Transcription
Matthew 25, verse 24 through 29. We have a bunch of sayings at this church, but one thing you got to know is that we are a talk-back church. Amen? That means you can shout, you can stand up, you can clap, you can say that's good, but if you can't say amen, say "Here we go." This is what it says, "Then he who had received the one talent." Somebody say one. The one who received one talent, he came and he said, "Lord, I know that you were a hard man. I knew that you were a hard man and that you've been reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered seed." And and listen to me, I hope you understand, I was afraid. And I went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, here. Have what is yours."
Verse 26 is we get to see his master's response, but the Lord answered and said to him, "You wicked and lazy servant. We went from zero to 100 real quick. You know that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed, so you ought to at least have taken my money and deposited it with the bankers. And at my coming, I would have received back with my own with interest. So, take this." He turns to the people next to him, "So, take this talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents. 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."
Let me go back to verse 24 through 26 to drop our anchor. Then he who had received one talent, he came and he said, "Lord, I I know this about you. I know that you're a hard man. And that you've reaped where you haven't sown, you gathered where you never scattered seed. And and because I was afraid, I went and I hid your talent in the ground. But look, I have what it is that's yours." And he said, "You wicked and lazy servant." I want to conclude the reading of our scripture there and add a title to this text, don't die full. Don't die full. Can you slap the person next to you and say, "Uh-oh." Father, I ask that you would help me to teach this. Let our hearts and our minds be open. And I pray that you would do what it is that only you can do. In Jesus' name we all say, Amen.
I I want to approach the our message and our conversation today a little differently than I typically do. And the reason being is because Matthew 25 is one of the most fascinating chapters in all the gospels to me. Um and it teaches something, watch me. It teaches us something about being gifted that I believe many people overlook. But it's necessary as we conclude our series today. In Matthew 25, Jesus is is on is telling a series of parables on the Mount of Olives. And and what happens is is before he heads to the cross. And and one thing that I want us to remember, for those of us taking notes, we have a saying that note takers are world changers. One thing we have to know is that a parable, watch me, is that a parable is a short story that uses relatable everyday situations to illustrate, watch me, a spiritual truth. Are y'all with me? That a parable is a short story, right? That uses relatable everyday situations to illustrate a spiritual truth. So, what am I saying? In short, a parable is a story that illustrates a complex idea and makes it simple. Right? And so, what it is is that a parable is not speaking literally as much as it's speaking parabolically. And so, what it's saying is that, "Hey, Jesus was telling a story." And what we see in Matthew 25 is that Jesus is talking to his disciples a parable and telling a series, three in specific, of parables. And what happens is he teaches something, watch me, that is a a interesting lesson. Now, this is one thing I want you to write down in your notes cuz I want to teach you this before I get to where I can preach. Is that a parable is typically used to teach two things. The character of men and the character of God. Don't miss that. It's going to make sense in a moment. The character of men, I got you, and the character of God. Y'all with me?
And so, if I could I I I One thing you have to know is that this parable that we started in in Matthew chapter 25:24, but this parable actually starts in verse 14. So, if you're going to do your studying through the week, you should go back and restart at verse 14, but I can summarize it for you really quickly. >> [snorts] >> What happens is is that Jesus says, "At some point in time, a man went on a long journey." Somebody say journey. And what happens is is he says, "Before he goes on his journey, he calls his servants to him." And the Bible says that he says, "I'm going on a journey and I'm going to entrust" Somebody say entrust. That's important. "Entrust my wealth with you." And the Bible says that he took three servants and he says, "Hey, I'm going to give you five, I'm going to give you two talents, and I'm going to give you one talent." Now, this is what you have to know is that a talent is not like how we're talking about as a gift, but in those times it was known as a unit of measure of weight or of money. And if I can contemporize this for you quickly, is that one talent is what was the equivalent of 15 to 20 years of wages for one person. So, what that means is that in today's society, it would have been possibly hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars. So, even the person with one person with one talent, excuse me, was entrusted with a massive amount of wealth. Amen? Are y'all with me? And so, he gives them this and the Bible says that he gives them um according each according to his ability. Don't forget that. Write that down in your notes. He gives them to a He gives it to them each according to his ability saying, "Hey, listen, I know them and I know what they're able to steward and I know what they're able to Did steward." Don't forget this. He gives them that and then the Bible SAYS THAT HE GOES ON HIS JOURNEY. VERSE 19 COMES BACK AND SAYS THAT AFTER A long time, he decides to come back and settle his accounts.
Then we get to Matthew 25:20. Let me read this for you really quickly. And what happens is this. The Bible says that he comes back and it says the man who had received five bags of gold, he brought the other five. Watch me. He brought the other five and said, "MASTER, YOU ENTRUSTED me with five bags of gold. You've entrusted me with five talents. Here, I made five more." His master replied, "Well done. My good, somebody shout faithful." Faithful servant. Watch this. YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL over a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Watch this. Come and share in your master's happiness." And the man with five is like, "Oh, let's do it." The man with two walks up. Same thing. He says, "MASTER, YOU GAVE ME TWO. YOU ENTRUSTED ME WITH TWO. AND LOOK, I've made two more. Here you go. Here's what you gave me." And the And the Bible says the master looks at him and says, "Well done. Good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few. Now I will put you in charge. I will make you lord. I'll make you master over many things."
But then we get to the third man. And the third man in verse 24 tells us this. Then the man who had received one bag. I read this already, but I want to make sure that we see this. Can you imagine the three of them standing in line and they give it and the first one is like And the second one is And next one is like So, here's what happened. I know that you are a hard man. I know that you're a rigid man. So, I didn't lose it. I hid it. And but here you go. You can have it back. And the Bible says, watch this, watch the response. The Bible says that he said, "You wicked and lazy servant." He said, "You're saying you knew so much about me and you didn't know I'll be mad about this?" And watch this. The Bible says, "Take what he has and give it to the one who stewarded it properly." Watch this. In verse 30, which we did not read, he says, "And take that worthless servant and throw him outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Now, watch me cuz we got to this text very early today. Why Why am I doing this? Because I told you at the beginning that this parable in specific has always fascinated me for two reasons. Somebody say two. Because I told you that a parable teaches you the character of men and the character of character of men and character of God. Number one, this fascinates me because we see that all three men served the same master, but not all three men viewed him the same way. Don't miss this. Lean in. ALL THREE MEN served the same master. Not all three men viewed him the same way. Which shows, now let's jump into the into the theology of this. The master represents Jesus. The servants represent us. Am I in the book? So, it shows that we can all experience the same God, but not view the same God the same way. EVERYBODY. SO, OUT OF THE THREE, WE SEE HEY, LISTEN. IT'S THE SAME ONE. BUT HE SAYS, "MAN, WE KNEW that you were generous. We We knew that you entrusted us with this, and so I decided to do this." And one said, "Man, I I knew that you were a hard man. That you were a a rigid man." If you were to go into the Greek, that word hard is is skleros, is where we get sclerosis, where you like multiple sclerosis there. And so, the idea is saying is that I know that you were a demanding rigid Now, hold on. Cuz the other two didn't do them that way. Is it possible that you could be taking an aspect of people and projecting there what you think onto them? Watch me. This is the danger. I'm going to teach this whether you want to hear it or not. This is the danger of having a reductionist view of God. Because what happens is is a reductionist view is I break a complex thing into a simple thing and I make what's complex simple. And so I isolate one aspect of you and project it on to the entirety of you. Have you ever had somebody meet one aspect of you and think they knew the entirety of you? And they judge you based off one moment of your life and they don't know the entirety of your life? How many of us do that with God? Now, let me really speak into this and step on your toes. Because the reality is is that he wasn't a hard man, he was just a just man. Because he was just saying I expect you to do something with what I give you. You're saying that you don't What you don't What this third man didn't want was what we don't like is account of ability. Amen. So what we SEE IS THAT ALL THREE MEN SERVED THE SAME MASTER. They had different perspectives. That's number one.
Number two, the thing that fascinates me is this. Remember the character of God. The Bible says that when the master interacted with the first two, he said, "Well done." We see a level of joy and pleasure that the master has See, and this is why I argue with the first with the third man a little bit because you're saying that he's a rigid man, but when I see the response to the first two, I don't think he's that rigid. I think he's just somebody who wants to bless his people because he just sat there and said, "Hey, I you did right with what I gave you. I'm going to give you more." And not only that, but like come and share in my happiness. But with you, you're wicked and you're lazy. Now, this is what fascinates me about the story. Because the third man didn't lose the talent. Listen to me. He didn't damage the money. He didn't break it. He didn't waste it. In fact, when the master returns, the Bible tells us that he gave it to him exactly the way he received it. I'm going somewhere. The money was intact. The money was untouched. He didn't steal it. The money was preserved and somehow the master said he still failed. This is what bothers me. Cuz watch me. Because let's be honest. I could understand him being called wicked if he lost the money. Listen, let me say if if you owe me money, you lose my money, I'mma be mad. I think we can all agree on that. Amen. IF YOU LOST MY BREAD, WE GOT a issue. BUT IF YOU GIVE ME BACK EXACTLY WHAT I GAVE YOU, THE LEAST I'mma say is appreciated. You didn't lose it. I'm I'm I'm OKAY WITH THAT. BUT LISTEN, WE ALL UNDERSTAND CONSEQUENCES FOR wasting something. We can definitely understand consequences for damaging something. But this servant didn't do any of that. He simply did nothing. Watch me. Lean in. And Jesus says, "That's the problem." The problem isn't that you lost it. It's not that you ruined it. It's not that you broke it. The problem is you buried it. The problem is I gave you something and you buried it. Now, watch me. That is the tension of the entire story here. The tension of the story is not what the servant did wrong. The tension of the story is what he never did at all. And if we're going to be honest in here today, that's where the story gets uncomfortable for us. Because if you going to keep it a thousand in here, this servant looks a lot like us. THIS SERVANT LOOK WE LOVE TO COMPARE ourselves to David. You love when you slay Goliath. Ooh, we love it. You love We love when we're Moses. But what about when we're the person that buried the thing that God gave us? Can I be candid with you as a pastor? Here's what I've learned, is that most people don't spend their lives intentionally ruining what God gave them. Most people don't set out to say, "Man, God, you gave me a gift. I want to squander it." God, whatever you gave me, I'm going to make sure I never use it. Most people don't say that. What they do is they just never fully use it. They never fully step into it. They never fully develop it. Watch this. Write this word down. They never fully surrender it. I'm going to get back to that. They never fully surrender it. And watch me. And eventually what happens is is years pass, seasons pass, opportunities pass, and the potential that God gave you sits dormant. And because of that, your purpose stays hidden. And what God placed in your hands eventually, slowly but surely, ends up under ground. Can I ask you a question? What if the greatest tragedy isn't having nothing? What if the greatest tragedy is having something and never doing anything with it? What if the greatest tragedy isn't lacking potential? What if it's just leaving that potential untouched? What if the greatest tragedy isn't dying empty? What if the greatest tragedy is standing before God with gifts, influence, talent, creativity, courage, vision, generosity, and purpose, and it never fully made it out of you. Because family, that that's the tension of the text. And honestly, let let let me just be clear cuz this is the summation of this is the conclusion of of this series. That's the tension of our entire series. We've been in this series called gifted. Somebody say gifted. And the premise I've said every week is that God never created anyone empty. If this is your first service here, welcome to Blueprint. Let me tell you this, God has not created anybody empty. If you're worrying about whether you have a gift, I can tell you that you are that you're gifted. If you're wondering if God has a calling on your life, I can promise you the fact that you're here, you're not here by happenstance. God led you to this place. You have a calling on your life, that there are gifts that God has placed on the inside of you, and it doesn't matter what you think of you, it matters what God thinks of you. That God said it, and the Bible tells you that even before I you were I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you, and I set you apart, AND I CALLED YOU. YOU ARE GIFTED. AND WE'VE TALKED about this over the last few weeks. We talked about discovering gifts and developing your gifts, protecting our intimacy while while being gifted. Watch me last week, understanding that the pain was a privilege, that there's pain that comes with being gifted. BUT BEFORE WE CLOSE THE SERIES, I have one question. What are you going to do with what God put on the inside of you? Because this is one of the biggest misconceptions of being gifted is that being gifted is the goal. Everybody loves to be gifted until it's required to do what gifted people have to do. And you know what the thing is? Ooh, being used by God sometimes make you feel used. Amen. And this is THE THING. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH WHAT IT IS HE GAVE? BEING GIFTED IS NOT the goal, it's the beginning. Stewardship. Somebody say stewardship. Stewardship is the goal. Hear me. God never rewards gifting. God rewards stewardship. God rewarded the man with five, not because he had five. He rewarded the man with five more because watch me with five because he turned five into five more. Are y'all with me? HE DOESN'T YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE REWARDED SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU carried a gift. You'll be rewarded because you stewarded a gift. What is that What am I saying? In the kingdom, having a gift is not impressive. Using it is. Which leads us to our big idea. Write this down. Very straightforward. God never created you empty. So, don't die full. God never created you empty. So, don't die full. God didn't create you empty. So, don't die full. Listen to me. God gave the gift. Lean in. You determine the stewardship. I got to be I I I I have to be This last message I we were talking about this before the service is incredibly pastoral because my goal is not for you to walk around proud that you're gifted. Be thankful that you're gifted. Be cognizant that you're gifted. Be aware. Be grateful. But, if you're gifted, but you don't do nothing with it, what does it matter? That's like taking a bunch of money, putting in a safe deposit box, and not ever seeing it again. Ooh, I shouldn't say that. I will say it anyway. And many Christians are just expensive safety deposit boxes. Wealthy with gifts. Nobody knows. Hidden. [snorts] Buried. God gave you the gift. You determine the stewardship. And in order to steward your gift well, few things you You to know.
Number one, write this down. It's our first point of the day, is that the enemy wants it buried. The enemy wants it buried. Matthew 25:25, look at what he said. I was afraid. And I hid your talent in the ground. Listen to me, the tension of the text is not that the servant had nothing. The tension is that he had something and did nothing with it. The servant was gifted. I said this in the beginning, the servant was trusted. And entrusted, cuz there's a difference. Trusted means I have watched you, so I trust you to give you something. Entrusted mean I actively gave you something to put in your possession. Are you with me? So, the servant was trusted and entrusted. Yet somehow, what was placed in his hands ended up underground. And hear me, that is still one of the enemy's greatest strategies today. Is to have you bury it. Because a lot of times we think the enemy's out to destroy your gift. He don't have to destroy your gift, he can get you to bury your gift. Are y'all with me? IT'S NOT ALWAYS TO DESTROY, IT'S TO BURY IT. Because the enemy knows that a buried gift is a powerless gift. Are y'all with me? Cuz y'all quiet. Amen. The enemy knows that a buried gift is a powerless gift. Because a buried gift doesn't disciple anybody. A buried gift doesn't build anything. A buried gift doesn't advance the kingdom. A buried gift doesn't impact people. And the enemy knows if he can keep the gift hidden, he can keep the gift in the impact FROM HAPPENING. NOTICE WHAT HE SAID, I WAS AFRAID. SO, what does that mean? What is the revelation behind that? Fear buried the gift. His insecurity buried the gift. Do you know what causes us to bury our gifts? Somebody say, uh-oh. Fear of failure. How many things have you not done because you're afraid that you're going to fail about doing it? You know what else? Fear of criticism. I don't want them to say nothing about me. Who cares? Fear of criticism, fear of rejection. What happens if I do it and they don't like it? First of all, who is they? Fear of responsibility. Because you be because you know if you actually walk in your gift there's a responsibility behind your gift and some of us are too lazy to want to Different location in same church. Fear of responsibility. BECAUSE I KNOW IF I DO this and I got to actually do this and I don't really want to do this so I'd rather just go under the radar. I'd rather just sit in the background. You know how many times people have told me I don't really like that. I just want to sit in the background. No, you lazy. You're lazy. Because you understand that commitment means responsibility and you don't want responsibility. You want to go under the radar all the time. Ooh, can I say what I want to say? She's like, yeah. That's why some of us don't serve. >> [laughter] >> Y'all ready? Because if I begin to serve, then I become visible. And if I become visible, then you going to hold me accountable. And there's things that I do that I don't want to give up that I don't want you to see. >> [cheering] [applause] >> If you can't say amen, say I DON'T WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY. FEAR. I'm afraid of being I'm afraid of being held accountable. I'm afraid of being pastored. Mhm, I'm afraid of what it is that's going to be. Fear of looking foolish. Do you know that that was Let me Let me tell your pastor real quick. That was my thing. When when when God called us to plant a church, I was like, ain't nobody going to make me look crazy. What's going to happen when we show up to the church but don't nobody else show up to the church? I'm just going to be preaching to baby and Zoe in there. What are we going to do? AND I SAID, "NOBODY'S GOING TO MAKE ME LOOK FOOLISH. GOD, I CAN'T do it." And God was like, "Who you doing it for?" >> [cheering] >> Fear of looking foolish. Fear of not being enough. What if what I set out to do actually don't work? But this is another thing that if I could read into this biblically, I don't think that fear was the only thing that was operating in that man. I think comfort was, too. Because watch me. Because using the gift costs something. Leadership costs something. Serving costs something. Building costs something. Operating in your gift costs something. Creating and being a creative COSTS SOMETHING. POURING YOURSELF OUT FOR people costs something. And if we're honest, most people don't bury their gifts because they're incapable. They bury their gifts because they're too comfortable. He got it. Most people don't bury their gifts because they're incapable. They're too comfortable. God, I don't If I If I actually operate in my gift, it's going to disrupt my life. God, if I actually do That's why I tell people all the time when it comes to serving others and serving people, whether it's in your church or outside of the church, a lot of people don't want to serve because they don't want their life to be disrupted. But the reality is this, serving is inconvenient. Serving ain't always fun. I told them yesterday, I didn't feel like preaching today. I could have You know what I'm saying? But >> [laughter] >> Can I be real? Y'all think that I'd be wanting to be up here 52 week day weeks a year? Not not always. But watch me. But serving is uncomfortable. And the reality is that most people don't bury their gift because they're incapable. A lot of people do it because they're too comfortable. Look at what the character of God. Remember we talked about parables. Character of God. He didn't just say he was wicked. He said he was lazy. Which is the implication you also buried it cuz you didn't want to work it. You didn't want to do You were comfortable. Because the MAN WHO HAD FIVE LET'S GO BACK TO THE SCRIPTURE. THE MAN WHO HAD FIVE IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE FIVE AND SAID HE PUT IT TO WORK. THE OTHER MAN TOOK THE ONE AND JUST If I Listen, if I know it's going to be here when I get back. So I don't have to do nothing. It doesn't disrupt my life at all. Whenever he comes back, I can go get it. But the one who had five said, I got to actually put some sweat into this. I got to put some work into I GOT TO DO SOMETHING. And most people is not that they're incapable. You're just too comfortable. So what are we saying is that we saw that he chose safety over stewardship. He chose preservation over purpose. He chose comfort over calling. And this is what you have to understand. Write this down. Is the safest life is rarely the most obedient life. Ooh, how do I want to say this? Y'all say that and y'all be getting offended. She said it's your church. THE SAFEST LIFE IS RARELY THE MOST obedient life. You can't follow God and live a safe life. You want to know why? Because slaying giants ain't safe. Being in the den with lions ain't safe. Living for God in a culture where people don't want to live for God ain't safe. Raising your child up in the way that they should go so when they get older they shall not depart, it ain't safe. It's not ALWAYS COMFORTABLE. IT'S NOT SAFE TO STAND UP FOR BIBLICAL VALUES WHEN WE live in a world that don't stand for biblical values. IT'S NOT SAFE. AND THIS IS THE THING BECAUSE y'all got to say what I'm saying. Most people equate safe to make it synonymous with comfort and they're not the same. IT'S NOT ALWAYS SAFE TO LIVE THAT WAY, BUT LISTEN, YOU can't be safe and be obedient. You got to go out and do what God has called you to be to to do, excuse me. The enemy wants you to bury it. Let me share this with you before I move to the second point. Do you know that fear has buried more purpose than failure ever has? Fear has buried more purpose than failure ever has. That man said, "I was afraid and so I hid it." And what we see what we see in here is that the enemy doesn't need to destroy your gift if he can silence it. "I was afraid and so I hid it." Can I actually can I can I give you one biblical truth before I move on? I said I wasn't going to say this, but I'm going to. The man was afraid. The man was insecure. The man was like, "I don't know if I can do this and so I I I I got to go." But if you go back to Matthew 25:15, when he was distributing the talents, y'all with me? The Bible says that he gave to one man five, to one man two, and to one man one. Key phrase. Each according to their ability. Watch me. Each according to their ability, which means that God distributes gifts and callings differently, not always equally. Equally in value, different in gift. Amen? But watch this. Each according to his ability. What does that mean? That means that the master was intentional and observant enough to know what they could handle. So that means that he trusted the servant more than the servant trusted himself. Is this making sense? And he ran [snorts] away in fear and one of the reason why I believe that the master was so mad he's saying, "I trusted you." I believe that you could do IT. THAT'S WHY I GAVE IT TO YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU THINK YOU WAS THE ONLY SERVANT I HAD? I COULD HAVE GAVE THAT TO SOMEBODY ELSE, BUT I WATCHED YOU AND I SAID YOU COULD DO THIS. AND YOU DISAPPOINTED ME. CUZ I GAVE THIS WITH THE INTENTION THAT YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING. And you squandered it. Because you allowed the the enemy, you allowed lies and fear to get into your mind. This is my question. What if God put that burden in you for a reason? What if God is actually right about you? Are y'all with me? The enemy wants to bury it because he knows a a buried gift can never fulfill a living purpose.
Point two. The kingdom needs it poured out. This is what you got to know, how to steward your gift properly. Kayla, the gift needs your that your kingdom needs the gift poured out. He that the kingdom needs the gift poured out. Now watch me. Look at what I said. I didn't say just used. Not just used. Surrendered. Tell the person next to you say, "Buckle up." This is why. Because a lot of people use gifts. Everybody use a gift. I mean, a majority of people use a gift. Athletes use gifts, entrepreneurs use gifts, artists use gifts, communicators use gifts, creatives use gifts, leaders use gifts. The question isn't whether you're gifted. I told you from the beginning that God never created anyone empty. Amen? Are we all in agreement with that? So the question isn't whether you're gifted. The question is who benefiting from your gift? I can't get no help in this Catholic church. Listen to me. WHO BENEFITS FROM YOUR GIFT? Because the reality is that there are many people who are gifted in the kingdom ain't benefiting from your gift at all. Gifted, influential, impactful, GOT A FOLLOWING, SUCCESSFUL, WEALTHY, BUT THE kingdom don't benefit from you at all. But you know who benefiting you? You know who benefiting them? The gift is benefiting people, but it's not benefiting God. Gift is increasing people or increasing the person, the man or the woman, but it's not increasing God, enriching the person, but not building the kingdom. The kingdom isn't advancing, people aren't being discipled, lives aren't being changed, the gospel isn't being pushed forward. So, let's be clear, the question isn't is the gift working, the question is who is it working for? Now, y'all not going to like me, but I'm going to preach this other way. Anyways, your gift was given, I said this in the beginning, to glorify God and impact others. Amen? I'm going to be consistent. Your gift was given to glorify God and impact others. What does that mean? Your gift is supposed to impact the kingdom. Your gift is supposed to impact the kingdom. Your gift is not just supposed to build you a big business and you don't ever lead anybody to Jesus. YOUR GIFT IS NOT FOR YOU TO JUST GET A BUNCH OF influence and so you can get a lot of brand deals, but not lead anybody to Christ. Your gift is not SO YOU CAN ASCEND IN CORPORATE RANKS JUST SO YOU CAN BE THE BOSS, but not lead anybody TO JESUS. IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CHRIST. I don't know if you noticed, but you came to church this morning, so I'm going to talk ABOUT JESUS. IT'S SUPPOSED TO LEAD PEOPLE to Jesus. Now, hear what I'm saying. I want I want clear, so hear what I'm saying, so you don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that when you're gifted everybody got to start working in the church. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that just because you're gifted you all of a sudden have to start your own ministry. I'm not saying that. And because this is the reality, we're not saying that we need everybody to use their gift in the church. What we're saying is and I'm not saying that everybody needs to start and work in a non-profit because let's be very clear, we need more Christians in the marketplace. We need We need more Christian entrepreneurs. We need more Christians in boardrooms. We need more Christians in office. Lord knows that. We We need more Christians in government and we don't need them just saying they're Christian, we need them being Christian. WE NEED MORE CHRISTIANS IN WEALTHY WE NEED MORE CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE. WHAT I'M SAYING IS I'M NOT SAYING THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE GIFTED THAT YOU HAVE to start a ministry, I'm saying your life should still be a ministry. PEOPLE SHOULD GROW AND PEOPLE should be discipled and people should be coming TO JESUS BECAUSE OF YOUR GIFTS AND BECAUSE OF THE INFLUENCE ON your life. And for some of y'all that's so offensive and you can't understand why I'm saying that. That's because we use Jesus as a means to an end. I'mma say what I want to in this service cuz I cuz y'all y'all want to fight, so I'll fight back. Let's do this. Because the reality is a lot of us in here don't want God. You want what God can do for you. And when you don't get what you wanted then you leave him like it's his fault. >> [cheering] >> Jesus is not a means to an end. He is the end. EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HIM. SO I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT YOUR GIFT YES, YOU SHOULD BE REWARDED. I'M NOT SAYING THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH GETTING A PLATFORM. I'M NOT SAYING THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH BECOMING WEALTHY. I'M NOT SAYING I'M NOT SAYING ANY OF THOSE THINGS. WHAT I am saying is if that is your goal and not Jesus, that's a problem. And you know what that is? It's wicked. So, let me go where I want to go so I can say this anyways. You know what else is crazy to me? It's crazy to me. She said, "What else?" She want me to say it. What's crazy to me is when people build a platform, wealth, a lifestyle off of sin and then just say, "Well, I want to thank God." You know how You know how asinine that is? You know how crazy that is? Lord, help me stay composed. Uh-huh. You know how crazy that is? Because the reality is is you're saying, "God, thank you for the investment, but I'll never give you a return." Thank you for what you gave me, but but it's mine. Did we read the verse? The Bible says in verse 24 that he entrusted them with his wealth, which implies that it was never their money. Am I in the book? IT WASN'T THEIR BREAD. THAT WAS HIS. HE'S SAYING, "HEY, HANDLE THIS WHILE I'M GONE." And you You ever let somebody borrow something and they act like it's theirs? You drive around in my car like you bought it. And then you give it back to me with no gas, it's dirty, you didn't clean it. You couldn't even put none in the tank? And it's like, "Yeah, I appreciate you." And the reality is it's his. So, the gift was given by the master for the master's purposes. Your gift, listen to me, your gift should be influencing people to to kingdom. Doesn't matter if you work in a secular space. Don't live a secular life. Are you hearing me? It should lead people to him. Not to you. It Because when we do that, we just become Christian users. And the reality of the kingdom, somebody say the kingdom. Y'all mad at me. Amen. I'm not mad at y'all, so it's all good. The kingdom needs surrendered gifts. I'm just going to press on it. Surrendered. God, you gave this to me. Let me give it to you. How do you want me to use this? God, you want me to build this business and great. You want me to do this then great. God, you want me to work in this space and grace. Great, you want to use my service, you want to use my heart, you want to use my creativity, you want to use my leadership, you want to use my gift. Whatever, God, this is yours anyway. I'm loaning this. You You just asked me to steward it in this place. But the kingdom needs your gift surrendered. And this is the thing we have to understand is that we have to know this. The enemy was fine with you being gifted, talented, whatever it may be, wealthy, as long as your gift is serving you instead of God. Ooh, I I'm here, so I might as well say it. And some of us think that God is pleased simply because we're still successful. Can I Can I Can I pass you with this? Lord, help me to say this the right way. Um You got to know, God, am I doing this the right way for you? Because everybody that's walking around successful isn't being blessed by God. Some of them are being rewarded by the enemy. And and if you equate favor just by what you get tangibly, then you can always be duped. And some of us are walking around bound, but we brag about the handcuffs cuz they Gucci. And so it's like, yeah, like man, I'm shining. Yeah, no, you're bound and you don't even know it. You locked up and you have no idea, but you got money in your pocket. You got the bag that you want or your business is growing or your followers are growing, but you don't know God is saying you're not doing what you're using it wrong. Are y'all with me? And and and this is what tests your heart because if you want it more than you want him, if he ever tells you to change it, you'll walk away from him. Most dangerous thing isn't a gifted person. The most dangerous thing to the enemy is a surrendered gifted person. A gifted person can impress people, but a surrendered gift can change people. A gifted person can build a platform. I'm not going to get started on that. A surrendered gifted person can build a kingdom. And this is what you have to know. I want you to hear me hear my heart when I say this. The kingdom suffers when gifted people make their gift about them. Man, the kingdom suffers. Before I get to point three, do you understand like the kingdom needs you? I want y'all look at me. Some of y'all looking around. Look at me. The kingdom needs you. God has placed something on the inside of you that other people are supposed to benefit from. And you like me? Yes, you. It's easy to at people who have big followings or big gifts or attractive gifts and you're like, man, God's going to use them. No, God wants to use you, too. And the kingdom is suffering. When your gift just becomes about you.
Last point, I'm gone. The gift belongs to God. So, point three, God expects a return. Some of y'all are like, man, I didn't expect the last message to be like this. Well, here we go. God expects a return. Matthew 25:19. Don't miss this. After a long time, the master returned and settled accounts with them. This is the most sobering part of the entire scripture. Is that eventually he came back. Do you know I I I said this in 9:00 service. I'll say this again. Is that I think I'm a millennial, so I I remember when the song came out and it was so catchy, everybody loved it. But one of the most detrimental things I think that ever happened to the world was this concept of YOLO. You only live once. Because it implies I don't know what's going like I do whatever I want to cuz it's only my I'm only living once. So, I don't need the accountability, but the reality is believers, you live twice. You live this life. And not just as believers, let's be very clear. We will all live twice. Where and how you live is depending on how and what you do in this one. It is the most irrational ideal. This is the most sobering PART. AT SOME POINT, he came back. He said, "Hey, what did you do?" You know what that was? Means everybody had to face accountability. I gave you something. I gave you something. What have you done? And this is the thing. The master didn't expect a return because he was greedy. He expected a return because he invested in him. And here's what people miss. I gave it back how you said. And he was saying is that the goal wasn't preservation. It was multiplication. I gave you this so it could be more. I gave you this so that it could bring impact. I gave you this so things can happen. This wasn't supposed to be neutral. It's supposed to be positive. And this is the thing. Family, I don't We all face Jesus and we give our account. I don't think the question he's going to ask is going to be how much money did you make? Hey, let me ask you how how many followers did you have again? How many brand deals did you have and man, how how what did you do and how many clients did you close and how many X, Y, and Z and man, what was your favorite project that you did? All the things are great. He's not going to ask it. He's going to say, "Hey, what did you do with what I gave you?" What did you do? How did you serve people? How did you honor people? Hey, you remember that gift I gave you? Did you benefit from it or did the kingdom benefit from it? Hey, that anointing I placed on your life, did you hide it? Did you use it to bring people closer? Hey, you know those people that I that I sent into your life that were attracted to your gift, did you lead them to you or did you lead them to me? Hey, that influence that I put in your life that you've noticed that you had since you were a kid and you didn't know why everybody was just gravitated to you, did you use that as a way to get people to like you or the way to lead people to me? Hey, you know that creativity, did you just create for you or did you create for the world? Did you create for God? That leadership, but all these What did you do? That's going to be the question. Cuz the reality is he's going to ask. There is no way. And for me, I decided that I don't want to have my conversation with God and still have a sermon in me. I don't want to have another vision in me. I don't want to have another campus in me. I don't want to have another idea and another big thing. I want to come to God empty. And say, "God, everything that you gave me, I ain't got nothing else." And say, "God, I tried to give everything and I wasn't perfect. You know that better than anybody, but I used my gifts for you. I don't want to die full. I want to come My goodness. I want to die empty. Everything that you gave, I gave it. I did right." And that's my prayer for us. My prayer for you. Summarize this entire series. You're gifted. You're called. I promise you. I promise you. As your pastor, if you know two things, I love you and you're gifted. I promise you. But you got to do something with it. Not just for you. For the kingdom. Don't die full.
Let me pray for you. Father, in the mighty name of Jesus. We love you and lift you. Thank you. Thank you because you're so good and wonderful. God, thank you for how you spoke to our hearts today. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that you would move like only you can. Thank you, Father, for the conviction today. Thank you for what you've spoken to our hearts. And God, this is my prayer. God, that we would make a holy decision today to do what you want us to do with what it is that you have given. Let us focus on you and you alone. Can everybody repeat after me? Say, "Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?" Pray you let him speak for a moment. Okay. Eyes up. Everybody looking at me. Parable. Character of God, character of man. We use this as an illustration for our gifts. But this parable talking about salvation. At some point at some point Jesus is coming back. Listen to me. Let me share the gospel with you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that he whoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. What is that saying? God loved you and I so much that he didn't want to live without us. So, he died for us. He rose, ascended into heaven, and one day he's coming back. We don't know when. But we getting closer every day. And when he comes back, you want to be in the number. But that doesn't come by how great you are. It comes because you put your faith, your hope, and your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. If you are here and you said, "If I die today, I don't know where I would go." You get the opportunity to fix that today. I'm going to count to three. You can raise your hand whether you're giving your life to Jesus for the first time or the 100th time. Nobody cares. We want to celebrate you and walk you to your next best step in Jesus. If you want to give your life to Jesus today, on the count of three, raise your hand. One. Oh, we got a hand up already. Come on. Two. Three. Come on, y'all. Come on. We got our hands lifted. Come on. I see you over here. Blueprint, we got our hands. We got another one. Blueprint, we can do way better than that. We have people that are giving their life. Come on. LET'S GIVE HIM PRAISE. >> [cheering] >> LISTEN, I'M SO PROUD FOR ALL of you that raised your hand. I want you to just uh repeat after me in prayer. Say, "Father, I love you. I thank you for Jesus. I believe that he lived, that he died, and that he rose for my sins. Come into my heart. Be my Lord. I am yours, and you are mine. In Jesus' name. Come on. Amen. Blueprint, let's put our hands together. Come on. Let's put our hands together in this place. [music] >> [music]