Parables: Keys to the Kingdom - The Talents

Matthew 25:14-30 - Kirk Rupprecht

Commonplace Church exists to glorify God, equip disciples & share the Good News of Jesus. Learn more at commonplacechurch.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:34

All right. Good morning. That power that really pumps you up that video, right? Alright, I'm just real real quick. Good morning, everyone. But uh I will I do want to point out to um Ashley that I put 6-7 to death a while ago. All right. That was that was done. It's not gonna be resurrected this day, I'll tell you that, okay? Uh but if uh you guys are here today checking out our our church to gather for the first time, I'm really glad you're here. My name is Kirk. Uh I just have the honor of being the pastor here at Commonplace Church. We are in a series that we've been going through for about uh probably four or I was gonna say six or seven weeks, but I'm not gonna do that. Uh a couple weeks, and uh it's looking at parables, these these keys to the kingdom, as Jesus tells us. And uh really we're unlocking these stories so that we can recognize how we are called to live as disciples of Jesus, living in this kingdom that Jesus has uh invited us into. And so here's what we're gonna be looking at today. We're in Matthew 25, and just a little heads up, there's gonna be um, I know, I know the weekend usually we try to like check out and not think about things like uh work or labor. And today I'm gonna ruin that a little bit for you just because that's part of the teaching. But uh with that, I do apologize, not too much, don't worry. But um here's what we want to see though. Um, God's gonna give us, or Jesus is gonna give us in this moment, really what the approach to the the gifts and the talents and the treasures he's given us, how do we respond? And that's what we're gonna look at today. And um, really, here's what I want to look at as as we talk through this. Um, we're gonna look at uh really those who respond well, and we're gonna look you know, uh, unfortunately, at an example of an individual who didn't respond so well. And so, as we look at like what we call maybe a case study today, here's what we're gonna take away. Um, God gifts us with kingdom blessings, and here's what he desires he desires for us to respond to them accordingly, accordingly. So, so that's the theme. Let's dive in this case study. Let's look at the first portion here, Matthew uh 25, 14. For it would be like a man going a journey, called his servants, entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, another two, to another one, to each according to his ability, then he went away. So so here's what this parable begins with. There's a statement of connection. I want to point this out to us. Jesus starts with these words, for it will be like. Now, for us to understand what the it is that Jesus is talking about, referring to, we got to back up a little bit here and look at Matthew uh 24, verses 29 to 31. And Jesus is doing this, he's beginning in this in this moment to speak about what comes next after his earthly ministry. He's this post-crucifixion, post-resurrection, post-ascension, back to the Father, right? Where he currently reigns and rules today. That's where we find Jesus uh in this moment. So Jesus is speaking about his return. That's what he's addressing here. Uh, a theological term for you is eschatology. It's it's really um eschatology is a fancy word of just referring to the study of the return of Christ and things surrounding his coming, right? We may hear phrases like end times or uh return of the king and not the Lord of the Rings version. But um, what what Jesus is doing, he's for telling, he's he's for he's foreshadowing and foretelling to his followers, he's saying, Yes, I'm leaving for a while, that's true, but I will return. And and then Jesus does this, he begins uh giving some really important information. He starts by giving his disciples instructions for what they should do in the meantime. Think about this way. Um, imagine you had a boss, right? And uh for an undefined season, they are needed elsewhere, right? Maybe another company, maybe there's been an acquisition, right? Maybe globally uh their attention is required somewhere else, and they're gonna be gone for a while. Now, when the boss leaves, nobody in the company suddenly says, Well, um, well, I guess we're done here, right? Nobody locks the doors, nobody shuts the lights off, just sits around waiting for them to come back. That's not how it works, right? Before the the boss would leave, most times they would leave some instructions, give some direction, right? Expectations on how the work should continue while they're away. And in a similar way, Jesus is saying this. He says, I might not physically be present among you right now, but while I'm away, here's my instruction. Here's the direction, here's purpose. So this parable becomes part of this instruction. It's Jesus, he's leaving this during his absence. Now, the first instruction, it comes to the parable right before this one. It's the parable of the ten versions. And here's how we can summarize that teaching. It's it's with this theme: be prepared. Be prepared for Jesus' return. That's what he's sharing in that parable, right? Don't live with this mindset like the cat is away, so you know, mice can play, right? Continue to be ready for the days of return because it could happen at any moment. And so that's the first parable. It points us to this instruction of preparedness. Then Jesus moves into this next parable. This is the one we're looking at today, the parable of the talents. And the instruction shifts here a little bit. It's not primarily uh focused on preparation. Here's what it's focused on it's focused on faithfulness, on faithfulness. Jesus is saying, with the work that has been entrusted to you, things like the abilities, the opportunities, the gifts, the resources, and treasures I've given to you, do this. Be faithful. Be faithful. And not only faithful, be productive with these things. So something like this like, don't simply like maintain and survive, but go further. Obtain, thrive. Don't just preserve what you've been given. Participate in what God desires to do through it. And it leads us into this parable itself where the man is in charge. He entrusts this work to his servants. To one servant, he does this, he gives five talents. To another, he gives two. And of course, to another, he gives one. Now, before we jump into how these servants respond, we need to just pause real quick and recognize how valuable a talent actually was. We spoke about this a few weeks ago, but a talent was this financial currency, it's a very large sum of money. But Jesus appears in this moment not to really just be talking about a financial, he's going deeper here. Yes, he uses financial language, that's true, but he's pointing something beyond finances. See, the talents are this. The talents become a picture of what God entrusts to each one of us, to his people. So, yes, that could look financially, but also could be opportunities, could be our abilities, could be our talents, right? Could be influence, could be spiritual gifts, relationships, could be just even the responsibility of carrying out the good news of the gospel into this world. So, in other words, Jesus is pointing towards kingdom stewardship. He says, Why I have placed what I what I have placed in your hands, and then he asks this, what are you doing with it? So, so sure, there's a financial reference here, but Jesus appears to be aiming just a little bit further, something much greater than merely like an investment strategy. He's speaking about lives entrusted with this, with kingdom responsibilities. That's what he's speaking about. So here, let's step into this case study and look at the first response we encounter. It says, He who had five received five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So the first example is this servant who's entrusted with a large sum of talents, right? And so the question becomes well, how does this laborer, how does they use what has been entrusted to him? And Jesus says this, he traded. He traded with them. Now let me let me be clear, right? This man didn't go down Wall Street, right? Didn't jump on the stock exchange, right? That's that's not what Jesus is referring to. We gotta be careful to look just strictly through a financial lens here. But here's my understanding: He invested what he had been trusted to the work of the kingdom itself. And through this investment, there was a return. There was uh an ROI, right? A return on investment. And now, practically speaking, uh what that looked like in this particular culture, we don't get much context. I'm not I'm not like entirely sure. Because we sit from outside that world and culture. But here's what I can do: I can offer us some examples of what investment may look like from where we sit today. Uh so for some of us, yes, like I do believe there are financial investments that that maybe Jesus is calling us, maybe he's calling us to make towards uh supporting uh even something like the local church. Like that's one example, right? Through through faithful generosity, well, churches are able to function and continue carrying out the mission that they've been called to. And now the return of that investment isn't simply like keeping the lights on or like paying the bills, right? The return is the gospel advancing, the gospel going forward, right? The return is seeing people hear good the good news of the gospel and seeing them respond. The return is seeing lives transformed, people coming to know Jesus, seeing disciples made. Now, now listen, I can't speak for every church, but I I can speak for on behalf of our church, right? The motive for why we give is based on on this. It's the Great Commission, right? To go with the gospel to the ends of the earth. That's that's the motive behind what we offer generously here. And what we what we want to see, what Jesus wants, right, to seek and save sinners. So we desire as a church to be an outpost where people can come and hear the good news of the gospel. Now, from that motive, here's what takes place we establish what are called methodologies. So we have the motive and then the methodology. So for us, that looks like gathering together, yeah, on a Sunday morning where the gospel is preached, where the gospel is sung, where the word of God is proclaimed, or where the people of God gather to be equipped, and then and then from there to be sent back out, right? Because being sent out is an important part of this mission. The gathering, look, is not just is not the finish line, right? The gathering is this. The gathering is preparation for us going. That's why we that's how we go. So we also use those resources in additional ways, right? Creating opportunities for people who don't yet know uh Christ. I'll give you just one example that I can think of real quick. Our youth ministry. So, right now, the majority of students attending are are students who hadn't been connected to the church, right? There were students who were invited by friends, invited by peers, who are scattering throughout the week into their schools, into their with their sports teams, activities, just inviting others to come hear about Jesus. Now, that ministry requires resources, right? If you have students, you know, kids need snacks, right? They also need Bibles, they need materials and spaces where relationships can be fostered and we can see them being built. And now those things don't simply appear. What do they do? They require investment. Or think about the other example we're talking about, VBS coming up, right? Um, it's a few weeks away. It's exciting. And that too is a methodology that flows out of the motive of this church. So so right now, right, we're already, we have like almost close to 40 kids signed up, and with that, well, here comes supplies, snacks, crafts, curriculum materials, like decorations, all of those things that support the ministry, right? And of course, again, those things, yeah, they carry a cost. So as a church, right, because the motive we've been given, here's what we do: we invest into the methodologies that help carry out that mission. Another example of methodology uh flowing from this motive is this. At some point, hey, listen, if we desire to continue to advance the gospel, it might require us to take a step towards relocation. And you all know living in North Jersey, right? Space isn't exactly cheap around here. Purchasing, renting, right, expanding, those things they may require a real cost. It may even at some point of uh eventually uh additional ministry support might be required, right? Bringing on someone part-time to help carry out the mission, help shepherd people well. But but look, hear me on this. This this issue isn't simply like a money issue, right? The issue of investment in the heart uh is is from the heart behind the the methodology, which is comes from the motive. Because listen, the goal of the church is never profit, believe me, right? There's no private jet in my future. Thank God for that. Like the church isn't like trying to just build some sort of financial empire. The church is simply this. The reality of it is if we desire to carry out the mission of Jesus that that God gives his church, yeah, generosity becomes part of that process. Yet, like we shared earlier, finances are not the only expression of kingdom investment. Something like our time, which is very valuable, is an incredible investment, right? Giving our time for the sake of the gospel. But but this parable, it does is it calls us into something, it calls us into something like serving with our time, toward being present, toward investing our ourselves into the lives of others around us, and and even doing so beyond our times and treasures, right? What we've been entrusted to with these talents are given from God, the way that God has uniquely wired each one of us here, and and and with the abilities, right, that can be advanced to help advance for and further the gospel. Paul speaks directly into this in the book of Ephesians. He says, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith and service and our serving, the one who teaches and is teaching, the one who exhorts and exhortation, the one who contributes and generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Now, here's what I love about this um example from Paul here, right? Paul, he's incredibly clear about where these gifts originate, right? Their origin story. The origin story is this they are gifts of grace. That's it. Gifts of grace. Meaning they're not gifts achieved, they're not gifts we've earned, these are not rewards for being like spiritually superior, right? These are gifts that are given by God as He sees a fit, all through His offering of grace. And I think that leads us just to a question this morning to wrestle with is this what gifts of grace has God given me? Uniquely equipped with me. Not me personally, you guys, right? But what has he placed within me to serve his church, to further his and advance his gospel? And what I love is that Paul, he doesn't create some sort of hierarchy here, okay? He doesn't elevate like one gift over another. He doesn't say, well, that gift matters more than this gift. And so, practically speaking, maybe for some of us we're thinking, well, I well, I don't have a voice like an angel, so I can't stand on stage and sing on a Sunday morning. That's okay, right? Because just because you don't have that gift, it doesn't mean you don't have a gift, right? Sometimes in the modern church, here's what happens: we accidentally um we we we create like categories of importance, right? We can start believing things like this. Well, the worship team, that's an important gift. Teaching and preaching, like that's top tier. Right? Those are the people doing the real ministry. But that's not the picture Paul gives us here, right? Because as Paul reminds us, even in Corinthians, the church isn't built on just like a few impressive parts, the church functions as a body. That's a beautiful thing. It means every part matters, it means every person, each one of you has value here. Look what he says. And it is, and as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weak are indispensable. So Paul is dismantling this moment, this man-made understanding of value, especially when it comes to the gifts and talents within the church. He's saying every part of the body has value. Every part matters. And what he communicates is this the body is healthiest when every part is active, when every part is functioning as is designed to function. And so maybe here's something for just us to chew on this morning, okay? Uh is the part I play currently activated? Because if the parts of the body aren't functioning, here's here's what we all know. Right? The body, we feel it, right? I love this analogy. Paul takes the body and he connects it just so naturally to our physical bodies, right? Because we know exactly how it feels when one part of our body uh isn't healthy or isn't operating properly, right? We feel the effects all over the place. Think about something as small as like a tooth, right? It's tiny as compared to the rest of our body, but you guys know, right? When that little thing, that part is not functioning properly, you know exactly what that feels like. You know the pain. You know how difficult it is to just uh function, right? Suddenly everything just becomes challenging. You can't focus, you can't sleep, right? You can't enjoy food. Something so small suddenly impacts everything. And Paul says the same principle exists within the church. When parts of the body body aren't active, aren't serving, aren't exercising the gifts of grace, the whole body feels it. And so my my challenge from that and to us this morning is this if you're part of this church body, you know, are you activated? Are you stepping into the gift that God has entrusted? Now listen, maybe maybe you're sitting there like, I don't even know what my gifting is. That's okay, right? Talk to someone. Uh ask people who know you, right? What do you see in my life? Where do you see God working? How do you see God using me? Because listen, many times others can recognize what God has placed within us before we fully see it ourselves. And and not only is the church blessed when the full body is activated through these gifts and treasures, but the parable reminds something else. Our investment produces more laborers, it produces fruit, and ultimately God uses those investments to draw more people towards salvation. So let's look at this next example. He says, So also he had two talents made, who he who had two talents made two talents more. Now listen, the principle and the investment strategy with the five and the two are they don't change, right? Um, the servant who's entrusted with two talents doesn't receive different instructions than that of one who has five. Yet here, here's where many people get tripped up. It's the struggle with the different in amounts, it's the comparison trap, right? It's the question we so often ask is like, well, wait, why does Jim have five talents and I only have two, right? And let's be honest, comparison is not some like new human problem. We look around at other people, what they have, and how often do we find ourselves thinking, wait, why do they have that, right? Why was that opportunity given to them? Why does their life look like this while mine looks like this? I work hard, I put in the effort, why the difference? And that that struggle, it's not limited to our workplaces or our daily lives. The reality is we can bring that same mindset right into the church, right? Even even maybe we see like another church growing and thriving, we begin saying, like, that should be happening here. Or we see another person operating multiple gifts, and we think like, man, they seem to do everything, and here I am just trying to use like the two gifts I've been given. And and listen, I understand that struggle. I I'd be dishonest if I stood up here and acted like I didn't wrestle with that at times myself. But I think where we often go wrong is this, it's it's in understanding the different levels and talent as parable and and even how we we see them in our lives. We we take often, we take worldly metrics and we put them and place them upon kingdom realities. We all we allow numbers to determine value, we let things like size determine significance, we let visible results demand determine our success. But but here's the thing the metrics of this world are not the metrics of the kingdom. Like God isn't handing out like KPI reports, right? He's not assembling quarterly performance reviews on your productivity, right? His concern isn't how much did you uh have compared to everyone else, his concern is what did you Do with what I place in your hands. So God isn't asking us to be faithful with what we don't have. He's doing this. He's asking us to be faithful with what we do have. The kingdom of God is often called this like upside-down kingdom. And here's why. It's because the measurements are so different. It makes me think of David. If you know his story, David had been given tremendous influence and tremendous responsibility by God. God had gifted him, positioned him, allowed him to lead as king over Israel. But here we have in 2 Samuel chapter 24, David, he loses sight of that moment. And instead of resting in God's provision, he begins to want to measure his strength by numbers. And he does this, he calls for a census. He wants to count what he has. He wants visible measurements of success. And sadly, what follows, if you know the story, is heartbreaking, and David's trust, it shifts away from dependence on God and towards confidence in numbers, and just awful consequences follow. And what a powerful reminder for us is, is when worldly measures become our focus, we just we so easily lose sight of the God who gives us everything in the first place. So my encouragement to us this morning and to myself is this it's gratitude, right? Instead of comparison, instead of obsessing over levels of gifting, right? Instead of chasing metrics and measurables like indicators of success, grab hold of contentment. Gratitude of what God has already done. Hey, rejoice in the two talents, right? Even if you think you deserve five, rejoice in the two. Because at the end of the day, as Paul reminds us, every talent, every treasure we possess is ultimately it's a gift. It's a gift. So maybe we should just pause and just maybe ask ourselves this morning, are are we, um, as we think about our treasures, as we think about our talents, what is our response? Is it something like comparison? Is it lack of gratitude? Or do we just worship? Do we just thank God for what he has given us? So this here's the last example in our case study. It's the heaviest part of the parable, I'm not gonna lie. He also he says, He who also had received the one talent came forward saying, Master, I know you to be a hard man, reaping where you do not sow, gathering what you scatter where you scatter no seed. So I was afraid, I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours, but the master said to him, You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I had not sown and gather where I not scattered no seed. So now we come to this example of um the man given one talent and his decision. And and he takes this thing and he and he buries that sucker in the ground, right? He does nothing with it. And he just simply waits for the master to return. Now, some we might hear that and think, well, at least he's protected it, right? At least he's kept it safe. We're we're, you know, he's being frugal, he's he's saving. Now, now listen, there is wisdom and value in saving, right? The book of Proverbs gives us plenty of instructions regarding wisdom, preparation, stewardship, things like that. But there's a difference in this parable between wisely saving for a rainy day and bearing an opportunity that was meant to bring life. Because Jesus, once again, isn't primarily teaching financial strategies here, he's pointing us towards kingdom responsibility. He's showing us that what God entrusts to us isn't simply meant to just be appreciated. It's meant to be this, it's meant to be activated, activated, right? These gifts, these talents, these treasures, opportunities, their resources, they're not just given for our own enjoyment. They're given so that through our investment, others may also be blessed. So that through how we invest, doors may be open where people may encounter Jesus. Because God often uses what he places in our hands as pathways. They're pathways to point people towards himself. Now, of course, let's be clear, right? The gifts, the treasures, they don't save anyone, right? Your talents don't save people, serving doesn't save people, generosity doesn't save people. Only Jesus can save. But what these gifts do is they reflect the giver, the one who can save. They become representations of that, the one who has the power to do so. And the giver has the power to use those gifts to draw people who are far from him back to himself. That's an incredible, beautiful thing that Jesus does. And that's what Jesus is doing. He's drawing all people to himself. He says in the Gospel of John, he says, and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. Don't miss this connection here. The purpose of the entrusted talents is not for the boasting of man, they're given for the reflection of God, the giver. So, in other words, these gifts, these talents, these treasures are meant to lift the name of Jesus on high. That's the hope, that's the joy. Because when the name of Jesus is on high, well, what does he say happens? He draws people to himself. So ultimately, that's the takeaway behind what these servants have been entrusted with. These gifts and talents, they're not elevating ourselves. They're not meant to place the name of they're they are meant ultimately to place the name of Jesus on high. Because when Jesus is lifted up, what people are drawn. People are drawn towards him. So here's the challenge. The third servant we have, the question becomes this why? Why did he take a different approach? Right? Why is it different than the servant entrusted with five? Then the one with two? Why did he choose hiding over investing? Why did he choose preservation over participation? And Jesus actually gives an answer. Look at the um response of that servant who's had the one talent. Ultimately says this the servant with one talent had it had had this, it was an incorrect perception of the character of the master. He says, look at what he says, he says, I knew you to be a hard man, so I was afraid. You see what's happening here? Ultimately, the servant has a false understanding of who the master is. And what Jesus begins exposing here are the consequences of an unhealthy view or of the fear of God. Now, let me just be clear, right? Scripture absolutely speaks of fearing God. However, there's a difference between fear rooted in reverence and fear rooted that becomes just distorted. Because, yes, in light of God being holy, perfect, and righteous, right, completely set apart, and in light of our standing as being marred by sin, right, there should be awe before God. Humility before Him, reverence. I think reverence is a helpful word because it captures what healthy fear of God looks like. And maybe a good example is if you if you think of Isaiah chapter 6, right? You see, Isaiah approaches God and he says, Holy, holy, holy, right? And he says, Woe is me. But the challenge becomes when we have this other view, this unhealthy fear of God. Where we become so terrified, so overwhelmed, so intimidated, we just become paralyzed. It's the whole like paralysis by analysis thing, right? And as a result, we become like that one servant with the one talent. We don't offer what's been entrusted to us because we we become consumed by fear. Like, what if I fail? What if people reject me? What if not enough? What if I'm criticized? And instead of investing what God has placed in our hands, we we do this. We find ourselves burying it. I'll just share for a moment my own faith journey. Years ago, God kept pressing preaching on my heart, and there was this sense that like God has invited me towards something, but I was afraid. I buried what God entrusted with me. And not from a reverence for God, but rather I was wrestling with insecurity, I was wrestling with fear of failure, I was wrestling with what people might think, and so I kept hiding what God had placed in my hands. And yet, here's what God did over time. He began to remove certain things and position me in places where I felt like I had I no longer had an option. But here's what happened in that moment. Somewhere in that process, I found joy. I found joy in stepping into what God had been inviting me to all along. So so hear this. There's reverence, right, in something like handling the word of God, right? Especially when it's it's we talk about his word, and there should be, but but reverence and fear are not always the same thing. Reverence draws us towards faithfulness. Here's what fears do fear often calls us to hide. And so I share that just to encourage somebody this morning, right? Maybe God has been pressing something on your heart. Maybe he's entrusted you with a gift, maybe it's a talent, right, or an opportunity he's called you towards. But it's possible, maybe fear, maybe fear, not reverence, is getting in the way. Maybe that remedy is this. Maybe we haven't fully grasped the character of God. It's maybe we haven't embraced the reality like Paul shares in uh Romans 8 31. It says, What then shall we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? And so maybe the the heart is maybe just really truly believing God is for you. And that includes believing he's for the gifts, the talents, the treasures that he set aside and entrusted to you. So my encouragement, don't allow yourself to be paralyzed by it. Right? Go forward, use these gifts, and and and the Lord wants to bring those about, right? Paul talks about the Philippines and says, I am sure of this. He who began a good work in you will begin, will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. So my encouragement to us this morning as we wrap up, we've been, each one of us, by the grace of God, has been offered a gift. How we respond, that's up to us. We have opportunities here as a church for sure, right? I encourage you if you're looking to get plugged in. We have um serving cards out there wherever you feel God has gifted you, be a part of what he's doing. But I just pray this morning that we would not squander any of the gifts he's given us. Because ultimately they reflect him, they reflect the giver. So I just want to encourage us this morning that God desires to use even the smallest gift, that he's glorified through it. I don't want to challenge us. I know we're about to die of heat, so um I'm gonna wrap it up. It's gotta be like 100 degrees in here. Um with that, let me pray. Lord, we uh we just thank you that you uh in your grace you allow us to reflect you and and point people to you, Lord, and use the gifts, the talents, and the treasures, God, that you've entrusted to us, God, for your glory. And I just pray this morning for uh just anyone who's just waiting upon activating those gifts, God, maybe just out of fear or whatever it might be, God. I just pray that this morning there would just be an excitement, Lord, in using those. God, because ultimately it's not about us, it's about you. And uh, Lord, if there's insecurity, if there's just uncertainty, whatever it might be, God, we know that God, you you just you decide to use those who are humble. And so we just pray that we walk with just a heart of of humility towards the gifts, the talents, and treasures you've given us, Lord, that we can use those to see your your kingdom advance, Lord, to see more and more people come to life, Lord, through the gospel. Uh Jesus, we thank you for your gospel, which is the gift, Lord. Jesus, you did what we never could. Lord, you you you took the death upon yourself, Lord, that we deserved. And Lord, you rose again. And and it's a free gift of grace that we're invited into, Lord. But from that gift, there's a response. And so I just pray, God, that we would respond. If we have been recipients of that gift, Lord, that we would offer in response just the talents, treasures, Lord, and just the gifts you've given us, Lord. For your glory and the good of others, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.