The Myth of Mine Matthew 25:14 30

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1 1 of 7 The Myth of Mine Matthew 25:14 30 INTRODUCTION: It was the spring of was I had been born in February of that year. At first things seemed to be going well for the first born son of the Carl and Teresa Terry. All of that changed when I began to run an extremely high fever that I just couldn t shake. A series of tests revealed that I had been born perfectly healthy except for one organ - my left kidney. My kidney had not developed properly and as a result had begun to poison my body. At that time it was too risky to do surgery on a 3 month old child, so my parents had to take care of me for the next few months until I was nine months old and developed enough to undergo the removal of my kidney. All of the pictures from that time found me with a little white cotton blanket covered with yellow bears. I don t know whether it was the trauma of that event or just the comfort the blanket brought, but for some reason I bonded with the blanket on the Linus level. For the next 5 years, me and that blanket were inseparable. I carried it through every adventure, sleep over, and birthday party of my early childhood years. From time to time my parents would attempt to take it away from me. Each time I responded with the same rebuke as soon as I was able to talk. MINE! That single syllable word was an ill advised theological declaration. I was declaring - this is NOT your s. It does not belong to you. You are not allowed to touch it. This belongs to me. I don t know why God gave it to me and not you, perhaps He knew that you would break it. Therefore, it is incumbent upon me NOT to share. Or else I would be calling into question the very wisdom of the Almighty, and that is neither good nor wise. This is my property - and nothing can separate me from what is MINE! The little blanket became affectionate known as my mine. I m sure it was cute at the time. As I grew up the insistence on possession and ownership of a long line of toys became less cute and more obnoxious. When my cousins would visit I would carefully arrange all of my toy guns in a pile and declare, These are mine - those sticks are your s. When friends would come over to swim, certain floats were off limits, why? Because obviously, they were mine! Fast forward 19 years to the fall of 1994 when I was broadsided by the fact that nothing actually belonged to me, even my very soul had been bought with a price. I was a regular listener to Chuck Swindoll and the Insight for Living radio program. One episode in particular stands out to me as Swindoll described a conversation he had with his church member, the great Corrie Ten Boon in which she said, Chuck, a disciple of Christ holds all things loosely. Loosely, I thought. But, someone might take it. Even, God may take it. The first few years of my Christian life may be described as the loosening the grip years. God systematically taught me that everything in my life actually belonged to Him. My career

2 2 of 7 route was His. My talent was His. My friendships were His. Even the very faith with which I believed had been a gift from Him. The Bible teaches this repeatedly - Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Leviticus 25:23 The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 1 CORINTHIANS 10:26 "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness." COLOSSIANS 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. GENESIS 14:18,19,22 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, PSALM 50:10 NKJ 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. In his classic work, The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis quotes his chief demon as saying, Humans are always putting up claims to ownership which sound equally funny in heaven and in hell. Can you imagine that - every time we declare something mine, both the devils and the angels giggle. If the things we possess aren t actually our s, but rather God s, what are we to do with them? This question is address in the well known parable of the talents in Matthew. CONTEXT: The parable falls in Matthew s Gospel just after the lengthy description of the last days and the second coming of Christ in Matthew 24. In Matthew 23:38 Jesus pronounces judgement on Israel by saying, 38 Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! As he was leaving the temple one of the disciples approached Him and began to point out the size and the glory of the Temple compound, as if to say, Lord, how can you say this will be left desolate? It s beautiful! Jesus goes on to say, Matthew 24:2 2 And He said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. IN verse 3 the bible tells us that 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

3 3 of 7 In verses 4-31 Jesus gives an overview of how things will look as the world as we know it comes to an end. 10 signs that will indicate his coming is at hand. He follows the 10 signs with 3 parables. First he talks about 2 types of slaves One was foolish and unready, the other was wise and ready. Second he tells about 10 bridesmaids. 5 were ready for the bridegroom and 5 were not. Third the parable we are looking at today, he describes 3 stewards. Two who were prepared for the Masters return and one who was not. The point of this parable will be that one of the dead giveaways that a person IS or IS NOT prepared for the return of Jesus is STEWARDSHIP. Now STEWARDSHIP is an old English word that basically means MANAGEMENT. Did you know how you manage your life can reveal whether you faith in genuine or not? TEXT: Matthew 25:14 30 (ESV) 14 For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more. 21 His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more. 23 His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. 26 But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

4 4 of 7 A few things jump out from this story. 1. The Reception - The word talent was typically used in reference to money, but the word itself simply represented a measure of weight. In first century Israel, a talent was equal to 10 years of wages for the average man. So each steward received a significant gift. Perhaps you feel wealthy relative to those around you, or maybe not. Globally speaking, most of the people who can afford to purchase this book are extremely wealthy. In America 6.8 million teenagers own their own car. 92% of the world s population does not own a car. 1 Billion people in the world live on less than $1 per day. The Average working American lives on $97 per day We have received much from the Master. You see, compared to most of the world, most of you are very wealthy - Rich people have little houses called garages that they park their cars in Rich people fight over what to eat rather than worry if they will get to eat Rich women will stand in front of a closet and say, I have nothing to wear Rich men get paid while they take a vacation to the beach Rich kids have to get rid of their old toys to make room for the new ones Rich men get to walk on well manicured grass and hit a little ball with a piece of metal Friend you are in a room full of Rich people!!! We like they have received much - and to whom much is given much is required! 2. The Responsibilities - Now in the parable - the Master didn t spell out what he expected from each servant. But it was assumed that each of the stewards would take what they had received FROM the Master and leverage it FOR the Master. That s very important - it s the key to the passage. They were to leverage what they had received for the Master s benefit. So don t read it and say - we I m responsible to take everything God has given me and double it. Great if you can do that but that s NOT the point. The point is you are to take everything the Master has given you and LEVERAGE it for God s benefit

5 5 of 7 not just your own. The first two servants were very motivated by this - they went to work eagerly. Immediately, the text says. They were redeeming their time, making every moment count. LISTEN, when you view all of life as a stewardship, it gives new meaning to your job. You want to excel, you want to exceed expectations, you want to progress in your career - why? You are no longer doing it for yourself, you are now working as a servant of God. You are NO LESS a minister that I am. A. But notice the third servant - he was LAZY get that - he wasn t dumb he was Lazy. He had the capacity to leverage what he had for the Master s benefit. If he had not capacity the Master would not have entrusted him with anything. But laziness caused him to NOT leverage what he had for the Master s benefit. Now think about it - if God has blessed you and you don t leverage that blessing for His benefit. could it be that you are just too lazy to do so? Do you know why some people never give? It s not that they are stingy it s that they are lazy. Too lazy to budget, to lazy sometimes to write a check. B. The Master said he was lazy, he also says he was wicked - He wickedness manifested in the view he had of the Master. He viewed the Master as a thief - you reap where you do not sow. And you are a HARD man. The reason some people don t leverage their blessing for the Lord is because the feel like they ve been dealt a sorry hand. Perhaps they wonder why another got 5 talents and another 3, and they only got one. But listen carefully, how much you ve been blessed with is beside the point. It s possible to blessed with 5 talents and NOT leverage it for the Master. 3. The Results - Finally, each steward was called into account for how he leveraged those things he had oversight of to benefit the Master. Two were richly rewarded for their faithfulness and fruitfulness. The Bible tells us that if we are faithful to leverage our blessings in this life for Christ, we will be given MUCH MORE in the life to come. But look at the third Servant - 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

6 6 of 7 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It s pretty clear what Jesus is saying - the person who did nothing to leverage his or her blessings for Christ obviously didn t belong to the Kingdom and ultimately are casted out of the Kingdom. Let me be clear - WE ARE NOT SAVED BY GOOD STEWARDSHIP, we are saved by faith. But the legitimacy of our faith is revealed by our stewardship. That is why Jesus discusses money more than heaven and hell combined. Jesus talked more about money than anyone else in the Bible. Financial teacher Howard Dayton, for example, has counted 2,350 verses in God s word that deal with money. The Bible devotes twice as many verses to money than to faith and prayer. Money and Possessions are the barometer of your soul. ILLUSTRATION: Thursday morning my phone started ringing with calls from Alabama. A friend of mine in Alabama and a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Athens had just been indicted by a Grand Jury. They are accusing him of running a scam in which he received over 22 Million dollars worth of computers from the federal government and was supposed to modify them and send them to a School in Dwight, Illinois. The indictment alleges that he sent 4 of the computers to the school and sold the rest for personal profit in excess of 22 million dollars. The investigation was conducted by the Offices of Inspectors General, the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - what do you think the consequences will be? If convicted, for the offenses of mail fraud (four counts) and wire fraud (one count), is up to 20 years in prison. Theft of government property (one count), and interstate transportation of stolen property, up to 10 years in prison. HE received from the Federal Government, HE had responsibilities, and there will be results a day of accountability. ILLUSTRATION: The issue is not WHAT sin you committed, but WHO you sinned against. Example:

7 7 of 7 If I lie to my dog, that s bad and he may get frustrated. If I lie to my wife it s I may be sleeping in the dog house. If I lie to a Policeman I may get a ticket If I lie to a Judge I may go to jail If I lie to a Supreme Court Justice under oath the penalty could be very, very severe. Why? It s not about WHAT sin you commit, it s about WHO you sin against. A gravity of a crime is determined by the dignity of the offended. If Steve Mays could face 30 years in prison for taking what the government gave him to steward and using it for his own personal gain HOW MUCH GREATER will the penalty be if we take what God has given us and rather than LEVERAGING it for His Glory we just play with it?