Our 5th Gift To Manage: Spiritual Gifts/Talents

This is from a talk I gave on Sunday, October 15, 2006 and I finally got a chance to post it!

Intro:
I want to start today with a story I saw online…

The great violinist, Nicolo Paganini, willed his amazing violin to Gen-o-a -- the city of his birth -- but only on the condition that the instrument never be played again.

That was too bad, because wood has a unique characteristic that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay.

The amazing, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case. It’s now valueless except as a relic.

It’s the same with the spiritual gifts and talents we’ve been given, if they’re not used they just decay!

The 5^th gift that God has given us to manage in life is our talents and spiritual gifts. We'll talk more about that in a minute, but first...

Let me let’s go over what we’re trying to do in this series. 5 Sundays ago we started our “Life Management” series and I told you…

God has given you (and will give you) all of the "raw materials" and opportunities you need to reach your full potential.

At the end of our lives, no one is going to be able to blame God that he didn’t give them what they needed to make it in this life.

Whether you reach your full potential, or not, will be based on how you managed what you've been given. Did you waste your gifts or cherish them?

For 5 Sundays, we're looking at 5 of the most important raw materials you've been given to form your life with. I'm calling these 5 raw materials "5 Gifts" that God has given you to manage.

The FIRST week, I talked about the first gift that God has given us to manage, which is TIME.

We looked at this as the building block of all we do in life. I talked to you about the idea of giving your time to be with God and investing your time in ways so you’ll see payback now and in eternity.

You only get 1440 minutes everyday. If you sleep 7 hours that leaves you 1020 minutes. You can never get more. The only way to make more time is by managing it better. How we manage our time becomes our worship to God.

It makes Time Management a holy thing!

The SECOND week, I talked about the second gift that God has given us to manage, which is health. I showed you in the Bible that God cares about all of us – not just our Spiritual Health, but also our Mental, Emotional and Physical health.

I told you that how you manage your gift of health will decide the quantity and quality of your life.

The THIRD week, I talked about the third gift God has given us to manage, which is our wealth. It’s one of the only gifts that has a dangerous side to it. I told you also that God is the one that gives us the ability to gain wealth.

We looked at three ways to help us manage our wealth better: don’t waste it, grow it and give it.

Last week, I talked about the fourth gift God has given us to manage, which is our relationships.

God’s given us relationships to help us. If you think about it, relationships are the real currency of life! Relationships matter to God! The Bible is filled with ideas about why/how to interact with people! It’s a relational “How-To” book!

We were created for relationships! Daniel Goleman in his new book called “Social Intelligence says is that our minds are wired to connect!

One of our core beliefs as a church is that you need two connections to succeed and reach your full potential: you have to have a connection with God and a connection with others.

If you don't have BOTH of these connections, then you won't be able to reach your full potential! Learning how to manage and grow in our relationships is one of the most important things we can do.

I ended last Sunday by showing you three reasons God’s given us relationships.

You can read these last 4 talks online at my “Life Management Blog”. The web address is in the bulletin.

Today, I want to talk to you about the 5^th gift God has given us to manage which is our talents/spiritual gifts.

God has preloaded and programmed each of us with talents and abilities that he wants us to manage. When we committed our lives to Jesus we were given Spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit that God wants us to manage. Did you really hear what I just said?

Right now you have two different type of presents: spiritual gifts and talents that God’s given to you. Some of these presents you might know about already BUT some of them you haven’t even discovered yet! They’re waiting dormant in you– ready to be used by you!

Let’s look at the difference between Talents and Spiritual Gifts…

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Paul talks about Spirtual Gifts. This is what he says this…
⁴Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. ⁵There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we’re serving. ⁶There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. ⁷A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. Let’s stop there…

Spiritual Gift – This is a spiritual power you’re given to help other believers and to help live out God’s will for your life. – Only a Christian can have Spiritual Gifts! What type of Spiritual Gifts are there? Paul gives us a list of SOME of them in verses 8-11. Listen to what he says…

⁸To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge. ⁹The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick. ¹⁰He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, ^F61 and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. ¹¹It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

So when you began to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit came into your life and gave you gifts. He decided which would be right for you based on the purpose God created you for and based on the needs of the church.

So what’s the difference in a talent? A talent is the ability to do something well. A Christ-follower or a non-believer can have talents.

Example:

• Talent – playing the piano - You can use this for God or for yourself.
• Spiritual Gift – faith - This gift was given to you to help the church – help other Christ-followers.

Let’s think about something for second…

I want to show you a reason WHY you’ve been given these talents and spiritual gifts -- and it’s a reason that you might not of thought of!

To help you see this, I want to go on a tangent for a second that will make sense it a minute.

We Have To Start With Something

Everything that exists started as an idea in someone’s mind. That’s true about this world. All this – including you and me - was once an idea in God’s mind until God created it all!

But, that’s also true about everything else… This building, those chairs, the cars you drove in to get here, this projector – they all started as an idea in someone’s mind until they were made.

Everything started as an idea! But the difference between God and us is this…

Only God can create something completely out of nothing! When we create something we have to start with some kind of material. This building started as an idea, but it had to be created out of wood, sheet rock, steel. Those chairs out of metal, etc…

When we create something we need tools. Hammers, saws, lasers, whatever… God SPOKE this world into existence! Let’s get back to our spiritual gifts and talents and how this ties together…

Our spiritual gifts and talents were given to us to as the starting material to make something in life out of! They were given us to use as tools to start with. Without them we wouldn’t be able to be or do what we were created for!

God wants us to do something with them! He wants us to make something with them!

Jesus tells a story about this you’ve heard before in Matthew 25:14-30…

14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22 "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' 23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24 "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Let’s look at this story a little deeper for a minute… Talents are the man’s property – on loan to servants. He gave them and expected them to GROW them! You see, back then, a person would leave servants in charge of his property and expect them to not only KEEP the property, but MAKE him more!

If he left a field of grapes, he didn’t just expect to JUST have a field when he came back! He expected to have more grapes that had grown – or more money from selling the grapes!

It’s the same nowadays. That master isn’t more harsh than any business owner. If you left someone to manage of your store for a month, you expect them to make you some more money by the time you get back!

You don’t want them to say, “I didn’t want anyone to steal anything while you were gone or have to worry about failing you, so I shut down the store for the month you were gone and I gave everyone a vacation. We didn’t make any money last month, but your store is still here! You’d be mad at that manager! He didn’t do his job! He’d be fired! Just like the servant hug buried the talent!

God’s the same! He’s given us talents and gifts to manage and he expects us to gain more for his kingdom with them. He expects us to grow! God wants us to use the talents and spiritual gifts he’s given us for others and for his kingdom!

I want to tell you a story that will give you another unique reason why God has given us talents and spiritual gifts -- Story: The Grain Of Rice

God’s given us our gifts to learn how to rule – to learn how to manage! They’re given to us for practice for what he wants us to do and be. God has given us our gifts/talents to prepare us for what he has for us later in this life and the next life.

Let’s look at the Math of this parable Jesus tells from Matt 25 for second…

• The master gave the 1^st servant 5 Talents. How many did the servant make? 5!
• The master gave the 2^nd servant 2 Talents. How many did the servant make? 2!
• The master gave the 3^rd servant 1 Talent. How many did the servant make? 0!

Notice in the parable that Jesus said the master didn’t give each servant the SAME amount! What’s it say in verse 15?

He gives each based on their ability. God won’t give you more or less than you can use! He won’t give you what you can’t handle! God might have given you more talents and spiritual gifts than me, but I only have to worry about what I’VE been given!

“People are not equal in talent (or gifts), but they can be equal in effort.” We can’t all be equal in what we do for God, but we can be equal in the effort we put into it!!

I want you to notice something else here…

Look what the master said to the servant who received 5 Talents, "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Now listen to what Master said to the servant who received 2 Talents, "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' De ja vu! Sound familiar doesn’t it?

He said the same thing to BOTH even though the second servant gained 3 less than the first servant! Do you realize what that means? That’s REALLY good news for us!

They both put in equal effort and were rewarded equally! God will reward us for what we do with what we’ve been given – NOT based on what someone else has been given and what they’ve done. He doesn’t compare us! It’s not a competition!

The only person you’re competing against is YOURSELF and what you’ve been given!

Let’s look at the servant that’s punished….

The master said to the servant who received 1 Talent, "'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest '

He got punished because he didn’t even try at all! Back then, “doubling your investments” was a normal thing ANY servant should have been able to do! (Check this fact in commentaries.) These guys weren’t doing some super-star thing!

Imagine facing God one day and you say, “Hey God, I’ve still got that talents and spiritual gifts you gave me!” God says, “Good! So what’d you do with them?”

You say, “Oh nothing! But I’ve still got them. I didn’t LOSE them!” Then God says, “You do ANYTHING with them?” And you say, “No, I didn’t want to fail, so I didn’t do anything, but I protected them!”

God’s not going to be too happy! But wait a second; I want you to realize something if you still think that’s harsh…

It’s pretty hard to do NOTHING at all for God! There might be a lot of people who didn’t gain MUCH – or hardly anything – but to gain NOTHING means you must’ve never really believed in Jesus, because you have nothing to show for it.

Even the worst REAL Christ-follower will have at least done and gained SOMETHING! God expects us to do something with the talents and spiritual gifts He’s given us!

He expects us to use them for Him and others, the best we can. When He returns he wants people will be better off because of us. He wants more people to know him because of us. He wants people to be better Christ-followers because of us!

And through all of it, He wants US to have grown into who he created us to be by USING the spiritual gifts and talents he gave us!

• If he’s given you the gift of faith, he expects you to have more faith.
• If he’s given you the gift of encouragement, he expects you to have used it to become the best encourager for him you could be!
• If he’s given you the talent of singing, he expects you to be the best singer, for him, you can be!
  
  

Growth Comes Action

Growth can only happen from use! Muscle, skill, etc… Playing it safe doesn’t help in the end, because you don’t end up with your talent or spiritual gift – you end up with nothing! Your talents and gifts were given to be USED for this life, not to be held onto until the next life!

I want to take a minute and talk to people here who already know you have spiritual gifts and talents. I want to talk to people that are already using their spiritual gifts and talents. I want to encourage you to do something: Go Bigger!

Why should it only be people in business or in science or other fields - that aim high? Donald Trump doesn’t go for just the million dollar deals – he aims for the multi-million dollar ones! Scientists aren’t just trying to help people get better – they’re looking for the cure for cancer or the cure for AIDS!

If you’ve been using your spiritual gifts and talents already, then good! That’s better than some people. But don’t settle for that! Go bigger! Set BIGGER goals for what you can do and be for God! Ask God for a bigger vision!

Here’s what I also want to challenge you to do… Use your passions to change the world! That’s what Jesus did with a small group of fishermen! Remember?

Matt 4:18-22

Jesus is walking along the shore of the sea of Galilee and he sees these two guys he’s met before. (He met them when John the Baptist pointed out Jesus and said, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”)

He sees Andrew and Peter fishing, which is what they did for a living. He called out to them and says, “Come be my disciples and I will show you how to fish for people.”

I won’t you to notice some things. Jesus is picking two guys who have common interests:

1. They’re fisherman! It’s their passion!
2. Not only that, they’re brothers.

They have a huge amount of things in common just because of these two facts!

And when he calls them out he use the language of their common interest. He says, “Come be my disciples and I will show you how to fish for people.” Or some translations translate it, “I will make you fishers of men.”

In a way, he’s saying I will teach how to use your interest, what you’re passionate about (fishing), and then use it gather up people.

Back to the story…v. 21-22…

Right away, Simon and Andrew leave their nets and follow Jesus. As they go a little further up the shore with Jesus they see two more brothers: James and John. They’re also fisherman and they’re sitting in a boat mending their nets with their father Zebedee. Jesus calls out to them and tell them to follow him too. And they do! They leave their father with the hired help.

James and John know Simon and Andrew. In Luke 5, we find out that they fished together as partners in the fishing business. That means that these guys (James & John) had the common interest of being fisherman and they also knew Simon and Andrew well. Plus, they were also brothers!

Do you see how Jesus is strategically choosing people that already have connections?

Jesus knew that people with the same interests and passions already have a natural connection and even use the same language. He knew that if they were connected around a Common interest(s) that they could them use those interests to change themselves and the world!

Quote from Mark’s book pg. 121 – if have time Use your passion to change the world!!! Use your passions to…

Connect: Get to know each other, grow in friendship and trust. Like I’ve told you before - we all need these types of friends!

Grow: Grow in your knowledge of God, his word and in your relationship with him

Reach out: Reach out to other people who have the same common interests, but who just might not know Jesus and invite them to hang out with your group.

Minister: Use your common interests to directly or indirectly minister to others. (People that are a part of our church or the community) Builders can use their passion to help a needy person.

Close/Close series:

God has given you (you already have) spiritual gifts and talents! They’re the material and tools God given you to make something out of in your life! Without them you can’t be or do what we were created for! But we have to use them! We have to manage them and use them to help others, build God’s kingdom, and reach our destiny! Go big with your gifts and talents – aim high!

Those are the 5 gifts I wanted to look at. I hope I’ve inspired you to be a better manager! How you manage these 5 gifts (these 5 raw materials of life) from God: Time, Health, Money, Relationships and Talents/Gifts will have a HUGE effect on what you accomplish in life and what you become.

There are other gifts that God’s given us, but these are the major ones! To succeed in life we have to be successful managers and take care of what God’s given us. Whether you reach your full potential, or not, will be based on how you managed what you've been given. Did you waste your these gifts or cherish them?

We need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help us. We need to regularly focus on each of these different areas and do a check up to see how we’re doing. We need friends to keep us accountable in these area.

I’m going to keep blogging about these different areas and rotate the emphasis on each one, because I need to keep living this out! You’re welcome to read the blog and comment – interact and let’s grow together! Let’s pray!