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ENTRY & END TIMES | Don't Waste Your Talents | Matthew 25:14-30 | Philip Anthony Mitchell - AI Summary, Mind Map & Transcript | 2819 Church | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: ENTRY & END TIMES | Don't Waste Your Talents | Matthew 25:14-30 | Philip Anthony Mitchell
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This sermon emphasizes the Christian responsibility of good stewardship, urging believers to actively use and multiply the God-given resources, talents, and opportunities they have been entrusted with, rather than burying them out of fear or laziness, in preparation for Christ's return and final judgment.
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If you are guest 2018, we welcome you to
these sacred gatherings, these holy
assemblies, this body of believers where
we are serious about the spread of the
gospel and the multiplying of disciples.
to all of our digital disciples watching
me live right now across the country and
around the world. You are our family. I
want you to hear my heart. We love you.
We pray for you every week. You mean
everything to us.
And I just thank you for being a part of
this gathering wherever you are.
If you're not a follower of Christ, if
you're outside of the kingdom,
man, I am praying for you that in a
moment during prayer or during worship
or during the proclamation of God's
word, you would you would hear something
that would move you from where you are
towards the light, from darkness towards
the light, from the kingdom of darkness,
towards the kingdom of God, that you
would come aboard this ark of safety
before it's too late. For tomorrow is
not promised to you, my brother or my
sister. For we make plans for tomorrow
and we are not guaranteed to see
tomorrow. And so if you're sitting in
that first overflow or if you're sitting
in that second overflow, if you're in
that double overflow, you all the way at
the back, I'm talking to you right
across this camera. I'm talking to you
that today is the day of salvation.
Today is the day to repent. Today is the
day to trust in Christ with all of your
heart. Today is the day to know Jesus as
your savior. Today is the day to do that.
that.
For you're not even guaranteed to get
If an accident will take you when you
left this building, would you be
prepared to meet the savior you don't
believe in?
I'm talking to you in that double
overflow. I'm talking to you in that
second overflow. I'm talking to you in
this room. I'm talking to you across
Death should awaken us to our mortality.
Remind us that we are not finite. We are
weak individuals
in desperate need of a savior.
We are in the last two messages
in a series called Entry and End Times.
But we are walking through Matthew
chapter 21-2 together.
together.
We are studying the final actions and
the final prophetic words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I want to say to you
for the last two times this week and
next week,
God willing
that final words are very important
and that they are more important when a
person is facing death. And they are no
more more important words than the final
words of the one we call Lord and
Savior. And I feel passionately about
these words because of the times that
we're living in. And I feel passionately
about these words because I want you to
do more than just come to church. I want
you to hear the words of Christ and I
want you to take them serious. I want
you to hear the words of Christ and I
want you to go home and read and study.
I want you to hear the words of Christ
and appropriate them in your life. I
want for you church to be more than just
gatherings. I want it to be something
you hear the proclamation of God's word
and something in you wants to go out and
live out what you hear and lean into
what you hear. That we value the words
of people more than we value the words
of the one who saved us. We put more
stock in men than we do the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ.
>> And I want you to get to a place in your
life where you learn to love these
scriptures. When you read them for
yourself, when you study them, you lean
into them. You stop saying, "I can't
hear God." But you don't read
knowing that all of this book testifies
of the Lord Jesus Christ. For we search
these scriptures for in them that Jesus
said to the Pharisees, you you're trying
to find life, but it is them that testify
testify
of me. All of it testify of Christ. And
I plead for you that you would love
Christ more than anything in this life.
Man, I shed tears over you this week.
And I cried out over you and my children
sitting over there that you learn to
love Christ more than any person in this
life, more than pam,
more than your favorite preacher. You
would love him and adore him. He will be
the object of your worship and your
affection. And you would not make idols
out of men, but we would worship and
deify the one who rescued you. No man
and that these would not just be sermons
but they will be rally cries from our
savior to his children. Amen.
Amen.
Our text is coming from Matthew chap 25
and the title of our messages don't
just minister to us.
I pray you would pour into us a hatred
for just the depravity and the ugliness
of humanity.
A hatred for it that would move us
towards prayer and tears and brokenness
and gospel witness.
Let us hear your words proclaimed to us
today with humble hearts and open ears.
And Lord, you've seen my tears this week
and you know my weakness and my
frustration. I want to be home.
But help me Lord in my weakness to just
for the next few moments to share with
these the brothers and sisters I love
with my whole heart.
Give us stamina to listen and our heart
to take it serious. I ask in the mighty
and the majestic
and the matchless name of our Lord and
soon cominging King Jesus Christ. Amen
Uh uh last night as I was sitting up in
bed and just meditating on this text,
I was reminded that in 2009 when Lena
and I lived in Columbus, Ohio, attending
Bible college, I was reminded how my
wife was serving in the children's
ministry at that church. And I was
serving in an outreach ministry that was
responsible for going into the inner
city of Columbus, Ohio. And we would
preach the gospel in the streets and
preach the gospel in the projects. We
would give out food and we would give
out clothing. And there was a particular
project in downtown Columbus that we
sort of adopted. We have an affinity for
this particular projects. And we would
go through those projects and knock on
doors and go into homes and sit down
with junky mothers and sit down with
junky fathers. And we would hold crack
babies in our arms. And we would sit
there and let people blow smoke in our
face while we try to teach them about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Never judging
them for what they did not know, but
just loving them and meeting them where
they are. And it was during that season
that my my my team and I fell in love
with a group of teenagers who became
very dear to me. I don't know where any
of them are today. They are probably in
their 20s or 30s now. But but I had a
deep affinity for this specific group of
teenagers who most of them had no father
and and some of them had no mother and
they were living in homes that were
really ratty and torn and and the only
time they felt life is when we would
show up each week to just sit with them
and love on them and listen to them. And
I just want to remind somebody that
sometimes children does not spell love g
i f t but they spell love t i m e. And
what they wanted from us was just time.
them and we would just sit there and
enjoy them and sit in their presence.
And on one occasion when I was leading
the evangelistic ministry, the campaign
on that day, I took that group of
teenagers outside of the projects and we
walked towards downtown Columbus and as
we walked, we came to a graveyard and I
stopped in front of the graveyard and I
tapped all of them. I said, "Look out
there in that graveyard and tell me what
do you see?" And they responded. They
said, "Oh, Brother Phillip, we see
tombstones." And I said, "Good. What
else do you see?" We say, "Brother
Phillip, we see memorials." I said,
"Good. What else do you see?" They said,
"Brother Phillip, we see grass and trees
and flowers." I said, "Good. What else
do you see?" We see, "Brother Phillip,
we don't see anything else." I said,
"Are you sure? Look again. Tell me, what
do you see?" They said, "Brother
Phillip, we don't see anything else."
And I will never forget getting those
teenagers to focus for just a moment.
And I said, "Look out there. Let me tell
you what I see. I see unfulfilled potential.
potential.
I see ministries that were never started.
started.
I see books that were never written. I
seen marriages that were never formed,
children that were never born, visions
that were never realized.
I seen wasted potential out there in
that graveyard. I seen anointings and
giftings and callings that people
carried with them to the grave. I told
them, "Look out there in the graveyard.
You see now the wealthiest place on
earth. For out there in that graveyard,
there are many people who carried with
them to their grave. Things that God
placed on the inside of them that was
supposed to come out of them while they
was in this life. And for whatever
reason, whether excuses, hard times,
challenges, ignorance, they carried with
them to their grave
the things that God had intended for
them to do in this life. And I never
forgot that moment.
This is a tragedy of modern humanity
that there are people dying every day
and going to the grave carrying inside
of them things that they were supposed
to do in this life. This is even a
greater tragedy in Christianity of
people who talk about callings and talk
about giftings and talk about anointings
and have all this show of all these
things we do. And yet there are
Christians leaving this life every week
and every day carrying to their grave.
Things that the master intended for them
to do while they was here, intended for
them to accomplish while they was here,
intended for them to pour out while they
was here. But for whatever reason, they
made excuses. They were busy bodies in
church, man. They died having gone to
the grave with the figurative babies
that was inside them they were supposed
to give birth to. They aborted those
babies for whatever reason. And now they
got to give an account to the Messiah
for that.
This is the tragedy that we approach at
the center of our text. The tragedy
happening in this room in the overflow
in the double overflow. This is what we
approach at the center of our text. a
very serious passage of scripture. But
Christ, you know this, for the final two
weeks, has come to the final days of his
life. He is just days away from being
executed for your sins and for mine.
He is on top the Mount of Olives where I
was in Jerusalem, just outside of the
city walls. And there he's surrounded by
his followers. And they're asking him a
question at this time. are you going to
restore the kingdom back to Israel?
They're asking him when will these
things be? They're concerned about the
coming of his kingdom. They want to
overthrow Rome. He begins to prophesied
to them about the signs of the end of
the age. And I said to you last week, I
said to you this week, and I'm going to
say to you next week, man, we are seeing
the beginning of these things happening
right now in our society. Man, I was
sitting with my children last night
doing our homework because I gave you
homework, you know. And I was sitting
with my children right over there
reading through Revelation 19:20 and 21.
I let them read and I taught. They read
and I taught. They read and I taught.
And I made it aware to them. Do y'all
see some of these things in this text?
I'm showing them videos on Tik Tok and
Instagram. Do you see how some of the
things happening in society right now is
reading right out of the pages of the
scripture and they are shocked eyes wide
open. I'm showing them right now about
the increase of another great monotheism
that has taken over all of the east has
taken over all of England. It's starting
to take over American cities. I read to
them in the text if you did your
homework where it said during the
tribulation period Christians will be
beheaded for the witness of Christ.
There's only one type of militia, one
type of religion that takes joy in
beheading other people. It's why they're
the fastest growing religion on the
planet. And while we playing church and
playing conferences and not paying
attention, I was showing my children
from social media and the scriptures
together how right now we see all the
pieces aligning all over the earth. God
preparing the world for the coming of
the sun. The scripture talks about the
alliance between Russia and China. They
are hidden in biblical prophecy. I
showed my children on social media how
the president of Russia was just with
the president of China just two weeks
ago while people are not paying
attention. I talked to my children about
the rise of cryptocurrency and the rise
of digital currency and the devaluation
of paper money. The scripture tells us
in the last days there will be one world
currency. Can't have one world currency
with paper. Yeah,
>> that's why we see an increase in digital
currency and plastic and cards and tap
for get cash. Let's just tap for get
cash. Let's have crypto for get cash.
Let's have it makes it easier for the
antichrist to control the world. And I'm
showing my kids from the scriptures and
from their phone how God is allowing
things right now all over the earth
preparing the world for the coming of
don't want to live on mission. Don't
want to pray like people on mission. You
just want a sermon. You want to go to
Chick-fil-A and then you want to chill
out the rest of the week. You want to
Netflix and chill. Never mind God called
you to be on mission.
And I'm showing them from the scriptures
and from social media
how the words of God is colliding with
the things we see. And there is the Lord
prophesying about these end times,
prophesying about the return of his. And
I'm telling you, we're living in the
beginning of these times. Now, we might
be the generation that sees the rapture,
the tribulation, and the return of
Christ, which the Lord said all these
things will happen in rapid succession
like birth painans. We might be the
generation to see all those things. And
And the Lord prophesies his return. And
on the back side of that prophecy, he
gives his followers and everybody who
will listen three parables, a trilogy of
short stories to communicate the seriousness
seriousness
of his second coming. The first one, the
parable of the faithful servant and the
wicked servant to communicate
faithfulness. The second one, the
parable of the 10 virgins to communicate
some people will be ready and some
people will not be ready. And on the
heels of that second parable, he gives
us this last parable before he will be
executed. The parable of the talents.
Matthew chapter 25. Matthew who was the
eyewitness recorded this passage. He
recorded what Jesus said. Verse 14.
Jesus continues teaching. He says, "For
it will be like
a man going on a journey who called his
servants and entrusted to them his
property." I want to draw your attention
to the word it. The word it there is
speaking of the kingdom of God. This is
a continuation from the parable of last
week. He started the parable of the 10
virgins by saying the kingdom of heaven
will be like 10 virgins. He finishes
that teaching. He goes right into the
second one. So the kingdom of heaven
will also be like a man going in a long
journey. The kingdom of heaven, the
sphere of God's rule in the earth. And
we see in God's rule in the earth, there
were virgins who were wise and virgins
who were foolish. Because in the sphere
of God's rule in the earth, there are
people who are truly saved and people
who are not truly saved. He goes
straight into this one. He says, "The
kingdom of heaven, the ending, will also
be like a man who went on a long
journey, who called his servants and
entrusted to them his property." Now, I
want to draw your attention to the man
in the text. He said, "The man went away
on a long journey." The man we see is
akin to a type of Christ who also went
away on a long journey. The Lord is
saying this in the first century AD.
He's trying to help his followers
understand there will be no overthrow
right now in the first century. My
brothers, I am about to bounce for a
very long time. And what they did not
see is what you and I are living in
right now. The church age, which has
been happening for over 2,25 years. This
man has been gone for a very long time.
Two millennia this man has been gone.
But when the man left, he did not leave
his servants empty-handed. No, he
entrusted to them his property. I want
to draw your attention to the word his
property. And the word entrusted. Jesus
again reminded his followers. And as I
remind you that you and I are stewards
of everything that God has given to you,
that the earth is the Lord and the
fullness thereof. There is no one under
the sound of my voice who is a owner of
anything but everything under your
fingertips you have been given to
steward. And I want to say to you again
and next week I might say to you again
that the most important things you are
stewarding write them down. You are
stewarding your time,
your resources, your opportunities,
your assignments, your relationships.
These are the five most important things
that you are stewarding. You are
managing these things for the glory of
God. I want you to notice he said his
property and his servants because you
also are a stewardship your personal
life because you belong to the Lord if
you are saved. So we are only stewards.
We are only managers and your management
is a test in this life for what you will
enjoy in the life to come. Verse 15. To
one he gave five talents, to another two talents,
talents,
to another one according to his ability.
Then the master went away. So I want you
to notice that the man did not leave
these servants empty-handed. He did not
leave them to be idle, but he gave each
one of these servants talents plural. To
one man, he gave five talents. To
another man, he gave two talents. To
another man, he gives one talent. Then
he bounces and been gone for 2,000
years. Now, I want you to notice the
talents. Historically, the talents was a
sum of money in silver in the first
century. It weighed collectively
somewhere between 50 and 85 pounds for
one talent. One talent was equivalent to
some 10 to 20 years of wages. So to give
a person five talents is to give them a
large sum of money. To give a person two
talents is to give them a large sum of
money. Shoot. To give a person one
talent is to give them a large sum of
money. So the first thing the Lord
entrusted to these servants was
resources. It's the same thing God has
entrusted to you and I. One of the most
important things God has entrusted to
you, listen to me, is resources. I harp
on this because this is the only thing
that God ever exalted to the status of a
God. Lord said that you cannot serve God
and money at the same time. So one of
the most important things that you are
stewarding in this life are resources.
God gave it to you. Your check, your
job, your businesses, your ministries,
all the income that comes into your
house is a stewardship in the eyes of
God. Now this is very important because
this is the one part of your life that
is very private. See, people see your
post. They see your preaching. They see
your podcast. They see your ministry.
They see you serving. They see you on
the line. They see you as a usher. They
see in the room, but they don't see your
bank account.
And the stewardship of money is very
important. Listen to me. Money is a
moral. Like a dollar, $20. Let's go
higher. $100. I wish somebody just give
me $20. Like, like just give me some money.
money.
>> Oh, I forgot. Y'all genz's y'all y'all tap
tap money.
money.
Oh. Oh. Oh. Come on. You're not getting
Money.
Money is immoral.
It has no heart, has no eyes, it has no
soul, has no thoughts. It has no will.
But when it lands in the hands of a
With this $20, I could go buy groceries
and give $5 to the poor and put a dollar
in the offering. Or with this $20, I
could go get blow and snuff out for the
rest of the week. The money has no will
of its own. It only has a will when it
lands in the hand of a person. Why?
Because money reveals what's in the heart.
heart.
>> If you want to know what's in people's
heart, just give them resources. As soon
as resources lands in a hand, it reveals
what's in the heart. Where the heart is,
so your treasure will be >> also.
>> also.
>> So money in and of itself is not evil.
People are evil.
>> And so if you want to know what's in
people's hearts, just put money in their
hands. As soon as resources land in a
person's heart, we see what's in their
hands. We see what's in their heart.
>> So the first thing that you are
stewarding are resources for the glory
God. No, I didn't beat you up for a
tithe. I just told you to be a good
steward of the resources God has given
you. Why? because he's watching how you
handle this thing right here is not a
god. Although some of you worship it and
you bow down to it and you exalt it like
an idol in your heart. You hold it so
high you afraid to part from it. You're
afraid to share it. You're afraid to
invest it into the kingdom. This is so
temporary. It's going to be gone. You
ain't going to be using this in the
millennial kingdom. The Lord is just
allowing you to manage a little bit of
it just to see how good you can handle
it. It's crazy to me that some of you
will be praying to be a millionaire, but
you can't steward a few thousand dollar. [Applause]
[Applause]
>> You're praying for God to bless your
business, but you can't steward a check.
>> You're praying for God to increase your
finances, but you can't steward what you have.
have.
And so, the first thing he gave them to
steward was resources. But I think the
parable does not just stop with money. I
think the parable is broader than money
because of the key word ability which
speaks about work and task and
assignments. So your talents I believe
are not just only resources but your
talents are the opportunities God has
given you to serve and to have
assignments and to do tasks and to carry
out functions. So what God has given you
is the ability
and the responsibility to steward
resources, to steward opportunities, to
steward assignments. Now pay attention.
Watch in the text. We see that there is
a tiered system of allocation. To one
man he gave five talents. To another man
he gave two. To another man he gave one.
Watch this. According to their ability.
This is very important. This means that
for every human being, God has already
assigned them a certain level of
cognitive ability, a certain level of
acumen, a certain level of work ethic,
and then he will give them resources and
assignment according to their ability.
This is the love of God because he's not
going to give you something you cannot handle.
handle.
>> This is very important because too many
of us be praying and asking God for
things that you don't have the character
to handle and you don't have the ability
to store it. If God gave it to you, it
will hurt you.
>> See, I got people around me who are like
five talent people. If you give a five
talent person a one talent assignment,
they're going to be bored and frustrated.
frustrated.
If you give a one talent person a five
talent assignment, they're going to feel
overwhelmed and crushed. God who is very
wise is not going to give a five talent
person a one talent assignment. And God
who's very wise is not going to give a
one talent person a five talent
assignment. This is why we need to stop
being jealous of other people's assignments.
assignments.
>> Come on, man. I'm talking to y'all. This
ain't about competition. And this ain't
about condemnation or or cond or or
being condescending towards somebody.
This is you watch having enough personal
awareness to embrace whatever level you
on and just be faithful on whatever
level you're on.
>> The Lord is not asking you for more than
what you can give.
He just wants you to be faithful on what
you on. So if Billy Graham is a five
talent minister and Philip Anthony
Mitchell is a two talent minister and
some other man is a one talent minister.
Man, am I jealous of Billy? Should I
condemn the one talent man? No. I should
just be in the middle trying to be
faithful to what God has called me to
do. There is some man in the country who
got 50 people in his church. But he
loves his family, loves his children.
He's faithful to the Lord Jesus. He
prays. He's a good steward. He's not
cheating money from the from the He's
faithful. Is he any less of a minister
than I am?
>> Am I any greater of a minister than he
is? No. If we're faithful on our level,
that's all God wants from us. All God
wants for you is for you to be a
faithful servant on the level that he's
given you. But it's only our brokenness
in humanity. Why? That we like to exalt
five talent people and make them gods
and put down one talent people and make
them trash.
But why condemn somebody if that's the
limit of what God gave them?
>> And why exalt a man if that's what God
gave them?
>> Man, if that person is a five talent,
that's God's grace. And if they're one
talent, that God's grace. Ours is to be
honest about what level we on and just
be faithful on our level.
I'm trying to, that's all God wants for
us to just be faithful on our level. So
I don't have to be jealous of a five
talent person. All I got to do is be
faithful what God has given me.
Verse 18.
well verse 16. He who had received the
five talents went out and at once he
traded and he made five talents more.
And also the one who had two talents
made he went out and traded and made two
talents more. So I just want you to see
that the first two servants immediately
went out and they begin to trade. They
did not wait. Immediately they went out
and they begin to multiply their
talents. They did not sit on what God
gave them, but they multiplied what God
gave them. The man who had five
multiplied his talent. The man who had
two, he multiplied his talent. They had
some sense of purpose, some sense of
meaning. They knew God gave them an
assignment. And immediately they set out
to do that assignment. I just want to
draw some attention to you. I want you
to draw some attention to some things in
the text. I want you to notice the words
at once. They did not wait. They
recognized that they were saved. They
recognized that they were given gifts
and talents. Immediately they put their
life on the altar. They went out to
serve God. The man who had five
multiplied. The man who had two
multiplied. What does this look like in
context? What multiplication looks like
in context is you watch using the
potential God has given you and
maximizing that potential to do
everything God has called you to do. So
what this look like in context,
everybody look right. This is if I've
been saved for 5 years or 20 years, I
should be a better husband today than I
was when God saved me. I should be a
better father today than when I was when
God saved me. I should be a better
steward today than I was when God saved
me. I should be a better preacher today
than I was when God saved me. If 20
years go by and you're still the same
person, you are not multiplying your
talents. If 20 years go by and you're
not a good steward with money, you are
not multiplying your talents. But if we
would multiply our talents, my brothers
and my sisters, that as time goes by,
you will show fruit that you're being
transformed in different areas. You're
becoming a better husband. You're
becoming a better wife. You're becoming
a better friend. You're becoming a
better person who stewards money. You
should be growing. And that's how you
multiply the things that God has given
you. That is, man, you should be more
obedient. You should be more faithful.
The Lord should be able to look at you
20 years down the road and say, "I don't
have to fight you when I talk now. Now
when I talk, you obey right away. When I
first find you, you had to reason for 3
months before you carried out anything.
But now when I talk to you, you move
right away. You don't even need all the
answers. You just trust my voice when I speak.
[Applause]
So if you're becoming better in
character, you're becoming more like the
person of Christ, you're becoming more
obedient, you're becoming more faithful,
you're doing the things God has called
you to do in your sphere of influence,
that is how you multiply your talents.
You multiply talents by giving God back
something that he has deposited into you.
you.
But verse 18,
but he who had received the one talent,
he went out and he dug in the ground,
he buried his master's money.
The first two dudes producing what they
supposed to. And the Lord doesn't work
from the five talent person more than
what he gave him. And he doesn't want
from the two talent person more than
what he gave him. I want to help some of
you man who be feeling burdened all the
time. You think the Lord wants from you
things he did not ask of you. So you
crucify yourself all the time. You
condemn yourself all the time. You beat
yourself all the time. Now look, the
Lord, listen, if you're a two talent
person, the Lord is not asking you for
five talents. He just wants you to
multiply what you have. But then we see
this last brother right here. Too many
of us are like this last brother. You
have gifts, you have abilities, you have
talents, you have money, you have
resources, but you don't use it for the
kingdom of God. You're not developing in
character. You're not growing as a man
and a woman. That's what this brother
is. He goes out and he buries his talent
in the ground. Now, burying his talent
is not uncommon in the first century
when banks was embriionic. If people
wanted to protect something that was
assets, they would dig a hole in the
ground, put that thing in the ground,
and cover it up and come back and find
it later. That's how they protected
assets. I just want you look, I just
want you to pay attention that the man
had to dig a hole in the ground to bury
that talent.
It takes effort to dig a hole.
It is activity to dig a hole. So the
>> The brother has activity, but he's not
obeying his master. And there's too many
of us who are just like this brother. We
have all this activity in our life, but
we're not fruitful for the kingdom. We
are busy bodies, but we're not fruitful
bodies. We're running here and there,
and we're doing all these things, and
we're saying yes to all these people.
You're building this over here and
you're building that over there and
you're running here. You're do you're
doing all that stuff. But my question
is, are you doing what God has called
you to do? Are you doing what God has
purposed you to do? You can be busy and
not fruitful. You can be full of
activities and not fruitful. Some of you
are running from conference to
conference, but you still have not
obeyed the last thing God called you to
do. So, I want you to see that this
brother dug a hole and he put his
resources in the hole. And I'm trying to
stop some of you from continuing to do
that. In fact, I'm trying to strip you
of your shovel. My prayer today is some
of you will lay down that shovel that
you have that you're always busy doing
everything other than the father's
business. You got time for everything
except the father's business. You're too
busy to pray, too busy to read, too busy
to fast, too busy to love, too busy for
your wife, too busy for your husband,
too busy for your children, you're too
busy for everything except the word of
God. You're too busy for everything
except what God called you to do. My
brother and my sister, listen to me,
man. Give me that shovel,
man. Leave that shovel in the room
today. Leave it in the overflow. Leave
it in the second overflow. Leave it on
the couch. I'm talking to those of you
who are always active, but you're not
fruitful, man. Leave that shovel here
today. Lay it down. Take inventory of
the things that you're doing. And ask
yourself a question. Is this in line
Verse 19.
Now after a long time, the master of
those servants came and he settled
accounts with them.
This is a picture of the second coming
of Christ. I want y'all to notice now
because Christ is delayed, that doesn't
mean he's not coming. Christ is delayed,
but Christ is also coming. When the
master comes, look at the first thing
that he does. He comes and immediately
he settles everyone's accounts. That is
nobody is going to escape Christ. The
atheist will not escape him. The Muslim
will not escape him. The unbeliever will
not escape him. The fake Christian will
not escape him. When the Lord returns in
return, he shall he will settle
everyone's accounts. If you did your
homework, you would have read that books
are going to be open.
And in those books, he will look at what
everybody has done in this life. And
then according to those books, people
will either be judged or people will be
rewarded. You would have saw that in
your homework that when Christ comes,
he's coming to give watch a time for
everybody to stand before him and then
all of us are going to have to give an
account for how we manage the things in
how did you steward your children? How
did you steward your resources? How did
you steward your time? How did you
steward your opportunities? We will give
an account for how we stewarded the
things that he gave us in this life.
Nobody escapes that account.
Verse 20. And he who had received the
five talents came forward during the
account bringing five talents more and
saying, "Master, you delivered to me
five talents here. I have made five more
talents." His master said to him, "I
know you want to hear these words." Well
done, good and faithful servant. You
have been faithful over a little. I will
now set you over much. Enter into the
joy of your master. This is what's going
to happen at the end. The Lord makes it
no darkness for us to know. Verse 22.
And he says to the other one who had two
talents. He came to him saying, "Master,
you delivered to me two talents. Here
I've made two more." His master said to
him, "Well done, you good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a
little things. I will now set you over
much. Enter into the joy of your master."
master."
So I I just want you to see from the
words of Christ that in the end when we
all give an account man some people will
be commended for what they have done.
These two servants they are ready for
their account. They come with excitement
in their voice. You could hear it in the
text. Master look you gave me five
talents I give you back 10. You gave me
two I give you back four. We hear in
them men who had a sense of assignment a
sense of mission. Men who was living on
purpose. people who understood that
their life mattered would hear in them
men who were serious about the time they
spent in earth. This is what I want for
you. This is what I shed tears for you.
I want you to be men and women that live
with a sense of purpose, live with a
sense of assignment. Live with a sense
of mission. I want you to get up in the
morning thinking, man, God has anointed
me for whatever fill-in-the-blank roles
he has given you to be a mother, a
father, a minister, a speaker, a
teacher, whatever it is. These men are
ready for their account. They said,
"Lord, look, you made an investment in
me. I give you back your investment."
This is powerful. This is me being able
to stand before the Lord and say, "Lord,
you saved a brother from Queens. And
look at all of the good that has come
out of my life. I messed up a few times.
I fell down a few times. I made a few
mistakes, but look, there's souls in
heaven because of my preaching. Look, my
children made it because of my
disciplehip. Look, people love you
because of my preaching. Look, they love
the B." He wants to see our ROI on your salvation.
>> He wants to know that when I saved you,
I got something out of you on the day of
judgment. What the Lord wants to see is
that watch, your salvation was not a waste.
waste.
And he does not have to regret that I
saved you from sin. Man, I want to
arrive in heaven with the Lord having no
regrets. Like, man, that brother, man,
he was difficult in the beginning, but
man, he cleaned up really good after 20,
20 years, man. Man, he really started
listening. He really started praying. He
was reading. He really started preaching
from the Bible, man. He was serious
about study. Like, I want the Lord to I
want to be able to stand before him and
said, "Lord, look, you rescued me. This
is what you gave me. I give you back
more than what you gave me." I want to
be able to do that with joy in my heart.
>> And look at the commenation they get.
This is the commenation we're living
for. Well done,
you good and faithful servant.
>> I know you got that on your t-shirt. And
I just want to remind you, he didn't say
that to people just because they were believers.
believers.
>> Well done, my good and faithful servant
is not an empty platitude. Well done, my
good and faithful servant was attached
to good stewardship.
>> And there'll be a lot of believers who
might die and arrive in heaven and never
really hear that. You hear that at every
funeral. We always say, "Man, well done,
my good and faithful servant." How are
we saying that about somebody in a box
that hated Jesus and never went to church?
church?
>> The preacher is a liar. Well done my
good and faithful servant is for
believers who are good stewards in this
life. So if you want to hear those words
from your savior, you have to start
taking serious the stewardship of
everything that God has placed under
your care. If you will hear from your
savior, "Well done, my good and faithful
servant. You don't hear that for going
to church. You hear that for being a
good steward." He says, "Watch. You were
faithful over a little. Now I'm going to
make you ruler over much." I want you to
pay attention to the word little and the
word much. He said everything y'all did
in this life was little.
That means the biggest ministry in this
life in the eyes of God little. The
biggest fortune in this life in the eyes
of God little. He said everything in
this life you were just rulers over
things that were little.
But he says now my coming here I will
make you a ruler over much. This is
important because I want you to see
we're not going to be in heaven floating
around on clouds and playing harps all
day and being bored. He said to him,
"For those who are faithful in this life
over little, I'm going to make you ruler
over much. That your service in this
life is going to translate into a
greater service in the next life." Man,
man, this ministry 2019 is little in the
eyes of God. But I can't even get if if
he calls this little, just imagine what
I'm going to be ruling over when I come
into the into glory with my savior. Man,
if you think the things you have now are
big, just imagine what you're going to
be ruling over when you come into glory
with your savior. Man, the things we're
stoing right now are small. They're
nothing compared to what God is going to
give us. Now, the wisdom of Paul makes
sense, man. No eye has seen and no ear
has heard, nor has it entered into the
heart of man, what God has prepared for
those of us who love him. Man, the
biggest thing you admire in this earth,
the biggest ministries, little and not,
if these things are little, just imagine
what you're going to rule over in
eternity. We're not going to be floating
on clouds board. No, we're going to have
rulership. We'll have assignments. We'll
serve God at another capacity. We'll
serve him with joy, and we'll be over
things much greater than anything that
Enter into the joy
and the rest of your master is what he
said. Come now be rewarded for your labors.
Verse 24. But he who had received the
one talent came in and said, "Master, I
knew you was a hard man, reaping where
you did not sow, and gathering where you
did not scatter seed. So, I was afraid
and I went and I hid your talent in the
ground. Here you have what is yours.
Family, this is a tragedy right here
that I'm trying to protect as many
people as possible from being in this
position. That there too many people.
Look, he appeals to the master with two
things. He appeals to the master with an
insult and he appeals to the master with
a felt need. He's hoping the master is
going to feel sorry for him. He tells
the master, "I knew you was a hard man,
reaping where you have not sewed and
harvested where you have not planted."
He is accusing the master of taking what
does not belong to him. Like the
scripture didn't say, "The earth is the
Lord and the fullness thereof." He is
now arguing with the master based on bad theology.
theology.
And there are a lot of people, man, who
have poor hermeneutics and bad theology.
You're going to arrive in glory before
God. You're not going to be able to get
into glory. And in that moment, you're
going to argue with God with bad
theology. That's why you should love
biblical teaching. That's why you should
read the scriptures for yourself so you
don't die and come into a place of shock.
shock.
>> This brother now is shocked. He makes an
excuse why he wasn't faithful, why he
wasn't fruitful. He makes an excuse. I
knew you was a hard man. He insults his
master. And then he tried to appeal with
some felt need garbage. I was afraid.
He he he he said I was afraid. Too many
of us are like that. We we paralyze with
fear. So because of fear, we don't we
don't do anything that God has called us
to do. This man said, "I was afraid."
And and I just want to remind some of
you who deal with fear. I I need to say
this before I finish this text. There
are some of you, man, you you are
waiting for everything to be perfect for
you to obey. You're just like this dude.
You battling fear. You're not like the
two dudes that immediately went out and
did what they was called to do. I want
to tell you something and you're not
going to like it. Some of you you you
waiting to be ready before you do what
God that it ain't coming.
>> You uh we you've been dating for 25
years and you said when we get enough
money then we're going to get married.
It ain't coming.
God is calling you to be obedient in
some area and you said when I feel ready
I'll start the ministry. I'll write the
book. You're never going to feel ready.
You need to just obey and do it afraid.
You need to just be faithful afraid. You
need to just jump out on faith and let
God catch you. You You waiting for the
planets and the stars to align before
you choose to be be obedient. Man, I'm
telling you right now today, some of you
what you're waiting for, it ain't
coming. When I started this ministry, I
wasn't ready. When I changed the name of
the church, I wasn't ready. When I start
traveling and preaching, I wasn't ready.
Everything I'm doing right now, I had to
do it afraid.
>> I still get up on Sunday mornings and
sometimes feel afraid. I still battle
with insecurities. You're never going to
feel perfectly ready. What broken human
being is going to feel perfectly ready?
You need to just do what God is calling
you to do with all of your fears and
insecurities. Just do it afraid and do
it insecure. [Applause]
[Applause]
He gives the Lord an excuse.
I was afraid. So I went and I I I buried
what you here Lord. I I give you back
the talent that you gave me. The Lord
don't want back the talent he gave you.
>> And this is too many of us right here.
I'm talking to you.
This is all this is. It's just it just
come here and listen to PAM.
but but not going out there and and and
and and multiplying your talents, not
being intentional about growing as a
man, growing as a woman, growing as a
disciple, growing in character, growing
in faithfulness, growing in obedience,
growing in knowledge of God's word,
growing in pe where's the intentionality
in those areas. The Lord wants to be
able to look at you when he calls you
home and see that he got something out
of your life. I gave you assignments and
you carried them out. I whispered to
your ear to be obedient in that area and
you carried that out. I told you to be a
better husband and you took that
serious. I called you to be a better
wife and you took that serious. I told
you to be a better mother or father to
these children and you took that
serious. I told you to be faithful at
your local church and you took that
serious. I told you start giving some of
your income to missions and to gospel
ministries and you took like I want to
get something out of your life. The Lord
made an investment in you. He put his
spirit in you. He wants something out of
you. He does not want to look at you at
the end and say, "Man, I made a mistake
in serving way saving this person." No,
man. No.
He wants to be able to say, "This woman
I saved.
This man I saved.
Look how much I got out of them. I got
songs out of them and albums out of them
and sermons out of them. I got a better
husband out of them. I got a better
father out. Look what I got out of this
man. Look what I got out of this woman.
Look at all that came out of them. And
nobody else saw in them what I saw. I
saw something in them. I gave them my
spirit. I gave them assignments. I
Not like this brother who buried his talent.
talent.
Not like this brother who's going to
give the Lord wrong theological excuses.
The Lord said, "Shoot, if you was going
to do that, verse 27, you should have
put my money in the bank, which was in
Briana, and give me some investment,
man. Give me some interest. I mean, give
me something back."
That's what the Lord was saying. Well,
if you going to disobey me half your
life, at least give me something back.
Give me some ROI for saving you. I
didn't save you to just sit in rooms
like this and be a churchgoer for 50
years, die, and be disobedient. Give me
something back for my investment. Give
me something back. It's what the Lord
And for those of you who think like, [Music]
[Music]
tired of that brother yelling at us, I
ain't taking that serious. Yeah. Verse
28 and 29 and 30 is for all of you. The
Lord says, "For the one who comes in the
end, so take that talent from him, that
wicked and lazy servant, and give it to
the one who has 10 talents. For everyone
who has will be given more, and he will
have an abundance, but from the one who
has not, even what he has will be taken
away from him." The Lord says in the
end, he will strip every disingenuous
servant, every fake Christian, everyone
who arrives in glory with an excuse. He
said he's going to strip people of all
the assignments. He's going to give it
to somebody else.
Man, this is going to happen in the
judgment. I like to think, man, this may
even be happening right now. There may
be people right now you are living out
somebody else's assignment. Maybe there
was somebody else the Lord was trying to
get to be obedient and they wouldn't be
obedient. So, he had to strip them of
that assignment and give it to you.
Maybe there was somebody else that was
supposed to change your family. He
stripped them of that assignment and he
gave it to you. Maybe you are the man to
change the trajectory of your family.
Maybe you are the woman to change the
trajectory of Some of you may be living
in assignments that some other person
could not be faithful to, so he gave it
to you. Your uncle could not do it, he
gave it to you. Your father could not do
it, he gave it to you. Your mother could
not do it, he gave it to you. Man,
people are going to be stripped of
things they were supposed to do and it's
going to be given to people else. And
then those of us who are faithful are
just going to have an abundance of God's
30.
And cast that worthless servant into
outer darkness. Gosh.
Gosh.
And in that place there will be weeping
and nashing of teeth.
The Lord is saying in the end for those
who are going to bury their talent,
they're going to be poor stewards of
money, poor stewards of opportunities,
poor stewards of relationships, poor
stewards of assignments, those who are
not going to take stewardship serious.
Those who are not even really believers,
they're going to be exposed in the end
when they stand before the Lord and he's
going to say, "Take that lazy servant.
You didn't give me back what I put in
you. Take that. Throw him into outer
darkness." And in that place, hell,
there will be weeping and nashing of
teeth. There will be a consciousness
of suffering for not being good
stewards. And if we're hearing the voice
of our savior, seriously, man, we we we
go to our houses tonight. We kneel down.
We pray. We say, "Lord, I repent. I'm
sorry for every place I've been a
mismanager of your resources. Lord, help
me to be a good steward over everything
you've entrusted to me. Lord, you save
me. I want to give you a return on that
investment." Here is my cry for you. I
want everybody in this room to die empty.
empty.
>> Look at me. This is what I want as your
pastor and as your friend and as your
brother. I mean this with my whole
heart. I'm praying that everybody under
the sound of my voice, you die empty.
You arrive in glory not carrying
anything that God intended for you to
pour out in this life. I want you to
arrive before heaven. Say, "Lord, I
wrote the book. I made the songs. I did
the album. I started the ministry. I did
the podcast. I became a man. I'll be
looking at Lena. This word to my mother.
I'll be looking at I'll be looking at
her. I I'll be looking at in bed at
night. I roll over and I'll be staring
at her saying, "Lord, I want to be a
better husband to this woman." >> Amen.
>> Amen.
>> Man, she's she's put up with a lot.
She's been through a lot. She's
sacrificed a lot. I've heard her a lot.
I'll be staring at her like, "Lord, I
want to be a better husband to these
women." I'll be looking at my children
like, "Man, I missed time with them when
I was young and trying to build a
ministry. I want to be a better father
to them. I want to be available to
them." Man, I cut my sermon prep short
yesterday to hang out with them and we
went to Bart Taco and and and we went to
Pon City Market and we was running the
streets. I'm not I'm supposed to be in
the house on Saturday. I never go out
the house on Saturday, but I'm running
the streets with them kids because I I'm
I'm in there working on my message and
and I'm feeling broken. And I said,
"Ben," I closed the computer. Said, "I'm
going to spend some time with these kids
and I text easy." He said, "I'm coming
upstairs. I'll take y'all wherever y'all
want to go. I do whatever y'all want to
do." Said, "Father." That's why I didn't
call me father.
She don't call me dad no more. Father,
we want to go to Bar Taco in the city.
We We want vibes, father. I said, "I'll
be up at 3:00. Be ready." And we in the streets
streets
on Saturday when I'm supposed to be
consecrating and being in the glory for
for No, I'm I'm with them. I I want to
be I miss time with them when they were
young. I want to be a better This is me
trying to give God a better return
>> on his investment. [Applause]
I'm I'm back there before this gathering
on my on the floor in the green room
crying saying, "Lord, I'm a mess today.
I'm all over the place. I'm heavy. I'm
frustrated from all the things that
happened this week. Lord, I feel like my
proclamation is like it's off today."
And I'm saying, "Lord, I I just I need
to do better. I I'm I'm I'm I'm
conscious of the fact that I'm
stewarding this. And and when I suck, I
want to say I want to do better. I don't
I don't want to just suck and walk off
and then go get go go go get uh kava."
No, I I want I want I I want to be
Cabba's dope. I I want I want to I want
to be Greed. Like Cabba. Like I want
Cabba when I leave. Like Cabba is dope.
But but I'm I'm back there crying like
Lord my I'm I'm I'm struggling today.
>> I I'm I'm legit struggling. I I want to
Lena's out of town. I'm daddy daycare. I
want to just go be with my kids. It's
been a like come home, Lena. I I I'm I
want to I want to I'm struggling
struggling today. I'm doing dishes last
night. I'm trying to What are we going
to eat for dinner? I'm I'm I'm I'm the
And and and I'm back there at the 8:00
like, "Lord, I'm I'm struggling in my
preaching. I'm over time. I'm I'm a mess.
Help me to do better. I I I'm I'm
That's how stewards talk.
>> They want to be better managers
>> of the things that God has given them. So
my no
no [Applause]
so like I would get on my knees and beg you.
This is my desire for you that you would
you would lay down your shovel.
You would stop being busy and not being
fruitful. You will learn to start saying
no to things that have nothing to do
with you. You will start being faithful
to the things God has called you to do.
You will start looking at your
relationships and want to be a better
steward. You will look at your marriage
and want to be a better steward. You
look at your children and want to be a
better steward. You look at your
ministry and want to be a better
steward. You look at your assignments.
You want to be better on your job. You
want to be better in your service. You
want to be better as a servant leader, a
better squad leader. Like, Lord, I want
to I want to give you more than what you
gave me. You're not going to have a
wasted investment in me. Your salvation
was too pricely. Your spirit was too
costly. The cross was too costly.
You will get a return out of me. This is
Be a good steward over everything God
has entrusted to you. That is my prayer.
Eternal God and ever of a wise father, I am.
I don't know.
God, I pray for my brothers and my
sisters. I do pray for them.
This will be more than a sermon.
Something in them
would look in the mirror today and see a steward.
steward.
They would look around and see all that
you have blessed them with. And they
would marvel over your goodness and your kindness.
kindness.
And that goodness would bring them to a
place of greater accountability
where they said, "I want to be better in
this area.
Lord, you're going to get a return out
of me."
I pray for the five talent person, they
would multiply. And for the two talent
person, they would multiply. And for the
one talent person, they would multiply.
Deliver us from jealousy and
covetousness of other people's talents.
Help us to embrace who we are and the
level that we are on.
I pray there'll be an explosion of
fruitfulness in 2019.
Our local and digital disciples, I I
don't know what else to say or do. Lord,
this is my humble prayer. I pray over
them in the mighty
and the matchless name
of our soon cominging king,
And all the stewards under the sound of
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