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“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.
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.
Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.
But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“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.’
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.’
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.’
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.’
“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.
And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.
Look, there you have what is yours.’
“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.
So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.”
This parable is from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25 verses 14-28.
Over the course of my life I must have heard this parable preached on dozens of times.
I have read it at least twice as many times.
All these times with these words of Christ, and I finally just got it.
And it’s good timing too, as it is an important part of this series on evangelism.
At some point in time we have learned that every new believer receives a spiritual gift.
When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were given at least one spiritual gift.
What was the purpose of that gift.
Why did God bestow on us that particular gift?
Was it to make us look good on the inside?
Did God use our hearts as a mantle to rest this special gift upon?
No. God gave us gifts to use to help minister.
This is where that expression can come into play.
God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.
God has given us gifts to use to be effective ministers in what ever area he chooses.
That is what this parable we just read talks about.
The gifts we are given.
With the Master out of town we are each given charge over the use of our gifts.
To some the Master gave a lot, to some he gave some, and to others still he gave little.
But to each was given according to his ability.
Jesus gives us the gifts to use to invest in his church, but he only gives us what he knows we can use.
That means he knows our abilities, he knows what we are capable of.
He entrusts us to be good stewards of his gifts.
He entrusts us to make the investment in others.
How much has Jesus left in your care?
I did some research.
A talent is worth 3000 denarii.
According to Matthew 20:2 –one denarii is a days wage.
That’s a whole lot of money.
If we bring it into modern terms and say a person makes minimum wage.
Here in Massachusetts, minimum wage is $8.00 per hour.
Times that by 8 hours that gives us $64.00 per day.
That would mean that one denarii is worth $64.00.
Now there are 3000 denarii in one talent.
That means we take $64 and multiply it out we get $192,000.
We work 260 days per year.
So an average person, working 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week will earn $16,640 per year.
Jesus gives us a least one talent worth of gifts.
That’s enough to cover 11 and half years of wages.
And that’s just the bare minimum of what Jesus gives.
To some Jesus entrusted two talents, to some he gave 5 talents.
That’s $384,000, and $960,000 respectively.
Jesus is very wealthy and he has entrusted each and every one of us with a special gift.
Some he has entrusted with several gifts.
What do we do with them?
I think at some point in time we have all asked that question-What would I do if I won the lottery?
What would I do with a million dollars?
Christians, the national average for individual annual income is about $43,000.
That means a talent is worth almost half a million dollars!
We have won the lottery!
We have a million dollars!
Why do many of live like our master has left us impoverished!
If we invest that which the master left in our care it will increase in value.
The gifts that Jesus has entrusted us with are valuable in the marketplace.
Other people see value in them.
So much so that when we invest them our investment doubles.
Using our gifts in a profitable way increases the gifts we have!
Church this is what Jesus has done.
While he’s away, while we wait for his return, we must be found investing the gifts that he has left us.
Pardon this play on words, but we must use our talents, the ability to minister in some fashion, to help further and strengthen the kingdom.
And again I quote from that hymn we must “rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.
Rescue the perishing, duty demands it…” It is our gifts that Jesus gave to us, that make it possible for us to minister in his name.
It is our gifts that give us the ability to evangelize.
It is our gifts that give us the ability and the heart for the lost and dying.
It is our gifts that make it so we can reach out for the lost and dying.
But what if we don’t use our gifts?
Then we become like the third man in this parable.
When we must give an account for the master’s gift, we are found to be unprofitable and lazy.
We are found too scared to make the investment.
We are found too ashamed of our master!
As a result we lose that gift.
Listen to this story “Kierkegaard told a parable of a wild duck that became exhausted in the annual migration and was left behind by the other ducks.
The duck landed in a farmer’s barnyard where it was fed daily and associated with the tame ducks.
For a while, every time a flock of wild ducks flew over the barnyard, the duck had the urge to join them.
But since life was so easy in the barnyard, it stayed.
During all this time, the duck did not fly.
The next year a flock of wild ducks flew over.
The “call of the wild” was so strong that the duck was determined to join them.
Alas, when it tried to fly it, it could no longer do so.
The duck had lost the ability by failing to use it.”
If we don’t use we will lose it.
Being left giftless, is not all that it’s quacked up to be.
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