stewardship

and enthrall our hearts with the joy you have set before us

and the great rewards and commendation that you promised us

that we might run this race with endurance.

All to your glory, Lord.

So meet with us, speak to us now.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand, if you are able, for the reading of God's word

so we can honor God as we read from his word.

Matthew chapter 25, verses 14 to 30.

Matthew 25:14–30

For it will be like a man going on a journey

who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

To one he gave five talents,

to another two, to another one,

to each according to his ability.

Then he went away.

He who had received the five talents went at once

and traded with them,

and he made five talents more.

So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

But he who had received the one talent

went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Now, after a long time,

the master of those servants came

and settled accounts with them.

And he who had received the five talents came forward,

bringing five talents more,

saying, Master, you deliver to me five talents.

Here, I have made five talents more.

His master said to him,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

And he also, who had the two talents,

came forward, saying,

Master, you delivered to me two talents.

Here, I have made two talents more.

His master said to him,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

He also, who had received the one talent,

came forward, saying,

Master,

I knew you to be a hard man,

reaping where you did not sow

and gathering where you scattered no seed.

So I was afraid.

And I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Here, you have what is yours.

But his master answered him,

You wicked and slothful servant.

You knew that I'd reap where I have not sown

and gather where I've scattered no seed.

Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers,

and at my coming,

I should have received what was my own with interest.

So take the talent from him

and give it to him who has the ten talents.

For to everyone who has,

will more will be given,

and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.

In that place,

there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

I'm sure all of you have heard of America's Got Talent,

which I have never seen.

I've seen some YouTube clips.

It's a summer reality TV show

that features various contestants,

musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians,

and all showcasing their talents in front of celebrity judges.

The show boasts 5.9 million viewers weekly,

and some of the more viral clips have surpassed 400 million views.

And if you analyze the clips that get the most views,

the ones that tend to go viral

are the ones where the contestants

shock the judges with their unexpected talent.

The crowds love the idea of discovering hidden talent.

You are way too talented to be languishing in obscurity.

Here, come to this big stage,

and under the bright lights,

we'll make your talents shine the way they're supposed to.

It's like a reality TV version of Proverbs 22.29.

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings.

He will not stand before obscure men.

We often think of our own talent in similar terms.

Many of us are ambitious and talented.

There is a reason we live in a global city like Boston and Cambridge.

Intelligence, innovation, power, money, opportunity converge in global cities.

It's in cities that people try to make a name for themselves,

as they once did at Babel.

Many of us have been told,

you have formidable gifts and formidable talents.

You must not waste them.

You must maximize them.

And this is the Bible passage that most people point to

in order to justify that kind of thinking.

This is where the English word talent actually comes from.

But what if that's not what maximizing our talents looks like?

What if, by talent,

Jesus is not speaking of our abilities and aptitudes at all?

In this passage, Jesus teaches us to make the most of what God has entrusted to us,

looking forward to the commendation and reward that we'll receive from him.

We're going to first talk about the master's money,

the master's return,

the master's joy,

and finally, the master's character.

First, let's talk about the master's money.

Jesus says in verse 14,

for it will be like a man going on a journey

who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

The conjunction for in verse 14 connects it to the preceding passage.

What exactly will be like a man going on a journey?

Look back at verse 1.

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins

who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Jesus is still answering that same question of what the kingdom of heaven will be like.

This is another illustration to teach us what the kingdom of heaven will be like.

And the kingdom of heaven will be like a man going on a journey

who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

During the period of time while he is away,

the master entrusts to his servants his property.

And what exactly is the master's property?

It says in verse 15,

to one he gave five talents,

to another two,

to another one,

to each according to his ability.

Then he went away.

A talent in Greek,

the Greek word literally means a weight.

And it refers in this context to a weight of precious metal

that served as currency.

And since it's currency,

it's called the master's money,

it most likely refers to a weight of silver,

a talent of silver.

And one talent of silver was,

in this time,

reckoned to be about 6,000 denarii.

And if you remember from our previous parables,

one denarius is worth a day's wage

of a common laborer.

So a living wage in the Boston-Cambridge area

is estimated to be $32.46 an hour.

That's the minimum hourly pay

that a full-time worker needs

in order to cover his family's basic needs.

So if we account for an eight-hour common workday,

that's $260 per day.

That's the day's wage of a common laborer.

So if $260 is about the equivalent of one denarius,

6,000 denarii would be $1 million,

$560,000,

$1,560,000.

That's one talent.

It's not a small amount of money.

It's about what people will make

in maybe half their lifetime or so.

Five talents is $7.8 million.

Extraordinary large sum of money.

Even one talent is a fortune.

The master in this parable

is clearly very wealthy,

and each servant,

from the least to the greatest,

from the one talent servant

to the five talent servant,

are entrusted with

a consequential sum of money.

But what exactly does the master's money

and property represent?

The word talent,

through the centuries of allegorical sermons

based on this passage,

have come to mean,

in our culture and context,

a person's ability or aptitude,

their natural aptitude,

ability,

gifts.

For this reason,

many Christians automatically assume

that this passage is teaching us

to maximize our talents

in that similar sense

of America's Got Talents.

Use your God-given talents

to serve Him

and make a difference.

However,

I don't think the talents

refer to our natural abilities

and aptitudes.

Why?

Because of verse 15.

It says,

to one,

he gave five talents,

to another,

two,

to another,

one,

to each according to his ability.

In other words,

God dispenses the talents

according to our respective abilities.

The talents are not

the abilities themselves.

So, yes,

God does take into account

our capacity

to make use of the talents

that He entrusts to us,

but the talents themselves

do not refer to our capacities

or capabilities.

Also,

if we interpret the talents

to mean our natural abilities,

what becomes of God's desire

that we multiply the talents?

Produce five more talents

out of the five

that we've been given?

Two more talents

out of the two more

that we've been given?

That reduces this parable

to a shallow lesson

on self-improvement.

Here's your five talents.

Improve on your talents.

Make it even better.

I've been wrestling with this text

and asking God

what this passage means,

and that's one thing

I'm fairly certain

the talent is not.

What then is it?

The Bible connects this idea

of God's riches

or God's wealth

often to His grace

and mercy.

In Him,

we have redemption

through His blood,

the forgiveness

of our trespasses

according to the riches

of His grace

so that in the coming ages

He might show

the immeasurable riches

of His grace

and kindness

toward us in Christ Jesus.

Paul says in Ephesians 3a,

to me,

though I am

the very least

of all the saints,

this grace was given

to preach to the Gentiles

the unsearchable riches

of Christ.

What is God rich in?

What does He have a lot of?

What does His wealth

consist of?

His mercy,

His grace.

God,

because He's rich in mercy,

because of the great love

with which He loved us,

He made us alive

together with Christ.

The talents

that God entrusts to us

then are His,

they're not our natural talents,

no,

they're His grace gifts.

His gospel entrustments.

Luke,

in the parallel,

parable of this,

in parable of the minas

in Luke 19,

makes this point

more obvious

by telling us

that the master

gave all ten

of His servants

exactly the same amount,

one mina each.

We have all heard

the same gospel,

we have all received

the same grace of God.

However,

in Matthew's parable

of the talents,

the servants

received differing amounts

of talents.

Because Matthew

is trying to highlight

another important aspect

of God's entrustments

to us.

Yes,

God gives us

of the same grace

to each of us,

but He does not

apportion to us all

the exactly same amount

of grace.

So Romans 12,

3-5 says,

For by the grace

given to me,

I say to everyone

among you,

not to think of himself

more highly

than he ought to think,

but to think

with sober judgment,

each accord

according to the measure

of faith

that God has assigned.

Having gifts

that differ

according to the grace

given to us.

Let us use them.

Similarly,

Ephesians 4-7 says,

Grace was given

to each one of us

according to the measure

of Christ's gift.

Each of us receives

a different measure

of Christ's gift.

1 Peter 4-10 says,

As each has received

a gift,

use it to serve

one another

as good stewards

of God's varied grace.

The grace that God

dispenses among us

is varied.

The fact that our talents

are not our own

abilities and aptitudes,

but differing measures

of God's grace

is healthful for us.

It's helpful for us.

It's good for our

spiritual health.

First,

it takes our focus

off of ourselves

and our own capabilities

and puts the focus

on God

and on His generosity.

Notice the verbs

in verses 14-18.

It's the master

who entrusts

and gives.

It's the servants

who receive.

We are not the owners

of the grace gifts

that God has given us.

We are merely stewards.

We are entrusted

with God's money.

And because it's not ours

to begin with,

we have no grounds

at all for boasting.

What do you have

that you did not receive?

If then you received it,

why do you boast

as if you did not receive it?

Yes, the talents

we receive

are given according

to our abilities

in verse 15.

But even that,

I don't think,

is our natural abilities

and aptitudes

like being smart

or athletic

or handy

or musical articulate,

although all those things

come from God too.

The literal Greek word

here for ability

means power

or capacity.

And it's speaking

of our capacity

to receive God's grace

with eager acceptance

and obedience.

In a parallel passage

in Mark 4,

21-25,

Jesus says

that this measure

is based on our ability

to pay attention

to what we hear.

focusing on our own

abilities and aptitudes

promotes pride

and boasting.

Focusing on the grace gifts

that we have received

promotes humility.

Because of our sinful

pride and vanity,

we humans tend to have

an exaggerated sense

of our own abilities.

And if we focus

on maximizing

our abilities,

we're never content

with the lot

that God's given us

and the station

that He has placed us in.

We're always seeking

more leverage

and trying to enlarge

our own platforms.

We focus more

on what success

looks like

to the eyes of the world

rather than being faithful

in the eyes of God

with what He has given to us.

So if the talents

are various measures

of God's grace

at work in our lives,

what does it mean

that we ought to steward,

invest,

and multiply

these talents?

It says in verses

16 to 18,

He who had received

the five talents

went at once

and traded with them

and he made

five talents more.

So also he who had

the two talents

made two talents more.

But he who had received

the one talent

went and dug in the ground

and hid his master's money.

The grace of God

that goes in

always comes out

and bears fruit

within us

and among those around us.

Paul loved to use

the phrase

grace given to me

because he was aware

of the fact

that everything

that he did,

all his hard work

and amazing accomplishments

in sharing the gospel

and proclaiming the gospel

among the Gentiles,

it all flowed

from the grace

that God had given him.

1 Corinthians 3.10,

according to the grace

of God given to me,

like a skilled master builder,

I laid a foundation.

1 Corinthians 15.10,

but by the grace of God

I am what I am

and his grace toward me

was not in vain.

On the contrary,

I worked harder

than any of them.

Though it was not I,

but the grace of God

that is with me.

That fits well

with the sowing

and reaping imagery

that the wicked,

slothful servant

uses in verse 6.26,

doesn't it?

In the parable

of the sower

in Matthew 13,

the seed, right,

that we sow

is the word of the kingdom,

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The word of God

that comes from his mouth

shall not return

to God empty,

but it shall accomplish

that which he purposed.

The grace of God

toward us

is not in vain,

but spurs us

to loving service

and good works,

to sharing the gospel

of the riches

of God's grace

with those around us.

God is looking

for gospel fruit

in our lives

and in the lives

of those around us

whose lives we touch.

I'm sure you've heard

this illustration before.

Why is the dead sea

between the Jordan

and Israel dead?

Because the Jordan River

flows into it,

but no water

ever flows out of it.

And so the only water

that ever disappears

or goes out of that sea

is the water

that evaporates

in the hot desert sun.

So all the minerals

and salt

just collect

and accumulate

and concentrate

in that sea

so that it is not

inhabitable

for any plant

or fish.

The dead sea

has no outlet.

The grace of God

that flows

into our lives

are meant to flow out.

They're meant

to give grace

to others

in our speech

and in our deeds

and in our service

and in our love

and in our proclamation

of the gospel.

And the people

of God

are the most proper

object of our grace

outlet.

In the parable

of the vineyard laborers

in Matthew 20

and the parable

of the tenants

in Matthew 21,

the master entrusts

the care of his vineyard

to his servants

or tenants

and in both parables

the vineyard

represents the people

of God

because a vineyard

is a prominent

and repeated symbol

and imagery

for the people

of God

throughout the Old Testament.

So then where

does God expect us

to invest our talents

of his grace?

Where does God

expect us

to sow seeds

of the gospel?

In his vineyard

of course

among his people

and I think

that includes

the people

who are not

yet

saved

but yet

are chosen

by God.

As Jesus says

in John 10

15 to 16

I lay down

my life

for the sheep

and I have

other sheep

that are not

of this fold

I must bring

them also.

The grace

we have received

from God

we impart

to those around us.

The good news

we have heard

from God

we share

with those around us

until we all

attain to the unity

of the faith

and of the knowledge

of the Son of God

to mature manhood

to what?

To the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ.

We all receive

a measure

and then we all

build each other

up together

until we attain

to that stature

of the measure

of the fullness

of Christ.

Is the grace

of God within you

flowing out

to those around you?

How about

to your own

family members?

To your husband

wife

brother

sister

father

mother

children?

How about

to your own

neighbors?

Do your neighbors

know that you are

Christian?

Do they know

that the reason

why you have joy

and reason why

you have hope

and reason why

you have peace

is because

of the good news

of Jesus Christ

in your life?

What about

your coworkers?

Do your words

give grace

to those who hear?

Do you have

the aroma

of Christ

wafting about you

wherever you are

attracting

and drawing

to God

those who are

destined for life?

and none

of us

can say

well

I'm not

very gifted

so

I'm not

going to do

anything.

Have you

received

the grace

of God?

Yes

you have.

Every

Christian

has.

We have

freely

received

and we

have to

freely

give.

Remember

what we

learned

earlier

one

talent

is

1.5

million

dollars.

Some

receive

more

some

receive

less

but

all

receive

much

and

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

13

45

isn't

one

pearl

of

great

value

worth

selling

everything

we have

to acquire

an ounce

of the

grace

of God

that we

received

is worth

more

than

all the

riches

of this

world

all the

pleasures

of this

world

none

of us

have any

excuse

to be

complacent

or lazy

with that

precious

grace

we have

received

none

of us

have the

excuse

to bury

that

in the

ground

hidden

from all

those

around

us

this is

all the

more

urgent

because

of the

inevitable

and imminent

return

of the

master

Jesus

says

in

verse 19

now

after a

long

time

the

master

of those

servants

came

and settled

accounts

with them

so the

master

it says

he goes

away

on a

long

journey

in a

parallel

version

of this

passage

in

Luke

19

Jesus

tells

this

parable

to

people

who

supposed

that

the

kingdom

of

God

was

to

appear

immediately

so he

speaks

of a

noble

man

who

went

into

a

far

country

to

receive

for

himself

a

kingdom

and

then

return

Jesus

is

issuing

a

similar

caution

here

to

his

disciples

his

return

as

Jesus

said

repeatedly

throughout

chapters

24

and 25

of

Matthew

is

imminent

he

can

return

any

day

and

he

will

come

when

he

is

unexpected

like

a

thief

in

the

night

however

Jesus

cautions

his

disciples

here

by

telling

them

that

while

his

return

is

imminent

is

not

immediate

remember

Jesus

prophesied

earlier

of the

destruction

of

Jerusalem

and

the

temple

as

well

as

of

the

proclamation

of

the

gospel

among

all

the

nations

these

things

don't

happen

until

later

in

that

first

century

it

has

been

2,000

years

since

Jesus

has

said

this

it

has

been

a

long

time

but

any

day

now

Jesus

says

he

can

return

and

the

master

of

the

servants

will

come

and

settle

accounts

with

them

God

is

not

an

inept

manager

who

doesn't

know

and

or

doesn't

care

what

his

subordinates

are

doing

he

cares

because

he

has

entrusted

to us

something

very

very

precious

he's

going

to

come

back

and

he

will

examine

the

books

I

tell

you

on

the

day

of

judgment

people

will

give

account

for

every

careless

word

they

speak

a

single

idle

word

careless

word

Jesus

says

will

be held

to

account

we

are

not

bosses

unaccountable

to

anyone

we

are

servants

accountable

to

our

master

we

are

not

owners

of

our

own

money

we

are

managers

of

God's

money

we

are

stewards

of

God's

money

and

the

performance

review

is

coming

don't

be

like

the

people

that

2

Peter

3

warns

about

the

scoffers

who

follow

their

own

sinful

desires

saying

to

themselves

where

is

the

promise

of

his

coming

for

ever

since

the

fathers

fell

asleep

all

things

are

continuing

as

they

were

sun

up

sun

down

sun

up

it's

the

same

every

single

day

nothing

different

not

expecting

the

sudden

return

of

Christ

the

day

of

judgment

is

coming

and

we

must

not

forget

this

grand

reality

lest

we

become

lazy

and

complacent

this

reality

of

his

return

should

instill

holy

fear

in

us

but

it

should

not

fill

us

as

Christians

with

dread

or

despair

rather

it

should

fill

us

with

eager

anticipation

because

the

promise

for

those

who

faithfully

endure

till

the

end

as

witnesses

of

Jesus

Christ

is

that

we

get

to

partake

in

the

master's

joy

Jesus

says

in

verses

22

to

23

and

you

had

received

the

five

talents

came

forward

bringing

five

talents

more

saying

master

you

delivered

to

me

five

talents

here

I

have

made

five

talents

more

his

master

said

to

him

well

done

good

and

faithful

servant

you

have

been

faithful

over

a

little

I

will

set

you

over

much

enter

into

the

joy

of

your

master

and

he

also

who

had

the

two

talents

came

forward

saying

master

you

delivered

to

me

two

talents

here

I

have

made

two

talents

more

and

his

master

said

to

him

well

done

good

and

faithful

servant

you

have

been

faithful

over

a

little

I

will

set

you

!

over

much

enter

into

the

talent

servant

each

respectively

produced

two

talents

and

five

talents

100%

yield

and

they

received

the

exact

same

commendation

from

God

isn't

that

wonderful

God

doesn't

say

to

the

two

talent

servants

well

that's

it

that's

it

just

two

no

the

exact

same

commendation

remember

it's

the

master

who

sovereignly

and

freely

gave

two

talents

to

one

and

five

talents

to

the

other

and

the

servant

who

had

7.8

million

to

invest

versus

3

million

to

invest

they're

rightly

going

to be

expected

to

yield

different

interests

so

Jesus

says

in

Luke

12

48

everyone

to whom

much

was

given

of him

much

will

be

required

and

from

him

to

whom

they

entrusted

much

they

will

demand

the

more

and

this

should

prevent

any

unhealthy

ungodly

comparison

among

ourselves

in

whatever

situation

whatever

station

God

has

placed

us

whatever

measure

of

grace

God

has

entrusted

to

us

and

poured

out

to

us

what

is

expected

of

us

is

faithfulness

with

what

we

have

been

given

I

might

only

have

a

teacup

with

which

to

receive

from

the

ocean

of

God's

grace

but

if

I'm

faithful

with

that

teacup

and

I

pour

out

the

grace

of

God

again

and

again

to

all

the

people

that

I

see

and

all

the

people

I

meet

then

I

will

one

day

approach

the

throne

of

God

and

hear

him

say

to

me

well

done

my

good

and

faithful

servant

enter

into

the

joy

of

your

master

imagine

hearing

that

from

our

Lord

that

one

word

from

him

will

repay

repay

more

pay

back

more

way

more

than

any

suffering

and

hardship

we

experience

in

this

life

would

it

not

well

done

that

one

word

would

fill

my

heart

to

burst

was

I

Lord

you

really

think

I

was

faithful

did

I

please

you

in

the

little

service

I

rendered

did

I

do

a

good

job

isn't

that

what

every

children

want

just

to

please

their

dad

to

please

our

heavenly

father

Hebrews

12

1

to

2

says

we

ought

to

run

with

endurance

the race

that is

set

before

us

looking

to

Jesus

the

founder

and

perfecter

of our

faith

who

for

the

joy

that

was

set

before

him

endured

the

cross

despising

the

shame

and

is

seated

at

the

right

hand

of

the

throne

of

God

how

did

Jesus

endure

the

cross

how

did

Jesus

endure

all

that

shame

and

trouble

and

pain

how

did

Jesus

do

it

he

says

he

looked

forward

to

the

joy

that

was

set

before

him

and

that's

how

we're

supposed

to

do

it

too

master

says

enter

into

the

joy

of

your

master

that's

what

awaits

all

of

his

faithful

servants

we

long

for

that

that

day

of

Christ

return

when

will

come

with

robes

of

white

when

our

eyes

will

be

transfixed

upon

him

and

we

will

rise

with

the

saints

and

praise

his

glorious

name

and

don't

ever

despise

the

day

of

small

beginnings

what

we

are

entrusted

with

in

this

life

might

not

seem

like

that

much

maybe

we're

not

very

influential

maybe

we

don't

know

many

people

maybe

we

don't

have

many

opportunities

to

make

much

of

Christ

and

speak

of

his

grace

with

others

like

some

people

do

but

the

master

says

to

faithful

servants