SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Pastor Creighton, and thank you for tuning into Newsong Churches Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: We're a biblically faithful, gospel-centered Anglican church in Port Perry, Ontario, proclaiming the true and life-giving word of Jesus as we love and serve our neighbors.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more about us at newsongportperry.ca.
SPEAKER_00: May God bless you today through his life-giving word.
SPEAKER_01: The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
SPEAKER_01: To one he gave five talents, to another, two, to another one, to each according to his ability.
SPEAKER_01: Then he went away.
SPEAKER_01: He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.
SPEAKER_01: So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.
SPEAKER_01: But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
SPEAKER_01: Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
SPEAKER_01: And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents.
SPEAKER_01: Here, I have made five talents more.
SPEAKER_01: His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.
SPEAKER_01: Enter into the joy of your master.
SPEAKER_01: And he also had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents.
SPEAKER_01: Here I have made two talents more.
SPEAKER_01: His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little.
SPEAKER_01: I will set you over much.
SPEAKER_01: Enter into the joy of your master.
SPEAKER_01: He also 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.
SPEAKER_01: So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.
SPEAKER_01: Here, you have what is yours.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
SPEAKER_01: For to everyone who is who has will be given more.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say again.
SPEAKER_01: For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.
SPEAKER_01: But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
SPEAKER_01: And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.
SPEAKER_01: In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Well, if you have your Bibles, I would encourage you, or just keep the passage in front of you.
SPEAKER_02: We're going to be speaking from Matthew 25, the parable of the talents.
SPEAKER_02: And just and just so you have that passage of scripture in front of you, that'll be very important.
SPEAKER_02: The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: And as I um as I begin this message, let me let me just let's just pray over this passage, and so that we have an understanding, and that God would give me the ability.
SPEAKER_02: So let's pray.
SPEAKER_02: Father God, we thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_02: We know that it's eternal, we know that it's living, it's active.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, you're you're moving in your word, even among us today, here at New Song.
SPEAKER_02: And so I just pray your blessing over your word.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, I pray a blessing over every heart that is here, hungry, uh listening, wanting to know more about you and your truth and your plan for each of our lives.
SPEAKER_02: So, Lord, I just pray your blessing over your word, and may the words from my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight because you're the Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: So as we look at Matthew 25, uh just let me encourage you to have it open to you.
SPEAKER_02: Um I want to begin this way.
SPEAKER_02: I want you to be to begin with to try to understand certain passages of scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Context is everything.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so understanding the context, why it was said, how it was said, becomes extremely important.
SPEAKER_02: That goes for this passage in Matthew 25.
SPEAKER_02: Context is everything.
SPEAKER_02: By context, let me explain it this way.
SPEAKER_02: If I were to give you a map and say to you something like, How far is it to the next town?
SPEAKER_02: How long is it going to take us?
SPEAKER_02: You're going to need to know a few things before you can answer that question, right?
SPEAKER_02: You're going to need to know, okay, uh, Rob, like, where are we on the map?
SPEAKER_02: Okay, first, where are we?
SPEAKER_02: What what direction are we traveling?
SPEAKER_02: How fast are we going?
SPEAKER_02: Are we on a horse?
SPEAKER_02: Are we on a fast car?
SPEAKER_02: Uh is the road curvy?
SPEAKER_02: Is it dry?
SPEAKER_02: Is it snowy, icy?
SPEAKER_02: You need to know all those things in order to answer the question.
SPEAKER_02: That's that's context.
SPEAKER_02: Context is what you know, you hear about an accident on the 401 and they shut down the highway for hours and hours and hours.
SPEAKER_02: They're looking for context.
SPEAKER_02: How did this happen?
SPEAKER_02: Why, how?
SPEAKER_02: Same with the criminal investigation.
SPEAKER_02: So, context is really important.
SPEAKER_02: And that goes for this passage, the parable of the talents.
SPEAKER_02: Context is everything.
SPEAKER_02: We need to know the basics of who's talking, what are they talking about, and why are they talking about it.
SPEAKER_02: So let me just break that down a little bit before we get right into the into the text.
SPEAKER_02: It's Jesus talking.
SPEAKER_02: So if you've got a red letter edition like I do, it's it's all red.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so we're into a Jesus is talking, he's talking to the disciples.
SPEAKER_02: It's the week of his death, and he's saying a lot to them.
SPEAKER_02: He's giving them all kinds of information about what's going to happen to him and what's going to happen after he goes.
SPEAKER_02: And and they've just left the city.
SPEAKER_02: The Mount of Olives is a small little hill on the east side of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_02: You can overlook it and see the temple.
SPEAKER_02: It's a beautiful little spot.
SPEAKER_02: And and and they're asking him questions.
SPEAKER_02: And the questions come out of what Jesus has just said.
SPEAKER_02: So let me read to you from Matthew 24.
SPEAKER_02: And at the beginning of Matthew 24, we read this.
SPEAKER_02: Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple.
SPEAKER_02: So they're looking at this beautiful temple.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things?
SPEAKER_02: Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.
SPEAKER_02: So you can imagine the disciples, you know, this is our temple.
SPEAKER_02: This is this beautiful temple.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus, how can you say that?
SPEAKER_02: So as they sat down on the Mount of Olives, verse 3, the disciples come to Jesus privately and said, Tell us, when will these things be?
SPEAKER_02: And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
SPEAKER_02: And so then Jesus begins to answer their questions and says to them, Take heed that no one deceives you.
SPEAKER_02: So the context is the disciples looking at this beautiful temple.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is saying, it's not going to be so beautiful, you know, in the future.
SPEAKER_02: So this is prophetic.
SPEAKER_02: And they're saying, What?
SPEAKER_02: Like, what could happen to our beautiful temple here in Jerusalem?
SPEAKER_02: And so then Jesus goes on for the rest of chapter 24 and all of chapter 25 to explain to them prophecy.
SPEAKER_02: What is going to happen?
SPEAKER_02: So that's important context.
SPEAKER_02: What is going to happen?
SPEAKER_02: He says it this way.
SPEAKER_02: He says, um He says, tell us when will these things happen.
SPEAKER_02: They they ask, when will these things happen?
SPEAKER_02: What will be the sign of your coming?
SPEAKER_02: What will be the sign of the end of the age?
SPEAKER_02: So those are the questions that the disciples are asking, and then Jesus comes back in the rest of these chapters to explain without specifics.
SPEAKER_02: This is typically Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_02: I'm not going to tell you the date, I'm not going to tell you the time, but it's going to be like this when it happens.
SPEAKER_02: So he gives them generality, signs of his coming, signs of the end of the age, sign of his coming to his kingdom, in his kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: And so then we need to enter into, like, to understand the parable of the ten talents, we need to understand the talents.
SPEAKER_02: We need to understand what is this kingdom that they're looking for?
SPEAKER_02: Like, what are they supposed to be getting ready for?
SPEAKER_02: So let me just enter into that for a moment.
SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna brush over it, but kingdom language is always very interesting.
SPEAKER_02: Uh Creighton and I could have a very long conversation, so Matthew and I, so most of us who are into scripture could have long, long, long conversations about kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: What are you talking about, kingdom?
SPEAKER_02: And of course, initially, and and and Tim Keller uses the language now and not yet.
SPEAKER_02: Right?
SPEAKER_02: There's a kingdom now.
SPEAKER_02: We're in the kingdom now.
SPEAKER_02: If you're a believer in Christ, you're in the kingdom now.
SPEAKER_02: But there's obviously a not yet because Jesus is saying, somewhere off in the future, there's this kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: So then you're gonna go, what's this language about?
SPEAKER_02: So let me try to explain that down a little bit.
SPEAKER_02: In just a few days, Jesus is gonna be standing in front of Pilate.
SPEAKER_02: And Pilate is saying, They tell me you're a king.
SPEAKER_02: Are you a king?
SPEAKER_02: And so in John chapter 18, they go back and forth a little bit.
SPEAKER_02: And in about verse 33, Pilate calls Jesus and says, Are you a king, the king of the Jews?
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus answered, Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning me?
SPEAKER_02: Then Pilate answered, Am I a Jew?
SPEAKER_02: Your own nation, the chief priests have delivered you to me, what have you done?
SPEAKER_02: Then Jesus said, This, My kingdom is not of this world.
SPEAKER_02: If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom, and this is the important language, but now my kingdom is not of this world.
SPEAKER_02: It's a spiritual kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so I think we get that.
SPEAKER_02: It's a spiritual kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: And there's some wonderful, very beautiful um portions of scripture that describe the kingdom now, and people who are hungering for that kingdom now.
SPEAKER_02: One of my favorite spots would be Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus at night and says, I want to know more about this kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: If you've seen the chosen, this is a really beautiful spot.
SPEAKER_02: And um and he's breaking down and he says, Jesus, I want to know more.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus says to him, Well, in order to enter this kingdom, in order to know eternal life, you need to be born again, born born from above, born spiritually.
SPEAKER_02: So it's a great conversation in John chapter 3.
SPEAKER_02: And in my prayer here this morning is that everybody here has come to that place where you've entered into the kingdom of God because you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that you know that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, that you know that you are forgiven of your sin, that you belong to Christ and the Christ's family.
SPEAKER_02: We went to a baptism yesterday and uh and it was at a lake and it was really beautiful, but for every candidate, there was there had to be a confession that they knew Jesus died on the cross for their sins, that they knew that their sins were forgiven.
SPEAKER_02: They had repented of their sins, they'd asked Jesus into their heart, and they knew that Jesus was the Lord of their life.
SPEAKER_02: And so that's a beautiful conversation.
SPEAKER_02: It's a beautiful confession, and my prayer is that everybody here has done that.
SPEAKER_02: That you all know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_02: That's the spiritual kingdom we get to enter into.
SPEAKER_02: But obviously, with the disciples, there's something more.
SPEAKER_02: They're saying, but Jesus, the temple.
SPEAKER_02: Like what you said it's all gonna be broken down.
SPEAKER_02: There's something different gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02: There's signs of your coming.
SPEAKER_02: What does that coming look like?
SPEAKER_02: And so Jesus tries to explain it to them.
SPEAKER_02: And again, a little later on the day of ascension in John in Acts chapter 1, some of you will remember the conversation that the disciples are saying, Okay, Jesus, before you leave, are you now going to establish your kingdom?
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus says to them, it's not for you to know, this is typical Jesus, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority.
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, while you're waiting, this is where we come into the talents, but while you're waiting, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: And so, and so, and then we know Pentecost happens ten days later, and all of a sudden the church is born and the birth of the Holy Spirit and and uh and the and the church moves forward, the servants of God move forward.
SPEAKER_02: So that's all a bit of a backdrop.
SPEAKER_02: But it's important, you know, and it's a lot, but it's important to understand the the talents.
SPEAKER_02: So God gives us these talents.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: So that so that we would be faithful in using the talents he has given us for his kingdom, to be faithful till he comes.
SPEAKER_02: And so, if I were to give you like a main point of this message, it's this the main thrust of this chapter is will Jesus find you faithful, me faithful, with what he's given me?
SPEAKER_02: Faithful in action, faithful until he returns.
SPEAKER_02: The readiness of being faithful is not a matter of sitting on the couch and waiting for Jesus to come.
SPEAKER_02: That is absolutely not what he's meaning here.
SPEAKER_02: He's saying, be faithful in your service, be faithful in what I've given you, be ready when I come back.
SPEAKER_02: And there's a very sobering, touching passage that Jesus gives in Luke chapter 8 and in Luke chapter 8.
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's remaining faithful.
SPEAKER_02: He says, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, some of you will know this line.
SPEAKER_02: It says, Will he really find faith on the earth?
SPEAKER_02: Will he find anyone faithful?
SPEAKER_02: You and I can do a quick little calculation of how the world's going right now, and it's like, hmm, it's not so good in some places.
SPEAKER_02: It's not good in North America, it's not good in Canada.
SPEAKER_02: But but there are faithful, and that's what Jesus is looking for.
SPEAKER_02: That's what God's waiting for, he's wanting us to remain faithful till he comes.
SPEAKER_02: So, uh, as we carry on, one more piece of context, sorry, but one more piece of context is to understand the talents.
SPEAKER_02: We've been given talents.
SPEAKER_02: He gives his servants talents.
SPEAKER_02: What's a talent?
SPEAKER_02: Good question.
SPEAKER_02: A talent is no, it says a little talent in the passage, but a talent was one talent is worth roughly 20 years of wages.
SPEAKER_02: 20 years of wages.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're making 100,000 in a year, okay, let's just take our congregation.
SPEAKER_02: And if you're making$100,000 in a year, 20 years of salary would be roughly$2 million.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
SPEAKER_02: Calculate.
SPEAKER_02: I wasn't a math guy.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, two million.
SPEAKER_02: So if your two talents would be four million, five talents would be ten million, right?
SPEAKER_02: So it's not a small little piece of change here.
SPEAKER_02: We're talking big.
SPEAKER_02: He's he's given every servant these talents.
SPEAKER_02: One, two, five.
SPEAKER_02: He could have used seven, three, but but he's giving everyone talents to use those talents for his glory.
SPEAKER_02: So let's break this passage down.
SPEAKER_02: Looking at chapter 25, beginning at verse 14.
SPEAKER_02: Here's the first point.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord trusts his servants with his talents.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so just so we understand that.
SPEAKER_02: He it he goes, okay, I've got to pick it up.
SPEAKER_02: The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants, delivers his goods to them.
SPEAKER_02: To one he gave five towns to the other, two towns to the other one, one, to each according to his own ability, and immediately he went on a journey.
SPEAKER_02: So the man, whether you want to call him Jesus or not, that would fit.
SPEAKER_02: But I mean he's gone, and he's left his servants with talents and no small amount.
SPEAKER_02: So he trusts his servants with his talents.
SPEAKER_02: Notice that he says, take care of my wealth while I'm gone.
SPEAKER_02: Whose wealth is it?
SPEAKER_02: It's not my wealth, it's his wealth.
SPEAKER_02: All right, take care of my wealth.
SPEAKER_02: So it's important to notice that not every servant is given the same amount.
SPEAKER_02: One servant receives five, one servant receives two, one servant receives one.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 15, it tells us that these talents, these sums of money, this currency, were given, and it says, according to their ability.
SPEAKER_02: So it's not like Jesus makes mistakes.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus knows you, and he's gonna give you a certain amount of talent, currency, knowing that you're capable of it, and he says, now take this talent and do something with it.
SPEAKER_02: So everybody gets okay, what they are capable of.
SPEAKER_02: Let's remember this morning that everything that we have belongs to God.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is a mind-shattering thought, and it takes a little bit for us to get through this.
SPEAKER_02: But let's remember, and as you get older in the Lord, you you learn it better, I think, that everything I have, everything I own, everything is God's.
SPEAKER_02: It says in John 1, James 1, 17, every good and perfect gift comes from above.
SPEAKER_02: It comes down from the Father of lights who does not change.
SPEAKER_02: So just as the Master gave of his possessions to his servants, so also God gives to us generously.
SPEAKER_02: He gives us his grace, he gives us his mercy, he gives us these talents for his glory and his kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Let's remember that all that we have comes from God, and that is everything we have comes from God.
SPEAKER_02: We have nothing to boast of.
SPEAKER_02: We own nothing.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is hard for us in North America, right?
SPEAKER_02: We work hard to own everything.
SPEAKER_02: My house, my car, my land, my property, my investments.
SPEAKER_02: It's mine, it's mine, it's mine.
SPEAKER_02: Right?
SPEAKER_02: There's some movies about this.
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's all mine.
SPEAKER_02: But it's not yours.
SPEAKER_02: Like biblically, it's God's.
SPEAKER_02: 1 Corinthians 4, 7 says, What do you have that you did not receive?
SPEAKER_02: Good verse.
SPEAKER_02: What do you have that you didn't receive?
SPEAKER_02: So that's a key for us to remember.
SPEAKER_02: Everything we have comes from God.
SPEAKER_02: Now, also notice that God gives out of his generosity according to his wisdom and his discretion.
SPEAKER_02: As we see in this parable, the man gave to each servant according to their ability.
SPEAKER_02: Now, how does God know that?
SPEAKER_02: Like, how does God know that you're good about with this kind of stuff?
SPEAKER_02: And how does God know that you're good with that kind of stuff?
SPEAKER_02: And how does, well, I think we can answer that question pretty easily, right?
SPEAKER_02: I mean, God made you.
SPEAKER_02: God knew you before you were born.
SPEAKER_02: So that's why if you want to look in the Psalm 139 passage again, it's a great passage, but that passage is all about he knows you in your mother's womb.
SPEAKER_02: Actually, he knew you before you even got into the womb.
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
SPEAKER_02: He knows everything about you.
SPEAKER_02: He knows your life.
SPEAKER_02: He knows your first breath.
SPEAKER_02: He knows your last breath.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is God.
SPEAKER_02: And so, like, I mean, how does God know what I'm capable of?
SPEAKER_02: Uh He knows you.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, He's got you.
SPEAKER_02: He knows if you're good with math, He knows if you're good with science, He knows if you're good with literature, He knows if you're good with a voice, He knows if you're good with an instrument.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, God knows it all.
SPEAKER_02: Every life is different.
SPEAKER_02: That's the beauty about all of this.
SPEAKER_02: Every life is different.
SPEAKER_02: God knows it all, which means also that there's no, there should never be something called comparison.
SPEAKER_02: I want to say comparison comes from the devil.
SPEAKER_02: Because we tend to we tend to look at other people and say, but look at them.
SPEAKER_02: They've got all of this and they've got all of that.
SPEAKER_02: Or I'm not nearly like that person, right?
SPEAKER_02: And we tend to grovel and wallow in our in our agony because we're not as good as.
SPEAKER_02: Don't compare.
SPEAKER_02: This is this parable is like don't compare with.
SPEAKER_02: Whether you're a five-talent, two talent, one talent, ten talent, three, doesn't don't compare.
SPEAKER_02: Don't compare.
SPEAKER_02: Just look at what God has given you, because you know what God has given you, and then use that for his glory.
SPEAKER_02: In the parable, three different servants are expected to do something with talents that they're given, that they're entrusted with, to invest and to be wise with.
SPEAKER_02: And as a result, we see different outcomes tied directly to what they did with what they were given.
SPEAKER_02: So let me just give you a story, which was just a neat story, but I think it just circulates, it promotes this.
SPEAKER_02: It's a one-talent person, okay?
SPEAKER_02: His name is Antonio.
SPEAKER_02: Don't start smiling because you know the story.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, just be quiet.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: Antonio wasn't like the other boys.
SPEAKER_02: He wasn't athletic and strong.
SPEAKER_02: He wasn't even musical.
SPEAKER_02: I laughed at this point.
SPEAKER_02: Because his voice was high and squeaky, he did not make the tryouts for the boys' choir.
SPEAKER_02: When he took violin lessons, this is absolutely not applicable to Emma here.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, when he took violin lessons, the neighbors persuaded his parents to make him stop because it was so loud and terrible.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, this is Antonio.
SPEAKER_02: But Antonio still wanted to make music.
SPEAKER_02: His friends made fun of him because his only talent was whittling.
SPEAKER_02: He liked to whittle with wood.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, poor little Antonio.
SPEAKER_02: When Antonio grew older, he served as an apprentice to a violin maker.
SPEAKER_02: His knock for whittling grew into a skill of carving, and his hobby became his profession.
SPEAKER_02: He worked patiently and faithfully, and by the time Antonio died, he left over, oh, about a thousand violins in the world today.
SPEAKER_02: Well, there's not a thousand left, each one bearing his name, Antonio Strativarius.
SPEAKER_02: You know, you can buy a you can spend$20 million on a Strativarius violin.
SPEAKER_02: The cheapest would come in at around three or four million dollars.
SPEAKER_02: There's about 600 left in the world.
SPEAKER_02: This is Antonio.
SPEAKER_02: He couldn't sing, he couldn't play, he couldn't preach, he couldn't teach, he wasn't strong like the other boys.
SPEAKER_02: But his responsibility was to use what God had given him.
SPEAKER_02: So he uses whittling ability to make violins.
SPEAKER_02: Can you believe it?
SPEAKER_02: What a story.
SPEAKER_02: So that's just one gift person.
SPEAKER_02: So God gives us gifts.
SPEAKER_02: That's my first point.
SPEAKER_02: So God, the Lord trusts his servants with his talents.
SPEAKER_02: Second point is this verses 19 to 25.
SPEAKER_02: The man goes on the long journey.
SPEAKER_02: Finally, he comes back.
SPEAKER_02: He wants to see the outcome of the talents he's given him, given to his servants.
SPEAKER_02: So this is the Lord will hold us accountable.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord will hold us accountable.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is teaching something to his disciples and to us.
SPEAKER_02: Each of us is going to be held accountable by God for how we manage the talents that He has given us.
SPEAKER_02: Accountable for the return that He obviously hopes to see.
SPEAKER_02: He comes back and has a visit with each of the servants and said, okay, what did you do with what I gave you?
SPEAKER_02: So he's going to hold us accountable.
SPEAKER_02: And here's the thing: God is going to hold each of us accountable or responsible for how we handled that finance, that currency that he generously gives us.
SPEAKER_02: So what I'm sure you're already doing, maybe about five, ten minutes ago, is you're starting to think about okay, what currency did God give me?
SPEAKER_02: What talent do I have?
SPEAKER_02: So I want us to think about this for a minute.
SPEAKER_02: I can use the word talent or I can use the word opportunity.
SPEAKER_02: So so if I use the word opportunity, it might be have I taken the opportunity God gave me to take good care of my spouse?
SPEAKER_02: Okay, that's a talent.
SPEAKER_02: Take care of my family.
SPEAKER_02: Take care of the car I have.
SPEAKER_02: I could drive my family, but maybe I can drive other people's places and use my car.
SPEAKER_02: Do you have a home?
SPEAKER_02: Has God, do you ever sense God saying, you know, can you can use your home to give somebody a room?
SPEAKER_02: Or to give the homeless some space or to take care, okay, so so car, home, family, okay, all of these are opportunities, the neighbors, the voting privileges, the education he's given you, the gospel sharing opportunities, the finances.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe you you were born into wealth.
SPEAKER_02: Some people are.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so so how are you using the wealth that God has given you as a talent to bless others and see that expand?
SPEAKER_02: As I was thinking about that, let me just share a couple of things that came through my mind as I was thinking about this.
SPEAKER_02: We've been watching a video series with about 11 churches through every time zone.
SPEAKER_02: So these two guys lived in 2025, started in the first time zone, roughly Fiji, went all the way across to Alaska.
SPEAKER_02: They visited 11 different churches in different time zones.
SPEAKER_02: And what was amazing is not only was it beautiful, different languages, different peoples, all worshiping God, all serving Jesus, but almost every church had a like you could see a talent.
SPEAKER_02: So so the church in Zambia saw all these children whose parents had died through AIDS or war, and so they created an orphanage and a school for these kids.
SPEAKER_02: Wow, what a talent.
SPEAKER_02: The church in Poland right now, you can imagine Poland is right beside the Ukraine.
SPEAKER_02: So they're refugees fleeing Ukraine, the war, the bombing, the Russians.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: So this church in Poland decides to, have we got any space in the church?
SPEAKER_02: You know, can we make a room?
SPEAKER_02: Well, they have over 60 refugees in their home, in their church.
SPEAKER_02: They've created bathrooms and made bedrooms for all these families to use their building.
SPEAKER_02: These two guys in Casablanca.
SPEAKER_02: Casablanca, you're not allowed to have buildings and churches.
SPEAKER_02: It's illegal.
SPEAKER_02: You can have a house church in your apartment, but you can't have a church building.
SPEAKER_02: So these two guys, there is a Bible study home group meeting, but these two guys also put their voice to broadcasting.
SPEAKER_02: And so they have a radio station and they proclaim the gospel on the airwaves.
SPEAKER_02: That's what they're doing.
SPEAKER_02: So all these different things.
SPEAKER_02: And I could go on.
SPEAKER_02: When we were in Uxbridge, there were a couple of guys, teenage guys, who liked bikes, and they would do all kinds of crazy things with bikes.
SPEAKER_02: But they like bikes enough that they thought, you know, maybe if we collected bikes and bike parts, we can send them to Africa for kids who need bikes.
SPEAKER_02: So they started a ministry called Afrocycle.
SPEAKER_02: We've got two friends of ours who uh recognize a need for women in Oshawa today.
SPEAKER_02: Uh poorer on the poorer side.
SPEAKER_02: And so they created a thrift shop called Beautiful Threads.
SPEAKER_02: Has anybody been there yet?
SPEAKER_02: We can all go to I can't go, but women can go.
SPEAKER_02: My wife goes.
SPEAKER_02: And and Beautiful Threads is a store that they've created.
SPEAKER_02: These women are gifted in clothing, gifted in looking what's fine and nice.
SPEAKER_02: They have a beautiful store on the main street of Oshawa selling clothing to women.
SPEAKER_02: Like, okay, so I could go on.
SPEAKER_02: So, so what gift, what opportunity.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, I could go on.
SPEAKER_02: There's a woman, um, I belong to one board called Scripture Gift Mission, and there's this one lady who's our accountant, and she's been our accountant.
SPEAKER_02: She's just a mom with kids, but she's an accountant.
SPEAKER_02: So she comes and offers her services to be the accountant for our board.
SPEAKER_02: Stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02: Using their talents, using their gifts for God's kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: So just to give you all of that, and I hope your minds are are being stirred.
SPEAKER_02: What can I do?
SPEAKER_02: What gift have I got?
SPEAKER_02: I don't have very much, but you know what?
SPEAKER_02: You have can you use it for the Lord?
SPEAKER_02: Can you see how God might be able to use that thing?
SPEAKER_02: There's a lady I know, she's a senior, she lives in a basement apartment.
SPEAKER_02: And uh and uh she has a wonderful gift of hospitality.
SPEAKER_02: And so this woman says, I can't invite people to my home, but I can take them out for lunch, I can take them out for coffee.
SPEAKER_02: And so this woman has this beautiful way of taking people out and blessing them, just giving them words of blessing and praying over them.
SPEAKER_02: That's all it has to be, right?
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't have to be big.
SPEAKER_02: We don't have to be, you know, build big buildings.
SPEAKER_02: You know, if you're if you're a ten-talent person, that's within your framework.
SPEAKER_02: But if you're a one-talent person or a two-talent, whatever, God knows what you have, God knows what you're capable of.
SPEAKER_02: Will you use what God has given?
SPEAKER_02: God will hold us accountable and he will settle the accounts when he returns.
SPEAKER_02: Notice the conversation that he has with the servants when he comes back.
SPEAKER_02: He looks at what they've done.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so look at the verses in that 24, 25, uh, 22, 23.
SPEAKER_02: He and the so the person who had five makes five more.
SPEAKER_02: He says, Well done, good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_02: 2021, 22 comes, uh, two, you made two more.
SPEAKER_02: Good servant, faithful servant, you've been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over much.
SPEAKER_02: Enter into the joy of your Lord.
SPEAKER_02: He will hold us accountable for what he has given.
SPEAKER_02: Now, with those first two servants, the master was kind, he's generous, he rewards them for their faithful service, but things don't go so well for the third servant with the one talent.
SPEAKER_02: So as we read the text, he calls them in.
SPEAKER_02: He who verse 24 now, he who received the one talent comes and says, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered, I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.
SPEAKER_02: Look, there you have what is yours.
SPEAKER_02: So he gives them the one talent back.
SPEAKER_02: So let's think about the question I have is here, what has the potential to make any one of us unfaithful?
SPEAKER_02: It's a hard question.
SPEAKER_02: Because maybe some of us are squirming a little bit.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe some of us are looking at our lives and saying, I'm not really doing very much.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so what could affect us?
SPEAKER_02: So here's just a couple of thoughts.
SPEAKER_02: What has the potential to make us unfaithful or unwise?
SPEAKER_02: This servant didn't want to bother anyone.
SPEAKER_02: He thought, you know, well, I'm uh I I kind of believe, but you know, and I'm not I'm not gonna impose my faith on anybody else.
SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna keep it private to myself.
SPEAKER_02: Nobody needs to know I'm a Christian, so I'm just gonna sit on it.
SPEAKER_02: There's there, maybe that's one is one of the things.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe he was paralyzed with fear.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe she was dealing with insecurity.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they were driven by selfish motives.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna do it for the Lord, I'm gonna do it for myself.
SPEAKER_02: You know, what is mine is mine, I'm gonna do it for me.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they were distracted by the world or the crowd, the loud voices, deceived in their thinking, or just plain lazy.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they're just plain lazy and couldn't be bothered.
SPEAKER_02: That's kind of what you get from the text.
SPEAKER_02: And my prayer is may that never be said of us.
SPEAKER_02: That we were lazy, that we knew we had certain things of God.
SPEAKER_02: You know, that that came from the Lord, not from me, but I'm gonna sit on it because I don't want to, I don't want to tell anybody.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to be used by God.
SPEAKER_02: So the indifference thing, which is huge in North America.
SPEAKER_02: Indifference, careless about their faith.
SPEAKER_02: And in the end, things don't go so well, of course, 26.
SPEAKER_02: But his Lord answered and said, You wicked, you lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, you gather where I have not scattered seed, so you ought to have at least deposit, put at least put it in the bank so it gets some interest, and at my coming I would have received that, but no.
SPEAKER_02: So take the talent from him, give it to him who has ten, and that is the end of that story.
SPEAKER_02: So the master expects us to be responsible, to care for, to manage, and to grow the talents.
SPEAKER_02: He gives us no excuses.
SPEAKER_02: We're good at making excuses, but there's no, obviously from the text, there's no excuses.
SPEAKER_02: That's why it's important also that we read 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
SPEAKER_02: So in the 1 Corinthians chapter 12 passage, we read that God gives gifts to all believers.
SPEAKER_02: It's every every believer.
SPEAKER_02: Like you might be saying, I don't have a gift.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02: Actually, the scripture says you do have a gift.
SPEAKER_02: And so, if you're a believer in Christ, if you read chapter 12 carefully, it does talk about that you were, I'll try to pick it up in verse 3.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed.
SPEAKER_02: No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord, and there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
SPEAKER_02: But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
SPEAKER_02: Each one.
SPEAKER_02: That's you.
SPEAKER_02: That's me, that's you, that's all of us.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, all of us as believers in Christ have the gift, have the Holy Spirit and at least a gift.
SPEAKER_02: Doesn't say how many, some have one, some have many, some have one talent, some have five talents.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, but we're all given a gift.
SPEAKER_02: So keep that in mind.
SPEAKER_02: So my final truth is this the joy the the Lord will judge us.
SPEAKER_02: He will judge us.
SPEAKER_02: So verse 28 and 30, of course, is he judges, takes the talent from him, gives it to them who has ten.
SPEAKER_02: Everyone who has more will be given with abundance, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken and cast the unprofitable servant into utter darkness.
SPEAKER_02: There will be a judgment.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so I'm saying that carefully here, but it's in looking at what this master does.
SPEAKER_02: He can reward, but he can also punish.
SPEAKER_02: There are consequences to being faithful, yea, but there's also consequences to being unfaithful and not so happy.
SPEAKER_02: The irony, of course, is that third servant claims that he hid the talent because he thought the master was unkind and a harsh man.
SPEAKER_02: Well, is that true?
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_02: Look at how he responds to the first two.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, the five talent, the two talent, he responds with generosity, he responds with kindness, he greatly rewards them.
SPEAKER_02: And since this third servant was unfaithful and foolish, he's going to experience the harsh side of the master.
SPEAKER_02: And there is a phrase we use in life, and it's kind of it is use it or lose it, and that goes for biblical truth as well.
SPEAKER_02: Use the gift or lose the gift.
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to finish with this.
SPEAKER_02: Um it's a Francis Habergail story, and Frances Havergale was a gifted, gifted musician.
SPEAKER_02: She was a pastor's daughter, I think at Church of England.
SPEAKER_02: Well, we won't hold that against her, but uh Church of England daughter.
SPEAKER_02: It's 1874, famous, famous woman that gave a lot of her life to Christ, a lot, a lot, a lot.
SPEAKER_02: She wrote a song that most of us know called Take My Life and Let It Be.
SPEAKER_02: As I've been thinking about this illustration, I've been thinking, she says, Take my life and let it be, but I think from the parable, it's like, Lord, take what you've given me.
SPEAKER_02: Take the voice, okay.
SPEAKER_02: So she uses like, take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to thee.
SPEAKER_02: Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise, let them flow in ceaseless praise.
SPEAKER_02: And what Frances, I think, wants to do is to give back to God what she knows belongs to him.
SPEAKER_02: Take my life, take my hands and let them have the impulse of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Take my feet, let them move, swift and beautiful for thee.
SPEAKER_02: Take my voice, let me sing always only for my king.
SPEAKER_02: Take my lips and let them be.
SPEAKER_02: And what is she saying is like you've given me all these gifts.
SPEAKER_02: Take them, Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Use them.
SPEAKER_02: Let me be found, giving them back to you for your glory, for your credit, not mine.
SPEAKER_02: That's consecration.
SPEAKER_02: And that was Francis Havergale.
SPEAKER_02: Beautiful story, a beautiful life.
SPEAKER_02: So God is going to examine our work and our efforts to serve Him with the opportunities he gives us.
SPEAKER_02: So let me close with this.
SPEAKER_02: This passage gives us true, three truths.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord trusts us with his talents, the Lord is gonna hold us accountable with what he has done with his talents, and the Lord will judge.
SPEAKER_02: Being a faithful servant is about using God-given talents or gifts to accomplish God-given purposes.
SPEAKER_02: Keep that in mind.
SPEAKER_02: So may when the Lord returns, may you hear, which I'm sure if you're a believer here today, you want to hear these words.
SPEAKER_02: My prayer is that I hear these words, but they're beautiful words.
SPEAKER_02: We sometimes hear them at funerals, right?
SPEAKER_02: The closing of uh Lord, I'm sure he heard or she heard.
SPEAKER_02: Well done, you good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_02: May that's what you hear, may that be what I hear when we live our lives for Christ and die for his glory.
SPEAKER_02: Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, may it stir in us a desire to be servants who are faithful, faithful to the end, faithful against opposition, faithful when we don't even understand, Lord, how we can use what we have.
SPEAKER_02: But Lord, continue to show each of us the gifts that you have for us, the talents we've been given, and to use them for your glory.
SPEAKER_02: May we use every opportunity, and we will thank you in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: We hope that you've been blessed by God's word today.
SPEAKER_00: If you live in the area, we hope that you'll come and worship with us in person on Sunday at 10 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to learn more about Newsong Church, we'd love to connect with you.
SPEAKER_00: Please find our contact information at newsongportperry.ca and reach out to us.
SPEAKER_00: Newsong's ministry is entirely funded by the generous giving of those who worship and journey with us.
SPEAKER_00: If you feel called to support our ministry with a financial gift, please go to Newsongportperry.ca giving to make your contribution.
SPEAKER_00: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.