Matthew 25
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 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.’
21 “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.’
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “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.’
24 “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. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “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, 27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 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. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
What have you been given?
In the story we read, we find 4 people
– The owner of the house
– 3 servants – each given different levels of responsibility
1 servant with 5 talents
1 servant with 2 talents
1 servant with 1 talent
Each given Responsibility and Possibility
Let’s talk about those for a second
RESPONSIBILITY:
First command in scripture was responsibility (Command in Genesis – subdue the earth)
– Whether you know it or not, God has given you responsibility
Responsibility isn’t always fair
– Some have more, some have less
“In the kingdom of Christ, not all responsibilities are equal, nor are we all expect to perform at the same level of competence, but all are expected to do their best as faithful stewards.”
Think about the servants who had 2 and 1 talents – Did they have responsibility? (Yes)
– Did one have less than the other? (Yes)
– Was one faithful and one not (Yes)
Responsibility isn’t about size or importance, its about faithfulness
I want you to think about the responsibility God has placed in your life
– We all have a level of responsibility
Time — Talent — Treasure
Time
– What dominates your time
– Are you living with margin
Talent
– Natural gifts
– Are you living for your calling?
Treasure
– How do you use your resources?
– Self-gain over Others
– One leaves you fulfilled, the other leaves you NEVER filled
Here’s what’s important to remember about these three
– You may think you control them, or own them but you don’t
Time – Can’t make more of it. Don’t know how much you have
– We usually waste time – God redeems it
Talents – God gave them to you
– If you have talent, did you choose to have it
– You can make it better but you can’t choose it
Treasure – This one is tricky
– I earned it
– But did you really
– Who gave you the capacity
– Who put you in that situation?
– Who orchestrated the events leading up to it?
– The second you think you own your treasure is the moment it owns you
Matthew tells us that each servant had “talents” that were given to them by their master
– Who’s talents where they?
They had “Responsibility of Care”
Here is our question again: What have you been given?
– What is your “Responsibility of Care”
– To use what God has given us to return it back with interest
Some more example of responsibility:
– Influence
– Your relationships
– Your kids
– Your Character
But responsibility is only part of the job
Nobody wants just “Responsibility”
Responsibility paves the way for Possibility
We get this backward
– We only want the responsibility when we know the possibility
How many times have you said… If I would have known, I would have…
We want to know the end before we start the journey
– We only want the responsibility if we know and like the possibility
– Like watching the end of the movie to make sure we like it to watch the whole movie
But that’s not really how it works
– We have to take risks, even when we don’t know the outcome
But not doing anything is just as big of a risk as doing the wrong this
– You can change course if you are going the wrong way, but it’s hard to change if you are not moving at all
Two servants used what they had been given to make more
– They saw the possibility
– They had faith
But one servant didn’t do anything with what he had been given – Literally buried it
Here’s the hard Question
– What are you burying?
– What responsibility are you shying away from
– Who has God put into your life that you need to take responsibility for?
– What are you doing with your TIME — TALENT — TREASURE
The reason many of us have shied away from RESPONSIBILITY is that we don’t believe in the POSSIBILITY
How serious you take your RESPONSIBILITY will depend on your belief in the POSSIBILITY
Our God is a God of POSSIBILITY
– Your life has Possibility
– Your marriage has Possibility
– Your kids have Possibility
– Those people you work with have Possibility
– Even your mistakes have Possibility
Give your life to Jesus and see what is POSSIBLE
– Give him your pain
– Give him your hurts
– Give him your time, talents and treasure
He will never waste them — He will grow them!
Use it or Lose it
This is a word for the church
– We have all been given something to add value that was a give from God
But if you don’t use it, You will lose it