Using Our Talent - Not What You Might Think

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Sometimes you get a nugget of revelation dropped into your soul. Your spirit already knows the truth of the matter, but you may need to ponder it for a while, to accept it and apply it to your life. Here’s a tasty morsel to chew on.

In the Bible we can read the parable of the talents. Here are the scriptures if you’d like to read it (Matthew 25:14-30); I’ll quickly summarize for those who haven’t.

A rich man gives of his fortune to his servants before he leaves for a journey. In the time the master is away, one servant greatly multiplies what he’s given, another doubles it, and one simply buries it, expecting to return it to his master, for whom he has no respect, later. Those who compounded the talent of money, are rewarded. The one who did nothing but bury his talent is cursed and has his share taken from him.

The parable has much to teach us, but let’s focus on the talent; the measure of money (called a mina in Luke’s account of the parable, found in Luke 19:11-27). It was given to each servant according to their ability. Since Jesus used parables to explain kingdom principles, what could that talent represent?

Since God has given us all varying gifts, we might conclude that these talents of money are actually God-given gifts of talent. Our western brains take things as we read them, so it would be easy to make this assumption. Perhaps you can sing, or you have a knack for teaching. Maybe you’re graced with the gift of hospitality, blessed with a talent for entertaining and meeting the needs of others.

But, what if the talent isn’t merely a talent? It’s a gift from our Master, whatever it is.

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My nugget says that the talent is actually authority. In our case, Kingdom authority. Some of us use our God-given authority like we believe it’s ours to exercise. Some of us use it only when we are desperate and feel forced into using it. Some of us bury our authority, because we don’t believe it’s ours at all, because we’re not believing and trusting our Master.

Since the talents were given according to the servant’s abilities, they shouldn’t have been overwhelmed; nor should we.

How different would our lives look if we consistently used our God-given authority? Would we rise above sickness, which is a curse from the enemy? Would we not be struggling in our finances? Would we more boldly share the gospel message?

Ponder, if you will, what you do with your God-given authority. What does our authority look like? How can we put it into action?

Are you walking in fear? In lack? In sickness?

Jesus Himself, said, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:19 (NKJV)

 

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“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – Revelation 1:5-6 (NKJV)

 

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Song - I've Got A Key to the Kingdom