Use Your Talents

We've been learning as we've been looking at Matthew chapter 24 and 25 that the Lord Jesus is returning. We don't know when He's coming but the fact of His return is indisputable. Jesus said, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

He is coming and when He comes He's going to come like a thief in the night. The question is, as we look at the teaching of the Lord on this subject is, how are we to respond? And Jesus has been teaching us in these chapters, Matthew 24 and 25, that at the end of the age, which we're fast approaching, we're not to be led astray. Although there will be wars and rumors of wars, we're also not to be alarmed. There's going to be famines and earthquakes and pestilences.

We've just gone through one. We're not to be alarmed. Also, at the end of the age, we're not to be deceived by false Christs and false prophets. No, we are, says Jesus, we're to stay awake. We're to be ready. We're to watch.

We are to be prepared, as we learned a couple of weeks ago. And now we're looking, today as you open your Bible to Matthew chapter 25, we're looking at the last parable in Matthew's Gospel. Now, some think the next section that we'll look at next week, the judgment of the sheep and the goats, is a parable.

I tend not to think so. And so, this is the last parable told by our Lord Jesus as recorded in Matthew. And it's very significant that Jesus again focuses on what we must do in light of His return. And to help us understand further the Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew's great subject. To help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven and all that is involved, Jesus tells this intriguing story. So, this morning, our task is fairly simple. We're going to read the verses, we're going to reflect on them, and then we're going to think of some important principles which are applicable to all of us. First of all, the most important thing, obviously, is to read the Word of God. Matthew 25, and Jesus is again telling a story to help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 25, verse 14, for it, meaning the Kingdom of Heaven, 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 delivered to me five talents.

Here, I've 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've 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 I 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 reaped where I have not sown and gathered where I've scattered no seed.

Then you ought to have invested my money with the mankers, 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 10 talents. For to everyone who has will more 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.

A story told by the master storyteller. Now first of all, there is a parable to be understood. A man gives various talents to his servants. Jesus says, verse 1, the kingdom of God is like a man going on a journey who calls his servants and entrusted to them his property. Now there's no mention when this wealthy man will return.

He doesn't tell them exactly when he will return, but they know he's going to return. And in his absence, he's entrusting his property to these servants. To one of his servants, he gives five talents to another two and to the other one. Now a talent was not a specific unit of currency, but an expensive unit of exchange.

It may have been gold, it may have been silver, it may have been copper. And it's very difficult to quantify in today's currency how much a talent would be worth today, but I read that it represented about 20 years of earnings for the average worker. That's a lot of money, isn't it? So for example, if we took $50,000 a year as an average worker, you say, I don't make 50,000, some of you make much more, some of you make much less, but let's take $50,000 a year. In today's currency then, one talent would be a million dollars. So think of it this way, here is a very wealthy man, he's going on a journey and he wants his money, his property invested in his absence. So he entrusted to these three servants. To one he gives five million dollars, to another he gives two million dollars, and to one he gives one million dollars.

Notice Jesus says, verse 15, to each according to his ability. This master knew his servants, so he didn't give the same amount of talents to every servant, no, and he wanted them to use their initiative in investing his wealth. So the man gets his five talents, immediately goes to work, we don't know how he did it, that doesn't matter, but he invests it and he makes five talents more. The man who has two talents, he does the same, he goes to work, invests them, we're not told how he does it, but he makes another two talents. They double their investment, that's pretty good, isn't it?

Anyone here can do that? I don't think so, right? That's a good investment to double it. Now the man who had received the one talent did something very different. Not only did he not trade with his talent, not only did he not even invest it in the bank, he dug it, verse 18, he dug it in the ground and hid his master's money. That's a strange thing to do, isn't it? In that culture then, and even today, it's not uncommon to hide something of value in the ground, particularly if you come from the criminal classes, right?

You're trying to hide some money. I wondered, was that servant who got the one talent, was he resentful of the others who had received five and two talents? What we do know is he was a lazy servant. The master calls him slothful, lazy, and he did not go to work. He did not use the talent that he had got. I tend to think that he may have thought that the master would never come back.

Then he'd be able to keep the talent, the million dollars, all to himself. If he put it into a bank, there would be a receipt, it could be found out, there would be a record of the deposit. And so perhaps he thought, you know, this guy's gone away, he may never come back.

I'm not going to tell anyone where it is, I'm going to hide it, and I may be able to use it for myself in the future. And we really don't know. What is clear is this, he does not invest the talent, he hides it in the ground, and it seemed to me he didn't really believe that the master would return one day.

It's a very foolish thing and a very lazy thing that he did. The master returns. He was away, Jesus says, for a long time. Verse 19, now after a long time, the master of these servants came and settled accounts with them.

Oh, the time of accountability has now come. The man who'd received the five talents goes to the master and says, listen, here's your original five talents that you trusted to me, and here is an extra five talents. So he presents to the master $10 million. Servant is told, verse 21, you've done well, you're a good and you're a faithful servant. And surprisingly, verse 21, he says you've been faithful over a little. You know, I don't know about you, but $5 million isn't little to me, unless you're a multi-billionaire.

If your name is Musk, you may think so. But for the rest of us, that's not a little. I'll come back to that. And his reward is twofold. First, I will set you over much. That's left there, we're not sure the details.

I will set you over much. Secondly, verse 21, enter into the joy of your master, a continuing relationship with the master. So this man, this master is very rich, as he regards $5 million, $10 million as very little. So think of the reward which is promised to the faithful and to the good servant. Now the man who'd received the two talents come and presents not only the two talents which were initially entrusted to him, but the two which he'd made.

That's pretty good. He presents then totally to the master $4 million. And did you notice this? He receives exactly the same reward as the man who had received the first talents. Now the man who had received the one talent comes forward.

Do you notice? Now Jesus is the master storyteller and He knows the heart of men. Notice what this character does. He begins immediately by attacking the master's integrity and character. He describes him, verse 24, he describes him as a hard man.

Whoa, you have some nerve. If he's a hard man, you better not tell him. And if he's not a hard man, why are you saying he's a hard man? You're a hard man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. You're the kind of individual who can make a profit even though you do nothing.

You allow others to scatter the seed and you just get the harvest. And you know, I was afraid of you. Notice his manipulation. I was afraid of you and so because of that, I hid your talent in the ground. No wonder the master describes him as worthless.

What the man was saying didn't make sense. I mean, the master could have buried the talent himself in the ground if he'd wanted. The master before he had left could have gone to his bankers and given them the one talent to invest and get at least a little interest.

No, I'm giving you the talent so that you can go to work, so that you can invest and not to bury it. Have you noticed in life, I have in the workplace, hopefully this doesn't apply to anyone here, in the workplace. Who is the biggest complainer? Who is the one who is most critical of the boss, most critical of the employer? The man, the woman who does the least.

Have you noticed that? It's not the high achiever, it's the lazy person who is the most critical. You see, this man who received the one talent did not know the heart of the master. And the master describes him as wicked and slothful, verse 26. Why didn't you invest the money with the bank?

At least you'd have got some interest. And now, the talent that you have is going to be taken from you and given to the man who made the $5 million. The man who now has the 10 talents. Therefore, verses 28 and 29, he will have an abundance. Take the talent from him, the worthless man, give it to him who has the 10 talents. Notice the principle, verse 29, everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even when he has, will be taken away. Are you going to give more money to a man who does absolutely nothing, he's lazy, he's worthless, he attacks the character and the integrity of the master? Absolutely not.

That would be foolish. You had your opportunity and you made a mess of it and I'm going to take what you have and give it to the one who is a good and faithful servant and he will have an abundance. Furthermore, you notice how the story twists as often it does and in a sense surprises us. Verse 30, cast the worthless servant, now this is a parable, but it's teaching truth as we'll see, into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is very, very wrong.

This is a serious matter and if you do that you'll experience severe punishment. That's the parable. Now, think of the principles to be applied. I have six of them. You say, oh, six? This is going to be a long message.

You know, I know what you're thinking. Others of you say, oh, I'm disappointed, I would love ten. So, whether you like it or not, I've got six. But seriously, these are very, very important principles.

The first is this. Differing gifts are sovereignly given by God to every authentic follower of Jesus Christ. Do you get that? Differing gifts are sovereignly given by God to every true believer in Jesus Christ. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you are saved by the grace of God, you have received a gift. 1 Peter 4 verse 10, Peter writes, as each, as each has received a gift, Greek word is charisma, from which we get charismatic.

The Greek word for grace is charis. You have received a charisma. You have received a grace gift as an evidence of the grace of God. He's given you a gift as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.

What a gracious God we have, and God is so gracious that He gives to every single one of us a grace gift. You don't deserve it. It's sovereignly given. You don't buy it. You don't choose it. It's sovereignly given to you. And these gifts are different, but they are a portion, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, 11, to each one individually as he, the Holy Spirit, wills.

The man didn't come to the master and say, I want five, or the one say, I only want one. No, it is sovereignly given to you by God. I mean, just think of that, just think of your natural talents, think of your natural abilities. None of us chose our size, whether you're tall or small. Some of us are much more athletic than others. We just, we who are, we don't boast about that, it's just a reality. Some of us are athletic and some are not. Some are gifted musically and others of us are not.

Some have greater intellectual ability and some have not. Everything that we have is sovereignly given to us by God. Different personalities, different backgrounds, that is true, but to each one of us is entrusted, to use the word Jesus uses in the parable, is entrusted by the Holy Spirit with a gift. And He gives it to us, did you know this? And I drew attention to it at the end of verse 15, to each according to his ability. God knows you and God has given you a gift specially suitable for you, based on your personality, your training, what you're going to do in life. It is tailor-made to you, as it were, given by God. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4, when they ascended Christ, returned to heaven, he gave gifts, Charis, grace gifts, he gave gifts to the church.

So you, my brother, my sister, have been entrusted with a gift, a talent. As I say, these are grace gifts, please remember that. Don't boast in your gift, don't boast in your ability, don't use your gift to draw attention to yourself, remember, it's sovereignly given to you by God. Second principle, obviously, gifts are to be used, not buried. They are to be used to serve God, they're to be used to serve others. The master entrusted the talents to the servants, notice the word. Peter says in 1 Peter 4 verse 10, as I read, to each has received a gift, a charisma, and we are what? To use it to serve one another. You have a gift, not to be buried, you are to use it, how?

To serve others. Paul says in the great chapter on gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, you're to use it for the common good. In a similar parable, Jesus tells in Luke 19, He says that the servants, in the absence of the master, were to engage in business until He comes. That's the point.

Burying your gift, not using your gift, is a very serious matter. Now, don't forget the overall context of Matthew 24 and 25. Remember, the Bible is not written in just little bits and pieces, as some of us read our Bible by just reading a little section here and there.

Don't do that. Understand the context. What's the context of this parable? Context of the parable is that the Son of Man is gone, but He's coming back. And in His absence, you and I have gifts to be used.

He's coming back. The end of the age is near. There's an urgency.

And can I say, as your pastor, for Calvary Church to be all that God intends, you must be involved in serving God and others. One of our themes this year at Calvary is invest in the next generation. We are to be investing in the next generation, in this generation. The point is you've got a gift. You are to invest in others by praying, by serving, by giving of your time and money. Gifts are to be used, not buried.

Here's the third principle. The time of accountability is coming. You say, when is that?

I don't know, but it's coming. After being away, Jesus says, for a long time, the master of these servants came and settled accounts with them. Remember, these are grace gifts. Peter reminds us that we are stewards, managers, trustees of God's manifold grace.

That God's grace is multifaceted. And God, knowing who we are, knowing everything about us, everything that we will be, sovereignly chooses the gift. And I am to use it for myself. No, it's a gift. It's given to me by my master. You are a manager. You have to invest that in your own interests.

No, in the interests of God, in the interests of others. So Peter says, we are to be good stewards, good trustees. You understand that? Some of you are in the investment business. Clients give you money to invest.

That's not yours. One of the first cases when I was a criminal prosecutor was against two lawyers who received a lot of money from a couple of estates. And instead of disbursing the funds to the widows, they siphoned off some for themselves. It's called embezzlement.

Don't do it. It's a crime, right? These greedy lawyers taking funds that was coming to them, but now there were rules and regulations.

That money had to be invested not in their own interests, but in the interests of their clients. You get the point? This is what we are to do. You've received a gift, and the time of accountability is coming. You are responsible. I am responsible for managing my gift as a good steward.

Can I remind you, brothers and sisters, that everything you have belongs to God? You're good at something. You're gifted at something.

You find something's very easy to do. You're an incredibly creative person. You've got an ability to make money. You're a good athlete.

You're a good student. Wonderful. Praise God, but remember this. Everything you have and are comes from God. Deuteronomy 8, verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth. God has blessed you financially. God has blessed you in other ways.

Remember it? It comes from God. God gives you the ability. He gives you the strength to think of the ability that we have to get out of bed in the morning and come here to worship. It takes strength.

It takes focus. Think of all of the gifts of life, of the good things from God. Every gift comes from God.

They're very precious. They're given to us by the risen Christ, and He's returning, and I know you want to hear, and I want to hear, well done. Well done, John. Good and faithful servant. As a boy growing up, I valued when my father said, well done, John.

Quite often he didn't say it, because it wasn't well done. But if you're a boy, you're a man, and you've got a good relationship with your father, you know, that's a wonderful thing to hear your dad saying to you, well done. If you've got a boss that you respect and you've worked hard and you've done something, and for that boss to say, well done. If you're in a profession and you have clients or you have customers, how wonderful it is, as you get to know them, for them to say to you, good job, well done, I trust you. But think of, think of Jesus Christ as we stand before Him. Who knows my heart?

Who knows everything? And saying, well done, good and faithful servant. Paul writes 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10, we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive what is due for what is done in the body, whether good or evil.

Yes, the time of accountability has come. Now this accountability, this judgment seat of Christ is not to decide who gets into heaven. We heard from the testimonies and we know from the scriptures that our salvation isn't based on what we do. It's based on what Christ has done. It is a gift of God. My salvation is a gift of God.

It's not something I worked for. No, it's a gracious gift of a loving God who is worth singing, who so loved the world that He gave His only Son. But now that I'm saved, I'm given these gifts, these opportunities, these responsibilities and the judgment seat of Christ is not a judgment of sinners, it's a judgment of servants. The question I'm asking you, are you using your gifts and talents by serving your Master? The time of accountability is coming.

Here's the next one. God rewards according to faithfulness, not according to the greatness of the gift. Isn't that encouraging? That God rewards according to faithfulness, not according to the greatness of the gift. Here's Mr. A, he receives five talents.

He makes five. Here's Mr. B, he receives two talents and he makes another two. But did you notice that they received exactly the same reward? Both men are told, well done, good and faithful servant. Both were faithful, both used their talents. It's true, one had more responsibility than the other, but both of them were faithful.

Both of them acted in the interest of the Master. As I say, that's very encouraging, isn't it? Because some of you are sitting there and saying, well, you know, I'm a very average kind of person. Of course you are, most of us are average, right?

Just by statistically speaking. Ah, but no one is average in God's eyes. You are gifted, you're loved. You say, well, I'm not particularly gifted or I'm not particularly talented.

Yes, you are. Don't allow just a few people to talk about being creative. God is a creative God and God gives us creativity. And as we serve God, whatever it is, think of the creativity that comes into it and do not compare yourself with others.

Don't look on this sister and say, well, she's much more talented than I am. That may be in your eyes, but that's not the point with God. It is God who decides your gifts and your talents. God decided where you're going to be born. God decided your size. God decided basically what kind of person you are and has given you a gift. Be faithful in what you have.

That's it. I'm to be faithful. Listen to Luke 16 verse 10. One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much. And one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much.

How true that is. You know that in the workplace. You begin to work, you're given a small task. You're giving a little responsibility. You serve well, you're faithful in that. You've got a good work ethic. Your boss comes and gives you more responsibility. Why would you give more to a person who is lazy and potentially dishonest?

No. Start using your gift. Don't allow, don't come into the mindset where you're waiting for the perfect time to use your gift. People say all the time, yeah, I'm going to serve God. I'm going to get involved in ministry. Yes, I am. Nathaniel challenged people about baptism.

I speak to people all the time. Yeah, yeah, I should get baptized. Oh yeah, yeah, I'll get baptized. There's no urgency.

There is never a perfect time to begin serving God. There's always reasons why you shouldn't. You're too young, you're too old. You've got children, you don't have children.

You've got too much time, you don't have enough time. Start serving now. Some of you are saying, well, I did that, but I was criticized and had a bad experience when I was serving God. I don't know anyone who hasn't had a bad experience when serving God. If I allowed that to stop me serving as a pastor, I would have resigned many years ago. Are you going to get criticized?

Are you going to work with someone whose personality is a little different from yours? Are you going to feel sometimes discouraged? Are you going to sometimes feel you've done all this and no one has said to you, well done? Don't allow self-pity. Don't allow a bad experience in the past to stop you from serving God now. One of the vital truths of the Christian faith is endurance. Don't quit.

Don't give up. Endure. The athlete knows that. The musician knows that. The businessman knows that. The salesman certainly knows that. You don't allow a difficulty or a discouragement from stop to prevent you from keeping your eyes on the goal.

What's the goal? I want to serve you, the Lord. Yes, it's true, I messed up that experience.

Yes, it's true, that was very discouraging. But today, I'm going to serve God. And here it is, that God rewards according to faithfulness, not according to the greatness of the gift. Your gift in your eyes might seem to be very, very humble. Be faithful in discharging that gift.

That's the point. And hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant. Next principle, God graciously grants rewards.

Do you know there's rewards in the kingdom? How gracious of God. How gracious of God to forgive our sins and to allow us into the kingdom and allow us to enter into the joy of the Master. How gracious of God. I marveled at this as I was reading this during the week.

Jesus says in verse 21, the man, the Master says to the first man, you've been faithful over a little. A little? Five million dollars? That's a lot.

Ah, but it's little compared with the future. Is it a little thing for you to use your gift? Yes. Was it a little thing for you to serve as a greeter, an usher today? Is that a big thing? Not really. It's quite little actually.

You're going to serve in the nursery the second hour? Is that a huge thing? No, actual fact, it's quite a little thing. The worship team came early and rehearsed and used their gifts and their abilities to lead worship. It was that big thing? Not really.

It was a little thing. Little compared with the greatness of the Lord. Not only are we saved by grace and receive eternal life, our Master rewards our faithful service.

He says to the man, I will give, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master. Here is the kingdom of God.

Here is the future. Here is the messianic kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming to set up His kingdom and we know that we will reign with Him.

I don't know all that's involved in this, but I do know this. That God in His grace not only saves us, but gives us rewards and I'm going to set you over much. I want to be a faithful servant. I want to enter into the joy, don't you, of reigning with my Master.

As I've said, perhaps a very, very small Scottish island, maybe only an acre of it. That would be great, wouldn't it? To enter into the joy of our Master. Psalm 16 verse 11, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

We can enter into that to some extent, here and now, but think of the future. Think of the future glory of enjoying the joy and the pleasures of our Master by being with Him. Abundant, wonderful blessings await us when Christ returns. Brothers and sisters, be faithful.

Be a light for Jesus Christ in your neighborhood, where our future is ours. The final lesson, and it's a tough one, unfaithful servants are punished. Verse 30, you say this is harsh.

Are you accusing Jesus of being harsh? Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable finishes with an inescapable solemn warning. Think of the dramatic end of the unfaithful servant who does not turn out to know the Master. He regards the Master as hard. He regards the Master as unscrupulous.

He regards the man who would make money for any reason, the end justifying the means. He does not know the Master. The Master. He's not an authentic follower of Jesus. He presumes on the grace of God. He presumes on the grace of the Master. He's an example of a person who professes Christ, who calls him Master, but really he is a wicked and self-indulgent person. Nothing for the Master. He does not know the Master, and so he is excluded from the presence of the Master. He receives eternal punishment. If you're here and you have rejected Christ and you don't know Christ, then yes, you receive the good things of life. God in His common grace may have blessed you in some way, but you don't know Christ.

Be warned. The day is coming when Jesus Christ will return and as we'll see next week when He returns, He returns in judgment. Make sure your trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He still stands today and says to you, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Believe in Christ. Trust in Him as your Savior. And those of us who are followers of Christ, can I remind you, don't bury your gift. Use your gift for the glory of God as we await the return of our Lord from heaven.

None of us want to be ashamed when He returns. And we have at Calvary innumerable opportunities for you to serve. You can go on our web and there's a section of service. We need right now many of you to serve in children's ministry, in a nursery, in champ sports.

Many opportunities. Don't just sit there. Don't just sit there.

Don't just wait for the perfect moment. Say, here I am Lord. Use me now that we would hear from the master.

Can you hear him? Put your name there. Well done. Good and faithful servant. That's our prayer, Father.

We think of the joy, incredible joy of hearing these gifts. What a gracious God you are. Not only do you save us by your grace and keep us by grace, you give us these grace gifts. Help us to use them for your glory. And some here who do not know the master have a false view. And so I pray for their salvation. In Christ's name, Amen.