Blessed to Be a Blessing

September 3, 2023 · Brad Yates

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Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Psalm 92:1 quoted at the opening as the basis for the sung worship

1 It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh, to sing praises to your name, Most High;

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Proverbs 3:5-6

quoted as the scriptural basis for the song about not leaning on your own understanding

5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

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Matthew 25:14-30

the full parable of the talents read aloud by Grant Galloway as the sermon text

14 “For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and entrusted his goods to them.

15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.

16 Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

17 In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.

18 But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them.

20 He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents besides them.’

21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

22 “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents besides them.’

23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.

25 I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter.

27 You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.

28 Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents.

29 For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.

30 Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

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Isaiah 40:8

quoted before the offering song to speak of the permanence of God's word

8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”

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Matthew 22

referenced as Jesus summarizing the law and prophets in the great commandment

1 Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying,

2 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,

3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come.

4 Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast!”’

5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise,

6 and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.

7 When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy.

9 Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the marriage feast.’

10 Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.

11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing,

12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless.

13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’

14 For many are called, but few chosen.”

15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.

16 They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone.

17 Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites?

19 Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.

20 He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”

21 They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

22 When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.

23 On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him,

24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’

25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.

26 In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh.

27 After them all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven.

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

33 When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.

35 One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

42 saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”

43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’

45 “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

46 No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.

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Romans 14:23

quoted to show that whatever is not from faith is sin, applied to the third servant's fear

23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.

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1 John 4:16-19

quoted to show that perfect love casts out fear and that we love because God first loved us

16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

17 In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

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Matthew 7

referenced to note Jesus warned that some in the church will be revealed as false followers

1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.

2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?

4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

7 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.

8 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

9 Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent?

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.

14 How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.

16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?

17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.

18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.

19 Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’

23 Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

24 “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.

25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,

29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.

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Hebrews 13

referenced to show that leaders will give an account for souls under their care

1 Let brotherly love continue.

2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.

3 Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

5 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”

6 So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9 Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat.

11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp.

12 Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate.

13 Let us therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach.

14 For we don’t have here an enduring city, but we seek that which is to come.

15 Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.

16 But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.

18 Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things.

19 I strongly urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner.

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,

21 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 But I exhort you, brothers, endure the word of exhortation; for I have written to you in few words.

23 Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.

24 Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. The Italians greet you.

25 Grace be with you all. Amen.

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Romans 5

referenced to say we have peace with God because we have been justified through Jesus Christ

1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;

2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope:

5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.

8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.

10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.

11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

12 Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.

13 For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren’t like Adam’s disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come.

15 But the free gift isn’t like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 The gift is not as through one who sinned: for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification.

17 For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

18 So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.

19 For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.

20 The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;

21 that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Revelation 21:5

quoted directly: God on the throne saying he is making all things new

5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Brad opened on Labor Day weekend with the parable of the talents from Matthew 25, using it to press a single question on the congregation: what are we doing with what God has entrusted to us while the Master is away? The sermon sat inside Jesus' Olivet Discourse, his teaching on the end times and his return, and Brad kept that frame in view throughout.

What was said

Brad was careful from the start to say that the parable is not about earning salvation. The point is the response of people who already know what they have been saved from and what it cost God. A talent represented roughly twenty years of wages, something like a million dollars in today's terms, and the servants were given these sums not to spend on themselves but to work with on behalf of the master while he was gone. That, Brad said, maps directly onto how followers of Jesus are meant to live now.

The two faithful servants receive identical praise despite returning different amounts, and Brad pressed on that. The master does not commend cleverness or articulate theology. He commends faithfulness. The reward for faithfulness is not comfort or recognition but more responsibility and the joy of the master, and Brad said that if that reward feels thin, it probably means a person has not yet understood the full weight of what they have been forgiven.

Brad named the servant with two talents, calling him Deuce, as his favorite in the parable. Deuce presumably knew the first servant received two and a half times what he did, yet there is no record of complaint. He simply got to work. Brad used that to argue that comparing our own gifts and resources to others is not a valid reason to hold back. Our job, he said, is to be faithful with what is directly in front of us.

The third servant is where Brad's tone sharpened. The servant was not punished for squandering the money in sinful living, as the prodigal son did. He was judged for doing nothing. Brad pointed to Romans 14:23, that whatever is not from faith is sin, and argued that the servant's fear, whether of the master or of failure or of the work itself, drove him to inaction. Fear, Brad said, is a powerful motivator but an unstable one, and it burns out fast.

Brad connected that fear directly to two tendencies he sees in modern evangelicalism: scaring people into faith with hellfire, or telling them Jesus loves them as they are and expects nothing further. Both messages can fill seats, he said, but neither captures the full calling. The alternative he pointed to was 1 John 4, where God is love, perfect love casts out fear, and we love because God first loved us. That sequence, receiving God's love and then being freed from fear to act, is what produces faithful service rather than reluctant, exhausted performance.

Brad closed by returning to the macro point of the parable inside the Olivet Discourse. The one truly faithful servant, the one who obeyed perfectly and was still crushed, is Jesus himself, and he is coming back. That return is not an abstraction. Brad said it means getting into the game now rather than playing it safe on the sidelines, trusting God with the outcomes, and knowing that when the Master returns he will, as C. S. Lewis put it, make things so right it will be as if they were never wrong.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Brad talked about the parable of the talents in the context of Jesus preparing his disciples for his return. How does knowing that this parable is about the second coming, not just about productivity or career, change the way you read it?
Brad described the two faithful servants receiving identical praise even though one returned five talents and the other only two. What does it look like practically, in your own life right now, to be faithful with what is in front of you rather than measuring yourself against what someone else has been given?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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All right. Good morning, everybody.

How are we

doing? It is very, very good to see you this morning. Glad glad to be here with you to worship God together together. So shall we stand together? And I I wanna share a good word from Psalm 92.

It's to to first you know, we're gonna sing it. Sing Psalm 92. It's a song to be sung on the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the most high. That's why we're here, and it really is good.

So let's start by singing Psalm 92.

Alright. It's good to give back. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh most high. Oh most high.

Let's sing that again, shall we?

It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high, to proclaim your love, to proclaim your love in the morning and morning and your faithfulness and night. Oh, I sing for joy. I sing for joy at the sound of your name and the works of your hands. Oh, oh, you make me glad.

I'm full blown on my life. Let my song to you rise, oh, most high.

Let's sing again. It is good.

It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name. Most high. Oh, most high.

Amen. You can have a seat for just a moment here, and the announcements are gonna come from the back with Blake.

Good morning, church. Just a few announcements this morning. Coming up is Awana. We're returning. Carl, what date are we starting Awana again?

Yep. So the start date for Awana is the eighteenth, but the leaders meeting is the eleventh. So leaders, keep that in mind. And I am really looking forward to this year. We're starting to gather our volunteers, and it's gonna be a good year.

Yeah? Yeah?

So Monday night will be coming up or pardon me. Monday night's on pause for a little bit.

Exactly.

Carl and everyone and Ray will be focusing their attention on Awana, which will be starting soon. Also, it's the giving season for old bills. Most of you are familiar with old bills. You give some and then what you give gets multiplied. And if you give to First Bee, then it goes into our benevolence fund.

So when people come to the church and are in need, first b's able and willing to help because of the generous gifts that you give, which is multiplied through old bills. Also, some Bible studies that are coming up, a precept Bible study starting September 14 in the fellowship hall. You can contact Heidi. Her information is up there. In a woman's fellowship, fall study is gonna be on the book of Daniel's.

It's every Thursday night from 6PM to 8PM. Please consider joining that if you're interested. Another Bible study is called Rooted, and it's gonna be on Wednesdays. And all of this information for these Bible studies including this one, which is one you've heard about a lot a lot, the the Will Graham that's happening over in Idaho Falls at the end of September. You can get all of this information through our office either with Diane or Nick, we also give a weekly bulletin out if you, wanna get more in-depth information on all of these things.

And also, please consider joining us for connect hour in between services where we connect this 9AM service and our 11AM service. And if y'all would stand and greet one another, we'll bring you back together in some some more worship.

Who breaks the power of sand and darkness, whose love is mighty, so much stronger. The king of glory, the king above all king. Who shakes the whole with holy thunder, who leaves his breath in, and I wonder the king of glory, the king above all kings. Let's sing of an amazing grace. This is amazing grace.

This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life and I would be set free. I sing for all that you've done for me.

The king above all king, who rules the nations with truth and justice, shines like the sun in. I love its brilliance. The king of glory, the king above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love.

That you would take my face. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life, and I would be

Lord, we wanna just we have sung it, but let us just take a moment to to pause and and soak and rest in this grace, this favor that you are always extending in our direction, your unfailing love. God, that we would grab hold of it this morning and recognize it. In Jesus' name, amen.

I lean not. And I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands of the baker on bail. I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands

Let's sing that again.

While I feast in the hands I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open, and I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open, my wheel find this mountain with my hands wide. There's nothing I hold on to. There's nothing I hold on to. There's on to. There's nothing nothing I I hold hold on to.

There's nothing I hold on to. There's nothing I hold on to. There's nothing I hold on to. There's nothing I hold on to. I lean on.

And I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands

Can I share just a couple of verses and that that go so well with this song? And one of them is proverbs three, five, and six, and that is trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he'll make your paths straight. That's why we're singing. We're not leaning on our own understanding.

We're leaning on his. And it's difficult sometimes, isn't it? It really is. It's difficult. But if we could pray, really and and may I, right now, Lord, sometimes it is very, very difficult to understand your way and why things are the way they are and why things happen the way that they happen.

But, God, could we have the humility just to say, Lord, I don't always get it, but I know that you are working all things for your glory and for our eventual good. And so, Lord, would you help us to trust you, to truly to to walk with our our our hands wide open? We may sometimes be holding on to things too tightly. Would you help us to let go of what we need to let go of? And let you work where you need to work, and give us understanding and wisdom along the way.

You say that we are your workmanship. We're created in Christ Jesus for the good works that you've prepared in advance for us. God, may we recognize those good works as you're pointing us to them. In Jesus' name. Amen.

And let's sing of his return. Let's sing again. Alone. Cornerstone, weak made strong, and the savior's love through the storm. He is lord, lord.

You're have a seat here for just a moment. And this is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the the ushers to come on forward, and we're gonna get to to sing a song again called your words from Isaiah 40 verse eight. Listen to this about scripture. The grass withers, the the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

Before we sing, can we pray together? Lord Jesus, I am so grateful and humbled for this little worship gathering right here, and we get to sing these wonderful, beautiful truths. We get to praise you. We get to sing about you as the cornerstone of our faith. We get to sing about you as our righteousness.

And, God, now we have the opportunity to give, and it's not just in these plates. Oh, it's far from that. It's far from that. God, in everyday life with the gifts that you have given us, we get a chance to serve. We get a chance to be a blessing as you have blessed us.

God, would you put ever before us the talents and the gifts that you've given each of us uniquely, And and they're so different. Some of them, it's just the ability to listen. Oh, thank you, Lord, for our listeners. Those who can sit with someone and listen and empathize and grieve with and comfort as you comfort us. God, thank you for those.

Thank you for our doers, those who are just so motivated and entrepreneurial, the type a personalities who are getting things done. God, I thank you, Lord, for your kingdom's advance. Would you use this little body right here, Lord, for your kingdom's advance on earth? Starting right here in Jackson in the ministry that we do, but then to the ends of the earth. Lord, we ask your blessing, and we thank you.

Use these things for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.

Promises, and your love offers more than anything else in this world. Everything else will fade away. Everything else will fade away. And

Amen. And children, it is time for children's church. You can head on downstairs. And while you're heading downstairs, I'm gonna invite up Grant. Grant Galloway.

Hey, my friend. You got you got called on to read scripture. It's wonderful. And God, we we ask your blessing on the the reading of the word this morning and our our ability lord to retain it and to grab hold of of what you are speaking to us. We pray that you would open our ears.

God, that you would open our eyes. That you would give give us motivation to move our hands and feet out through our mouths. What you have proclaimed to us, God, may we be proclaimers to others. In Jesus' name, amen.

I'm gonna read this morning from Matthew twenty five fourteen through 30. It's the parable of the talents. For for it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them to his property. To one to one, he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability, then went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

So also he who had two talents and one talents more. But but he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time, the master of the servant came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more saying, master, you delivered to me five talents here, and I have made five talents more. 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. And he also who had the two talents came forward saying, master, you delivered to me two talents here. I have made two more.

His master said, 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. He also, who had received the one talent, came forward saying, master, I knew you had to be a hard man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seeds.

So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. But the master answered him, you wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reaped where I have not sown and gathered where I have scattered no seeds. 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.

So take the talent from I'm sorry. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the 10 talents. For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who is not, even what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in the place there we will be weeping and gnashing our teeth.

Thanks, Grant. Good morning. So if you're here visiting us or if we haven't met, my name is Brad Yates. And I'm excited to say to you guys, happy Labor Day. I know summer is really precious here, but I really like it that the weather cools down, the traffic calms down, and to the parents in the room, you did it.

The kids are going back to school. And in view of Labor Day, I have a question for you. Have you ever not done your job? And I'm talking really not done your job. Because as I was preparing this sermon, I thought of a time that I didn't do my job and I was going to share it with you today.

So this is 2016. Natalie and I have just welcomed Jack, our firstborn into our lives. And as those of you who are parents know, the first time that mom leaves the house with baby and dad left alone, it's a big deal for mom. And a friend of mine, he told me, he said, I don't care if that house burns down, you do not bother her when she's getting her first moments of privacy. And he'd also said, look, you're going to use all your tips and tricks.

You're going to go through all of your techniques and you're going to look down and you're going to realize it's been about four minutes. So Natalie leaves. She goes to a yoga class to get her hair done or something. You know, just like she just needed some alone time. And sure enough, I go through all the things.

And and Jack didn't have colic, he was we checked him for it. He cried a lot. And so I looked down and sure enough, like I'm out of things to do and it's been about four minutes and we got a ways to go. So I go through my things. I'm like, okay, he's got a clean diaper.

It's not time for him to eat. It's not time for him to nap. You know, I've like played with every single toy that we have for him that seems to hold his interest. You know, we've kind of like played together. And he's just crying and it's getting worse.

So Natalie walks in the door and she's been anxious to get back. And I'm sitting on the couch and next to me is our firstborn son and he is wailing. And I have noise canceling headphones on. And I'm reading a book because I wasn't going to leave him alone, but also I was pretty delinquent in doing my job. So today we're going to also talk about a little bit less fun fail, but one with a warning for each of us.

So as Grant read for us, we are going to be in the parable of the talents. And I've I've recently been listening to a sermon series on the parables. And I I just I really benefit from the depth that's available in these wise teachings of Jesus. They can have these easily understood applications that are simple enough for a child but if we really dwell on them, if we stew in them, we realize that Jesus is doing a much more precise surgery on our very souls. For example, think about the things just from a surface level that we're compared to in the talent or in the parables.

We're compared to widows, servants, debtors, dirt, tax collectors, wayward children, fools, goats, and sheep. Out of that list, is there anything that any of us aspire to be in and of themselves? No. And that's what we're compared to. Because it's been well said that the Bible has enough to offend anyone.

God is no respecter of persons. He is a lover of people but he's not a respecter of persons in the same way that the world is. Jesus would not have frankly been a very successful pastor in our current era of church growth and consultants and influencers. Because every time he got around a big crowd, that was when he uncorked his harshest teaching. When people came up and made grandiose commitments to him, he either challenged them or he tended to turn them away outright.

Because where's the parable of like the the great looking quarterback or like the rich prince? Because that's the one that I want. But God in his wisdom, he knows my heart. And more importantly, that's not how the kingdom of God works or we would have been. For example, who's the greatest king in the history of Israel?

It's David, not Saul. And David wasn't even considered by his own dad Jesse to be worthy of being in the lineup for consideration when the prophet Samuel showed up. Probably cause for therapy later, but but God uses us in spite of ourselves not because of who we are. So by way of context for today, we're in the Olivet Discourse which is a fancy way of saying that Jesus was seated seated on the Mount Of Olives and gave everybody a good talking to. In chapter 24 right before this, Jesus told us of the coming destruction of the temple and the signs that his followers could expect of the end times.

In 25 right before our reading, Jesus had already told his disciples the parable of the 10 virgins, which again is about preparing for the second coming of Jesus and the end times. So what do we think our parable is about today? It's the second coming of Jesus and the end times. But we're also gonna get some instruction and some information about what's expected of of us until that glorious and terrifying day. So our central truth as we've got it here up on the screen is that Jesus the King is coming back.

Being ready for his return is not about playing it safe. It demands the type of service that bears fruit. Our outline then accordingly. Looks like you're on it Blake. I get both hands now.

Is that first we are blessed to be a blessing. Blessings do not come to you, they flow through you. Second is that God gives us what we need even if it's not all that we want. Third, fear destroys but the perfect love it casts out fear. And fourth, our master is coming back.

So for our first point that we are blessed to be a blessing. I want to be very clear off the top here. We do not work for our salvation. That's not what Jesus is talking about here and of course that's not what I'm gonna talk about. What we are talking about is that this is the response when we realize that we have been saved, what we've been saved from, and what it cost God.

In our freedom from sin and death then, we can rightly view ourselves as servants of the master of the kingdom of God. And and so just so that we all have a little bit better picture of what's going on here in this parable. A talent was worth about 6,000 denari. And since probably very few of you have traded in denari recently, that was the common pay for a day's labor. So we're talking about twenty years of labor.

For our context today, let's call it a million dollars. So even the servant that's given a million dollars to Stuart on behalf of the kingdom, this is a large sum of money for him to be entrusted with. You should also know that our modern word talent that we use colloquially that actually comes from this parable which I just love because it reinforces the idea that even if you're very skilled, even if you're very hardworking, even if you're brilliant, that talent that you're using to garner resources that ultimately is also a gift from God. So why did the master give these servants the talents to steward? The simple answer is to do the work for him while he is away.

He doesn't seem to give the servants any particularly specific instructions about what to do nor does he tell them how long he's going to be gone. Parable just says in in retrospection that he was gone for a long time. No. He's trusting their judgment to do the work of the kingdom while he's away. Does that sound a little bit familiar for us?

Because it should. That should start to hit home. The talents given to the servants by the master were not theirs to be spent on themselves. They were there to be used for the gain of the kingdom, for the master and his account. So let me make this really plain for us here gathered together at first b in 2023.

We are not given what we are given to be spent on ourselves, but for the investment of the kingdom of God. And if we do that, it then works for God's glory and for our benefit. Now the parable doesn't go into great depths about how the servants worked for the kingdom except to say that they traded with these talents. But what we do see in the parable is how these servants were judged by their master. What's the commendation that the two servants receive that were faithful?

He says, 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. And we so badly want to hear that at the end of our walk when we get there.

But the operative words here for us are faithfulness as servants. The master does not say way to be clever, way to be articulate, great orthodoxy. These are all good things but that's not what what the master is judging for here. He is judging for faithfulness. Similarly, when Jesus is summarizing all of the law and the prophets in Matthew 22, he paints with this really broad brush.

He leaves the details up to us. You see this again in the great commission, in the one another's of scripture, but we're looking at it here in the great commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Guys we're given a lot of leeway here in how we serve but the expectation is that we will serve.

And what is our reward for faithful service? It's more responsibility and the joy of our master. And if that's not enough for you, look this is hard. But I don't think you're fully understanding the depths of what you've been saved from. Who it is that saved you and what it cost him.

I would highly recommend if that fits you, I would highly recommend spending time in your Bible or reading any of the great books that are available on the majesty of God or grab any of us. Those of us on staff, the elders, anybody in leadership. We would love nothing more than to talk to you about the sufficiency of Christ. And I know that sounds like a dry topic, but man I'm telling you it'll change your life. Notice also that the praise for the first two servants is identical.

Whether they return two talents or five, it's about the heart. Were you faithful with what you were given? And that's a great question for each of us to ask ourselves. And in a lot of ways this doesn't make sense with our modern understanding. But you have to remember that God doesn't actually need anything from us.

He doesn't need our money. He doesn't need our service. He wants our hearts. And when he has that, then we'll serve him fully. And then the reward is the same, you enter into the joy of your master.

That's our prize for faithfulness, for realizing the blessings that we receive are to flow through us, not to us. How God has a portioned those blessings or our talents, that's not for us to worry about which leads us to our second point. Which is that to paraphrase the prophet Mick Jagger, God gives us what we need even if it's not all that we want. Just like in the parable, each of us know, every single one of us know somebody that God has given more talent to. But that's not an excuse for me not to be faithful with what I have just because I know so many people that are more talented or differently talented or have more resources than I do.

No. My job is to be faithful with what I've got because nothing, to use an earthly example, nothing makes me grumpy quicker than when I hear my kids fighting over uneven distributions of something. It's like kids, did you do anything to earn or pay for or even procure those toys or that snack or anything. Stop being ungrateful. And usually right around the time I get out the words ungrateful, I hear myself and I think, imagine what God thinks of my grumbling down here.

Because if I'm 38 and I have a basically infinitely greater perspective than my kids who are five and seven, Imagine how much more the creator, sustainer, savior, God who exists outside of time and space. Who knows every hair on my head and every hair on your head. Imagine how much greater his perspective is. And yet I still struggle to trust him often. I still want to complain about something being unfair.

And you guys have heard this from me before and I'm gonna keep saying it again because one of the most helpful things in my walk with Christ is if I remember that what I actually deserve, what God should give me is death. This is this grace and mercy thing that I talked a little bit about briefly a few weeks ago at church at the fair. The two things that we received at the cross, an easy way to summarize it is that we received mercy which is forgiveness that we did not deserve. That we were forgiven a debt. That we were pardoned of a wrong.

We didn't get the punishment we deserved. That's mercy. But we also receive grace which is the unmerited favor of God. God looks at us and because we've been adopted as sons and daughters of God through Jesus, he sees not us, not our filthy works, not our sins. He sees the perfect obedience of Jesus.

And we receive that favor accordingly. Similarly, my favorite servant in the parable, it's it's actually the guy with two talents. We're gonna call him Deuce. I like to think that he had to have known that the other guy got two and a half times the number of talents that he did. These are people that have worked together before and we have no record in our parable of him grumbling or complaining or talking about unfair distributions.

Only him being faithful. And this is I talk about this a lot in community and things like that and reminding myself of it. That our job is to be faithful in the six inches in front of our face. We don't have to make the meta plans. We don't have to figure out what God is doing in something.

We just go, okay. It's right here. What do I do with this opportunity that's in front of me? And it's such a great reminder for all of us because Deuce here, he just gets to work. And as I mentioned earlier, in spite of returning two talents instead of five, he receives the same reward as this like Brad Pitt, Tom Brady, clever guy that got five talents to steward.

Similarly, all of us are called to share the hope that we have. For some, that could be teaching in packed football stadiums, leading revivals all around the world. For others, that's just being faithful in a community group or sharing with our unbelieving friend, family member, coworker, whatever it might be. We are called to live out the love of Christ and to share the hope that we have. And similar to our text today, like I said earlier, we have a lot of freedom and application.

It is up to us working with the Holy Spirit to figure out what that looks like. But it is not up to us to opt out. For followers of Christ, we have to opt in. And this is all over the Bible. Crack open any of the letters in the New Testament and you're gonna see a really, really familiar pattern.

We are saved by grace through faith and it is then expected that we will therefore do the work in gratitude for the kingdom. Now I get to some of you, this sounds like legalism. And if you have church hurt backgrounds, that's a real thing that needs to be worked through. But I'm telling you this is not legalism. Jesus and the kingdom, they refuse to fit into our tidy little logical category buckets.

That's why there are so many hard sayings of Jesus and why it's so worth our time to lean into them and to unpack them and to apply them to our own lives. We have to get rid of our our buts and our ifs in the way that we follow Jesus because our submission cannot be with qualification or condition. It's not dependent on Jesus giving us what we want. We can never say, God, if you give me this, then I'll do that. And we've all said that at some at some time.

No. We say instead, God, because Jesus died for me on the cross, even if you never do another thing for me in my life, you are kind, you are gracious, and I will give you everything. And we'll fall short of that calling all the time but there is grace to meet us in it. He's given us all that we need, not all that we want. He's given us all that we need to live by the one metric that Jesus judges by in this parable, is faithfulness.

So we live out the one another's of scripture with those inside the church, and then we proclaim the truth and love to those outside the church. And in keeping with the parable, we do that with whatever talents and opportunities God has put right in front of us. So if like me, you're anxious about the trajectory of our culture or of our nation, there is nothing that you can do more productive than praying to God about it and being faithful in what you've been given, which in this context means to share the love of Christ with everyone. You wanna change Jackson or wherever it is that you guys are visiting from on this holiday weekend? Preach Jesus.

Share what he's done in your life. Guys, a simple testimony is so powerful. I break it down into three parts. Who you were before, what you've been saved from. That's one.

Two, how God saved you. And three, what your life looks like afterwards. If you share those, it is so powerful. And if someone asks you a question that you don't know, don't be afraid of that. Just go, I don't know.

Let's find out together. If you haven't done the deep philosophical dive on the problem of suffering in theology, there's plenty of people that have. Let's have That's what it means to be faithful with the talents that God has given us. Let's contrast that then for our third point with the obvious negative example in this parable. The third servant.

He was either afraid as he claimed or he was lazy and wicked as the master claimed. Probably a combination of both. We have to remember something here though that this is not immediately obvious to think about. He was also a servant. These three men had been laboring together before.

This wasn't someone in from off the streets that failed. This was a co laborer. So this fellow servant in the parable who is entrusted with his master's resources and given responsibility, He rejects his duties. He's given a million dollars to steward and he did nothing with it. Interesting to note though, this isn't the prodigal son.

He didn't squander the the wealth through outrageous living. What dooms him is complacency, action, or inaction, and fear. So let me say that again to be clear. What doomed the third servant was not wrong action, but inaction. In this parable, he is judged not for immoral sin, but for squandering his time and his resources and not using them for the master.

Romans fourteen twenty three similarly says, whatever is not from faith is sin. This third servant's fear, whether of the master or of work in general or of the world or maybe he was just too busy. It was not from faith and this fear drove him to an action. And guys fear is a terrible motivator, but man it can be super powerful. It's just like adrenaline or caffeine or sugar.

It can be powerful but it's not what you want for your primary fuel. It's like throwing gasoline on a fire or sugar in your bloodstream. It burns fast but it's unsustainable. Fear similarly is unstable. It can motivate us either to action or to inaction.

It can freeze us up. Now I have plenty of criticisms for the modern evangelicalism movement, but one of them is that we tend to struggle to get our theological emphasis right. We tend to either try to scare people into faith by constantly talking about hellfire and brimstone, or we do this weird like, just Jesus and me. He loves you just the way that you are. Once you're baptized, you're all good.

You don't need to work on a thing because Jesus is your homeboy. It's as if the creator and savior and sustainer of the universe as if he were the genie in Aladdin's lamp to be rubbed whenever we want an upgrade. Now those those messages, those can both bring in the crowds and in a lot of ways, they're they're right, but they're also very incomplete. Neither capture the full calling of what God has placed on our lives and it's not capturing what Jesus is constantly talking about in the scriptures. And that's why I get so worked up about any of us thinking that what we have been saved from or what we have been saved for, I should say, is church attendance or some mild comfortable giving.

As if that's the sum total of what we've been called into. And then we wonder why just putting on a face why it feels so exhausting. It's because it's not from faith, it's from fear. It's not from love. But the good news of the gospel is so much more holistic and all encompassing than that.

We see it in first John four sixteen through 19. That God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God. Goes on to say, there is no fear in love but perfect love it casts out fear. We love because he first loved us. So the sequence here is that God is love.

We abide in him and we receive that love. And then we have confidence in him. And then this perfect love it casts out fear so that we are free to do the works. The summary here is verse 19. We love because God first loved us.

It goes on in verse 21 to give us a command which is that whoever loves God must also love his brother. Now, back one. I'm going to stand in front of God one day and give an account for everything in my life. And that's heavy because so will you. Secret thoughts, desires, motivations, speech, grumbling, nothing will be hidden.

The Bible says, all will be made plain. Am I teaching today for your approval or for that of Jesus? Am I teaching in pride, in vanity, or am I teaching to pursue righteousness? I'm gonna give an account for it. And don't mishear me.

I know that the only way I'll get to participate in the kingdom of God is on on account of Christ. I know where my salvation comes from and it ain't from me. But just as first John says here, because of God's love I can have confidence in that day of judgment because of the work of Jesus. But the Bible is very clear that if you have a saving faith you will be a tree that produces good fruit. And in case you think I'm cherry picking this idea out of context, I've I've threw together just six quick verses to save you some research.

And we'll leave this up for just a few minutes if you want to jot down some of these and take a look at them and check me on this. You guys don't necessarily know me. You don't know my heart. You should check my stuff, Ray's stuff, Carl's stuff, anybody that you hear check it against God's word because there are plenty plenty of warnings in scripture against false teaching. But in this other famous parable, the one that we've all heard of, the parable of the prodigal son that I mentioned earlier, he returned to the father full of repentance.

In comparison, we get the feeling here that if given the chance, this servant, given the one talent, given the million dollars, he would just as soon never see the master again. Getting a million dollars without the master is in some ways the best case scenario for that third servant. Just like it is with many of us. I know it is with me at times in my sinful heart. I don't want God.

I just want his stuff. But unlike the servant in this story, in this moment we get a chance to recognize our sinful nature and repent and go running back to to Jesus. So if anyone here has not made a commitment of faith to Jesus, you can do that right now in obedience. We are always promised a last chance but we are not promised a next chance. But we don't run to Christ in fear of the alternatives.

No, we run to him because it is the perfect love that you have been looking for your entire life. It is the perfect love that casts out fear and it will never fail. Or maybe we've been in church for a while and we recognize some area of our life where we are fearful of letting God have full control. We can repent of that. We can pursue the spiritual disciplines and we can grow in Christian maturity.

We can do the work that we're called to. So for our fourth point, return of the master. Guys, don't be like the third servant. In Matthew seven, Jesus makes clear that some people that are in the church will be revealed to have been false followers. That they are not truly of the flock of God.

And in Hebrews 13, the writer makes clear that those of us that are in leadership, especially as an elder, that we're gonna give an account for the souls that were under our care. Guys, that is a terrifying combination for me. And that's why I lean in so much to these hard teachings. But what we all need right now is the reminder that you have been set free. As I said earlier, we are all adopted into the family of God through Jesus.

It's already been done. The work has been accomplished. And Jesus didn't die just for your past sin, but for all of it. We are forgiven fully, freely, and forever for our sin. There is a coming judgment for all of us as I mentioned and our only hope is as Romans five says, that we have peace with God because we have been justified through Jesus Christ.

And one day that's gonna become very acute because guys this is the single biggest takeaway from our parable today. This is the meta narrative. This is the macro story of what Jesus is talking about. Is that the only true perfect and faithful servant, the one who obeyed God perfectly and was still crushed, The lion of Judah, the lamb of God, he's coming back. We don't know when but he promised us that he is and we need to act accordingly.

That does not mean playing it safe on the sidelines. That means getting in the game and trusting God with the outcomes. And when he comes back, he's going to right every wrong. C. S.

Lewis talks about everything will be made so right that it will be as if it was never wrong. In Revelations twenty one five, it says, and he who sits on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. So I'm gonna invite the band back up. And as I usually do, I'm going to challenge you as you leave today. Not to think about whether or not you enjoyed my message, but instead to think about what God is calling you to in this text.

I'll be here at the front of the service. I won't be wearing any noise cancelling headphones. And I do. I I sincerely, I really appreciate the encouragement and the feedback that you guys provide. But if you really want to bless me, tell me what you're gonna do about it.

Because this isn't a book club. We don't compare notes on some subtle underlying themes and then just eat coffee cake. No. This right here, this is a chance to worship God together. To remind ourselves of truth and then huddle up and figure out what we're going to do.

How we're going out into the world to worship God with our lives for the rest of the week that we're given. So when we gather for fellowship hour, ask real questions, encourage one another, pray together. And let's praise God together one more time in song, so we can go out into the world and have a great week of worship. Thank you, first week. I love you guys.

Breath by breath overtaken by wonder. One step at a time when I'm overwhelmed. Strength for today in bright hold for tomorrow. Awaken my soul to sing. Be reminded.

My future is secure. Oh, my father has spoken. He keeps his every word of fear. Now fear be reminded. My future is secure.

Oh, my father has spoken. He keeps his everywhere. So I will trust. Oh, I will trust morning by morning. To me.

And let me lose, leave this with a kind of a closing benediction here before we part. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy to offer ourselves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to him. This is our true and proper worship. Lord, help us through the week to recognize the grace that you have given, to recognize that love, to live in that love rather than fear, God, and to serve. Serve with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to love you, to love others, to use what we've been given to be a blessing.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

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