The Talents

You Must Use Your Talents Wisely

A story comes to my mind of a man in the l9th century who was caught for counterfeiting a twenty dollar bill. As he gave the twenty dollar bill to the cashier, she felt there was something sticky on her fingers which lead her to inform the police that the twenty dollar bill may not be genuine.

The police caught the man in the very act of counterfeiting another twenty dollar bill in his attic, right in front of an easel. He counterfeited his twenty dollar bills, not through printing by machine but by painting it with a brush.

The man was so talented in the art of painting that he could paint a bill so real that it was indistinguishable from the real currency.
He had been counterfeiting in this way for some time. The reason he got caught that day was that he became impatient and didn't wait long enough to let the paint dry.

In that attic, police also found three gorgeous paintings that he had painted. The man was a class artist. The proof of how talented an artist he was in lies in the fact that each of the three paintings fetched five hundred dollars.
Five hundred dollars was a lot of money in those days.

One might shrug one's shoulders and say, "Oh, well! The man was lazy. He wanted easy money. This is what he did for a fast buck." Hear this one. It took him the same amount of time in painting a twenty dollar bill as it took him to paint a five hundred dollar painting! The man had a talent, he worked hard, but he did not know how best to utilize his talent.
















The Talents

Matthew 25:14-30:
Parable of the Three Servants
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

God will judge man according to his use of talents. The word talent means abilities, skills, intelligence, or gifts.

All people have talents: some have more than others. God will judge our faithfulness in using these talents.

Not all can teach Sunday school or sing in the choir. Some can clean the church: others can pray and witness for the Lord.

The Bible warns us to be faithful-

Revelation 2:10:
10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

Jesus never said that by being faithful to him we will avoid troubles, suffering, and persecutions.

Rather, we must be faithful to him in our sufferings.

Whatever you do, do it with faithfulness to God.

1. The Parable-vv 14-18

A. Servant-14 “Again , the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.

The servants met with the master before he went on a journey. They were given money for investment purposes.

B. Sharing-15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

The Living Bible says the shares were $5,000,$2,000 ,and $1,000. Others were given according to their ability.

C. Service-16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.

Some put their money into service by investing it to gain interest

D. Shame-18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

The man given $1,000 hid it. Faithless and fearful, he allowed his talent to lie dormant.

The master divided the money among his servants according to their abilities. No one received more or less than he could handle.

If he failed in his assignment, his excuse could not be that he was overwhelmed. Failure would indicate only laziness or hatred towards the master.

The bags of silver represent any resource we are given. God gives us time, gifts, and other resources according to our abilities, and expects us to invest them wisely until he returns.

We are responsible to use well what God has given us. The issue is not how much we have but how well we use what we have.

2. The People-vv 19-25

A. The return-19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.


After a long time, the master returned and asked an accounting of the money. We are accountable to God for our lives-
2 Corinthians 5:10:
10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

While eternal life is a free gift given on the basis of God’s grace, each of us will still be judged by Christ.

He will reward us for how we have lived. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirement of faithful obedience.

All Christians must give account on the day of judgment of how they have lived.

B. The results-22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

Those who invested their money were praised for their faithfulness. We, too, will be judged by our faithfulness-
1 Corinthians 4:2:
2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

Each day God presents us with needs and opportunities that challenge us to do what we know is right.

Jesus is coming back- we know this is true. Does this mean we must quit our jobs in order to serve God? No, it means we are to use our time, talents, and treasures diligently in order to serve God completely in whatever we do.






C.Rejection-24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate,

God expects us to use the talents he gives for His honor and glory.

This last man was thinking only of himself. He hoped to play it safe and protect himself from his hard master, but he was judged for his self- centeredness. We must not make excuses to avoid doing what God calls us to do. If God truly is our Master, we must obey willingly. Our time, abilities, and money arent ours in the first place- we are caretakers, not owners. When we ignore, squander, or abuse what we are given, we are rebellious and deserve to be punished.

D. God will judge Christians in their use of:

1. Time-Psalm 90:12:
12So teach us to number our days that we may get us a heart of wisdom.

Realizing that life is short helps us use the little time we have more wisely and for eternal good. Take time to number your days by asking, what do I want to see happen in my life before I die? What small step could I take towards that purpose today?

2. Money- Malachi 3:8-10:
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Everything we have is from God: so when we refuse to return to him a part of what he has given, we rob him.

Do you selfishly want to keep 100 percent of what God gives, or are you willing to return at least 10 percent to help advance God’s Kingdom?

In Luke 6:38 it says “Give and you will receive.”

When we give, we must remember that the blessings God promises are not always material and may not be experienced completely here on earth, but we will certainly receive them in our future life with him.

3. Abilities and skills.-Ecclesiastes 9:10:
10 Whatever you do, do well.


3. The Punishment-vv 26-30

A. Laziness- 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate,

Romans 12:11:
11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

B. Loss-27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The talent was taken from the one who had wasted it and given to the one who had made the greatest increase.

The unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness.



This parable describes the consequences of two attitudes towards Christ’s return. The person who diligently prepares for it by investing his or her time and talents to serve God will be rewarded.

The person who has no heart for the work of the Kingdom will be punished. God rewards faithfulness. Those who bear no fruit for God’s Kingdom cannot expect to be treated the same as those who are faithful.

C. Lesson-God's judgment will come to all people.
Hebrews 9:27:
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

Judgment is not a popular theme today, but the Bible teaches, that judgment is coming? Do you look forward to Christ’s return, or do you see it as a threat?

Revelation 20:11-15:
The Final Judgment
And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

At the judgment, the books will be opened. The Books of Life contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them.

These books also contain the recorded deeds of everyone, good or evil. Everyone’s life will be reviewed and evaluated.

Jesus will look at how we have handled gifts, opportunities, and responsibilities.

Each of us must serve Christ in the best way we know .

At the judgment for Christians, there will be Christian who are found guilty of laziness and indifference .



God’s people know their need for Bible reading and prayer, they know it is right to give God His tithes, they know soul- winning is their responsibility- but so many Christians do not apply this knowledge to their lives.

As the result, they will stand in shame at this judgment for Christians.

Conclusion and application:

A. Are we servants of God?

B. Are you being faithful in using your God given gifts, talents, and abilities for the glory of God and the building up and edification of His church?

Is it your desire carry out the vision of this church which “equipping people to believe, receive and achieve all that God has for them”

Before we can equip others we must be equipped ourselves.

Are you giving God your very best or are you just going through the motions. If we want to see this church grow we must be giving God our all holding nothing back, we need to surrender all to Christ if we are to reap a bountiful harvest.

Is this your desire? `