TALENTS: 3 VITAL Ds

INTRODUCTION

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of

Christ. Wherefore he saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity

captive, and GAVE GIFT UNTO MEN…and He gave some apostles; and

some prophet and some evangelists and some pastor and teachers; FOR THE

PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS, for the work of ministry; for the edifying

of the body of Christ…Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the

knowledge of the Son of God, UNTO A PERFECT MAN, unto the measure

of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:7-13; see also Ps. 68:18).

You are saved to serve. You are not saved to become a liability to your

family, your church or the nation. Redemption is programmed to

raise you and not reduce you, when you serve God with joy and in holiness.

You are divinely en-graced with the gifts of Christ to serve the

body of Christ. There is no exception. Unto every one of us is given

grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. You are blessed

with the gifts of heaven so that you can be a blessing on the earth. This

is the expressway to getting fully established in dominion. To refuse

to serve, through identifying, developing and deploying your gifts,

is to cheaply give yourself back into bondage and oppression. No man

loses dominion faster than the man who refuses to use his gifts and tal-

ents to serve God.

The parable of talents proves this point.

‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country; who

called his servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one, he gave

five TALENTS, to another two, and to another, one…TO EVERY MAN

ACCORDING TO HIS SEVERAL ABILITY…Then he that had received

the five talents went and TRADED with the same, and made them five

other talents. And likewise he that has received two he also GAINED other

two…But he that had received one went and dug the earth, and HID HIS

LORD’S MONEY. After a long time, the Lord of those servant cometh, and

reckoned with them. And so, he that had received five talents came and

brought other five talents saying, Lord thou delivered unto me five talents;

behold I have gained beside them five talent more. His Lord said unto him,

WELL DONE, THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW THINGS,

I WILL MAKE THEE RULER OVER MANY THINGS, ENTER THOU

INTO THE HOLY OF THY LORD… Then he which had received one talent

came and said, Lord I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where

thou hast not sown. And I was afraid, and went and hid THY talent in the

earth…His Lord answered and said unto him, THOU WICKED AND

SLOTHFUL SERVANT … Thou oughtest therefore to have put my

money to the exchangers (bankers), and then at my return, I should

have received mine own with usury (interest). TAKE THEREFORE THE

TALENT AND GIVE IT UNTO HIM WHICH HAST TEN TALENTS. For

unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from

him that hasth not shall be taken away even that which he hath, and cast ye

the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and

gnashing of teeth’ (Matt: 25:14-30; Paraphrase mine).

There are many lessons in this wonderful parable. However,

within the limits of the book, the following key lessons are pertinent:

Jesus Gave Gifts To All Men

Firstly, we see here again that the Lord gave talents to all His

servants. No one was left out. So he rest-assured you have a gift or

some latent talents. If he gave the rebellious gifts too, then you can’t

be left out if you’re genuinely born again.

Secondly, notice that the gifts or latent talents were shared

‘according to their several ability’. Knowing our capacity and ability,

the Lord in His wisdom shares the gifts according to the proportion

of our ability. This is to prevent waste of resources. As a parent, I

know my children. I know the one that eats fairly well and the one

that eats sparingly. So I serve them accordingly. Should I give all my

children the same measure of food, knowing their eating capacity, I

will end up wasting food. If for a special reason the ‘sparing eater’

discovers he wants more, he simply asks for it. but the rule is that you

must use what you are given well before you are given more. Sharing

of divine gifts and talents takes the same pattern