Matthew 25:14 "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. 15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, `Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 "His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 "He also who had received two talents came and said, `Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 "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 your lord.' 24 "Then he who had received the 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 seed. 25 `And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 "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 seed. 27 `So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 `Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 `For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 `And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' We have talked of this parable before several years ago when we were discussing the topic of Spiritual Gifts. As I have gone back to look at this parable again, it became apparent to me that there was something that I had pretty much missed before. But I am going to wait a minute before I tell you about that thought. Now I am sure that most of us have heard how this parable describes what will happen to those who fail to use their talents and abilities. This is partially true. Yet the importance of what Jesus is saying in this parable goes way beyond what we have customarily considered. Talents extend beyond the physical things that we are able to do. Unfortunately, many people recognize abilities in other people but not in themselves. And many people do not recognize the heavenly bit of specialness that God has formed within each one of us. Now let us examine the parable. Here comes the revelation that I had. You may have thought of it before. We all knew it, if we just stopped and though about it. But this parable comes in a series of parables dealing with the end of the world. In Matthew 24 we have the similes of one being taken, the other left. Then watching and being ready. Then the parable of the wicked servant who beat the fellow servants. Then comes the parable of the ten virgins. All of those deal with being ready for the coming of the Master. Next comes the parable of the talents. This parable does not just tell us that we need to be ready, it actually is a guide on HOW to be ready for the coming of the Mast The Master gives all of his servants abilities, but not every one has the same abilities. Some seem to be overloaded with abilities, talents, resources, or whatever. Others seem to have been blessed more sparingly. But every one has a blessing. One is given 5 talents and those are multiplied in the service of the Master and there is a gain for the good of the Master. Another is given 2 talents, and those are multiplied in the service of the Master and there is gain for the good of the Master. The third is given one talent, and refuses to do anything with it that might be profitable in any way to the Master. But let us take a look at what is said to each of the servants as they report the results of their action/inaction to their Master. The first: 21 "His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' To the second 23 "His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' To the third: 26 "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 seed. 27 `So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 `Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 `For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 `And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Let's look at the three for a minute. They were all given, according to the master's own words, small amounts. Now they may have seemed like large amounts to the servant, but to the Master, they were trivial amounts. So from the Master's point of view, the amounts were irrelevant. It is not a concern of God whether or not you have one talent, or a dozen. That is not the issue. The issue is what you do with the talent that you do have. And I firmly believe that if the one-talent person had invested and lost it all, that the Master would not have dammed him. What do you think? So if it is not about the amounts of money, and not about losing money, what is the issue? I believe that the answer to that question is summed up in the last thing he said to each of the servants. To the first: "Enter into the joy of your lord." To the second: "Enter into the joy of your lord." To the third: "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I believe that when the Master told the wise servants to enter the joy of their lord, he was not offering them a new experience. He was giving them the pleasure of continuing in what they had already been doing, just in a greater and more intense way. From managing some money to taking care of cities. Quite a jump. But they had proven themselves faithful under less than pleasant circumstances. You see, I believe that when the faithful servants were going about their Master's work, they were enjoying it. They were proud of it. In doing the Master's work they boldly stated, "I am a servant of the Master. I am proud of it. I want to see his cause grow, and I will do what I can, small or large to see him prosper.'' They had no fear of his enemies or those who did not like him. On the other hand, the wicked servant was ashamed of the Master. He may have been mad at him because he felt slighted with only one talent. He did not want anyone to know that he was associated with the man. So he tries to play it both ways. He will not lose the money. But he will not let anyone know he has it. So he buries it in the ground and tries to forget it. The bottom line is that he goes out of his way to make sure that the master does not profit in money, or in reputation, from the talent that was entrusted to him. Note the word "unprofitable." Without profit. God expects us to use what He has given us, and I believe that He himself guarantees us that there will be profit as we exercise our talents for him. It may not be manifested in just the way that we may expect, but it will happen. Do you think that the one talent man would have buried his talent if he had known that the rulership of a city might be involved? So let's look at the talents/gifts that we have been given. The first is time. I start with that because not one of us here has more than 24 hours and some seconds in a day. How are we spending our time? Can we say that it is truly spent in a way to be profitable for the kingdom of God( will resist the temptation to elaborate there. Then there is the talent of resources. Are we using our resources to further God's cause or our's? Are we living as if everything that we manage is ours instead of God's? I believe that this issue is going to become more and more prevalent as the end of time nears, as we can probably begin to appreciate right now. When the time comes when nothing has any worth, will we regret what we have saved for ourselves, or rejoice in what we have given to God? Another very important talent that we have is our influence. Innumerable stories could be told about how the influence of one person made a difference in another persons life..., for better or worse. Is the influence that you have on people one that helps them see the joy that the Lord has given us, or is it one of complaining about a harsh task master? How many times has a smile or a kind word at the right time changed a life? I can remember when I was going through a hard time in a church. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. From out of the blue, a church member from years before sent me an encouraging letter, and it was like a cool drink of water in the middle of the desert. These are the major talents. There other important ones. Hospitality. Some have entertained angels without knowing it. Compassion. The willingness to listen. Empathy. The ability to know when someone is hurting. The ability to keep your mouth shut at the right time. The things that we usually think of as talents, are way down the list a ways when it comes to helping the church. Playing the piano. Singing. Preaching. Teaching. Definitely appreciated in the church, but not the glue that holds a people together. So let's return to what I see as the real issue here. Are we exercising the talents, abilities, and personality that God has given us in joy, or are we going through the motions of service with a grudge in our hearts? Is our service to God done to advance His kingdom, or just to keep our selves our of hell fire? I don't need to tell you that this planet is in trouble. And to think that we need to wait for a Sunday law for the end to come when virtually every other part of God's law has been ignored, is probably not wise. Now is the time to be investing for God. Now is the time to invest your time, now is the time to invest your money, now is the time to invest your influence in the kingdom of God. In fact, in some areas it may be too late. So let's do a summary. The Master gives his servants an opportunity to invest for him. Two take advantage of the privilege, and one does not. The Master rewards the faithful beyond their wildest imaginations. The Master rewards the unfaithful beyond his most terrible nightmares. 29 `For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. Yes, this parable has an important message for everyday living. Use your abilities, and they will be increased. But it has an even more important end time meaning. The same which is recorded in Matthew 24 and 25 in stronger and stronger words. That message is one that makes some people uncomfortable. lt is this: The choices that you make here and how affect your eternal happiness and destiny. Are you serving your Lord with joy now, or are you rendering grudging service. Again, no one will be in the kingdom just because they want to avoid hell. The path to heaven is joyful service for the master. And that service grows out of an appreciation of the great gift of forgiveness that we have been given. So which path is it for you today? Joy or disgust? Service or self serving? Appreciation or anger. Or put more bluntly, Heaven or Hell? How you react to the Master makes all the difference in the world. NO, it makes all the difference in eternity. Can you say with me today that you are determined to find the joy of serving the Master? This is how that we prepare for the coming of Jesus. Will you say with me that you are ready to let Jesus the Christ be the Lord of your life?