Matthew 25:14-30 The Messiah Reveals the Future Part 7

Transcription

1 Matthew 25:14-30 The Messiah Reveals the Future Part 7 Good morning, church. It is so wonderful to worship our Lord with you all this morning. What a wonderful week we had last week. I am amazed at all that God is doing in our midst. P a g e 1 I am looking forward to all that is ahead for us here at Calvary Chapel Victorville. Well, this morning we are going to continue our study of the Gospel of Matthew. If you are new here this week, our ministry is simple. We simply teach the Bible, simply. We go through the Books of the Bible verse by verse, and we allow God s Word to direct our hearts and minds. The pastor does not get to pick his favorite topics, or tickle your ears with lighthearted motivational speaking.

2 P a g e 2 We are subject to the Authority of Scripture here, and as we journey through the New Testament on Sundays and the Old Testament on Wednesday nights, God has a way of meeting us right where we are. My prayer is that you will leave here understanding the portion of scripture we are studying that morning. So this morning we are in the midst of a dynamic sermon Jesus is giving during the final days of His ministry here on earth. He is in His last week before He goes to that Roman Cross. The Jews have rejected Jesus as their Messiah at this point. And Jesus pronounced judgment upon them. And through a series of illustrations and teachings Jesus has told His disciples that God will set the Jews to the side because they rejected His Son, and God would begin a work through a New people group, namely the Gentiles.

3 P a g e 3 If the Jews were not going to be the light to the world, if they would neglect their calling to lead the nations to the One True God, God would use a different means. Now we live in this time, and dispensation called the Church Era, or the Era of Grace. We are now the called out ones who are to be a light to this lost world, and we are now the ones who are to bring people to the One True God. But Jesus here on the Mount of Olives begins to explain to the disciples of a time when God would turn His attention back to the Jews, and work once again through His chosen Nation. This time period is immediately after the Rapture of the Church, and that dispensation or time period will be known as the Tribulation Period. It will be the final week of the Prophet Daniel s prophecy regarding the Nation of Israel. Now over the past few weeks we have gone into great detail regarding this time period.

4 P a g e 4 And as I have mentioned many times, after we finish the gospel of Matthew we will move into the Book of Revelation to get a broader look of what is known as the End Times, or Last Days. Now if you have missed any of the teachings of this Olivet Discourse, you can go back to our Website and listen to the 6 previous teachings starting in Matthew 24. Now, last time we were together we left off with Jesus illustrating to the Jews, who will be reading this Discourse in the Tribulation, that they need to be prepared for the Messiah s Return. Jesus illustrated this through the Parable of the 10 Virgins. Now, Jesus in this next section will stress the importance of those Jews in the Great Tribulation to be serving their coming King while He is away. Now the truths and principles we find in this parable are realities for every dispensation or Era, including the Church Era.

5 P a g e 5 For in every age the new nature which believer receive is the same. After the church has been caught away to meet the Lord in the air, a new witness will be raised up on earth. The wise in Israel, who are enlightened by the Word of God, and sealed or set apart to serve God, will be the ones who are called to go to the nations proclaiming this everlasting gospel. And next week, we will see that the attitudes toward these Jewish witnesses will actually determine the destiny of the nation s when the King comes and sets up His Kingdom and throne of judgment. So as we embark to understand this parable this morning, understand the principles we will learn are for the believers in the Great Tribulation, as well as every dispensation! Let s read the whole parable then come back through and break it apart. starting in Matthew 25:14

6 The Parable of the Talents P a g e 6 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

7 P a g e 7 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 So 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

8 P a g e 8 cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Let s pray. Now again this parable has a broad application to really all of Jesus servants during His absence in heaven. Let s read the first part here The Parable of the Talents 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. The beginning of this parable pictures an affluent individual who owns property and goods. He is leaving on a journey to a far country. Before he leaves, he entrusts to his servants his own belongings.

9 He entrusts here talents or money. P a g e 9 A talent is a measure of weight. We see this clearly in Revelation 16:21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. It was often used to indicate a unit of coinage, and usually silver coinage. The weight of silver in one talent could be equal to years salary for an ordinary laborer to earn one. A large sum of money And here in the parable, we see very clearly this traveling man, is a very rich business man. And what business man alive would want his money to be laying idle while he is away? He would want his money to be used in such a way that he could make a profit. We see the owner of all this wealth is not only rich but very wise.

10 P a g e 10 He notices not all of his servants are equal in their business skills, so he gave to each man according to his ability. He gives the one with more business sense 5 talents, the one with less business sense 2 talents, and finally he gives the last servant 1 talent. Perhaps it can be perceived as not fair, but it is not their money. The owner of the wealth can do as he pleases. And we will see next that his perception was right and true. The parable continues. 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. The five and two talent servants were faithful with what they had.

11 Each of them doubled their lord s money by using it wisely and carefully. P a g e 11 It seems here they are empowered by the confidence that their master placed in them, and at his command they went to work. I remember my own promotions on the jobsite, I spent many days working as a laborer, and the day my boss entrusted me to run my own crew was an empowering time. My boss had seen something in me, and I wanted to make him confident he made the right decision. I worked harder, and very quickly saw that the promotion came with a weight of more responsibility. But my boss believed I could do it, and I worked to succeed at what was entrusted to me. Now these stewards knew that one day they would have to give an account to their returning master. Now let s look at the 1 talent man

12 P a g e But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. This man thought he had so little compared to the others, he decided it was not worth endeavoring to do anything with it. He did not care to be bothered by the task that had been assigned to him. He had enough to worry about in his own life then to be bothered with the business entrusted to him. It was only one talent after-all, what is that compared to what the others received? So he went and dug a hole and buried the talent. Perhaps he felt inferior because he was not entrusted with as much as the other servants were. Maybe because his master did not place as much confidence in him as the others, he felt timid, why bother even trying, he perhaps thought. And we will see later in his excuses that really this man had a case of the That s Not Fair.

13 P a g e 13 He has an unjustified suspicion of his master, perhaps because he thought he was slighted. And we will see an outright laziness to this man s intensions. Instead of working while his master is away, he spends his days working up his case against his boss. Instead of trying to please his boss upon his return, he plans on giving his defense and argument. In fact, this man even tries to pass the blame of failure onto his master. Perhaps he thought his master would never return, upon which case if the talent was buried, the wicked and lazy servant could take it for himself. If he deposited it into the bank, it would be recorded as his master s deposit. This man cares only for his own well-being. And to his shock, the master returns to collect 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

14 P a g e 14 Now it was the servant s duty to bear in mind, that one day their master would return. There would be a day of reckoning. Note here that the return of the master occurred After a long time That is important to understand for the context of the message Jesus is trying to give here. Next, we see the servants each give an account to their master. 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

15 a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' P a g e 15 The first servant comes and brings his bags of money before his master; he drops not one bag of five talents before him, but two bags. Likewise, the one who received two talents the explanation is the same and double what was entrusted to him is brought to his master. Pay attention here to the emotion in these statements. Lord you entrusted to me 5 talents, and notice the word their Look. These men are filled with excitement Look, Look, I knew you would return master, and look, I have been busy about your business, and look I have earned for you double what you entrusted to me. I feel the excitement here in this moment. I can see the men s eyes sparkling with joy as they are bubbling over with enthusiasm. Count it up master! Look what was accomplished.

16 P a g e 16 For which the proud master replies, '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.' The master too sharing in the joy and excitement of this moment. Now, the master explains that this large sum of money these servants were entrusted with, were in comparison to what they will be entrusted with in the future is actually termed here few things. Surely, these servants would not think that that much money was few things, but the master now will have them rule over many more things. They have been found faithful and trustworthy; they will have an even bigger budget to work with now, and even more responsibility. Notice the servants are called good and faithful. In the eyes of their master, they have proven themselves to be completely reliable.

17 P a g e 17 Notice both of their reward was the same; they were both to share into the joy of the Lord. Even though both these servants brought two different amounts of money, it was not the quantity the master was looking to reward. They were equally rewarded, because they were equally faithful with what they were entrusted with. Even though one was entrusted with more, in the end they were both morally sound and loyal to their master, and faithfulness over value is all that was looked at. They get to share in each other s joy now, the master and servants are happy, because the other party is happy as well. They feed off each other s joy and excitement, and a celebration awaits. Now the time has arrived for the third servant to come before his master 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping

18 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.' Now, instead of owning up to his own delinquency, and his failed duty, this fellow has the audacity to accuse his master of being hard. P a g e 18 He justifies his own failure, by passing the blame, and starts shouting out accusations toward his boss. You are unrelenting, harsh, merciless, stern, you take more than you have right to take. When this servant accuses his master Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. This man is lying! This master in Jesus parable assigned responsibilities as he mercifully figured each man could handle! And to clarify the answer to this accusation as to whether at all he scattered and sowed, the answer is

19 that he certainly did, he distributed his own wealth among these three servants. He is only gathering what is rightfully his P a g e 19 And this master had every right to gather what was his own! This one talent man is trying to now excuse his wickedness by saying the master was a hard man, and he feared him. He is basically saying because of this fear you produced in me, I could do nothing but go and bury this talent, so when you returned you could have what was your own. Look here have what is yours! he says, in what I see a very disrespectful way. And he tries to turn it around, I did not steal from you, you should be thankful I kept it intact for you. And by no means is this master satisfied with this poor excuse and this mindless accusation.

20 P a g e 20 This man was supposed to be busy during his master s absence. 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. This man was evil; he misrepresented intentionally his master and even himself. He falsely accused his master of being cruel. And instead of admitting his guilt he acts as though his master should have given him credit for having been careful and returned his talent whole to him. The master replies, your own words convict you, for if you were sure I was a hard man you would have endeavored to succeed all the more. At the very least, this man could have put the money with the bankers, who at this time were money

21 P a g e 21 changers as well, and he could have let the bank earn some kind of profit for his master. I think this servant knew his master was a generous, gracious man, and he tried to exploit that virtue. Now this man was not only wicked but he was lazy. The scriptures over and over again say things like Prov. 13:4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; Prov. 19:15 Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger. This man was lazy, wickedness and laziness are companions. Now the wicked are not always lazy, but the lazy are always wicked. They depend on everyone else for their portion, they take what others earn, they expect much for nothing, they justify even theft, and they are always looking out for themselves.

22 They expect equal distribution for less incentive. Spread the wealth is their mantra! Laziness is sin! P a g e 22 While these other two servants were busy at work, making an honest living, they figured ways to multiply their master s money. This wicked and lazy servant went and dug a hole! And went about his own business. He thinks his smaller portion is not even worth endeavoring to do anything with, because it is not fair! It is a very familiar attitude we see often in our culture. Now next Jesus brings home the point of the illustration with this lesson 28 So 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.'

23 The master gives a clear command here; the talent must be taken from the wicked and lazy servant and given to the first faithful servant. The one who increased his share to ten talents now received another. P a g e 23 The man who through diligent opportunities multiplied his master s fortune, who by continuing in this pursuit was entrusted with more. The other person who only cared for himself, because he never gave of himself into the master s work, even what little he has will be taken from him. He will be cast out into outer darkness where he will weep, and continue to gnash his teeth in derision toward the master. Now I imagine through the dissection of this parable, you can begin to piece together the point Jesus is trying to make here. Jesus is expecting every one of His servants to be faithful in using the opportunities for service He

24 P a g e 24 provides, which the Lord has given each and every one of us! We are to do this until His return. These opportunities have been given to us according to each of our own God given abilities, and we should out of gratitude to God, be moved by God in such a manner to bring glory to God alone. Negligence in this manner is punished; diligence is of course rewarded greatly! There is great principles in this parable for you and I here this morning. Every one of us will one day stand in the presence of God and give an account of how we used what He has given us in this life. The Lord will not ask us how much we have done for Him. But instead He will want to know how faithful we have been to that which He wanted us to do!

25 P a g e 25 For each of us here this morning who confess we are believers in Jesus Christ, we must first find out what God wants us to then do, what is the talent or talents He has entrusted to you? You see salvation is a free gift, nothing you can do will earn your salvation, but after you receive God s Grace and Forgiveness, there will be fruit in your life to attest to this Saving Grace. When it is made clear to you what it is God is asking of you after salvation, you are now to be faithful to accomplish it. To some of us here this morning God has given very small ministries, and perhaps that is upsetting to you, but even the one talent person God is just looking for faithfulness. 1 Cor. 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Whatever we have, whether opportunities or abilities we are to use them for God s advantage, it all belongs to God.

26 We posses and God owns, what we have is still very much His property. P a g e 26 For example. Perhaps you have a great big house, and instead of using it for God s glory and fellowship, you have dug a hole, and you keep it stashed away for your comfort and well-being, it is there for your security. Everything we have is His, to be used for His purposes. I remember the day we walked into our house we own now, it was only the third house we looked at, and it was actually out of our price range. But I saw the open floor plan, the sitting areas for fellowship, and a yard for little ones to run around, and Jess and I said This is it. Now our realtor thought it was out of our reach, so I told him grab my hand, and Jess came over and grabbed my other hand, and the three of us went to prayer.

27 P a g e 27 I told the Lord, that this house is way out of our price range, but if He wills for us to have that house; we will use it for His glory. It will be Your Home Lord. I told our realtor, this is all we can offer, but I believe God said yes. He looked at me and said, They will not take it, but I will offer your amount to them. And for two days we waited, we did not look at any other houses, this one was it. And Derek our realtor called two days later, he said, Gary I don t believe they took your offer. After everything was said and done, we even got the home for $5000 less than our original offer. Now, our home is God s home, yes we are raising our children in that home, but it is used often for ministry. You know the landscaping is bare right now, I tried to plant to Mulberry Trees in the back yard, and most of

28 P a g e 28 the ministry that takes place in this season of our life, is Jessica fellowshipping with mom s and young adults. Well those young moms have young kids, and sometimes our house is turned upside down with many, many little rug rats. I came home one day, and my precious Mulberry Trees, were ripped out of the ground, and it looks like those kids used them for sword fighting or something. Some days toys are everywhere, dishes all over the place when I get home, and the thought might slip into my mind, this is my house, what the heck! But in reality all of those things are a sign that it is being used for God s glory, none of it is mine, those trees in the end will get burned up. I can t take them to heaven with me. It is all His. Our vehicles, everyone we get, we ask the Lord to use them for His purposes.

29 P a g e 29 Everything we have has been entrusted to us, to use to bring an increase to His Kingdom. Again, in our culture, we compartmentalize God, and we fit Him into the places where we want Him. We put God where we think He belongs. Instead of standing back, and saying all of this is yours God, how can I use it for You and Your Good? Now we do not all have an equal amount of wealth, opportunity and ability. But even if you have less than others, still what you have is for His Glory. You remember this story in Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

30 P a g e 30 This widow will hear well done when she is before the throne of God. She was found faithful, and that is all that matters to God. But for those of us who have been entrusted with more, more is expected of us. We must each look at our lives honestly and be truthful with what we see, are we being faithful in the use of all that God has entrusted to us? Or are we burying it, and consuming ourselves with building our own kingdom? Honestly, look at your hearts pursuit, do you view your bank account as yours, or do you see yourself as a steward over God s talents? Do you have a skill or craft that you use only for your advantage, or are you using for God s purposes. You see we live in a day where our Master s return has been a long time coming.

31 P a g e 31 Many of His servants have lost sight of all that matters; they have put God s work on the shelf to tend to their own needs. And when it comes time to assess their lives they are blame shifters and excuse makers, they even blame God for their plight in life. They compare themselves to others, and they are committing the sin of laziness and willful disobedience. They will find throughout life what they do not use they will lose. Look, it does not matter how much you have compared to other five talent workers, it only matters if you are faithful. I had a wonderful sister of the Lord come in this week, and just share about all that God is doing in her life. It was Dee, Josh s grandmother. She explained that wherever she goes, God has gifted her with an outgoing personality, and she tries to use that for God s advantage.

32 Now she is not a street evangelist or an apologist for the faith, but with that positive outgoing personality God gave her, she uses it to spread God s love to others. May it be the dentist office, grocery store, or getting her nails done, she says she simply shares Jesus and prays for people. P a g e 32 One such person was touched by Dee s personality, this young lady ended going to church, and surrendering her life to Jesus, and now all of that has opened up another opportunity for Dee, she is now praying about discipling this young believer. You see Dee was faithful with what God has entrusted to her, a friendly personality, now God is entrusting her with more ministry. You see every one of us have something to offer. Every one of us have a purpose, we are entrusted with talents.

33 P a g e 33 Veronica Sanchez a wonderful sister in the Lord, she is a widow, and that woman testifies as she says it everywhere she goes. She just had a horrible knee surgery and through it all she testified to the doctors and nurses. I sent Josh down to pray with her, Josh came back glowing and said, that woman ministered to me! She is using her talents for God s Glory, she even told me after the surgery she cannot drive, so she has to use UBER, and she says, You know what Pastor, I testify to every one of those drivers. We have a woman in our church Carla, who writes letters to people in the phone book, and she testifies and prays for them. Many of you volunteer your time to clean this house of worship. You are faithful, with what you might think is little, but God simply sees your faithfulness. You nursery workers who weekly put together your lessons, and give of your time, God sees your

34 faithfulness the same as He views Billy Graham s ministry as huge as it is. God sees faithfulness. P a g e 34 Even my little Sof, she is little, and powerless according to this worlds standards. And she is about the shyest as they come, yet, our little church invites, she simply hands them out, and asks people to come to church. She convicts Jess and I because of her boldness, just Friday night, we were getting frozen yogurt, and this table of about 5 bikers were sitting there. She said, Dad can I invite them to church? To my shame I made an excuse, she was disappointed, I was convicted, so I gave her a church card, and her and Lola ran over to the table and invited them to church. She just had her dearest friend from school show up to church a few weeks ago, and last week the workers over there in the Children s Ministry said he raised his hand to receive Christ.

35 Sof has very little compared to many of us, and she gets it, her purpose and life is to bring glory to God. And she even shows her daddy up at times. P a g e 35 Now, our church tries to keep Sunday nights open for a good reason, so you can use your homes for ministry and fellowship that night. I want to encourage you to start opening up your homes for fellowship, try inviting a family over, start once a month, meet new people within the fellowship. Jess and I have found, for our unbelieving co-workers, our home was a mighty tool for the Lord. Do not underestimate the power of Christian hospitality. This is Christianity 101 Now, I know that scares some of you, and I would like to promise you that you will not have awkward times, and weird guests, but that it not the reality.

36 The reality is, there will be difficult people you invite into your home, but do not let that discourage you from keeping at it. P a g e 36 Jess and I have had some really awkward dinners, but most were very pleasant, and some of those invites turned into the sweetest friends we have to this date. But you have been entrusted with much, and if you don t have as much as someone else, don t let that stop you. Some of those close friends I told you about, we met through the poorest times in our lives. There were nights we could only have grilled-cheese sandwiches and tomato soup together. I remember one time, this couple only had some sausages in their freezer and they cooked them up, and we had fellowship over a couple pieces of meat. However, the fellowship was so wonderful! You see, we all have our place and gifting in God s marvelous work.

37 P a g e 37 And your life, and your possessions are not your own if Christ is your master, they are entrusted to you. Use them for His Glory! The Kingdom of God moves mostly through all the onetalent servants, do not envy the ministries of other servants, just be faithful with what you have. There is more responsibility and weight for the multitalent servants who are entrusted with much. When you are faithful with little, you will be given more, you will find that little actually prepared you for the more that was coming. When you are faithful, even with a little ministry, God will give you more and more ministry. When you are unjust and wicked, you will make excuses and live for yourself. Now this morning just take a step back, and look at your life, and really take a hard look at the way you are living, what is your heart s desire?

38 P a g e 38 It will become clear to you if you are truly living with a heart of anticipation that our Master s return could be at any moment. Are you being true to His trust, will you rejoice when He returns, and with an excited heart say, Master Look, you entrusted me with this and here is so much more! Or will you dread His arrival, thinking you had more time, maybe you have your excuses already planned out, your accusations are ready? You see that moment Jesus comes whoever is found unjust will remain unjust for all eternity; whoever is found righteous will be righteous for all eternity. The fruit of your life is proof as to where your heart lay. I do not know about you, but I long to hear those Word s Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the Joy of our Lord. There is a life after this one is over, and an eternity to take into account for all of us.

39 Now perhaps the Lord has spoken to you on the condition of your life. P a g e 39 Maybe you are here this morning, and you realize you are not a believer. The fruit of your life is selfishness and even envy of what others have; you are a blame shifter, and a liar. You are a sinner, I want you to know, that there is good news for you this morning. Christ died for you even though He knows you are a sinner, the Bible says there is no one righteous not even one person. And that is the dilemma of mankind. However, through Jesus death on the cross, and Him raising from the dead, we through faith are offered eternal life. We are offered a new life altogether. All those mistakes and the burden of all those sins will fall on Jesus, and in return, He will give you His Righteousness.

40 P a g e 40 This decision to follow Jesus is a life changer, and a life rearranger. After that point of salvation, your life is now given purpose direction, from that point of salvation God will entrust to you with His gifts to be used to bring Him glory. It is a wonderful life, the best life, the only life that matters when we are faced with eternity. If you don t know Jesus, during this last song, make your way up to the front here, and the Elders will be up here and they can pray the prayer of salvation with you. Now if you are already a Christian this morning, and the Lord has spoken to about your priorities in life, and you realize that perhaps you are burying the Talent He has entrusted to you. I would encourage you as well to come forward and pray with one of these gentlemen, and ask the Lord to recalibrate your life this morning.

41 Whatever prayer needs you have this morning these guys will be available, I will be available as well after service. God bless you, let s pray! P a g e 41