Rev. David Holwick M Parables of Jesus
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 3, 2016
Matthew 25:14-30
ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING
I. Investing is tricky.
A. Some stick with savings accounts, others go for higher dividends.
1) A few try to go for it all.
J. Michael Pearson has made it big.
In 2008 he became the leader of Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
He came up with a bold strategy.
Instead of developing new drugs, which is very expensive,
he bought companies that had already done this.
Then he increased the cost of those drugs by 300% to
1,200%.
He did it a lot, making over 100 acquisitions.
Wall Street loved Mr. Pearson.
During his tenure, Valeant's stock price increased 4,000%.
Then there was some backlash.
Politicians starting giving Valeant some heat.
People questioned their accounting practices.
Two weeks ago, the stock price dropped 50% in one day.
In the last six months, the stock has plunged 90%. [1]
2) Would you consider Michael Pearson a good investor, or not?
B. Beating the market.
1) Few people can beat the stock market consistently.
a) But the stock market is just about business and money.
b) This parable is about investing yourself for God.
2) How well are you doing?
II. When the boss doesn't come back for a while.
A. Wealthy man goes on a journey. 25:14
1) Eight talents are divided among 3 servants.
2) A talent is a weight of metal, usually silver or gold.
a) It is worth a lot - probably about a lifetime of
earnings by an average person.
B. The servants have differing results.
1) The one with five uses them to gain five more. 25:16
2) One with two uses them to gain two. 25:17
3) Third servant hid his one talent in the ground. 25:18
a) Alternative was "Savings & Loans."
b) According to rabbis, a hole is the safest place.
1> Ancient buried hoards of coins are still found
found throughout Europe and the Middle East.
C. After a long time the master returns. 25:19
1) The first two servants bring their results, a doubling.
a) Same response: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
b) In Luke's version, they get proportional cities in
return for their investments: one talent = one city.
2) Last servant comes with an excuse. 25:24
a) The master is hard-nosed.
b) The servant was afraid.
1> ... that he would fail and lose his talent?
2> ... that he would have to work hard?
3) He gives back single talent.
a) No gain, but no loss either.
b) You might say he had zero risk-tolerance.
1> Like my brother, who puts most of his retirement
into bank savings accounts, which currently
pay about the same as a hole in the ground.
D. The master rips into the unproductive servant. 25:26
1) He doesn't defend self, but calls servant lazy and wicked.
2) At the least, he could have put the money in a bank where
it could earn interest.
3) The servant played it safe, and ended up losing everything.
III. Double or nothing.
A. We all have different abilities.
1) The idea of having a "talent" comes from this parable.
a) Originally it meant an amount of money.
b) Because of this parable it came to mean human ability.
1> Your talent might be guitar playing, or sports,
or gardening.
2> Everyone has different abilities, which the king
recognized when he divvied out the responsibility.
2) The focus here is no so much on your personal ability, but
what you are doing with it.
a) Don't automatically assume you're a one-talent Christian.
1> Too dumb to teach Sunday School, too ugly to witness.
One person told a pastor he never thought he could do
anything for God because he only had one talent.
The pastor said, "Don't be discouraged, God can use it.
"What is your talent, anyway?"
"My only talent is criticizing people."
"In that case," the pastor said, "you'd better do what
the servant did - BURY IT."
#2163
b) Low-talent, one-talent people can still be honored
by the King.
1> God has used jackasses and big fish to do His will.
A> Certainly he can use you.
B> You can do more than you think.
2> Don't limit yourself.
B. Focus on the King, not other servants.
1) Don't compare yourself to others.
a) The one you judge may be using 2 out of 2 talents,
while you're using 3 out of 5.
b) God only expects you to use what you've got.
2) Don't let others judge you. God will handle that.
Fred Astaire was without dispute one of the top singers,
dancers, and actors of all time.
In a multitude of famous movies, he danced and crooned
his way into people's hearts worldwide.
But in 1932, when Astaire was starting out, a Hollywood
talent judge wrote on his screen test:
"Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little."
Others may not believe in you, but God does.
Attempt great things for Him.
#1962
C. God gives us what we need to carry out our task.
1) Christians have supernatural as well as natural abilities.
a) We are not limited by our natural abilities.
b) God will give you what you need (spiritual gifts) to
get the job done.
2) We are rewarded for faithfulness, not results.
IV. It's not enough to know what to do, you must do it.
A. The king did not give them specific tasks.
1) They had to figure out what to do on their own.
2) What do you think God wants YOU to do with what he has
given you?
B. Areas of your responsibility.
1) Your family.
a) Perhaps the biggest difference you will make in this
world will be with the people in your home.
b) If you are raising kids, do you have a vision of how
you want them to end up, or are you on autopilot
and hoping for the best?
c) You need to sharpen each other and strive for something
higher.
2) Your career.
a) Many of us have jobs, either paid or unpaid.
b) Are you contributing something significant?
c) Are others glad you are part of their team?
d) Does your job make use of the best you have, or is it
just a way to get a paycheck?
e) You only have one life, so use it to do something
significant.
Colossians 3:23-24 says,
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for men,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance
from the Lord as a reward.
It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
3) Your community.
a) Many like to complain about how rotten society is.
b) What are you doing to fix it?
c) If you live in Roxbury or Hopatcong or Dover, what have
you done to make it a decent community?
1> Get involved in service projects, sports teams, the
library board, food pantry or local government.
2> Do SOMETHING.
4) Your church.
a) When Jesus gave this parable, he was probably thinking of
the servants as being his followers.
1> He knew he would be leaving this earth and God's Kingdom
here would be entrusted to people of uneven quality.
2> Jesus wants us to have something to show for the
responsibility he has given us.
b) What have you done to build up God's Kingdom?
1> Do you do anything besides warming a pew?
2> Have you been involved in a ministry?
3> Do you pray for others, and share your faith with them?
4> Have you learned anything besides what you have been
spoon-fed in church?
c) This is John DiStefano's last week in our church.
1> He shared with us that he has learned more from a few
months in our Thursday Bible study than he did in
years in a pew.
2> What have you done to stretch your knowledge of God?
d) Your commitment in church can pay dividends.
Rev. Brian Bill wrote of two men who had crashed their
private plane on an island in the South Pacific.
One of the men crawled out of the wreckage and ran all over
the island to see if they had any chance of survival.
When he returned, he rushed up to the other man and
screamed, "This island is uninhabited and there is no
food or water. We're going to die!"
The other man leaned back against the fuselage of the
wrecked plane, folded his arms and responded,
"No we're not. I make over $100,000 a week."
The first man grabbed his friend and shook him.
"Listen, we're on a deserted island. We're doomed!"
The other man, unruffled, again responded, "It's OK,
I make over $100,000 a week."
The first man figured his friend had a severe concussion.
So he said very slowly, "For the last time, I'm telling
you that we are doomed.
It doesn't matter how much money you make because there's
no one around to help us."
The man resting on the sand calmly looked the other guy
in the eye and said, "Do not make me say this again.
I make over $100,000 per week and I tithe 10% on every
penny. My pastor will find us!"
#65176
V. The glory of God deserves our best effort.
A. We must be hard on ourselves (not others).
S.D. Gordon tells this story:
Bertoldo de Giovanni is a name even the most enthusiastic lover
of art is unlikely to recognize.
He was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time,
and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor
of all time.
Michelangelo was only 14 years old when he came to Bertoldo, but
it was already obvious that he was enormously gifted.
Bertoldo was wise enough to realize that gifted people are often
tempted to coast rather than to grow.
Therefore he kept trying to pressure his young prodigy to work
seriously at his art.
One day he came into the studio to find Michelangelo toying with
a piece of sculpture far beneath his abilities.
Bertoldo grabbed a hammer, stomped across the room, and smashed
the work into tiny pieces, shouting this unforgettable message:
"Michelangelo, talent is cheap; dedication is costly!"
#2094
1) Meager efforts will not be excused.
a) Mediocrity is bigger problem than lust or greed.
2) Pastor Merle, my seminary mentor:
"If Christians put as much energy into their businesses
as they did in being a Christian, they would be
bankrupt in 2 weeks.
C. Take risks for God.
1) The last servant was afraid of failure.
a) If nothing is risked, everything is lost.
b) Jesus - lose life to save it. Matt 16:25
1> Holding back on salvation?
2) Churches have a problem with risk.
a) (Trustees and cautious investments?)
3) Anything worthwhile involves risk.
a) Investments with highest yield have the lowest security.
b) It's the same with God.
D. The King will be coming back.
1) Christians have often gone to two extremes - getting hyped
up about predictions of the imminent return of Jesus,
or ignoring it altogether.
2) Don't focus on date-setting, but your task at hand.
a) You will have to give an account of yourself.
b) When Jesus comes back, he will bring rewards.
1> Our efforts on earth lay up treasure in heaven.
2> What are you doing here, that shows your heart
belongs there?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. "The Financial Page: The Roll-Up Racket," James Surowiecki,
The New Yorker magazine, April 4, 2016, page 31.
# 1962 “Can Dance A Little,” Steve Schoepf, Leadership, September 1987,
page 44.
# 2094 “Talent Is Cheap, S.D. Gordon in The Bent-Knee Time, collected
by Rev. Shelton Cole.
# 2163 “One Talent To Bury,” Dr. Tan's Encyclopedia of
7,700 Illustrations, illustration #934, 1990.
#65176 “My Pastor Will Find Us!” Rev. Brian Bill, Kerux sermon #64192,
May 2002. Edited by David Holwick.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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