November 19, 2025 • 55 mins
THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
Join us as I explore the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:14-30. We discuss the importance of stewardship and the responsibility we have over the gifts and abilities entrusted to us by God. Discover the significance of using our talents not just for personal gain, but to bless others and further the Kingdom of God.
Chapters
• 0:00 Introduction to the Parable of the Talents
• 5:00 Understanding Stewardship and Responsibility
• 10:00 The Importance of Utilizing Our Talents
• 15:00 The Consequences of Fear and Laziness
• 20:00 The Call to Action: Serving Others with Our Gifts
• 25:00 Conclusion: Striving for Faithfulness in Our Calling
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
I wanna share with you guys uh the parable of the
talent.
You know, one of the parables ofJesus spoke about the parable of
the talent and um the context inwhich we're gonna examine this
(00:21):
uh scriptural reference.
It's gonna be in Matthew chapter25 verses 14 to 30.
So if you have your Bible, justjoin with me in Matthew 25, 14
to 30 so that you can followalong.
Jesus is trying to convey thekingdom of God through using
(00:42):
parables.
And one of the parables toillustrate the kingdom of God is
the parable of the talents.
And I believe this parablehighlights stewardship and the
utilization of our talents.
So we're gonna read the actualreference in Matthew 25, verses
14 to 30.
(01:02):
I'm just gonna read the entireverses and then we're gonna
break it down.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
It says, For the kingdom of heaven is like a man
traveling to a far country.
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
That's interesting.
Call his own servants anddelivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents,to another two and to another
one.
SPEAKER_02 (01:40):
To each according to his own ability, and immediately
he went on a journey.
Verse sixteen.
(02:00):
And likewise he who had receivedtwo gained two more also, but he
who had received one went anddarked in the ground and hid his
Lord's money.
After a long time the Lord ofthose servants came and settled
(02:26):
accounts with them.
Verse 20.
So he who had received fivetalents came and brought five
other talents, saying, Lord, youdelivered to me five talents.
Look, I have gained five moretalents besides them.
(02:48):
His Lord said to him, Well done,good and faithful servant.
You were faithful over fewthings.
I will make you ruler over manythings.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
(03:10):
He also who had received twotalents came and said, Lord, you
deliver to me two talents.
Look, I have gained two moretalents besides them.
His Lord said to him, Well done,good and faithful servant, you
(03:30):
have been faithful over a fewthings.
I will make you ruler over manythings.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
Wow.
Verse 24.
And then he said, then he whohad received the one talent came
(03:51):
and said, Lord, I knew you to bea hard man, reaping where you
have not sown, and gatheringwhere you have not scattered
seed.
And I was afraid, and I went andhid your talent in the ground.
Look, there you have what isyours.
(04:13):
Wow.
But his Lord answered and saidto him, You wicked and lazy
servant, you knew that I reapwhere I have not sown,
interesting, and gathered whereI have not scattered seed.
So you ought to have depositedmy money with the bankers, and
at my coming I would havereceived back my own my own with
(04:37):
interest.
Interesting.
So take the talent from him andgive it to him who has ten
talents, for to everyone who hasmore 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, and then castthis unprofitable servant into
(05:03):
the outer darkness.
There will be weeping andgarnishing of teeth.
Oh my god.
This is a very interestingparable.
Especially us as ministers.
We are um managers, becauseanother word for stewardship is
management.
(05:23):
Whatever you and I we possessbelongs to God.
You know, talents, mydefinition, is the goods that
God has delivered to each one ofus inside of us.
That is why if you look, if youlook at the um the pronoun his
mine, it shows possession thatwhatever we have, God owns it.
(05:46):
So that is why we have to bevery, very careful that this
talent that I have, it's not myown.
So I can't just do whatever Iwant to do with my talent.
These talents have been given tome to make them useful, to
profit the body of Christ, toprofit my family.
This talent God has given to me,it's not just for my own
(06:07):
personal use, it's not just formy own gain.
We are being blessed with talentso that we can be a blessing.
So everything that we possessbelongs to God, and God one day
is gonna we're gonna settle anaccount with God, and we're
gonna hear from God.
Either we are faithful, good andfaithful servant, or we are lazy
(06:29):
or wicked.
That's gonna be the feedbackwhen we stand before God
regarding our talents.
That God is gonna give us afeedback, either well done or
poor job, either good andfaithful servant or wicked and
lazy servants.
And I pray that that will not beour portion.
Now let's break it down.
(06:51):
Um why why why does Jesus Christspeak in parable?
SPEAKER_01 (06:55):
So parable is it's pretty much uh an illustration
to convey common lifeexperiences, which is what Jesus
has done.
And also one of the definitionsof a parable, it's an earthly
story with an heavenly meaning.
So Jesus Christ uses parables toto demonstrate and show us and
reveal to us spiritual heavenlymeaning.
SPEAKER_02 (07:18):
So he's taking the day-to-day um interactions, the
day-to-day elements, theday-to-day items, the day-to-day
things that you and I wouldrelate with, especially during
his time to relate spiritualtruth, to relate heavenly vision
to the people.
And that is why he used thistalent to illustrate that hey,
this is how the kingdom of Godis.
(07:38):
It's like a man entrusting hisgoods to his servants.
Again, we as ministers, we arecalled by God and we belong to
God.
Just as our talents belong toGod, just as we as believers, we
have been redeemed by JesusChrist, we are not our own.
So we don't really live our lifeon our own.
(08:00):
Honestly speaking, we asChristians, I can't even talk
about we as ministers, we arenot on our own.
And when we are servants of God,everything that we do for God is
for God.
God is in charge, is in controlof our time, of our resources.
That is why sometimes when we'reasking God, I want you to bless
me with this, God is alwayshaving in a mind, okay, if I'm
(08:23):
gonna bless my daughter, if I'mgonna bless my son, how they're
gonna use that blessing, howthey're gonna be a blessing.
So we need to have this in ourminds that whatever it is that
we're asking God for, whateverit is that we possess, it
belongs to God.
And it's not just for us, it'sto be a blessing to others, it's
(08:44):
to be a blessing to othersbecause God is the king and he
wants his kingdom to reign, andwe have to acknowledge him as a
king.
So when he gives a parable aboutthe kingdom of God, pretty much
Jesus is trying to highlight inour hearts that he is the king,
he wants to reign not just inheaven, he wants to reign, not
just on this earth, he wants toreign in our own personal lives.
(09:05):
And the reason why Jesus usesparables is because Jesus didn't
want the kingdom of God to be soobvious because sometimes in
life we take the things of Godfor granted, you know, because
oh, they're foolishness, youknow.
Why why why should I believe ona dying man on the cross and he
resurrected?
And when I believe in this dyingman on the cross and he
(09:26):
resurrected, my sins areforgiven.
Oh my god, to the Greeks, thisis foolishness, this is
nonsense, but these are eatingtruth.
The cross is the power forsalvation.
So Jesus uses parables to todisclose spiritual truth to his
disciples, to those who arewilling to follow him, and those
(09:49):
who were not willing to followhim, he doesn't disclose or
explain the parables.
And we read the book, the gospelof Mark, chapter 4, verse 10 to
12.
Let me read that quickly.
Because after he gave a parable,the disciples were like, Ah,
Master, why are you speaking inparables?
It says, But when he was alone,those around him with the 12
(10:11):
asked him about the parable, andhe said to them, To you it has
been given to know the mysteryof the kingdom of God.
That's why Jesus speaks inparable.
Because when you oh God, theBible says that we have to be
heavenly minded.
One way to be heavenly minded,we have to seek the things
above, and another way to beheavenly minded, we have to set
(10:32):
our mind on the things above.
So the things above, they're notgonna come cheaply, they are
expensive, they are treasures,they are mysterious.
That is why Jesus speaks inparables, not in plain
languages, because he said thosewho are interested, those who
want to seek God diligently,diligently, committedly,
(10:54):
intentionally, definitely, Godwill reveal the mysteries of the
kingdom.
But those who just take God forgranted, dishonor God, discredit
God, don't believe in God, theydoubt God, they are faithless,
unbelievers, Jesus will speak inparable.
But to those who are outside,all things come in parables.
unknown (11:16):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:17):
So that sin they may see and not perceive, and
hearing they may hear and notunderstand.
At least they should turn awayfrom their sins and their sins
be forgiven.
Now, what is talent?
Talent is actually money, it's ascale of balance, it's it's
currency.
So the talent that you and Iwill possess is our currency in
(11:41):
the marketplace and theworkplace of life.
So the spiritual gifts and thenatural gifts, the abilities
that God has endowed in you,they are your currency for
trading in the marketplace oflife.
Life is a marketplace oftransactions, life is a place of
exchange, give and take.
(12:02):
Even in relationships, is giveand take.
You're working for your bus byoffering your time, your skill
sets, your knowledge, and inreturn, your bus compensates
you.
So life is an exchange.
So God has given you somethingto exchange with, and that is
your talent.
So the actual definition oftalent in Greek, it's it's the
(12:26):
scale of a balance.
Something that you weigh, it'scurrency, it's money, it's
goods, goods, because that'swhat Jesus said that the man
came and then he uh he deliveredhis goods to his servants.
So your talent is your currency,your talent is your goods, your
(12:47):
goods that is the actual sense,but to convey it more in a way
that you can understand it isyour natural aptitude, your
natural skill, your naturalabilities that God endowed in
you, or the gifts, the spiritualgifts.
(13:09):
And there are two types oftalents, two types of talents.
Number one, your talent is thatinnate ability embedded within
you when you were formed by God,when you were created by God.
That is what we call yournatural talent at your physical
(13:30):
birth.
At your physical birth, Godgifted you innately, it's inside
of you.
So you cannot go to the marketand buy talent.
You cannot ask your pastor togive you talent, your natural
talent.
You cannot even ask your mom togive you talent.
Since today is our children's umministry, that is why I
(13:52):
encourage us as parents, don'ttry to make your child to be
something that they're not.
Instead, go to their creator,God, what talents have you
placed in my daughter?
What talents have you placed inmy son?
So that I can help earn thoseskills, I can help cultivate
those talents, I can helpdevelop them.
(14:13):
If your daughter inside of her,she she has this passion, this
potential, this sense offulfillment that whenever I
interact with people, I want tohelp them, I want to lead them,
and she sees herself becoming aprime minister, don't you dare
trying to distract them or denythem or detain them or deter
(14:36):
them into something else, intobecoming a nurse, into becoming
a doctor.
But when you know deep downwithin themselves, they want to
be oppressed, they want to be aleader, they want to be a
minister.
You're playing with God, you'reinterfering with God.
And many parents have doneinjustice when it comes to the
abilities of their children.
(14:56):
Sometimes they think that it'sit's a learning disability or
mental health.
Your children are not going tobe alike.
They all have different talents,naturally speaking, and then
another talent that you and I wepossess.
This talent is given at oursecond birth, that is our
spiritual birth when we becomeborn again.
So unbelievers only have onetalent that is their natural
(15:18):
abilities.
In it, embedded gifts at theirnatural natural birth.
When you now become a believer,you have two talents.
You have your natural abilities,and you also have your spiritual
and your supernatural abilities,and down in you there are divine
gifts at your spiritual secondbirth.
So we as believers, we have tworesponsibilities, we have two
(15:42):
places that we have to serve.
We have number one, our priorityto serve the kingdom of God,
number two, to serve society.
Like I was teaching the otherday on Friday that when you and
I we are art are heavenlyminded, guess what?
We shall become heavenly useful,uh, artly useful because Jesus
was so much heavenly minded inthree years, he was able to
(16:04):
accomplish so much for humanity,and that the greatest
accomplishment is salvation.
So, we as believers we have twoessential responsibilities.
Number one, we have toprioritize working for God,
using our spiritual gifts forthe church to edify the church,
to build up the church, toadvance the kingdom mandates,
(16:27):
and number two, to be artlyuseful because the Bible says in
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10,for we are his workmanship.
Wow, how can you be aworkmanship of God when you're
talentless, when you'regiftless?
There's no way.
So, for you to be God'sworkmanship, God has embedded in
you natural talent that you canuse, God has endowed in you
(16:49):
spiritual gifts.
It says, created in Christ Jesusfor good works.
Wow, you and I we are createdfor good works, for good works
for the kingdom of God, for goodworks for our families, for good
works for our employers, forgood work for Uganda, for good
work for Canada, for good workseverywhere we go.
We should be impactful, weshould be influencing with our
(17:12):
talents.
The cause of the talents, weneed to know our hymn of using
our talent.
What is the cause of using yourtalent?
Jesus said in Matthew chapter25, verse 14, for the kingdom of
heaven.
God has given you a talent thatis not your own.
(17:32):
He didn't initiate that talentwithin you.
God gave it to you, so itbelongs to God.
So God is saying to you and Idad, I want you to use your
talent for the cause, for theadvancement, for the promotion
of the kingdom of heaven.
That's how Jesus started hisparable about the talent for the
(17:53):
kingdom of heaven.
That should be your intention.
Why are you using your talent?
Now we live in a world withministers.
We are using our talent for ourown glory, we are using our
talent for our owngratification, we are using our
talent for our own enrichment.
(18:14):
That is how we manipulatepeople.
Oh, you know what?
I'm gonna prophesy into yourlife, but you have to sow a
seed.
Oh my god.
Jesus asked the Pharisees aquestion: Is it lawful to do
good and to save life?
Our talents are given to savelife and to do good.
(18:34):
Again, when you use your talentfor others and for God's glory,
that's what that's where yourgreatness is.
You will be blessed in return.
You will be blessed in return.
Jesus said that when you whenyou die to self, you will leave.
But us as believers, we want toleave, but we don't want to die
to self.
We want to live to self.
(18:55):
We're so selfish, even inministry.
It's all about us.
Jesus said, I've come to serve,not to be served.
So your talent is given for youto serve, not for people to
serve you.
That is why in Africa, ourleaders, they are they have this
talent.
Their leadership talent is to beserved, but not to serve.
(19:17):
And as a result of that, there'sno prosperity in the land.
When you're making decisionsfrom financial aids that they
receive from IMF, all theseinternational uh trade
organizations, they use thatmoney just for their own
political parties, they don'tenrich the nation as a whole.
Pastors, ministers, they usethat that blessing that God has
(19:39):
given them in the ministry fortheir own houses, for their own
fancy cars.
I'm not against you.
If you work hard, you deserveit.
But if that money is coming fromthe church, use the resources
for the church to enrich thechurch, to enrich God's people.
So the cause of your talent isfor the kingdom, amen.
(19:59):
And then the color, the color,the color here is it's like a
man, a man traveling to a farcountry, and this man is Jesus.
This man is Jesus.
So we have an identifiedintention, the motivation, the
reason for you to wake up everymorning to wake up on Sundays.
(20:24):
No what I cannot wait.
I am part of the praise andworship team, I am part of the
prayer team.
I'm gonna go early in themorning because people are
waiting to eat of my fruit oftalent.
People are waiting to be blessedby the gift that God has given
me.
People are waiting to receivethe message that God has put in
me.
People are waiting to see thedeliverance of God in your
(20:46):
lives.
Do you know the saddest thingwhy Jesus said you are a wicked
and a lazy servant?
It takes wickedness for you notto utilize your talent.
It takes laziness for you not toutilize your talent.
Do you know why some of us we'renot blessed?
We don't have influences becausenumber one, we are so selfish
that our talent is just for ourown, and we are so lazy.
(21:09):
You see, God, it's a talent.
Another thing for talent, atalent is not just the it's not
the finished product, it'sactually the raw material.
God does not give us thefinished products, He gives us
the raw materials.
Now it is up to us to cultivatethat raw materials, do that
work, my uh raw materials intowork and process for them to
(21:32):
become the finished product.
But us, we want the finisheddiamond, we don't want to go
through the process of ourfruits of our talent becoming
too useful.
That is why character matters.
That is why you have tocultivate your lifestyle.
It's not just talent that willtake you that will take you to
(21:52):
the top.
What's gonna maintain you,what's gonna sustain you in the
top is your character, yourmajority, your mindset.
A poor man can receive millionsof dollars, and that poor man
can lose that money because theyhave not developed the inner
capacity in their mindset andtheir and their habits of
financial management.
(22:13):
That is why a rich person canlose money and and they're able
to make it again.
Because why?
They have already cultivated,developed the mindset of money,
and they have the character ofmoney.
Don't just pray, oh God, give memoney, money.
Say, God, give me the characterto handle money, God give me the
the mindset of success.
Because you can God can God cantake you out of Egypt
(22:35):
physically, but Egypt is stillin you mentally and emotionally.
So we need to structure ourprayer lives that God make me to
become successful, not just tohave success, make me to become
because when you are successitself, anything that you do
shall prosper.
So the caller here is Jesus, heis the giver because he says he
(22:57):
called his own servants anddeliver his goods to them.
Before Jesus can call you, hehad to test you to see if you're
a responsible man or woman.
Do you know that most of thedisciples of Jesus, the 12
disciples, all of them werepreoccupied, none of them were
lazy, some of them were fishers,men, uh features of men, some of
them were uh uh fishers of fish,some of them were tax
(23:19):
collectors, some of them werebrilliant scholars.
Paul was a was a religiousscholar, Luke was a doctor.
So Jesus is looking fordiligent, hard-working men and
woman who were alreadypreoccupied to say no what I can
trust this lady, I can trustthis man because they're so
diligent in what you're doing.
Because the kingdom of God isnot it's not it's it's hard
(23:41):
work, ministry is hard work.
Our Musumba has to wake up everymorning ever since she started
this prayer altar.
She has to wake up every morningto pray.
Ministry is not cheap, ministryis work.
We want the glory, but we don'twant the story.
We don't want to go through thetrials and jubilations of
(24:03):
ministry, we want the triumph.
So Jesus is the giver here ofyour talents.
Now, the called.
The cult are his own servants.
You are the called minister, youare the gifted minister.
Anyone that is called by God istalented.
Anyone that is called by God isgifted because there's no way
(24:26):
you can stand in front of peoplewithout any gift.
There's no way God will allowyou to stand before his people
with no impact, with noanointing, with no spiritual
gifts.
But God will ensure that heendows you with the necessary
gifts based on your ownabilities and based on his
grace.
Look what it says, called hisown servant.
(24:49):
For the kingdom of heaven islike a man traveling to a far
country.
Who called his own servants?
These are the called.
When he called his own servants,he didn't leave them
empty-handed, he delivered hisgoods to them.
So the goods belong to them, theservant belongs to him.
unknown (25:09):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:09):
So child of God, we as believers we don't belong to
ourselves, we belong to JesusChrist, and our gifts belong to
Jesus Christ.
We are not on our own.
Paul says, It's no longer I wholives, but Christ that lives in
me.
unknown (25:23):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
If you have this mindset that Jesus said, Abide
in me and I abide in you,without me, you can do nothing.
unknown (25:30):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:31):
So for you to be God's workmanship created in
Christ for good works, you haveto be in Christ.
You have to be possessed byJesus.
So we see the allocation ofgifts according to their own
ability.
I'm like, God, what do you meanaccording to their own ability?
(25:53):
So you so you're giving,allocating to some five talents,
to two uh uh uh uh two talents,to another person one talent.
Is it why why are you doing itlike that?
The Bible says according totheir own ability, you have a
(26:13):
role to play.
If you want more for God, showthat you want more for God.
Oh God, the kingdom of God ismysterious, the kingdom of God
is a treasure, just like Jesussaid, it's a treasure, it's not
going to come cheap.
The Bible said the kingdom ofGod suffers violence, and the
violence takes it by force.
(26:34):
You're not gonna be able to castout demons if your prayer life
sucks.
There's no way.
Jesus said the gifts we'regiven, the talent we're
allocated according to their ownability.
Your ability is not just youryour your your your strength,
it's also your capacity, alsoyour maturity, your character
(26:57):
plays a role in you having thefortitude.
God looks at your experiences.
If I entrust this woman, thisman with this, are they able to
withstand the pressure?
Because, oh my God, the moreinfluenced you are, you become a
target of the gates of hell.
The more influenced you are, youbecome a target of destruction.
(27:18):
Because you are making impact,you are saving lives, you're
doing good because Jesus was soinfluential.
Oh my god, he was a target ofall these religious leaders.
The Sadducees, the Sahindrians,the Pharisees, they were
constantly attacking Jesus, theywere constantly opposing him
because he was a man ofinfluence.
So God is not going to entrustyou with a greater ministry,
(27:39):
with so much talent, with somuch gift, and you don't have
the maturity, you don't have theability, you don't have the
character, you don't have thecapacity to handle what God has
given you.
Stewership, management at yourown pace.
God will look, okay, my sonhere, I need to grow him more.
(28:00):
I need to put him, I need toallow him to go through many
trials, so that when I when Iadd more gifts in him, he has
the the spiritual stamina, hehas the spiritual maturity to
handle these things.
That is why God allows you and Ito go through problems.
That is why God allows you and Ito go through bad experiences,
(28:21):
so that those bad experiencescan become our ministry.
You cannot tell a poor man howto be rich if you were not poor
before and now God has made yourich.
For a rich man to tell a poorman, a rich man who has never
been poor before, to tell a poorman, hey, I can help you as a
poor man how to be rich.
A rich man will not be able todo it convincingly.
(28:43):
A rich man will not have thatconviction, that compassion,
that courage, that faith tobelieve that ah, this poor man
can come out of poverty.
That is why children who areraised from a rich home, they
take their riches for granted.
And when they lose their riches,it's hard for them to get it
back because their parents werethe ones who work hard.
But somebody who was once poor,when God has made them rich,
(29:07):
when they see a poor church,when they see a poor sister,
number one, they will havecompassion.
That's why Jesus Christ had tocome, because Jesus Christ is
filthy rich.
Jesus Christ had to come tounderstand us, our poverty, our
spiritual poverty, our physicalpoverty for him to understand,
ah, my son is poor.
Me too, I went through povertywhen I was on this earth.
You know what?
(29:27):
I'm gonna give him my riches.
So that is why God allowed ourexperiences, and those
experiences can build ourmental, spiritual fortitude that
will increase our ability toacquire more from God.
So your gifts, it's yourcapabilities, and your grace is
the capacity to handle and touse your gifts.
(29:49):
Let me say that again.
Your gifts are yourcapabilities.
Your grace is the capacity tohandle and to use your gifts
effectively.
So your gifts are yourCapabilities, your grace is the
capacity.
That is why Paul will constantlysay, God has gifted me based on
his grace.
Because you need the grace ofGod to handle the gift, or else
(30:10):
that gift will kill you.
And if you're not careful,anointing can ruin your life.
Anointing can ruin your life.
Child of God, we should rely onthe grace of God because our
gift, if we're not careful, canplace us in dangerous places.
Paul says in Romans chapter 12,verse verse 6 having the gifts
defined according to the gracethat is given to us.
(30:32):
Let us use them.
So our gifts are given accordingto the grace that is given to
us, according to the spiritualcapacity, to the mental
capacity, to the maturity andthe character.
You know what?
You can handle 10 talents.
I can trust you.
You were faithful in leading uhtwo people in operal ministry.
(30:53):
You were faithful in going fromdoor to door, families to
family.
No, I can trust you with entireCanada.
God is not going to entrust uswith Canada if God cannot
entrust us with the individualsin Canada.
It doesn't work like that.
God is a God of principle.
It says in 1 Corinthians chapter12, verse 7, but the
manifestation of the Spirit isgiven to each one for the profit
of all.
(31:13):
So it is the Holy Spirit thatmanifests the gifts.
And it's for what?
For the profit of all.
Keep that in mind.
Your gift is for the profit ofall.
Don't use your gifts just toprofit you.
If you have this wrongintention, oh, I'm going to be a
pastor, I'm going to be a singerso I can profit from it.
I'm going to monetize my talent,especially your spiritual.
(31:34):
You can monetize your naturaltalents.
No, that's your natural talent.
But to monetize your spiritualtalents, the only way you can
preach, people have to pay you.
Ah the only way you can sing,people have to pay you.
Hey, may God deliver you.
May God have mercy.
When the Bible clearly statesthat your talents are given for
(31:57):
the profit of all, those inchurch, for your wife, for your
husband, for your children.
Our Musumba says something onMonday that her talent is
working for her, not justworking for church.
And she's using her talent ofpraying to pray for our family,
to pray for our children, topray for the church.
Holistic.
(32:17):
And 1 Corinthians chapter 12,verse 11, it says, But one and
the same spirit works in allthis, distributing to each one
individual as he wills.
It's the Holy Spirit accordingto the grace of God, according
to his manifestation, accordingto our own abilities, according
to his will.
So God has a role to play interms of the dimension, the
measure, the level of talent youreceive.
(32:40):
Sometimes it could be our ownabilities, sometimes it could be
just by the grace of God,sometimes it could be by the
will of the Holy Spirit.
And look what it says inEphesians chapter 4, verse 11.
And he himself gives to some tobe apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors andteachers.
Be careful.
If God did not give you the youcan I think Muslim said that you
can have the gift of prophecy,but you might not have the
(33:03):
office of prophecy.
That's another topic ofdiscussion.
You can have the it does notmean that because you have
gifts, God has called you toopen your own church.
That's where many, many, manygifted people get it wrong.
Just because they are gifted,they think that automatically
now they are leaders.
A gift does not make you aleader.
Because if that's the case, lookat all these celebrities that we
(33:23):
watch.
Beyonce and everybody else.
Look at the type of music thatthey put out here.
They're not leaders, they're notleaders.
Leaders, we don't equate leaderswith talent, we equate leaders
with positive, good impact andinfluence like Jesus Christ.
We equate leaders with service.
These liberties, we worshipthem, they are gods.
(33:45):
They're not leaders.
So don't don't don't get ittwisted thinking that oh now you
are you can pray 24 hours, nowyou can prophesy.
Now you want to play in the roleof an office, of a prophet, of a
pastor.
You are you you are pretty muchsetting the problem for
yourself.
If God has called you to becomean evangelist, stick to it.
(34:06):
If you want more, God, I wantyou to hire the prophetic as
well.
If God has called you to be apastor, stick to it.
Don't be envious, don't convertanybody else's gift or office.
If God has called you to be ateacher, focus on that and work
on that effectively, enjoy itand serve people with that.
(34:30):
And then their contributions.
But they are mainly to serveothers.
Yes, it's true that you can useyour gift for your own
self-service, but the intentionof God giving you those gifts,
those talents, is to serveothers for his own glory.
We are blessed when we when ourgifts bless others.
(34:55):
So the purpose of serving withour gift is for the profit of
all and to benefit all.
Just as we have read in 1Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.
Now, the contribution.
It says, Then who had receivedthe five talents went and
traded, traded them and madeanother five talents.
(35:16):
So this man, this servant thatwas given five talents, again,
like I said, life is a tradingplace, life is an exchange.
Your talent is your currency ofexchange.
So what this servant of God didwas he traded, meaning that he
utilizes his talent, he usestalent, his service talent in
the marketplace.
It could be maybe you're in whenyou read the book of um the
(35:38):
gospel of Luke, it says it wentto the bank and traded.
In our case, we right now, I'musing my my my gifts to teach
you guys the word of God.
Musumba is using her gift topreach, to teach, and to pray.
That is what she's doing.
She's trading her talents.
So this five talents went in andshe traded her five talents, and
she was and he was able toobtain five more talents.
(36:00):
He was able to get more.
And then the two talents didlikewise.
He had received two gained more.
So the two men that received twotalents from Jesus Christ went
into the trade of life and hewas able to obtain two more
talents, two more money, twomore fruits, two more
opportunities.
And then the servant of God thatreceived one talent now.
(36:24):
Look, but he who had receivedone went and dug it in the
ground and hid his Lord money.
Like I said, talent is currency,talent is money.
So this one person sometimeswhen you have one talent, you
you say, okay, God, you giveSister A five talents.
She can sing, she can pray, shecan teach, she can speak in
(36:44):
tongues, she can.
Oh God, this talent, this womanis talented.
Instead of you to focus onyourself, you allow jealousy,
you allow envy, you allowgrudge, you allow malice, you
allow hatred.
When God is saying that, but Iknow, but I gave you that one
talent.
If you're faithful in that onetalent, let me see what I can
do.
Ken and Abel, because oftalents.
(37:08):
God said, you know, again, ifyou do well, I can I can
recognize your work, I canrecognize your hustle, but Ken
deceive his own brother becauseof jealousy.
So if you're not careful, whenwe start to compare and compete
with our talents, that is why Isaid if you're an apostle, be an
apostle.
If you're a teacher, be ateacher.
If you're a singer, be ateacher.
(37:28):
Don't try to be like somebodyelse.
Be yourself and be comfortablein what God has given you.
So this one talented man is sowicked that he dogged the
ground.
Can you imagine you dig your owntalent that is meant for people?
Do you know that our purpose inlife, if it's not utilized, if
it's not fulfilled, people canactually be destroyed?
(37:51):
Because that person's blessingfor healing, it's in your hand.
We want God to come down and doall the work of healing, all the
work of teaching, all the workof preaching.
When God is saying that I havecalled my servants to carry out
these functions of healing,teaching, preaching, delivering,
leading.
But you, God has called you tolead, but you're there digging
(38:12):
your talents, putting it on theground.
And people are saying that, ohGod, raise a leader, raise a
leader.
But God said, I've raised aleader among you.
Oh God, shut that up.
I've raised a leader among you.
But that leader, is that thatleader is bewitched, or that
leader knows that they are theyare called to be a leader, they
have not developed themselvesand they're wasting time, they
are procrastinating.
(38:33):
Child of God, we need to takeour talent because our talent is
confined by time.
Our talent, our gifts have to beused within this time frame that
we are here on earth.
So there's no way you canprocrastinate.
That's why Jesus says, Seek mefirst, my kingdom and my
righteousness.
Stop procrastinating over God.
I'm here in Canada, let me makemoney.
(38:54):
And then later on, when I'm inmy 30s, when I'm in my 40s, I
have time to serve you.
Lie, lie, because you don't knowwhen you're gonna go.
How would you serve God now?
Multi-tax, balance, work for forfor Caesar, work for God.
But you want to work, you wantto spend all your life, not even
in your own calling.
You don't even find fulfillmentin what you're doing.
Every day you're stressed.
That is why you come to thisprayer altar so that God can
(39:16):
take your stress away.
But the solution is stay withinyour talent.
There's no way you can take afish and allow that fish to
dwell in the land.
That you will kill that fish.
Because that fish was notcreated to strive to succeed in
the dry land.
But when you put a fish in thedomain of their own in the
(39:38):
waters, that fish will excel.
It's like our talents.
If you put somebody in the wrongplace, in the wrong position,
and they're not gifted, they'renot talented, they don't have
that passion, they don't havethat sense of meaning.
Oh boy, you're just here wastingyour life and adding stress to
your life.
That's why Jesus said, My bodyis light, my yoke is easy.
(39:58):
And the burden and the yoke thatwe carry from Jesus is the goods
that Jesus has delivered us.
It's the goods that Jesus hasdelivered us.
So when we contribute ourtalents, we are compensated.
Child of God, your talent, Godensures that our talents, when
they are used, when they areserved, we are rewarded in
(40:19):
return.
You are a blessing to be ablessing.
When you are a blessing inreturn, other people will bless
you.
That is why our talents is thecurrency of exchange in the
marketplace.
Right now, let's say all of uswe use our talents.
Some of you guys can sing, someof you can heal.
If I need healing, I will go toyou, my sister, for you to heal
(40:43):
me.
Because I don't have all.
Only Jesus was everything.
Paul said we know in parts.
I don't have none of us have thefullness of grace.
Only Jesus has the fullness ofgrace.
Some of us we have one gift,some of us we have five gifts,
but we don't have the fullnessof everything.
That is why we areinterdependent.
Our talents are interdependent.
(41:04):
I need something from you, youneed something from me.
Amen.
We're almost done.
So Matthew chapter 25, verse 16.
Then he who had received thefive talents went and traded it.
It's just to show that when wecontribute our talent, we are
compensated.
So the five and the two talentservants traded your talent in
(41:25):
the marketplace of life.
Our gifts are meant to beexchanged to contribute to
others' lives and receivecompensation from the
contributions of our gifts.
There's going to be a conclusionof your life.
There's going to be a conclusionof your life where you're either
going to be celebrated or you'regoing to be condemned.
According to this passage thatwe have read.
(41:47):
At the conclusion of your life,when you stand before God, God
is going to give you feedback.
God likes to give feedback.
Remember when He when He createdthe universe, He said, This is
very This is good.
After He created the light, thisis good.
After He created vegetation,this is good, the plants, after
He created the animals, oh, thisis good.
After He created the stars, themoon and the Sun.
Oh, this is good.
Oh my God.
When he came down to the imageand likeness bearer of God, he
(42:10):
said, This is very good.
Child of God, you are very good.
You're just like God.
You are creative.
You are powerful.
Oh my God.
That is why God does not want towaste the talent that He has put
in you.
Because He knows your potent.
He knows your capacity.
He knows what you're capable of.
It's you and I, we are the onesthat underestimate ourselves.
(42:32):
I would say this to any one ofyou don't ever let any human
being underestimate you.
I don't care about your currentsituation.
No human being should concludeon you.
Because they might know youryesterday and see your today,
but they don't know yourtomorrow.
They might know your yesterdayand see your today.
They don't look nothing like achild of God, but they don't
(42:54):
know your tomorrow.
But if you put your trust in Godwho knows your tomorrow, who
specializes in taking what hasbeen debased, despices, despise
those who have been so proud, isable to exalt the humble, is
able to lift up the poor.
So don't ever let anybodydiminish your glory.
(43:15):
Don't ever let anybody undermineyour efforts.
It doesn't matter how small itis, be proud of it.
Surround yourself with peoplewho believe in you, who believe
in your talent, and they'rehelping you to cultivate your
talent.
Because at the end of the day,we're going to stand before God.
Our gifts are to be used for alimited time.
(43:36):
And that is my prayer that childof God, that God will open our
eyes to know the urgency.
Do you know why when you readthe book the Gospel of Mark, the
phrase immediately, the wordimmediately, immediately,
immediately, because Jesuswanted to use his talent, his
gift in an urgent matter.
Because he only had three yearsto leave.
Some of you, if God opened youreyes to see the day you're going
(43:58):
to die, you take your life veryseriously.
But you don't know.
So don't procrastinate.
The Bible said, and in the endtime, use be wise to use your
time wisely.
So we're going to stand beforeGod.
Two things are going to happen.
Either we're going to receivecelebration or we're going to
receive condemnation.
Look what it says to the fivetalents.
So he who had received fivetalents came and brought five
(44:19):
others, saying, Lord, youdeliver to me five talents.
Look, I have gained four moretalents besides them.
Wow.
I utilized my talent.
I fulfilled my purpose.
My ministry was fruitful.
Here I am, Lord.
Then the Lord said, Hmm, welldone.
Well done.
Wow.
Claugh for you.
(44:40):
Again, people might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
Your family might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
The church might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
You might not have uh uhcelebrities on on social media,
you might not have like a fan orfollowership, it's okay, but
guess who you're serving?
You're serving God, it's forGod's glory.
That day, oh my god, the angelswill be clapping for you.
(45:03):
The angels will be your numberone fan.
Wow, thousands of angels said,Oh my god, thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, uh um,charity for your talent, thank
you, Justin, for your talent,thank you, Ruth, for your
talent, thank you for yourtalent.
He said, I have gained five moretalents, and then Jesus will
say, Well done.
Good and faithful servant.
(45:23):
Wow, good and faithful servant,those who use their gifts.
Jesus considers them as good.
You're a good person when you'releading people to Jesus, you're
a good person coming for thisprayer altar, you're a good
person serving in the church,you're a good person interceding
for your children, you're a goodperson praying for your husband,
(45:45):
you are a good and a faithfulservant.
It takes goodness andfaithfulness because at times
things are gonna be hard.
But as long as you're faithfuland serving your gifts, people
are gonna betray you, people arenot gonna appreciate you.
It's okay.
Continue to do good, continue tobe faithful.
You were faithful over a fewthings.
Now I will make you ruler overmany things, enter into the joy
(46:08):
of the Lord.
Wow, at the end, what you'regonna receive is a celebration
from Jesus, and then God isgonna entrust you more with more
things.
Child of God, when we go toheaven, we're not just going to
heaven to worship, we'reactually going to heaven to
worship and to work.
To work, God is gonna enlargeour responsibilities in heaven.
(46:28):
We're gonna be in charge, we'regonna be in charge.
That's gonna be our reward to bein charge, to lead.
That's why the Bible says JesusChrist is the King of Kings, is
the Lord of lords.
Amen.
He's the King of Kings, the Lordof Lords.
And then not only are we gonnareceive the reward of
leadership, we're also gonnareceive the reward of joy.
unknown (46:48):
Wow!
SPEAKER_02 (46:50):
Wow! Right now, you're getting that
satisfaction, that sense ofmeaning whenever you utilize
your gifts.
But you're gonna receive morewhen you're with the Lord,
you're gonna receive more whenyou enter into the joy of the
Lord.
Because guess what?
You carry the burden of the Lordthat is so easy, you carry the
yoke of the Lord that is solight.
(47:11):
Now the two talents said thesame thing.
Also, he who had received twotalents came and said, Lord, you
delivered to me two talents.
Look, I have gained two moretalents beside them.
His Lord said, Wow, and notagain.
It it doesn't matter thedimension of talents.
Those who receive one, two, Ibelieve that the one, if the one
would have utilized your talent,they would have received the
same celebration, they wouldhave received the same feedback.
(47:33):
So the feedback is the same, thereward is the same, the rest is
the same.
It's just on earth that wereceive different gifts, but but
the feedback will be the same.
We're not gonna hear, oh welldone for you.
Oh, so so so somehow well done.
No, it's gonna be the samebecause for the two talents,
(47:53):
Jesus said, Well done, good andfaithful servant.
That's what you we want to hear.
That's what you want to hearwith one talent, that's what you
want to hear with two talents,that's what you want to hear
with three talents.
You have been faithful over afew things.
I will make you ruler over manythings, enter into the joy of
the Lord.
Again, it's the samecelebration, the same feedback,
(48:13):
is the same reward, reward ofleadership, and it's the same
reward for rest.
Not the one talent, it's excuse.
Oh my god.
Then he who had received the onetalent came and said, Lord, I
knew you to be a hard man.
Yes, you see, like I said, Godis a businessman, God is an
investor.
God is an if you have if you'reGod, God is a businessman, God
(48:36):
is an investor, is looking tosee where he can invest to reap
rewards.
So make your life investmentworthy, if I may use that word,
make your life investment ready.
Make your life so that God cansay, I can invest in this, in
(48:57):
this, in this, my daughter, Ican invest in this, my son.
He said, Master, you are a veryhard man.
Yes, you don't joke with Godbecause God, God, God gave those
talents because he's expectingfor you to come and report back
to him.
He's expecting accountabilityand responsibility from you.
So we think that just because wehave ministry, we're not gonna
(49:19):
even give an account to God.
It's a lie.
We are responsible to serve ourour our calling, our gifts, and
we're gonna give an account toGod for the souls that God has
entrusted in us.
Reaping where you have not sownand gathering where you have not
scattered seed.
Ah, I was afraid and I went andI hid your talent in the ground.
Look, dear, dear, you have whatit is.
(49:41):
Hey, look, Jesus, Jesus was soJesus is so bold.
He said, Okay, you wicked andlazy servant.
You see, sometimes Jesus is oneof the most straightforward men
of God.
Jesus is straightforward.
He doesn't joke around.
If you're messing up, he willtell you straight in his face.
He doesn't beat around the bush,he will tell you that you are
wicked, that you are lazy, andthen he will console you after.
(50:03):
He said, You wicked and lazyservant.
The two things that can make usto fail in life is wickedness
and laziness.
Wickedness is a sign of failure.
Laziness is a sign of failure.
When you're a wicked man, whenyou're a lazy man or woman, you
are failed in life.
Wicked and failed and lazy,those two combinations.
(50:26):
Wicked, that is life is allabout you.
Wickedness is not just you doingthings to people, that's one
thing.
But wickedness is alsoselfishness where life is
centered around you.
Everything is about you, aboutyou, about you, about you, about
you, about you.
That's wickedness.
And then when you're lazy,you're free to walk thinking
that oh everybody should serveyou, everything should come easy
for you.
(50:47):
He said, You knew that I reapwhere I have not sown.
This this wicked servant knewthe Lord.
He said, You knew, don't try tomake excuses.
You're not gonna stand beforeGod and start giving excuses.
That's why God is bringing thismessage now.
We have no excuse.
Because we know what God hastold us in his word, and gather
we have not scattered.
So you have to have the put isJesus saying that you must, you
(51:10):
should, you should.
I'm demanding you, I commandedyou, I commissioned you, I
called you, I graced you, Igifted you, and here you're
giving me excuses.
Excuses that day, it's not it'snot going to be tolerated.
Don't go there standing beforeyour maker.
Oh, God, you know, ah, I thinkUganda was not very conducive
(51:31):
for me to become a doctor.
Uh Mosuven did not allow me todo certain things.
It's a lie, it's a lie.
It can be anywhere in the worldwhen you know your talents can
be utilized.
There's no excuse.
Oh, god, I didn't have people tofollow me, that's why I couldn't
preach.
No, start preaching to yourchildren.
There's no excuse.
So you ought to have depositedmy money with the bankers.
(51:52):
Ah, I had expectations of yourof you, of your talents.
I give you my goods and I'mexpecting a return.
You ought, it is yourresponsibility.
And I told you that you're gonnagive an account to me after.
At my coming, I would havereceived back my own with
interest.
You know what?
You're a wicked and a lazyservant.
(52:12):
You see, Jesus attacked hischaracter.
Jesus attacked his character.
Jesus celebrated the characterof the five and the two
servants.
He says, good and faithful.
He didn't say it didn't reallymention the talent.
(52:32):
His focus was not really on thetalent, his focus was on their
character.
Their character to this otherperson, you are wicked and
you're lazy.
Your character sucks.
So God is more concerned aboutwhat you and how we are
becoming, not just what we aredoing.
Because what we are becomingplays a tremendous role in what
(52:54):
we're doing for God.
If our hearts are clean, ourminds are pure, then why are we
using our gifts to do good andto save life?
God will recommend ourcharacter.
God will commend our character.
If we don't have character, ourcharacter is laziness,
complaining, grumbling, God willcall us wicked and lazy.
(53:15):
So your fruitfulness in others,that is your impact and
influence, your fulfillment inlife, that is your meaning and
satisfaction, your faithfulnessto God, that is for God's glory.
In summary, to finish this up,is that failure to use our gift
stems out of fear.
That's what we can learn fromthis one talent man.
He said, I was afraid.
(53:36):
Child of God, I want toencourage you, don't be afraid
to use your gift.
Whatever opportunity that ourpastor gives you, take a step
and do it.
Conquer that fear.
Don't allow wickedness to getinto your heart.
Don't go into ministry or useyour gift out of greed, out of
competition, out of jealousy,out of comparison.
For sure, don't be lazy.
(53:57):
Don't be lazy.
Life is work.
Ministry is work.
You have to walk, you have tostudy the Bible, you have to
cultivate your singing gifts.
If you don't follow theseprinciples of being faithful and
good, guess what's gonna happento you?
God is gonna remove what he hasgiven to you, and God is gonna
damn you, he's gonna cast you,he's gonna see you as an
(54:18):
unprofitable servant, useless,worthless, wicked.
And guess where you're gonna endup in hell?
And the key to success, the keyto our greatness is this in
Matthew 25, verse 1, that'swhere I'm gonna stop.
For everyone who has, this isthe key to our success.
More will be given, and he willhave abundance.
(54:38):
But from him who does not have,even what he has will be taken
away.
So, what you have, the littlethat you have, when you use it,
when you maximize it, guesswhat's gonna happen?
More will be given, and you willhave abundance.
Remember the principle inGenesis that God bless us to do
what?
SPEAKER_01 (54:56):
To be fruitful, multiply, fear, subdue, and
dominate.
That is the blessing fromGenesis that Jesus said, I've
come to give you life and lifein abundance.
SPEAKER_02 (55:09):
Father God, I thank you for this word.
Your people have heard, oh God.
Help us not to waste any time,help us not to procrastinate.
When you called, help us to sayyes, Master, yes, Papa, yes,
Lord.
In whatever little way, oh God,when you call me to serve, help
me to serve, to do with all myheart, all the abilities you
have given me with the rightintention to save life and to do
(55:30):
good.
God bless you.
Thank you so much for yourprecious time.
I don't take you guys forgranted.
Thanks for listening.
I wanna share with you guys uh the parable of the
talent.
You know, one of the parables ofJesus spoke about the parable of
the talent and um the context inwhich we're gonna examine this
(00:21):
uh scriptural reference.
It's gonna be in Matthew chapter25 verses 14 to 30.
So if you have your Bible, justjoin with me in Matthew 25, 14
to 30 so that you can followalong.
Jesus is trying to convey thekingdom of God through using
(00:42):
parables.
And one of the parables toillustrate the kingdom of God is
the parable of the talents.
And I believe this parablehighlights stewardship and the
utilization of our talents.
So we're gonna read the actualreference in Matthew 25, verses
14 to 30.
(01:02):
I'm just gonna read the entireverses and then we're gonna
break it down.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
It says, For the kingdom of heaven is like a man
traveling to a far country.
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
That's interesting.
Call his own servants anddelivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents,to another two and to another
one.
SPEAKER_02 (01:40):
To each according to his own ability, and immediately
he went on a journey.
Verse sixteen.
(02:00):
And likewise he who had receivedtwo gained two more also, but he
who had received one went anddarked in the ground and hid his
Lord's money.
After a long time the Lord ofthose servants came and settled
(02:26):
accounts with them.
Verse 20.
So he who had received fivetalents came and brought five
other talents, saying, Lord, youdelivered to me five talents.
Look, I have gained five moretalents besides them.
(02:48):
His Lord said to him, Well done,good and faithful servant.
You were faithful over fewthings.
I will make you ruler over manythings.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
(03:10):
He also who had received twotalents came and said, Lord, you
deliver to me two talents.
Look, I have gained two moretalents besides them.
His Lord said to him, Well done,good and faithful servant, you
(03:30):
have been faithful over a fewthings.
I will make you ruler over manythings.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
Wow.
Verse 24.
And then he said, then he whohad received the one talent came
(03:51):
and said, Lord, I knew you to bea hard man, reaping where you
have not sown, and gatheringwhere you have not scattered
seed.
And I was afraid, and I went andhid your talent in the ground.
Look, there you have what isyours.
(04:13):
Wow.
But his Lord answered and saidto him, You wicked and lazy
servant, you knew that I reapwhere I have not sown,
interesting, and gathered whereI have not scattered seed.
So you ought to have depositedmy money with the bankers, and
at my coming I would havereceived back my own my own with
(04:37):
interest.
Interesting.
So take the talent from him andgive it to him who has ten
talents, for to everyone who hasmore 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, and then castthis unprofitable servant into
(05:03):
the outer darkness.
There will be weeping andgarnishing of teeth.
Oh my god.
This is a very interestingparable.
Especially us as ministers.
We are um managers, becauseanother word for stewardship is
management.
(05:23):
Whatever you and I we possessbelongs to God.
You know, talents, mydefinition, is the goods that
God has delivered to each one ofus inside of us.
That is why if you look, if youlook at the um the pronoun his
mine, it shows possession thatwhatever we have, God owns it.
(05:46):
So that is why we have to bevery, very careful that this
talent that I have, it's not myown.
So I can't just do whatever Iwant to do with my talent.
These talents have been given tome to make them useful, to
profit the body of Christ, toprofit my family.
This talent God has given to me,it's not just for my own
(06:07):
personal use, it's not just formy own gain.
We are being blessed with talentso that we can be a blessing.
So everything that we possessbelongs to God, and God one day
is gonna we're gonna settle anaccount with God, and we're
gonna hear from God.
Either we are faithful, good andfaithful servant, or we are lazy
(06:29):
or wicked.
That's gonna be the feedbackwhen we stand before God
regarding our talents.
That God is gonna give us afeedback, either well done or
poor job, either good andfaithful servant or wicked and
lazy servants.
And I pray that that will not beour portion.
Now let's break it down.
(06:51):
Um why why why does Jesus Christspeak in parable?
SPEAKER_01 (06:55):
So parable is it's pretty much uh an illustration
to convey common lifeexperiences, which is what Jesus
has done.
And also one of the definitionsof a parable, it's an earthly
story with an heavenly meaning.
So Jesus Christ uses parables toto demonstrate and show us and
reveal to us spiritual heavenlymeaning.
SPEAKER_02 (07:18):
So he's taking the day-to-day um interactions, the
day-to-day elements, theday-to-day items, the day-to-day
things that you and I wouldrelate with, especially during
his time to relate spiritualtruth, to relate heavenly vision
to the people.
And that is why he used thistalent to illustrate that hey,
this is how the kingdom of Godis.
(07:38):
It's like a man entrusting hisgoods to his servants.
Again, we as ministers, we arecalled by God and we belong to
God.
Just as our talents belong toGod, just as we as believers, we
have been redeemed by JesusChrist, we are not our own.
So we don't really live our lifeon our own.
(08:00):
Honestly speaking, we asChristians, I can't even talk
about we as ministers, we arenot on our own.
And when we are servants of God,everything that we do for God is
for God.
God is in charge, is in controlof our time, of our resources.
That is why sometimes when we'reasking God, I want you to bless
me with this, God is alwayshaving in a mind, okay, if I'm
(08:23):
gonna bless my daughter, if I'mgonna bless my son, how they're
gonna use that blessing, howthey're gonna be a blessing.
So we need to have this in ourminds that whatever it is that
we're asking God for, whateverit is that we possess, it
belongs to God.
And it's not just for us, it'sto be a blessing to others, it's
(08:44):
to be a blessing to othersbecause God is the king and he
wants his kingdom to reign, andwe have to acknowledge him as a
king.
So when he gives a parable aboutthe kingdom of God, pretty much
Jesus is trying to highlight inour hearts that he is the king,
he wants to reign not just inheaven, he wants to reign, not
just on this earth, he wants toreign in our own personal lives.
(09:05):
And the reason why Jesus usesparables is because Jesus didn't
want the kingdom of God to be soobvious because sometimes in
life we take the things of Godfor granted, you know, because
oh, they're foolishness, youknow.
Why why why should I believe ona dying man on the cross and he
resurrected?
And when I believe in this dyingman on the cross and he
(09:26):
resurrected, my sins areforgiven.
Oh my god, to the Greeks, thisis foolishness, this is
nonsense, but these are eatingtruth.
The cross is the power forsalvation.
So Jesus uses parables to todisclose spiritual truth to his
disciples, to those who arewilling to follow him, and those
(09:49):
who were not willing to followhim, he doesn't disclose or
explain the parables.
And we read the book, the gospelof Mark, chapter 4, verse 10 to
12.
Let me read that quickly.
Because after he gave a parable,the disciples were like, Ah,
Master, why are you speaking inparables?
It says, But when he was alone,those around him with the 12
(10:11):
asked him about the parable, andhe said to them, To you it has
been given to know the mysteryof the kingdom of God.
That's why Jesus speaks inparable.
Because when you oh God, theBible says that we have to be
heavenly minded.
One way to be heavenly minded,we have to seek the things
above, and another way to beheavenly minded, we have to set
(10:32):
our mind on the things above.
So the things above, they're notgonna come cheaply, they are
expensive, they are treasures,they are mysterious.
That is why Jesus speaks inparables, not in plain
languages, because he said thosewho are interested, those who
want to seek God diligently,diligently, committedly,
(10:54):
intentionally, definitely, Godwill reveal the mysteries of the
kingdom.
But those who just take God forgranted, dishonor God, discredit
God, don't believe in God, theydoubt God, they are faithless,
unbelievers, Jesus will speak inparable.
But to those who are outside,all things come in parables.
unknown (11:16):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:17):
So that sin they may see and not perceive, and
hearing they may hear and notunderstand.
At least they should turn awayfrom their sins and their sins
be forgiven.
Now, what is talent?
Talent is actually money, it's ascale of balance, it's it's
currency.
So the talent that you and Iwill possess is our currency in
(11:41):
the marketplace and theworkplace of life.
So the spiritual gifts and thenatural gifts, the abilities
that God has endowed in you,they are your currency for
trading in the marketplace oflife.
Life is a marketplace oftransactions, life is a place of
exchange, give and take.
(12:02):
Even in relationships, is giveand take.
You're working for your bus byoffering your time, your skill
sets, your knowledge, and inreturn, your bus compensates
you.
So life is an exchange.
So God has given you somethingto exchange with, and that is
your talent.
So the actual definition oftalent in Greek, it's it's the
(12:26):
scale of a balance.
Something that you weigh, it'scurrency, it's money, it's
goods, goods, because that'swhat Jesus said that the man
came and then he uh he deliveredhis goods to his servants.
So your talent is your currency,your talent is your goods, your
(12:47):
goods that is the actual sense,but to convey it more in a way
that you can understand it isyour natural aptitude, your
natural skill, your naturalabilities that God endowed in
you, or the gifts, the spiritualgifts.
(13:09):
And there are two types oftalents, two types of talents.
Number one, your talent is thatinnate ability embedded within
you when you were formed by God,when you were created by God.
That is what we call yournatural talent at your physical
(13:30):
birth.
At your physical birth, Godgifted you innately, it's inside
of you.
So you cannot go to the marketand buy talent.
You cannot ask your pastor togive you talent, your natural
talent.
You cannot even ask your mom togive you talent.
Since today is our children's umministry, that is why I
(13:52):
encourage us as parents, don'ttry to make your child to be
something that they're not.
Instead, go to their creator,God, what talents have you
placed in my daughter?
What talents have you placed inmy son?
So that I can help earn thoseskills, I can help cultivate
those talents, I can helpdevelop them.
(14:13):
If your daughter inside of her,she she has this passion, this
potential, this sense offulfillment that whenever I
interact with people, I want tohelp them, I want to lead them,
and she sees herself becoming aprime minister, don't you dare
trying to distract them or denythem or detain them or deter
(14:36):
them into something else, intobecoming a nurse, into becoming
a doctor.
But when you know deep downwithin themselves, they want to
be oppressed, they want to be aleader, they want to be a
minister.
You're playing with God, you'reinterfering with God.
And many parents have doneinjustice when it comes to the
abilities of their children.
(14:56):
Sometimes they think that it'sit's a learning disability or
mental health.
Your children are not going tobe alike.
They all have different talents,naturally speaking, and then
another talent that you and I wepossess.
This talent is given at oursecond birth, that is our
spiritual birth when we becomeborn again.
So unbelievers only have onetalent that is their natural
(15:18):
abilities.
In it, embedded gifts at theirnatural natural birth.
When you now become a believer,you have two talents.
You have your natural abilities,and you also have your spiritual
and your supernatural abilities,and down in you there are divine
gifts at your spiritual secondbirth.
So we as believers, we have tworesponsibilities, we have two
(15:42):
places that we have to serve.
We have number one, our priorityto serve the kingdom of God,
number two, to serve society.
Like I was teaching the otherday on Friday that when you and
I we are art are heavenlyminded, guess what?
We shall become heavenly useful,uh, artly useful because Jesus
was so much heavenly minded inthree years, he was able to
(16:04):
accomplish so much for humanity,and that the greatest
accomplishment is salvation.
So, we as believers we have twoessential responsibilities.
Number one, we have toprioritize working for God,
using our spiritual gifts forthe church to edify the church,
to build up the church, toadvance the kingdom mandates,
(16:27):
and number two, to be artlyuseful because the Bible says in
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10,for we are his workmanship.
Wow, how can you be aworkmanship of God when you're
talentless, when you'regiftless?
There's no way.
So, for you to be God'sworkmanship, God has embedded in
you natural talent that you canuse, God has endowed in you
(16:49):
spiritual gifts.
It says, created in Christ Jesusfor good works.
Wow, you and I we are createdfor good works, for good works
for the kingdom of God, for goodworks for our families, for good
works for our employers, forgood work for Uganda, for good
work for Canada, for good workseverywhere we go.
We should be impactful, weshould be influencing with our
(17:12):
talents.
The cause of the talents, weneed to know our hymn of using
our talent.
What is the cause of using yourtalent?
Jesus said in Matthew chapter25, verse 14, for the kingdom of
heaven.
God has given you a talent thatis not your own.
(17:32):
He didn't initiate that talentwithin you.
God gave it to you, so itbelongs to God.
So God is saying to you and Idad, I want you to use your
talent for the cause, for theadvancement, for the promotion
of the kingdom of heaven.
That's how Jesus started hisparable about the talent for the
(17:53):
kingdom of heaven.
That should be your intention.
Why are you using your talent?
Now we live in a world withministers.
We are using our talent for ourown glory, we are using our
talent for our owngratification, we are using our
talent for our own enrichment.
(18:14):
That is how we manipulatepeople.
Oh, you know what?
I'm gonna prophesy into yourlife, but you have to sow a
seed.
Oh my god.
Jesus asked the Pharisees aquestion: Is it lawful to do
good and to save life?
Our talents are given to savelife and to do good.
(18:34):
Again, when you use your talentfor others and for God's glory,
that's what that's where yourgreatness is.
You will be blessed in return.
You will be blessed in return.
Jesus said that when you whenyou die to self, you will leave.
But us as believers, we want toleave, but we don't want to die
to self.
We want to live to self.
(18:55):
We're so selfish, even inministry.
It's all about us.
Jesus said, I've come to serve,not to be served.
So your talent is given for youto serve, not for people to
serve you.
That is why in Africa, ourleaders, they are they have this
talent.
Their leadership talent is to beserved, but not to serve.
(19:17):
And as a result of that, there'sno prosperity in the land.
When you're making decisionsfrom financial aids that they
receive from IMF, all theseinternational uh trade
organizations, they use thatmoney just for their own
political parties, they don'tenrich the nation as a whole.
Pastors, ministers, they usethat that blessing that God has
(19:39):
given them in the ministry fortheir own houses, for their own
fancy cars.
I'm not against you.
If you work hard, you deserveit.
But if that money is coming fromthe church, use the resources
for the church to enrich thechurch, to enrich God's people.
So the cause of your talent isfor the kingdom, amen.
(19:59):
And then the color, the color,the color here is it's like a
man, a man traveling to a farcountry, and this man is Jesus.
This man is Jesus.
So we have an identifiedintention, the motivation, the
reason for you to wake up everymorning to wake up on Sundays.
(20:24):
No what I cannot wait.
I am part of the praise andworship team, I am part of the
prayer team.
I'm gonna go early in themorning because people are
waiting to eat of my fruit oftalent.
People are waiting to be blessedby the gift that God has given
me.
People are waiting to receivethe message that God has put in
me.
People are waiting to see thedeliverance of God in your
(20:46):
lives.
Do you know the saddest thingwhy Jesus said you are a wicked
and a lazy servant?
It takes wickedness for you notto utilize your talent.
It takes laziness for you not toutilize your talent.
Do you know why some of us we'renot blessed?
We don't have influences becausenumber one, we are so selfish
that our talent is just for ourown, and we are so lazy.
(21:09):
You see, God, it's a talent.
Another thing for talent, atalent is not just the it's not
the finished product, it'sactually the raw material.
God does not give us thefinished products, He gives us
the raw materials.
Now it is up to us to cultivatethat raw materials, do that
work, my uh raw materials intowork and process for them to
(21:32):
become the finished product.
But us, we want the finisheddiamond, we don't want to go
through the process of ourfruits of our talent becoming
too useful.
That is why character matters.
That is why you have tocultivate your lifestyle.
It's not just talent that willtake you that will take you to
(21:52):
the top.
What's gonna maintain you,what's gonna sustain you in the
top is your character, yourmajority, your mindset.
A poor man can receive millionsof dollars, and that poor man
can lose that money because theyhave not developed the inner
capacity in their mindset andtheir and their habits of
financial management.
(22:13):
That is why a rich person canlose money and and they're able
to make it again.
Because why?
They have already cultivated,developed the mindset of money,
and they have the character ofmoney.
Don't just pray, oh God, give memoney, money.
Say, God, give me the characterto handle money, God give me the
the mindset of success.
Because you can God can God cantake you out of Egypt
(22:35):
physically, but Egypt is stillin you mentally and emotionally.
So we need to structure ourprayer lives that God make me to
become successful, not just tohave success, make me to become
because when you are successitself, anything that you do
shall prosper.
So the caller here is Jesus, heis the giver because he says he
(22:57):
called his own servants anddeliver his goods to them.
Before Jesus can call you, hehad to test you to see if you're
a responsible man or woman.
Do you know that most of thedisciples of Jesus, the 12
disciples, all of them werepreoccupied, none of them were
lazy, some of them were fishers,men, uh features of men, some of
them were uh uh fishers of fish,some of them were tax
(23:19):
collectors, some of them werebrilliant scholars.
Paul was a was a religiousscholar, Luke was a doctor.
So Jesus is looking fordiligent, hard-working men and
woman who were alreadypreoccupied to say no what I can
trust this lady, I can trustthis man because they're so
diligent in what you're doing.
Because the kingdom of God isnot it's not it's it's hard
(23:41):
work, ministry is hard work.
Our Musumba has to wake up everymorning ever since she started
this prayer altar.
She has to wake up every morningto pray.
Ministry is not cheap, ministryis work.
We want the glory, but we don'twant the story.
We don't want to go through thetrials and jubilations of
(24:03):
ministry, we want the triumph.
So Jesus is the giver here ofyour talents.
Now, the called.
The cult are his own servants.
You are the called minister, youare the gifted minister.
Anyone that is called by God istalented.
Anyone that is called by God isgifted because there's no way
(24:26):
you can stand in front of peoplewithout any gift.
There's no way God will allowyou to stand before his people
with no impact, with noanointing, with no spiritual
gifts.
But God will ensure that heendows you with the necessary
gifts based on your ownabilities and based on his
grace.
Look what it says, called hisown servant.
(24:49):
For the kingdom of heaven islike a man traveling to a far
country.
Who called his own servants?
These are the called.
When he called his own servants,he didn't leave them
empty-handed, he delivered hisgoods to them.
So the goods belong to them, theservant belongs to him.
unknown (25:09):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:09):
So child of God, we as believers we don't belong to
ourselves, we belong to JesusChrist, and our gifts belong to
Jesus Christ.
We are not on our own.
Paul says, It's no longer I wholives, but Christ that lives in
me.
unknown (25:23):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
If you have this mindset that Jesus said, Abide
in me and I abide in you,without me, you can do nothing.
unknown (25:30):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (25:31):
So for you to be God's workmanship created in
Christ for good works, you haveto be in Christ.
You have to be possessed byJesus.
So we see the allocation ofgifts according to their own
ability.
I'm like, God, what do you meanaccording to their own ability?
(25:53):
So you so you're giving,allocating to some five talents,
to two uh uh uh uh two talents,to another person one talent.
Is it why why are you doing itlike that?
The Bible says according totheir own ability, you have a
(26:13):
role to play.
If you want more for God, showthat you want more for God.
Oh God, the kingdom of God ismysterious, the kingdom of God
is a treasure, just like Jesussaid, it's a treasure, it's not
going to come cheap.
The Bible said the kingdom ofGod suffers violence, and the
violence takes it by force.
(26:34):
You're not gonna be able to castout demons if your prayer life
sucks.
There's no way.
Jesus said the gifts we'regiven, the talent we're
allocated according to their ownability.
Your ability is not just youryour your your your strength,
it's also your capacity, alsoyour maturity, your character
(26:57):
plays a role in you having thefortitude.
God looks at your experiences.
If I entrust this woman, thisman with this, are they able to
withstand the pressure?
Because, oh my God, the moreinfluenced you are, you become a
target of the gates of hell.
The more influenced you are, youbecome a target of destruction.
(27:18):
Because you are making impact,you are saving lives, you're
doing good because Jesus was soinfluential.
Oh my god, he was a target ofall these religious leaders.
The Sadducees, the Sahindrians,the Pharisees, they were
constantly attacking Jesus, theywere constantly opposing him
because he was a man ofinfluence.
So God is not going to entrustyou with a greater ministry,
(27:39):
with so much talent, with somuch gift, and you don't have
the maturity, you don't have theability, you don't have the
character, you don't have thecapacity to handle what God has
given you.
Stewership, management at yourown pace.
God will look, okay, my sonhere, I need to grow him more.
(28:00):
I need to put him, I need toallow him to go through many
trials, so that when I when Iadd more gifts in him, he has
the the spiritual stamina, hehas the spiritual maturity to
handle these things.
That is why God allows you and Ito go through problems.
That is why God allows you and Ito go through bad experiences,
(28:21):
so that those bad experiencescan become our ministry.
You cannot tell a poor man howto be rich if you were not poor
before and now God has made yourich.
For a rich man to tell a poorman, a rich man who has never
been poor before, to tell a poorman, hey, I can help you as a
poor man how to be rich.
A rich man will not be able todo it convincingly.
(28:43):
A rich man will not have thatconviction, that compassion,
that courage, that faith tobelieve that ah, this poor man
can come out of poverty.
That is why children who areraised from a rich home, they
take their riches for granted.
And when they lose their riches,it's hard for them to get it
back because their parents werethe ones who work hard.
But somebody who was once poor,when God has made them rich,
(29:07):
when they see a poor church,when they see a poor sister,
number one, they will havecompassion.
That's why Jesus Christ had tocome, because Jesus Christ is
filthy rich.
Jesus Christ had to come tounderstand us, our poverty, our
spiritual poverty, our physicalpoverty for him to understand,
ah, my son is poor.
Me too, I went through povertywhen I was on this earth.
You know what?
(29:27):
I'm gonna give him my riches.
So that is why God allowed ourexperiences, and those
experiences can build ourmental, spiritual fortitude that
will increase our ability toacquire more from God.
So your gifts, it's yourcapabilities, and your grace is
the capacity to handle and touse your gifts.
(29:49):
Let me say that again.
Your gifts are yourcapabilities.
Your grace is the capacity tohandle and to use your gifts
effectively.
So your gifts are yourCapabilities, your grace is the
capacity.
That is why Paul will constantlysay, God has gifted me based on
his grace.
Because you need the grace ofGod to handle the gift, or else
(30:10):
that gift will kill you.
And if you're not careful,anointing can ruin your life.
Anointing can ruin your life.
Child of God, we should rely onthe grace of God because our
gift, if we're not careful, canplace us in dangerous places.
Paul says in Romans chapter 12,verse verse 6 having the gifts
defined according to the gracethat is given to us.
(30:32):
Let us use them.
So our gifts are given accordingto the grace that is given to
us, according to the spiritualcapacity, to the mental
capacity, to the maturity andthe character.
You know what?
You can handle 10 talents.
I can trust you.
You were faithful in leading uhtwo people in operal ministry.
(30:53):
You were faithful in going fromdoor to door, families to
family.
No, I can trust you with entireCanada.
God is not going to entrust uswith Canada if God cannot
entrust us with the individualsin Canada.
It doesn't work like that.
God is a God of principle.
It says in 1 Corinthians chapter12, verse 7, but the
manifestation of the Spirit isgiven to each one for the profit
of all.
(31:13):
So it is the Holy Spirit thatmanifests the gifts.
And it's for what?
For the profit of all.
Keep that in mind.
Your gift is for the profit ofall.
Don't use your gifts just toprofit you.
If you have this wrongintention, oh, I'm going to be a
pastor, I'm going to be a singerso I can profit from it.
I'm going to monetize my talent,especially your spiritual.
(31:34):
You can monetize your naturaltalents.
No, that's your natural talent.
But to monetize your spiritualtalents, the only way you can
preach, people have to pay you.
Ah the only way you can sing,people have to pay you.
Hey, may God deliver you.
May God have mercy.
When the Bible clearly statesthat your talents are given for
(31:57):
the profit of all, those inchurch, for your wife, for your
husband, for your children.
Our Musumba says something onMonday that her talent is
working for her, not justworking for church.
And she's using her talent ofpraying to pray for our family,
to pray for our children, topray for the church.
Holistic.
(32:17):
And 1 Corinthians chapter 12,verse 11, it says, But one and
the same spirit works in allthis, distributing to each one
individual as he wills.
It's the Holy Spirit accordingto the grace of God, according
to his manifestation, accordingto our own abilities, according
to his will.
So God has a role to play interms of the dimension, the
measure, the level of talent youreceive.
(32:40):
Sometimes it could be our ownabilities, sometimes it could be
just by the grace of God,sometimes it could be by the
will of the Holy Spirit.
And look what it says inEphesians chapter 4, verse 11.
And he himself gives to some tobe apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors andteachers.
Be careful.
If God did not give you the youcan I think Muslim said that you
can have the gift of prophecy,but you might not have the
(33:03):
office of prophecy.
That's another topic ofdiscussion.
You can have the it does notmean that because you have
gifts, God has called you toopen your own church.
That's where many, many, manygifted people get it wrong.
Just because they are gifted,they think that automatically
now they are leaders.
A gift does not make you aleader.
Because if that's the case, lookat all these celebrities that we
(33:23):
watch.
Beyonce and everybody else.
Look at the type of music thatthey put out here.
They're not leaders, they're notleaders.
Leaders, we don't equate leaderswith talent, we equate leaders
with positive, good impact andinfluence like Jesus Christ.
We equate leaders with service.
These liberties, we worshipthem, they are gods.
(33:45):
They're not leaders.
So don't don't don't get ittwisted thinking that oh now you
are you can pray 24 hours, nowyou can prophesy.
Now you want to play in the roleof an office, of a prophet, of a
pastor.
You are you you are pretty muchsetting the problem for
yourself.
If God has called you to becomean evangelist, stick to it.
(34:06):
If you want more, God, I wantyou to hire the prophetic as
well.
If God has called you to be apastor, stick to it.
Don't be envious, don't convertanybody else's gift or office.
If God has called you to be ateacher, focus on that and work
on that effectively, enjoy itand serve people with that.
(34:30):
And then their contributions.
But they are mainly to serveothers.
Yes, it's true that you can useyour gift for your own
self-service, but the intentionof God giving you those gifts,
those talents, is to serveothers for his own glory.
We are blessed when we when ourgifts bless others.
(34:55):
So the purpose of serving withour gift is for the profit of
all and to benefit all.
Just as we have read in 1Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.
Now, the contribution.
It says, Then who had receivedthe five talents went and
traded, traded them and madeanother five talents.
(35:16):
So this man, this servant thatwas given five talents, again,
like I said, life is a tradingplace, life is an exchange.
Your talent is your currency ofexchange.
So what this servant of God didwas he traded, meaning that he
utilizes his talent, he usestalent, his service talent in
the marketplace.
It could be maybe you're in whenyou read the book of um the
(35:38):
gospel of Luke, it says it wentto the bank and traded.
In our case, we right now, I'musing my my my gifts to teach
you guys the word of God.
Musumba is using her gift topreach, to teach, and to pray.
That is what she's doing.
She's trading her talents.
So this five talents went in andshe traded her five talents, and
she was and he was able toobtain five more talents.
(36:00):
He was able to get more.
And then the two talents didlikewise.
He had received two gained more.
So the two men that received twotalents from Jesus Christ went
into the trade of life and hewas able to obtain two more
talents, two more money, twomore fruits, two more
opportunities.
And then the servant of God thatreceived one talent now.
(36:24):
Look, but he who had receivedone went and dug it in the
ground and hid his Lord money.
Like I said, talent is currency,talent is money.
So this one person sometimeswhen you have one talent, you
you say, okay, God, you giveSister A five talents.
She can sing, she can pray, shecan teach, she can speak in
(36:44):
tongues, she can.
Oh God, this talent, this womanis talented.
Instead of you to focus onyourself, you allow jealousy,
you allow envy, you allowgrudge, you allow malice, you
allow hatred.
When God is saying that, but Iknow, but I gave you that one
talent.
If you're faithful in that onetalent, let me see what I can
do.
Ken and Abel, because oftalents.
(37:08):
God said, you know, again, ifyou do well, I can I can
recognize your work, I canrecognize your hustle, but Ken
deceive his own brother becauseof jealousy.
So if you're not careful, whenwe start to compare and compete
with our talents, that is why Isaid if you're an apostle, be an
apostle.
If you're a teacher, be ateacher.
If you're a singer, be ateacher.
(37:28):
Don't try to be like somebodyelse.
Be yourself and be comfortablein what God has given you.
So this one talented man is sowicked that he dogged the
ground.
Can you imagine you dig your owntalent that is meant for people?
Do you know that our purpose inlife, if it's not utilized, if
it's not fulfilled, people canactually be destroyed?
(37:51):
Because that person's blessingfor healing, it's in your hand.
We want God to come down and doall the work of healing, all the
work of teaching, all the workof preaching.
When God is saying that I havecalled my servants to carry out
these functions of healing,teaching, preaching, delivering,
leading.
But you, God has called you tolead, but you're there digging
(38:12):
your talents, putting it on theground.
And people are saying that, ohGod, raise a leader, raise a
leader.
But God said, I've raised aleader among you.
Oh God, shut that up.
I've raised a leader among you.
But that leader, is that thatleader is bewitched, or that
leader knows that they are theyare called to be a leader, they
have not developed themselvesand they're wasting time, they
are procrastinating.
(38:33):
Child of God, we need to takeour talent because our talent is
confined by time.
Our talent, our gifts have to beused within this time frame that
we are here on earth.
So there's no way you canprocrastinate.
That's why Jesus says, Seek mefirst, my kingdom and my
righteousness.
Stop procrastinating over God.
I'm here in Canada, let me makemoney.
(38:54):
And then later on, when I'm inmy 30s, when I'm in my 40s, I
have time to serve you.
Lie, lie, because you don't knowwhen you're gonna go.
How would you serve God now?
Multi-tax, balance, work for forfor Caesar, work for God.
But you want to work, you wantto spend all your life, not even
in your own calling.
You don't even find fulfillmentin what you're doing.
Every day you're stressed.
That is why you come to thisprayer altar so that God can
(39:16):
take your stress away.
But the solution is stay withinyour talent.
There's no way you can take afish and allow that fish to
dwell in the land.
That you will kill that fish.
Because that fish was notcreated to strive to succeed in
the dry land.
But when you put a fish in thedomain of their own in the
(39:38):
waters, that fish will excel.
It's like our talents.
If you put somebody in the wrongplace, in the wrong position,
and they're not gifted, they'renot talented, they don't have
that passion, they don't havethat sense of meaning.
Oh boy, you're just here wastingyour life and adding stress to
your life.
That's why Jesus said, My bodyis light, my yoke is easy.
(39:58):
And the burden and the yoke thatwe carry from Jesus is the goods
that Jesus has delivered us.
It's the goods that Jesus hasdelivered us.
So when we contribute ourtalents, we are compensated.
Child of God, your talent, Godensures that our talents, when
they are used, when they areserved, we are rewarded in
(40:19):
return.
You are a blessing to be ablessing.
When you are a blessing inreturn, other people will bless
you.
That is why our talents is thecurrency of exchange in the
marketplace.
Right now, let's say all of uswe use our talents.
Some of you guys can sing, someof you can heal.
If I need healing, I will go toyou, my sister, for you to heal
(40:43):
me.
Because I don't have all.
Only Jesus was everything.
Paul said we know in parts.
I don't have none of us have thefullness of grace.
Only Jesus has the fullness ofgrace.
Some of us we have one gift,some of us we have five gifts,
but we don't have the fullnessof everything.
That is why we areinterdependent.
Our talents are interdependent.
(41:04):
I need something from you, youneed something from me.
Amen.
We're almost done.
So Matthew chapter 25, verse 16.
Then he who had received thefive talents went and traded it.
It's just to show that when wecontribute our talent, we are
compensated.
So the five and the two talentservants traded your talent in
(41:25):
the marketplace of life.
Our gifts are meant to beexchanged to contribute to
others' lives and receivecompensation from the
contributions of our gifts.
There's going to be a conclusionof your life.
There's going to be a conclusionof your life where you're either
going to be celebrated or you'regoing to be condemned.
According to this passage thatwe have read.
(41:47):
At the conclusion of your life,when you stand before God, God
is going to give you feedback.
God likes to give feedback.
Remember when He when He createdthe universe, He said, This is
very This is good.
After He created the light, thisis good.
After He created vegetation,this is good, the plants, after
He created the animals, oh, thisis good.
After He created the stars, themoon and the Sun.
Oh, this is good.
Oh my God.
When he came down to the imageand likeness bearer of God, he
(42:10):
said, This is very good.
Child of God, you are very good.
You're just like God.
You are creative.
You are powerful.
Oh my God.
That is why God does not want towaste the talent that He has put
in you.
Because He knows your potent.
He knows your capacity.
He knows what you're capable of.
It's you and I, we are the onesthat underestimate ourselves.
(42:32):
I would say this to any one ofyou don't ever let any human
being underestimate you.
I don't care about your currentsituation.
No human being should concludeon you.
Because they might know youryesterday and see your today,
but they don't know yourtomorrow.
They might know your yesterdayand see your today.
They don't look nothing like achild of God, but they don't
(42:54):
know your tomorrow.
But if you put your trust in Godwho knows your tomorrow, who
specializes in taking what hasbeen debased, despices, despise
those who have been so proud, isable to exalt the humble, is
able to lift up the poor.
So don't ever let anybodydiminish your glory.
(43:15):
Don't ever let anybody undermineyour efforts.
It doesn't matter how small itis, be proud of it.
Surround yourself with peoplewho believe in you, who believe
in your talent, and they'rehelping you to cultivate your
talent.
Because at the end of the day,we're going to stand before God.
Our gifts are to be used for alimited time.
(43:36):
And that is my prayer that childof God, that God will open our
eyes to know the urgency.
Do you know why when you readthe book the Gospel of Mark, the
phrase immediately, the wordimmediately, immediately,
immediately, because Jesuswanted to use his talent, his
gift in an urgent matter.
Because he only had three yearsto leave.
Some of you, if God opened youreyes to see the day you're going
(43:58):
to die, you take your life veryseriously.
But you don't know.
So don't procrastinate.
The Bible said, and in the endtime, use be wise to use your
time wisely.
So we're going to stand beforeGod.
Two things are going to happen.
Either we're going to receivecelebration or we're going to
receive condemnation.
Look what it says to the fivetalents.
So he who had received fivetalents came and brought five
(44:19):
others, saying, Lord, youdeliver to me five talents.
Look, I have gained four moretalents besides them.
Wow.
I utilized my talent.
I fulfilled my purpose.
My ministry was fruitful.
Here I am, Lord.
Then the Lord said, Hmm, welldone.
Well done.
Wow.
Claugh for you.
(44:40):
Again, people might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
Your family might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
The church might not clap foryou.
It's okay.
You might not have uh uhcelebrities on on social media,
you might not have like a fan orfollowership, it's okay, but
guess who you're serving?
You're serving God, it's forGod's glory.
That day, oh my god, the angelswill be clapping for you.
(45:03):
The angels will be your numberone fan.
Wow, thousands of angels said,Oh my god, thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, uh um,charity for your talent, thank
you, Justin, for your talent,thank you, Ruth, for your
talent, thank you for yourtalent.
He said, I have gained five moretalents, and then Jesus will
say, Well done.
Good and faithful servant.
(45:23):
Wow, good and faithful servant,those who use their gifts.
Jesus considers them as good.
You're a good person when you'releading people to Jesus, you're
a good person coming for thisprayer altar, you're a good
person serving in the church,you're a good person interceding
for your children, you're a goodperson praying for your husband,
(45:45):
you are a good and a faithfulservant.
It takes goodness andfaithfulness because at times
things are gonna be hard.
But as long as you're faithfuland serving your gifts, people
are gonna betray you, people arenot gonna appreciate you.
It's okay.
Continue to do good, continue tobe faithful.
You were faithful over a fewthings.
Now I will make you ruler overmany things, enter into the joy
(46:08):
of the Lord.
Wow, at the end, what you'regonna receive is a celebration
from Jesus, and then God isgonna entrust you more with more
things.
Child of God, when we go toheaven, we're not just going to
heaven to worship, we'reactually going to heaven to
worship and to work.
To work, God is gonna enlargeour responsibilities in heaven.
(46:28):
We're gonna be in charge, we'regonna be in charge.
That's gonna be our reward to bein charge, to lead.
That's why the Bible says JesusChrist is the King of Kings, is
the Lord of lords.
Amen.
He's the King of Kings, the Lordof Lords.
And then not only are we gonnareceive the reward of
leadership, we're also gonnareceive the reward of joy.
unknown (46:48):
Wow!
SPEAKER_02 (46:50):
Wow! Right now, you're getting that
satisfaction, that sense ofmeaning whenever you utilize
your gifts.
But you're gonna receive morewhen you're with the Lord,
you're gonna receive more whenyou enter into the joy of the
Lord.
Because guess what?
You carry the burden of the Lordthat is so easy, you carry the
yoke of the Lord that is solight.
(47:11):
Now the two talents said thesame thing.
Also, he who had received twotalents came and said, Lord, you
delivered to me two talents.
Look, I have gained two moretalents beside them.
His Lord said, Wow, and notagain.
It it doesn't matter thedimension of talents.
Those who receive one, two, Ibelieve that the one, if the one
would have utilized your talent,they would have received the
same celebration, they wouldhave received the same feedback.
(47:33):
So the feedback is the same, thereward is the same, the rest is
the same.
It's just on earth that wereceive different gifts, but but
the feedback will be the same.
We're not gonna hear, oh welldone for you.
Oh, so so so somehow well done.
No, it's gonna be the samebecause for the two talents,
(47:53):
Jesus said, Well done, good andfaithful servant.
That's what you we want to hear.
That's what you want to hearwith one talent, that's what you
want to hear with two talents,that's what you want to hear
with three talents.
You have been faithful over afew things.
I will make you ruler over manythings, enter into the joy of
the Lord.
Again, it's the samecelebration, the same feedback,
(48:13):
is the same reward, reward ofleadership, and it's the same
reward for rest.
Not the one talent, it's excuse.
Oh my god.
Then he who had received the onetalent came and said, Lord, I
knew you to be a hard man.
Yes, you see, like I said, Godis a businessman, God is an
investor.
God is an if you have if you'reGod, God is a businessman, God
(48:36):
is an investor, is looking tosee where he can invest to reap
rewards.
So make your life investmentworthy, if I may use that word,
make your life investment ready.
Make your life so that God cansay, I can invest in this, in
(48:57):
this, in this, my daughter, Ican invest in this, my son.
He said, Master, you are a veryhard man.
Yes, you don't joke with Godbecause God, God, God gave those
talents because he's expectingfor you to come and report back
to him.
He's expecting accountabilityand responsibility from you.
So we think that just because wehave ministry, we're not gonna
(49:19):
even give an account to God.
It's a lie.
We are responsible to serve ourour our calling, our gifts, and
we're gonna give an account toGod for the souls that God has
entrusted in us.
Reaping where you have not sownand gathering where you have not
scattered seed.
Ah, I was afraid and I went andI hid your talent in the ground.
Look, dear, dear, you have whatit is.
(49:41):
Hey, look, Jesus, Jesus was soJesus is so bold.
He said, Okay, you wicked andlazy servant.
You see, sometimes Jesus is oneof the most straightforward men
of God.
Jesus is straightforward.
He doesn't joke around.
If you're messing up, he willtell you straight in his face.
He doesn't beat around the bush,he will tell you that you are
wicked, that you are lazy, andthen he will console you after.
(50:03):
He said, You wicked and lazyservant.
The two things that can make usto fail in life is wickedness
and laziness.
Wickedness is a sign of failure.
Laziness is a sign of failure.
When you're a wicked man, whenyou're a lazy man or woman, you
are failed in life.
Wicked and failed and lazy,those two combinations.
(50:26):
Wicked, that is life is allabout you.
Wickedness is not just you doingthings to people, that's one
thing.
But wickedness is alsoselfishness where life is
centered around you.
Everything is about you, aboutyou, about you, about you, about
you, about you.
That's wickedness.
And then when you're lazy,you're free to walk thinking
that oh everybody should serveyou, everything should come easy
for you.
(50:47):
He said, You knew that I reapwhere I have not sown.
This this wicked servant knewthe Lord.
He said, You knew, don't try tomake excuses.
You're not gonna stand beforeGod and start giving excuses.
That's why God is bringing thismessage now.
We have no excuse.
Because we know what God hastold us in his word, and gather
we have not scattered.
So you have to have the put isJesus saying that you must, you
(51:10):
should, you should.
I'm demanding you, I commandedyou, I commissioned you, I
called you, I graced you, Igifted you, and here you're
giving me excuses.
Excuses that day, it's not it'snot going to be tolerated.
Don't go there standing beforeyour maker.
Oh, God, you know, ah, I thinkUganda was not very conducive
(51:31):
for me to become a doctor.
Uh Mosuven did not allow me todo certain things.
It's a lie, it's a lie.
It can be anywhere in the worldwhen you know your talents can
be utilized.
There's no excuse.
Oh, god, I didn't have people tofollow me, that's why I couldn't
preach.
No, start preaching to yourchildren.
There's no excuse.
So you ought to have depositedmy money with the bankers.
(51:52):
Ah, I had expectations of yourof you, of your talents.
I give you my goods and I'mexpecting a return.
You ought, it is yourresponsibility.
And I told you that you're gonnagive an account to me after.
At my coming, I would havereceived back my own with
interest.
You know what?
You're a wicked and a lazyservant.
(52:12):
You see, Jesus attacked hischaracter.
Jesus attacked his character.
Jesus celebrated the characterof the five and the two
servants.
He says, good and faithful.
He didn't say it didn't reallymention the talent.
(52:32):
His focus was not really on thetalent, his focus was on their
character.
Their character to this otherperson, you are wicked and
you're lazy.
Your character sucks.
So God is more concerned aboutwhat you and how we are
becoming, not just what we aredoing.
Because what we are becomingplays a tremendous role in what
(52:54):
we're doing for God.
If our hearts are clean, ourminds are pure, then why are we
using our gifts to do good andto save life?
God will recommend ourcharacter.
God will commend our character.
If we don't have character, ourcharacter is laziness,
complaining, grumbling, God willcall us wicked and lazy.
(53:15):
So your fruitfulness in others,that is your impact and
influence, your fulfillment inlife, that is your meaning and
satisfaction, your faithfulnessto God, that is for God's glory.
In summary, to finish this up,is that failure to use our gift
stems out of fear.
That's what we can learn fromthis one talent man.
He said, I was afraid.
(53:36):
Child of God, I want toencourage you, don't be afraid
to use your gift.
Whatever opportunity that ourpastor gives you, take a step
and do it.
Conquer that fear.
Don't allow wickedness to getinto your heart.
Don't go into ministry or useyour gift out of greed, out of
competition, out of jealousy,out of comparison.
For sure, don't be lazy.
(53:57):
Don't be lazy.
Life is work.
Ministry is work.
You have to walk, you have tostudy the Bible, you have to
cultivate your singing gifts.
If you don't follow theseprinciples of being faithful and
good, guess what's gonna happento you?
God is gonna remove what he hasgiven to you, and God is gonna
damn you, he's gonna cast you,he's gonna see you as an
(54:18):
unprofitable servant, useless,worthless, wicked.
And guess where you're gonna endup in hell?
And the key to success, the keyto our greatness is this in
Matthew 25, verse 1, that'swhere I'm gonna stop.
For everyone who has, this isthe key to our success.
More will be given, and he willhave abundance.
(54:38):
But from him who does not have,even what he has will be taken
away.
So, what you have, the littlethat you have, when you use it,
when you maximize it, guesswhat's gonna happen?
More will be given, and you willhave abundance.
Remember the principle inGenesis that God bless us to do
what?
SPEAKER_01 (54:56):
To be fruitful, multiply, fear, subdue, and
dominate.
That is the blessing fromGenesis that Jesus said, I've
come to give you life and lifein abundance.
SPEAKER_02 (55:09):
Father God, I thank you for this word.
Your people have heard, oh God.
Help us not to waste any time,help us not to procrastinate.
When you called, help us to sayyes, Master, yes, Papa, yes,
Lord.
In whatever little way, oh God,when you call me to serve, help
me to serve, to do with all myheart, all the abilities you
have given me with the rightintention to save life and to do
(55:30):
good.
God bless you.
Thank you so much for yourprecious time.
I don't take you guys forgranted.
Thanks for listening.
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