WEBVTT 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.040 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.160 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.320 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:18.000 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.640 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:26.399 It's good to be with you guys today. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.800 We appreciate you showing up on Super Bowl Sunday. 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:30.960 If you're new with us, my name is Clayton. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:34.799 We're in a series where we're looking at some of the parables of Jesus. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.600 We've defined a parable so that we're all on the same page. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:42.240 A parable is a simple story with a significant meaning. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.240 A simple story with a significant meaning. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:51.439 About halfway through Jesus' ministry on earth, he began speaking in parables, and the disciples wanted to know why. 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.159 What he told them highlights just how significant the meaning of these stories are. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:01.679 He told them that parables teach us the secret of the kingdom of heaven. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:06.239 Parables teach us the secret of the kingdom of heaven. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:36.000 And what we believe here at MetaCurch is that the Christian life is not just about believing in Jesus and waiting to die so that someday we can go to heaven, that following Jesus is about modeling our life after his, understanding and applying the significant meaning of these teachings so that we can live in a way right here and right now where we're building the kingdom of heaven, living in a way where we're seeing evidence of God's power all around us. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:50.079 And Medichurch is a place for all people, which means that in all of our services, we have all the way from like seasoned believers to people who are really hardcore skeptics, all different places in their faith journey. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:57.200 And this is the place to come, to wrestle in a safe environment where we're speaking truth, but we're speaking it in love. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:02.719 This is a community that you can belong in even before you believe what we believe. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:04.959 And we're setting the context today. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:10.719 We're looking at the parable of the talents, and my message today is called talent trap. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:11.599 Talent trap. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:12.879 Would you pray with me? 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.919 God, we love you and we thank you for loving us. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:31.520 And we do believe that as many things as we try during our time here on earth to satisfy the deepest longings of our souls, that nothing will ultimately satisfy that is not living out the purpose you have placed inside of us. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:40.080 A purpose to make a real impact, to live a significant life, and to build the kingdom of heaven right here during our time on earth. 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:40.639 We love you. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.919 And we ask that you would give us open minds and open hearts. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.960 We believe that you're speaking, and we do want to hear you. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:47.520 We love you. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:49.199 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:51.199 And if you're ready to go, say amen. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.400 Today's simple story is from a unique perspective. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:02.400 If you've been here in this series, you know that we always set the proper context so that we can really get the correct meaning of what Jesus is saying. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:05.199 This parable is in Matthew chapter 25. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:09.360 Jesus isn't speaking to a large crowd like he often is in these parables. 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:13.360 He's just talking to his disciples, his closest followers. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:18.639 And Jesus knows that he's just days away from being crucified. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:26.560 He begins to tell these disciples about what will come at the end of their lives or at the end of time. 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:36.159 And maybe you remember early in this series, we talked about how the kingdom of heaven is right now, and it's also not yet. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.639 So Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.080 It's right here and right now. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:47.759 It is available for you to participate in fully here and now, but it is not yet fully fulfilled. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:54.400 That happens in the eternal realm on the other side of this life when Jesus comes back. 00:03:54.560 --> 00:04:01.280 And what Jesus is really talking about is the hinge point between the right now and the not yet. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:06.879 At the end of our life, when we're getting ready to pass into our eternal life. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:17.600 And Jesus is teaching them about a moment that we think is one of the most significant parts of what we believe, and that his disciples had no concept for. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:21.600 It's something that we call the judgment seat of Christ. 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:38.720 He was telling them, enlightening them to this unbelievable fact that at the end of it all, we will all stand before Jesus in glory, and all of us will give an account, a full account for the life that we have lived. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:44.079 Now, this has been a part of our theology, what we believe about God, for like 2,000 years at this point. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.480 As a matter of fact, we see evidence of it in the very first church. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:05:02.000 In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle Paul says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:11.199 Right after Jesus died, rose, and ascended back to heaven, the church movement started, and that very first church believed in this truth. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.800 But we have to understand the parable in its context. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.360 In Matthew 25, Jesus hadn't died yet. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:18.800 He hadn't risen again. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:29.199 These disciples, these 12 guys, they've been walking and talking and eating and staying in inns and hotels with Jesus for three years. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:33.920 They knew him like their closest friend, and they knew Jesus was special, right? 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:51.199 They saw the miracles, they heard him speak with these words of power, but the idea that after their life, they would stand before this guy, Jesus, that they knew personally, and he would judge both the living and the dead was a shocking revelation. 00:05:51.680 --> 00:06:01.600 The thing we have to understand about the judgment seat of Christ is for believers in Jesus, this is the culmination of your entire time on earth. 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:07.839 We all have something that we're anticipating in the future, something that you are like, this is what I'm living for, right? 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.519 Maybe for you it's retirement. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:15.199 You've been in the workforce for 20, 30 years, you've got, you know, 68 years old on the calendar. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:16.959 You cannot wait to get there. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.639 Your life will finally be complete. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:22.319 Maybe you're single and lonely, and it's like, when I can just get married, right? 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:27.360 When I can meet that person and check that box, that will be the culmination of my life. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:31.199 Maybe it's a promotion that you've been working and working and working for. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:37.600 And if you can just get that job and that pay increase, that's like the culmination of what's out there in your future. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:55.439 What scripture tries to get us to understand over and over again is the actual apex of your life, the thing you're actually living for, whether you know it or acknowledge it or not, is standing before Jesus and giving an account for the life that you have lived. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:07:00.000 It is a moment that scripture speaks of over and over and over again. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.680 And we have to be really clear about what it is before we get into the parable. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.680 The judgment seat of Christ is for believers in Jesus. 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:22.160 And you know that the core of what we believe about salvation at MetaCurch is once you have put your faith in Jesus, you can be secure in your realization that you will have eternal life with God. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.360 You can have assurance of that salvation. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:31.519 That at the moment that you put your faith in Jesus, you move from spiritual death to spiritual life. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.360 You move from being a stranger to God to a child of God. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.959 And God does not disown his children. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.240 The judgment seat is not about heaven or hell. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:49.519 It is a review of your life to reward when you have invested your life into the kingdom of heaven. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:08:00.800 And if you have wasted the eternal life and the salvation you've been given during your time on earth, the judgment seat of Christ will be a moment of great disappointment. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:06.399 Jesus wants you to do well at the judgment seat. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:11.519 And to help you understand what that means, he told a very simple story. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:21.920 In Matthew 25, verse 14, he said, For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, and he called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:29.439 Now, because we're not in that context 2,000 years ago on the other side of the world, we can breeze by a verse like this. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:42.480 But you really have to slow down sometimes, because he is the master, he is the owner, he is the king, and he's going away for some time, and he leaves his possessions behind with who? 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:44.240 His servants. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:57.840 When the owner goes away, goes out of town, goes on vacation, leaves for sabbatical, is not going to come back for some time, he doesn't leave his possessions down the status hierarchy to the servants. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:10.159 He either gives it to a peer, to someone he can trust because they have proven their capacity to at least manage what he has, or if you can, you leave behind your wealth with someone above you in the status hierarchy. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:16.960 You don't give your money to your servants, you give it to the bank or to an investor, to someone that you can trust with it. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:18.879 Jesus is making a point here. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.480 This would have been very odd to the disciples listening to his parable. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:24.159 He gave all his money to the servants. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:29.360 They're soon gonna find out, though, in the meaning of the parable, that Jesus is that owner. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.919 He is the master, he is the king. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:37.120 And you're probably guessing it already, but you and I, we are the servants. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:38.240 They don't know it yet. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:45.840 They don't realize Jesus is actually gonna die, actually gonna rise again, actually ascend back to heaven with the promise that one day he will return. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:54.159 He is the master going on a long journey, and he will come back and call into account the lives that he has given us. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.080 And so he begins to dole out different amounts to different servants. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:07.600 To one, he gave five talents, to another, two talents, and to another, just one, depending on each one's ability. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:10.720 And then he went on a journey. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:15.360 We learned a couple of weeks ago that a talent is an enormous sum of money. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:27.279 Like before you go feeling too bad for the servant who only got one talent, just know that one talent put in his hands is more money than he will probably see across his entire lifetime. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:29.200 It's a huge sum of money. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:35.759 It only seems unfair when you compare it to the servant who got two and the servant who got five. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:45.840 And immediately we are just addressed right to our face with a stark reality of our existence that life is not fair. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:57.600 And not only is it not fair because they got different amounts, but the text says they were given that amount, not arbitrarily, they were given it based on their ability. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:10:59.360 Did you know? 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:04.320 And I know in our culture, in our world, you might not believe this. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:10.000 Did you know that there are people who are better than you at some things? 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:11.519 Can you believe it? 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:17.759 We live in the participation trophy culture. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.080 Everybody gets a trophy, you know? 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:28.240 You go to kids' games now, you go to their athletic events, the kids, they don't put the score on the scoreboard. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:36.960 And I'm gonna let you know right now, if you love your kids, you keep score, and you let them know, especially if they lose. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:40.720 Dad, we won! It's 14 to zero. 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:44.480 Did you not notice they kept making goals and you did not? 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:52.720 And we're so worried and we're so fragile, and it's like, oh, you'll, you know, you'll damage their confidence and you'll damage their ego, and they're so young. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:55.759 It's like, like, wait, wait till they get older to keep score. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:01.679 Like, wait until they're at the age that they quit listening to you and learning life lessons before you teach them to them. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.360 Like let them get 13 where they're already smarter than you are, you know? 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:09.919 It's like while they're young, they gotta learn something that life isn't fair. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:17.840 If you don't keep the score, then they have no idea whether their contribution meant anything in that game. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:33.440 And all of a sudden, you have decentivized people from progressing in any area of their life, and you have 20 and 30 year olds who cannot fathom the idea that they have to compete for a difficult job in the marketplace. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:41.600 We got a culture of people who just cannot believe that people won't just print money and put it in their pockets for them. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:42.480 Why not? 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.440 I didn't even cross the finish line and got a trophy. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:46.639 Why not? 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.360 It's really difficult because life isn't fair, and you all have abilities. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:52.799 You all have abilities. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:57.360 And it's so crazy, you know, because we always want the ability we don't have, you know? 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:02.320 Like, like I don't have the best uh social skills in settings, right? 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:04.480 And I don't pick up on social cues very well. 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:12.879 And I watch people who just effortlessly make friends and they can just read a room so well, and I just I have no idea what's going on, you know. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.279 And I look at that and I can grow so jealous of that. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.679 I just wish, I wish I was wired a little bit differently. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:21.120 And you know, some of you, you just, it's like you know how to make money, man. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:33.200 You make money in your sleep, and and some of you you can't figure out how to pay your bills, you know, but you're like overwhelmingly creative, and everyone has been given something, but it has not been given out equally. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:42.799 And we've got to be real about that, or else people will begin to rest thinking they've already made it when they still have a lot of maturation left in their life. 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:58.480 When I moved to Texas, I was in ninth grade, and I moved from Washington, DC, which is a pretty big city, to Lampasas, Texas, which is a very small town, and and so I went from a big setting athletically to a very small one, and and so I made the varsity team really quickly in in high school. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:10.639 And and man, once I made that varsity team, bro, small town, once I got a letter jacket, next step, first round draft pick, you know, I might not even go to college at this point. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:12.240 This is crazy, man. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:13.759 I have made it, you know? 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.440 Can't tell me nothing. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.600 I was like, you know that clip of Alan Iverson? 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:18.799 I was like, practice? 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.639 You talking about practice? 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.159 I don't need to practice, bro. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.240 I got a letter jacket already. 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.480 And what happens when you think you've already made it is why do you need to keep working? 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:32.799 And you know, I had parents who loved me. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.639 And so my dad was like, hey man, you know, here in Lampassas, you're pretty good. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:39.600 And I was like, thank, you know, like, duh. 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:48.080 And he was like, yeah, well, I mean, you just gotta decide if you want to be Lampasis good or if you want to keep working and become actually good. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:56.720 Well, he has a point, you know? 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:04.240 And so we're like creating a culture where we're robbing people of the ability to know that you're not perfect just the way you are. 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.720 You know, we tell our kids that you're perfect just the way you are. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:08.159 I've met y'all's kids. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:09.519 They're not, okay? 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.679 A lot of areas for growth. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:17.360 It's not fair, man. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.360 One got five and one got two and one got one. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:23.519 I'm sure the one who got one thought he was just as good as the guy who got five, but you know who didn't think that? 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:24.799 The owner. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:32.320 And the truth is, before we feel bad for the guy with one, he just got handed more money than most people will ever see in their lifetime, and he didn't earn it. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:38.000 It was given to him out of the graciousness and the goodness of the will of the owner. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:39.519 And so we have to learn this. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:50.799 And what the parable is gonna teach us today in part is exactly how are we going to be judged based on our life and how we live, and and how exactly does God determine each of our abilities so he knows what to give us. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.919 And and once we have the ability we have, is it static? 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:57.919 Are we stuck with it forever, or is there room for change? 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.799 Let's see how the servants went to work in verse 16. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:08.879 It says, immediately, without hesitation, immediately the man who had received five talents went and put them to work. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:09.600 I love that. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.799 Put them to work and earned five more. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:14.960 You know, ROI, it's return on investment. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.240 That's all 100% ROI, doubled it. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:24.639 In the same way, the man with two immediately he put it to work and he earned two more. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:31.200 And so, you know, talent was a measure of money, but talent can be a placeholder for all the things that you are and all the things that you have. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.879 Because all you are and all you have has been given to you by God. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:41.759 And the thing you need to see right off the top is he has given it to you with the expectation of a return on investment. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:17:06.319 And he's not looking for you to make him money, and he's not looking for you to have enough Instagram followers, he is looking for return of an eternal type, to build the kingdom of heaven, which is when we take all that God has given us and all that we are, and we use it to bring more people into loving relationship with the God who is the king of the kingdom. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:07.839 And so that's our job. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:09.759 And he's looking for a return. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.359 And so you have some stuff. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.720 God's given you some things, all you are and all that you have. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.680 And the question is, are you gonna put it to work? 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:20.400 Here's how life functions. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:26.799 You have things, you have physical things, you have mental things, you have psychological things, you have gifts and talents and personalities. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:33.680 Either you own those things, or those things will own you. 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:45.440 Either you put your things to work for your purpose and what you're trying to do in life, or you're going to end up spending your life working for those things. 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:51.359 And most people in this world, their things own them, and so they work for their things. 00:17:51.519 --> 00:18:03.359 Literally, they work and they grind and they stay out there in their world, working too many hours, never seeing their family, trying to fill holes in their life that only the kingdom of heaven can fill. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.319 You'll work for your things, or your things will work for you. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:10.799 And the first two servants, they took their talents and they put them to work. 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:19.839 But the third servant, the man who had received one talent, he went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:27.279 And Jesus is perfect, and you have to be careful with parables because you can read too much into every word when it's really just trying to make one point. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.960 But Jesus is perfect, so his words are perfect, and his parables are perfect. 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:35.039 And there's a reason that the servant dug a hole and hid it in the ground. 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:45.839 There's a reason he didn't hide it in the tree, there's a reason he didn't put it under the mattress, there's a reason he dug a hole and invested his talent into the earth. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.640 We've said all series long. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:54.000 It's not about if you're going to build a kingdom, it's about which kingdom you're going to build. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.680 You're always building a kingdom. 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.599 And there's really two options either Jesus is king or you are. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:01.200 You are building a kingdom. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:26.799 And if you're taking all that you are and all that you have and you're using it to build your own kingdom, to enforce your own power, to raise your own status, if you're using it to impress all of the people around you, to bring glory and worship to yourself, if you are using it to try and subdue or numb or ignore the pain in your life that sin has caused you, then you are building your own kingdom, and it is a kingdom right here on the earth. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:37.119 You are, with your life, all that God has placed in your hands, you are digging a hole in this life, in this earth, and you are investing your talent into the world. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:44.400 And here's the problem your life has been given to you with the expectation of a return on investment. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:48.400 You, if you've believed in Jesus, have new life. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.200 That new life has been given to you to give back to God. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:20:01.119 And you cannot bring an eternal return if you're only investing in temporary things. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.319 So, what are you hiding? 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:17.039 What is it that has been given to you that you are simply digging holes and investing right back into an earth that one day will fade away just like the rest of us? 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:27.119 You see, the reason that it is so tempting to just live for today and just live for the world is because we forget a crucial part of the story. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:32.480 That one day the king is coming back. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:38.640 And verse 19, after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:45.359 And the man who had received five talents approached, presented five more, and said, Master, you gave me five, and see, I've earned five more. 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:49.920 And his master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:55.279 You were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:58.000 Come and share in your master's joy. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:04.079 In verse 22, the man with two talents also approached and he said, Master, you gave me two talents, and see I've earned two more. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.640 And his master said to him, The same thing. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:14.079 You were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.880 Come and share in your master's joy. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.400 Both of them received the same exact reward. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:26.160 A commendation from the owner, Well done, good and faithful servant. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.920 Then they got an increase in their capacity. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.079 You were faithful with a few things. 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:34.319 I will give you so much more. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:42.880 You stewarded well what was placed in your hands, and so I know I can now trust you with so much more capacity. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:49.759 But not only did they get commendation and capacity, they also had an increase in intimacy. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:55.680 Come and share in the joy of the master. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.279 Come and be a part of what I am doing. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:06.240 Just work in the kingdom for the king, come and work alongside of him. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:14.480 Increase in accommodation and capacity and intimacy, and these are all things that are available to us on the other side of this life. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:30.000 When the kingdom is actually fulfilled, when Jesus comes back, when he judges us for the life that we've lived and rewards us for the investments that we've made, we then get a part in his kingdom if he can trust us with him. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:33.839 It's not about whether or not you're entering, it's not about heaven or hell. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:39.839 What Jesus did on the cross is too strong for you to undo, even with the wildest life that you can imagine living. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:41.200 We believe that here. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:49.920 We also believe the way you live your life matters, that you'll give an account for it, and that you've been given this life to give back to God. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:53.599 The man who had received one talent also approached. 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.480 He had kind of a different tactic. 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:59.839 He said, Master, I know you. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:03.359 Let me tell you some things about yourself. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.559 Isn't that your favorite? 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:11.200 When you're in an argument with someone, and instead of just telling you how they feel about it, they try to tell you how you feel about it. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.119 Like somehow they're in your mind now. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:14.640 Look, man, I know you. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.480 I've got you figured out. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:18.079 You're a harsh man. 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.480 Reaping where you haven't sown, gathering where you haven't scattered seed. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.000 So I was afraid. 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.880 I went off and I hid your talent in the ground. 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:31.759 And see, now you have what is yours. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.519 And he's rationalizing it, you know. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:38.079 He's got this mischaracterization. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.000 And some of us have that. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:46.960 You know, we've grown up in religious environments, some of us, where the only part of God that we ever saw was the judgmental side. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:54.960 The only picture we ever had of God is like this Zeus-looking guy, and he's got his lightning bolt, he's just waiting for you to screw up, man, so we can zap you down. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.200 We've got these ideas about God, and so those ideas often create fear. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:18.640 And scripture says that perfect love actually drives out fear, and it requires perfect love for you to give your life away as an investment into the kingdom of heaven, and so fear will keep you on the sidelines, close your hands to what God has given you, and keep you from doing anything meaningful to build the kingdom that Jesus gave his life for you to be a part of. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.160 He's like, Man, I know you've got you figured out. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:29.119 And really, if you think about it, I'm bringing you back all the money that you gave me because I was safe, man. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:29.920 I was safe. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.920 And I know the guy with five gave you ten, but he kind of got lucky, man. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:38.319 Markets could have flipped, and you'd have been real mad if he came back with only two and a half talent. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.400 So, really, man, I was doing the smart thing. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:41.680 You're a scary guy. 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:42.880 Here's your talent. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.400 I hope we're good. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:50.240 And so, what does it mean when we take the life we've been given and we just invest it into the world? 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:54.000 When we just dig holes and hide, what does it mean for us? 00:24:54.319 --> 00:25:11.839 In verse 26, his master replied to him, You evil, lazy servant, if you actually knew that I reap where I haven't sown and gather where I haven't scattered, if you have me so figured out, then you should have at least deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have at least received my money back with interest when I returned. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:25.599 If that's who I really am, this false view of me that you have, if that's actually what you believe, at minimum you would have gone to frost, you would have opened a savings account, you'd have gotten me my 0.25% per year. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:30.559 He's calling fraud on the whole thing. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.519 All the reasons that he gave. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:27.920 If you give up on pursuing something bigger than this life and you just settle for the status quo of trying to build your own kingdom here on the earth instead of making eternal investments in the kingdom of heaven. 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:30.960 That's the response. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:39.599 When we dig a hole and we hide, verse 28, he said, So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:45.200 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:51.039 But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.759 Part of this parable is life is not fair. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.960 And life doesn't just work like this on the spiritual and eternal plane. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:07.039 Life works like this right here and right now. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:12.960 Each of us has been given a life we couldn't possibly deserve by our master, by God. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:23.920 We've been given skills and personalities and talents, and he's placed you where he's placed you in your social circle where you have an opportunity to have an impact on the people around you. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:28.400 The question is, how are you going to be judged? 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:35.440 The first thing you need to understand is we will be judged by how each of us stewards our unique lives. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.640 Emphasis on our unique lives. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:44.799 There's a few hundred people in this service, and there isn't one identical life. 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:54.799 You could have identical twins dressed identically, driving identical cars to service today, and their lives are infinitely more different than they are similar. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:56.480 You have a unique life. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.400 And we see this in the text. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:02.799 Everyone was judged uniquely by what was in their hands. 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:06.559 The first servant had five, and he brought back ten. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:09.440 A hundred percent return on investment. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:21.920 And somewhere in the back of his mind, the guy who started with two had to wonder if I didn't bring back ten as well, is the whole thing out the window? 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:23.839 Is ten the standard? 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:30.880 And what he soon learned is the standard isn't about the amount, the standard is about the investment. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:34.640 They actually had identical return on investment. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:40.160 They both doubled their portion and they were both rewarded identically. 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:50.400 What this means is God is not going to assess your life based on something that He has not placed in your hands and on your life. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:52.000 And this is so important. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:59.039 Because what is killing so many of us is getting caught in the comparison trap. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:07.359 And we're so focused on what others have that we have no idea how to actually steward and invest what we have. 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:17.119 And maybe you've even thought things or said things like, look, I mean, you know, I would, I would do a lot of good if I had money like them, you know? 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:20.400 I mean, they got like lighted on fire kind of money. 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:24.559 I got like the electricity in my house about to start a fire money, you know? 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:26.480 There's a big gap here. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:31.680 So it's like, man, of course they can like, you know, they've got like 16 compassion kids over in Ethiopia, you know. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:36.640 I bet they give a lot to Metachurch and everything else, but I'm paycheck to paycheck here. 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:39.519 So it's apples and oranges, and in fact, it's not. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:41.920 It's just two talents and five talents. 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:46.160 And so what are you gonna do with what's been placed in your hands? 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:50.319 And it's like, look, man, I'd be involved at MetaCurch too if I was as talented as some of these fools. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:53.440 I mean, I would sing if I could sing like Celeste, and I've got news for you. 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:55.200 You can't, all right? 00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:10.799 And there's a reason that Celeste is investing her life on the stage looking this way with a microphone, because she can do that, she can do that, and you can't, but you know what you can do? 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:25.839 You can take the tone-deaf voice that God gave you, and you can lift a sound to them right there in your seats, because over and over again in scripture it says, raise a loud voice, sing to the Lord, rejoice to the Lord, because your father in heaven wants to hear you. 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:38.559 I've had to explain this because we get some complaints because we run a loud show during our worship, and not everyone likes it really loud, and I've had to explain this. 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:42.000 I promise you, we're not just trying to be cool kids. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:49.680 We keep it loud in here so everyone who is insecure about their voice can sing as loud as they want without bothering the people around them. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:51.119 That's why we do it. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:58.160 We keep the lights low so you can worship however you want to worship, because it's not about the people around you, it is about you connecting with God. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:30:59.359 It's why we do it. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.880 Because you know why? 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:09.519 Because we know Celeste got 10 vocal talents, and some of you are are actually in debt vocally, you know. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.279 And you gotta invest. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.720 You gotta invest. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:19.359 God wants to hear you. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:21.440 You're like, bro, you've never heard me sing. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:23.119 God wants to hear you. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.920 God can hear your voice, but he can see your heart. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:30.960 What's he giving you, man? 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:32.799 What's he placed in your hands? 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:38.480 You're not going to be judged by whether or not you had Celeste's voice. 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:42.319 You're not gonna be judged whether or not you have Einstein's intellect. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:48.640 How are you using your mind to think of ways to serve people around you who don't yet know Jesus? 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:56.400 You don't have to be American Idol to hold a baby, and we can't go from two to three services because we don't have enough Medicaids volunteers. 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:57.680 We just have to invest. 00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:00.160 We want to see the kingdom grow. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:18.319 And so the comparison trap is killing us because your eyes are on the abilities you don't have that someone else possesses, which is keeping you from understanding the power of what you possess, and what you can't see because you're so busy looking at them, is someone else's standing, jealous of what you have, which is keeping them from investing in the life that God has given them. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:33.839 And if we would all just keep our eyes on our own papers, if we would all just see what God has placed in our hands, wake up every day with our spiritual eyes open to the opportunities around us, we could bring a return on investment that would guarantee us hearing from Jesus. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:35.359 Well done. 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:43.039 So let's talk about ability because ability isn't fair. 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:47.519 And how did the owner even know exactly how to assign what amount to who? 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:51.680 Ability is determined, it's very simple. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:55.759 Ability is determined by profitability. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.799 Ability is determined by profitability. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:00.960 Let me tell you, let me tell you what I mean. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:03.680 A lot of you guys played high school football, right? 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:05.359 Of course you did, it's it's Texas. 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:07.519 But but let me also tell you something else. 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:10.079 You are not Joe Burrow. 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:11.359 You're just not, okay? 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:13.279 You're not Joe Shystee, right? 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:16.160 You and some of you are looking at your wife like he doesn't know me, man. 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.319 If I wouldn't have torn that ACL, bro, I'd be there, right? 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:19.119 Right now. 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:26.240 You're not Joe Burrow, and the the reason you're not is because you're you're you're five foot seven. 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:33.519 No, the reason that you're not, the reason that you're not, is because you don't have the same ability as Joe Burrow. 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:34.880 And here's how I know. 00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:36.400 It's very simple. 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:44.960 You just have to ask this question In whose hands is a football more profitable? 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:53.599 That's the person with greater ability, the one who in their hands can produce more profitability. 00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:58.559 And so if you run a business or you manage a team, who gets the promotion? 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:00.960 Who do you put in the mission critical position? 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:03.039 Who do you trust with anything and everything? 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:08.480 The person who you know, you put that in their hands, they will be profitable to your company. 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:13.760 Man, Jesus is all wisdom, he's all knowledge, he is all power, he is all seeing. 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:24.400 He put five in the hands of the most profitable person, who will bring the greatest return on their investment. 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:33.360 It says in verse 29, for to everyone who has more will be given, and he will have more than enough, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:38.960 And here's what's so interesting: when the one who was given five brought ten, he was given even more. 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:49.440 Which means that not only is ability determined by profitability, but ability is increased, increased by profitability. 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:56.639 That your ability is not stagnant or static, that it can be increased. 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:00.400 I am not saying that with a little bit of work you can make the NFL. 00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:11.440 What I am saying is that God can trust you with more and more and more in this life, if you will take what he has given you and invest it into the kingdom that he has offered you. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:14.960 Ability is increased by profitability. 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:27.199 And if you will set out to live a profitable life, what happens is you will build the skill sets and you will garner the wisdom and you will expose the weaknesses that you need out of your life. 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:31.519 And over time you will become more and more and more profitable. 00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:37.360 There is a scoreboard, and a score is on it, and we need to know how we are contributing to this life. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:47.119 And the way that we keep the goal in mind is every day realizing that the apex of our life is not when our team makes a Super Bowl. 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:56.400 It's not when we finally make six figures, it's not when we buy the new car, that the culmination of our life will happen when we stand before our Savior. 00:35:56.480 --> 00:36:02.960 And the goal of our life is to do well at the judgment seat at the end. 00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:07.519 Here's the question What is in your hands? 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:10.960 What's God given you? 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:13.519 He didn't owe you any of it. 00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:17.519 He's the master, we're the servants, but he gave it to you anyway. 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:23.280 Can you even see what's in your hands because you're so focused comparing yourself to the things you don't have in other people? 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:23.920 Really? 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:26.880 What are the abilities and the resources and the talents? 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:28.079 Where's he placed you? 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:34.639 What's the personality he's blessed you with, and how can you use it to be profitable for the kingdom of heaven? 00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:38.320 Are you investing, digging holes into the earth? 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:44.079 The truth is, we invest in what we ultimately believe in. 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:47.280 I say this every week when I'm talking about giving. 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:49.679 We invest in what we believe in. 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:56.079 And out in our living little uh giving situation out there, the sign says, invest in eternity. 00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:05.920 Some of our younger staff came to me and they said, Hey, you know, I understand what that means, but maybe explain it to me like I don't understand what that means, and then we'll just compare notes, you know. 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:11.199