The Talents

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast,

you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. When I was 11,

I made a decision that I looked back on and I

just shake my head. See, at 11 I wanted to be

a professional basketball player. And so what

I did is I stopped my piano lessons that I was

taking because I had to devote my time to my

career. Insane. You needed the drive to put in

the work. And I had neither the genes nor the

drive. And I can't play the piano. I could be

playing spirit keys right now like Josh was and

and preaching but but I can't because little

Tim wanted to focus on his career. You see we

make decisions in our lives that have consequences

and we do this all the time. You know I regret

that decision and that decision has had consequences

and what it raises for me and I want to ask a

question today. Do you think that you can waste

your life? You see, we live in what we could

call an open system. In theological terms, we

have free will under the providence of God. Basically,

we have choice, right? And our choices have consequences.

They can create issues for us or they can produce

fruitful results for us. But sometimes I wonder

whether we live like that is not true. We make

decisions without the end in mind. Or we'll maybe

even live thinking that what we do in this life

doesn't actually really matter that all that

much in the end. I wonder, can we waste our lives?

See, we're in a series on the parables of Jesus

called Parabolic. And we're walking through a

couple of the more famous parables. And parables

are short stories, but with intent. Stories that

Jesus and other prophets or teachers like him,

they're used to teach their followers. But in

the case of Jesus parables, they're never teaching

moral principles like the tortoise and the hare.

They're actually always illuminating something

of who Jesus actually is, what he's on about

and what his kingdom is like. His parables are

about him and his kingdom, but they're also about

us and how we respond to Jesus. And then they're

often also about Israel and how Israel has not

or has responded to the teachings of Jesus. So

parables can be complex, confusing, deep. They're

layered. They have layers, like onions and ogres,

right? And today we're looking at the parable

of the talents. And in that translation, it was

translated silver bags, but the word is talent.

And this parable of the talents is famous for

accidentally inventing our modern word for talent,

as in Josh praying and playing keys at the same

time, like save some talent for the rest of us.

Like that kind of talent. A word for natural

capacity, ability, or skill finds its origin

in this parable. This is its etymology, which

is one of Ash's favorite ever words. And this

parable is a doozy. So I've been studying this

I've been reading and reading and reading about

this and Turning it over mine for like the last

two weeks and I haven't hit the bottom of it.

We could spend three hours on this parable today

but Nobody signed up for that except text So

I want to encourage you'd like read it this week

read it again mull on it Read about it. Let it

get stuck in your head and let it work on you.

That's that's what parables are meant to do That's

why Jesus taught in this way They're meant to

get stuck in your head. And there's an open invitation

if you wanna have a coffee and nerd out about

the parable of talents with me, I'm so in. Jesus

starts by saying, this is what the kingdom of

heaven is like. This is what my kingdom is like.

A man, a master goes on a long trip and he entrusts

his money, an amount of money called a talent,

it's a weight, a measurement, to his servants.

And it gives them different amounts according

to their ability. So that's how we get where

the word talent got its start. But then he goes

away. Jesus' parables are about Jesus and his

kingdom, right? So who's the master who's about

to go on a long trip? This is in Matthew 25.

In Matthew 26, Jesus is betrayed and arrested

and is staring down his imminent death. Jesus

is the master. Jesus is about to go away. And

who are His servants? His disciples between His

going and His returning. Peter and Mary and James

and John and Paul and Barnabas and you and me.

And what is it that we are entrusted with, if

we're His followers? What's the wealth that Jesus

has given us according to our ability? Well,

it must be something of immense value. You see,

what we don't get is that a talent was worth

about 6 ,000 days' wages. So roughly, you know,

worked up into AUD today. That's $2 .3 million,

right? So the one that's given five talents is

given like over $11 million just to look after.

You see, the Master's not just entrusting them

to a few gift cards to Yochi or something. He's

entrusting them his fortune. So what's Jesus

getting at here? Well, if you're familiar with

the other parables of Jesus, you might remember

the parable of the pearl of great price or the

treasure that's buried in the field. Things of

surpassing value are often Jesus' way of talking

about the kingdom of God. Jesus is about to go

away and he's entrusting his followers with his

kingdom. What's his kingdom? It's the unfolding

of his reign on the earth. His government. to

use our language, where His will is done over

our lives, over humanity, over all creation.

Jesus has entrusted us with His kingdom trust

fund. He's entrusted us with grace through the

precious blood of Jesus, with His Holy Spirit

and its fruits within us, with the spiritual

gifts and His authority, with the church and

His family, with the gospel message of good news

and the scriptures that proclaim it, with a mission

and a calling. If you're a follower of Jesus

in this place, I wonder, do you know the surpassing

value of that which Jesus has entrusted to you?

Do you know how valuable it is? If you can waste

your life, you have something to waste. Klein

R. Snodgrass, which is just the greatest name

I've ever heard in my life, he's a theologian,

he says this, to accept the kingdom and its salvation,

is to accept a trust. If you've accepted Jesus

and His Lordship over your life and the salvation

that it brings, you've accepted a trust. A little

portion of the very Kingdom of God which has

been entrusted to you according to who God has

created you to be. His Kingdom come, His will

be done in your life as it is in heaven. I wonder,

do we actually really get and realize the value

of what we have been given in Jesus Christ. The

first two servants they immediately go and they

double their money but a third digs a hole and

buries his master's money in the ground and after

a long time the master comes back and he calls

for an order of how they've used what has been

given to them. The one with five talents has

made another five and this is how the master

Response to that, well done, my good and faithful

servant. You have been faithful in handling this

small amount and to now give you many more responsibilities.

Let's celebrate together. Wait, a small amount?

He's handled almost $23 million. And he's gonna

be put over even more? How wealthy is this master?

Wealthier than we can even imagine, right? And

so he's promoted and gets to celebrate and enter

the feast, the joy of his master. And our two

talent man is up next. What's he done with it?

Well, he's made more than double. The master's

reward, profit that's generated. He cares about

the behavior of his servants. Two talent man

was faithful with what he was given. He put his

talents to work and he was rewarded the same

as five talent man was. 13th century theologian

Thomas Aquinas said this, God requires nothing

from us, but what he has sown in us. Two -talent

man was not required to also generate an extra

five talents, but instead to faithfully steward

what he was entrusted with, what was sown in

him. Now, friends, do you know how freeing this

is? You know, sometimes I catch myself and I'm

comparing myself to other people and they say

comparison is a thief of joy and I think that's

really true. We live in a world where you can

literally measure how much more another person

is liked than you are. And the fact that God

requires nothing from us but what he has sown

in us is amazing. It's ridiculously good news.

I don't have to compare myself to anyone else.

I don't have to worry about who's better than

me or who's not as good as me. I'm running my

own race. And so are you. God is entrusted with

us with our own little deposit of the kingdom

of God. And it's simply our job just to be faithful

with it. But that's not what the third servant

in this parable does, is it? He's not faithful

with it. He doesn't steward it. Instead, he buries

it in the ground. And when his master comes back

and audits what he's done with it, he's not happy.

And why? Why is the third servant condemned?

That is the question that would take up a lot

of the three hours that we could be doing right

now on this parable. It's multi -layered and

complex, but I'm gonna give you the oversimplified

version, right? The third servant fails because

he doesn't even try. to participate in his master's

business. You see, we might read this and go,

man, burying it in the ground is not the worst

thing he could have done, as long as, you know,

he remembered where he buried it. It's not like

he bed it all on black and he risked it on the

stock market and lost or something. Like, he

played it safe. And when the master comes back,

he still gets all his money back. So why does

he get the response that he gets from the master?

Well, let's look at what the third servant says

to justify his behavior. I knew you were a harsh

man Harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering

crops. You didn't cultivate. I was afraid I would

lose your money So I hit it in the earth. Look,

here's your money back. I Was afraid of the consequences

of doing something. So I instead I did nothing.

I Preserved it. I protected it. I remember Now

when you read the third servant's justification,

the original language it's been translated into,

and the more you read it, the more you start

to get your head around it, the more you see,

it's like this guy doesn't want it. He doesn't

even want it. It's like he's entrusted with this

thing of immense value, and as soon as he gets

it, it's gone straight in the hole, and as soon

as the master gets back, it's like pushed back

into his hands, like, I don't want this. Get

it away from me. One talent man wants no responsibility

for what he's been given. He doesn't want any

responsibility for his master's business. His

thoughts are not for his master, his thoughts

are for himself, for preserving himself. And

the more you read it, the more you wonder, how

can we actually trust that what this servant

says about his master is actually true? All we've

seen of him so far in this is that he is exceedingly

trusting with millions of dollars and generous,

so generous up until this point. John Wesley,

who is part of our spiritual heritage in the

Iron Church, says this about this passage, I

knew you were a hard man. No, no, you never knew

him. You never knew God. Who thinks him a hard

master, reaping where he has not sown, that is

requiring more of us than he has given us power

to perform. So does every obstinate sinner one

kind or another, lay the blame of his own sins

upon God. Even though he's been entrusted with

this thing of immense value, he wants nothing

for it or the one who gave it to him. And so

he doesn't even try to take responsibility, he

just displaces the blame onto his master. To

which he responds, oh, so you knew I was a harsh

man. Well, in that case, why didn't you just

put it in the bank? Equal effort, but I'd have

something for it. And this is kind of a bit of

a gotcha, busted moment. You see, the money would

have just been as safe in a bank as it was buried

in the ground. And it was actually as safe put

to use. In the world and culture where Jesus

speaks this parable, to make money was easy.

All you needed was money to make money. So it's

really not that different to our world. For those

who had money to put to work, doubling your money

was a reasonable expectation. It was actually

the expected result. If you put it to work, you

could pretty much bank the U on being able to

double it. It seems like the only reason you

would bury it was if you didn't want it to grow.

Why else would you go to all this effort to not

earn your master any money when earning him money

was immensely easier? You wouldn't do it if you

despised him and his business. And that's why

the servant loses the trust that's given to him

and is cast out of his master's presence. Like

money in those days, the kingdom grows, it just

does, unless it is intentionally buried. Now,

friends, there is a danger here that in reading

this parable, and there is danger in us reading

this parable, as if it contains the secrets to

the boundaries of heaven and hell. As if we can

tell from this whether you or I have acted like

the two servants, who invested the money or the

third who was cast out. But drawing boundaries

about who's in and who's out is not what Jesus

is trying to do in here. He's telling this parable

to create a positive crisis within his disciples,

a crisis of decision. Like I'm about to leave

you and be entrusted with my, and you're about

to be entrusted with my great wealth, my kingdom.

What are you gonna do about it? Jesus knows He's

about to die. He knows His disciples are about

to get tossed around and thrown around. He knows

that they could give up and do nothing with the

kingdom that's been entrusted to them. And so

He tells this parable as a warning to them, hey,

my kingdom, my teachings, my life, my power,

it's not to be rested on. It's not to be buried.

It's not to be forgotten. It's not to be rationalized.

It's to be multiplied. It's to be perpetuated.

It's there to actually grow. Like a small seed

that goes in the ground and grows into an enormous

tree. Don't do nothing with what you've been

given. Friends, one day He will come back. Jesus

will come back and Jesus will put the world right.

And we will be with Him forever. And you know,

it's easy to forget that Jesus tells this parable

as a part of a series of parables in response

to the disciples going, sidling up to him and

going, hey, can you give us some kind of insight

into what the end of the world is going to look

like? And as the master comes back to see if

his talents have been put to use, Jesus will

come back and there will be an audit at the end

of the universe. We will be held to account for

how we lived our lives. And I think about this

every time that I preach because James 3 verse

James 3:1

1 says, friends, not many of you should become

teachers in the church, for we who teach will

be judged more strictly. I'm getting a fine tooth

comb, guys. And I take this really seriously

because the whole biblical narrative is so clear

on this. There is a day coming where we will

stand before Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5 says, for

we must all stand before Christ to be judged.

And we will each receive whatever we deserve

for the good or evil we have done in this earthly

body. You know, I think we sit down and we go

through it all, play by play, and we will be

held accountable for what we've done or failed

to do. And you know, there is stuff that I am

just not looking forward to going over with Jesus.

But where is the justice in the universe? where

I'm not held to account for my own failings.

After all, don't we want accountability for those

who have sinned against us, who have hurt us?

I do. I want them to know. Right? And I can forgive

because I've been forgiven, but I can forgive

because justice belongs to God and not to me.

But how often do we want justice for others,

but grace for ourselves? Here's the thing about

grace. Grace is the work of Christ on our behalf.

It's not our work. We don't earn grace. We can't

add to it. It is a gift of God. It's God's act

of love to save us while we were lost and estranged

from Him. But grace doesn't mean that there is

no order. Grace means that justice for my sin,

what I deserve, which was death, was poured out

on Jesus on the cross instead of upon me. Colossians

2 says, you were dead because of your sins and

because your sinful nature was not yet cut away.

Then God made you a life of Christ, for He forgave

all our sins. He cancelled the record of the

charges against us and took it away by nailing

it to the cross. Grace doesn't mean there's no

audit. It means at the end of my life the eternal

consequences for my actions are laid upon Jesus

and not upon me. Clear. I've been made alive

with Christ. I have and will be resurrected and

so have you. I think about this all the time

because it means that what we do in this life

really matters. I wonder if you know that. But

how often do we do nothing out of fear rather

than giving it our all because of the joy, because

the joy of our master awaits us. How I live matters.

I will stand before Jesus and He will audit what

I have done with, what I have been entrusted

with. Have I been faithful with the small but

immensely valuable things I've been given? Whatever

talent, skills, resources, relationships, family,

giftings, spiritual giftings I've been given.

The Holy Spirit that's within me, the Gospel

of Jesus that I'm to proclaim in word and deed

with my whole life. Will I close my eyes at the

end of my life and think, look, I gave it all

I had. I was faithful with what I was given.

I held nothing back from Him. I lived to please

Him. I didn't waste this life. I didn't bury

whatever I was given in the dirt. I put it to

use and I watched it grow. That's what I want

for my life. So how do we do this? How do we

make the most of our lives? There's two ways.

The first one is our Henley homework, which is

something you can do. something you can do to

put what you've heard into action this week is

do a self -audit. Like sit down and go through

your life. Like try to understand what it is

you've been uniquely given in this life of yours.

What are the talents, the skills, the resources,

the relationships, the family, the spiritual

gifts that you have been entrusted with? What

are the themes? Pray through. What's a vision

for your life in God's Kingdom? What could that

be? Remember success is not about comparing output

with others, but just about faithfulness with

what you have uniquely been given. What does

it look like for you to take responsibility for

uniquely growing God's kingdom with your whole

unique life? And I'll happily share with you

what I think God's vision for my life is, but

you're gonna have to ask me over coffee after

the service. The second thing that will help

us put our life to God's use. is to know our

master. Third servant didn't know his master.

If he knew his master, he would know how safe

it was to put his talent to work and to fail.

See, Jesus is a good master. How often do we

not take risks in life? Even take risks for God

because we're worried that we're gonna do the

wrong thing. Worried we're gonna make a mistake.

You know, if I had a dollar for every time I

heard someone say, I'm just not sure this is

the right thing for me to do, you know, what

if I get it wrong? Maybe I'll just wait until

God like puts an audible voice in my head saying,

go and do this thing. I would be printing money

because I was a young person who said this so

much. But then someone quoted St. Augustine to

me and it changed my life. I don't know how often

people can say that. This is what Augustine said.

Love God and do whatever you please. For the

soul trained in love to God will do nothing to

offend the one who is beloved. First love God

with everything you have and then do what you

please. Because when you love God, what you please

will please God. You cannot offend God by doing

something out of love for Him. You cannot offend

God by your earnest mistakes. Friends, do you

know that the cross of Jesus and the love God

for you means it's safe to fail, to fail forward?

Do you realize how safe it is to actually get

out there and do something big and radical and

crazy for Jesus? To get out there and to put

in the work and to take ground for the kingdom

of God. What is it that you want to do for God?

How has He uniquely positioned you to live for

Him? What God dreams, what God dreams has He

put inside of you? If we know the Master and

we know His love and His grace and how safe it

is when we're in His hands, it is safe to take

risks with what's being given to us. Don't sit

back and wait for the right time to do something.

There'll probably never be a right time. So get

out there, grow what God's put inside you. Don't

waste it. Don't bury it. Jesus left a long time

ago, but he still entrusts women and men and

children with his kingdom, according to who he's

created them to be. And someday he'll come back

and audit what it is that we have done with her.

Friends, don't waste your life. Live longing

to hear those words. Well done. Good and faithful,

sir. Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's

message. If you felt challenged or need prayer,

we'd love to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhenley.

Or if you're interested in how you can support

this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide

.com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless

you.