UTILIZING YOUR TALENTS

He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, “Occupy till I come.” … And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.  And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him - Luke 19:12-26.

INTRODUCTION

Depending on the translation of the Bible you have, you are likely to find that several choices of words are used by various Bible translations. For King James Version Luke 19:13 is rendered, “Occupy till I come.” For New American Standard Bible we read, “Do business with this until I come back.” Another translation says, “Trade, get yourself busy until I return from my trip abroad.”

Whatever translation you have and the ways it is written in you Bible, one thing is evident – God has made an investment in your life. He has given you a gift. He has given you a valuable material to work with.

Whether we are putting these gifts to work and how we are putting them to work are all different issues. God expects us to utilize what He has given us to work for Him.

From our reading of Luke 19:12-22, we see that some people utilized their deposits well but some did not. In fact, one person “hoarded” (stashed away his gift in a handkerchief, v.20). What does it mean to hoard or keep one’s gift in a handkerchief?  Lack of utilization.

But despite the one who failed to utilize his talent, other recipients gave good accounts of their stewardships and were adequately rewarded by the Master. Gifts are given to be used, not to be stored away or be used for selfish reasons other than what it was originally meant for. When you invest your deposits, they multiply; they bear fruits and you will be adequately compensated as those who put theirs to good use were (Luke 19:15-18).

WHAT IS TALENT?

The Greek word for Talents is “Talanta.” It refers to creative natural ability or aptitude…a special ability. Examples include the gift or talent for art, music, sports, dramatic arts, leadership, teaching, speaking, cooking, etcetera. Every talent has two sides. It is said that every virtue has a vice, or defect. In the same vein, every gift and talent has a "dark side," a defect, or its temptation. It can be used positively or negatively.

Using popular local musicians as examples: Imagine the kinds of glorious and godly influences the duo of Flavour and Phyno-Phyino could wield for God’s Kingdom if they are using their talents positively.    

TALENTS ARE TO BE EXERCISED

Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in II Timothy 1:6-7 and encouraged him to, "…to fan into flame the gift of God…." (NIV). "To fan into flame" is like poking among the ashes in a fire-pit to find a glowing ember so you can reignite the morning fire. It Is as if St. Paul speaks to us through Timothy, "I’m reminding you to stir up the ashes off the God-given gifts and talents that already are within you. You have within you a spirit of power, not of cowardice or timidity."

We must understand that our talents are what defines our destinies. Each person who comes into this world is endowed with certain gifts. These gifts determine your place and location in life. To lose your talent is to lose your identity. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed:

Every person must have a concern for self, and feel a responsibility to discover one’s mission in life. God has given each normal person a capacity to achieve some end. True, some are endowed with more talent than others, but God has left none of us without talent. Potential powers of creativity are within us, and we have a duty to work assiduously to discover these power.  

GOD, YOU AND YOUR TALENTS

Who you are is a gift from God, but what you become out of who you are is your gift back to God.

We can never repay God for the gift of His Grace but using our talents and abilities to His glory are one of the small ways we tell him how much we appreciate what He has done in our lives.

God wants your life to count for Him. God wants to use you in the service of His Kingdom. You do not have to be an evangelist with a university degree to be used by God. God desires to use everyone who is in is Kingdom no matter what and who they are.

Our lives revolve around God’s purpose. It should be the epicenter of our individual and collective existence. When my life does not yield fruits towards expansion of God’s Project on earth, I am considered a “waste” of colossal magnitude to Him.

The greatest gift anyone can give to Lord is self (II Corinthians 8:1-5). It is only when you have given yourself to the Lord can anything you give be appreciated. You and I are resources that the Lord has deposited in is Kingdom to be used. When we make ourselves available, He will use us greatly (II Timothy 2:19-22).

You may not have an overt talent such as public speaking ability. Your ability could be covert. However, you may be doing God’s Service the greatest good only when you deploy your gifts to use. Some of those who impacted God’s Work greatly accomplished that by doing simple jobs such as saying to a prospect, “Come and see.” . That was Philip’s talent or ministry (John 1:44-46).

In his book, The Purpose Driven Life (p. 230), Rick Warren observed, 

“...there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible, some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference.”

God has given you unique abilities, talents, and gifts. This bundle of talents is the thing God has given you that makes you who you are and sets you apart from other people. God gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. God also gave other people talents that benefit you.

We are all a part of the body of Christ, and each part matters. There are no insignificant people or insignificant gifts in the family of God. You are shaped to serve God, and He is testing you to see how you are going to use the talents he gave you.

They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God. When God made you, He made an investment in you, and expects a return on that investment. Are you using what He has given you for the benefit of His Kingdom?

When God gives you a talent, He expects you to use it. It is like a muscle. If you use it, it will grow. If you don’t, you’ll lose it. If you have a talent but are afraid to use it, or if you get lazy and don’t use it, you are going to lose it. Like the parable of the ten talents in Luke 19, if you don’t use what God has given you, he will take it away and give it to someone else who will.

VARIETIES OF GIFTS, VARIETIES OF USAGES

Hebrews 11, the Hebrews Hall of Faith shows that God can use anybody in any calling to accomplish His Will:

• 11:3 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Abel the shepherd.
• 11:6 “By faith Noah” - a carpenter and ark builder.
• 11:8 “By faith Abraham” - a business man.
• 11:11 “Through faith also Sarah” - a homemaker.
• 11:23 “By faith Moses” - a politician, a political leader.
• 11:30 “Joshua” - a general.
• 11:31 “By faith the harlot Rahab” - a former harlot.
• 11:32 Gideon, Barack, Samson, and Jepthah - were judges.
• 11:32 David, a king, and Samuel, a prophet.

YOUR TALENT IS BETTER UTILIZED THROUGH SERVICE

Give God and His Church your time. Make yourself available for Church activities such as Worship, Bible Study, Prayer Meetings, Singing Practice, Evangelism, Visitation, etcetera and you will be utilizing your talents.

It is only through service that we can utilize our talents for expansion of God’s Kingdom. Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord and he said, “Here am I send me?” (Isaiah 6:8). No time is well utilized and invested than that which we spend in God’s Presence and in doing God’s Will.

A young man gave Jesus his lunch of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes (John 6:8-13). Peter gave the Lord his boat to preach with (Luke 5:1-11). Midwives cast their votes for the growth of nation of Israel in Egypt (Exodus 1:15-22). In each of these, people gave their talents and treasures and made them available to the Lord towards the growth of His work in lives and communities of men; each person received greater dividend than they had invested.

When we labour for the Lord, He in turn labours for us. When we cultivate in His Vineyard, He in turn cultivates in our respective vineyards. You cannot out-give God. Give Him your talents and treasures. Ensure that you have a Kingdom-Investment Mentality (KIM).

Take active parts in whatever your Congregation is doing. Volunteer to take up assignments during Worship services even when you feel shy and inadequate inside of you. Learn to fan your gifts into flame (II Tim. 1:6-7). Learn to do things. We only learn to do by doing. The more you practice, the more you perfect and horn your skills in those directions.

Acquired skills and expertise can be used to serve others and glorify God as well. Public speaking, facilitation skills, writing, and expertise in computers, graphic arts, or audio/video technology can all have a place serving within the Body of Christ.

Sometimes people use their natural talents or acquired skills in concert with their spiritual gifts. Someone may have a tremendous musical talent. The person can use this musical talent by singing songs that glorify God.

TALENTS ARE TO BE UTILIZED IN OUR LITTLE SMALL CORNERS

We need to consider how we are using the talents that the Lord has given us. It matters little to the Lord what occupation we have. He does not call all of us to have a big effect on huge numbers of people or to profoundly change the quality of this world. All He asks us is to shine our little lights wherever we are. The Lord does not measure our success by the tremendous impacts we have made by our willingness to be used by Him. Our faithfulness in the application of our talents is what matters to Him. When we do our best, He will do the rest.   

To take all that you are and all that you’ve got and use it to make much of God—there’s nothing greater you can do with your life. There’s no higher purpose than to take your time, your treasure and your talents and use them to glorify God.

When you live for the glory of God, you’re doing what you were created to do. And you become who you were created to be. Whoever you are, wherever you’ve come from, your reason for existence on planet earth is the same. You have been created for the glory of God - to take all that you are and all that you have and use it to magnify God.

“How do we best utilize the resources God has given us to have an impact for God’s purposes?”

Unwrap Your Talent, Unwrap Yourself!

Now, what this means is that you, first, must unwrap the gift God’s given you.

Did you notice what Peter assumes in this verse? “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another” (4:10). He assumes each and every Christian has received a gift, a talent, from God.

The problem with many Christians is that many of us have never unwrapped the gift God has given us. He has given it to us, we have received them, but they are still in their various wrappings. They are nicely wrapped and impressively looking, but they are yet to be opened. So, they remain unused and are, therefore, are of no value to us and to God. Worst of all, because most of us have never opened the gift, the Giver Himself remains unappreciated and un-thanked. How could you praise Him for a gift, the contents of which are still to you a mystery?    

Some of us might be thinking, “How do I unwrap my gift?” Here are a few specific suggestions:

1.   Familiarize yourself with your God-given talents.

2.   Try to identify what you like doing most

3.   Ask others how they are spiritually helped by what you do. Ask those who know you well to share with you how you have spiritually strengthened them, and what they think is your talent. This could be your close friend or a trusted person at church. While you may have trouble understanding what your own talents may be, you may find that your talents are much clearer to those around you and who have been impacted by them.

4.   Participate in Church activities. This will provide a great opportunity for you to discover more about your talents. These are platforms where you can learn how to develop and then deploy those talents for God’s glory.   

Don’t Waste Your Gift—Use It Well 

Some Christians squander their talents. How do we squander or waste God’s gifts? Certainly, the first is by failing to unwrap the gift God’s given you, as we’ve already pointed out. But a second way we squander God’s gift to us is by failing to fan your gift into flame.

This was Timothy’s problem, a problem the apostle Paul had to address head-on, not to embarrass Timothy, but to help him realize how high the stakes were. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul recounts how richly blessed Timothy’s been with a godly heritage of faith. He then gets to his main point: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God” (II Timothy 1:6). Evidently, Timothy was a bit timid; fear had gotten the better of him and was now hindering him from using his gift. That why Paul says what he says to him: “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (II Timothy 1:7). In a word, Paul was simply saying to Timothy: use it, don’t sit on it. In fact, don’t just use it on occasion, as need arises or you feel particularly inspired; work constantly and tirelessly at using it. In other words, don’t waste your gift; use it well.

CONCLUSION

What will matter most in eternity is how we individually are able to impact God’s Kingdom using the instrumentality of what we have been endowed with.

When we stand before God, will He say to us, “Well done faithful servant” or will He say, “You wicked servant”? What He will say to us is determined by how we utilized our talents towards the expansion of His Kingdom on planet earth.