1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,240 Dear God, we thank you so much for your word. 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:12,600 We thank you for your promise like we just sung about, that you are coming again to take 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,200 us to heaven. 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:20,280 And Lord, as we live our life for you, as we go through our day, help us to find opportunities 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:27,360 to think about the grace that you have for us and to share that with somebody else. 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,800 In your name we pray, amen. 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:38,360 You may have seen the commercial on television and it's several different scenarios, but 8 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,040 they're very similar. 9 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:46,200 And maybe someone's hurt or been in some kind of accident or something like that. 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:53,080 And someone runs up to help and the question is asked, are you a doctor? 11 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,020 And the response is given, no. 12 00:00:57,020 --> 00:01:02,680 But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. 13 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:08,640 There's a talent that's there, but it's not the talent that's needed for that particular 14 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:09,640 situation. 15 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:15,960 Have you ever been in a situation where there was some kind of, some need that was there 16 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:22,320 and you did not have the talent that was needed in that particular situation? 17 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:27,960 I think back to many, many years ago when I was still a student, a preacher, I was invited 18 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:30,160 to a very, very small church. 19 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,900 Like eight people were at this church. 20 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:36,080 And when I came in they asked, do you play the piano? 21 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,080 And I said, no, I don't play the piano. 22 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:44,960 As we were sitting through Sabbath school, I began to think to myself, you know, I took 23 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:47,120 piano lessons. 24 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,320 My mom was a piano teacher. 25 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:51,320 You know, I can read music. 26 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,240 I played the trombone. 27 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:54,980 I can read music. 28 00:01:54,980 --> 00:01:55,980 I looked at the hymn. 29 00:01:55,980 --> 00:02:01,880 I said, you know, I think I can at least play the right hand, you know, the melody of that 30 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,260 particular hymn. 31 00:02:04,260 --> 00:02:08,960 So when Church Time said, I said, you know what, I think I can play this song. 32 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,280 And in my head, in my mind, I was going to do the right hand. 33 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,200 And maybe if I was really feeling it, I would do the bass note, you know, one more note. 34 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,360 And Jackson was here today and he can, he doesn't even need music. 35 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,280 He can just play whatever. 36 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,240 But I thought I could get through. 37 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,160 It wasn't a fast song. 38 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:32,040 And so I hit the first three, you know, two on the right, one on the left, the bass note. 39 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:33,520 I hit that. 40 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,760 By the time we got through the first measure, I was down to just two. 41 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:42,600 And by the time we got to the end of the first line, I was barely keeping up with just one 42 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,200 note. 43 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,280 So I thought maybe I had that talent in that moment, but I did not. 44 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,440 That was not the talent that I had. 45 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:58,720 So last time I was here about three weeks ago at the end of vacation Bible school, does 46 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:00,920 anybody remember what parable we looked at? 47 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:03,520 Becky, what parable do we look at on Sabbath? 48 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,120 All right, the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. 49 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,840 And we're going to continue in Matthew 25. 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,040 And as we looked at that story of those 10 young ladies, how many of them fell asleep 51 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,800 in that story? 52 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,120 They all fell asleep. 53 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:29,880 And we talked in that moment that that Matthew 24 focuses on the signs of the times. 54 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,280 What's going to be happening in the world before Jesus comes? 55 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:39,600 And the key of Matthew 24 says, watch for you do not know at what hour your Lord is 56 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:40,600 coming. 57 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,240 I forgot to put that piano picture up when I talked about that. 58 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:49,880 And then Matthew 25 talks about these young ladies who were waiting for the bridegroom 59 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:51,680 and they all fell asleep. 60 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:52,800 Every one of them fell asleep. 61 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,120 But the difference was that five of them had something. 62 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:58,260 They had some extra oil. 63 00:03:58,260 --> 00:04:04,280 They had that connection, that personal connection with the Holy Spirit, personal connection 64 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,500 to God through the Holy Spirit. 65 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:12,720 And so Matthew 24 looks at what's going to be happening in the world before Jesus comes. 66 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:20,120 But Matthew 25 looks at what's happening in the church, in God's people before he comes. 67 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:27,500 And so in this story, everybody falls asleep, but half of them have a personal connection. 68 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:32,760 So kind of an interior thing, an inner connection with God. 69 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:34,880 But today we're going to look at the next parable. 70 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,280 It's called the parable of the talents. 71 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:43,680 And this is also looking at what is happening amongst God's people as we wait for Jesus 72 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,440 to come. 73 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:51,960 But it's more looking at not what's inside, but it's looking at our actions. 74 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,160 So we're going to continue this theme. 75 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,360 So we're going to be in Matthew 25 for most of this message today. 76 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,960 And the parable of the 10 virgins ended in verse 13, echoing what was said in Matthew 77 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:05,960 24. 78 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:12,720 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is 79 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:13,800 coming. 80 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,940 You don't know when, so we need to be ready all the time. 81 00:05:17,940 --> 00:05:20,240 We need to be ready now. 82 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:27,720 And so this next parable picks up this story as it says in Matthew 25 verse 14. 83 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:34,980 It says, for the kingdom of heaven, now remember the parable of the virgins begun with that 84 00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:37,840 very same line, the kingdom of heaven. 85 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:42,520 And we mentioned how there's about 20 different parables that are called the kingdom parables. 86 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,360 And they're describing what God's people are like. 87 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,880 The kingdom of heaven is like. 88 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:49,780 And so here's another one of those. 89 00:05:49,780 --> 00:05:53,840 And I'm going to read several verses here and then we'll go back and we'll talk about 90 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:54,840 it. 91 00:05:54,840 --> 00:06:00,600 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants 92 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,760 and delivered his goods to them. 93 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:09,280 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according 94 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,240 to his own ability. 95 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,320 And immediately he went on a journey. 96 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:20,120 And then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another 97 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,840 five talents. 98 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:26,280 And likewise, he who had received two gained two more. 99 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:27,920 And one more we'll look at verse 18. 100 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:34,680 That he who had received one went in the ground and hid his Lord's money. 101 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,640 Let's look back and see what happened in this story here. 102 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:44,140 So the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country. 103 00:06:44,140 --> 00:06:48,280 So this is Matthew chapter 25. 104 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,720 The next chapter obviously is Matthew 26. 105 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:58,120 Now if you were to just scan over and look at Matthew 26, it talks about the Lord's Supper 106 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,120 or the Last Supper. 107 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,200 It talks about Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane. 108 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:06,660 That's the night before the cross. 109 00:07:06,660 --> 00:07:11,900 And so this is the very ending of Jesus' time on this earth. 110 00:07:11,900 --> 00:07:19,080 And so in this context, there's a man traveling to a far country. 111 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:26,440 This context is about Jesus about to depart, about to leave his disciples behind for a 112 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,580 bit, a long bit as we see now. 113 00:07:29,580 --> 00:07:37,400 And so the context of this parable is that Jesus left and he's going to come again. 114 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:38,880 And so that's what we're looking at. 115 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:44,120 The kingdom of heaven is like a man, Jesus traveling to a far country, ascending to heaven, 116 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,140 who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 117 00:07:48,140 --> 00:07:55,560 And then it says, and to one, he gave five talents to another two, to another one, to 118 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,400 each according to his own ability. 119 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,160 And immediately he went on a journey. 120 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,120 So what's going on here? 121 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,100 What are these talents? 122 00:08:05,100 --> 00:08:06,840 What is a talent? 123 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:12,520 Now when we say talent, we think of a skill or something that we're good at, like Jackson 124 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:13,600 plays the piano. 125 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:14,600 I do not. 126 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,620 So he's more talented in that way. 127 00:08:16,620 --> 00:08:25,160 But in this context, that word talent is actually referring to money, to finance. 128 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:33,560 So in the Greek times, in the Roman times, the Greeks had a coin called a drachma and 129 00:08:33,560 --> 00:08:37,600 the Romans had a similar coin called the denarii or denarius. 130 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,720 And that was the equivalent of working one day. 131 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,580 If you went to work and work for one day, you could expect to get a denarius or a drachma. 132 00:08:46,580 --> 00:08:48,760 So that was their coinage. 133 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,400 That was their currency that they used. 134 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:58,220 But a talent was not a coin, but a talent was a measure, a weight. 135 00:08:58,220 --> 00:09:04,300 And it was a monetary weight equal to about 6,000 of these denarii. 136 00:09:04,300 --> 00:09:08,880 So it was about 75 pounds of silver that this talent weighed. 137 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:14,060 So it wasn't something you could usually carry around in your pocket or something like that. 138 00:09:14,060 --> 00:09:23,060 So if it was 6,000 denarii and you got one denarii for a day's work, how many days is 139 00:09:23,060 --> 00:09:24,060 that? 140 00:09:24,060 --> 00:09:26,560 6,000 days. 141 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:34,600 So it's not quite, but it's approaching 20 years, 15 to 20 years of labor. 142 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:41,140 So that's a lot that these gentlemen, these servants are being given. 143 00:09:41,140 --> 00:09:44,340 And so the master gives one five talents. 144 00:09:44,340 --> 00:09:49,000 So that's like 80 to 100 years' wages that he's giving him. 145 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:50,000 That's a lot. 146 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:51,320 That's a huge amount. 147 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,780 And then the other guy gets two talents. 148 00:09:53,780 --> 00:09:55,300 That's like almost 40 years. 149 00:09:55,300 --> 00:09:56,740 That's like your career. 150 00:09:56,740 --> 00:10:01,180 Everything you make in your career is given to this guy at one time. 151 00:10:01,180 --> 00:10:07,760 And then even the lesser guy gets one talent, which is still a good amount. 152 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:13,100 So in this story, these talents refer to finances, refer to money. 153 00:10:13,100 --> 00:10:20,080 But I think in the context and throughout scripture, we see this idea, but it can involve 154 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:28,860 our finance, but it can also refer to other gifts that God puts into our life. 155 00:10:28,860 --> 00:10:32,380 And we often refer to these as spiritual gifts. 156 00:10:32,380 --> 00:10:36,280 Throughout scripture, these are referred to as spiritual gifts. 157 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,460 And so I want to look at some ideas, some understandings that we can gain from this 158 00:10:40,460 --> 00:10:45,900 parable about these gifts that God pours out into our life. 159 00:10:45,900 --> 00:10:46,900 It can be finances. 160 00:10:46,900 --> 00:10:49,660 It can be piano playing. 161 00:10:49,660 --> 00:10:50,660 What are the talents? 162 00:10:50,660 --> 00:10:52,020 What are the skills? 163 00:10:52,020 --> 00:10:55,060 What are the things that we have? 164 00:10:55,060 --> 00:11:02,660 Well, we can see from this story that these gifts come from God. 165 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:04,460 These gifts come from God. 166 00:11:04,460 --> 00:11:12,740 Like it says, he called his own servants, verse 14, and delivered his goods to them. 167 00:11:12,740 --> 00:11:14,660 These gifts are from God. 168 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:16,920 These gifts are his prerogative. 169 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:18,900 We don't choose what our gifts are. 170 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:23,740 You might look around and you might say, well, that person is really good at something. 171 00:11:23,740 --> 00:11:25,740 This person is really good at something else. 172 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:30,520 And we don't get to say, oh, I wish that I had that gift. 173 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,900 I wish that I could sing like the three ladies who are up here. 174 00:11:33,900 --> 00:11:39,420 I wish that I could have the skill to build something or repair something or whatever 175 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:40,420 it is. 176 00:11:40,420 --> 00:11:46,780 Now, we can practice and we can get a little better at things, but there's some people 177 00:11:46,780 --> 00:11:52,620 that are just naturally talented, just naturally gifted. 178 00:11:52,620 --> 00:11:56,380 And when they practice, they just soar and excel. 179 00:11:56,380 --> 00:12:01,080 Whereas, even if I practice over and over and over, I'm not going to be able to hit 180 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,200 free throws like Michael Jordan or whoever. 181 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:05,880 It doesn't matter. 182 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,740 If I practice, I'm still not going to be as good at something as somebody else. 183 00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:14,220 So these gifts come from God. 184 00:12:14,220 --> 00:12:22,580 Now, we can also see in this story that everybody, all three of these servants get a gift. 185 00:12:22,580 --> 00:12:23,820 And here's another place we can go. 186 00:12:23,820 --> 00:12:26,860 We're going to go to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 187 00:12:26,860 --> 00:12:33,260 There's several places in scripture that talk about gifts that God pours out upon His people. 188 00:12:33,260 --> 00:12:36,340 1 Corinthians 12 is one. 189 00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:39,760 You may be more familiar with 1 Corinthians 13. 190 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,020 What is that chapter known as? 191 00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:43,380 The love chapter. 192 00:12:43,380 --> 00:12:46,140 You've heard that at every wedding you've ever gone to probably. 193 00:12:46,140 --> 00:12:47,140 The love chapter. 194 00:12:47,140 --> 00:12:48,220 Love is patient. 195 00:12:48,220 --> 00:12:49,540 Love is kind. 196 00:12:49,540 --> 00:12:54,420 But even that is in the context of the gifts that we get from God. 197 00:12:54,420 --> 00:12:58,420 So 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is where we're going to look right now. 198 00:12:58,420 --> 00:13:01,300 Romans chapter 12 is another place. 199 00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:03,580 And then we're going to look in Ephesians in a little bit. 200 00:13:03,580 --> 00:13:08,460 But 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the very first verse, it's not on the screen, but it says, 201 00:13:08,460 --> 00:13:15,480 now concerning spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be ignorant, it says. 202 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,360 So this is something we're supposed to know a little bit about. 203 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,780 We're not supposed to be ignorant in this. 204 00:13:20,780 --> 00:13:27,500 And then skipping down in verse four, it says there are diversities of gifts, but the same 205 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:28,540 spirit. 206 00:13:28,540 --> 00:13:31,720 People get different things, but they're from the same God. 207 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,060 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 208 00:13:36,060 --> 00:13:42,940 There are differences of, there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who 209 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:45,340 works all in all. 210 00:13:45,340 --> 00:13:54,140 And it says, but the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one, everyone, all 211 00:13:54,140 --> 00:13:58,420 of us for the profit of all. 212 00:13:58,420 --> 00:14:04,060 So God is the one who gives the gifts and he gives the gifts to each one of us. 213 00:14:04,060 --> 00:14:07,700 They're different gifts, but everybody has something. 214 00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:11,380 Each gift is important. 215 00:14:11,380 --> 00:14:12,760 Think about that. 216 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:18,860 If you were to read all of 1 Corinthians 12, it talks about the church, it talks about 217 00:14:18,860 --> 00:14:25,220 the believers and it uses a phrase called the body of Christ, the body of Christ. 218 00:14:25,220 --> 00:14:31,580 Who do you think is in charge of the body of Christ? 219 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:32,580 Let me give you a hint. 220 00:14:32,580 --> 00:14:34,700 It is not the pastor. 221 00:14:34,700 --> 00:14:36,780 That's not who's in charge of the body of Christ. 222 00:14:36,780 --> 00:14:40,100 Christ, it says, is the head. 223 00:14:40,100 --> 00:14:42,280 Christ is the head of the body. 224 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,860 And each one of us are members of the body of Christ. 225 00:14:45,860 --> 00:14:51,460 And so each one of us has a gift and each gift is important. 226 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:55,100 Each gift is valuable. 227 00:14:55,100 --> 00:14:57,140 Each gift is valuable. 228 00:14:57,140 --> 00:14:59,940 I used to feel sorry for the guy that only had one thing. 229 00:14:59,940 --> 00:15:00,940 He got one talent. 230 00:15:00,940 --> 00:15:02,440 Poor little guy. 231 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:08,900 He only got one talent until you recognize that that's like 20 years of finances. 232 00:15:08,900 --> 00:15:14,540 That's like a half a million dollars or a million dollars depending on what your career 233 00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:15,540 is. 234 00:15:15,540 --> 00:15:17,540 So that is a huge gift. 235 00:15:17,540 --> 00:15:20,780 Every gift that we have is valuable. 236 00:15:20,780 --> 00:15:22,400 Every gift from God. 237 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,560 So think about that for a second. 238 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:31,520 If every gift is valuable, that means your gift is valuable. 239 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:39,740 And if you have a gift from God that is valuable, that means you are valuable. 240 00:15:39,740 --> 00:15:46,300 You may be going through life thinking it's just, you know, the treadmill of life, the 241 00:15:46,300 --> 00:15:48,820 hamster wheel, whatever you want to call it. 242 00:15:48,820 --> 00:15:51,820 Work, sleep, work, sleep. 243 00:15:51,820 --> 00:15:52,820 What's it all about? 244 00:15:52,820 --> 00:15:53,820 Well, guess what? 245 00:15:53,820 --> 00:15:57,700 God has placed something in you that is valuable. 246 00:15:57,700 --> 00:16:03,020 Something in you that nobody else in this room, that nobody else you know has. 247 00:16:03,020 --> 00:16:05,260 You are better at it than somebody else. 248 00:16:05,260 --> 00:16:07,900 And God has placed that in you. 249 00:16:07,900 --> 00:16:12,260 That means you have value to God. 250 00:16:12,260 --> 00:16:16,100 That means you have value to this body of believers. 251 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,860 You have something in you that is important. 252 00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:27,260 It's not just about the routine of living life, but it's about the value that we have 253 00:16:27,260 --> 00:16:28,660 for God. 254 00:16:28,660 --> 00:16:33,380 We have something in us and each one of us has something. 255 00:16:33,380 --> 00:16:35,200 Everybody has something. 256 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:42,700 But as we see, as we go on in this story, we see that using, trying, experimenting with 257 00:16:42,700 --> 00:16:47,420 these gifts involves some risk. 258 00:16:47,420 --> 00:16:49,160 Let's read on in the story here. 259 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:54,400 Back to Matthew 25 verse 16. 260 00:16:54,400 --> 00:17:01,780 It says, then he who had received five talents went and traded with them. 261 00:17:01,780 --> 00:17:02,780 Invested in something. 262 00:17:02,780 --> 00:17:10,300 He did some, bought some seed, did something, traded with them and made another five talents. 263 00:17:10,300 --> 00:17:13,620 So five plus five is ten. 264 00:17:13,620 --> 00:17:14,620 Thank you. 265 00:17:14,620 --> 00:17:18,860 And likewise, he who had received two gained two more. 266 00:17:18,860 --> 00:17:19,860 Two plus two. 267 00:17:19,860 --> 00:17:20,860 Four. 268 00:17:20,860 --> 00:17:21,860 Very good. 269 00:17:21,860 --> 00:17:22,860 Thank you. 270 00:17:22,860 --> 00:17:24,460 He's in school today. 271 00:17:24,460 --> 00:17:29,180 But he who had received one, what do you think he did? 272 00:17:29,180 --> 00:17:35,620 He went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money. 273 00:17:35,620 --> 00:17:37,620 There was a risk. 274 00:17:37,620 --> 00:17:40,100 Somebody could have used those five talents. 275 00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:42,020 They could have lost it. 276 00:17:42,020 --> 00:17:46,740 Maybe they bought seed for the field, but there was a drought and nothing grew and it's 277 00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:50,620 all gone or invested in a business and it goes bankrupt. 278 00:17:50,620 --> 00:17:56,900 There's a risk when you're using your gifts and your talents for God. 279 00:17:56,900 --> 00:17:57,900 There's a risk. 280 00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:00,440 Maybe you're going to get accepted. 281 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,100 Maybe you're going to get rejected. 282 00:18:03,100 --> 00:18:06,380 Maybe whatever you're trying to do is going to fail. 283 00:18:06,380 --> 00:18:10,200 There's always a risk involved when we're serving God. 284 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,820 Think about some of the Bible characters. 285 00:18:12,820 --> 00:18:17,020 You think about Abraham in the Old Testament. 286 00:18:17,020 --> 00:18:21,420 God said, Abraham, I want you to leave the place that you're comfortable and I want you 287 00:18:21,420 --> 00:18:25,260 to go to a place and I'm not even going to tell you where you're going. 288 00:18:25,260 --> 00:18:27,140 I want you to just go. 289 00:18:27,140 --> 00:18:28,800 And that's what Abraham did. 290 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,180 How much of a risk was that for a wealthy man? 291 00:18:33,180 --> 00:18:38,600 You think of the disciples as they went and they shared the message of Jesus and many 292 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,100 of them were arrested and there was a risk for that. 293 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:44,980 And I see Phyllis about Phyllis. 294 00:18:44,980 --> 00:18:45,980 Somebody knock on the door. 295 00:18:45,980 --> 00:18:48,060 I want Phyllis to come in here for a second. 296 00:18:48,060 --> 00:18:49,260 She's standing up right out there. 297 00:18:49,260 --> 00:18:56,540 I want her to come in because Phyllis, she's talking to somebody. 298 00:18:56,540 --> 00:19:00,140 She's going to hate this. 299 00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:03,500 We had a visitor here a few weeks ago and I think I told Phyllis this. 300 00:19:03,500 --> 00:19:05,220 She can stand right there. 301 00:19:05,220 --> 00:19:08,940 And I contacted this visitor later in the week. 302 00:19:08,940 --> 00:19:09,940 Thank you for visiting. 303 00:19:09,940 --> 00:19:11,180 Thank you for being here. 304 00:19:11,180 --> 00:19:17,140 And this visitor said, we want to especially say thank you to Phyllis because she welcomed 305 00:19:17,140 --> 00:19:22,820 us so kindly and she made us feel greeted and she showed us where the potluck was and 306 00:19:22,820 --> 00:19:25,940 she showed us where everything was. 307 00:19:25,940 --> 00:19:32,540 Phyllis gets here at like eight o'clock or 830 every Sabbath morning and makes sure everything's, 308 00:19:32,540 --> 00:19:34,180 the bulletins are in the right place. 309 00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:37,340 Make sure everything is right where it goes. 310 00:19:37,340 --> 00:19:39,580 Most of you didn't even realize that. 311 00:19:39,580 --> 00:19:44,380 You're not even up when she gets to church already. 312 00:19:44,380 --> 00:19:45,380 That's a gift. 313 00:19:45,380 --> 00:19:47,320 That's hospitality. 314 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:48,620 That's welcoming people. 315 00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:49,620 Thank you, Phyllis. 316 00:19:49,620 --> 00:19:53,820 Let's give Phyllis a little hand there. 317 00:19:53,820 --> 00:19:55,000 Thank you so much. 318 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:56,300 But that's a risk. 319 00:19:56,300 --> 00:19:59,020 What if she said hello to people and they just walked right by? 320 00:19:59,020 --> 00:20:03,620 What if she handed them a bulletin and they wadded it up and threw it in her face? 321 00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:05,800 That probably would not happen. 322 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,900 But there's a risk when we are serving God. 323 00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:11,580 Peter and Paul are placed in prison. 324 00:20:11,580 --> 00:20:15,380 Stephen, as he's proclaiming the gospel, they arrest him. 325 00:20:15,380 --> 00:20:20,660 They take him to prison and they throw rocks at him until he's dead. 326 00:20:20,660 --> 00:20:26,580 We can read stories in our day of missionaries going across the ocean to live in difficult 327 00:20:26,580 --> 00:20:34,100 places, hard places, antagonistic places, and yet they're still willing to go and make 328 00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:35,100 a difference. 329 00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:42,220 But we don't have to be a missionary for things to be risky, even in our daily life. 330 00:20:42,220 --> 00:20:44,820 We want to tell somebody about God. 331 00:20:44,820 --> 00:20:45,980 That can be risky. 332 00:20:45,980 --> 00:20:53,180 If we want to volunteer for something, maybe it will work, maybe it won't, but using our 333 00:20:53,180 --> 00:20:57,140 gifts and our talents for God takes a risk. 334 00:20:57,140 --> 00:20:58,780 Let's continue on in the story here. 335 00:20:58,780 --> 00:21:06,820 Verse 19, it says, after a long time, what was that? 336 00:21:06,820 --> 00:21:14,580 A long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 337 00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:16,580 How long was it? 338 00:21:16,580 --> 00:21:17,940 It was a long time. 339 00:21:17,940 --> 00:21:24,340 We don't know how long it was, but it echoes from the parable of the 10 virgins, because 340 00:21:24,340 --> 00:21:31,500 in the parable of the 10 virgins, it says there was a delay, the bridegroom was delayed, 341 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:33,020 and all the people fell asleep. 342 00:21:33,020 --> 00:21:38,340 And here it says it's a long time before the Lord comes. 343 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:41,540 We don't know when Jesus is returning. 344 00:21:41,540 --> 00:21:43,660 It's been a long time. 345 00:21:43,660 --> 00:21:45,680 We don't know when Jesus is returning. 346 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,260 We can look around and we can think it seems like it's going to be pretty soon, but we 347 00:21:50,260 --> 00:21:52,340 don't know when. 348 00:21:52,340 --> 00:21:57,300 But because we don't know when, that does not mean we should give up. 349 00:21:57,300 --> 00:22:03,800 That doesn't mean we should turn the other direction, but it means we can still be faithful. 350 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,860 We can still work with the gifts and the talents that God has given to us. 351 00:22:08,860 --> 00:22:14,500 And so this, after a long time, the Lord comes and it says, he settles accounts with the 352 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:15,820 people. 353 00:22:15,820 --> 00:22:20,220 And we're going to read kind of two verses at the same time, because you may be able 354 00:22:20,220 --> 00:22:26,100 to see that verse 20 and verse 22 are almost exactly the same. 355 00:22:26,100 --> 00:22:27,740 There's a few words that are different. 356 00:22:27,740 --> 00:22:32,320 So we're going to read verse 20, but notice it's also verse 22. 357 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:38,180 So he had, who had received five talents or two talents came and brought another five 358 00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:42,300 or two saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents. 359 00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:46,980 Look, I have gained five more talents beside them. 360 00:22:46,980 --> 00:22:52,500 So the guy who got two said almost exactly the same thing. 361 00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:59,660 So we can learn here that these talents are not only from God, but these talents are for 362 00:22:59,660 --> 00:23:05,780 God because they, they return them to God. 363 00:23:05,780 --> 00:23:12,380 The Lord gave them, the master gave them, they returned them plus whatever else they 364 00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:13,380 had learned. 365 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:16,120 And so we can look in Ephesians chapter four. 366 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,740 This is another place that talks about spiritual gifts. 367 00:23:19,740 --> 00:23:24,380 Ephesians chapter four, keep your finger in Matthew because we're going to be back. 368 00:23:24,380 --> 00:23:31,100 Ephesians chapter four, it says in Ephesians four, verse seven, which we don't have up 369 00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:37,140 there, it says to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's 370 00:23:37,140 --> 00:23:38,140 gift. 371 00:23:38,140 --> 00:23:44,880 And then here talking about spiritual gifts, he himself got, Jesus himself gave some to 372 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:51,720 be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. 373 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:57,100 And then it goes on and it says for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for 374 00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:59,180 the edifying of the body of Christ. 375 00:23:59,180 --> 00:24:00,860 We're going to come right back to that. 376 00:24:00,860 --> 00:24:03,860 The verse 13 gives us a timing. 377 00:24:03,860 --> 00:24:10,440 It says, tell we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son 378 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:17,180 of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature, the fullness of Christ. 379 00:24:17,180 --> 00:24:18,180 When is that? 380 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:21,460 When do we come to a full unity of the faith? 381 00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:26,860 When do we come to a full knowledge of the son of God or become a perfect person? 382 00:24:26,860 --> 00:24:30,700 When do you think that is? 383 00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:34,300 When Jesus comes again, that hasn't happened yet. 384 00:24:34,300 --> 00:24:35,380 That's somewhere in the future. 385 00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:38,440 So that's talking about the second coming. 386 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:43,720 But I want to go back to verse 12 because it says that these gifts he gave some to be 387 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:53,560 apostles, prophets and so forth for a reason, for the equipping of the saints, for the work 388 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:59,680 of ministry, for the edifying or for the building up of the body of Christ. 389 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:05,940 So these talents are from God, but they're also for God. 390 00:25:05,940 --> 00:25:11,340 God does not give you talents in your life so that you can be popular. 391 00:25:11,340 --> 00:25:15,400 God does not give you talents in your life so that you can be rich, so that you can be 392 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,220 famous or anything like that. 393 00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:23,780 You may be popular, you may be rich, but that's not why God placed those talents and those 394 00:25:23,780 --> 00:25:26,540 skills into your life. 395 00:25:26,540 --> 00:25:32,980 God places those talents into your life, not so that you can be known, but so that God 396 00:25:32,980 --> 00:25:39,700 can be known, so that the body of Christ can be edified, can be built up for the equipping 397 00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:41,360 of the saints. 398 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:42,360 That's us. 399 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:43,620 That's all of us. 400 00:25:43,620 --> 00:25:47,400 We can be equipped for the work of ministry. 401 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:54,740 We can be equipped so that we can serve God so that others can know God and receive the 402 00:25:54,740 --> 00:25:55,740 gift of salvation. 403 00:25:55,740 --> 00:25:58,180 So that's another lesson about these gifts. 404 00:25:58,180 --> 00:26:04,620 Let's go back to Matthew 25, and again, we're going to read two verses at the same time. 405 00:26:04,620 --> 00:26:07,780 We're going to read verse 21 and verse 23. 406 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:10,380 There's just a couple of words that are different here. 407 00:26:10,380 --> 00:26:17,740 So his Lord, this is verse 21, his Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. 408 00:26:17,740 --> 00:26:20,380 You were faithful over a few things. 409 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:23,380 I will make you ruler over many things. 410 00:26:23,380 --> 00:26:26,180 Enter into the joy of the Lord. 411 00:26:26,180 --> 00:26:34,220 You may not realize it, but using your gifts and your talents for God brings a reward. 412 00:26:34,220 --> 00:26:37,320 Now that's not why we serve God. 413 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,140 We love God because he first loved us. 414 00:26:40,140 --> 00:26:42,980 We serve him because he died for us. 415 00:26:42,980 --> 00:26:49,620 We don't serve God for the reward, but in the act of serving God, there is a reward. 416 00:26:49,620 --> 00:26:51,520 And we can see three things right here. 417 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,100 We can see a response. 418 00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:56,100 Well done. 419 00:26:56,100 --> 00:26:58,500 Good and faithful servant. 420 00:26:58,500 --> 00:27:06,580 Think about the creator, the savior, at some point in the future saying to you, calling 421 00:27:06,580 --> 00:27:12,160 you by name, Greg, well done, good and faithful servant. 422 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:17,500 Don't you like it when somebody acknowledges or recognizes if you're at work or something 423 00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:21,460 and somebody says, you did a great job with that task. 424 00:27:21,460 --> 00:27:22,860 Thank you so much. 425 00:27:22,860 --> 00:27:24,100 Don't you appreciate it? 426 00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:30,620 We don't do it for that reason, but if somebody notices something, that's to me, that's exciting. 427 00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:31,620 All right. 428 00:27:31,620 --> 00:27:34,100 Somebody saw what I did. 429 00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:35,100 Well done. 430 00:27:35,100 --> 00:27:38,780 Think of God of the universe says that to you. 431 00:27:38,780 --> 00:27:42,220 What a reward that in and of itself is. 432 00:27:42,220 --> 00:27:43,980 But then notice the next part. 433 00:27:43,980 --> 00:27:46,220 Well done, good and faithful servant. 434 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:50,220 You were faithful over a few things. 435 00:27:50,220 --> 00:27:53,840 I will make you ruler over many things. 436 00:27:53,840 --> 00:28:00,580 So part of the reward is the opportunity to serve even more. 437 00:28:00,580 --> 00:28:03,900 That may be like, whoa, that doesn't sound good. 438 00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:09,420 I don't want to do a good job so that I get more work, but it's a different kind of thing. 439 00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:12,780 Because if we're serving God, it's not a negative thing. 440 00:28:12,780 --> 00:28:17,720 It's not burdensome, but it's more opportunity. 441 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:22,820 If you witness to somebody, that gives you a little excitement in your heart. 442 00:28:22,820 --> 00:28:27,620 And if you have the opportunity to witness to someone again or to somebody else, it says 443 00:28:27,620 --> 00:28:28,620 we have more. 444 00:28:28,620 --> 00:28:30,580 You have been faithful in a few things. 445 00:28:30,580 --> 00:28:33,460 I'm going to give you even more. 446 00:28:33,460 --> 00:28:38,780 And then verse three, it shows me why it's not a burden because Jesus says, enter into 447 00:28:38,780 --> 00:28:41,340 the joy of your Lord. 448 00:28:41,340 --> 00:28:43,580 Enter into the joy of your Lord. 449 00:28:43,580 --> 00:28:50,060 Now we can have joy in this life, even in challenging times. 450 00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:56,700 We can have joy even when other things in our world seem to not be going in a positive 451 00:28:56,700 --> 00:28:57,820 direction. 452 00:28:57,820 --> 00:29:00,100 Jesus can still give us joy. 453 00:29:00,100 --> 00:29:02,380 He says, peace I leave with you. 454 00:29:02,380 --> 00:29:05,040 My peace I give unto you. 455 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:12,780 In Hebrews chapter 12, it says that Jesus considered the cross. 456 00:29:12,780 --> 00:29:13,780 Let me read that. 457 00:29:13,780 --> 00:29:15,060 Let me make sure I get that quoted right. 458 00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:23,580 Hebrews chapter 12 and verse two, Hebrews 12 verse two, it says, look unto Jesus, the 459 00:29:23,580 --> 00:29:30,940 author and finisher for our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the 460 00:29:30,940 --> 00:29:34,140 cross, despising the shame. 461 00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:40,940 The cross was not a pleasant place for Jesus to be, but Jesus did it for the joy of serving 462 00:29:40,940 --> 00:29:41,940 God. 463 00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:47,780 So we can have joy in this life, even when we have challenging things, but we can also 464 00:29:47,780 --> 00:29:50,460 have joy for all eternity. 465 00:29:50,460 --> 00:29:53,220 So there's a reward in serving. 466 00:29:53,220 --> 00:29:55,820 But there's one other gentleman here that we see. 467 00:29:55,820 --> 00:29:57,660 So we're going to carry on the story. 468 00:29:57,660 --> 00:30:03,460 It says, then he had received the one talent, came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard 469 00:30:03,460 --> 00:30:08,580 man reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered seed. 470 00:30:08,580 --> 00:30:13,260 I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. 471 00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:15,860 Look, there you have what is yours. 472 00:30:15,860 --> 00:30:18,620 So he didn't lose the one talent. 473 00:30:18,620 --> 00:30:20,380 He just buried it. 474 00:30:20,380 --> 00:30:27,820 And so that reminds us that if we don't use the gift that God gives us, you will lose 475 00:30:27,820 --> 00:30:29,620 the gift that God gives you. 476 00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:35,420 If you don't practice the piano, you're going to lose that skill. 477 00:30:35,420 --> 00:30:41,300 If you don't exercise on a continual basis, you're not going to be able to go out and 478 00:30:41,300 --> 00:30:44,900 run a marathon or hike a mountain. 479 00:30:44,900 --> 00:30:46,300 You've got to work at it. 480 00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:49,060 You've got to continue doing something. 481 00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:55,020 The gift that you have, we have to use or we get cast out. 482 00:30:55,020 --> 00:31:01,180 Notice this verse 26 says, Lord answered and said to him, you wicked and lazy servant, 483 00:31:01,180 --> 00:31:06,040 you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. 484 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,060 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers. 485 00:31:09,060 --> 00:31:13,620 And at my coming, I would have at least received back my own with interest. 486 00:31:13,620 --> 00:31:18,600 Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents. 487 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:23,300 For everyone who has more will be given and he will have abundance. 488 00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:28,180 But from him who does not have even what he has will be taken away. 489 00:31:28,180 --> 00:31:35,260 This servant did not understand, did not fully know the master. 490 00:31:35,260 --> 00:31:39,640 He had a valuable gift, but he did not appreciate it. 491 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,420 He did not utilize it. 492 00:31:41,420 --> 00:31:44,560 He had a mistaken understanding of the master. 493 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:49,020 He didn't realize that the master was the ruler of all, that the master was the giver 494 00:31:49,020 --> 00:31:50,340 of gifts. 495 00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:55,960 And he was forced to lose his gift because he hid it away. 496 00:31:55,960 --> 00:32:03,600 And if we aren't using our gifts, perhaps we don't really know the giver. 497 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:10,340 When we know the giver, we'll want to use his gifts for God's glory. 498 00:32:10,340 --> 00:32:14,600 But you know what gift you have. 499 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:20,020 Have you realized, figured out what your place is? 500 00:32:20,020 --> 00:32:22,280 There's different ways to do it. 501 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:26,720 Some people use spiritual gifts, tests, you can find those online and that's one way to 502 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:27,820 do it. 503 00:32:27,820 --> 00:32:32,540 But another thing is just explore the possibilities. 504 00:32:32,540 --> 00:32:35,900 Think about what you're good at. 505 00:32:35,900 --> 00:32:38,780 Is there something that brings you joy in life? 506 00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:42,740 And then how can you use that for God? 507 00:32:42,740 --> 00:32:45,340 And then I would say experiment, try something. 508 00:32:45,340 --> 00:32:47,340 You know, I think this would work. 509 00:32:47,340 --> 00:32:50,860 And if it doesn't work, well, okay, well, I've learned something. 510 00:32:50,860 --> 00:32:52,220 That's not my gift. 511 00:32:52,220 --> 00:32:53,920 That's not what I'm talented at. 512 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:59,260 But if it does work and other people are noticing and other people are saying, well done, good 513 00:32:59,260 --> 00:33:04,060 job, then perhaps that is where God has gifted you. 514 00:33:04,060 --> 00:33:10,540 So not only just think about what you're good at, but think about how you can use that for 515 00:33:10,540 --> 00:33:11,540 God. 516 00:33:11,540 --> 00:33:19,360 I want to mention an illustration, an idea. 517 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:20,360 It was a long time ago. 518 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:22,460 This will be our last story here. 519 00:33:22,460 --> 00:33:25,700 I was working, it was over 20 years ago. 520 00:33:25,700 --> 00:33:27,320 I was pastoring. 521 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:32,700 But one particular summer, Cahudah Springs Youth Camp, many of you know where that is. 522 00:33:32,700 --> 00:33:35,360 They needed some extra help that summer. 523 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:39,980 And so the conference, my boss, you know, asked some of the young pastors, I said this 524 00:33:39,980 --> 00:33:44,300 was a long time ago, so I was a young pastor back then, asked some of the young pastors 525 00:33:44,300 --> 00:33:51,180 to go to volunteer at camp for a week or two and help with things like, you know, weed 526 00:33:51,180 --> 00:33:55,260 eating and repairing fences and that type of thing. 527 00:33:55,260 --> 00:33:58,500 And so I was over at Cahudah and something had happened. 528 00:33:58,500 --> 00:34:02,280 There had been some sort of disturbance at the horse barn. 529 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:07,980 And so they needed somebody, they wanted somebody to work as like the night watchman at the 530 00:34:07,980 --> 00:34:09,460 horse barn. 531 00:34:09,460 --> 00:34:13,660 So I'm kind of a night owl, so I volunteered for that particular role. 532 00:34:13,660 --> 00:34:14,660 Sure, I'll do that. 533 00:34:14,660 --> 00:34:19,980 Then I could sleep during the day while other people are weed eating in the heat and whatnot. 534 00:34:19,980 --> 00:34:21,580 So I thought that would work out. 535 00:34:21,580 --> 00:34:26,600 So I was there at the horse barn at my right time. 536 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:31,680 And there was one other young man who was a camp staff and he was there as well. 537 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:35,660 And so we played Uno, we played checkers, we chatted. 538 00:34:35,660 --> 00:34:40,420 And this young man, Nathan, he was going to be a student at GCA where I was working. 539 00:34:40,420 --> 00:34:43,900 He was going to be a student at GCA the next year. 540 00:34:43,900 --> 00:34:49,020 And in our conversation, he had mentioned that for a class, he had made a video and 541 00:34:49,020 --> 00:34:51,500 he enjoyed doing video stuff. 542 00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:55,640 So as we were talking, I told Nathan, I said, you know what would be cool if when we get 543 00:34:55,640 --> 00:35:02,220 back to GCA, if on Friday night at our Vespers, it's kind of a big worship time, if we had 544 00:35:02,220 --> 00:35:07,700 a little student made video every week or at least once a month that could be part of 545 00:35:07,700 --> 00:35:10,780 that Friday night worship. 546 00:35:10,780 --> 00:35:12,740 And Nathan like, yeah, that's a good idea. 547 00:35:12,740 --> 00:35:14,580 I think I can do that. 548 00:35:14,580 --> 00:35:19,140 And so after that week of protecting the horses and we did a great job, the horses were all 549 00:35:19,140 --> 00:35:20,140 fine. 550 00:35:20,140 --> 00:35:24,780 But a few weeks later, school started and Nathan had not forgotten that. 551 00:35:24,780 --> 00:35:26,020 And he said, I've been thinking about it. 552 00:35:26,020 --> 00:35:28,260 What if we did this? 553 00:35:28,260 --> 00:35:29,260 And he was working on it. 554 00:35:29,260 --> 00:35:34,940 And for that year, my friend Nathan, Kevin's friend Nathan created something called the 555 00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:36,580 Gleamer was what it was called. 556 00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:41,720 And it was a little video, a short little video that we showed not every week for Vespers, 557 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:46,140 but often student created. 558 00:35:46,140 --> 00:35:48,020 I'm going to be honest. 559 00:35:48,020 --> 00:35:51,820 Some of them were really not good quality. 560 00:35:51,820 --> 00:35:57,020 Some of them were really, really poorly done. 561 00:35:57,020 --> 00:36:02,460 But when it was a poorly done, we're like, hey, what could you do better the next time? 562 00:36:02,460 --> 00:36:05,800 But some of them were incredible. 563 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:11,740 And some of them were deep and really touched the hearts of the students, the people that 564 00:36:11,740 --> 00:36:13,020 were there. 565 00:36:13,020 --> 00:36:17,980 And my friend Nathan continued to develop his film skills. 566 00:36:17,980 --> 00:36:20,780 And he went and studied film at Southern. 567 00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:26,260 And he was a part of a cameraman for, this was on PBS several years ago, a documentary 568 00:36:26,260 --> 00:36:27,700 called the Adventists. 569 00:36:27,700 --> 00:36:29,580 And he was one of the cameramen for that. 570 00:36:29,580 --> 00:36:32,020 And he's continued developing those skills. 571 00:36:32,020 --> 00:36:36,660 And he's got a show on the Hope Channel that he puts together. 572 00:36:36,660 --> 00:36:43,220 And currently, believe it or not, he's a teacher at Southern Adventist University. 573 00:36:43,220 --> 00:36:45,540 And he's teaching film. 574 00:36:45,540 --> 00:36:52,820 And he's teaching young people to find what their skills and their talents are and how 575 00:36:52,820 --> 00:36:57,580 they can develop those talents and use them for God. 576 00:36:57,580 --> 00:37:02,100 Have you figured out what your skills are? 577 00:37:02,100 --> 00:37:06,060 Have you figured out what your talents are? 578 00:37:06,060 --> 00:37:12,140 Have you figured out how you can use those skills and talents for God? 579 00:37:12,140 --> 00:37:15,660 Because one day, Jesus is coming again. 580 00:37:15,660 --> 00:37:20,260 And it's my prayer that for me and for each one of us here, when we hear the voice of 581 00:37:20,260 --> 00:37:27,060 Jesus at some point in eternity, we will hear these words, well done, good and faithful 582 00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:28,060 servant. 583 00:37:28,060 --> 00:37:31,100 You have been faithful over a few things. 584 00:37:31,100 --> 00:37:34,020 I will make you ruler over many things. 585 00:37:34,020 --> 00:37:36,420 And what about that last line? 586 00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:40,340 Enter into the joy of your Lord. 587 00:37:40,340 --> 00:37:43,520 What a day that will be. 588 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:47,780 You want to find what your gifts, what your talents, what your skills are now? 589 00:37:47,780 --> 00:37:51,740 You want to figure out how to use them now in the church. 590 00:37:51,740 --> 00:37:54,900 If you do, just raise your hand as we pray. 591 00:37:54,900 --> 00:38:00,940 Dear God, thank you for giving each one of us a gift, a valuable gift. 592 00:38:00,940 --> 00:38:06,940 And Lord, help us just to recognize and see what that is and how we can use it for you 593 00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:09,420 to build up the body of Christ. 594 00:38:09,420 --> 00:38:13,860 And Lord, forgive us for times when we've passed over and we've neglected and we've 595 00:38:13,860 --> 00:38:16,700 forgotten the things that you've done for us. 596 00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:23,020 But Lord, from this moment on, help us to live our life for you so that you will say, 597 00:38:23,020 --> 00:38:25,500 Well done, good and faithful servant. 598 00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:27,340 Enter into the joy of the Lord. 599 00:38:27,340 --> 00:38:28,820 In your name we pray. 600 00:38:28,820 --> 00:38:53,460 Amen.