Summer at RockCreek – USE IT OR LOSE IT

Summer at RockCreek – USE IT OR LOSE IT

Parable of the Three Servants

¹⁴ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.¹⁵ He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

¹⁶ The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. ¹⁷ The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.¹⁸ But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

¹⁹ After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. ²⁰ The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

²¹ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²² The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

²³ The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²⁴ Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵ I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

²⁶ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, ²⁷ why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁸ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. ²⁹ To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ³⁰ Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 25:14-30

KEY IDEA: You were created on with a .

⁷ “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”

I Corinthians 12:7

HOW FEAR ROBS US

²⁴ “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵ I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’”

Matthew 25:24-25

• our view of God
• It keeps us from moving .
• It to us about losing.
• It leads to a loss of .
• It silences our in God.

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

1. God doesn’t give the same equally to everyone.

^4 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, ⁵ so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. ⁶ In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.”

Romans 12:4-6

        2. God us to what He has to us.

^10 “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

I Peter 4:10

        3. God always faithfulness.

^6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

Hebrews 11:6

THE TWO QUESTION TEST:

1. What did you do with my son, Jesus Christ?
2. What did you do with what I gave you?

^12 “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.”

Revelation 20:12

YOUR NEXT STEP

• Discover God’s for your life and fulfill your .

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.”

Ephesians 4:1