Foundations of Truth

Guest (Male): You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the radio and podcast ministry of Firm Foundations. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's word. Rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, Dr. Timothy Mann continues our series on the essentials of being a Christian, and we're asking a sober question: what are you doing with what God has entrusted to you? Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: And today, we're going to examine another essential. We're actually going to be looking at a parable of Jesus. Now, a parable is a story that illustrates a truth or a principle. It is a type of metaphorical analogy. Jesus used them a lot. If you're familiar with his teaching, if you're familiar with the New Testament, you know that Jesus used them a lot to get a point across.

The word parable means to cast alongside. Jesus's parables were stories cast alongside a truth in order to illustrate that truth. And they usually have one main point. Each parable does. And so, most of the parables in the Gospel of Matthew are about what the kingdom of heaven is like. They're usually about separating genuine followers of Jesus from false followers.

That's usually the main idea of his parables in the Gospel of Matthew: separating genuine followers of Jesus from false followers, particularly at the end of the age, at the end of time when Jesus comes. And so, this parable is found in Matthew chapter 25, verse 14 down through verse 30.

The Bible says—Jesus is speaking here, by the way—"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. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability. And immediately he went on a journey."

Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise, he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money. Now after a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

And so he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look, I have gained five more talents besides them." His Lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."

He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Look, I have gained two more talents besides them." His Lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."

And then he who had received the one talent came and said, "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you had not sown and gathering where you had not scattered seed. And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. There, you have what is yours."

But his Lord answered and said to him, "You wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This is God's word that we've just read. While scouting locations for a popular TV series, an advance team came upon the perfect site for an action scene. How many of you like action movies? I like action movies. I'm a guy; I like action movies. My wife likes romantic comedies, and so we're always having a little bit of a debate over if there's anything to watch these days.

So this advance team came upon the perfect site for an action scene. It was an impressive home with a beautiful, large, lush green lawn. Can you see it? The script called for the cars to be spinning out of control and crashing on the lawn, tearing out shrubs and mowing down flower beds. I love those kinds of scenes.

The residents of the South Florida home were so infatuated with the possibility of having their house prominently featured on a prime-time TV show that they eagerly gave their consent. Days later, the film crew arrived and began shooting the scene. Cars driven by Hollywood stunt drivers were soon racing wildly across the front lawn, violently ripping up the beautiful grass, the shrubs, and the flowers.

That's when a neighbor called the owner of the house in New York. You see, the TV scouts asked the residents of the house for permission to film, not realizing that they were only tenants who had absolutely no authority to allow the property to be harmed, much less destroyed.

And so, understandably, the owner in New York was not a happy man. The TV director was embarrassed, and the residents were soon looking for a new place to live. Renters are not owners; they are stewards. The biggest difference between renters and owners can be defined with two words: rights and responsibilities.

Rights and responsibilities. Owners have rights. Stewards have responsibilities. If you are a follower of Jesus this morning, you are a steward, a manager. You don't have rights; you have responsibilities. Being a good steward of God's resources—and here's the essential for the day—being a good steward of God's resources is essential to a healthy Christian life.

In this parable, Jesus doesn't teach everything the Bible has to say about being a good manager of what God gives us, but he surely makes the point of how important it is to be a good steward. So the question this morning is: how can I be a good steward of God's resources? What are my responsibilities?

This parable of Jesus helps us. First of all, we're going to notice what it takes to be a good steward is this: according to verses 14 and 15, I ought to recognize that what I have belongs to God and he delivered it to me. I need to recognize that what I have belongs to God and he delivered it to me.

Verses 14 and 15: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability, and immediately he went on a journey." So if I call myself a follower of Jesus, if I'm a Christian, then I'm a servant of my Lord.

See, that's the deal with being a Christian. Because when I say I believe in Jesus as my Savior, I'm not just signing up to go to heaven. I'm giving myself to the Lord Jesus. I'm giving myself to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to be his steward, to be his servant, to be his manager of all the resources he places into my life.

I think we sometimes ourselves forget, and we forget to tell others, that Jesus is Savior and Lord. Lord and Savior. Now, I don't know about you this morning, but I am so grateful that he's my Savior. Hey, he's not just the Savior; he's my Savior.

When I was a teenager, he graciously made me aware of my sin, and he worked in my heart and in my mind to understand the good news that Jesus died as a substitute for our sins, and he took the punishment of my sin, and he rose from the dead for us to give us victory over death and to give us eternal life with him. And I repented by God's grace. I repented of my sins and trusted in Jesus as my Savior.

He saved me from the penalty of my sin. He forgave me and he brought me into his family, and he gave me a home with him forever. And if that's your need today, he can be your Savior too. He can be your Savior too. If you will repent of your sins and truly trust Jesus with your soul, he will do for you what he did for me.

Ask him to have mercy on you. Tell him that you truly believe in him and what he did on the cross and his resurrection. Give yourself to Christ today. And when you do, he's not only your Savior; he is now your Lord. He is now your Lord, the King and the Ruler of your life. You don't belong to you. Do you know that?

You don't belong to you. You've been bought with a price, and you are now his servant. He is the owner, and you are the steward. You are the servant. I have to recognize that everything that he has given me or will give me is his. He has simply delivered his goods to me.

The Bible says in James chapter 1, verse 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father. So my time, my relationships, my abilities, my skills, the opportunities I have in my life, the resources and money—all that I have are all from God. They simply belong to him, and I am simply managing what he gives me.

And if I'm going to be a good steward, if you're going to be a good steward, you have to recognize God's ownership of everything you have, from your salvation all the way down to the shoes on your feet. It's all his. It belongs to him. That vehicle that you came in here this morning, do you recognize that as God's vehicle?

That house, that apartment, that condo you live in, do you recognize that as God's shelter that he gave you? That source of income you have, do you recognize that God owns that? Those children or grandchildren, do you recognize that God delivered them to you and you help steward them?

That ability you have to work that job or have that career, that's from God himself. He could put you flat on your back. Well, you get the idea. And notice here in this passage that he did not give to every servant equally. This was not an equal-to-all kind of thing.

That's not how Christ works. That's not how Jesus works at all. And so, man, I really want to go down a road right here, but I better be careful. Let me just say this: Jesus was not a socialist. All right, I'll just leave it right there. This is not an equal-to-all kind of thing. He gives some more resources, and he gives some less resources.

And he gives according to the servant's ability. No two servants have the same ability. Environment, opportunity, genes, heritage, training, mind, heart, discipline, initiative—each is different. However, each servant has opportunity to be faithful in using what God has given him or her.

We're his servants. We're his stewards, and he has delivered his goods to us. Do you truly recognize God's ownership this morning in your life? Do you recognize that everything you have belongs to him and he delivered it to you?

Maybe that is something you need to really grasp for the very first time this morning. Everything I have, everything in my life—really, everything—belongs to God. He delivered his goods to me.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening and joining us today for Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann. We'll return in a moment as he explores Matthew 25 on the importance of faithfulness with what God has entrusted to us. And when we get back to the message, we'll learn the second essential from that passage.

Before we continue in today's message, I want to take just a moment to thank those of you who support this ministry. Foundations of Truth exists because faithful listeners like you believe God's word still transforms lives. If this program is strengthening your walk with Christ, would you prayerfully consider supporting Firm Foundations Ministries?

Your partnership helps us continue teaching, broadcasting, and reaching others with the truth of scripture. You can give securely at firm-foundations.org. Just simply click the donate here link. Thank you for standing with us.

Today on Foundations of Truth, Dr. Timothy Mann takes us to Matthew 25 and the parable of the talents, where Jesus makes it clear we are stewards, not owners. Let's listen now for the second essential from this passage. Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: The second truth we see in this passage is this: if I'm going to be a good steward of God's resources in my life, I not only have to recognize that it all belongs to him, that he delivered his goods to me, but the calling upon my life is this: I have to invest back into the kingdom with what God gives me.

I have to invest back into the kingdom with what God gives me. That's verses 16 through 18. Notice what happened. "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise, he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money."

Now after a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. I have to invest back into the kingdom with what God gives me. Now, in the Holy Land, a talent was not a coin. It's definitely not a skill or an ability to do something. It was not a coin; it was a measure of weight.

And because coins could be of copper, silver, or gold, and Jesus did not specify the kind of coinage here in his story, it's really impossible to calculate how valuable the talents were. But I think it's enough this morning to say that each was a large amount.

For example, if a talent was 6,000 denarii, it would have taken a worker 20 years to earn that much money. So we're thinking here of hundreds of thousands of dollars at least. The footnote in the New International Version specifies more than $1,000, but that amount is way too low.

And yet, the amount of money is unimportant. And so is the fact that the parable is about money. That's unimportant. Because money is one thing that God entrusts to us that we often misuse. But the same is true of many other gifts.

J.C. Ryle says very rightly, he says anything whereby we may glorify God is a talent. Our gifts, our influence, our money, our knowledge, our health, our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affections, our privileges as members of Christ's church, our advantages as possessors of the Bible—all are talents.

And so the decisive question is: how are you using what God has given you? Are you investing what he has given you back into his kingdom, back into his estate? Now, we have to be careful about this, and I know some people get carried away with it. We have to be careful about drawing exact parallels between every detail of a parable and our everyday lives without considering the rest of the Bible.

I don't think Jesus is teaching here that we spend every dime, every moment, every aspect of every relationship into church or kingdom work. The Bible tells us that we must take care of our family. The Bible tells us that he gives us things to enjoy in life.

The Bible says we can enjoy our work; we can enjoy our leisure; we can enjoy our blessings. It tells us that we should save and be prepared for lean seasons. But you know what I've noticed? Our problem is not going to extremes in refraining from using God's resources on ourselves, our wants, or our family's wants.

Our problem is not going to extremes in holding back from using God's resources on ourselves. Usually, nobody has to say to us, "Go ahead and do a little bit for yourself." Usually, nobody ever has to say, "You're spending too much time devoted to God's things."

Nobody usually ever has to say to us, "You're just giving too much money to the Lord's work. You need to stop." Nobody ever has to tell us, "You're always talking to your kids about the Bible, about the Lord, and about his will. You need to ratchet it down just a little bit."

Our issue is usually we don't invest enough of what God has given us back into his kingdom, whether it's our time, our talent, or our treasure. Am I telling the truth today? See, two of these stewards had faith and they wanted to please their Lord. So they used what God had given them to increase his goods.

Now, they didn't know what the outcome would be, but they took the risk. They took the risk to work for the Lord using his resources. And Jesus is teaching here that the efforts of the faithful and the diligent will bear fruit, will bear interest in the Lord's kingdom.

In other words, the servant who uses his or her gifts faithfully and diligently will have an increase in the goods of his or her Lord. You will help the kingdom. That's the bottom line. Don't you want to help the kingdom? In theory, we say yes. But in practical terms, how does that work out?

You will help the kingdom. That's what a good steward does. Benjamin Franklin was a smart man who loved his country. We all know him for being one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was also the inventor of bifocals. He invented bifocals; he also made important early discoveries about the concept of electricity.

You've probably seen Franklin's face on the hundred-dollar bill if you ever get many of those, which is really very interesting considering the fact that he wasn't even a US president. That's how important he was to America. When Ben died, he left a very interesting legacy for his two favorite American cities.

In his will, Benjamin Franklin left $2,000 to the city of Philadelphia and $2,000 to the city of Boston with the direction that it could not be drawn on for a hundred years and could not be distributed for 200 years. The funds were invested, and after the first 100 years, the funds began making personal loans to the citizens of Philadelphia.

200 years after Franklin passed away, the Philadelphia fund had grown to $2 million. The city initially decided to use $525,000 to promote tourism projects but later changed its mind after a public outcry. The money eventually was used to help educate young people in applied sciences and trades.

The remaining $1.5 million went to the state of Pennsylvania's coffers. The Boston fund had grown to $391,000 after 100 years because the city decided to play the stock market with the money. But after the 100-year mark, a portion of the funds were used to create the Franklin Union Technical School.

The majority of the money continued gathering interest. In 1990, the Boston fund was worth nearly $5 million. Boston had also faced controversy about how to use the money. It took years of fighting, and the state supreme court had to step in to make the decision.

The highest court in Massachusetts ruled that the money would be evenly split between the state and the city of Boston. But pretty cool story, huh? Roughly $4,000 grew to $7 million after 200 years. I was thinking, if you set up a 200-year trust fund, how would you want the money to be spent?

Listen, God has given you his goods. And as his servant, he's given you his goods to do something to expand his kingdom. That's what he's done. And so the question is: what are you doing with what God has given you?

Do you have the faith and desire to please your Lord enough to invest in relationships that he has put in your life for his kingdom purposes? Are you an active part of the church he is building? Do you give to his work like you should? Do you use a good portion of your time for his kingdom? Or do you really do nothing for his estate with all that he has given you?

Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like this. Verse 19: "After a long time, the Lord of the servants came and settled accounts with them." It might be a long time, but he is going to come and settle account. That means that you and I will give an accounting to him. We will be accountable to him.

I don't know about you, but I think that reality should change our perspective some, at least in regard into how we manage what God has entrusted to us. What you do with what God gives you will matter on judgment day, so let it matter to you now.

It's essential to a healthy Christian life. Somebody might say, "Well, this sounds like it's all about works and not faith. Pastor Tim, I thought we were saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus, not our works." Amen. Faith in Christ is necessary. Faith alone saves.

But I want you to understand this morning: faith that saves is never alone. Christians must have faith in Jesus. Still, this story and others like it that Jesus told round out the picture by showing what kind of faith is needed. It is not a dead faith. Dead faith does not save you.

A dead faith is a so-called faith that has no evidence. No evidence.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Foundations of Truth, the radio and podcast ministry of Firm Foundations, with Dr. Timothy Mann. God has entrusted each of us with gifts, opportunities, and resources, and he calls us to be faithful with them.

Thank you for listening to Foundations of Truth. If you feel led to support this ministry, you can visit us online, firm-foundations.org. Until next time, be faithful with what God has given you.