Daily Devotion Sun. 2/4/2017
2/4/2017 LESSON 5
STEWARDSHIP OF TALENTS AND GIFTS
Quarter’s Theme: UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL STEWARDSHIP
Unit 2: Your Stewardship (Lessons 3- 6)
Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 69, 243
Devotional Reading: LK. 19:15-27
Topic For Adults
YOU WERE GIFTED FOR A PURPOSE
Topic For Youths
DON’T TAKE THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN
Topic For Intermediates
DISCOVER AND USE YOUR GIFTS
Scripture Lesson
MATT. 25:21
(SOUL WINNERS CROWN COMPETITION MONTHS)
MEMORY VERSE
“His Lord said to him, ‘well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things, enter into the joy of Your Lord”. Matt. 25:21 (NKJV)
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING
Sun. 2/4/2017
You Will Certainly Account For The Gifts And Talents Given To You
Rom. 14: 12; Col. 3:23-24
The reward system of God does not fail. God watches over all His resources. He knows what He has given to each believer and He will review our activities one day. You will certainly account for all the gifts and talents that you received. It is worthy of note that our services are to God first and then to humanity. God gave you the gifts and talents to enable you function effectively and contribute to the overall goal of the kingdom. He owns the job. He gave the resources. He records and evaluates our performances daily and the final reward will come directly from His throne. God will reward our obedience and faithfulness. Faithfulness is keeping pace where you are kept. Are you faithful in doing what you are shapened to do or you are busy chasing what God has not approved for you? If God has given you much, He also expects much from you. He will also reward those who misuse, misappropriate and even those who fail to use their gifts. The reward system is comprehensive. God’s reward system cannot be manipulated or influenced. The faithful stewards that do the master’s will with the master’s resources can expect to be rewarded incompletely on earth and comprehensively in heaven. Those who do their own will equally be rewarded as God cannot be deceived.
POINT OF EMPHASIS: Each one of us will give the account of himself to God.
PRAYER POINT: Lord, help me not to be busy for You and yet be guilty. Give me grace to serve faithfully and in obedience.
BACKGROUND
Stewardship of talents and gifts – the lesson for today implies that believers are in a state of work and business. God our Creator has entrusted into our hands various talents to make gains in His kingdom. There is a necessity for habitual preparation and diligence in our work and service. The Lord Jesus Christ is the owner of all persons and things. This lesson is enjoining us to awake from our slothfulness and prepare to render account of how we have used the talents which our Master has entrusted into our care.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
PART 1: STEWARDSHIP OF GIFTS AND TALENTS (MATT. 25:14-15)
A steward is one who manages the possessions of another person. Stewardship is an act of managing another man’s resources. We are stewards of the grace, abilities, gifts, talents that God has entrusted to our care. We own nothing, not even our lives. All good and perfect gifts are from the Lord, (Jam. 1:17). God reserves the right to all gifts and talents. God gave us the responsibility to use the gifts and talents under His watchful eyes.
We cannot create any talent or gift on our own. Talents, whether those with which we are born or those we acquired through learning and self-development, are traceable to God. There is nothing a man has that he did not receive from God, (Jn. 3:27). Gifts of the Spirit are given by the Holy Spirit and He gives to men as He wills. All that we have are given to us on trust and we must justify the confidence reposed on us. Those who have acquired talents through learning should bear in mind that they have only built on the divine deposits in them. You can only improve on what is already in existence.
God created everyone and He knows the ability of each person. He has given grace, talents and gifts to each person according to their ability. He will not give a man what he cannot manage. He gave much to some but to whom much is given, much is expected. It is not how many talents or gifts one has that matters but how one uses them. Do not forget that the master did not isolate any of his servants in the parable. He gave to his entire servants and what he gave to each of them is called “gift”. Everyone has a gift except if you are not one of His own. Lastly, all His gifts are good and important.
PART 2: PURPOSE OF TALENTS AND GIFTS (MATT. 25: 16-18)
It is clear from the parable that the master has an expectation. He did not distribute his resources to the servants for fun. He expects each servant to use the talent and make it grow. The purpose of the gifts is not to make wealth for ourselves. The main purpose is for us to use the gifts to bless others, build up the body of Christ and in turn glorify God. (1 Pet. 4:10-11). You must, therefore, discover your own gifts, develop them and use them for the benefits and blessings of those tied to your destiny. You must use your gifts and talents. You have no reason to fail and no amount of excuses will justify your failure. Those who fail to discover and use their gifts and talents will end up contributing and enriching the wealth of the grave. The richest place in the world today is the graveyard. This is because many people with great gifts and talents have been buried there with unutilised potentials.
Those who use their talents and gifts properly and faithfully will experience increase. The only way to grow the divine deposit is by using it faithfully, consistently and correctly. You cannot afford to hide or neglect the grace, gifts and talents of God in your life. You must serve with it to bless your generation. There are people waiting to be blessed through the gifts and talents that were given to you. All gifts are important and if we all use our gifts and talents effectively, efficiently and faithfully, there will be no lack in our churches. Please note that you are not qualified for more gifts until you have maximised the ones you were given.
PART 3: GOD’S STANDARDS OF REWARD (MATT. 25: 19-30)
God cannot lose track of His resources. He knows where each of His resources is located. He watches over His investment and will make everyone to account for the grace given to him / her in due course. God will hold you responsible for what you have been given, (Rom. 14:12). God will always measure our performances against the expectations and reward us accordingly. In the parable, the master came back suddenly, each servant accounted for what he had been given. The activities of the servants were judged in line with the standard specified by the master and reward was given to each person. It is, therefore, instructive to note that Jesus, the owner of all and the giver of all will come suddenly when no man expects. He will equally measure our activities in line with His standard, and give rewards to everyone based on his or her work.
Those who used their gifts according to the will of the master were considered good and faithful. He also expects that the gifts and talents should be used faithfully. Our obedience must be total; we must use our gifts and talents wherever and whenever He wills. You must not wait for people to persuade you before you serve with your gifts and talents. On the other hand, God requires our faithfulness.
Faithfulness is keeping pace where you are kept. It means doing exactly what you were shapened and endowed to do and doing same with your strength without robbing God of His glory. God will reward those who use their gifts, and those who fail to use theirs. He will equally reward those who mismanage their gifts. Those who fail to use their talents and gifts will lose their place and relevance in divine agenda, (Matt. 25:30). One of the standards is that reward is certain as far as God is concerned.
CONCLUSION
Christ Jesus gives His followers talents proportional to their ability. The greater our talent is, the more pain we must exact in order to make profit of it. Those that are given little talents should not despise it but should utilise it and make gains out of it for God and His kingdom. God will not ask us to account for more than what He gave us. He is going to ask us to render our stewardship in proportion to our talents. Don’t bury your talent because God will ask you what you do with it.
QUESTIONS
- Explain this statement in your own words whether it is true or not “we own nothing, not even our lives”.
- Why does God reserve all the rights to every gift?
- Is there anything a man has that he did not receive from God? Explain.
- What is the purpose of your gifts?
- How can you make your gift(s) important?
