‌HOW WILL YOUR SERVICE BE REWARDED? (2)

Memory Verse:: Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

This Week’s Word is Serve - Someone who serves another. Scripture provides guidance concerning the roles of servants noting in particular that Jesus Christ chose to be a servant and commands believers to serve one another.

Essence of the Text in a Sentence: God left us his servants in charge with responsibilities that will ultimately be rewarded and or judge.

Sermon Objective: I want those in attendance to Use their talents that God gifted to them for purposeful work and to share God’s love.

Sermon Proposition: Saints should be willing to utilize, grow and prosper with the gifts God gives.

Introduction

Life is full of people who made both profitable and devastating investments. The truth is money can be managed well and it can be managed poorly. A faithful Christian will be a good steward of the money that God has given him or her. However, there are things in life that are much more important than money, and we are to be good stewards of those things as well.

Today, we’ll be looking at the parable of the talents and we’ll learn what Jesus is teaching us when it comes to managing that which He has entrusted to us. As God speaks to you on this morning, I want you to ask yourself What am I doing with talents given to me?

Let’s pray together before we study this passage, and ask God to speak to us.

Sermon Text: Matthew 25:14-29

Matthew 25:14–29 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.

I. THE LORD GIVE US GIFTS

Matthew 25:14-18; James 1:17; Exodus 31:3;

Matthew 25:14–18 (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.

It’s revealed that not each servant got the same amount. One got one talent, one got two, and one got five! Verse 15

Matthew 25:15 CSB

15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately

says that these gifts were given, “depending on each one’s ability.”

We must understand that everything belongs to God, and He is the one who gives us any kind of gift. Remember, James tells us in James 1:17

James 1:17 CSB

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Just as the master gave of his own possessions to his servants, so also, God gives out of His generosity to us.

We must understand that God gives to us according to His wisdom and discretion. Just like the man in the parable gave to each servant according to his ability, so also, God knows everything about us, and He knows which gifts He should entrust to us. We have been entrusted with our time, with our talents, with our energies, with our lives for His sake, while we wait.

God has entrusted much to us! And all these things are to be used, for His purposes. We are to be productive!

This parable about how Christ-followers should make use of God-given assets uses the metaphor of servants. These talents can be used for the glory of God. Using your talents for God can allow you to be a part of advancing the kingdom of God, helping others, and improving the world around you.

So, on this point, let us trust God’s wisdom in giving gifts and let us thank Him for everything that He’s entrusted to us. The responsibility of every Christian is to glorify God with all that we have. God has given us life, and breath, and strength, and resources, and money, and energy - and we are all to use that for His glory and the building of His Kingdom.

Before we go any further, let’s answer the question of what a talent is.

A talent represented an amount of weight of money, usually between sixty and ninety pounds. This was not chump change. One talent was a lot of money! Five talents were a whole lot of money! is said to worth, about 20 years of salary for an average worker. A "talent" in that era was an amount of a tradable metal, such silver or gold. The master's clear expectation was that his servants would earn more money with the money he left in their care (Matthew 25:14–15). The first servant in this parable is responsible for more money than most people would see in several lifetimes.

In the parable, the three different men did something with the talents that were given to them. As a result, we see an outcome tied directly to what they did. So, the question for us is, “What are we doing with that which God has given us?” Christ's servants, are abilities, faith, spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit, or even maybe money and material resources.

What will be the outcome of the talents, God entrusts to us? Well, the man in the parable wanted to see the outcome of that which he entrusted to his servants. That takes us to our second truth:

James 1:17 NKJV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

We must understand that everything belongs to God

How can you use good gifts that God has given you at home, work and church?

What will be the outcome of the talents, God entrusts to us?

ll. THE LORD HOLDS US ACCOUNTABLE

Matthew 25:19-27; John 10:27;

Look at verses 19-22

Matthew 25:19 NKJV

19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

The man wanted to know what had been done with his possessions that he allowed others to manage. Jesus is trying to teach us something here. It’s not just an interesting story. Jesus is trying to teach us that we will be held accountable by God for how we manage the gifts that He has given us, God will hold us accountable for how we handle the finances, The master's purpose is for His servants to use those gifts appropriately, rather than wasting or ignoring them. In practice, for Christians, this means actively using whatever blessings we're given by God, according to His will. As with the "talents" given to us by God today, their intended use is for God's glory.

He gives us, the opportunities

He gives us, the spouse He gives us, the children He gives us, the church He gives us, the job He gives us, the neighbors He gives us, the evangelistic opportunities He gives us, the service opportunities He gives us, the homes He gives us, the vehicles He gives us, the friends He gives us, and so much more.

God will hold us accountable, and He will settle accounts with us. Now I know your question. You probably are thinking, “I'm not a pastor. I'm not called full time. I'm glad you asked this question, because I want to clarify that glorifying God is not just when you stand on stage to preach a sermon. Serving God is not the unique privilege only to the pastor.

Serving God should be a joy for each and every Christian. What He has given use to do, we should be good stewards over.

“How?” With Your Words, Wealth, Walk, Works and Witness.

Serving God with your words.

What are you speaking, how do you encourage or discourage? What’s in your heart will flow from you out of your mouth. Speak grace, speak truth, encourage one another; don't complain.

Serving God with our wealth.

Use the resources God has first placed in our hands for His glory, we can meet the needs of saints. But it is also meant to bring glory to God, praise to God. As needs are being relieved, people give thanks to God through you.

Serving God with our walk.

I want to include our roles as husbands, and wives, and children, and parents, as workers, as employers. Let your conduct shine. Let the way of life, shine. Let people see you live a holy, blameless, loving life. It governs the way you drive. It governs the way you treat your spouse. It governs the way you conduct your business. How can I Serve God? In my life. In my walk. In the way I live.

Besides the way I live, besides the money I give, besides the words I speak, it also involves the practical things that I do. We use our gifts, our spiritual gifts, to serve one another, God is to be served!

Last but not least, let's serve God with and others with our witness. This is the great task that Jesus left for His church, that we are to make disciples. That means that we are to evangelize people. We are to tell people the Good News. Help them to be a follower, their whole life. Teach them to observe all that we have been commanded. So not only do we evangelize, we also build people up, we disciple them in the way of Christ. You must serve God, by leading others into a life changing relationship with Jesus.

Let us look at the conversations that the man had with his servants.

With the first two servants, both of them took what the master gave them and used it to produce more. They were good managers of what they were given.

They did their work promptly.

They did their work with perseverance.

They did their work with success.

They were ready to give an account to their master.

Look at Verse 23 The master’s reply was the same for both men:

Matthew 25:23 NKJV

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.’

With the first two men, the master was generous and kind in his reward for their faithfulness.

1 They received praise from their master.

2 They received a promise of future blessing.

3 They received glory, “the joy of your lord.”

Now the master responds. He calls the man a good and faithful servant and tells him “Well done." He rewards him in two ways.

First, he tells the servant that because he has been faithful over little, he will make the servant responsible for a great deal more.

Second, he welcomes the servant to share in his own personal joy. In other words, the master welcomes the servant into closer connection to himself, managing more of his own estate and walking in joyful relationship with him. Jesus is showing that those who use what He gives to them to increase what is His will also be rewarded with greater opportunity and joy when He returns.

You can hear God say Well done when you are Faithful

Well, things didn’t go the same with the third man. Look at verses 24 and 25 again: “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.’

The servant with the one talent did not go into business to try to multiply his master's money. Nor did He invest it, or work with it. He simply buried it. He dug a hole and put the entire amount in the ground. He literally hid it and did nothing constructive. His master's response will show that this was the worst thing the servant could have done (Matthew 25:27

Matthew 25:27 NKJV

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.

Let’s look at what he didn’t do

1 He didn’t think.

2 He didn’t work.

3 He didn’t even try.

4 He made excuses.--------------------------```````````````````````

The third man allowed fear and misunderstanding of the master to lead him to be an unfaithful, unwise, and unproductive servant.

What is it that perhaps has the potential for you to be an unfaithful, unwise, and unproductive servant? Are you paralyzed by fear? Do you have a misunderstanding of God? Are you driven by selfish motives? Are you distracted by the things of this world? Are you just plain ol’ lazy?

May it never be so with us, church! May we be faithful managers of that which God has given us!

The master wanted to know how his talents were handled, and things did not end well for the third servant.

Look, again, at how the master responded. Look at verses 26-27

Matthew 25:26–27 NKJV

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.

The master in the parable was serious about holding his servants accountable. We must capture the truth that the Lord will hold us accountable. The third servant's story (Matthew 25:24–25) does not add up in the master's eyes. His other two servants doubled his investment by working hard in the business of trading (Matthew 25:20–23).

This servant buried the seed money the master gave him, guaranteeing it could not grow (Matthew 25:18). The servant claimed he was afraid of losing the money since he knew the master to be such a hard man. Here, the master continues to poke holes in that story. If he really was such a hard man, the servant should have been fearful enough to put the money in a bank where it could earn some interest. The servant can't claim he was sincerely worried about what would happen with the money; his servant's inaction came from laziness and sin, not respect or even fear. He didn't even do the minimum amount needed to guarantee a bit of return on the master's investment. In truth, he also failed to submit to the master as a servant or slave. This exchange is important in understanding the meaning of this parable. The point is not about money. Jesus is showing His followers what He expects of them while He is away, and they are waiting for His return. He expects them to take whatever they are given and to use it on His behalf until He returns. He expects a productive and enthusiastic participation in working for the kingdom—a kingdom that will come after Jesus' return ends the world as we know it. The third servant completely rejected the instructions of the master. In that sense, he's no "servant" at all, just a pretender. In the same sense, this parable implies that those who blatantly reject God's will for their lives are in jeopardy of being "cast out" as false believers (Matthew 25:30).

John 10:27 NKJV

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

How do you serve God in stewardship with your Words, Wealth, Walk, Works and Witness?

How do you serve God with your talents here at Holy Temple Baptist Church?

Are you faithful in sight of the Lord with you serving of your talents? Why or Why not?

lll. THE LORD JUDGES US

Matthew 25:28-29; Romans 8:1;

Matthew 25:28–29 NKJV

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.

There’s some great irony in this parable. The third servant claimed that he hid the talent because the master was a harsh man. However, we see from his reward of the two faithful servants that the master was actually a very kind and generous man. He rewarded them greatly. Since the third man was unfaithful and foolish, he will then experience the harsh side of the master. If he had only been faithful, he would have been greatly rewarded.

We don't often think of "laziness" as a sin on the same level as adultery, murder, or theft. Jesus' parable, though, shows that it can be characterized as wicked. The term translated "slothful" implies a moral failure, not merely something caused by fatigue or weakness. A lack of effort driven by immorality brings disastrous consequences. He has also shown that fear is not an excuse for inaction when action has been demanded by the Lord.

Jesus describes the master as applying what some have called the "kingdom rule" to the situation, a concept expanded on in the following verse (Matthew 25:29). He orders the one talent taken from the slothful servant and given to the one who has the ten talents. This is also logical: the one with the ten talents (Matthew 25:16) is likely to make the most of what was squandered by the wicked servant.

So, also, when we turn to God and faithfully follow Him there is a reward for us that is beyond our wildest imaginations! When God examines us, He will reward us graciously for our faithfulness. Likewise, if we reject God and His ways, if we are unfaithful, there is a harsh judgment that awaits us: a judgment.

So, church, let us be faithful because the Lord will hold us accountable, and the Lord will judge us.

Now, this is where we have to remind ourselves of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are in Jesus, He will pay the penalties of our judgment and we will receive the rewards of His faithfulness. The Bible makes it clear that there are varying levels of rewards in the next life because of our faithfulness. Additionally, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus already took on our punishment. Paul said in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” If you faithfully follow Jesus; He will pay your penalty and you will receive His reward. If you reject Jesus and His ways, there is only judgment that awaits you. Choose wisely.

The Lord gives us gifts, the Lord holds us accountable, and the Lord judges us.

Proverbs 24:12 NKJV

12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

Let us be faithful because the Lord will hold us accountable, and the Lord will judge us

How do you believe God views your service towards him?

Are you productive or lazy with your talents? How?

The Lord will hold us accountable. Are you ready for His judgement?

CONCLUSION

God, in His grace, has blessed us with everything that we need to faithfully follow Him. He’s blessed us with everything we need to change the world. He’s blessed us with everything we need to be the people He’s created us to be.

The Lord blesses us with all that we need to faithfully follow Him until He returns.

Let us be faithful. We have no excuses to not be fully living the life that God has called us to live in Jesus, equipped by His Holy Spirit: a life of faithfulness, a life of generosity, a life of love, and a life of holiness.

Serve God with your life!That's the joy and privilege and responsibility we have. But let us be a people, balancing all these things together, serving our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ well, but still realizing that my ultimate responsibility is the glory of God. Let God not serve my family, but let my family serve God. People may not realize. People may not know what you're doing. People may not appreciate what you're doing, but live and serve for the audience of One.

How to Be Faithful

1 Corinthians 4:2 ;Luke 16:10; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Romans 12:5

Be faithful in the small things, the big things will take care of themself Luke 16:10

David was faithful in the small things

Be faithful in life, little words, little thoughts, little acts

Be faithful in secret things Matthew 16:4

Be faithful in the sacred things Galatians 5:22

Faithful to Family — Remain faithful to your wife and children.

Faithful with Finances —If you haven't been faithful with the money God has given you, why should He give you the true riches — that's spiritual power,

Faithful to Friends —People that you know that you could count on or that you consider to be a faithful man. Are you known as a faithful man?

Faithful to the Fellowship — This means to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that we are to be faithful to the fellowship.

Faithful to the Faith —It is your responsibility as a dad to be faithful to the faith and to teach these young people what the Word of God says.

REASONS TO BE FAITHFUL

Jesus is faithful to us 1 John 1:9

Faithful in temptation 1 Corinthians 10:13

Faithful in falling 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

In what areas of your life do you need to surrender your gifts?

Are you a faithful servant? Explain

Will you repent if you are not using your gifts unto God?

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