Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

Be All That You Can Be | 05-24-09

Be All That You Can Be
Matthew 25:14-30

   I. Focus on Your Gifts.

  II. Be Willing to Work.

 III. Develop Your Creativity.

 IV. Maintain the Right Motivation.

Full Text 

This is Memorial Day Weekend.
In the midst of all the grilling and visiting,
this is actually a weekend to remember
our loved ones who have died, and especially
those who served in the armed forces.

People give honor by placing flowers on graves.

The military is so much a part of the world that
there probably isn't a family that escapes it's effects.

My uncles were in the army, navy, marines and air force.
Most fought in World War II.

I've heard them argue over who had the best food and
who put out the best boxers.
(One of my uncles was a golden gloves in the navy.)
But all agreed the marines had it the worst in the battles.

Sometimes it's fascinating to listen to the war stories.
Sometimes it's very somber.

Ed Ross had told Shirley that
when he was in the Navy he was in charge of
all the vessels.
She still thinks he was an admiral.

What he didn't tell her was that he was in charge of
all the vessels in the kitchen!!!

Tim Lindsey was in the Air Force.
One day he sat down at a computer and
simply typed in the word, "Yes".

The computer instantly asked,
"Yes, what?"
Tim knew exactly what to do.
He typed in, "Yes, SIR!!"

Back in the days of the draft
the military didn't do much advertising.
You didn't have much of a choice!

But since we went to a volunteer army,
our government has put out all kinds of commercials.

There are sophisticated, exciting portrayals
of the armed forces.
There is happy music challenging you to join up.

One song that lasted a long time was
"Be all that you can be - in the Army!"

The army has helped a lot of young men and women
develop the self-discipline to do something with their life.
But some come out hard or messed up.

Maybe you can't always,
"Be all that you can be - in the Army!"
But you can be all that you can be in God's army.

So, this morning I'd like to share with you
a few thoughts on how you can be all that you can be.

In Matthew 25 Jesus told a very familiar parable.
In it we can find some very practical tips on
how we can reach our potential for Christ.

Let's read it together.

The context is "The Kingdom of Heaven," - the Church.
Jesus is telling what the Church would be like
when it begins.
Verse 14.
"14Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Now, a talent is a measure of weight.
It is 75 pounds.
It was usually of silver, but could also be of gold.

Going the cheap normal way,
silver last week was selling for about $14.00 an ounce.
16 ounces in a pound means
a pound of silver is worth $224.
And a talent, 75 pounds of silver, is worth $16,800.

So, before going on a journey,
a man divided up his money among 3 of his employees.

To one he gave $84,000.
To another he gave $33,600.
And to the 3rd he gave $16,800.

Their job was to use that money to make more money.
It was up to them how they invested it.

Verse 16.  "16The man who had received the five talents [$84,000] went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents
[$33,600] gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent [$16,800] went off, dug a hole in

the ground and hid his master's money.
[Maybe he felt inferior. 
Maybe he was just lazy. 
Maybe it was the fear of failure.
Whatever, he just buried the money in a hole and
did nothing.]
Verse 19.  "19After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
 21His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
 22'The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
 23His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"
These 2 men were given big promotions!
They were well rewarded for their hard work.

Verse 24.  "24Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'"
Do you see what this character is up to?
Not only does he do nothing, but
he tries to put the blame on his master!
He tries to make like he is not responsible!

I don't know about you, but
if I was that guys employer,
I'd be ticked off!
Try to blame me for your laziness!!

Verse 26.  "26His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
 28Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
As Donald Trump would say, "You're fired!"

Now, from this parable,
let's see 4 principles that will help us
be all that we can be.
That will help us reach our full potential and
become all that God intended us to be.

1st, if you are going to be all that you can be, you must
I. Focus on Your Gifts.

Let's begin by noticing that
God distributes His gifts Disproportionately.
One man was given 5 times as much money
as another one was.



If we had made up this parable
we would have the gifts distributed equally.

But Jesus was more realistic than we are.
He made it clear that we are not created equally.

Verse 15 says, the man going on a journey
gave to each of his servants
"according to his ability."

People have different abilities.

Now, everyone is equally important in God's sight, BUT
we are not created with the same IQs.
We do not have the same dexterity.
We do not have the same personalities.
We do not have the same bodies.

Even at birth, some are gifted 5 times as much as others.
--------------------------------
One of my dreams was to play basketball for
the University of Kentucky.
But those dreams began to fade when
I stopped growing at 5 foot 8!
--------------------------------
That's why only God can judge us.
Only He can fairly evaluate our gifts and
our opportunities.

God distributes our gifts disproportionately, BUT
He distributes them universally.

Every person in the story got something.
Even the man with little ability got 1 talent.


And there is at least 1 thing that you can do very well.

Your responsibility is to develop and
utilize that talent to the fullest.

So, instead of focusing on becoming
a great basketball player,
I had to focus on being a preacher.
You know the old saying,
"Those who can't, preach!"

Ephesians 4:12 says that God gives different gifts so that
the body of Christ might be built up.

Now, your gift may not be a public gift.

Maybe your specialty is behind the scenes,
like counseling people or
giving some comfort when people are hurting, or
taking care of children, or
fixing things, or
decorating, or
cleaning, or
organizing.
But everyone has a gift.

Determine what your gift is and give it your primary focus.

People say, "I don't' know what my gift is."

Look at the things you do well.
Talk with friends who will be honest with you.
Be creative and focus on that.



Ed Bousman is one of the last of the great evangelists,
crisscrossing the country for
revivals and large gatherings.

He has the ability to touch people from the stage,
even in large groups.
But he is not good with meeting people for the 1st time
one on one.

He is where he should be.
His passion, what he loves to do, and
his gift, what he is equipped to do, and
his personality,
have come together to not only make him
happy and fulfilled, but also effective.

I don't believe he would have done that well
in a located ministry.

But on the other hand,
few people have the stamina and persistence
to do what he still does at over 80 years old.
---------------------------------------
There was a young man at a Bible College
taking a Homiletics class
(that's how to preach).
But he was a terrible preacher!

The professor tried to tactfully tell him that
he needed to go into another field.
But the young man kept saying,
"But I have the gift of preaching!
I have the gift of preaching!"
Finally the professor said,
"Yes, but nobody has the gift of listening to you!!!"

Get your passion, your gift, and your personality together and you will be fulfilled and
you'll be all that you can be.

So, ask yourself,
"What do I love doing?
What has God gifted me to do?
How do I relate to other people so
this can be the most effective?
Then give that your priority.

Did you notice in the parable that
the owner invited the servants to
come, and share their master's happiness?

When we honor God with our gifts, then
there ought to be a sense of
reward, fulfillment, and happiness.

Secondly,
if you are going to be all that you can be, you must
II. Be Willing to Work.

How did the man with 5 talents double his money?
Did he just have the Midas touch?
Did he buy a winning lottery ticket?
Did he go to the Kentucky Derby and
bet it all on Mine that Bird?
And then after that he relaxed on the beach?

No!  The key word is found in Verse 16. 
It's a word people usually overlook,
probably because they don't like it.



Verse 16 says,
"The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more."

It didn't come easily.
He had to put out some effort.

Maybe he bought some property and
did some landscaping and
dug a lake and
remodeled the house and then
resold the property.

Maybe he bought a fishing business and
fixed up the boats and
mended the nets and
hired some personnel.

There is a lot of work that goes into doubling your money.

In fact, in Verse 26 the master labeled the 1 talent man
"wicked" and "lazy".

No matter how gifted you are,
it takes work to use your gift.

Michael Angelo's teacher told him,
"Talent is cheap, but dedication is costly!"
-----------------------------------
I had a friend that was an awesome guitar player.
He could hear a song one time and
play it from memory.
He turned down touring with a very big name because
it would take him from his wife and kids.
I used to say, "I'd give anything to play like him!"

But one day when he pulled out his pocket knife and
trimmed down the calluses on his fingers
because they were getting in the way of the strings,
which he did periodically, and
I began to think of the hours a week he spent playing,
I decided I would not give anything to play like him.
I would not sacrifice my time and body.

No matter how gifted you are,
it takes work to use your gift.

Proverbs 6:6-8 says, "6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
[that word means, "a lazy bum"]
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
 7 It has no commander,
       no overseer or ruler,
 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
       and gathers its food at harvest."

In other words, no one is looking over his shoulder and
making him work.
The ant is a self-starter.

Verse 9.  "9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
       When will you get up from your sleep?
 10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
       a little folding of the hands to rest-
 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
       and scarcity like an armed man."

The poem says:
"The test of a man's devotion
will come some other day.
They love God most who are at their post
when the crowds have gone away."

The rewards of life are to those who work,
to the people who do it every day,
even when it's not fun.

Thirdly, if you are going to be all that you can be,
you need to
III. Develop Your Creativity.

The 1 talent man couldn't think of
a single way to invest his money.

He didn't even think of putting in a bank and
drawing some interest.
He just buried it in the ground.

So the difference between success and mediocrity in life
is not always ability.
it is not always intelligence.
Often it is creativity, imagination.

Sometimes it's insight or common sense.
It's the ability to see the opportunity that
other's miss.
----------------------
Colonel Sanders said the 11 herbs and spices that
made up his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe
could be found on the shelf of any home in America.
The reason he became a multi-millionaire was
he had the creativity to put the ingredients together.
-----------------------
There was a young man who had
a terrible stuttering problem and
he answered an ad in the newspaper to
sell encyclopedias.
He said, "I-I w-want t-t-to sell."

And the distributor said,
"Well, I guess everyone's welcome to try."
So he gave the young man 5 sets of encyclopedias and
expected them to all be returned the next week and
the young man would quit.

But the very next morning the young man was back
needing more encyclopedias.
He had sold all 5 sets in one day!

The distributor asked him,
"How in the world did you sell 5 sets in one day?
That's a record!"

The young man said, "E-easy.  I j-just s-say, 'd-d-do y-you w-want buy e-e-encyclopedia, or
d-do y-you w-w-want m-me t-to read one to you?'"

Now, not everyone is gifted with a great imagination.
Probably more have the gift than use it.
But even if you don't have the gift,
don't be too proud to borrow what works and
use others fresh ideas if
it fits your gift mix.

Finally, if we are going to be all that we can be, we must
IV. Maintain the Right Motivation.

Look at Verse 25 and see what motivated the 1 talent man.
"So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you."

Fear paralyzes people.
Fear stifled his gift, his ambition, and his imagination.


There are people with great personalities and
they're fun to be with
when they are with friends.

But you get them out with other people and
they clam up.
They are afraid people won't like them.
----------------------
Maybe you are great with kids, but
you are afraid if you volunteer you'll miss out or
you won't be able to handle it.
-----------------------
I have known people who hated their job.
It was not their passion.
They had other opportunities for
a job better suited to them, but
they were afraid of try something different.

Don't let your life's decisions be motivated by fear.

There are 2 motivators that should
help us overcome our fear.

1. The Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The 1 talent man completely blocked out of his mind
the fact that the owner would one day return and
he would be accountable.

And we need to be aware that
one day we will stand before God.
And He's going to ask us how we used our gift.

And that respect of God should help us overcome fear.


He may say, "I gave you the ability
to sing or play the guitar or the kazoo
in the worship band.
Why didn't you use it?

I gave you the ability to teach.
Why didn't you use it?

I gave you the ability to
meet people well.
Why didn't you use it?

We all need to ask ourselves,
"What does God want me to do and say?
Am I willing to do it?"

Then we need to ask ourselves,
"How can I do it the most effectively and
tactfully in relating to people?"


A 2nd motive that will help you overcome fear is LOVE.

I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…."

The real key to using your gift to the fullest,
to becoming all that you can be,
is to forget self and
love other people.






The story is told of 2 boys who were
members of the same diving team.
They practiced together every day and
became great friends.

Bill knew he was just an average diver, but
he was so proud of his friend, Jody.
Jody was an excellent diver in practice, but
when they would go to a meet,
he would get nervous and uptight and
just do average.

There was a big meet and
Bill was determined that
he was going to get Jody's mind
off the people and the judges.
He wanted Jody to perform like he did in practice
so he could win the meet.

So he began to jabber with him.

"Jody," Bill said.  "Watch me.  I'm an eagle!"
And he soared on his dive and
Jody became a little looser.

The next dive he said, "Watch me. 
I'm jumping over the moon!" 
And Jody followed and made an excellent dive.

All through that meet
Jody was doing better than
Bill had ever seen him do before.
He was so excited about how well his friend was doing.



Finally, the meet was over and
the results were announced.
Jody didn't win.
But he did come in second.

First place went to Bill!

When he completely forgot about himself
because he was thinking about his friend,
he rose to heights greater than he ever thought possible.

In Matthew 22:36-40 a Pharisee asked Jesus,
"36'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' 37Jesus replied: ''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"

"Love your neighbor as yourself."
There is no better way to
be all that you can be.

Someone said, "What you are is God's gift to you.
What you become is your gift to God."

Romans 6:4 tells us, "We were therefore buried with him [that is, Christ] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a NEW LIFE."


Christ gives us a new life.
A fulfilled life.
An exciting life.
A life of work!
A life of being all that we can be.

If you are outside of Jesus Christ this morning and
you are ready to give your life to Him and
be all that you can be,
then come forward in faith and
begin that new life in baptism.

Or maybe you've already done that and
you would like to place your membership with us,
then come forward as we stand and sing.