THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TALENTS THAT GOD ENTRUSTS US

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Talents Message # 3

By pastor Marc E Simeon

 

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

THE FOUR IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN THE PARABLE

1. The element of time. Time has been a significant factor in our Lord’s teaching concerning His coming and the end of the age,
   1. beginning in chapter 24. Jesus made it clear that His return would not be immediate, but after much trouble and the passing of a considerable period of time.
   1. First, the master stayed away for a long time (Matthew 25:19).
   1. Second, the faithful servants immediately went to work to increase their master’s money (Matthew 25:16-17).

• The element of money. It is indeed unfortunate that the term “talent” means something very different today from what our Lord meant when He told this parable.
  • The talent was the largest measurement of money in those days.
  • Some say that it was the equivalent to 20 years’ wages for a common laborer. 
  • The talents were distributed on the basis of ability, not as the bestowing of ability.

• The element of work. 
  • It is not the money that goes to work, as such, but the worker.
  • It becomes evident that the third servant is lazy
    • He didn’t do any work.
    • He didn’t even hand the money over to bankers, to let them go to work with it.

• The element of profit. 
  • “For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough.
  • But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him”
  • The third servant has no profit, no gain, so his talent is taken away and given to the one who made great gains for his master.

• The element of reward and punishment
  • Both of these faithful slaves were rewarded well for their faithful service. 
  • First, they receive their master’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful slave” (verses 21, 23). 
  • Second, because they have proven themselves to be faithful with the few things entrusted to them, they are now given even greater responsibilities by their master.
  • Third, they are invited to “enter into the joy of your master.”
  • “Weeping and gnashing of teeth”in outer darkness” must, on the other hand, involve spending eternity without God, and without joy.

AN APPEAL TO ALL CHRISTIANS LIVING IN THIS GENERATION

• If you are comfortable at sitting down and doing nothing to advance the kingdom of God, then you should really question the genuineness of your salvation
• How can you be saved, and not being concerned about helping others to get saved?

FLASH FLOOD EXAMPLE

• Suppose there was a flash flood and an entire town was swept away.
• Suppose that you were one of those victims being carried away by that raging water.
• Imagine seeing a rescue boat heading your direction, and consequently being the first to be rescued.
• Imagine the crew in that rescue boat doing all diligences to save as many as they can.
• What is to be your attitude now that you are safe and sound?
• Imagine that you disengage yourself with what is going on in the boat and grab yourself a newspaper in one hand, and a drink in another while everyone is working themselves to death trying to save some more.
• Can anyone who understands the severity of hell be passive about salvation
• Can anyone who is grateful for his or her salvation be contented just by watching others getting excited for Jesus.

THE CASE OF THE BAD SERVANT

• The very reason he is called a servant or slave is because he is part of the household
• In the statue of a servant, he owes his life to his master; he is his property.
• He lives of the wealth of his master
• His life is dedicated to the wellbeing and the pleasure of his master
• He was purchased for the purpose to profit his owner.
• As you can see, the master had full right over his life to determine his end.

1. One’s conception of God will determine his involvement in the work of God.
2. If you think good of God, you will be exciting to work for Him
3. If you think negative of God, you will have no push to advance His kingdom.
4. Even supporting others to do the work you were supposed to do is better than nothing.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A BAD SERVANT

1. Laziness
2. Winning
3. Negative
4. Self-protecting
5. Takers
6. Observers
7. They love to badmouth the person in charge
8. They Exaggerate when talking of their participation, if they lift one pound, they will make it feel like 10000 pounds
9. They have “What about me?”, and “What’s in it for me?” attitude.
10. They sense that the whole world is against them.
11. They feel that the whole world is taking advantage of them.
12. They Justify their lack of involvement
13. They tease and try to discouraged those who are carrying the load
14. They hope that the whole thing would fail
15.  They are jealous when others get rewarded
16. They are harsh in their criticism
17. They hate anyone and everyone in authority over them
18. The refuse to corporate with others
19. They hate achievers because they make them look bad
20. They always think that they are teaching a lesson with their laziness

Conclusion

Resources (talents) + Labor (work) + Time = Profit

• Let’s begin with the end result – profit.
• God expects to see a profit.
• He is not harsh, nor does He require that we do the impossible.
• He does not require us to “make bricks” without providing both the clay and the straw.
• Just as a businessman expects to make a profit, and rejoices when his employees increase his wealth, so God expects a profit and rejoices in it.
• He has granted the time and the resources for men to make a profit for the kingdom of heaven, until He returns.
• The question for us to consider is this: Just how do we measure “spiritual profit”?
• I think we could all agree that the salvation of lost souls is a profit for the kingdom.
• Thus, evangelism is one form of spiritual profit.
• We know that God expects us to grow over time, and that He is displeased when we fail to grow:
• Thus, we can safely conclude that edification or spiritual growth is also profitable for the kingdom of heaven.
• Most importantly, bringing glory to God is profitable. Let’s call this aspect of profit exaltation.

YOUR WORK WILL CONTINUE IN HEAVEN

• Greater assignment will be given to the faithful Christians
• The work will not be burdensome but awesome
• It is call the joy of the Lord
• It is called the rest of God
• Work will involve:
  •  Reigning with God
  • Judging the world
  • Exalting God
  • Overseeing the new creation

Joh 15:1 ¶ Je suis le vrai cep, et mon Père est le vigneron. (LSV)

 1 ¶ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (NKJV)

 2 Tout sarment qui est en moi et qui ne porte pas de fruit, il le retranche; et tout sarment qui porte du fruit, il l’émonde, afin qu’il porte encore plus de fruit. (LSV)

 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (NKJV)

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Mt 28:19 Allez, faites de toutes les nations des disciples, les baptisant au nom du Père, du Fils et du Saint-Esprit, (LSV)

 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (NKJV)

 20 et enseignez-leur à observer tout ce que je vous ai prescrit. Et voici, je suis avec vous tous les jours, jusqu’à la fin du monde. (LSV)

 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (NKJV)

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1Co 15:58 ¶ Ainsi, mes frères bien-aimés, soyez fermes, inébranlables, travaillant de mieux en mieux à l’oeuvre du Seigneur, sachant que votre travail ne sera pas vain dans le Seigneur. (LSV)

 58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (NKJV)

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1Co 3:8 Celui qui plante et celui qui arrose sont égaux, et chacun recevra sa propre récompense selon son propre travail. (LSV)

 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. (NKJV)

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Re 22:12 Voici, je viens bientôt, et ma rétribution est avec moi, pour rendre à chacun selon ce qu’est son oeuvre. (LSV)

 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. (NKJV)

AMEN!

• Sources include”The Parables of the Talents” Bible.org