Developing Your Talents

Well, happy Sabbath once again. Good to see everyone with us. And I know some of you are feeling a little under the weather, have had a difficult week, either emotionally or with physical illnesses, and I commend you for coming here and celebrating God's Sabbath with us today. I thank you for that. The Passover is less than six weeks away, and it's time for us to prepare for the spring holy days. We know, of course, that the proper way to prepare for the holy days is through prayer and reflection and self-examination and humility.

Last Sabbath, we talked about the need to obey the complete law of God, not just the physical law, as was originally given in the book of Exodus, but the far more difficult spiritual application of the law which deals with our attitudes and our intentions and our heart. We last week examined the weightier matters of the law. We saw what Jesus said was the weightier matter of the law, and what he said was the great commandment. Today, I would like to go another step as we progress towards the preparation of the holy days this year and begin asking the question, why are we here?

I'll bet you've probably heard that one before. Well, my initial response is that we're here because we're not all there. I'm sure we have a lot of friends and relatives who would probably agree with that. But why is it that after we are converted and we receive God's Holy Spirit that we just aren't taken away somewhere? Why do we continue to live? Why do we continue to draw breath? Why do we continue to have physical existence after we are converted and have received God's Holy Spirit?

Wouldn't it kind of just be convenient if upon your conversion you just ceased to be and just maybe waited for Jesus Christ to come back? But obviously, that's not part of God's plan because I see out in this audience some folks with lots of wrinkles who 50 years ago, or almost 50 years ago, became converted and they're still waiting. They're still living their lives.

They're still breathing. At least we hope they'll get through the sermon anyway. And they are still with us today. So today, to examine why we exist after conversion, why we're still here, I think it's good for us to look at a biblical parable and look at it in very close detail because I think this parable will help us to understand more richly and more fully why we are here. This is a parable that is both encouraging or it can be a serious warning depending on what kind of a servant we are.

It's called the parable of the talents. And we all need to be reminded that we were put on this earth for one important reason. We continue to exist after our conversion for just one major important reason, and that is to glorify God in everything that we do. If you'll turn with me to Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse 14. Today we'll look at the parable of the talents. This parable basically teaches that we are accountable, that we are responsible for God, for the way that we use the resources that He's given us as individuals.

We are expected by God to be stewards and to manage our gifts for the one who owns us, our Master, and to use those gifts well to fulfill His purpose for us. So let's begin. Let's go to Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse 14. And today we'll begin the sermon by closely examining the parable of the talents. Matthew chapter 25, beginning in verse 14. It says, for the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

So in this parable, Christ illustrates the important role that His disciples have had throughout church history. That includes us today. He says, these are the responses of the people that I call and give a very special gift to, my Holy Spirit. They are my called out ones. The man in this parable is the resurrected Jesus Christ. The servants are His called out ones from every generation throughout church history. All of them have been converted.

All of them have a relationship with Christ. They are His disciples. All of them are His servants. The far country He is traveling to represents His ascension to heaven, where He remains until this very day. So again, as a man traveling to a far country, it was Jesus Christ preparing to ascend to heaven and He would be giving gifts to His disciples throughout many, many generations. Verse 15. And to one He gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one to each according to His own ability, and immediately He went on a journey.

So in this parable, we need to understand that a talent, one talent, just one, was a very large amount of money. This was equal to 20 years of wages for an average laborer at that time. So just one talent, the man who only received one talent, received the equivalent of 20 years of wages for a laborer from the man or from his master.

And I think that's important for us to appreciate and understand. This is a very large amount of money that He gives to each of His servants. One talent, again, was the value of 20 years of work by an ordinary person. Why were they given so much? What does this represent? What represents two things? First of all, it represents that the master is going to be away a long, long time. And, you know, the master has been away for 2,000 years from this earth, and we are still waiting for his return. The large amount that they were given is an advance on the daily labor of a lifetime or more.

It represents what we are given for a lifetime. A long, long time. Secondarily, what this represents is obviously this was money in the original parable, and it's a symbol of the gifts and the abilities and the skills that God has given to each and every one of us. He has given us those things.

And the reason so much was given in advance represents the abundant growth that is possible through using the gift of the Holy Spirit. God gives us these gifts, and your gifts are different than my gifts, as we'll see. He gives us these gifts to last a lifetime. Not to last just a season, but to last a lifetime. Brethren, realize that this was not their money. They are working for the increase of their master.

And in the same way, our gifts and our abilities and our talents were given to us by God for His glory. If we have talents and gifts that are the result of good DNA, it's God who created that mixture. It's God who had that DNA process that we were born, maybe, with the ability just to do things well with our hands.

Some people are born with a natural ability to communicate. Some people are born with musical inclinations. You know, I could give them this little remote, and they'd blow on it, and in three minutes they'd be tuning a sound out of it, because they are just naturally gifted with music. We all, depending on our DNA, have different gifts and talents that God has given us. They are gifts from Him, and those gifts were given to us so that we can glorify God.

So it's not their money. It's not really our talents. We, too, are working for the increase of our master. God doesn't give us the same amount of talents or expect all of us to achieve the same level of growth. As I mentioned, some people are blessed with unique DNA. It provides them with special gifts, and they come out of the womb with the inclination to have particular talents and abilities and skills. Others have had the advantage of a good environment growing up. They perhaps had the best education, or they had a good, friendly and warm home life.

They might have had loving parents. So is it nature or nurture that makes a human being what they are? It's both nature and nurture. It's a combination of our DNA, and it's a combination of what we experienced as young people and how we patterned our minds growing up in youth. So we need to understand that all of us have different, unique gifts.

We were not intended to be clones of one another. We were not intended to all have the same talents, to have the same abilities, to have the same skills. Verse 16, Then he who had received five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents, and likewise he who had received two gained two more. But he who had received one talent, or he who had received one went and dug it in the ground, and he hid his Lord's money. I'm going to read this from the translation, new century version. The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money, to deal with enthusiasm.

Immediately he moved. He got on those five talents. He made an effort immediately to begin growing what he had been given. Verse 17, continuing in this translation, In the same way the servant who had two bags invested them and earned two more, but the servant who got one bag went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.

So the individuals who had five talents and two talents begin immediately to multiply them, to do something with them, to grow them, to expand them. If you look at the American Heritage Dictionary, here's how it defines investing. It means to, quote, devote morally or psychologically as to a purpose. That's what investing means. Whether you're investing money to grow, or whether you're investing your talents and your skills and abilities to a purpose to grow. In our case, to glorify God.

So with zeal and purpose, these two individuals began to immediately expand and use their gifts to become a blessing to other people, so they could influence other people, so that they could give glory to God, their master. Unfortunately, this third servant simply looked around, made sure no one was looking at him. He dug a hole in the ground and hid what he had been given from everyone.

He just hid it. He buried it. He put it away. He didn't even acknowledge those talents himself. He wanted to hide them from everyone. Verse 19, after a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Now, in the parable, this long time represents the two thousand years that Jesus Christ would be away from earth. But he's coming back. It is second coming. It's known as the second coming of Christ to the earth, and he's going to settle accounts. That means there is a judgment for everyone who is alive, who has ever lived.

And that judgment occurs at the resurrection. Verse 20, so he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look! Notice the excitement in his voice. Look!

I have gained five more talents beside them. His Lord said him, well done, good and faithful servant. That's a lot of praise. Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. Doesn't that sound a little contradictory? You tell me that I'm a good and faithful servant, and then you tell me that I was faithful in a few things? How come not many things? We'll discuss that. Jesus says, I will make you ruler over many things, enter into the joy of your Lord.

Verse 22, and also he had received two talents, came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Look! Excitement! I have gained two more talents beside them. His Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of our Lord. So the same praise, the same reward is given to both the individual who had five talents and the individual who had two talents.

Notice that both of these servants doubled what they had been given as a gift. Both achieved the same growth. They doubled two times what they already had. But I think we need to understand that they're equal in God's eyes because they received a different ability. They received a different amount of talents. God is a fair God. He didn't expect the one with two talents to gain five. All he expected was the one with two talents to gain another two.

And God is a very fair God. Again, they both received the same reward. He simply expects them to grow and multiply what they have been given in life. And we've all been given different amounts because, again, of our DNA and our upbringing, we all have a different number of talents. So why does he say that they were faithful over a few things rather than faithful over many things?

Well, we need to understand that Jesus Christ is pleased with their growth. He absolutely is pleased with their growth. They are acceptable. But with the power of God's Holy Spirit, they potentially could have grown far, far more. In another parable known as the Parable of the Sower, Jesus says in Matthew 4 and verse 20, he said that... Let me read this. He says, others are like the seed planted on good ground, and they hear the teaching and they accept it.

And they grow and produce fruit some thirty times more, some sixty times more, not two times more. Thirty times more, sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more. You see, with the power of God's Holy Spirit in us, our potential growth is almost limitless. That's the potential. Now, Christ is pleased, very pleased, to have seen that these two servants used the power of the Holy Spirit and had growth.

He's very pleased at that because that was why they existed, to bring glory to God. That was why they were there. Let's go to Matthew. I want you to hold your place because we're going to be going back here. But go turn with me to Matthew 17 and verse 14. Matthew 17 and verse 14.

The truth is, with the power of the Holy Spirit, our potential growth is almost limitless. We often lose sight of that. We sell ourselves short. Matthew 17 and verse 14.

How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me. Verse 18. Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately because they didn't want to humiliate themselves. They weren't able to cast the demon out. They went to him privately and said, Why could we not cast it out? So Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. Because of your unbelief. For assuredly I say to you, if you have the faith of a mustard seed, if you have just a little tiny speck of faith about the size of a radish seed, He said, If you have that much faith, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you. Now, did Jesus really mean what He said? I think He meant exactly what He said. He said, This, my friends, is your potential, but it takes faith. It takes something that is really hard for human beings to grasp and understand because of our own self-limitations. He says here in verse 21, However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. He says, If you want to get to this level in spiritual life, you're going to have to work for it, because it doesn't come easy. You're going to have to have a deep relationship with God in order to reach this plane, in order to reach this kind of level, that you can move a mountain, that you can cast a demon out of a human being, and that demon will be gone. Brethren, it's because of our carnal humanity that we lack the faith to reach our potential. Our self-talk limits us. You know, we're carrying a conversation on in our heads all day long. Most people don't realize that their mind lies to them constantly. Your mind lies to you constantly. It lies to you every day. It tells you you're not good enough. You're not smart enough. You're not attractive enough to do certain things. It convinces you that you don't have the money or the connections or the talent to achieve marvelous things in life. And that is a lie! And the biggest shame is that we believe it. We say, well, it's me talking to myself. Surely I wouldn't lie to myself, would I? Surely I wouldn't be saying things to myself that's untrue, would I? You bet. It happens each and every day. You see, the things that we struggle with, they're just obstacles. They're not permanent barriers. What we really lack is the confidence and faith that is possible by tapping in to the power of the Holy Spirit. We have convinced ourselves that we can't. And once you do that, you know what? You're right. You can't. That's absolutely true. Let's take a look here at verse 23. We're going back to where we started in Matthew. Matthew 25 and verse 23.

His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord. And this phrase, enter into the joy of the Lord, refers to eternal life and the joy of living forever as a spiritual child of God. Having each and every day filled to the brim with fulfillment and with joy. That's what it means when he said, enter into the joy of your Lord.

You are part of the family of God. You will live forever as a spiritual being enjoying life in the kingdom and the family of God. Verse 24. Then he would receive one talent, came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man. Reaping were you of not sown and gathering were you of not scattered seed. And I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. And look! There you have what is your...

Here, I'm giving it back to you. It's yours. Here, one talent. Verse 26. But his Lord answered and said to him, you wicked, you lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

Let's stop here right now and focus on that statement. Jesus Christ agrees with part of his statement. He says, I agree with you. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and that I gather where I have not scattered seed. The Master agrees with that because he expects growth everywhere that his servants are. He reaps where he is not sown and he gathers where he didn't scatter by commissioning his disciples to sow and reap and gather on his behalf.

That's their job. He started the job. It's their job to go to the world with the good news of the coming kingdom of God. The Master demands faithful service. He expects us to live a life of self-denial, of self-control, of self-sacrifice. That's the requirement of his servants. But there's one thing that the man said that the Lord does not agree with. He does not agree with the accusation that he is a hard man. Let's take a minute to think about this further.

Is Jesus Christ hard? Is he uncaring? Is he unreasonable because he expects spiritual growth from you and I? Does that make him hard? Hold your place here. Let's go to Matthew 10, verse 25. Hold your place because we'll be going back there. Matthew 11, verse 25. Jesus is making a statement here.

He answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to babes. So he says, I thank you that you've given the truth not to the rocket scientists of the world, but to the simple common people so that they can be called and can understand your word. Verse 26. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight to do this.

It seemed good in the Father's sight to reveal his word to babes. Those that the world cast off, those that the world doesn't think are important or very valuable, those are the people that God has called. Verse 27. All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the One to whom the Son wills to reveal him.

So Jesus said, I am intimately connected to the Father. You can't know me unless you understand the Father, and I came to reveal who the Father was. There is a relationship there. And then there's verse 28 that we want to focus on. He says, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. You have burdens in life. You feel guilt. You feel shame. You feel abused, manipulated. He says, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

I am gentle and lonely in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Now that's a little bit of a contrast being called a hard man by the servant, isn't it? What Jesus states here is far different from the way that that unprofitable servant wants to portray Jesus Christ. This encouraging comment that Jesus makes here has three parts.

The first part is, He says, Come and receive salvation. Come and have your sins forgiven, and to be saved, and have the opportunity for eternal life. The second thing He says in this statement is, Come and learn discipleship. The word disciple means learner. Come and embark on an exciting new journey to understand the Word of God, to change your life for the better, and to become part of something bigger than you are, something of great value and importance, like preaching the kingdom of God.

And three, He says, Come and accept the yoke of God in your life. And that yoke means instruction with discipline. It means learning and instruction, and being willing to discipline yourself. Because that's the only way that you'll get it, that you'll understand it, that it will have any meaning to you.

Now, in contrast to what Jesus says here, what is really hard in life is being a slave to Satan. Contrasting being a slave to the God of this world, our calling of being a disciple is easy. Like ancient Pharaoh, the devil is a cruel taskmaster who will not give you the resources that you need to serve him.

With Satan, all of your life you will struggle with futility. All of your life you will deal with unhappiness and a feeling that there is a hole in your heart because something is missing. All of your physical life will be futile because that slave master known as Satan will make you make bricks without straw. He won't give you the resources you need to find true happiness and real fulfillment in life. So, in essence, what this servant is doing is he's drawing an analogy of all things to Jesus Christ being like ancient Pharaoh in Egypt, being a taskmaster, being hard and uncaring.

He's implying that Jesus, you didn't give me what I needed to grow in talents and abilities. It's your fault, Christ, that this didn't happen. Let's now go back to Matthew 25, verse 24. Matthew 25, verse 24.

Again repeating, then he would receive one talent, came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seat. And of course, we explained that by the fact that he gives his servants the commission to go everywhere and to reap and sow and gather on his behalf. Verse 25, and I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his Lord answered and said to him, you wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seat. And again, this third slave looks upon his master as if he's demanding. He's harsh. He's impossible to please. And this is an excuse for doing nothing. He's saying, in essence, I knew that you were so unreasonable and that there's no way to please you, so I decided to not even try. This man's attitude is that Jesus Christ was the problem. Not that he was a problem, not that he had a problem, but that Jesus Christ was the problem. And instead of having an attitude of humility when he met his master, or shame, or desiring forgiveness, the servant literally blames the Lord for being negligent as if it's the Lord's fault. The phrase, I was afraid, and went out and hid your talent in the ground, he was afraid to take risks for the kingdom of God. You know, the step out of our comfort zone is risky. To do something that we've never done before has a little bit of risk involved. We might humiliate ourselves. We might try something and fail. But to develop a talent that is undeveloped is going to require you and I taking some risk. It's going to require us stepping out on faith to do something that we are not comfortable in doing. You see, he wouldn't step out of his comfort zone. And it's fear that usually paralyzes people from taking action. That's what fear does. Fear causes paralysis. It causes indecision. It causes one to be indecisive. According to many psychologists, the number one reason for procrastination is fear of failure. The number one reason that we hold things and put things off into the last minute before we do them is usually rooted in the fear that we'll do it wrong. And that we're going to be criticized or we're going to humiliate ourselves in some way. And that's why we put off doing the things that we know we should do. Now hold your place here and let's see where Jesus words this in a little different way. Matthew 5 and verse 13. I realize we're in Matthew a lot today, but there are some great scriptures here. Matthew 5 and verse 13.

Notice what he says. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by man. Salt is a unique quality. It was used in the offerings in the Old Testament. They had salt mixed in with the offerings. Salt is a unique, gives us unique, desirable qualities. But if we lose that, there is a problem there. He says here, but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city is set on a hill cannot be hidden. What did the man with the one talent do? He buried and he hid his talent. How can you glorify God if you bury your talent? How can you glorify God if you put the light that you are through the power of the Holy Spirit and you put it under a bushel and you hide it under a bushel basket? Verse 15, Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works. And here it is. Here's why we exist. Here's why we continue to draw breath. Take another one.

Why do we do that? And glorify your Father in heaven. That's why we continue, after conversion, to live, continue to exist. The unprofitable servant hid his gifts and talent. He was not the light he should have been to those in the house of God. And he would pay a very terrible price for that. Using his gifts would have brought glory to his Father in heaven, but he chose to hide them. And all he had to do was develop one talent, and he would have received the same reward as the one who had to and grew to, as the one who had five and grew five. All he had to do was to grow one more talent, because we worship a God who is fair and loving. Matthew chapter 25 and verse 27. Let's go back there. Matthew chapter 25 and 27.

The Master continues, So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. What the Master is saying here is he might have been satisfied with at least some effort to achieve a conservative minimum growth and development in this person's life. Just at least some effort. But even this wasn't done. In fact, that talent, looking at it from a monetary viewpoint, that talent would have been worth less than when the Master gave it to him due to inflation. I'd like to give you an example.

In my working career, I began my working career in 1972. I realize that I don't look that old. All of you thought it was 2002 that I began my working career. But no, it was 1972. And what cost $1,000 in 1972? $1,000 of purchasing power to put gas in your car and go to the grocery store and buy some food and buy some things. What cost $1,000 when I began my working career due to inflation has grown to cost $5,152 to buy the very same items.

That's what inflation does over a period of time. Here's another example. This is a 20-year example. Since a talent was equal to about the value of 20 years' wages for a laborer, let's compare apples with apples. So we'll go back to 1992 and give you an idea of what happened to the value of this man's gifts and abilities because he did nothing with them that symbolized by money. If you had $1,662 in 1992, I've got $1,662. Woo-hoo!

And you took your knife out and you cut your mattress open. And you hid it in your mattress. No one's going to find it here. They might break in the house. They may take my iPod. They may take everything else, but they're not going to find my $1,662 that I stashed away in the mattress. Well, in real purchasing power, that is now worth $1,000 due to the effects of inflation.

So you see, brethren, that rather than grow or even maintain the gifts he had been given, the servant actually lost abilities. He went backward. And, brethren, once his first love of the faith had died down, because this was a person who was a servant, this was a person who had been converted and received God's Holy Spirit, once his first love died down, he stopped growing and he stopped spiritually maturing. And the Holy Spirit became grieved and went in the spiritual hibernation in this man's life. Because he didn't use the Holy Spirit. He didn't tap into the Holy Spirit. He took what he had been given. And, granted, it was only one talent. But he buried it and he hid it from everyone.

Brethren, as I've said before, we are either growing as disciples or we're spiritually dying. There's no middle ground. There is no maintenance when it comes to spiritual life. We are either going forward or we're going backward, spiritually speaking.

There is no middle ground. Verse 28, Jesus says in a parable, Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents, for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he who has abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away and cast, the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there, will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus says this because the man with ten talents had proven by his zeal and by his commitment that he would take that one talent, he would now have eleven, and that he would multiply and do incredible things with those skills and abilities and gifts that he had been given by God.

You know, there's an old saying, if you want something done, give it to a busy man. So that one talent was given to a busy man, someone who already had a lot to do but had proven by his efforts, by using the tremendous power of the Holy Spirit, that he would use that one talent that had been neglected and use it wisely.

Outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth here refers to the final judgment, what we traditionally call the third resurrection, and he's punished by entering hellfire because he was a lazy and a wicked servant. Why was he wicked? Because he disobeyed his Lord. When Jesus Christ asks us to do something and we refuse to do it, we are wicked. That is wickedness! And he was also told that he was lazy.

So, brethren, how are we doing? What kind of a servant have we become?

Let's take a look at another parable, Luke 13 and verse 6. Luke 13 and verse 6. I think the moral of this parable, one of the morals of this parable, is don't assume that you have forever to make the changes you need to make. Don't assume that you have lots of time to develop those channels because that assumption is a mistake.

He also spoke this parable, certain man had a fig tree planted in the vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found a nun. Obviously, the certain man is Jesus Christ, and the fig tree is a disciple. And he came seeking fruit on it. Did this fruit tree develop the fruits, the luscious fruits of the Holy Spirit? And he found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit, and on this fig tree and found a nun.

Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? You know, I had that experience when I first moved to Litchfield. Mr. Thomas, in all his great brilliance, was going to have a fruit orchard. So I went out and I bought like 20 fruit trees. I envisioned this beautiful parallel garden of fruit trees, and they would grow and mature, and the leaves would overhame and touch one another.

And Mr. Thomas could walk down the center of it and say, Oh, this is so wonderful. This is so marvelous. Well, within a couple of years, most of the trees died. A lot of the trees, they tried to have fruit, and the insects would just eat them to pieces. Three years later, I cut them all down, and I threw them into the burn pile. It was a failure on my part. I might have had the right motive and right intent, but unfortunately it was a failure.

And that's what it says the man does here. He says, cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? It's just wasting space. It has no value. But he answered and said to him, this is the vine dresser, Sir, let it alone this year also. Lord, give it one more Passover season. Give it one more spring holy day season to wake up, to be shaken out of its lethargy. Give it one more chance, Lord. Give it one more year.

And it says, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it, until I give it the word of God, until I put it through some trials and experiences to shake it out of its lethargy. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that you can cut it down. So we shouldn't deceive ourselves in thinking we have all the time in the world. We shouldn't deceive ourselves in thinking the parable of the towns that we have 20 years left to make the changes that we need to make, to develop the gifts and skills and abilities that God gave us for His glory.

God expects growth in our lives. We are given just a limited period of time to use the incredible power of the Holy Spirit to bring glory to the Father. If we don't take our calling seriously, the consequences can be catastrophic. That's what the parable of the talents tell us. That's what this parable right here tells us. Digging around and fertilizing the tree represented an effort to stimulate that tree to start producing and bearing fruit.

The whole reason we exist is to bring glory to God in our lives by using those gifts and skills and abilities that He gave us. Matthew 7, verse 16. Scripture we're very familiar with. But again, it ties in well with the parable that we just read. Matthew 7, verse 16. Jesus said, you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from foreign bushes or figs from thistles?

Of course, the answer is no. Even so, every good tree bears fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. That's exactly what happened to the unprofitable servant. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of my Father.

Which says lip service doesn't mean anything. Pretending to be religious doesn't mean anything. Going to church every Sabbath, tithing, keeping all the doctrines doesn't mean anything if you're not growing and using the power of God's Holy Spirit to change your life. Let's turn to Philippians chapter 1 and verse 8. Let's see what the will is of the Father in heaven.

Again, verse 21, we were just there. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of my Father in heaven. God is interested in us doing His will. What is that will? Philippians chapter 1 and verse 8. Paul wrote, For God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ, and this I pray that your love may still abound more and more in the knowledge and all discernment.

Lord, I pray that you will understand things the way they really are. Verse 10, that you may approve the things that are excellent. You may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Verse 11, here's the key, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God. You see, it's God's will that our lives bring glory and honor to Him.

His will is that people see the fruits of righteousness in our lives and that they radiate and reflect the fact that Jesus Christ resides in us through His Holy Spirit. People may not agree with our religious beliefs, or the fact that you are even religious, or the fact that you're a disciple. But what they should see in us and privately admit to themselves is that this person, though I might think they're odd because they're religious, this person, they should say, demonstrates their faith. They demonstrate it by the way that they act.

They're sincere, they're honest, they're genuine, they're joyful. I don't know how they do that. They're caring, and one thing about them, they're committed to their cause. I may not agree with them, but they're committed to their cause. Brethren, when people see us, they should say that we are committed. Not that we should be committed.

We should be a positive light to the world of spiritual growth and maturity and balance and commitment. That is so important. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3.

If you're saying to yourself, Self, I haven't been doing all that I can. Self, I haven't been developing those fruits, those gifts, those abilities. I took a lot of them and I buried them a long time ago.

If you're saying that to yourself, Paul understood, Timothy understood, because we're going to see here that Paul had that concern about beloved Timothy, a young minister that he had mentored and tutored and loved. He could see Timothy slipping. Timothy wasn't maintaining. Timothy wasn't going forward. He could sense that Timothy was going backward. So if you feel that way, you're in pretty good company. Here's what Paul says. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3.

Greatly desiring to see you being mindful of your tears that I may be filled with joy. That also had to be comforting to Timothy. Paul's saying, I love you so much, I just wish I could see you and hug you and just cry on your shoulder and let you know how much I missed you. Verse 5.

Timothy, something's wrong, son. Stir it up. Get that spirit active again in your life. Tap into it so that you can make that growth and have that breakthrough that you need to have in your life. Verse 7.

Remember what the man was one parable told his Lord? He said, I was afraid.

Isn't that what he said? I, Lord, I was afraid. And Paul says that we have not been given the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us in a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. Why do you need to give you the gifts that you have, the abilities, the skills, the talents? Why do you need to give me what I have according to his own purpose and grace? That's why we got those things. Not because we're better than anyone else, not because we were smarter than anyone else, or we deserved it, because he's a loving and a merciful God who wanted to give us those gifts. But according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. So let's not forget the gift. That's a gift of the power of the Holy Spirit. What a remarkable gift. And if we use it well, it will help us to magnify all the skills and talents and abilities that we have. So we see here that Paul was concerned about young Timothy and the fact that he was struggling spiritually, and he encouraged him to stir up that gift. We'll come into the spring holy days. We're coming to the Passover, a time when we reflect on our calling, a time when we reflect on our commitment to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And it's time to stir up that gift that was in us, from the laying on of hands that we originally received, some of us 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 plus years ago. But realize this, that fear, like the unprofitable servant had, is not compatible with God's Holy Spirit. Fear is a short-term motivator. Don't do it out of fear. Don't do it out of terror being thrown into the lake of fire, because that won't last. That will pass. Do it because it's the right thing to do. Do it because your master has asked you to do it. Do it because it brings glory to God. Don't try to do it out of fear. So what are some of the ways, as we close the sermon today, that we can multiply our talents and our skills and abilities? I wanted to make some of these things a little more real. Here are some ways, as a congregation, knowing some of your skills and talents, some ways that we can multiply and please our master when he returns. One of them is prayer. You can become a prayer warrior. You know that even someone who's been in a terrible auto accident and has become a paraplegic and has to suck on an oxygen tube for air, even they can become a prayer warrior.

So what can you and I do with what we've been given?

Meditation. You can learn to expand your spiritual discernment by thinking about the kingdom of God and how it's going to change everything. It's going to change our world, it's going to change our environment, it's going to change our culture, our buildings. Everything about this world will change. Even someone limited to a wheelchair can meditate, can learn to meditate effectively. So what are the rest of us capable of doing?

Bible study. You can study the Word of God so that you can learn to offer the right scripture in a time of need. When you're talking to someone who needs encouragement or needs to be motivated or needs to be edified through Bible study, you can learn the exact scripture, quote it, that will help them at that moment. My father-in-law was a blind man and he developed this talent by listening to audio tapes of the Bible being read.

Now, if he could do that as a blind man, what are you and I capable of doing? Financial. If you've been blessed with wealth, you can use some of it to help those that are less fortunate. Christ gave money to help the poor because it is a Christ-like thing to do. Even the widow gave her might to help maintain the temple. So if you can afford it, if you've been blessed with good finances, share it!

You can't take it with you! Don't bury it! Don't lock it up in a bank vault! Use it for the benefit of others. Service. You can sacrifice some of your time to serve the church, or serve in your family, or in your community. Some of you have the gifts of managing. You have the gift of organizing and planning things to get them done well. Magnify those gifts. Don't stop now! Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord. Some of you have the gifts of understanding technology. You have a natural skill for embracing technology or software, the social media.

That's a gift! There are people 60 years old, 70 years old, who have trouble turning on a PC, let alone understanding technology. Use it! Grow in those gifts to help others to glorify your Father in Heaven. Some of you have been born with mechanical skills. You can just do incredible things with your hands. You can work on cars. Some of you are good at carpentry.

Some of you are great at crafts. Some of you make very inspiring cards. Don't hide that talent. Use it more than ever. Grow in that wonderful ability you've been given. Some of you are teachers. You have the ability to impart information to others in a way that they can understand.

That's a gift! To be able to convey something in which a person says, I get it! Yeah, yeah, I understand that! That's the ability to teach. That is a gift. Grow that talent. Use that ability. We have lots of opportunities in the Church for teachers. For sermonettes and sermons and the YEP class instructors and women's club. We have a lot of ways that you can step out, and it's going to feel a little risky at first. You're going to feel maybe a little bit of terror.

You're going to feel afraid to get out of the comfort zone and to stretch yourself. But I encourage you to do it. Some of you are natural investors. It may not be money, but you have an excellent skill for investing love towards other people. Some parents in this congregation invest love in their children. It's obvious. Some people can invest love in other people. Some can invest love in the Church. You're naturally a friendly, people-focused individual. Don't stunt that talent. Don't stop now. Don't quit growing. Magnify and use that for the benefit of God's people. Communication. Some of you are very gifted learners, and this is a rare skill.

You don't interrupt when somebody's talking to you. You don't contradict people when they are talking. You always have the right word and the tip of your tongue to put everything in proper perspective. When you see people hyperventilating or making a mountain out of a molehill, you just have the ability to calm them down and put things in the right perspective. No matter how difficult the situation, that's a gift. Use it. Multiply it. Grow it. Expand it. A lot of the fruits of God's Holy Spirit, we can all grow in. One of them is joy.

You can promise yourself that you're going to be a one-man crusade against what I call the kingdom of the lemon suckers. These are people who look like they suck on lemons all day just before they come up to talk to me. You can radiate happiness and enthusiasm and a positive perspective everywhere you go. Sure, we all have bad days. Sure, we have days that we feel down.

But more days than not, people should see the joy, contentment, peace, fulfillment. We can radiate from us and have a positive influence on everyone around us, everyone at work, everyone in our family, everyone we meet in our community. Patience. You can be alike by demonstrating patience towards others and their mistakes and their personal quirks. Everyone in this congregation has personal quirks and flaws, including yours truly. Faithfulness. Rather than being skeptical or cynical about life or other people, you can develop this talent of faithfulness to remain steadfast and to remain committed to your family, to your brethren, and to God's church in spite of their flaws and weaknesses.

If you haven't figured it out now, I have some bad news for you. Your family has weaknesses, your brothers and sisters have Christ, in Christ have weaknesses, and your church has weaknesses. Because God made the mistake of putting human beings in all of those things.

So we can either dwell on the weaknesses and make mountains out of molehills all through our lives, or we can demonstrate faithfulness. Generosity. Some of you love to cook and clean and run errands, and you just give a tremendous amount of your own time.

You sacrifice your time to help other people. That's a gift. Don't stop doing that. Don't grow tired. Don't stop developing that skill or that talent. There are, of course, a lot of other fruits of the Holy Spirit that we can grow towards. One more thing to think about. We may not think of it as a fruit. We may not think of it as a gift or an ability, but it's certainly important to Jesus Christ, and that is overcoming sin or a negative family trait. We please God when we grow away from sin or a weakness towards righteousness and developing a whole new fruit in our lives.

Maybe our family has a history of some things that we're not proud of. Maybe it's harshness. Maybe it's bullying others. Maybe it's dominating other people. Whatever our family personal problems may be, we can be the one to determine to draw a line in the sand and to overcome those negative family traits. To overcome those sins and weaknesses that we struggle with in our lives. One final scripture. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 15. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 15.

So many people go through their entire lives. And the conversation that they carry on with themselves from the time they become aware of human life until the day they die, the self-talk, is no, you can't. No, you can't do that. You're not capable. You're not smart enough, good-looking enough. You don't have the right connections. No. The answer is no. Don't try that. No. Don't step out on faith. No. Don't take a risk. No. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit. He's talking about returning the Corinth to visit that congregation that he loved. To pass by way to you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you and be helped by you on my way to Judea. So he's saying, I wanted to visit you. He says, this may shock you, but I actually have a plan on the things that I do, Paul says. He chides them a little verse, verse 17, therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I planned, do I plan according to the flesh that with me there should be yes, yes and no, no? He says, do you think I'm indecisive? He says, do you think that one day is yes from me and another day is no, and that I don't have a plan that I just wake up one morning and willy-nilly. I say, I think I'll go to Corinth today. He says, no, I'm not that kind of a person, verse 18. But as God is faithful, our word to you was not yes and no. It wasn't maybe God will give you his Holy Spirit. It wasn't maybe you can grow if you tap into that Holy Spirit. It wasn't, well, maybe you'll be saved. Verse 19, for the Son of God Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Sylvanus and Timothy, was not yes and no, but in him was yes. Not maybe, not if, but, or, however. He says it's yes. Verse 20, for all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him there are Amen, so be it. It's as good as done to the glory of God through us. So, brethren, as we prepare for the Spring Holy Days this year, please understand that the answers to anything that you were struggling with is yes! Does God love you? Yes. Does God forgive you? The answer is absolutely yes. Did God give you his Holy Spirit when you were converted and had the laying out of hands? The answer to that is yes. Are you capable of multiplying your talents? Are you capable of tapping into the powerful Spirit of God? The answer is yes. So let's stop telling ourselves no. Let's stop allowing our fears and our self-imposed limitations to stunt our spiritual growth. Let's believe in all of God's promises, because when it comes to God's promises and the promises that he made to you, the answer is always yes.

Be sure to have a wonderful Sabbath.