Skip to content Multiply Part 5 with Kenny Luck Feb 17 · 51 min ...more
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Reviewing the Call to Multiply: Introduction to Talents and Gifts 0:00 Welcome to the men's global livestream. If you have a Bible, I want you to hold 1 spot in that Bible, and that's in Matthew chapter 25. We are in part 5 of our series called multiply. And if you're joining0:12 us for the first time, let's review a little bit. When you multiply anything, there's more, not less of whatever that thing is. So when Jesus, in the context of0:24 talking about his return, is telling a story about a master who gave some of his servants some money to manage while he is away, and then the0:36 master returns to see what they did with it. The headline is this, what did they do with what I gave them? Specifically, is there more?0:48 So in part 1, what we did is we kind of set the template for the parts to come where we would look afresh at the master's heart in Matthew chapter 251:00 in the parable of the talents. And we would look at the servants who were entrusted with the Master's money, the talents, and then evaluate1:12 them. Secondly, we've identified 5 things that the master, God, has given us, and he wants us to multiply those things, and those are by1:23 way of review, life and existence, okay, salvation, relationships, natural and spiritual gifts, and material resources.1:36 Okay. Those are not an exhaustive list, but those are the big ones where we can in our own lives, we can evaluate and say, yep, I have life in existence. I've been given salvation. I have a network1:48 of relationships. I have natural talents and spiritual gifts, and I have material resources that God has blessed me with that he's given to me and entrusted me with that2:00 I am called to multiply. So what we're gonna do is what we've done in each session of this series. We're gonna unpack afresh Jesus's words. We're gonna add,2:11 a fresh new kind of take on the passage from Matthew 25. And then we're gonna look at a specific area, how we can multiply that area practically.2:23 Why? So that we can hear those words that the first and second servants heard from the master when he returned. Well done, my good and2:35 faithful servant. So today, we are going to talk about multiplying our natural talents and spiritual gifts that God has entrusted with us. And to get you thinking in the2:47 right direction, I wanna just ask you a question. Has anybody ever said to you, you are so good at that? Anybody ever said that to you? Some people2:59 have said that to me and just I don't know really kind of how to respond sometimes because I am the least objective person about myself. But there's3:11 some credibility, that comes from someone else saying it to you as they observe you and, you know, hopefully, they're not married to you or they're not trying to manipulate you, they're just3:22 making an observation. Man, you know what? You're so good at that. Right? And, you know, all of us have abilities. Right? Just3:35 pause on that 1 for a bit. All of us have natural abilities. Okay? And and some of our abilities rank higher than other ones in our life, and we may not be the best at those things,3:47 but we're good at those things and people recognize that. But in our chest of natural abilities, some things rate higher than the other. You know, like maybe you're a better3:59 athlete than you are a musician or maybe you're a better musician, than you are an athlete. Maybe you're a better tech guy than a handyman. Maybe you're better under pressure than when given too much time,4:11 to do something. You you get the point. Or maybe 1 of you guys has said, you know what? I don't have that gene in the family, right? I don't have the athletic gene. I don't have the music gene. I don't have the science4:22 gene in the family. You see, some abilities we are born with and some we have as believers in Jesus Christ that are gifts from the Holy Spirit.4:34 Like when I think about, some of those abilities that, you know, you're just you're born with, I I think of like the Manning family. Okay? I grew up watching Archie Manning4:46 play quarterback. Oh, just so happens, his son Peyton Manning played quarterback in the NFL. Oh, just so happens that his other son, Eli Manning played quarterback in the NFL. Oh, it just so happens4:57 that the grandson of Archie Manning, Arch Manning is the quarterback at Texas, right? And he'll probably be playing in the NFL too, but you know, there are some families,5:10 right, where the genetic DNA and composition and the body brain, it's just a natural ability in those hands. It doesn't it's not limited to the area of sports, you5:22 know. I know families of musicians. I know families of doctors. I know families of of engineers, and the common denominators are genetics,5:34 mentoring and development, right, in the family, and number 3, practice and use of those natural abilities. So that's like natural talents, but5:46 in our spiritual life, in our spiritual family, the Bible says the moment you believe for yourself personally in the person and work of Jesus5:58 Christ, that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts into you. Now there are lists of spiritual gifts in scripture,6:10 but what I want you to hear right now is that the Holy Spirit, when you believed, right, deposited special spiritual gifts that6:22 you are called to use and develop and practice using and get better at as you grow closer and closer in your relationship with God. So,6:34 let's review our theme, multiply, on the downloaded notes. Let's take another fresh look at our core passage, and then let's start down the road of how to think about natural talents6:46 versus spiritual gifts, and then let's finish out by talking about what God's word says about multiplying both your natural talents and your spiritual gifts. So let's take6:58 a a look at our theme multiply. It's right there on your downloaded notes. It means to make some more of or become greater. Progressive growth in size, amount,7:10 or intensity, all right? And so we want to take that theme that we got to make more into the parable of the talents in Matthew chapter 25, and we're going to7:22 take a fresh look. We've seen some of these verses before, but we're going to extract a new fresh observation out of it. So let's look at Matthew 25 19 to 22. It says7:34 this, after a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received 5 bags of gold brought the other 5. Master, he said, you entrusted me with7:46 5 bags of gold. See, I have gained 5 more. The master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you7:58 in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. So let's make 3 fresh observations from our passage. And the first8:10 fresh observation is this, we sense the joy of the servant. Write that down. You know what he says? He says, see? Like, it's like, look. Look. I8:22 I gained 5 more. You know? And he's thrilled because he knows the master's heart. Secondly, we sense the joy of the master. Right? And it8:33 comes out, his insides, his joy inside comes out in words. He's like, awesome job, well done, Good and faithful servant. Those are the things that give the8:45 master joy, not just the outcome, but the character of the servant, that he's good and that he's faithful to the master's heart.8:58 Third, we see the joy of reward. Come and share your master's happiness. It's a communal thing. It's like servant, master,9:11 goodness and faithfulness. He returns. He experiences the goodness and faithfulness of his servant. He gets 10 bags after getting 5 bags. And remember, those bags, those talents, that's9:22 6000 pounds a bag, okay, of gold or silver. So I mean, yes. Totally stoked. Okay? But what I want you to see a fresh in this parable is not so much the9:34 performance aspect. I want you to see the joy, just the joy of the servant. Master, see?9:46 I've gained 5 more. Right? Because he thought to himself, you know what? I know my master, and I know he wants he's he's trusted me, and I know9:58 I know he wants me to do more with what I've got. And I did. And then you see, you know, the master, and he just his insides flood out and just, man, pours it on. I'm man, this10:10 is great. I love your faithfulness. I'm gonna put you I'm I'm giving you more. I'm trusting you with more. Big lesson there. Right? I'm gonna trust you with more because10:22 you've been faithful with what I gave you at first. You know? And then there's the reward. It's just like, oh my gosh. Let's celebrate this sucker. Right? Let's let's put you in charge of a lot of things. Let's give you10:34 more. And you know what? Just come and share my happiness. You know, that's Jesus talking. That's that's that's the moment. It's a parable here, but it's a10:46 moment every single 1 of us is going to experience. Right? The master is gonna return or we're gonna return to the master, and we're gonna have a moment in front of10:58 him. He's gonna say, glad you're here. You're in. You're my servant on earth. Now, what did you do with what I gave you? And you know what I want more than anything? More11:10 more than anything, I want that moment to be great for you where you can you can just go, see? This is the life that you gave me, and this is how I multiplied it. Where, see? These these are11:22 the relationships that that you gave me, and this is how I invested in them, and this is how I I multiplied it. You know? See? These are the natural talents that11:34 you deposited in me, through my parents, using their DNA, and this is how I'm multiplying. These are my spiritual gifts that came into my life11:46 and that I discovered and started using when I got saved. Right? Now the the the the place to land just in this fresh look is this,11:58 and it's in in John chapter 15 verse 11. And Jesus says this, I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my12:10 joy. Yes. Your joy will overflow. And I just I want you to see the heart of Jesus. Jesus tells us parables. Jesus gives us commands. Jesus makes12:22 us promises that as we trust and believe and apply and live out his word in our lives as we seek to go in12:34 the direction of the Master's heart. I love that the outcome is joy. That this relationship here, there's ways to experience the joy of12:46 that relationship through stewardship. Right? Yes. Your joy will overflow. And that's that's what you really see happening between servant and master is joy12:57 overflowing. Okay? So let's now, after that fresh look, right, multiplying what God has entrusted and the joy that that comes fromDistinguishing Natural Talents from Spiritual Gifts 13:09 multiplying what God entrust to us. Let's look at our next area, which is natural talents and spiritual gifts. And I thought we needed to kind of take a step back, right, before we talk about multiplying natural talents13:20 and spiritual gifts, is just to kind of think about them a little bit because we can't use them interchangeably. Okay? Natural talents and spiritual gifts are different things,13:32 but there's some commonalities and there's some differences. So let's, let's look at those. Right? And here's how to think about them. Alright? And I put them, you know, in in contrast. So the first way to the first13:44 filter or the first way to think about natural talents versus spiritual gifts is same source versus different source. Okay? Different sources. Both13:56 natural talents and spiritual gifts come from the same source. Okay? The creator of all things, right? The creator14:08 of all matter, the creator of all life, the creator of all environments, right? Natural and spiritual abilities come from14:20 that source. Right? So it's the source of your genetics. It's the source of your environment that the source of your location on planet Earth. It's the14:32 source of supernatural deposit. Okay? So both natural talents and spiritual gifts come from the same source versus different source. Next filter14:44 we want to put on there is inherited versus received. Now, when on the inherited part, I think you already are are catching, my drift here is that14:55 God uses your parents wherever wherever your DNA came from, right, God uses DNA from your parents that15:07 you inherit. I like to say, you know, I have no no control over, you know, being half Guamanian and and half American. That's just the DNA of my parents and, you know, this this skin15:19 color that you see, this little coffee latte guy right there on the screen, alright, he's what they call a hoppa, right? He's he's a he's half and half. Okay? So I inherited15:31 that, I inherited my mom's genetics, I inherited my my dad's genetics, and those genetics put into me natural talents and abilities that then I have to to grow15:43 and develop. Right? Okay. Inherited versus received, and this is where there's a distinguishing difference. Spiritual gifts are received.15:54 Right? They're received from the Holy Spirit after belief in the person and work of Christ and salvation. So you could say16:06 natural talents come at birth, spiritual gifts come when you're born again. Alright? The third filter I want us to cover is unsaved16:18 versus saved. Now a person who has believed in the person and work of Christ, that person biblically is different than the person who16:30 has not believed in the person and work of Christ. 1 is a creation of God, and the other, in addition to being a creation of God, has become a child of16:41 God through their belief in the person and work of Christ. So a person who is unsaved or they haven't trusted in Christ, his person and work16:53 for their forgiveness of sins resulting in their salvation. That person can only have natural talents and abilities. Now here's a point of demarcation. A saved17:05 person who is also a creation of God, but is also a child of God, guess what? It's it's the double bonus. Right? You do have your natural talents and17:17 abilities plus spiritual gifts, which make for a powerful combination. Alright? The fourth filter that I want us to think17:28 about natural talents versus spiritual gifts is this, grow by training versus grow by maturity, okay? Latent17:40 or dormant talents that are inherited that comes through your your family line, those grow by training and17:52 development. That's why in my example of the Manning family, which is a, you know, a football family of amazing quarterbacks. Right?18:04 Peyton Manning, if he's not developing his his natural physical, mental, athletic skill sets through practice, play, putting the18:16 pads on from when he's a little mighty might all the way till he's a quarterback in the NFL. He does not grow those talents and abilities. Okay?18:28 So natural talents are grown by training, but spiritual gifts and this is really important. So if you're a Christian, you have natural talents, You should grow those natural18:40 talents, right, by practice and training. But if you also have spiritual gifts, those grow by maturity in your relationship with God. I can look18:52 back after 40 years of walking with the Lord, at my deposited spiritual gifts, and they were there, they were deposited, they were forming, but were they mature?19:04 No. Like, what I'm doing right here, right now, I couldn't be doing this right now back then. But as I began to recognize my my spiritual gifts and as I began19:16 to grow in my relationship with God, that's when I began to get asked to teach the Bible, right, or to lead,19:28 right, and then I would take a step of faith and say yes to that opportunity because of my relationship with God and because that was growing and because I was growing in my faith and trust in God, I19:40 went, okay, Lord. I'm gonna try this. And then you use the gifts that God deposit. God creates fruit from using those gifts. So your gifts get affirmed,19:52 right, by the fruit that is born and perhaps by the body of Christ around you. I remember going up the elevator, at Hedrick Hall with my friend, Ovidio Diaz from Panama. And he said to me and20:04 I was shocked that he said he goes, hey, Kenny. And he has an accent. He goes, Kenny. Kenny, I I I think you had the gift of evangelism. And I I remember going, okay.20:17 I I'm not so sure what the gift of evangelism is. Maybe it's just being excited about talking about Jesus, but maybe I do. Maybe I don't. I don't know. But as I began to show up to20:29 different opportunities and and situations that God would put me in, that gift, got affirmed and I grew more effective. And I just I share my journey a little bit20:41 that if you're just getting started in your walk with the Lord, you have spiritual gifts and God is going to place you in settings, where you're just going to start20:53 being the you who follows Jesus and someone is going to say to you like, Did you know that, you know, you you have this gift? I was in a board meeting the other21:05 night and for Everyman Ministries, and I I did that exact thing. I recognized a spiritual gift in 1 of my board members, and I think it's the first time that he's ever heard this. But21:17 I said, do you do you realize that you have the gift of prophecy? And he just kinda went, but everybody in the room said, yep. You do, But I was just the21:29 first 1 to say it. So if that happens to you, don't be surprised. Don't be shocked. Don't be scared. Right? Because God has deposited spiritual gifts in your life. And as you mature in your relationship with Christ, and21:39 grow in that relationship, that's going to be more and more evident and affirmed that it's there. The last filter that I want to cover in terms of thinking about natural talents and spiritual gifts21:51 is serve self or serve God. Okay? Now when it comes to natural talents, right? You got a choice. You can use22:03 those natural talents and abilities to serve yourself, or you can use those natural talents to serve God. Okay. On the other22:14 side, right, spiritual gifts are given, listen, to serve God's purposes. Right? So if you have a believer,22:27 and they have natural talents and spiritual gifts, they can choose to use those natural talents on themselves. Okay? But when they22:39 use their spiritual gifts, alright, those are for God's purposes, right? And they can even just functionally exist outside the character22:51 of the believer because when you use something that God gives, it works. Okay? And so I want you to see that. We can serve self or serve God. Alright? And23:03 natural talents can be used to serve self. Alright? But again, just the headline is God wants us to use and multiply our natural talents and our23:15 spiritual gifts for his purposes. Okay? Now the goal is to multiply natural talents and spiritual gifts that he's entrusted to us versus what?23:27 Waste them on things that don't last or spend them on ourselves or listen to the world and say, Oh well, you need to use your talents and gifts this way,23:39 right? Now assuming that you voted with your feet and you're listening to this global live stream in some fashion that that's your desire. I want you to23:51 listen for in God's word, the key to multiplying natural talents and spiritual gifts from Romans chapter 12. It says this, so here's what I want you to do.24:03 God helping you. Take your everyday ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life and place it before God24:16 as an offering. Embracing what god does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without24:28 even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond24:40 to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well24:51 formed maturity in you. Did you hear it? The secret? It's like plunk in the middle of that description about you as a25:03 believer, you having a life with different dimensions, and then a choice that you make of embracing what God wants you to do. And then it says this, instead, fix25:15 your attention on God. Right? Fix your attention on God. Be focused on God. And guess what? You will focus on25:27 using your natural talents and abilities as well as your spiritual gifts for his purposes. Right? You'll use those. You'll recognize, oh, you know what? He wants me to25:39 do this with with my natural talents. He wants me to do this with my spiritual gifts. I recognize the situation. But the basis for doing that is to fix your attention on God. Kinda25:50 reminds me of Matthew 6 33. There's a little bonus verse. Just write that down in the column outside there, which is seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you26:03 when you are loving God, thinking about God, focused on God, and you're fixed. Your attention is fixed on Him on a daily26:14 basis, you're gonna move toward what you think about naturally. Okay? You're gonna naturally use your talents and spiritual gifts for him as26:26 your focus and your thinking is on him, alright? So there's some ways to think about, natural talents and spiritual gifts. I think they all kind of make sense26:38 and I just we needed that basis to then now talk about what do we do to multiply talents and spiritual gifts. And on your notes in the headline, it says, useShow more In this video 0:00 Reviewing the Call to Multiply: Introduction to Talents and Gifts13:08 Distinguishing Natural Talents from Spiritual Gifts26:42 Practical Steps to Multiply Talents and Gifts for God's Glory
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