What God expects from us

Matthew 25:14-30 November 13, 2005

Audio Link: What God expects from us

In today's parable Jesus tells about a wealthy landowner who is about to go on a journey and who entrusts the management of his estate to his servants. This landowner recognized the different capabilities of each steward, so he gave to each the amount of money that he thought that each one could manage-five talents to one, two to another, and one to the third.

The wise investors were willing to assume the risks of making an investment. They knew this was what their master expected. There was less pressure on them in one sense because it was not really their money they were investing. In another sense, there was more pressure because they were managing the account for someone else.

The one-talent investor was afraid of the consequences of making a bad investment, so he took the money and buried it, while the five-talent and the two-talent investors each doubled their investment.

When the master returned, he was pleased with the wise investors. He said, "Well done. You have been faithful with this little bit of responsibility. I will give you the opportunity to have more responsibility." To the foolish investor, though, he said, "You wicked and lazy servant." He lost his opportunity ever to do anything again for his master.

First of all, this parable tells us that God gives people different gifts. One man received five talents, another two, and another one. It is not your talent, which matters; what matters is how you use it. God never demands from you abilities which you do not have; but God does demand that you should use to the full the abilities which you do possess. Everyone is not equal in talent; but every person can be equal in effort.

Tag Day last Saturday is a good example of the fact that God gave each one of us a variety of talents. Some set up the table for the big breakfast, some cooked scrambled eggs, some flipped pancakes, some brewed coffee, some poured orange juice, some baked sausages, some were in charge of the cashier.

Some donated homemade pies, crafts, paper cups, dishes, ketchup, syrup and more, and some folded up the chairs and cleaned up the kitchen and dining hall. Everybody has a gift of helping in some way. In my case, I was a bus boy because even though I am good at preaching, I don't have a gift for cooking. However, even though I am a rookie at Moore's Chapel and not a good cook, God still gave me the ability to help by cleaning up tables and removing the trash.

The parable tells us that whatever talent we have, little or great, we have a special and unique gift or talent from God for the purpose of the Kingdom of God. The Lord has given special gifts and tasks to all the people in His church. One man received five talents. He is like Bob, who is everywhere, youth group, senior choir, computer work, sound system, and even being a "janitor-type of person"…. another received two, and another received one. No one has been called merely to sit around. Everyone can do something. The work of the church will not get done unless all of us do what God has called us to do.

Second, this parable tells us that God expects creative use of our opportunities and talents. He who had one talent was paralyzed by fear and took his one talent and buried it in the ground. The one who is punished is the one who will not try. The man with the one talent did not lose his talent; he simply did nothing with it. Even if he had adventured with it and lost it, it would have been better than to do nothing at all.

It is always a temptation for the one talent person to say, "I have so small a talent and I can do so little with it. It is not worth while to try, for all the contribution I can make." The condemnation is for the one who, having even one talent, will not try to use it, and will not risk it for the common good. In fact, the one-talent investor was afraid of failure.

Think about this. You've failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? You probably didn't.
Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot. The legendary baseball player, Babe Ruth, struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs. Don't worry about failure, rather, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

Thirdly, this parable lays down a rule of life, which is universally true. It tells us that to each person who has, more will be given, and each person who has not, will lose even what he or she has. The meaning is this: If someone has a talent and exercises it, they are progressively able to do more with it, but, if one has a talent and fails to exercise it, they will inevitably lose it. If we have some proficiency at a game or an art, if we have some gift in doing something, the more we exercise that proficiency and that gift, the harder the work and the bigger the task we will be able to tackle.

On the other hand, if we fail to use it, we lose it. That is equally true of playing golf or playing the piano, or singing songs or writing sermons, or carving wood or thinking out ideas.
It is the lesson of life that the only way to keep a gift is to use it in the service of God and in the service of our neighbors. In the world of talent, the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.

Our conference gives every pastor a chance to use a certain debit card only for medical use for a pre-tax benefit. If I designate a certain amount of money for buying medicine or paying a doctor's fee, the conference will send me a debit card, with the amount deducted from my annual salary. For instance, if I deposited $1,000 a year for 2005, whether I used it all or used it not at all, it will be gone by the end of this year, so people call this card, "Use it or Lose it!" This card reminds me that the talent that God gives each one of us is basically to, "Use it or Lose it!" If we use it, we can make it better and even double it. If we want to keep it as is because we are lazy, afraid of failure, or for whatever reason, we eventually lose it.
Lastly, we must understand that the master is going away and leaving his servants with responsibilities to fulfill.

There is a long time to wait, and the issue is who will be ready for the master's return. This parable, however, suggests what that readiness must be. It is not to be in passive waiting but in getting on with the job and making the most of the opportunities entrusted to us.

Jesus is coming back-we know this is true. Does this mean we must quit our jobs in order to serve God? No, it means we are to use our time, talents, and treasures diligently, faithfully, and continually in order to serve God completely in whatever we do. Different amounts were given to each servant, according to his ability, and the return expected was in proportion to the sum entrusted. God recognizes that we all are different and expects of us only what is appropriate.

But to have a lesser gift does not excuse us from an appropriate effort. The fault of the third servant was that he did not recognize his master's intention, and opted for safety instead of service. Hoping to avoid doing anything wrong, he finished up by not doing anything right.
He hoped to play it safe and protect himself from his hard master, but he misunderstood what his master really expected from him. We must not make excuses to avoid doing what God calls us to do. I believe that God will be delighted even if we fail as long as we did our best with that talent. We would rather attempt to do something God wants us to do and fail, than to do nothing. God does expect, and reward, creative use of the opportunities for service, which are open to us. We are to use His gifts responsibly, but also adventurously.

We, Moore's Chapel, have a special plan for a new building. When we look around, not every church can or will do this kind of project. I believe God gave us 5 excellent talents and actually more than that. When we look inside our congregation, among us some have a talent for generosity and vision in donating their land, some a talent to plan the building, others a talent to encourage people financially, some a talent to oversee when building the building, others a talent to give spiritual guidance, and everyone a talent to pray.

Whether it is 5, 2, or 1 talent, God gave his talent to each one of us and expects us to use it. He expects us to use his gifts and talent responsibly and adventurously. It is not enough to hide the talent that God gave us and return it to God as we received it. God expects us to use our talent with our best effort, to invest more aggressively, and to explore more adventurously. We don't have to worry about failure because this new building project is absolutely not ours but His. We only are stewards and caretakers, not owners so he will take care of everything.

Imagine how a parent would feel if on Christmas Day when the gifts for their children were handed out, the children just took them, said "Thank you," and laid them aside with no attempt to open the gifts, not even to find out what they were! Imagine how the Lord must feel when he has given gifts to us that he intends for us to use, and yet we never take the trouble to find out what they are, never put them to work, and then excuse ourselves from serving the Lord and church by saying that we can't do anything!

He must be disappointed, sad, or infuriated like the landowner in today's Scripture. When we are lazy, or ignore, or abuse what we are given, we are rebellious and deserve to be punished like the one-talent investor.

The master divided the talents among his servants according to their abilities. No one received more or less than he could handle. If we failed in our assignment, our excuse could not be that we were overwhelmed. Failure could come only from laziness or neglect, or a passive attitude toward the master. The talents represent any kind of resource we are given. God gives us time, gifts, and other resources according to our abilities, and he expects us to invest them wisely until he returns. We are responsible to use well what God has given us. The issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have.

God has blessed each one of us at Moore's Chapel today, very richly. We are blessed with talents, and with time, with gifts and with graces, with finances and energy. How have you invested what God has entrusted you with?

When I prepared this sermon, one Scripture verse struck me, "The Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12). Yes, it truly is. We are called to use His gifts aggressively, responsibly, and adventurously. That is the way to be ready for the Kingdom of God. What will we say to Jesus on judgment day, if we didn't do anything and have wasted the talent, gifts, and wealth he has entrusted to us?

God is generous and merciful, and if we examine our hearts and our lives and see where we fall short, the Holy Spirit will help us invest in those things He has so confidently entrusted to us. It is never too late to invest wisely and turn a spiritual profit for the Kingdom of God. Let's start now!

What God expects from us

What God expects of us - Using Our Talents for God - Audio Sermon On-line - Reverend KyungMo Koo