THEME: God has given us all different gifts, and calls us to step out in
faith to use those gifts to continue Jesus’ work.
In today’s Gospel lesson three people were given talents, or money. Two of
them put it to use. Those two doubled what they were given and pleased the
master. The master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You’ve been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come
share your master's happiness!" The third servant was given only one talent
but failed to even try to use that money. The master was very upset, saying,
"You wicked, lazy servant! You knew that I harvest where I have not sown and
gather where I have not scattered seed. You should have put my money on
deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it
back with interest."
There are three main points in today’s lesson. First, God gives each of us
different gifts and we need to use them. Second, one of the rewards for
using and exercising our gifts is more strength and more work to do. Third,
God will multiply our efforts and reward us if we at least try to use our
limited gifts.
Let’s look at point one, God gives each of us different gifts and we need to
use them. In Romans 12 we read, "Just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ
we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We
have different gifts, according to the grace given us." In these verses, God
is saying we have different gifts and we need to use them. And each person
in this room has different gifts which God wants you to share.
In his book, "Confidence," Alan Loy McGinnis talks about a study entitled
"Cradles of Eminence" by Victor and Mildred Goertzel. The family backgrounds
of 300 highly successful people were studied. Many were well-known: Franklin
D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi,
Freud and Einstein. All were brilliant in their fields. The study results
are surprising and encouraging. For example: "Three-quarters of the children
were troubled by poverty, a broken home, rejecting, over-possessive or
dominating parents. "74 of 85 writers and 16 of the 20 poets came from homes
where, as children, they saw tense psychological drama played out by their
parents. "Physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs
made up over one-quarter of the sample." What made the difference?
Compensating for their weaknesses let them excel in other areas. One said,
"What influenced my life more than any other thing was my stammer. If I did
not stammer I would have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps to .
. . every now and then publish a dreary book." The man was Somerset Maugham,
at age 86. He was a world-renowned author of more than 20 books, 30 plays,
and scores of essays and short stories." It's not what we have or don't have
that matters, but what we do with what we have. God expects us to use what
we have to the best of our abilities. Point one God gives us different
gifts, and we need to use them.
Second, one reward of using and exercising our talents is more strength and
more work to do. A man was involved in a tragic accident. He lost both legs,
left arm. Only a finger and thumb remained on the right hand. But he still
possessed a brilliant mind, enriched with a good education and broadened
with world travel. At first, he thought there was nothing he could do but
helplessly suffer. Then he had a thought. It was nice to receive letters,
but why not write them? He could use his right hand with some difficulty.
But to whom could he write? Was there anyone who could be encouraged by his
letters? He thought of prisoners. They did have hope of release, whereas he
had none. He wrote to a Christian group about prison ministry. They said his
letters could not be answered, it was against the rules. He started writing
one sided correspondence. He wrote twice a week and it taxed his strength to
the limit. Into the letters he put his soul, experience, faith, wit, and
Christian optimism. It was hard writing, often in pain, particularly with no
reply. Frequently, he felt discouraged and was tempted to quit. But it was
his one activity, so he resolved to continue. At last he got a letter on
prison stationery, written by the man who censored mail. It said, "Please
write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell to
cell till they literally fall to pieces."
Whatever our personal situation is, we have God given gifts and talents we
can share. Point, two is one reward for using and exercising our gifts is
more strength and work. Third, God will multiply our efforts and reward us
if we at least try to use our even limited talents. God does not look at our
ability or inability, God looks at our availability. Let me repeat, God does
not look at our ability or inability, God looks at our availability. There
seem to be three main reasons people do not do God’s work. A. Some people
fail to work for God because they are not aware what needs to be done. B.
Others fail to work for God because they are afraid to try, like the bad
steward in the parable. C. Some fail to work for God because they are lazy,
which is also why the master scolded the bad steward. D. Some do not work
for God because they are too busy with worldly things like work and
recreation, which will all pass away eventually, anyway. We need to step up
to the plate and try to do God’s work. Then God will work through us. We
simply need to say yes and try, then God will multiply our efforts.
Pastor J. Michael Walls writes, Dr. Frank Mayfield was touring Tewksbury
Institute when he collided with an elderly floor maid. To cover the awkward
moment he asked, "How long have you worked here?" "Almost since the place
opened," the maid replied. "What can you tell me about this place?" he
asked. "I’ll show you." She led him to the basement. She pointed to small
prison cells, their bars rusted with age. She said, "That's where they kept
Annie." "Who's Annie?" he asked. "A young girl brought here because she was
incorrigible. Nobody could do anything with her. She'd bite and scream and
throw her food at people. The doctors and nurses couldn't even examine her
or anything. I'd see them trying, with her spitting and scratching. I was
only a few years younger, and I used to think, 'I sure would hate to be
locked up in a cage.' I wanted to help her, but what could I do?" If the
doctors and nurses couldn't help her, what could someone like me do? I
didn't know what else to do, so I baked her brownies. I walked carefully to
her cage and said, 'Annie I baked brownies just for you. I'll put them here
and you can come get them if you want.' Then I got out of there as fast as I
could. I was afraid she might throw them at me. But she took the brownies
and ate them. "After that, she was nice to me when I was around. Sometimes
I'd talk to her. Once, I got her laughing. A nurse noticed and told the
doctor. They asked me if I'd help them with Annie. I said I would if I
could. So every time they wanted to see or examine her, I went into the cage
and calmed her down and held her hand. They discovered Annie was almost
blind." After they worked with her a year, Perkins Institute for the Blind
opened. They helped her and she went on to study and become a teacher. Annie
came to the Tewksbury to visit, and see what she could do to help. The
Director thought about a letter he'd just received. A man had written to him
about his daughter. She was unruly, almost like an animal. She was blind and
deaf as well as 'deranged.’ He didn't want to put her in an asylum. So he
wrote to ask if we knew a teacher-who would come and work with his
daughter." That is how Annie Sullivan became the lifelong companion of Helen
Keller. To finish this true story, when Helen Keller received the Nobel
Prize, she was asked who had the greatest impact on her life. She said,
"Annie Sullivan." But Annie said, "No Helen. The woman with the greatest
influence on both our lives was a floor maid at the Tewksbury Institute."
Third, God will multiply our efforts and reward us if we at least try to use
our even limited talents. We must simply try to use our talents and find
like the maid, "What can someone like me do?" Ask yourself, "What can
someone like me share?"
Well, some of you can drive, and some people need drivers to take them to
the doctor, or elsewhere. Some of you can read, and many shut-ins love to
have people read to them. Some of you can cook, and we need people to cook
food for funeral meals. Some of you can sing, and we all love to hear people
sing and share their voices in worship. And there may even be some of you
who speak well in public, and we need lay speakers to fill in for pastors
who are ill or away. Yes, we do all have gifts, and we need to use them. Why
not use your gifts? Let us pray. .
