IDEA: Talents refer to the opportunities God gives to us.
TEXT: "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" (Matthew 25:14-18).
PURPOSE: To have listeners understand the great value of opportunities in our lives.
When you’re reading a mystery, aside from enjoying the story, what are you trying to do?
When we read the parables of Jesus, there are often questions that arise that demand that we look for the clues that can answer our questions.
In Matthew 25:14-18, Jesus talks about "talents."
I. We know that talents were money, in this case, large amounts of money.
What do talents refer to in the world outside this story?
There have been several different guesses we’ve looked at in the last two conversations: talents are "talents" (abilities), rewards, spiritual gifts, money.
This demands that we look at the clues in the story to try to come to a conclusion.
II. There are at least four clues to consider.
The talent is something that belongs to God and not to human beings.
"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).
The talents are distributed "to each according to his ability" (Matthew 25:15).
This seems to say that the "talents" are distributed on the basis of our natural gifts. The talents, therefore, cannot be our natural gifts. They are related to them, but they are not the same thing.
These talents are something the Lord gives us so that they can be invested.
This isn’t stated directly, but it is implied in the story.
They are something that can be risked or invested.
The investment of the talents is made on behalf of the absent owner and not the servant.
The risk is taken by the servant; the benefit will belong to the Lord.
III. What, then, are the talents?
They are opportunities that God gives us to use on His behalf.
They are opportunities to utilize our natural abilities for the sake of Christ. That is, the talents equal the opportunities that we have