Using Talents:

Context:

• The parable of the talents follows Jesus saying in Matthew 24 “...But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only...” , and just after the parable of the ten virgins.
• Both of these parables are about the second coming of Christ.

Matthew 25:14-15 “...For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away...”

Where was the man going?

• Somewhere else.

What did the man entrust to his servants?

• That which belonged to him.

What did the man give to his servants?

• Various talents, each according to his ability.
• A talent of silver weighed 58 and 80 pounds.
• It was worth 6,000 to 10,000 denarii (6,000 to 10,000 days wages)

What reality might this parable be revealing?

• Jesus left planet earth to return to the throne room - elsewhere.
• The whole earth belongs to Him, but He has left it to other’s care.
• He has given people various resources, in line with their abilities.

Matthew 25:16-18 “...He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money...”

What did the servants do with what was given to them?

• Two of them put the resources to good use, producing more.
• One of them didn’t use the resource, but buried it.

How are we doing with what God has given us?

Matthew 25:19 “...Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them...”

Was the master gone long?

Has Jesus been gone long?

What happens when someone is gone long?

• There is a tendency to forget.

Has anyone stopped paying attention to responsibilities given to them by Jesus?

Matthew 25:20-23 “...And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’..”

What does good stewardship bring to a person?

• Praise for being good and faithful.
• Added trust and responsibility.
• The joy of God.

Matthew 25:24-30 “...He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth...”

What does poor stewardship bring to a person?

• Chastisement.
• Loss of trust and responsibility.
• Darkness, weeping, and gnashing teeth.

How important is it to be good stewards of what we’ve been given?