Mat 25:14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
Of course the man going on the journey we could relate to as Jesus and the servants would be us, or Christians, that Jesus is entrusting to us His property.
Mat 25:15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Of course the text here is not talking about talents like singing or writing. Talents were a form of money and a talent was a rather large amount of money. I am quite sure that we can input physical talents or money or even spiritual gifts and the principal or lesson that Jesus is trying to teach will still apply. We have been given these however according to our ability. I spent many years as a young adult angry and jealous at those more fortunate than I was. I had spent my entire life in an extremely poor family and I figured that it was high time that I had my turn. But when I changed jobs and started making more money I just blew it on frivolous things and had less money to pay the bills then when I was making less. I had more money than ability to manage it. So God will give us talents (physical, spiritual) only as we have the ability to be good stewards of them. Don’t misunderstand me and think that all I have to do is to take a class in money management and God will give me more. The wrong motives will gain you nothing.
Mat 25:16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.
Mat 25:17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.
Mat 25:18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
Mat 25:19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Mat 25:20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.'
Mat 25:21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Mat 25:22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.'
Mat 25:23 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Here is the part I want to focus on today…
Mat 25:24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,
Mat 25:25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
Mat 25:26 But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?
Mat 25:27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Mat 25:28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Mat 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
This third servant is going to be our focus today. Typically this is where most preachers convince you that if you have a talent for singing, then you need to join the choir or if you’re good at fixing things you should become the church handyman. While that may be true I want us to focus on what drove this servant to act as he did. In verse 25 the servant says “I was afraid”. The driving force behind the servant was fear. As I was reading and meditating on this I realized that a majority, maybe even all, of my life is motivated by a fear of some sort. On a broader spectrum all people are motivated by fear in one sort or another. We fear getting a toothache so we brush our teeth. We fear starving to death so we eat. Some people fear other people so they carry guns or mace. I would try to be macho about these types of things and I would say that I don’t fear these things I am just being cautious, or I am just developing a contingency. I, personally, consider all of these to be stages of fear. Before you get upset with me and tell me that you have never been afraid of anything in your life, let me just say that some fear, the right fear, is a good thing. Fear is even a necessity for a believer. Have you ever seen the bumper stickers that say “No Fear”? They drive me crazy. The vehicle is usually being driven by some muscle bound man that apparently thinks that his muscles can save him from anything. I am sure that he fears. He fears that some one will think he is a wimp!
What does the Bible have to say about fear? We have all heard the term so often used in the Old Testament that so and so feared the Lord. In the New Testament it could seem to tell us that fear is bad. Let’s look at
1Jn 4:17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
1Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
If you read this out of context without paying attention one might think that if I want love then I can not fear anything. But what is this really telling us. I purposely left out verse 16 which is the only way these verses can be properly understood.
1Jn 4:16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
What these verses are really saying is that God is love and if we believe in God than we can have confidence and not dread (fear) judgment, Because God takes away our fear of judgment. This is how he showed us he loves us.
What this, and all the other references that I have found, all point to the same point. If we are one of God’s elect. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth, lived a perfect life and then died on a cross for our sins and was raised from the dead three days later to be seated at the right hand of God. And repent of our sins than we can have No fear of the judgment of God. (Dread) Not, no fear of God.
The bible does teach us to fear. It also teaches us not to fear. Matthew 6:25 tells us not to be anxious for food or clothing. Obviously these are two entirely different fears. There are fears of dread and anxiety. And there are fears of respect and humility. If we go back to our original text with the third servant he when approached by his master immediately began to give excuses for his behavior. If you are making excuses for your fear it is probably an improper fear.
Rom 11:16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
Rom 11:19 Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
Rom 11:20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
Rom 11:22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Notice verse 20… You stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. Fear of the Lord keeps us from becoming proud. It reminds us that we are just a shoot that was grafted in to the tree.
Heb 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
Heb 4:2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
We should fear that others that we know do not have the assurance of salvation.
2Ti 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
2Ti 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
2Ti 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2Ti 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
When I was a young Christian I would repeat this verse over and over again if I was afraid of something or doing something. Little did I know at that time that this verse isn’t about me becoming this superman who was afraid of nothing. It is about God giving us the courage to preach the gospel to the rest of the world. It was encouraging us to not be afraid sharing the gospel no matter what happens. It was not to give me the courage to ask my boss for a raise.
The point I wanted to make in this sermon is that we tend to fear things that we should not… and do not fear the things that we should. We should not fear what can destroy the body but what could destroy the soul. If we would fear the Lord as much as most of us fear physical things than our walk with Jesus would look a lot different. Fear can cause us to make decisions that are not necessarily in the will of God just as this servant buried the talent instead of investing.
