Everyone, No One, and Everyone

Matthew 25:14-33

NKJV 14 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' NKJV

Introduction:   I’m Calling This “Kids’ Wisdom”, and I think it will make you chuckle:

(1) Never trust your dog to watch your food.” Patrick, age 10

(2) When your dad is mad and asks you, “Do I look stupid?” Don’t answer. Hannah, age 9

(3) Never tell your Mom her diet’s not working. Michael, age 12

(4) When your Mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair. Taylia, age 11

(5) Never let your three-year-old brother in the same room as your school assignment.” Traci, age 14

(6) You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.” Amir, age 9

(7) If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.” Naomi, age 15

(8) Permanent felt-tip markers are not good to use as lipstick.” Lauren,     age 9

(9) When you get a bad grade in school, show it to your Mom when she’s on the phone. Alyesha, age 13

(10) Never try to baptize a cat. Eileen, age 8

            I want you to note these verses tell us: everybody got a gift, Nobody got the same gift, but everybody was responsible for what they received, and will be judged accordingly. In this Parable Talents means money. A talent was 6,000 denarii or about one thousand dollars.

I will emphasize it as the normal gifts of ministry.

1.       Everybody . . Got a Gift from God.  v 14-16

         14 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

A.        We Need To . . Discover Our Gift. v 15

15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

            1.         According To Our Abilities.

            2.         Learning Your Motivational Gift.

            3.         Accepting Your Ministry Gift.

            4.         Watching The Manifestation Gifts.

B.        We Need To . . Disciple Our Gift. v 16

         16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded

         with them, and made another five talents. NKJV

            16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went

            and traded with them, and gained five more talents. NAS

            1.         He went and traded.

            2.         Finding Others Who Could Benefit From The Gift.

C.        We Need To . . Disperse Our Gift. v 16b

                   “. . . and made another five talents. NKJV

            1.         It will do no good If We Don’t Use It.

Illustration

My oldest sister came to the church I pastored in St. Louis sometimes. She attended When I announced I would Be Teaching About Gifts and Would Help Everyone Learn What gift They Received As Their Motivational Gift from God. She Told Me At The Door As She Went Out She Would Prove To Me She Did Not Have A Gift. I Told her No She Would Not. She Came and Discovered God Gave Her The Gift Of Mercy. She Was A Good Example Of One With That Gift. Her Husband Discovered God Gave Him The Gift Of Service. He Just Died In December Of Last Year And Was Using That Gift Right Up Until His Death.

Application

Some of you do not know what your gift is and do nothing to discover it. You don’t do anything in the work of the church. Why not? You Do Have A Gift.

A.        So We Should Not . . Compare Gifts. v 15-16

15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

            v 15 ATR According to his several ability kata teen idian dunamin. According to his

            own ability. Each had all that he was capable of handling.

B.        So We Should Not . . Complain about Our Gifts. v 17

17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

C.        So We Should Not . . Can Our Gifts.          v 18

18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and\

         hid his lord's money.

            If he failed in his assignment, his excuse could not be that he was overwhelmed. Failure would indicate only laziness or hatred toward the master.

Illustration

The Pastor Of Green Acres Baptist Church In Tyler Texas shared this story. Fifteen years ago, I was serving as pastor in Alabama and our church was in a capital stewardship campaign to raise money to build a new building. There was one particular lady in our church who was a widow. Her husband had left her a lot of money, and she had a lot more than she really needed. She loved the Lord and she loved her church, but she tended to be rather conservative. We had a banquet one night and she wrote down an amount on her card that was a very “safe” amount. It was not a risk at all. That evening I spoke on where Jesus said, “Don’t store up your treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break in and steal. But lay up your treasures in heaven.” I spoke about how a moth eats up wool when we store it, not when we wear it. I went into great detail about moths. I also spoke on how rust destroys tools when they are stored not when they are being used. My point was that when we store up God’s resources they don’t accomplish anything: we have to use them or they become like moth-eaten garments or rust encrusted tools.

Nell went home from that banquet feeling a little guilty about the amount she committed because of the large amount she was storing up. She walked up to her front door and opened her purse to get out her key and she was shocked by what happened next: somehow a huge moth had gotten into her purse and when she opened it, the moth fluttered and flew out. She said God used that moth to teach her that she didn’t need to be storing up her money, she needed to be using it for God. She returned to the fellowship hall (she lived just across the street) and asked for her card back. She doubled her amount, then marked it out and tripled the amount.

The Pastor said, “Folks, I had a hard time getting that moth in her purse…” No, seriously, I don’t know how it got there, but Nell says she believes GOD put it there.

Illustration

 The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...

 Noah got drunk; Abraham was too old; Jacob was a liar Joseph was abused;

Moses had a stuttering problem; Gideon was afraid;

Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer Rahab was a prostitute;

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer;

Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God; Job went bankrupt John the Baptist ate bugs as part of his diet, Peter denied Christ;

The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once, Zaccheus was too small;

Paul persecuted The Church, and Lazarus was dead!

 No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just a messenger.

Application

            Nobody . . Got the Same Gift.

3.       Everybody Is . . Responsible For Their Own Gift. v19-30

A.        Two Were Judged As . . WORTHY Servants. v 19-23

            19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

Look at the results for the faithful:

            · Praise—vv. 21, 23—not praise of men, but of the Lord...if that doesn’t motivate you, there’s a deeper problem in your heart!

            · Promotion—the same verses indicate reward, and this includes our position in God’s Kingdom...be a servant today and you may just be a ruler in that day!

B.        One Man Was Judged As A . . WORTHLESS Servant.  v          24-30

24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' NKJV

Billy Sunday preaching and A, man said, “I don’t have any teeth.” Billy said, “they will be supplied.” 

Matt 13:41-42  41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. NKJV

Did you notice this about the third servant? He talked more than the other two. The first two servants each used 16 simple words to report their gain, but the lazy servant had a long speech prepared. He used 51 words in what appears to be a rehearsed speech to try to justify why he basically did nothing.

Compound interest at six percent doubles the principal every twenty years.

 The Mosaic law did not allow interest in dealings between Hebrews, but only with strangers (Deut 23:19-20; Ps 15:5).

Look at the results for the Unfaithful:

· Punishment for the unfaithful—v. 30—is this suggesting he lost his salvation? No! It suggests that a truly saved saint will serve! Now don’t serve in order to be saved...it’s not by works...just realize that tho’ serving isn’t the root of your salvation, it will be the fruit of your salvation!

Eph 2:8-10 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV

ATR =            A T Robertson’s Word Pictures In The N.T.

I got help for this sermon from a sermon by the pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church In Tyler Texas and The pastor of Calvary Baptist Decatur Ill.