TOPIC:‌"Can God Trust You With His Talents?"

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Matthew 25:14-30

 

‌‌"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called

his own servants and delivered his goods to them" (Matthew 25:14, NKJV)

 

‌Who can you trust anymore? That's the question that is being asked by many people as the media is full every night with stories about the erosion of trust in many aspects of American life. The rising tide of mistrust has become epidemic. We have now become more distrustful of just about every profession. The legal profession. The medical profession. The political profession. The business profession. This distrust has even entered into the sports profession with partial judges at our Olympic sporting events.

 

‌But in this time of the undermining of trust we Christians have one in whom we can put our total confidence. Like Job of old who declared: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). Like David who cried out: "Trust in Him at all times" (Psalms 6:8). Like Solomon who wrote: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart" (Proverbs 3:5). Like Isaiah who proclaimed: "Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4). We can trust God for everything.

 

‌But in this message I want to put the shoe on the other foot and ask you this important question: Can God trust you? Can He trust us with His talents? That's the question I want you to answer as we look at this parable as told by our trusting Lord. Let's begin our study.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, to begin with, the DISCERNMENT that must be ADDRESSED. Give attention to the words of Jesus in verse 14: "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."

 

‌At the very outset of our study of this parable we need to distinguish who the players represent in this drama as told by Jesus. The wealthy master or lord refers to Jesus Himself. He is the Lord of all that we possess. A vast majority of Americans may not believe that, but at death they will be convinced of it. The traveling to a far country is the departure of Christ into Heaven at His Ascension. The servants are all born-again believers of Jesus Christ, starting with those twelve disciples to whom Jesus told this parable. And the commendation and correction given by the master to the servants at the end of the parable is a picture of the Judgment Seat of Christ where the works of all believers will . . .